Your Top Ten of 2009

[.:.impossible]

Just listened for the first time myself. Great!

[sonnymax]

Is the Kimbrough Locke duet?

Yes, this is the third outing by this duo for the Omnitone label.

[marcello]

Is the Kimbrough Locke duet?

[david weiss]

My top 10 new releases (just changed to add the new Odean Pope that I bought recently in Germnay. It is outstanding!):

Artist Title Label

1 Fly Sky & Country ECM

2 The Monterey Quartet Live at the 2007 Jazz Festival Monterey Jazz Festival

3 Chris Potter & Underground Ultrahang ArtistShare

4 Henry Threadgill This Brings Us to, Volume 1 Pi Recordings

5 Tom Harrell Prana Dance High Note

6 Odean Pope Odean's List In & Out

7 Enrico Rava New York Days ECM

8 Joe Lovano Us Five Blue Note

9 Paul Motian Trio 2000 Plus Two On Broadway, Volume 5 Winter & Winter

10 Frank Kimbrough & Joe Locke Verrazano Moon Omnitone

Happy Holidays

LWayne

Wayne, this, perhaps, is a strange question but am I on that Odean Pope CD. If so, I wasn't aware it was out yet. It was a nice date, great tunes, challenging, especially at 8 am which is when we started recording. That was a challenge in itself.....

Edited December 16, 2009 by david weiss

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

I think I've missed a lot, but there's not been much for me this year, it seems.

Newies

David Newman - The blessing - HighNote

Red Holloway - Go, Red, go - Delmark

Lonnie Smith - Rise up - Palmetto

Concha Buika & Chucho Valdes - El ultimo trago - Warner Spain

and I haven't got it or heard it but I KNOW that I will want to include

Von Freeman - Vonski speaks - Nessa

Oldies or unearthed goodies

Lonnie Smith - The art of organizing - Criss Cross Jazz

Kandia Kouyate - Ngara - Syllart

Kandia Kouyate - Amary Daou - Syllart

Haven't got this yet, but as above

Keletigui & ses Tambourinis - The Syliphone years - Sterns

MG

[relyles]

My top 10 new releases (just changed to add the new Odean Pope that I bought recently in Germnay. It is outstanding!):

Artist Title Label

1 Fly Sky & Country ECM

2 The Monterey Quartet Live at the 2007 Jazz Festival Monterey Jazz Festival

3 Chris Potter & Underground Ultrahang ArtistShare

4 Henry Threadgill This Brings Us to, Volume 1 Pi Recordings

5 Tom Harrell Prana Dance High Note

6 Odean Pope Odean's List In & Out

7 Enrico Rava New York Days ECM

8 Joe Lovano Us Five Blue Note

9 Paul Motian Trio 2000 Plus Two On Broadway, Volume 5 Winter & Winter

10 Frank Kimbrough & Joe Locke Verrazano Moon Omnitone

Happy Holidays

LWayne

Wayne, this, perhaps, is a strange but am I on that Odean Pope CD. If so, I wasn't aware it was out yet. It was a nice date, great tunes, challenging, especially at 8 am which is when we started recording. That was a challenge in itself.....

Yes, it is the disc you appear on. It does not appear to be available in domestically in the US, but it is available from the In & Out website and other European distributors.

Edited December 16, 2009 by relyles

[clifford_thornton]

I haven't got that Odean either. Have to change that.

[Mark Stryker]

My list from the Detroit Free Press. The same top 10 were submitted to the Village Voice (along with reissues, vocal, Latin and debut categories). A couple notes: Last three out were probably: Alex Cline, "Continuation" (Cryptogramophone); Vijay Iyer, "Historicity" (Act); Steve Lehman,"Travail, Transformation and Flow" (Pi). I also didn't get "Vonski Speaks" in time to consider, but it probably would have made the list. (Bought it locally, by the way, at Dearborn Music, which has a terrific jazz department -- three cheers for great old-fashioned record stores!)

Also, as I scan other lists, it amazes me that even with the ridiculous amount of recorded music I consume in a year and how much I am priviledged to receive for free as a working critic, I still don't come close to hearing everything of value.

