Fave Jazz of 2018

I'm repeating myself, but doing year-end round-ups when the year isn't even over still feels a bit odd. That said, having voted in Francis Davis annual Jazz Critics Poll over the past 7 or so years, where votes are due at the beginning of December, has made me get used to a Thanksgiving to Thanksgiving "jazz season" of sorts. So, putting together a top 10 ballot for this year's edition of the Jazz Critics Poll is where and when this now expanded list was started. I do consider of whatever crosses my path after this "season" ends, of course, and have added a couple of notables here, too. Withthat out of the way, below is my list of the 50, which seemed an apt and sufficient amount at he time of posting, best jazz albums released since the turn of the year. An asterisk denotes that I've written about the album in question (see here and here for info about where and when). As has been my custom in recent year, I separate these recordings into sections rather than rank them in any strict, numbered manner. That said, they are loosely listed in order of preference.

Cream of the crop:

• Hanna Paulsberg + Magnus Broo: Daughter of the Sun (Odin) *
• Salim Washington: Dogon Revisited (Passin' Thru) *
• Trondheim Jazz Orchestra & Ole Morten Vågan: Happy Endlings (Odin) *
• Ken Vandermark, Klaus Kugel & Mark Tokar: No-Exit Corner (Not Two Records) *
• Henry Threadgill 14 or 15 Kestra: Agg: Dirt... And More Dirt (Pi Recordings) *

Heavy rotation:

• Angelika Niescier, Christopher Tordini & Tyshawn Sorey: The Berlin Concert (Intakt Records) *
• Daniel Carter, William Parker, Matthew Shipp: Seraphic Light (AUM Fidelity)*
• Erlend Olderskog Albertsen: RødssalG nEEn GlassdøR (Dugnad Rec.) *
• Rodrigo Amado, Joe McPhee, Kent Kessler, Chris Corsano: A History of Nothing (Trost Records)*
• Dave Holland, Evan Parker, Craig Taborn & Ches Smith: Uncharted Territories (Dare2 Records) *
• James Brandon Lewis & Chad Taylor: Radiant Imprints (Off) *
• The Necks, Body (Fish of Milk) *
• Johan Lindström Septet: Music For Empty Halls (Moserobie Music Productions) *
• Friends & Neighbors: What's Next (Clean Feed) *
• Myra Melford Snowy Egret: The Other Side of Air (Firehouse 12) *

Thoroughly enjoyed:

• Mia Dyberg Trio: Ticket! (Clean Feed)*
• María Grand: Magdalena (Biophilia)
• Kaja Draksler, Petter Eld, Christian Lillinger: Punkt.Vrt.Plastik (Intakt) *
• Fredrik Nordström: Needs (Clean Feed) 
• Adam Hopkins: Crickets (Out of Your Head Records)
• Harriet Tubman: The Terror End of Beauty (Sunnyside Records) 
• Bjørn Marius Hegge: The Creator Has a Bachelor Plan (Particular Recordings) * [review due to be published before the end of the year.]
• Tord Gustafsen Trio: The Other Side (ECM) *
• Moskus: Mirakler (Hubro) *
• Fay Victor's SoundNoiseFUNK: Wet Robots (ESP Disk') *
• Josephine Davies' Satori: In the Corner of Clouds (Whirlwind Recordings) * [published in Musikkmagasinet, Dec. 17th.]
• Jemeel Moondoc Quartet: The Astral Revelations (RogueArt)
• Brandon Lopez: quoniam facta sum vilis (Astral Spirits)
• Jason Stein's Locksmith Isidore: After Caroline (Northern Spy)
• Chris Pitsiokos CP Unit: Silver Bullet in the Autumn of Your Years (Clean Feed) 
• David S. Ware Trio: The Balance (Vision Festival XV +) (AUM FIdelity)
• The Heat Death: The Glenn Miller Sessions (Clean Feed) *
• Sylvie Courvoisier Trio: D'Agala (Intakt) *
• Tyshawn Sorey: Pillars (Firehouse 12)
• Barre Phillips:End to End (ECM)
• Håvard Wiik Trio: This Is Not a Waltz (Moserobie Music Productions, 2017)
• Igor Lumpert & Innertextures: Eleven (Clean Feed) 
• Christian McBride: Christian McBride's New Jawn (Mack Avenue Records)
• Luke Stewart: Work for Upright Bass and Amplifier (Astral Spirit)
• Bjørn Marius Hegge Trio: Assosiasjoner (Particular Recordings) *
• Lauren Sevian: Bliss (Posi-Tone)
• Steve Coleman and Five elements: Live at the Village Vanguard, Vol. 1 (The Embedded Sets) (Pi Recordings) *
• Mette Rasmussen & Chris Corsano: A View of the Moon (From the Sun) (Clean Feed) *
• Emmeluth's Amoeba: POLYP (Øra Fonogram)
• Espen Eriksen Trio & Andy Sheppard: Perfectly Unhappy (Rune Grammofon)
• Atomic: Pet Variations (Odin) *
• Mary Halvorson: Code Girl (Firehouse 12) *
• JD Allen: Love Stone (Savant)
• Amaro Freitas: Rasif (Far Out Recordings) 
• Orrin Evans and the Captain Black Big Band: Presence (Smoke Sessions)

