Each year I'm asked for my picks of the best jazz CDs. While not fond of "Top Ten" lists, here is a list of my favorites out of more than a thousand CDs which came my way last year.

Favorite Jazz | Reissues | Northwest | Earlier Picks

artist - album title - label

Marial Solal - Dodecaband Plays Ellington - Dreyfus Jazz
John Scofield - Works For Me - Verve
Larry Goldings Trio - As One - Palmetto
One For All - The Long Haul - Criss Cross
Jim McNeely - Group Therapy - Omnitone
Shirley Horn - You’re My Thrill - Verve
David Fathead Newman - Keep The Spirits Singing - High Note
Gary Burton - For Hamp, Red, Bags and Cal - Concord
Joe Lovano - Flights of Fancy - Blue Note
Mark Elf - Swingin’ - Jen Bay
Nancy Marano - Sure Thing - BluePort
Chris Potter- Gratitude - Verve
Von Freeman - Live at The Dakota - Premonition
Joshua Redman - Passage of Time - Warner Bros
Dizzy Gillespie Alumni - Dizzy’s World - Shanachie
Roseanna Vitro - Thoughts Of Bill Evans/ Conviction - A Records
Ian Shaw - Soho Stories - Milestone
Mary Stallings - Live at The Village Vanguard - MaxJazz
Nicholas Payton - Dear Louis - Verve
Fred Hersch - Songs Without Words - Nonesuch 3 CD
Benny Golson - One Day, Forever - Arkadia Jazz
Michel & Tony Petrucciani - Conversation - Dreyfus Jazz
Charlie Haden - Nocturne - Verve
Eric Alexander - The Second Milestone - Milestone
Kenny Barron/Regina Carter - Freefall - Verve
Karrin Allyson- Ballads/Remembering Coltrane - Concord
Terence Blanchard - Let’s Get Lost - Sony Classical
Freddy Cole - Rio de Janeiro - Blue Telarc
Brother Jack McDuff - Brotherly Love - Concord
Michael Brecker - Nearness Of You - Verve
Rumba Club - Radio Mundo - Palmetto
Jessica Williams - I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart - Hep
Clark Terry - Herr Ober - Nagel Heyer
The Be-Bop Guitars ... and more! - www.bebopguitars.com
Joe Magnarelli - Mr.Mags - Criss Cross
Pat Martino - Live at Yoshi’s - Blue Note
Paul Motian & EBBB - Europe - Winter & Winter
Clark Terry -Live on QE 2 - Chiaroscuro
Phil Woods - Voyage - Chiaroscuro
Stacey Kent - Dreamsville - Candid
Tierney Sutton - Blue In Green - Telarc Jazz
Steve Turre - TNT - Telarc Jazz
John Swana - Philly Gumbo - Criss Cross
Gonzalo Rubalcaba - Supernova - Blue Note
Madeline Eastman - Bare - Mad Kat
Charles Lloyd - Hyperion with Higgins - ECM
Dave Holland Qnt - Not for Nothin’ - ECM
Kurt Elling - Flirting With Twilight - Blue Note
Ray Barretto/New World Spirit - Transcendance - Circular Moves
Roy Haynes - Birds of a Feather
Rick Margitza - Memento - Palmetto
Poncho Sanchez - Latin Spirits - Concord Picante
Brad Mehldau - Progression: Art Of the Trio, Vol.5 - Warner Bros
Bob Brookmeyer - Holiday - Challenge
Jim Rotondi - Destination Up - Sharp Nine
UNI Jazz Band 1, Robt.Washut - Leap of Faith - Sea Breeze
Jim Hall & Basses - Telarc
John McLean - Easy Go - Premoniton
Tom Harrell - Paradise - BMG Bluebird
Michael Wolff - Intoxicate - Indianola Music
Buddy Montgomery - A Love Affair in Paris - Space Time
McCoy Tyner - plays John Coltrane - impulse
Andy Bey - Tuesdays in Chinatown - N-coded music
Cyrus Chestnut - Soul Food - Division One/ Atlantic
Jane Bunnett - Alma de Santiago - Blue Note
Kenny Werner - Form and Fantasy - Night Bird Music
Mike LeDonne - Bags Groove - Double-Time
Dave Brubeck - The Crossing -Telarc
Ray Anderson - Bonemeal - Raybone Music
Classical Jazz Quartet - Tchaiovsky’s The Nutcracker- Vertical Jazz
Plas Johnson / Red Holloway- Keep That Groove Going!- Milestone
Etta Jones - Sings Lady Day - High Note
David Hazeltine - Good-Hearted People - Criss Cross
Nancy Wilson - A Nancy Wilson Christmas - Manchester Craftsmens Guild
Mark Murphy - Links - High Note
Cedar Walton - The Promise Land - High Note
Carol Sloane - I Never Went Away - High Note
Houston Person - Blue Velvet - High Note
Cal Collins - That Was Good! - R & L Records
Cuban Masters - Los Originales - Pimenta