New Releases

1. Henry Threadgill Zooid, “This Brings Us To” (Volume 1) (Pi)

2. Tom Harrell, “Prana Dance” (HighNote)

3. Miroslav Vitous Group, “Remembering Weather Report” (ECM)

4. John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble, “Eternal Interlude” (Sunnyside)

5. Jeff “Tain” Watts, “Watts” (Dark Key)

6. Clayton Brothers, “Brother to Brother” (ArtistShare)

7. Steve Kuhn, “Mostly Coltrane” (ECM)

8. Chris Potter Underground, “Ultrahang” (ArtistShare)

9. Dana Hall, “Into the Light” (Origin)

10. Grant Stewart, “Plays the Music of Duke Ellington & Billy Strayhorn” (Sharp Nine)

[Hackensack]

New Releases

1. Michael Bates - Live In New York (Greenleaf Music)

2. Mostly Other People Do the Killing - This is Our Moosic (Hot Cup)

3. The Fully Celebrated - Drunk On The Blood Of The Holy Ones (Aum Fidelity)

4. Atomic/School Days - Distil (Okkadisk)

5. Quinsin Nachoff - 5 New Dreams (Cristal)

6. Chris Potter Underground - Ultrahang (ArtistShare)

7. Empty Cage Quartet - Stratostrophic (Clean Feed)

8. Fiorenzo Bodrato - Act No Strange w/Carlo Actis Dato

9. Matt Wilson Quartet - That's Gonna Leave A Mark (Palmetto)

10. Vandermark Five - Annular Gift (Not Two)

11. Josh Berman - Old Idea (Delmark)

[Peter Friedman]

In Random order:

Ruby Braff - For The Last Time - Arbors

The James Moody and Hank Jones Quartet - Our Delight - IPO

Grant Stewart - Plays The Music Of Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn - Sharp Nine

Peter Bernstein Trio - Monk - Xanadu / The Orchard

Joe Cohn - Restless - Arbors

Gary Smulyan - High Noon - Reservoir

Joe Magnarelli - Persistence - Reservoir

Dick Hyman - At The Old Mill - Sackville

Stefano Bollani - Carioca - EmArcy / Universal

Ronnie Cuber Quartet - Ronnie - Steeplechase

Jimmy Cobb Quartet - Jazz In The Key Of Blue - Chesky

Stan Getz & Kenny Barron - People Time: The Complete Recordings - EmArcy / Universal

Jimmy Rushing/Zoot Sims/Al Cohn - The Scene - High Note

[CJ Shearn]

in no particular order I would put:

Jan Garbarek: Dresden

Christian McBride: Kind of Brown

Tain: Watts ( "Return of The Jitney Man" was enough to sell me on this and it should be in the mailbox)

Chick: Five Peace Band Live

Return to Forever: Returns

Keith Jarrett: Testament

Monterey Quartet: Live at the 2007 Monterey Jazz Festival

Jack DeJohnette/Danilo Perez/John Pattitucci: Music We Are

Gary Burton: Quartet Live

SF Jazz Collective: Live 2009

[Guest Bill Barton]

The Best Recordings of 2009

compiled by Bill Barton

Discs marked with an asterisk* are on my original 2009 Top Ten list prepared for KBCS Bellevue-Seattle 91.3 FM, www.kbcs.fm

Von Freeman: Vonski Speaks, Nessa

Satoko Fujii & Myra Melford: Under the Water, Libra

Moraine: Manifest Density, Moonjune

Fred Anderson: 21st Century Chase, Delmark

Hailey Niswanger: Confeddie, www.haileyniswanger.com

Mary Halvorson/Reuben Radding/Nate Wooley: Crackleknob, hatOLOGY

Austin Jazz Workshop Plays Rahsaan Roland Kirk: Mystery Note, AusJazz Music

Ethnic Heritage Ensemble: Mama's House Live 35th Anniversary Project, Katalyst

Jacam Manricks: Labyrinth, Manricks Music Records

John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble: Eternal Interlude, Sunnyside

It was a great year for adventurous jazz on recordings, with major works by masters Bill Dixon, Henry Threadgill and Wadada Leo Smith among the highlights.

Anyone who still thinks jazz is strictly a young person's art should listen to the powerful new recordings from octogenarian Chicago tenor saxophonists Fred Anderson and Von Freeman. If I had to rank my Best of the Year list in order of preference, Vonski Speaks and 21st Century Chase would be #1 and #2.

Some brief comments are included. Just because a disc lacks a comment doesn't mean that it is "less worthy."

Artist - title - label

Stefon Harris & Blackout - Urbanus - Concord

Strikes me as an inconsistent but notable recording. When it's good it's very, very good.

Allen Toussaint - Bright Mississippi - Nonesuch

Toussaint's exploration of trad jazz repertoire has that New Orleans thing plus remarkable playing by Don Byron, Marc Ribot, et al. A lovely recording.

Nels Cline - Coward - Cryptogramophone

A fascinating over-dubbed solo strings outing that moves in a variety of creative directions.

