The Summit format is used in jazz to bring together performers on a particular musical instrument. Though these recordings often feature other musicians (notably a rhythm section), the main instrument is focused upon in a celebratory way.
The saxophone quartet has since become a somewhat common format, and to a lesser extent the bass clarinet quartet. Additionally, all-percussion ensembles and a cappella groups are common and focus upon a single instrument in a similar way.
German MPS Records produced several albums of this type, including New Violin Summit, Alto Summit, Vibes Summit, The Gypsy Jazz Violin Summit, The String Summit, Trombone Summit and You Better Fly Away by Clarinet Summit.
2008: Joshua Redman, Michael Brecker, Dave Liebman, Joe Lovano, George Garzone [1]
1974: Kenny Davern, Dick Hyman, Bucky Pizzarelli, Bob Wilber, Marty Grosz, George Duvivier, Bobby Rosengarden, Milt Hinton, Tommy Benford [2]
1968: Alto Summit (MPS) by Lee Konitz, Pony Poindexter, Phil Woods and Leo Wright (with pianist Steve Kuhn, bassist Palle Danielsson and drummer Jon Christensen) (MPS Records) [3] [4]
1996: Phil Woods, Vincent Herring, Antonio Hart, (with Carl Allen on drums, Anthony Wonsey on piano, and Reuben Rogers on bass) (Milestone Records) [5]
Baritone Madness is a 1978 album from saxophonist Nick Brignola, featuring Pepper Adams, Ted Curson, Derek Smith, Dave Holland, Roy Haynes (Bee Hive Records).
1974: Jeremy Steig, James Moody, Sahib Shihab, Chris Hinze (Atlantic) [6]
1984: Urszula Dudziak, Johnny Dyani, Okay Temiz, Gunter Sommer, Ed Thigpen, Mariusz Maurycy (tambourine), John Purcell (Moers Music) [7]
Lauren Newton, Urszula Dudziak, Jeanne Lee, Jay Clayton, Bobby McFerrin, Bob Stoloff
1980: Albert Mangelsdorff, Bill Watrous, Jiggs Whigham, Kai Winding (MPS) [8]
1980: Albert Mangelsdorff, Bill Watrous, Jiggs Whigham, Kai Winding, with Allan Ganley, Horace Parlan, Mads Vinding (Pausa Records) [9]
Dizzy Gillespie, Clark Terry and Freddie Hubbard recorded in 1980 an album called The Trumpet Summit Meets the Oscar Peterson Big 4, also featuring Oscar Peterson, Joe Pass, Ray Brown and Bobby Durham. Outtakes from this session were released on The Alternate Blues. Both albums were produced by Norman Granz and published by Pablo Records. Gillespie, Terry, Peterson and Durham previously recorded a live album at the 1977 Montreux Jazz Festival called Oscar Peterson Jam - Montreux '77 , which featured Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis and Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen
Bobby Shew, Allen Vizzutti, Vincent DiMartino together also released albums as Summit Reunion (Chiaroscuro Records) . [10]
1978: Dave Friedman, Karl Berger, Wolfgang Lackerschmid, Tom Van Der Geld
1963: Svend Asmussen, Stéphane Grappelli, Ray Nance (Atlantic 1688)
1966: Svend Asmussen, Stéphane Grappelli, Jean-Luc Ponty, Stuff Smith (MPS/Verve 15099)
1971: Don "Sugarcane" Harris, Jean-Luc Ponty, Nipso Brantner, Michal Urbaniak [11] (MPS/Polydor 15335)
1977: Benny Thomasson, Terry Morris, James Chancellor, Mark O'Connor (OMAC 1)
1979: Nipso Brantner, Zipflo Reinhardt, Shmitto Kling, Hannes Beckmann (MPS 15548)
1984: Matt Glaser, Evan Stover, Jay Ungar (Flying Fish FF-247)
1985: Matt Glaser, Mike Marshall, David Balakrishnan, Darol Anger (Kaleidoscope 22)
1986: Michal Urbaniak, John Blake, Didier Lockwood (Gramavision 18-8608-1)
2002: Michael Doucet, Bruce Molsky, Darol Anger (Compass 4334 [12] )
Kevin Burke, Christian Lemaitre, Johnny Cunningham (Green Linnet 1133, 1189, 1216) [13]
Kevin Burke, Christian Lemaitre, André Brunet, (Green Linnet 1230, Loftus Music 003, Loftus Music 006)
1999: Sam Bush, David Grisman, Ronnie McCoury, Jesse McReynolds, Bobby Osborne, Ricky Skaggs, Frank Wakefield, Buck White (Acoustic Disc 35)
1994: Mike Auldridge, Curtis Burch, Jerry Douglas, Josh Graves, Rob Ickes, Bashful Brother Oswald, Stacy Phillips, Tut Taylor, Sally Van Meter, Gene Wooten (Sugar Hill 2206)
1992: Tom Adams, Tony Furtado, Tony Trischka (Rounder 0296)
Stéphane Grappelli was a French jazz violinist. He is best known as a founder of the Quintette du Hot Club de France with guitarist Django Reinhardt in 1934. It was one of the first all-string jazz bands. He has been called "the grandfather of jazz violinists" and continued playing concerts around the world well into his eighties.