Paul Chambers/ Wynton Kelly - Complete VeeJay Sessions- Mosaic
Helen Carr - Complete Bethlehem Collection - Bethlehem / Avenue Jazz
Dave Brubeck Quartet - at Carnegie Hall - Columbia Legacy 2 CD
Miles Davis - The Essential Miles Davis - Columbia/ Legacy
Miles Davis - The Best of Miles & Coltrane - Columbia Legacy
Oscar Peterson - The Composer- Pablo
Dexter Gordon - L.T.D. - Prestige
Bill Evans - The Paris Concert Edition 1& 2- Blue Note
Willie the Lion Smith - Memoirs (music & narration) - Koch Jazz
Pony Poindexter - Pony’s Expess - Koch Jazz
Thelonious Monk - The Columbia Years - ‘62- ‘68 - Columbia / Legacy 3 CD
Modern Jazz Quartet/ Laurindo Almeida - Collaboration - Label M
Hot Lips Page - Jump for Joy - Columbia Legacy
Woody Herman - Blowin’ Up A Storm - Columbia Legacy 2 CD
Frank Rosolino - Thinking About You - Sackville 2 CD
Thelonious Monk - Live at the Jazz Workshop - Columbia Legacy 2 CD
Thelonious Monk - Monk In Tokyo - Columbia Legacy 2 CD
Mingus Big Band - The Essential Mingus Big Band - Dreyfus Jazz
Joe Pass - Complete Pacific Jazz Sessions - Mosaic
Hank Crawford & Jimmy McGriff - the Best of - Milestone
Woody Shaw - Live Vol. 2 - High Note
Sonny Stitt - Complete Roost Studio Sessions - Mosaic 9 CDs

For Northwest jazz fans in particular, here are some of the exceptional releases from artists living in this part of the country.

Jovino Santos Neto - Ao Vivo Em Olympia - Liquid City
Richard Boukas & Jovino Santos Neto - Balaio (Basket) - Malandro
Jeff Johnson - The Art of Falling - Origin
Brian Nova - Blue and Bossa Nova - Pony Boy
Aaron Parks - The Wizard - Keynote
Jay Clayton - Brooklyn 2000 - Sunnyside
Becca Duran - If You Could See Me Now - Merrimack/ McVouty
Jay Thomas - Live at Tula’s, Vol.2 - Merrimack/ McVouty
Rick Mandyck/ John Stowell - Scenes - Origin
Dan Balmer - Change of Heart - alt rnativ ja z (yes, that's really the way it's spelled!)
Alan Jones - The Leroy Vinnegar Suite - www.alanjonesmusic.com
Don Lanphere - Home at Last - Origin
Susan Pascal - The Plymouth Trio - Plymouth Church
Ian McDougall- Burnin’ the House Down
Rebecca Kilgore - Moments Like This - Heavywood (reissue)

Earlier picks: 2000  1999  1998  1997


Buy any CD on this list and you're guaranteed some great music! Each of these CDs has received frequent airplay on Jazz After Hours and/or Jazz Northwest.

—Jim


Amazon.com is an easy way to order the music you're looking for. That CD could be in your mailbox in a couple of days by clicking here.



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