The Best-Selling Jazz/Jazz-Rock Fusion Albums of All-Time: Worldwide

This is a rather challenging topic to write about because the upkeep of sales statistics is incredibly inconsistent from country to country, even continent to continent. Most often it is easy to find numbers for sales in the USA, Canada, UK, Australia, and Japan. As an exemplary demonstration of this fact, the world's third largest music record buying population is in Germany. According to the statistical accounts of the two largest statistic houses in the German nation, GfK Entertainment and Bundesverband Musikinsdustrie, no Jazz or Jazz-Rock Fusion much less Jazz-Rock, Jazz-Funk, Hip Hop, or World Music album has ever achieved one million units of sales in their country. Therefore, the list that follows is flawed but may still represent a somewhat accurate snapshot of the rough numbers and rankings. Unfortunately, the dominance of radio-friendly Jazz-Pop and Smooth Jazz albums (e.g. Nora Jones, Kenny G, and Diana Krall) far outshines the presence of "true" Jazz and/or Jazz-Rock Fusion albums in the top ten. (The "true Jazz and/or Jazz-Rock Fusion albums are singled out by the use of bold type).


Norah Jones - Come Away with Me - 27,000,000 worldwide

Kenny G - Breathless - 13,204,140 in 8 countries

Norah Jones - Feels Like Home - 10,000,000 worldwide

Kenny G - Miracles: The Holiday Album - 8,467,240

Miles Davis - Kind of Blue - 6,464,718

Kenny G - Duotones - 5,110,000

Norah Jones - The Fall - 5,000,000 worldwide

Kenny G - The Moment - 4,742,500

Kenny G - Silhouette - 4,115,030

Norah Jones - Not too Late - 3,502,516 in 37 countries

George Benson - Breezin' - 3,293,090 in five countries * The first Jazz album to go platinum in the U.S.

Diana Krall - The Look of Love - 2,857,010

Chicago - Chicago Transit Authority - 2,100,000 in U.S. + Canada

Diana Krall - The Girl in the Other Room - 1,803,915

Diana Krall - When I Look in Your Eyes - 1,485,800

Dave Brubeck - Take Five - 1,325,000 in 4 countries

Chicago - II - 1,314,000 in U.S., Canada & Japan

Diana Krall - Love Scenes - 1,203,000

John Coltrane - A Love Supreme - 1,139,110 in 4 countries

Miles Davis - Bitches Brew - 1,111,460

Herbie Hancock - Head Hunters - 1,105,760 in 3 countries

Miles Davis - Sketches of Spain - 1,100,000

Herbie Hancock - Future Shock - 1,066,080 in 3 countries

Weather Report - Heavy Weather - 1,060,000 in the U.S. + UK

John Coltrane - Blue Train - 704,100

Stan Getz & João Gilberto - Getz/Gilberto - 685,000 in six countries (n/i Brasil)

Carlos Santana & John McLaughlin - Love Devotion Surrender - 573,000 in U.S. + Japan

John Coltrane - My Favorite Things  - 501,547 in U.S. + U.K.

Al Di Meola - Elegant Gypsy - 500,000 in the U.S.

Mahavishnu Orchestra - Birds of Fire - 500,000 in U.S.

John Coltrane - Giant Steps - 500,000

Return to Forever - Romantic Warrior - 500,000 in the U.S.

Pat Metheny - Secret Story - 500,000 in the U.S.

Pat Metheny Group - Still Life (Talking) - 500,000 in the U.S.

Pat Metheny Group - Letter from Home - 500,000 in the U.S.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Miles Davis' Second Great Quintet

Image
In 1963 Miles began a search for a new group of young musicians to work with (he always received quite a boost in inspiration with the new ideas the young bloods would bring in.) 22-year old Herbie Hancock was a shoe-in due to his rocket rise to fame with the 1962 monster hit, "Watermelon Man" from his debut album, Takin' Off .  25-year old Ron Carter had been making a mark while gigging during his formal training from the Eastman School of Music (graduating in 1959) and the Manhattan School of Music (1961). 17-year old drumming phenom Anthony "Tony" Williams III was a lesser known quantity, thus his use on only half the tracks on Seven Steps to Heaven.  Miles first attempt also tested out drummer Frank Butler, tenor saxophonist George Coleman, and multi-instrumental phenom, Victor Feldman (then 29-years old). This is the quintet that toured extensively in 1963, covering many of Davis' classic tunes with a fresh, new, highly kinetic approach. It is also the ...
Read more

Miroslav Vitous

Image
Czechoslovakian-born bassist Miroslav Vitous was a child prodigy who's scholarship to the famed Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA spawned a very successful career in music that became firmly-based in the United States. Despite early appearances and collaborations with noted musicians in his home country in his teen years, it was the connections made through Berklee (with country-mate Jan Hammer) and New York-based mentor Herbie Mann that paved the way for Miroslav's explosion onto the jazz and jazz-rock fusion music scene. Before his 24th birthday he had secured prominent roles on albums (and gigs with) Herbie Mann, Roy Ayers, Steve Marcus, Sonny Sharrock, Jack DeJohnette, Chick Corea, Larry Coryell, and Wayne Shorter as well as played with the likes of Herbie Hancock, John McLaughlin, Billy Cobham, Joe Zawinul, and Sadao Watanabe.      After four albums with Herbie Mann, the influential bandleader rewarded the bass phenom with an album of his own on his brand new fl...
Read more

Herbie Hancock

Image
Herbie Hancock is without a doubt one music's most intrepid pioneers. He had a very  significant role in expanding the boundaries of Jazz, Jazz-Rock Fusion, and music in general. His name is deserving of being mentioned among the greatest artists in music like Beethoven, Brahms, Debussy, Shostakovich, Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, and Michael Jackson. Without Herbie leading the way (and, to a great degree, also Tony Williams), there would have been no "Second Great Quintet." Without Herbie (and  Joe Zawinul, John McLaughlin, and Chick Corea), I do not believe that the  breakout of that which would become called "Jazz-Rock Fusion"  would have been as successful and certainly not as popular. (Pressures from inside the staunch old-school mainstream of jazz would have squelched it as they did with other avant-garde modalities like "free jazz.") Herbie was popular! He sold albums! (Herbie has four of the biggest selling jazz al...
Read more