Reissues/vault:

• Frode Gjerstad with William Parker and Hamid Drake: Frode Gjerstad with William Parker and Hamid Drake (4 CD, NotTwo Records) *
• Svein Finnerud Trio: Plastic Sun (ODIN) *
• Sonny Rollins: Way Out West (Deluxe) (Craft)
• Charles Mingus: Live In Detroit / Strata Concert Gallery / 46 Selden (BBE) *
• Anthony Braxton: The Essential Anthony Braxton: The Arista Years (Arista/Legacy)
• John Coltrane Quartets: Both Directions at Once: The Lost Album (Impulse!) *
• Miles Davis & John Coltrane: The Final Tour: The Bootleg Series Vol. 6 (Columbia/Legacy)
• Erik Andresen Quartet: GIP (Jazzaggression Records)

(The Ornette Coleman 10 LP box set The Atlantic Years (Atlantic/Rhino) would trump pretty much any music any year, but though I know the music contained here inside out, I do not own this particular box set and so I only mention this in passing here rather than add it to the list proper).

PS: If you think the album is a silly concept to care about in the era of streaming, then 1) you tell that to musicians who have spent time and energy writing compositions, hours practicing with a group of musicians (regulars or not) that they probably already had in mind when writing the music and whom they have to pay for their services as they also have to do for studio time. Go tell them that they should only record a single in stead. 2) f*ck the exploitative nature of the current streaming services, and finally 3) f*ck off!

Fave Jazz of 2017 and the 2017 NPR Music Jazz Critics Poll

The results of the 2017 NPR Music Jazz Critics Poll, as usual conducted by Francis Davis, were posted on the 20th of December. The winner in what I thought would be a close race from a year with so much great jazz, but no clear consensus recording, turned out to be Vijay Iyer Sextet's Far From Over in something of a landslide. Further proof that Iyer is cementing a place as a universally respected artist. It was one of several excellent albums from what turned out to be a terrific year for jazz in the running for place on my ballot, losing out in the very last minute. Which is to say, on any other day it might have been included, as could a handful of others.

For me as I'm sure for many others, it makes little sense to set a top 10 in stone. Heck, a top 10 itself doesn't really make all that much sense. By the end of a given year, my fave list usually consists of a few -- most often three or four, sometimes less rarely more -- releases that have engaged, enthralled and moved me profoundly in ways that set them apart from all the other great music I might have heard that particular year. After that, there's a selection from a further pile of terrific albums that float in the zone just below. Picking the remaining releases from that stack to create a top 10 is a rather off the cuff exercise, the results depending on several, seemingly haphazard things such as day form, how recently I've heard a particular recording, and so on and so forth.

In any case, my ballot for the 2017 Jazz Critics Poll can be accessed via this link (more specifically on this page: scroll down or do a page search). But for my personal run down of my favorite jazz albums of the year, I'll instead go with the format I have used in recent years, and separate them into a three categories that makes more sense to me. Happy listening, and Happy Holidays!