Alex Cline - Continuation - Cryptogramophone

The crowning jewel so far in Cline's discography. Richly textured, meditative and joy-filled, some of Myra Melford's and Peggy Lee's contributions here are among their finest recordings.

Henry Threadgill Zooid - This Brings Us To, Vol. 1 - Pi

One of the major composers in the music provides another chapter in his colorful story. Long overdue and highly recommended.

Rudresh Mahanthappa - Apti - Innova

A trio that provides an opportunity to appreciate Mahanthappa's fully developed technique, rich timbre and audacious ideas in a more "stripped-down" setting than other recent discs.

Wadada Leo Smith - Spiritual Dimensions - Cuneiform

An amazing two-CD set from a master. Not to be missed!

*Fred Anderson - 21st Century Chase - Delmark

Anderson and Kidd Jordan take tenor dialogues to new heights here. Recorded at Anderson's 80th birthday party at The Velvet Lounge, this is long-form improv at its most inspired.

John Moulder - Bifrost - Origin

"ECM-ish" guitar-led group with some fine compositions.

*Von Freeman - Vonski Speaks - Nessa

The Truth. Record of the year.

Aram Shelton's Fast Citizens - Two Cities - Delmark

This came out late in the year and my first impressions are very positive.

Juozas Milasius - Slow - Nemu

This Lithuanian guitarist has come up with an impressive solo disc: atmospheric, moody and occasionally quite noisy. A must for guitar fans.

Jason Adasiewicz's Rolldown - Varmint - Cuneiform

Another end-of-the-year release that's going to take more than one more spin to digest. First impression? High on next year's list!

Samuel Blaser Quartet - Pieces of Old Sky - Clean Feed

Swiss trombonist with chops aplenty. A group that listens and breathes. One of the year's most

significant and enjoyable "discoveries" for me.

Viviane Houle - Treize - Drip Audio

Another genre-busting improv salade from Vancouver.

Minamo (Satoko Fujii & Carla Kihlstedt) - Kuroi Kawa-Black River - Tzadik

I'm still digesting this one and there's a lot to chew on. Lookin' like #1 on the 2010 list so far!

Charles Evans & Neil Shah - Live at Saint Stephens - Hot Cup

Bari sax/piano duo that provides many Bright Moments.

*Bill Dixon - Tapestries for Small Orchestra - Firehouse 12

A masterpiece (and I don't use the word lightly.) The music, audio/video production and graphics are A++ on this two-CD, one DVD set.

Andrew Green et al. - Narrow Margin - Microphonic

Azar Lawrence - Prayer for My Ancestors - Furthermore

*Mary Halvorson/Reuben Radding/Nate Wooley - Crackleknob - hatOLOGY

Roswell Rudd - Trombone Tribe - Sunnyside

Jimmy Bennington Trio - Another Friend: The Music of Herbie Nichols - ThatSwan!

Delightful and quirky with marvelous piano playing by David Haney.

Etienne Charles - Folklore - www.etiennecharles.com

Soulful, Caribbean folklore-inspired gumbo and my introduction to trumpeter Charles. He's an artist to watch.

Brian Groder & Burton Greene - Groder & Greene - Latham

*Jacam Manricks - Labyrinth - Manricks Music

He's a composer of enormous depth, sensitivity and imagination. One of this year's major "discoveries" for me.

*Ethnic Heritage Ensemble - Mama's House Live: 35th Anniversary Project - Katalyst

Corey Wilkes & Abstrakt Pulse - Cries from Tha Ghetto - Pi

The edition of Kahil El'Zabar's EHE with Corey Wilkes is an often volcanic and always adventurous group. Captured "live," they absolutely tear it up. Wilkes' own Abstrakt Pulse combines groove and creativity in a very personal fashion. This man is playing The Truth.

Enrico Pieranunzi/Marc Johnson/Joey Baron - Dream Dance - Cam Jazz

A program of memorable original compositions by Pieranunzi. One of the finest working piano trios these days.

Bobby Bradford/Tom Heasley/Ken Rosser - Varistar - Full Bleed

Kudos to Heasley for this disc with the sadly little-documented Bradford. It was a good year for Bradford fans with this one plus the Nessa reissue.

*Austin Jazz Workshop - Mystery Note: AJW plays Rahsaan Roland Kirk - AusJazz

Rah's spirit lives on through recordings such as this one and Claire Daly's Rah Rah Rah. It's a living legacy rather than a museum piece. Alex Coke et al. let this music breathe.

