The 2019 NPR Music Jazz Critics Poll

Results for the 2019 edition of Francis Davis' Jazz Critics Poll, for the past two years hosted by NPR, were posted yesterday. In a year where I could see now clear consensus favorite in advance, it was still not that surprising too see Kris Davis' Diatom Ribbons take the no. 1 spot, considering it received a good deal of buzz late in the year. Happy to see James Brandon Lewis' An Unruly Manifesto make the top 20, especially considering he did most of the albums promotion himself, as well as the strong finish for Anna Webber's Clockwise. Steve Lehman is be now a long-time favorite who continues to impress in many formats, and even if The People I Love didn't resonate with me quite as much as  Dialect Flourescent or Selebeyone, it's still a terrific release by one of this generations leading and most original musicians, composers and improvisors. Disappointed, though, that neither Per 'Texas' Johansson/Torbjörn Zetterberg/Konrad Agnas nor Gard Nilssen Acoustic Unity, who both released stellar albums, made the top 50, but at least I did my bit.

Speaking of things I did, I blurbed the winner of the Rara Avis category (re-issues, vault releases and similar), Musical Prophet, which covers Eric Dolphy's 1963 New York sessions. This, along with the results, plus Francis Davis' essay can be accessed via the link up top, while individual ballots (also available via the main article) are as always hosted by Tom Hull and can be accessed here. You should go check them all out, it's half the fun of such polls, but I'm posting mine below.

NEW RELEASES

1. James Brandon Lewis, An UnRuly Manifesto (Relative Pitch)
2. Per "Texas" Johansson-Torbjörn Zetterberg-Konrad Agnas, Orakel (Moserobie)
3. Anna Webber, Clockwise (Pi)
4. Gard Nilssen Acoustic Unity, To Whom Who Buys a Record (Odin)
5. Emmeluth's Amoeba, Chimaera (Ora Fonogram)
6. Avram Fefer Quartet, Testament (Clean Feed)
7. Aki Takase Japanic, Thema Prima (BMC)
8. Federico Ughi, Transoceanico (577)
9. Steve Lehman Trio & Craig Taborn, The People I Love (Pi)
10. Taylor Ho Bynum 9-tette, The Ambiguity Manifesto (Firehouse 12)

REISSUES/HISTORICAL

1. Eric Dolphy, Musical Prophet: The Expanded 1963 New York Studio Sessions (Resonance -3CD -18)
2. Detail, Day Two (1982, NoBusiness)
3. Griot Galaxy, Kins (1981, Third Man)

VOCAL

• Art Ensemble of Chicago, We Are on the Edge: A 50th Anniversary Celebration (Pi -2CD)

DEBUT

• Nick Dunston, Atlantic Extraction (Out of Your Head)

LATIN

• Wayne Wallace Latin Jazz Quintet, The Rhythm of Invention (Patois)