Best Of 2009

[NIS]

Just checking out the new one from Daniel Levin - Live At Roulette and it sounds mighty fine. In fact, all of the titles from the Clean Feed label look pretty interesting. Any of you have any knowledge of these titles or artists?

For my taste, Denmon Maroney's Udentity is one of the best new releases I've heard in years. I bought it several months ago and still play it often. Read a good review here: http://freejazz-stef.blogspot.com/2009/02/...t-udentity.html.

Clean Feed does release alot of interesting stuff. I'm afraid they could break the bank if I wasn't careful.

[bluesForBartok]

For my taste, Denmon Maroney's Udentity is one of the best new releases I've heard in years. I bought it several months ago and still play it often. Read a good review here: http://freejazz-stef.blogspot.com/2009/02/...t-udentity.html.

Clean Feed does release alot of interesting stuff. I'm afraid they could break the bank if I wasn't careful.

Thanks so much NIS! I'm gonna dive into the Denman Maroney recording next.

[bluesForBartok]

For my taste, Denmon Maroney's Udentity is one of the best new releases I've heard in years. I bought it several months ago and still play it often. Read a good review here: http://freejazz-stef.blogspot.com/2009/02/...t-udentity.html.

Clean Feed does release alot of interesting stuff. I'm afraid they could break the bank if I wasn't careful.

Thanks so much NIS! I'm gonna dive into the Denman Maroney recording next.

So the Denman Maroney is really great. Thanks again for recommendation. I also discovered this title by the Trespass Trio which I really dug as well.

[okierambler]

Finally had time today to download and (more importantly) actually listen to Mostly Coltrane, the new one from the Steve Kuhn Trio with Joe Lovano. It is a lovely album. The trio is in perfect sync and Lovano sounding more like a full member than a special guest. I recall reading recently that Kuhn played with 'Trane before McCoy Tyner came on board, so its interesting to imagine this as an "alternative history" or vision of what might have been.

[AccuJazz]

RE: Clean Feed: Two creative Chicago groups put out releases on Clean Feed this year: Lucky 7s with Pluto Junkyard and Herculaneum with Herculaneum III. Lucky 7s includes some really notable Chicago players: the aforementioned Josh Berman as well as saxophonist Keefe Jackson, vibist Jason Adasiewicz, and New Orleans trombonist Jeff Albert, who came out with a very good CD under his own name earlier this year (Similar in the Opposite Way. Pluto Junkyard is really good. It's full of extended compositions with inventive interactions of improvised and composed elements. Surprising contrasts of texture seems to be a big theme in this scene, too.

I haven't heard the Herculaneum CD yet but am considering shelling out some dough for it; their debut, Orange Blossom, on 482 Music, is one of my favorite CDs of the last few years, and, being a radio programmer, I've heard hundreds of CDs from that time.

Other favorites from 2009:

Vijay Iyer - Historicity (due out later this year)

John Hebert - Byzantine Monkey

The Story - The Story (group of highly educated twenty somethings making really, really good use of all their learnin')

Bobby Broom - Plays for Monk

Steve Lehman - Travail, Transformation, and Flow

Carl Allen and Rodney Whitaker - Work to Do

Sam Yahel - Hometown

Darcy James Argue - Infernal Machines

Allen Toussaint - The Bright Mississippi

Matt Renzi - Lunch Special

Jeff Tain Watts - Watts

Julian Lage - Sounding Point

Fareed Haque - Flat Planet

The Bad Plus - For All I Care

October Trio - Looks Like It's Going to Snow

Blue Note 7 - Mosaic

Joshua Redman - Compass

Ones I need to listen to more:

Steve Kuhn

Fly

James Carney - Ways & Means

Kurt Elling - Dedicated to You

Darwin Noguera - The Gardener

Kevin Tkacz - It's Not What You Think

[Hot Ptah]

Great thread. Mentioned elsewhere on the board, but have to put in a plug for Josh Berman, OLD IDEA (on Delmark).