Jean-Luc Ponty is a French jazz and jazz fusion violinist and composer.
Hezekiah Leroy Gordon Smith, better known as Stuff Smith, was an American jazz violinist. He is well known for the song "If You're a Viper".
Don Francis Bowman "Sugarcane" Harris was an American blues and rock and roll violinist and guitarist. He is considered a pioneer in the amplification of the violin.
Svend Asmussen was a Danish jazz violinist, known as "The Fiddling Viking". A Swing-style virtuoso, he played and recorded with many other notable jazz musicians, including Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman and Stephane Grappelli. He played publicly until 2010 when he had a blood clot, his career having spanned eight decades.
Albert Mangelsdorff was a German jazz trombonist. Working mainly in free jazz, he was an innovator in multiphonics.
Jiggs Whigham is an American jazz trombonist.
Michał Urbaniak is a Polish jazz musician who plays violin, lyricon, and saxophone. His music includes elements of folk music, rhythm and blues, hip hop, and symphonic music.
Urszula Bogumiła Dudziak-Urbaniak is a Polish jazz vocalist. She has worked with Krzysztof Komeda, Michał Urbaniak, Gil Evans, Archie Shepp, and Lester Bowie. In 2007, her 1970s song "Papaya" gained widespread popularity in Asia and Latin America.
Neville Whitehead is a New Zealand bassist and luthier who was an active member of the British jazz fusion community in the 1970s.
Dawg Jazz/Dawg Grass is an album by American musician David Grisman, released in 1983.
Svingin' with Svend is an album by American musician David Grisman and Danish musician Svend Asmussen, released in 1987. It is attributed to the David Grisman Quintet featuring Svend Asmussen.
DGQ-20 is a 1996 compilation album by American musician David Grisman, recorded with his group David Grisman Quintet. Spanning the period from 1976 to 1996, this triple-CD set offers 39 songs, 18 of which were not released by Grisman before. Musicians include Tony Rice, Béla Fleck, Sam Bush, Mark O'Connor, Stephane Grappelli and others.
Duke Ellington's Jazz Violin Session is an album by American pianist, composer and bandleader Duke Ellington recorded in 1963 but not released on the Atlantic label until 1976. The album features members of Ellington's orchestra performing with Stephane Grappelli and Svend Asmussen. Trumpeter Ray Nance, who was also featured in the Ellington Orchestra as a singer and a violinist, plays violin throughout the session alongside Grappelli. Asmussen, whose primary instrument was violin, plays viola throughout the session. Each of the string players is given a solo feature: Grappelli plays "In a Sentimental Mood," Asmussen plays "Don't Get Around Much Anymore," and Nance plays "Day Dream." For the remainder of the session, all three string players are featured soloing in turn.
Grażyna Auguścik is a Polish jazz vocalist, composer, and arranger. She frequently uses Polish folk music, Latin American music, and klezmer music.
Electric Connection is one of four American recordings Jean-Luc Ponty made in 1969. In 1969 was it was released on vinyl by World Pacific Jazz and reissued in 1993 on CD by One Way Records.
Journey is the second album released by record producer Arif Mardin as leader. Released on the Atlantic label in 1974, it features "a veritable who's who of funk and jazz greats", many of them regular session and studio musicians who appear on Mardin-produced albums for other artists.
Anthony Frank "Tony" Inzalaco, Jr. is an American jazz drummer.
Songs of Berlin is an album by Marc Secara and the Berlin Jazz Orchestra, released digitally worldwide in October 2021 on GAM Records. The album features trombonist Jiggs Whigham and was arranged and conducted by Jack Cooper.