100 records worth living with
Music has been the center of my life for as long as I can remember, so dropping references to albums comes very naturally to me. I believe that learning begins with the capacity to listen, and listening should never be passive. It should be a challenge, an invitation, a horizon, and a form of leisure all at once. So, I wanted to share some records I think are worth living with and that everyone should listen to at least once in their lifetime! This is a list of a hundred albums that deeply resonate with me, cross various genres, and feel essential. This isn't a "top 100" ranking or a museum-curated canon. It's simply a collection of works that fascinate me and trace the contours of my own musical DNA.
It wasn't easy to choose from the thousands of options echoing in my ears and memory. After all, while it's easy to love a single track, finding the albums that hold their magic across an entire sequence is a much stricter test. You also won't find the usual suspects here. If you find yourself asking “What do you mean, you didn’t include A Love Supreme or Kind of Blue?” - exactly! Those masterpieces already live in the light everywhere else. My goal here was to sidestep the obvious and share music that truly shape my world. Enjoy!
The albums are arranged in alphabetical order (from A to Z) by title.
ALL DIRECTIONS Mario Marzi, Simone Zanchini and Paolo Zannini (Limen, 2015)
AO VIVO MONTREUX JAZZ Hermeto Pascoal (Atlantic, 1979)
AQUI ESTÁ-SE SOSSEGADO Camané and Mário Laginha (Warner Music Portugal, 2019)
ARCHIPELAGO Luís Tinoco (Odradek Records, 2019)
AS WE SPEAK Béla Fleck, Edgar Meyer, Zakir Hussain and Rakesh Chaurasia (Béla Fleck Productions, 2023)
AURA Camila Nabbia (ears&eyes Records, 2020)
CAETANO VELOSO & IVAN SACERDOTE Caetano Veloso and Ivan Sacerdote (Universal, 2020)
CARLOS DO CARMO BERNARDO SASSETTI Carlos do Carmo and Bernardo Sassetti (Universal, 2011)
CHEIO DE DEDOS Guinga (Velas, 1996)
CHOPIN: 10 MAZURKAS Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli (Deutsche Grammophon, 1972)
CLIC Franco Battiato (Bla Bla, 1974)
COBRA John Zorn (Tzadik, 2002)
COM AS MINHAS TAMANQUINHAS José Afonso (Orfeu, 1976)
COM QUE VOZ Amália Rodrigues (Columbia, 1970)
DEBUT João Barradas (Fuga Libera, 2021)
DEVI DARSHANA Kadri Gopalnath (Sony Music, 1989)
EM ‘CANTADO Rão Kyao (Universal, 2009)
EM PORTUGUÊS Rabih Abou-Khalil (Enja Records, 2008)
ESPLORAZIONE DEL BIANCO Salvatore Sciarrino e Ensemble Alter Ego (Stradivarius, 1999)
EUROPAKONZERT 2003 Berliner Philharmoniker, Maria João Pires and Pierre Boulez (Deutsche Grammophon, 2020)
EU VOU MORRE DE AMOR OU RESISTIR Carminho (Sony Music, 2025)
EXOTICA Mauricio Kagel (Deutsche Grammophon, 1972)
FEARLESS FIVE Enrico Rava (Parco della Musica Records, 2024)
FESTA DOS DEUSES Hermeto Pascoal e Grupo (Philips, 1992)
FRANCO DONATONI 10 ANNI DOPO Divertimento Ensemble (Stradivarius, 2010)
GIACOMO PUCCINI: TOSCA Coro e Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala and Victor de Sabata (Warner Classics, 1953)
GIUSEPPE VERDI: MESSA DA REQUIEM Berliner Philharmoniker and Herbert von Karajan (Deutsche Grammophon, 1972)
GOOD HOPE Dave Holland, Zakir Hussain and Chris Potter (Edition Records, 2019)
HELMUT LACHENMANN: STRING QUARTETS Stadler Quartett (NEOS, 2010)
HOROWITZ & TOSCANINI TCHAIKOVSKY PIANO CONCERTO Nº1 Arturo Toscanini, Vladimir Horowitz and NBC Symphony Orchestra (RCA Italiana, 1941)
INDIGO Bernardo Sassetti (Clean Feed, 2004)
INVENÇÕES LIVRES Carlos Paredes and António Victorino D’Almeida (Philips, 1986)
JESUS’ BLOOD NEVER FAILED ME YET [WITH TOM WAITS] Gavin Bryars (Obscure Records, 1975)
KOPATCHINSKAJA-SAY Patricia Kopatchinskaja and Fazil Say (Naïve, 2008)
LOBOS, RAPOSAS e COIOTES Maria João, Mário Laginha, NDR Radio Philharmonic Radio Orchestra Hannover and Arild Remmereit (Verve Records, 1999)
MARIA JOÃO PIRES / CARLOS DO CARMO Maria João Pires and Carlos do Carmo (Universal, 2012)
MINAS Milton Nascimento (EMI, 1975)
MOVIMENTO PERPÉTUO Carlos Paredes (Columbia, 1971)
MUSIC FOR 18 MUSICIANS Steve Reich (ECM, 1978)
PASSAGES Ravi Shankar and Philip Glass (Private Music, 1990)
PASTORAL Emmy Curl (Cuca Monga, 2024)
PEIXINHO - KIENTZY Daniel Kientzy and Jorge Peixinho (Nova Musica, 1996)
PROMISES Pharoah Sanders, Floating Points and London Symphony Orchestra (Luaka Bop, 2021)
REMEMBER SHAKTI [FEAT. HARIPRASAD CHAURASIA] Shakti (Verve Records, 1999)
RICARDO TOSCANO QUARTET Ricardo Toscano Quarteto (Clean Feed, 2018)
RUSHES 10 SONGS FROM RUSSIA Steve Lacy (New Sound Planet, 1990)
STADIUM ARCADIUM Red Hot Chili Peppers (Warner Bros Records, 2006)
STEFANO SCODANIBBIO: STRING QUARTETS Arditti String Quartet (Kairos, 2022)
ŞU DÜNYANIN SIRRI Serenad Bağcan and Fazıl Say (Say Productions, 2020)
SYMPHONIC DREAMS Gerry Mulligan, Houston Symphony Orchestra and Erich Kunzel (PAR, 1987)
THE ART OF SAXOPHONE Mario Marzi and Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano (Arts Music 2009)
THE MUSIC OF WAYNE SHORTER Wayne Shorter and Jazz at Lincoln Center & Wynton Marsalis (Blue Engine Records, 2020)
THE PERFECT STRANGER Frank Zappa, Pierre Boulez and Ensemble Intercontemporain (Angel Records, 1984)
THIS MOMENT Shakti (Abstract Logix, 2023)
UMUT Arif Sag (ASM Müzik Üretim, 1995)
