New Albums 1. Kris Davis Diatom Ribbons (Pyroclastic) Points: 260 Votes: 37 At a glance, an odd candidate for consensus: Kris Davis, an improviser-composer with the instinct of an alchemist, made Diatom Ribbons
by drawing inspiration from oceanic microbiology, tectonic movement and
piano precursors ranging from Messiaen to Monk to Cecil Taylor. What
makes her experiment feel seamless is the deep cohesion of some elite
company: a core trio with Val Jeanty on turntables and Terri Lyne
Carrington on drums, opening up to the earthy enlightenment of a pair of
hardy tenor saxophonists (Tony Malaby, JD Allen) a couple of spark plug
guitarists (Marc Ribot, Nels Cline), and a handful of others (like
Esperanza Spalding, in two arresting vocal cameos). It easily could have
felt like an Event album, but Davis and her wrecking crew produce
something rarer: an album of volatile heat and fractured funk that
mysteriously forms an alluring contour line. —Nate Chinen
2. Art Ensemble of Chicago We Are On The Edge: A 50th Anniversary Celebration (Pi) Points: 184.5 Votes: 31 In
an age when colleges produce "factory lines" of instrumentalists that
end up sounding the same, the Art Ensemble of Chicago continues to
remain a singular "university of music." We Are On The Edge, a
testament to this, marks the ensemble's 50th anniversary. Founding
fathers Roscoe Mitchell and Famoudou Don Moye, inspiring next-generation
musicians like Nicole Mitchell and Tomeka Reid, recreate their eloquent
palimpsest of modern American blackness, to remain "ancient to the
future." —Raul da Gama
3. Tomeka Reid Quartet Old New (Cuneiform) Points: 161 Votes: 26 The cello, in jazz, has always taken a back seat to the double bass. While https://youtu.be/kJdzpummpf8" rel="nofollow - Ray Brown ,
Oscar Pettiford and Ron Carter have certainly helped move the
instrument forward, Akua Dixon made "jazz cello" a stand-alone category,
as a founding member of the Max Roach Double Quartet and with her group
https://youtu.be/3hY6dbXNAMA" rel="nofollow - Quartette Indigo . Now 20 years into the new millennium, with Old New,
Tomeka Reid has firmly positioned the cello in its rightful place — out
in front. On songs like "Niki's Bop," as the D.C. native engenders the
vision of http://www.aacmchicago.org/" rel="nofollow - AACM , underscored by
the syncopated rhythms of the DMV, she relishes a kind of unbridled
freedom, perhaps one not fully enjoyed by her predecessors. —Shannon Effinger
4. Branford Marsalis Quartet The Secret Between the Shadow and the Soul (Okeh) Points: 138.5 Votes: 23 The
Branford Marsalis Quartet has been working toward this record for years
— a beautifully paced journey of expressive form, variegated texture,
spontaneous storytelling and generous feeling delivered with the intense
clarity of a working band. Joey Calderazzo and Eric Revis have been on
board since 1997-98, Justin Faulkner since 2009. Gestural abstraction,
rubato melody, modern swing, fresh originals, post-bop covers (Hill and
Jarrett) — the band breathes as one, animating the tradition in the
present tense. —Mark Stryker
5. Steve Lehman Trio & Craig Taborn The People I Love (Pi) Points: 138 Votes: 23 The
alto saxophonist extends his string of boundary-pushing albums by
rediscovering the middle ground between his trio and the larger groups
he has lately favored. Matt Brewer (bass) and Damion Reid return from
his Dialect Fluorescent trio, while pianist Taborn harmonizes,
comps, disrupts and waxes eloquent. Could be his most conventional
post-bop effort, but that's only because he's pushed the envelope so far
with such complete command. —Tom Hull
6. Anna Webber Clockwise (Pi) Points: 133 Votes: 18 Over
the last decade, saxophonist/flutist Anna Webber has made a habit of
deploying compositional techniques more common in new music than jazz —
whether translating raw data into pitch sequences or building melodies
from random electronic tones — but her deep grasp on rhythm, timbre and
space has allowed those excursions to swing. She's achieved an
apotheosis with Clockwise, looking to the work of Xenakis,
Cage, Varese, Feldman, Stockhausen and Babbitt for inspiration, deftly
analyzing specific fragments of their music to build something new and
elusive. Leading an agile, imaginative septet she makes heady music