MUSIC FOR THE AGES:

• William Parker Quartets: Meditation / Resurrection (AUM Fidelity) [reviewed for Musikkmagasinet/Klassekampen July 3., 2017] -- The New York eminence has achieved similar artistic heights previously, but the juxtaposition of his two celebrated quartets -- one groove focused and bop-tinged, the other more abstract and experimental, with Parker and drummer Hamid Drake's distinctive rhythmic interplay the beating heart of both -- mirrors two sides of Parker's qualities as composer, band leader and musician, providing a rich picture of a remarkable artist in the process. Few if any create avant-jazz this warm, engaging, energetic, burning and soulful as Willim Parker does.
• Angles 9: Disappeared Behind the Sun (Clean Feed) [reviewed for Musikkmagasinet/Klassekampen, Febrary 27., 2017] -- Angles 9 come at you as a boisterous, mini big band, with poignant melodies, similarly captivating rhythms and deceptively unruly music that mines the tension between sorrow and joy, with winning results.
• Harriet Tubman (feat. Wadada Leo Smith): Araminta (Sunnyside Records) [reviewed for Musikkmagasinet/Klassekampen, March 6., 2017] -- Araminta is a onse the most unsettling yet uplifting and powerful collection of music Harriet Tubman have made yet, and one of this year's most gripping listening experiences.

ON HEAVY ROTATION:

• Trio 3 (Andrew Cyrille, Oliver Lake, Reggie Workman): Visiting Texture (Intakt Records) [reviewed for Musikkmagasinet/Klassekampen, April 10., 2017]
• Jaimie Branch: Fly or Die (International Anthem) [reviewed for Musikkmagasinet/Klassekampen, May 29., 2017]
• Eric Revis: Sing Me Some Cry (Clean Feed) [reviewed for Jazznytt #244]
• AKMEE: Neptun (Nakama Records) [reviewed for Musikkmagasinet/Klassekampen, June 19., 2017]
• Cortex: Avant-Garde Party Music (Clean Feed)[reviewed for Musikkmagasinet/Klassekampen, October 16., 2017]
• Mike Reed, Flesh & Bone (482 Music) [reveiwed for Musikkmagasinet/Klassekampen, August 28., 2017]
• Aki Takase & David Murray: Cherry - Sakura (Intakt Records)
• Matt Mitchell: A Pouting Grimace (Pi Recordings)
• Gard Nilssen Acoustic Unity: Live In Europe (Clean Feed)
• Kate Gentile: Mannequins (Skirl Records) [reviewed for Jazznytt #244]
• Vijay Iyer Sextet: Far From Over (ECM) [reviewed for Musikkmagasinet/Klassekampen, September 18., 2017]
• Nate Wooley: Knknighgh (Minimal Poetry for Aram Saroyan) (Clean Feed) [reviewed for Jazznytt #244]
• Team Hegdal: Vol. 4 (Particular Recordings Collective)
• Alexander Hawkins: Unit[e] (self-released) 
• Hegge: Vi är ledsna men du får inte längre vara barn (Particular Recordings)
• Lisa Mezzacappa: avantNOIR (Clean Feed) [reviewed for Musikkmagasinet/Klassekampen, February 20., 2017]
• Matthew Shipp Trio: Piano Song (Thirsty Ear) [reviewed for Musikkmagasinet/Klassekampen, February 6., 2017]
• Pedro Melo Alves' Omniae Ensemble: Omniae Ensemble (Nischo)
• Satoko Fujii Orchestra New York: Fukushima (Libra Records) [reviewed for Musikkmagasinet/Klassekampen, December 18., 2017]
• Large Unit: Fluku (PNL) [reviewed for Musikkmagasinet/Klassekampen, December 18., 2017]

THOROUGHLY ENJOYED:

• Craig Taborn: Daylight Ghosts (ECM) 
• Liza Mezzacappa: Glorious Ravage (self-released)
• David S. Ware Trio: Live in New York 2010 (AUM Fidelity) [reviewed for Jazznytt #244]
• Satoko Fujii Orchestra Tokyo: Peace (Libra Records)
• Pereservation Hall Jazz Band: So It Is (Legacy)
• Wadada Leo Smith: Najwa (TUM) [reviewed for Jazznytt #245]
• CP Unit: Before the Heat Deadth (Clean Feed)
• Tyshawn Sorey: Versimilitude (Pi Recordings) [reviewed for Musikkmagasinet/Klassekampen, August 21., 2017]
• Rudresh Mahanthappa’s Indo-Pak Coalition: Agrima (self-released) [reviewed for Musikkmagasinet/Klassekampen, November 20., 2017]
• Roswell Rudd-Fay Victor-Lafayette Harris-Ken Filiano: Embrace (RareNoise) [reviewed for Jazznytt #245]
• FCT (Francesco Cusa Trio meets Carlo Atti): From Sun Ra to Donald Trump (Clean Feed)
• Eivind Opsvik Overseas: Overseas V (Loyal Label) [reviewed for Musikkmagasinet/Klassekampen, March 20., 2017)]
• Kirk Knuffke: Cherryco (SteepleChase)
• Atomic: Six Easy Pieces (Odin) [reviewed for Musikkmagasinet/Klassekampen, Febrary 27., 2017]
• Nicole Mitchell and Haki Madhubuti: Liberation Narratives (Black Earth Music)
• JD Allen: Radio Flyer (Savant) [reviewed for Jazznytt #244]
• Goncalo Almeida-Rodrigo Amado-Marco Franco: The Attic (NoBusiness)
• Steve Coleman's Natal Eclipse: Morphogenesis (Pi Recordings) 
• Miguel Zenón: Típico (Miel Music) 
• Nicole Mitchell: Mandorla Awakening II: Emerging Worlds (FPE Records) 
• Max Johnson: In the West (Clean Feed) [reviewed for Jazznytt #244]
• Jonas Sjøvåg, Karl Seglem, Sigurd Hole: West Wind Drift (Shipwreckords)
• Angelica Sanchez Trio: Float the Edge (Clean Feed) [reviewed for Jazznytt #243]
• Harris Eisenstadt Canada Day Quartet: On Parade in Parede (Clean Feed) 
• Billy Meier: Introducing... Billy Meier (Just For the Records)
• The Mess (Brandon Lopez, Chris Corsano, Sam Yulsman): Holy Holy (Tombed Vision Records)
• Brandon Seabrook: Die Trommel Fatale (New Atlantis)
• The Necks: Unfold (Ideologic Organ)
• Trespass Trio: The Spirit of Pitesti (Clean Feed) 
• John Pål Inderberg Trio: Linjedalsleiken (Ponca Jazz Records)
• Jane Ira Bloom: Wild Lines: Improvising Emily Dickinson (Outline) 
• Roligheten: Homegrown (Clean Feed)
• The Microscopic Septet: Been Up So Long it Looks Like Down to Me: The Micros Play the Blues (Cuneiform Records) 
• Amor Amok: We Know Not What We Do (Intakt Records) 
• Roots Magic: Last Kind Words (Clean Feed)
• Led Bib: Umbrella Weather (RareNoise Records)
• Mind Games: Ephemera Obscura (Slean Feed)
• Tim Berne's Snakeoil, Incidentals (ECM) [reviewed for Musikkmagasinet/Klassekampen, September 18., 2017]
• Wadada Leo Smith: Solo: Reflections and Meditations on Monk (TUM) [reviewed for Jazznytt #245]
• Scheen Jazzorkester & Audun Kleive: Politur Passiarer (Losen)
• Ross Hammond: Follow Your Heart (Prescott Recordings)
• Jeremy Pelt: Make Noise (High Note)
• Julia Ulehla & Aram Bajakian/Dálava: The Book of Transfigurations (Songlines Recordings)  
• 1982: Chromola (Hubro)
• Noah Perminger: Meditations on Freedom (self released)
• Ahmad Jamal: Marseille (Jazz Village) 
• Friends & Neighbors: What's Wrong (Clean Feed)
• Ben Allison: Layers of the City (Sonic Camera Recordings) [reviewed for Jazznytt #244]
• Jeremy Pelt: Make Noise! (HighNote)

Reissues and vault music:

• Dave Holland: Conference of the Birds (ECM) 
• Spontaneous Music Ensemble: Karyobin (Emanem)
• Thelonious Monk: Les Liaisons Dangereuses (1960) (Sam Records) [reviewed for Musikkmagasinet/Klassekampen, May 8., 2017)
• Winston Mankunku Ngozi Quartet: Yakhal' Inkomo (Jazzman Holy Grail Series)