I spent some time this summer identifying the 42 jazz records used in the original version of John Cage’s Imaginary Landscape no. 5 in 1952. The original 78s were provided by dancer Jean Erdmann, who asked Cage to create the piece for her dance Portrait of a Lady. The piece was edited by Bebe and Louis Barron. Most of the 42 pieces can be identified through listening to a copy of Erdmann’s tape and referencing Cage’s score. Both sides of the 78 was used in almost all the samples I identified. 19 78s are listed below, 2 more are needed to complete the piece. Those listed in italics are a flip side that I couldn’t identify in the original. Most of the unidentified samples are under 2 seconds.
| Al Cooper’s Savoy Sultans – Fish for Supper | Al Cooper’s Savoy Sultans – Boats | Decca 8598 |
| Machito – Cancion | Machito – Mambo | Mercury C-505 |
| Baby Dodds – Rudiments | Baby Dodds – Maryland | Folkways 02990 |
| Bob Crosby – The Big Noise from Winnetka | Bob Crosby – Honky Tonk Train Blues | Decca 25117 |
| Count Basie – Jivin’ Joe Jackson | Count Basie – Queer Street | Columbia 36889 |
| Miles Davis – Budo | Miles Davis – Move | Capitol 15404 |
| Lil Hardin – Confessin | Lil Hardin – Eastown Boogie | Black & White 1210 |
| Louis Armstrong – Got No Blues | Louis Armstrong – I’m Not Rough | Okeh 8551 |
| Benny Goodman Sextet – Flying Home | Benny Goodman Sextet – I Found A New Baby | Columbia 36721 |
| Stan Kenton – Safranski | Stan Kenton – Opus in Pastels | Capitol 20088 |
| Louis Armstrong – After You’re Gone | Louis Armstrong – St. Louis Blues | Okeh 41350 |
| Dizzy Gillespie – Ow | Dizzy Gillespie – Oopopada | RCA Victor 20-2480 |
| Fats Waller – Somebody Stole My Gal | Fats Waller – Sugar Blues | Victor 25194 |
| Benny Goodman – Blue Room | Benny Goodman – Swingtime in the Rockies | Columbia 39312 |
| Duke Ellington – Sepia Panorama | Duke Ellington – Harlem Air Shaft | HMV B9135 |
| Don Byas – How High The Moon | Charlie Parker – Ko Ko | Savoy 597 |
| Billie Holiday – I Cover The Waterfront | Billie Holiday – Lover Come Back To Me | Commodore 559 |
| Charlie Parker – Warming Up a Riff | Charlie Parker – Thriving on a Riff | Savoy 945 |
| Benny Goodman – Sing Sing Sing Pt. 1 | Benny Goodman – Sing Sing Sing Pt. 2 | Victor 36205 |