appeal to the rest of the body. —Peter Margasak
7. Jaimie Branch Fly or Die II: Bird Dogs of Paradise (International Anthem) Points: 121 Votes: 20 This is the best kind of sequel, adhering to the creative vision of Branch's 2017 Fly or Die
while expanding its scope and showing a path forward. Her horn slashes
as fiercely as ever, and she's added a new weapon to her arsenal: her
voice. Raw with sorrow, fear and rage, she chants a "prayer for
amerikkka," a stark graveyard blues that's part Charles Mingus, part
Julius Hemphill and thrillingly new at the same time. —Phil Freeman
8. Taylor Ho Bynum 9-tette The Ambiguity Manifesto (Firehouse 12) Points: 105 Votes: 20 How
do you compose a manifesto to ambiguity? Who would even dare? Well, the
inspired Taylor Ho Bynum has. "For me, creativity doesn't come from
dogmas," he said about his new album, "it comes from questioning
yourself and questioning your assumptions." With a nonet (or, rather,
"9-Tette") that includes other young-ish visionary all-stars —
Halvorson, Reid, Fujiwara, Laubrock — plus knowing vets like bassist Ken
Filiano and Bill Lowe, Bynum's music is filled with glorious
contradictions: composed and free; earnest and rollicking and, to
paraphrase the late, great Lester Bowie, serious and fun. —Michael J. Agovino
9. Matana Roberts Coin Coin Chapter Four: Memphis (Constellation) Points: 105 Votes: 15 Inspired
by her grandmother's "pure american black folk Memphis-raised
defiance," Matana Roberts explores her personal ethnography and
celebrates black resilience in Coin Coin Chapter 4, the latest
in a 12-part project. Weaving childhood memories with reimagined jazz
standards, evocative spirituals, avant-garde contortions and vocals that
conjure the American South and its ancestries of American identity and
experience, this record cements Roberts' place in the jazz vanguard as
an essential voice and visionary artist. —Ivana Ng
10. Chick Corea Trio Trilogy 2 (Concord) Points: 104.5 Votes: 19 Preceding
their confirmation tour stop at Strathmore in suburban D.C. — on the
night of the Nationals' World Series game seven, audience members
nervously checking devices for updates — this simpatico trio had
convinced these ears with the marvelously balanced Trilogy 2.
It covers timeless luxury vehicles — Monkery ("Work," "Crepescule with
Nellie"), Stevie Wonder ("Pastime Paradise") and invigorating dives into
Chick's own expansive book — early trios ("Now He Sings, Now He Sobs")
and gems from his original Return to Forever unit ("LaFiesta," "500 Miles High"). —Willard Jenkins
The Rest Of The Top 50 11. Tyshawn Sorey & Marilyn Crispell, The Adornment of Time (Pi) 104 (17) 12. Miguel Zenón, Sonero: The Music of Ismael Rivera (Miel Music) 93.5 (15) 13. Joel Ross, KingMaker (Blue Note) 90 (15) 14. Wadada Leo Smith, Rosa Parks: Pure Love: An Oratorio of Seven Songs (TUM) 79 (14) 15. Johnathan Blake, Trion (Giant Step Arts) 78.5 (16) 16. Joe Lovano, Trio Tapestry (ECM) 77 (12) 17. Abdullah Ibrahim, The Balance (Gearbox) 76 (10) 18. James Brandon Lewis, An UnRuly Manifesto (Relative Pitch) 74 (12) 19. Allison Miller's Boom Tic Boom, Glitter Wolf (The Royal Potato Family) 72.5 (15) 20. Terri Lyne Carrington + Social Science, Waiting Game (Motema) 72.5 (13) 21 (tie). Anthony Braxton, Quartet (New Haven) 2014 (Firehouse 12 -4CD) 72.5 (11) 21 (tie). Bill Frisell & Thomas Morgan, Epistrophy (ECM) 72.5 (11) 23. Crosscurrents Trio [Dave Holland, Zakir Hussain & Chris Potter], Good Hope (Edition) 68.5 (11) 24. Mark Dresser Seven, Ain't Nothing but a Cyber Coup & You (Clean Feed) 67 (11) 25. Anat Cohen Tentet, Triple Helix (Anzic) 64.5 (12) 26 (tie). James Carter Organ Trio, Live From Newport Jazz (Blue Note) 63 (10) 26 (tie). Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah, Ancestral Recall (Ropeadope) 63 (10) 28. Fabian Almazan Trio, This Land Abounds With Life (Biophilia) 59.5 (9) 29. Linda May Han Oh, Aventurine (Biophilia) 59 (10) 30. Angel Bat Dawid, The Oracle (International Anthem) 59 (7) 31. Ahmad Jamal, Ballades (Jazz Village) 56 (9) 32. Matt Mitchell, Phalanx Ambassadors (Pi) 55 (11) 33. Ethan Iverson Quartet With Tom Harrell, Common Practice (ECM) 51.5 (8) 34. Melissa Aldana, Visions (Motema) 50.5 (11) 35. Camila Meza & the Nectar Orchestra, Ambar (Sony Masterworks) 50 (7) 36. Enrico Rava & Joe Lovano, Roma (ECM) 48 (6) 37. Vijay Iyer & Craig Taborn, The Transitory Poems (ECM) 47.5 (10) 38. Miho Hazama, Dancer in Nowhere (Sunnyside) 47 (10) 39. Iro Haarla, Ulf Krokfors & Barry Altschul, Around Again (TUM) 44.5 (7) 40. Michele Rosewoman's New Yor-Uba, Hallowed (Advance Dance Disques) 42.5 (6) 41. Dr. Mark Lomax, II, 400: An African Epic (CFG Multimedia -12CD) 42 (6) 42. Guillermo Klein, Los Guachos Cristal (Sunnyside) 41 (7) 43. Etienne Charles, Carnival: The Sound of a People Vol. 1 (Culture Shock Music) 39 (5) 44. Fire! Orchestra, Arrival (Rune Grammofon) 38 (4) 45. David Torn-Tim Berne-Ches Smith, Sun of Goldfinger (ECM) 37 (8) 46. Jazzmeia Horn, Love and Liberation (Concord) 37 (7) 47. Bill Frisell, Harmony (Blue Note) 37 (6) 48. Greg Ward Presents Rogue Parade, Stomping Off From Greenwood (Greenleaf Music) 35 (6) 49 (tie). Miles Okazaki, The Sky Below (Pi) 33 (7) 49 (tie). Brian Lynch Big Band, The Omni-American Book Club: My Journey Through Literature in Music (Holistic MusicWorks) 33 (7)
Solitary No. 1s Anthony Braxton, GTM (Syntax) 2017 (New Braxton House) We
know we're not supposed to sort albums into "jazz" or "classical" piles
when it comes to artists who have described their work as "creative
music." But listeners do it anyway. (Genre-based thinking dies hard.) In
the case of Anthony Braxton, the "jazz" choice in 2019 might seem
obvious, since the four-disc https://firehouse12records.com/album/quartet-new-haven-2014" rel="nofollow - Quartet (New Haven) 2014 offers generous helpings of his saxophone improvisations. But for me, this artist's most profound statement of the year was an even larger set titled https://newbraxtonhouse.bandcamp.com/album/gtm-syntax-2017" rel="nofollow - GTM (Syntax) 2017 . Here, a 12-person choir takes a deep dive into his "Ghost Trance Music" pieces. You could just as easily include it in a " https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/12/arts/music/best-classical-music.html" rel="nofollow - classical recordings "
list. Though the way these vocalists — many of them veterans from the
composer's opera productions — improvise and blend motifs from other
Braxton pieces sheds new light on prior albums that have entered the
jazz canon, like "Quartet (London) 1985." —Seth Colter Walls Ran Blake and Jeanne Lee, The Newest Sound You Never Heard 1966-67 (A-Side) A
worthy reason to include a release on a year-end list is because it is
not easy to find a copy, but would be on more lists if it was. The Newest Sound You Never Heard
flows like a passionate, elegant, ageless dream spun by a captivating
pair of creators. And it prompted to top two or three concerts I heard
in 2019. —Milo Miles FKJ, Live @ Salar De Uyuni for Cercle (self-released) FKJ
(short for French Kiwi Juice, born Vincent Fenton) deeply draws from
jazz, yet is more widely celebrated in the EDM world, as his vast online
following indicates. His highly-improvised, blues-inflected (and near
miraculous) solo masterpiece at Salar de Uyuni, captured high in the
Andes, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCNlt5nvSI8" rel="nofollow - can only be found
on YouTube and Facebook. And as such, it reflects — pun intended — the
dramatic change in the way we consume music today, which shouldn't be
limited to album-only releases considered for a year-end poll. —Simon Rentner Binker Golding, Abstractions of Reality Past & Incredible Feathers (Gearbox) Combining
the breezy intricacy and silken tone of Michael Brecker with a hip-hop
inflected swing, London saxophonist Binker Golding's debut album is an
accomplished yet understated paean to the quartet form and all its
radical possibilities. From the skewed balladry of "...And I Like Your
Feathers" to the infectious melody of "You, That Place, That Time,"
Golding's quartet flows with immense improvisatory energy. —Ammar Kalia Mary Halvorson/John Dieterich, A Tangle of Stars (New Amsterdam) Avant-jazzer
Halvorson meshes smartly with alt-rocker Dieterich (of the band
Deerhoof) on this electronically enhanced guitar duet session. The two
find a common wavelength, echoing each other, completing each other's
phrases or vamping in tandem. Spiky, spacey, quirky, jangly, noisy, at
times mellifluous, the music is staunchly original, engaging even at its
