1952 was very much a transitional year in music history. The elder vanguard (Duke Ellington and Charlie Parker) were still in the prime of their legendary careers, while soon-to-be superstars like Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk were laying the foundations for a whole new world of jazz.
Jazz
- Penthouse Serenade (Nat King Cole) B+
- Young Man with a Horn (Miles Davis) A-
- Ellington Uptown (Duke Ellington) A
- Wizard of the Vibes (Milt Jackson) A
- Genius of Modern Music (Volume Two) (Thelonious Monk) A
- Bird and Diz (Charlie Parker & Dizzy Gillespie) A
- Oscar Peterson Plays Duke Ellington (Oscar Peterson) A
- The Amazing Bud Powell (Bud Powell) A
Swing/Pop
- Unforgettable (Nat King Cole) B
- Billie Holiday Sings (Billie Holiday) A-
- Johnnie Ray (Johnnie Ray) A-
Country/Folk
- Moanin’ the Blues (Hank Williams) A
Classical
- Classical Check-Up
- Luciano Berio
- John Cage
- Henry Cowell
- Alberto Ginastera
- Gail Kubik
- Luigi Nono
- Sergei Prokofiev
- Karlheinz Stockhausen
Foreign
- Legend of the Sun Virgin (Yma Sumac) B+
