Top 10s and lists - Happy New Ears

Album of the Year per the Collective:

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jaimie branch - Fly or Die

1. jaimie branch - Fly Or Die (International Anthem Recording Company) [ http://www.freejazzblog.org/2017/05/jaime-branch-fly-or-die-international.html" rel="nofollow - make no mistake, this record is still the sound of Chicago. It's a sharply focused work that moves from one great idea to another quickly and – while retaining its originality - is also very representative of the last 20 years of a certain Chicago sound, with its musical precision and post-production work in the electro-acoustic realm of Tortoise or Rob Mazurek's many projects.

2. Chamber 4 - City Of Light (Clean Feed) [ http://www.freejazzblog.org/2017/06/chamber-4-city-of-light-clean-feed.html" rel="nofollow - - review ]
4. Nate Wooley - The Complete Syllables Music (Pleasure Of The Text) [ http://www.freejazzblog.org/2017/06/nate-wooley-complete-syllables-music.html" rel="nofollow - - review ]

Album of the Year per the People:

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Chamber 4- City of Light

1. Chamber 4 - City Of Light (Clean Feed) [ http://www.freejazzblog.org/2017/06/chamber-4-city-of-light-clean-feed.html" rel="nofollow - - Rick Joines ' words:

Clean Feed Records proclaims there were “no scores, no structures of any kind, no previous discussions about what to do or not to do or any type of conceptual reasoning,” yet the three movements impress as if they were a single impassioned composer’s carefully-constructed thoughts concentrated and immortalized in a written score. Each musician effortlessly nourishes an intimate exchange of tonal and rhythmic ideas and subtle alterations.

2. jaimie branch - Fly Or Die (International Anthem Recording Company) [ http://www.freejazzblog.org/2017/05/jaime-branch-fly-or-die-international.html" rel="nofollow - - review ]
4. Wadada Leo Smith - Solo: Reflections And Meditations On Monk (TUM Records) [ http://www.freejazzblog.org/2017/10/wadada-leo-smith-solo-reflections-and.html" rel="nofollow - - review ]

Congratulations to jamie branch and Chamber 4, both the winners and second place holders in our respective polls. Branch had a https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/jaimie-branch-fly-die-trumpet-jazz-debut-international-anthem/Content?oid=26316389" rel="nofollow - - award in 2015 with his fragile explorations on Concentric Rinds. From all here at the Free Jazz Blog, a heartfelt congratulations.

As the initial top 10 lists were being assembled, I was struck by just how long this year has felt. For example, when Lee listed the wonderful http://www.freejazzblog.org/2017/02/sylvie-courvoisier-mary-halvorson-crop.html" rel="nofollow -

Album of the Year per the People:

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Chamber 4- City of Light