Yes, I was going to post that Josh Berman's "Old Idea" belongs on the Best of 2009 list.

[kh1958]

Avery Sharpe Trio--Autumn Moonlight

With Onaje Allan Gumbs on piano and Winard Harper on drums.

Gumbs is playing the piano really well these days, and this is a working group that sounds fine together.

[Clunky]

Great thread. Mentioned elsewhere on the board, but have to put in a plug for Josh Berman, OLD IDEA (on Delmark).

Yes, I was going to post that Josh Berman's "Old Idea" belongs on the Best of 2009 list.

Very fine indeed, great CD

[Guest Bill Barton]

Great thread. Mentioned elsewhere on the board, but have to put in a plug for Josh Berman, OLD IDEA (on Delmark).

Yes, I was going to post that Josh Berman's "Old Idea" belongs on the Best of 2009 list.

Very fine indeed, great CD

Another enthusiastic for Josh Berman!!!!!

And the other new Delmark, Renegades by Nicole Mitchell's Black Earth Strings is also impressive.

[Guest Bill Barton]

Etienne Charles - Folklore - www.etiennecharles.com

Music inspired by Caribbean folklore...

Another trumpeter/flugelhornist on the rise...

Edited July 21, 2009 by Bill Barton

[Guest Bill Barton]

Hailey Niswanger - Confeddie - www.haileyniswanger.com

This young woman is a major talent.

[Jay]

Here are a few that stood out from a recent batch of review discs:

Peter Brotzman et al: Hairy Bones OKKA

Rick Germanson Trio: Off The Cuff OWL (lovely paino jazz with Louis Hayes!)

The Fully Celebrated: Drunk On The Blood Of The Holy Ones AUM Fidelity

I also loved the newest DarkBlueWorld record (The Perilous Beauty of Madness) on Drip Audio (what is with these Vancouverites lately? They are making some wonderful records out on the coast), but it is not really a jazz record.

[okierambler]

I haven't heard all the discs mentioned in this thread (yet). But thanks to tips I've picked up here (and in other threads), I've revised my "best of list" quite a bit.

In alphabetical order:

Darcy James Argue's Secret Society - Infernal Machines (New Amsterdam Records)

Diego Barber - Calima

Bobby Broom - Plays for Monk (Origin)

Fly - Sky and Country (ECM)

George Gazone - Among Friends (Stunt)

Tom Harrell - Prana Dance (High Hat)

Steve Kuhn Quartet with Joe Lovano - Mostly Coltrane (ECM)

Masada - Stolas: The Book of Angels, Vol. 12 (Tzadik)

Andy Sheppard - Movements in Colour (ECM)

John Surman - Brewster's Rooster (ECM)

Alan Tousaint - Bright Mississippi (Nonesuch)

John Zorn - Alhambra Love Songs (Tzadik)

John Zorn - O'o (Tzadik)

[jlhoots]

Great thread. Mentioned elsewhere on the board, but have to put in a plug for Josh Berman, OLD IDEA (on Delmark).

Yes, I was going to post that Josh Berman's "Old Idea" belongs on the Best of 2009 list.

Very fine indeed, great CD

Another enthusiastic for Josh Berman!!!!!

And the other new Delmark, Renegades by Nicole Mitchell's Black Earth Strings is also impressive.

Apropos of this "Chicago" leaning, I like the Mike Reed led CDs I've heard this year.

[Shawn]

I haven't really heard any new jazz releases this year, need to read through this thread and check some out.

In the "non-jazz" department my favorite releases so far:

Mastodon - Crack The Skye: unbelievably dense progressive rock/metal, that is somehow catchy at the same time.

Heaven & Hell - The Devil You Know: aka Black Sabbath w/Dio, these old codgers can still summon Beelzebub with timeless doom laden riffage.

