Top Contemporary Jazz Albums – October 31, 1998

The Will Downing and Gerald Albright collaboration, Pleasures of the Night, was the best-selling contemporary jazz recording according to the October 31, 1998 issue of Billboard. At the time, Downing said, “This is a departure for us both. It’s pretty much a traditional sounding record with flavorings of contemporary jazz sprinkled in so as not to exclude the audiences we’ve already built up over the years. It gives both of us an opportunity to stretch out more than our own records. It’s not often that you have the opportunity to do exactly what you want to do, no holds barred.”

Here’s the complete Top Contemporary Jazz Albums for that week:

1. Will Downing and Gerald Albright – Pleasures of the Night
2. Kenny G – Greatest Hits
3. Rick Braun – Full Stride
4. Down to the Bone – From Manhattan to Staten
5. George Benson – Standing Together
6. Fourplay – 4
7. Keiko Matsui – Full Moon and the Shrine
8. Marc Antoine – Madrid
9. Various Artists – KKSF Sampler for AIDS Relief, Volume 9
10. Medeski, Martin and Wood – Combustication

Also notable in the Top 10: Down to the Bone’s debut album, From Manhattan to Staten, was still on the chart after an impressive 37 weeks.