The Brother Thelonious Quintet - Brother Thelonious - www.northcoastbrewing.com

Robert Glasper - Double Booked - Blue Note

James Weidman - Three Worlds - Inner Circle

Nicole Mitchell's Black Earth Strings - Renegades - Delmark

Terence Blanchard - Choices - Concord

Blanchard's tapestry of spoken word from Dr. Cornel West and powerful music is his most compositionally fully-realized CD to date. If you think of him as a neo-con this disc may open your mind.

*Hailey Niswanger - Confeddie - www.haileyniswanger.com

Because of my personal tastes/interests and the niche focus of Bright Moments it's rare that a "mainstream" recording captures my imagination. This one did and continues to do so. At age 19, this Portland, Oregon native now studying at Berklee already has a personal sound and approach on alto saxophone. A promise of great things to come...

Josh Berman - Old Idea - Delmark

reissues:

Roscoe Mitchell - Nonaah - Nessa

Leo Smith - Spirit Catcher - Nessa

Philip Cohran & The Artistic Heritage Ensemble - On the Beach - Katalyst

Roscoe Mitchell - The Solo Concert - Katalyst

Bobby Bradford with John Stevens and the Spontaneous Music Ensemble - Nessa

Lester Bowie - All the Numbers - Nessa

The Roscoe Mitchell Art Ensemble - Congliptious - Nessa

Steve Lacy - The Forest and the Zoo - ESP Disk

reissue label of the year:

Nessa

label of the year:

Delmark

Huge:

2009 was a year packed with creative, boundary-breaking "big band" or large ensemble releases. Eternal Interlude tops the list with compositions and playing at the very highest level. Sound Assembly's Edge of the Mind with music written by David Schumacher and J.C. Sanford is another of the year's highlights. The legacy of George Russell and Gil Evans is in good hands these days. Infernal Machines has been widely praised, and I praise it as well. It - and the more mainstream-oriented Groove's Mood - feature some of the year's best recorded solos in a big band context.

*John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble - Eternal Interlude - Sunnyside

Sound Assembly - Edge of the Mind - New Amsterdam

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

Dave Rivello Ensemble - Facing the Mirror - Allora

Jentsch Goup Large - Cycles Suite - Fleur De Son

The Aggregation Under the Direction of Eddie Allen - Groove's Mood - www.EddieAllen.net

Abdullah Ibrahim & WDR Big Band Cologne - Bombella - Intuition/Sunnyside

Abdullah's beautiful compositions are center stage on this large ensemble recording. There are some breathtakingly gorgeous arrangements here. The promo release came out toward the end of the year. This will be a strong contender for the 2010 list.

Pacific Northwest:

Tom Varner - Heaven and Hell - Omni Tone

Ex-New Yorker, now Seattle resident's musical meditation on good and evil, post-9/11. This is a suite that sighs and thunders, contemplates and testifies. A major work. I hadn't had time to listen in-depth before compiling my KBCS 2009 Top Ten. It's a shoe-in for #1 on the list in 2010.

Tom Baker Quartet - Save - Present Sounds

The Tony Wilson Sextet - The People Look Like Flowers at Last - Drip Audio

Sunship - Sunship - (self-produced)

Search this one out. You won't be disappointed.

Not to be confused with the London-based band with the same name.

http://www.myspace.com/sunshipmusic

http://sunshipmusic.blogspot.com/

Stuart Dempster/Tom Heasley/Eric Glick Rieman - Echoes of Syros - Full Bleed

Beautiful ambient soundscapes with mutated tuba and prepared Rhodes...

Dennis Rea:

*Moraine - Manifest Density - Moonjune

Iron Kim Style - Iron Kim Style - (self-produced)

Guitarist Rea with two very different projects, Moraine tightly structured and Iron Kim Style wildly loosey goosey.

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

The Tiptons Sax Quartet – Laws of Motion - Zipa!/Spoot Music

Brilliant! Fun! Difficult to resist...

Bill Frisell - Disfarmer - Nonesuch

More melancholy Americana from Frisell. A lovely record

Reptet – Agendacide – Monktail (7” vinyl)

It was a very good year for Pacific Northwest guitar fans, with fine new recordings from Tom Baker, Brian Heaney with Sunship, Tony Wilson (Vancouver, BC), Bill Frisell and two from Dennis Rea.

Edited January 7, 2010 by Bill Barton

[clifford_thornton]

Hailey Niswanger: Confeddie, www.haileyniswanger.com

I read that as Harvey Wallbanger...

[Shrdlu]

Best club hit of 2009 is "Crazy Bitch", by David Guetta, featuring Senegalese singer Akon. It's a very catchy song.

There are 14 different mixes, but the original (club) mix is the best, I think.

Guetta has pioneered an unique house/dance style.