YOB - The Great Cessation: After hanging out with Iommi & Co., Beelzebub heads off to Eugene Oregon to hang out with Prog/Doom weirdos YOB, much detuned herb influenced sludge ensues. This album turned my hair white overnight.

Edited August 17, 2009 by Shawn

[Bol]

Thanks to Ghost and others for the recommendation of Josh Berman's "Old Idea". A fantastic recording!! Has anyone tried other recordings with Berman?

[relyles]

Thanks to Ghost and others for the recommendation of Josh Berman's "Old Idea". A fantastic recording!! Has anyone tried other recordings with Berman?

They received a bit of discussion on a Chicago Jazz thread by Larry kart a while back, but Jason Adasiewicz, Rolldown and Keefe Jackson's Ready Everyday are both fine recordings that feature Berman. There is also a live set issued by Luminescence that also features a Keefe Jackson set as well.

Edited August 18, 2009 by relyles

[Guest Bill Barton]

Great thread. Mentioned elsewhere on the board, but have to put in a plug for Josh Berman, OLD IDEA (on Delmark).

Yes, I was going to post that Josh Berman's "Old Idea" belongs on the Best of 2009 list.

Very fine indeed, great CD

Another enthusiastic for Josh Berman!!!!!

And the other new Delmark, Renegades by Nicole Mitchell's Black Earth Strings is also impressive.

Apropos of this "Chicago" leaning, I like the Mike Reed led CDs I've heard this year.

I've also been impressed with recent releases from Katalyst Entertainment out of Chicago. Some are re-issues, and at least one is "new": the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble Mama's House Live is absolutely killer. This is the edition with Kahil El'Zabar, Ernest Khabeer Dawkins and Corey Wilkes. They've also re-issued Roscoe Mitchell The Solo Concert (originally on Sackville) and the ultra-rare On the Beach from Philip Cohran and the Artistic Heritage Ensemble. There's an AEC disc in their catalog too that looks mighty interesting (Fundamental Destiny). Haven't heard that one yet...

Katalyst Entertainment

[save0904]

Vijay Iyer Trio Historicity

[fasstrack]

I think everybody knows by now I am obviously not a street teamer, so I thought we could have a thread on 09 Jazz releases worth talking about and checking out as the year 2009 progresses.

Continuation - Alex Cline

This one has been talked about a lot over at the Myra Melford thread but in addition to Alex Cline the contributions by Cellist Peggy Lee also need to be mentioned. Fantastic record.

October Trio + Brad Turner - Looks Like It's Going to Snow

Sax Trio with Turmpet player Brad Turner. Excellent inside/outside Ornette/Wayne Shorter inspired music. The Compositions are very good, a nice surprise as I wasn’t familiar with them at all.

Brad Shepik - Human Activity Suite

From the Songlines label that is also putting out the October Trio. This disc also features Drew Grees, Gary Versace and Raplph Alessi. Wide-ranging soundscapes from Indian to Arabic and Oriental. Shelpik was a guitarist I was not familiar with but this disc really impressed me.

Enrico Rava – New York Days

It’s ECM so don’t expect a blowing session but I really enjoy Mark Turner on this a lot. Boliani is fantastic as always.

Jeff "Tain" Watts – Watts

W/ Terence Blanchard, Branford Marsalis and Christian McBride. Lives up to the hype.

Good as expected but haven’t spent a lot of time with them yet:

Jack Dejohnette – Music We are

W/ John Patitucci and Danilo Perez

More structured than expected but still has amazing playing.

Christian McBride – Kind Of Brown

A 60’s retro Blue Note sound with vibraphone, a nice return to straight ahead jazz for him.

Haven’t got to yet but will eventually:

Chick Corea and John McLauglin – Five-Piece Band

Keith Jarrett – Yesterdays

I went to hear Benny Golson in the spring and his musical mind is ever-evolving. He was touring in support of his latest recording. I don't remember the name, but they played music from it and I highly recommend it.

[Lazaro Vega]

Vonski Speaks