The 2016 NPR Music Jazz Critics Poll

The results for the 2016 NPR Music Jazz Critics Poll have just been posted online, won by Henry Threadgill's fascinating Ensemble Double Up album Old Locks and Irregular Verbs. A typically strong recording masterminded by an incomparable old master but one I nevertheless enjoyed a bit less than his Pulitzer Prizer winner In For a Penny, In For a Pound, and so it did not make my ballot. Still, out of the ten albums I voted for, four made the top 10, with a fifth in the top 15. None of the rest made the top 50. Individual ballots can be accessed here, but I've also put my own ballot is below. I will post more on these as well as a more comprehensive "jazz of 2016" list soon.

New releases

 1.  Steve Lehman & Sélébéyone: Sélbéyone (Pi Rcordings)

 2.  Wadada Leo Smith Golden Quintet: America's National Parks (Cuneiform)

 3.  Mary Halvorson Octet: Away With You (Firehouse 12)

 4.  Anna Högberg Attack: Anna Högberg Attack (Omlott)

 5.  Jane Ira Bloom: Early Americans (Outline)

 6.  Roswell Rudd, Jamie Saft, Trevor Dunn, Balázs Pándi: Strength & Power (RareNoise)

 7.  Damana (Dag Magnus Narvesen Octet): Cornua Copiae (Clean Feed)

 8.  Steve Swell Quintet: Soul Travelers (Rogue Art)

 9.  Michael Formanek Ensemble Kolossus: The Distance (ECM)

10. James Brandon Lewis Trio: No Filter (BNS Sessions)

Reissues / historical albums:

1.  Peter Brötzmann, Fred Hopkins, Rashied Ali: Songlines (Trost)

2.  Arthur Blythe: In the Tradition / Lennox Avenue Breakdown / Illusions / Blythe Spirit (BGO)

3.  Tom Prehn Quartet: Axiom (Rune Grammofon)

Vocal album:

· Steve Lehman & Sélébéyone: Sélbéyone (Pi Rcordings)

Debut album:

· Anna Högberg Attack: Anna Högberg Attack (Omlott)

Latin album:

· (no pick)