[papsrus]

The Best Recordings of 2009

compiled by Bill Barton

Thanks for that thorough rundown Bill. Already investigating some of your picks.

cheers

[Lazaro Vega]

http://jazzweek.com/jazztop100_2009.pdf

[paul secor]

http://jazzweek.com/jazztop100_2009.pdf

Their ears are very different from mine.

[CJ Shearn]

Akon is uh................. all the troubles he's had.

[WorldB3]

The Best Recordings of 2009

compiled by Bill Barton

Thanks for that thorough rundown Bill. Already investigating some of your picks.

cheers

Seriously, great read.

There a few releases on there I forgot about that deserved to be on my list and a quite a number I need to go check out asap.

Thanks Bill.

[Ken Dryden]

With between 800 and 1000 CDs arriving annually, it is impossible to hear everything, let alone the titles I didn’t obtain. Both lists would have been easy to expand. My choices, in no particular order, represent some of my favorites from 2009. (This list was first published in full at jazzhouse.org).

Top 10 New Releases:

Charles Tolliver Big Band: Emperor March: Live at the Blue Note (Half Note)

Roberta Gambarini: So in Love (Emarcy)

Fred Hersch Pocket Orchestra: Live at Jazz Standard (Sunnyside)

Mel Martin: Where the Warm Winds Blow (Jazzed Media)

Oliver Jones & Hank Jones: Pleased to Meet You (Justin Time)

Terell Stafford-Dick Oatts Quintet: Bridging the Gap (Planet Arts)

The Heath Brothers: Endurance (Jazz Legacy)

Bud Shank Quartet: Fascinating Rhythms (Jazzed Media)

Geoff Keezer: Aurea (ArtistShare)

Ted Kooshian’s Standard Orbit Quartet: Underdog, and Other Stories… (Summit)

Top 10 Reissues/Historical Discoveries/Boxed Sets:

Ella Fitzgerald: Twelve Nights in Hollywood (Verve/Hip-O-Select)

Oscar Peterson: Debut: The Clef/Mercury Duo Recordings 1949-1951 (Verve/Hip-O-Select)

Denny Zeitlin: The Columbia Studio Trio Sessions (Mosaic Select)

Fats Waller: Fats Waller on the Air 1938 Broadcasts (TPR)

Joe Bushkin Quartet with Stuff Smith: Live Embers 1964 (AB Fable)

Scott LaFaro: Pieces of Jade (Resonance)

Freddie Hubbard: Without a Song: Live in Europe 1969 (Blue Note)

Jimmy Rushing: The Scene (HighNote)

Lucky Thompson: New York City, 1964-65 (Uptown)

Philly Joe Jones/Dameronia: Look, Stop and Listen (Uptown)

[BeBop]

http://jazzweek.com/jazztop100_2009.pdf

That's the Bob Parlocha playlist. Hard to tell cause and effect here, though.

[ghost of miles]

Here's my late-breaking list.

[king ubu]

Gee, am I the only one of the non-review-writing people here that has hardly any 2009 release in his collection at this point?

To me, discs from 2007 and 2008 are still brand-spakin'-new, I just can't keep up!

I got the latest Threadgill (not listened to it yet though), a recent release by BraffOesterRohrer (though the recording is from a few years ago), and I know I'll love the Von Freeman disc Chuck put out (I've known the recording for a few years and am happy to see it officially released).

Other than that, some other recent ones that would come to mind are all older than 2009 (Steve Kuhn's Blue Note disc from 2007, Charlie Haden's fine "Rambling Boy" from 2008, I think?)

ok, going through the lists... I also have most of Chuck's 2009 reissues, as well as the Lucky Thompson, but this being mainly about new releases...

I'll definitely get the Halvorson/Redding hatOLOGY disc some day, though (and I'm going to look at it as brandnew when I'll eventually do so, in a year or two )

And I also have the Freddie Hubbard disc...

[ghost of miles]

3. Miroslav Vitous Group, “Remembering Weather Report” (ECM)

7. Steve Kuhn, “Mostly Coltrane” (ECM)

8. Chris Potter Underground, “Ultrahang” (ArtistShare)

10. Grant Stewart, “Plays the Music of Duke Ellington & Billy Strayhorn” (Sharp Nine)

The Vitous and Kuhn are two faves of mine that easily could have made my list. Haven't heard the most recent Potter, but I'll seek it out, as well as that Grant Stewart.

[NIS]

I haven't heard or liked enough 2009 releases to make a top ten list. The one thing I would mention is a Denmon Maroney Quintet album called "Udentity" (CleanFeed). For my taste in music, this is one of the best things I have heard in years.