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Many people ask me every year for my picks of the best jazz CDs. While not fond of "Top Ten" lists, here is a compilation of some of the best out of more than a thousand CDs which came my way last year.

Favorite Jazz | Northwest


Jim's Favorite Jazz CDs of 1997

artist - album title - label

Joe Lovano - Celebrating Sinatra - Blue Note
Brad Mehldau - The Art Of The Trio - Warner Bros
Bob Florence - LE Earth - MAMA
Chick Corea & Friends - Remembering Bud Powell - Stretch/Concord
Jimmy McGriff - The Dream Team - Milestone
Metheny & Haden - Beyond the Missouri Sky - Verve
NY Hardbop Qnt - Rokermotin - TCB
Kurt Elling - The Messenger - Blue Note
John Coltrane - Blue Train (Enhanced CD) - Blue Note
Bobby Shew - Playing With Fire - Mama Records
Doc Cheatham & Nicholas Payton - Verve
Eddie Harris - Freedom Jazz Dance - MusicMasters
Eddie Harris - The Last Concert - ACT
Jerry Granelli - Broken Circle - Intuition
Claudio Roditi - Double Standards - Reservoire
Milt Jackson - Sa Va Bella (For Lady Legends) - Qwest/Warner Bros
Bill Holman Band - Brilliant Corners: Music of Monk - JVC
Roy Hargrove’s Crisol Habana - Verve
Jessica Williams - Higher Standards - Candid
Wynton Marsalis LCJO - Blood On The Fields - Columbia
Al Cohn & Zoot Sims - Body and Soul - 32 Jazz
James Moody/Mark Turner - The Two Tenors - Warner Bros
One For All/Eric Alexander - Too Soon To Tell - Sharp Nine
Hancock & Shorter - 1 + 1 - Verve
Watts, Christlieb, Woodard - The Tenor Trio - JMT
Jessica Williams - Jessica’s Blues - Jazz Focus
Phil Woods & Fest Orch - Celebration - Concord
Steve Swallow - Deconstructed Extra Watt 9
Anthony Wilson - Anthony Wilson - Mama
J.J.Johnson - The Brass Orchestra - Verve
Bud Shank Plays The Music of Bill Evans - Fresh Sound
Pete (LaRoca) Sims - Swingtime - Blue Note
Kevin Mahogany - Another Time Another Place - Warner Bros
Cedar Walton Art Blakey Legacy - Evidence
T.S. Monk - Monk on Monk - N2K
Tommy Flanagan - Sea Changes - Evidence
The Heath Brothers - As We Were Saying... - Concord
Diana Krall - Love Scenes - impulse
Don Braden - The Voice of the Saxophone - RCA Victor
Art Farmer - Silk Road - Arabesque
Barry Harris - First Time Ever - Evidence
Jessica Williams - Jessica’s Blues - Jazz Focus
Oscar Peterson - Oscar In Paris - Telarc 2 CD
Rob McConnell & BB Play the Jazz Classics - Concord
Poncho Sanchez - Freedom Sound (w.Felder & Henderson) - Concord Picante
Horace Silver - A Prescription For The Blues - impulse
Rumba Club ¡Mamacita! - Palmeto
Joe Henderson - Porgy & Bess - Verve
Jerome Richardson - Jazz Station Runawa - y TCB
Mark Murphy - Song For The Geese - RCA Victor
Bob Dorough - Right On My Way Home - Blue Note
Mark Murphy - Stolen...and Other Moments - 32 Jazz
Jim Hall - Panorama - Telarc
Dianne Reeves - That Day - Blue Note
Konitz/Mehldau/Haden - Alone Together - Blue Note
Gary Burton/Chick Corea - Native Sense - Stretch
Gerry Mulligan - The Quartets - Hindsight
Rahsaan Roland Kirk - Dog Years in The Fourth Ring - 32 Jazz (3 CD)
Fred Hersch & Friends - The Duo Album - Classical Action
Stephane Grappelli - Celebrating Grappelli - Honest
The Vanguard Jazz Orch Lickety Split - Music of Jim McNeely - New World Records
Joe Pass & NDR Band - Joe Pass In Hamburg - ACT



Best Northwest Jazz CDs of 1997

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

Bert Wilson - Endless Fingers - Arabesque Jazz
Al Hood/Michael Davenport - Friends - Alea
Warren Rand - Dameron II-V - Aspen Grove
Milo Petersen - Visting Dignitaries - Passage
Marriott Jazz Quintet - Open Season - Red RasPus
Jessica Williams - Jessica’s Blues - Jazz Focus
Dan Faehnle - My Ideal - Pillar
Greg Williamson & BBGS - Swing Your Big Head (E-CD) - Pony Boy
Oregon - Northwest Passage - Intuition
New Stories - Remember Why - Origin Records
Don Lanphere - Don Still Loves Midge - Hep Jazz
Ramsay/Kleeb Band - Kelly’s Heroes - CARS Productions
The Dan Heck Trio - Go To Work! - Trio Records
Jay Clayton - Circle Dancing - Sunnyside



Final note—buy any CD off this list and I guarantee you're getting some great music! Every one of these releases has received or is now getting 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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