"Top Ten" seems a rather arbitrary number, so here are my favorites out of about a thousand CDs which came my way last year. The selection is a personal choice based on musical merit and not necessarily popular appeal, sales, or airplay elsewhere. This is not a ranking, CDs are listed more or less in order received.
Grammy nominees are indicated with * except in the reissue/ historical section. The Grammy eligibility year is October through August, thus some of this year’s nominees appeared on our list last year, and some on this list may be nominated next year.
- Jim Wilke
Favorite Jazz | Reissues | Northwest | Earlier Picks
artist - album title - label ( * nominated for a Grammy )
Small groups -
Jimmy Owens - The Monk Project - IPO
Gary Smulyan - Smul’s Paradise - Capri
Steve Turre - Woody’s Delight - HighNote
Ben Riley Quartet - Grown Folks Music - Sunnyside
Joe Locke/Geoffrey Keezer Group - Signing - Motema
Hailey Niswanger - The Keeper - Calmit
Curtis Fuller - Down Home - Capri
*Pat Metheny - Unity Band - nonesuch
John Abercrombie - Within A Song - ECM
Joe Fielder’s Big Sackbut - Big Sackbut - Yellow Sound
*Chick Corea & Gary Burton - Hot House - Concord
Kait Dunton - Mountain Suite - R & I
Konitz/Frisell/Peacock/Baron - Enfants Terribles - Half Note
Lewis Nash Quintet - The Highest Mountain - Cellar Live
Bobby Hutcherson/Joey DeFrancesco - Somewhere In The Night - Kind Of Blue
Ed Cherry - It’s All Good - Positone
Winard Harper - Coexist - Jazz Legacy
Ernest Dawkins - Afro Straight - Delmark
*nominated for a Grammy
Pianists & Friends -
*Corea/Gomez/Motian - Further Explorations - Concord (2 CD)
Lynne Arriale - Solo - Motema
*Ahmad Jamal - Blue Moon - Jazz Village
Steve Kuhn Trio - Wisteria - ECM
Sumi Tonooka - Now - ARC (2 CD)
Eric Reed - The Baddest Monk - Savant
Fred Hersch Trio - Alive at The Vanguard - Palmetto (2 CD)
Brad Mehldau Trio - Where Do You Start - Nonesuch
George Cables - My Muse - HighNote
Marc Johnson / Eliane Elias - Swept Away - ECM
*nominated for a Grammy
Vocalists - including pianists who sing
Lorraine Feather - Tales of the Universal- Jazzed Media
Tessa Souter - Beyond The Blue - Motema
Cyrille Aimée & Diego Figueiredo - Smile
Allan Harris & Takana Miyaoto - Convergence - Love Productions
Sue Raney - Listen Here - Rhombus
Carol Welsman - Journey - Justin Time
Kevin Mahogany & Dave Stryker - Next Time You See Me - Mahogany Jazz
Jessica Molaskey & Dave Frishberg - At The Algonquin - Arbors Jazz
Claire Martin - Too Much in Love to Care - Linn
*Luciana Souza - Duos III - Sunnyside
*Kurt Elling - 1619 Broadway - Concord
Dena DeRose - Travelin’ Light - MaxJazz
Elizabeth Shepherd - Rewind - Linus
*nominated for a Grammy
Big Bands, Large Ensembles
Bob Brookemeyer/New Art Orch/Fay Claassen -Standards (11/11) - ArtistShare
Tall and Small Pete Christlieb/Linda Small - High On You - Bosco
Kenny Wheeler Big Band - The Long Waiting- CAM Jazz
*Arturo Sandoval - Dear Diz - Concord
*Ryan Truesdell - Centennial (Gil Evans) - ArtistShare
Arild Anderson/Scottish National Jazz Orch/Tommy Smith - Celebration - ECM
Mark Masters Ensemble - Ellington Saxophone Encounters - Capri
James Morrison - Snappy Too - Morrison
Mike Barone Big Band - Birdland - Rhubarb
* nominated for a Grammy
Afro-Cuban & Latin Jazz
*Chano Dominguez - Flamenco Sketches - Blue Note
Brazilian Trio - Constelação - Motema
Duduka da Fonseca Quintet - Samba Jazz/Jazz Samba - Anzic
*Manuel Valera - New Cuban Express - Mavo
Poncho Sanchez- Live in Hollywood - Concord Picante
Tania Maria - Tempo - Naïve
*Bobby Sanabria Big Band - Multiverse - Jazzheads
*Clare Fischer Latin Jazz Big Band - ¡Ritmo! - Clavo
* nominated for a Grammy
*Wes Montgomery - Echoes of Indiana Avenue - Resonance
*Cannonball Adderley Quintet - Legends Live - Jazz Haus
Hubert Laws - In The Beginning - CTI/Masterworks
*Dexter Gordon - Night Ballads - Montreal 1977 - Uptown
Freddie Hubbard - Straight Life - CTI/Masterworks
Stanley Turrentine - Don’t Mess With Mister T. - CTI/Masterworks Jazz
*Bill Evans - Live at Top of The Gate (1968)- Resonance
Woody Shaw- Woody Plays Woody- HighNote
*Zoot Sims - Lost Tapes Baden-Baden 1958 - Jazz Haus
*Duke Ellington Orchestra - Big Bands Live - Jazz Haus
Frank Wess/Johnny Coles - Two At The Top - Uptown
*historical recording first issued this year
For Pacific Northwest jazz fans in particular, here are some of the exceptional releases from artists living in Seattle, Portland, and Vancouver.
Clipper Anderson - The Road Home - Origin
Human Spirit - Dialogue Live at Earshot Festival - Origin
Cory Weeds - Up A Step - Cellar Live
Pearl Django - Eleven- Modern Hot
Ezra Weiss/Rob Scheps Big Band - Our Path To This Moment- Roark
Bill Anschell/Brent Jensen/Chris Symer - Blueprints - Origin
Jon Hamar - Hymn - Origin
Jeff Johnson - Suitcase - Origin
Johnny Conga - Oye! - Hand to Drum
The Cats / Jay Thomas et al - Neo-Boogaloo - Pony Boy
Earlier picks: 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 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. You can order here from amazon.com and it will benefit Jazz After Hours.
—Jim
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