most abstract. —Larry Birnbaum Jeff Williams, Bloom (Whirlwind) Free-bop
is a cake-and-eat-it-too situation, where the buoyancy of swing gooses
the ingenuity of exploration. This year it found a sweet spot in these
11 quizzical roundabouts. Drummer Jeff Williams, bassist Michael
Formanek and pianist Carmen Staaf fleck the music with micro tensions
while fully genuflecting to melody. Allure dominates the informality
they fashion, their attractive improvs managing to be both heady and
charming. —Jim Macnie Rara Avis 1. Eric Dolphy, Musical Prophet: The Expanded 1963 New York Studio Sessions (Resonance) Points: 148 Votes: 70 While much of the material on the lovely packaged box set Musical Prophet has been previously available, not until now has the music sounded this crisp and rich. From the fiery "Burning Spear" from Iron Man,
to the gorgeous, previously unreleased bass clarinet and arco bass duet
"Muses for Richard Davis", these 1963 sessions further highlight the
imaginative, musical genius of Dolphy, who died much too young the
following year. — Chris Monsen 2. John Coltrane, Blue World (Impulse!) 106 (47) 3. Nat "King" Cole, Hittin' the Ramp: The Early Years (1936-1943) (Resonance) 83 (34) 4. Stan Getz, Getz at the Gate: The Stan Getz Quartet Live at the Village Gate Nov 26 1961 (Verve) 35 (16) 5. Ran Blake & Jeanne Lee, The Newest Sound You Never Heard 1966-67 (A-Side) 32 (17) 6. Paul Bley-Gary Peacock-Paul Motian, When Will the Blues Leave (ECM) 29 (13) ** 7. Betty Carter, The Music Never Stops (Blue Engine) 26 (15) Vocals 1. Jazzmeia Horn, Love and Liberation (Concord) Votes: 16 Love and Liberation
is a fresh collection of jazz ballads that showcases Jazzmeia Horn's
outstandingly silky voice. Her vocal and lyrical gifts permeate her
album, whether she is reciting smooth rhythmic poetry or singing to the
caliber of greats like Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald. Love and Liberation is a pleasurable mesh of nostalgic stylings and a modern, neo-soulful exhibition full of grace and class. —Jordannah Elizabeth 2. Camila Meza & The Nectar Orchestra, Ambar (Sony Masterworks) 12 3. Catherine Russell, Alone Together (Dot Time) 7 4. Veronica Swift, Confessions (Mack Avenue) 5 5 (tie). Ran Blake & Jeanne Lee, The Newest Sound You Never Heard 1966-67 (A-Side) 4 5 (tie). Mary Stallings, Songs Were Made to Sing (Smoke Sessions) 4 Debuts 1. Joel Ross, KingMaker (Blue Note) Votes: 28 KingMaker announces
Joel Ross as a crown prince of jazz. From the gorgeous first moments of
the vibraphonist's debut, he demonstrates as much promise as a band
leader and composer as he's already proven as a sideman for artists like
Makaya McCraven. The record is harmonically rich and rhythmically
elaborate, but still swinging and pretty enough to go down easily. While
Ross's playing shines, he is mature enough to share attention with
bandmates, especially saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins. —David A. Graham 2. Angel Bat Dawid, The Oracle (International Anthem) 8 3. Javier Red's Imagery Converter, Ephemeral Certainties (Delmark) 5 4. Nick Dunston, Atlantic Extraction (Out of Your Head) 4 Latin 1. Miguel Zenón, Sonero: The Music of Ismael Rivera (Miel Music) Votes: 23 Zenon's
well-established quartet puts listeners in the eye of a storm — the
relatively calm vantage point where we can marvel at the powerful
currents of sound around us. On Sonero, the deservedly
acclaimed alto saxophonist turns to a cultural touchstone of his native
Puerto Rico — the pioneering and influential salsa singer Ismael Rivera —
and radically complicates his classic hits while retaining the essence
of their crowd-pleasing appeal. —Neil Tesser 2. Guillermo Klein, Los Guachos Cristal (Sunnyside) 12 3 (tie). Camila Meza & the Nectar Orchestra, Ambar (Sony Masterworks) 7 3 (tie). Jane Bunnett & Maqueque, On Firm Ground/Tierra Firme (Linus Entertainment) 7 3 (tie). Michele Rosewoman's New Yor-Uba, Hallowed (Advance Dance Disques) 7 6. Poncho Sanchez, Trane's Delight (Concord Picante) 6 7. Alfredo Rodriguez & Pedrito Martinez, Duologue (Mack Avenue) 5 8 (tie). Chick Corea & the Spanish Heart Band, Antidote (Concord) 4 8 (tie). David Sanchez, Carib (Ropeadope) 4
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