2019: favorites

Albums*:

* Last updated Jan., 2020. The rankings are by no means "fixed", and should only be understood as a rough indication of my preference for these releases, every one of which I at least thoroughly enjoy and, towards the top, love with a passion.

1. James Brandon Lewis: An UnRuly Manifesto (Relative Pitch Records)
2. Per 'Texas' Johansson/Torbjörn Zetterberg/Konrad Agnas: Orakel (Moserobie Music Production) 
3. Gard Nilssen Acoustic Unity: To Whom Who Buys a Record (ODIN)
4. Anna Webber: Clockwise (Pi Recordings)
5. Lightning Bolt: Sonic Citadel (Thrill Jockey) 
6. Avram Fefer Quartet: Testament (Clean Feed)
7. Emmeluth's Amoeba: Chimaera (Øra Fonogram)
8. Aki Takase Japanic: Thema Prima (Budapest Music Center Records) 
9. Steve Lehman Trio + Craig Taborn: The People I Love (Pi Recordings)
10. Taylor Ho Bynum 9-tette: The Ambiguity Manifesto (Firehouse Records)
11. Federico Ughi: Transoceanico (577 Records)
12. Fontaines D.C.: Dogrel (Partisan)
13. Purple Mountains: Purple Mountains (Drag City)
14. Matt Brewer w/Mark Shim and Damion Reid: Ganymede (Criss Cross Jazz)
15. Little Simz: GREY Area (Age 101)
16. Dave Rempis, Brandon Lopes & Ryan Packard: The Early Bird Gets (Aerophonic Records)
17. Gebhard Ullmann: mikroPULS (Intuition Records)
18. DKV & Joe McPhee: The Fire Each Time (6CD, Catalytic Sound)
19. Kaja Draksler, Petter Eldh & Christian Lillinger: Punkt.Vrt.Plastik (Intakt, 2018) 
20. jaimie branch: FLY or DIE II: bird dogs of paradise (Internaional Anthem)
21. Nature Work (Jason Stein/Greg Ward/Eric Revis/Jim Black): Nature Work (Sunnyside)
22. Abdullah Ibrahim: The Balance (Gearbox Records)
23. Steph Richards: Take the Neon Lights (Birdwatcher Records)
24. Tomeka Reid Quartet: Old New (Cuneiform Records)
25. The Big Yes: The Big Yes (Nakama Records) 
26. Allison Miller's Boom Tic Boom: Glitter Wolf (The Royal Potato Family)
27. Rich Halley Quartet: Terra Incognita (Pine Eagle Records)
28. Matt Mitchell: Phalanx Ambassadors (Pi Recordings)
29. Petter Eldh: Petter Eldh Presents Koma Saxo (We Jazz)
30. Todd Snider: Cash Cabin Sessions, Vol. 3 (Aimless Records)
31. black midi: Schlangenheim (Rough Trade) 
32. The Attic (Rodrigo Amado, Goncalo Almeida, Onno Govaert): Summer Bummer (NoBusiness)
33. Nick Dunston: Atlantic Extraction (Out Of Your Head Records)
34. The Big Yes: The Big Yes (Nakama Records) 
35. Kris Davis: Diatom Ribbons (Pyroclastic Records)
36. Junius Paul: Ism (International Anthem)
37. William Parker/In Order to Survive: Live/ShapeShifter (AUM Fidelity)
38. Large Unit Fendika: EthioBraz (PNL Records) 
39. Fire! Orchestra: Arrival (Rune Grammofon)
40. Art Ensemble of Chicago: We Are On The Edge: A 50th Anniversary Celebration (Pi Recordings)
41. Somersaults (Tobias Delius / Olie Brice / Mark Sanders): Numerology of Birdsong (West Hill Records) 
42. Fredrik Ljungkvist Trio: Atlantis (Moserobie Music Productions)
43. Gebhard Ullmann Basement Research: Impromptus and Other Short Works (WhyPlayJazz)
44. Ekiti Sound: Abeg No Vex (Crammed Disc)
45. Scheen Jazzorkester & Thomas Johansson: As We See It... (Clean Feed)
46. Aila Trio: Ailia Trio (Hoo-Ha Recordings)
47. Nick Mazzarella Trio: Counterbalance (Astral Spirits) 
48. Devin Gray's GPS Trio: Blast Beat Blues (Rataplan)
49. Christian Meaas Svendsen + Nakama + Rinzai Zen Center Oslo: New Rituals (Nakama)
50. Stella Donnely: Beware Of the Dogs (Secretly Canadian)
51. Burton Greene / Damon Smith / Ra Kalam Bob Moses: Life's Intense Mystery (Astral Spirits)
52. Carly Rae Jepsen: Dedicated (Intercscope)
53. Kel Assouf: Black Tenere (Glitterbeat)
54. Matana Roberts: Coin Coin Chapter Four: Memphis (Consellation)
55. Dan Weiss Trio + 1: Utica Box (Sunnyside Records)
56. Jamila Woods: Legacy! Legacy! (Jagjaguwar)
57. Maria Faust, Tim Dahl & Weasel Walter: Farm Fresh (Gotta Let It Out) 
58. Alex Fournier: Triio (Furniture Music Records)
59. Bjørn Marius Hegge: Ideas (Particular Recordings)
60. Devin Gray's GPS Trio: Blast Beat Blues (Rataplan Records) 
61. Ezra Furman: Twelve Nudes (Bella Union)
62. Angles 9: Beyond Us (Clean Feed) 
63. Cheekface: Therapy Island (NEw Professor Music)
64. Matthew Shipp Trio invites Nicole Mitchell: All Things Are (Rogue Art)
65. Old Man Saxon: Goldman Sax (Saxon Kincy) 
66. Mekons: Deserted (Glitterbeat)
67. Mdou Moctar: Ilana: The Creator(Sahel Sounds)
68. Iro Haarla, Ulf Krokfors & Barry Altschul: Around Again - The Music of Carla Bley (TUM)
69. Lind May Han Oh: Aventurine (Biophilia Records) 
70. Branford Marsalis Quartet: The Secret Between the Shadow and the Soul (OKeh)
71. Greg Ward presents Rogue Parade: Stompin' Off From Greenwood (Greenleaf Music)
72. Robert Forster: Inferno (Tapete)
73. Chemical Brothers: No Geography (Virgin)
74. Paal Nilssen-Love: New Brazilian Funk (PNL Records)
75. The Delines: The Imperial (Decor)
76. Sleater-Kinney: The Center Won't Hold (Mom + Pop Music)

 EP's/short albums/single track rereleases:

1. Irreversible Entanglements: "Homeless/Global" (International Anthem)

Reissues/vault:

1. Griot Galaxy: Kins (Third Man Records)
2. Clifford Jordan: Glass Bead Games (Purple Pleasure Records)
3. Detail: Day Two (NOBusiness Records)

Note: I included Eric Dolphy's Musical Prophet set on last year's list, as that was when I received the advance and wrote about it ahead of the record store day vinyl release.