Favorite New & New-to-You Recordings of 2017

[HutchFan]

The new year is just around the corner. I thought it might be fun to launch a thread where we can discuss the recordings that we've discovered and enjoyed in 2017. Rather than limiting the discussion to music that was released in 2017, I suggest that we expand it to include anything that we've discovered this year, regardless of when it was released.  The music may not be new -- but if you discovered it in 2017, then it's "new to you."

Here's what I came up with: 

David Friedman - Of the Wind's Eye (Enja, 1981)
The compositions are all Friedman originals, and the line-up is killer -- Jane Ira Bloom, Harvie Swartz and Daniel Humair. The sound quality is ridiculously good, and the sonics add to the powerful musical effect.

Art Pepper - The Maiden Voyage Sessions, Vol. 3 (Galaxy, 1984)
Prime late-in-the-game Pepper; with George Cables, David Williams, and Carl Burnett.

Jack Walrath - Wholly Trinity (Muse, 1988)
This LP has a wonderful Ornette-like vibe. Walrath dispenses with the piano, paring the group down to a trio consisting of his trumpet, Chip Jackson's bass, and Jimmy Madison's drums. The music is thrusting and powerful. Walrath's personality -- quirky, puckish, serious -- shines through. 

Eddie Palmieri ‎– Vamonos Pa'l Monte (Tico, 1971)
Mongo Santamaria - Mongo at Montreux (Atlantic, 1971)
Poncho Sanchez - Poncho (Discovery, 1979)
I've spent quite a bit of time listening to Latin Jazz this year. These three are the new-to-me recordings that I've enjoyed the most. 

JD Allen - Radio Flyer (Savant, 2017)
One of only a few new releases that I bought this year. Allen's working trio throws down. Adding guitarist Liberty Ellman to the mix takes the music even higher.

Joe Lovano Us Five - Bird Songs (Blue Note, 2011)
I like how Lovano and his band transform these ultra-familiar Charlie Parker songs into something new. The band features two drummers, and it works surprisingly well in a clattery sort of way.

Michel Petrucciani/Ron McClure - Cold Blues (Owl, 1985)
Aldo Romano - Ritual (Owl, 1988)
Ed Sarath - Voice of the Wind (Owl, 1990)
Three from Jean-Jacques Pussiau's Owl label. I was drawn to all three by the pianists. Petrucciani is obvious. Romano's CD features Franco D'Andrea and Sarath's features Joanne Brackeen.

Russ Freeman/Shelly Manne - One on One (Contemporary, 1982)
I discovered this music when another forum member posted something about it on this site. Fun to hear the unusual instrumentation of a piano/drums duo. Manne's musicality leaps out.

Enrico Pieranunzi - Perugia Suite (EGEA, 2002)
Wadada Leo Smith's Golden Quartet - The Year of the Elephant (Pi, 2002)
My favorite new-to-me discoveries of 2017. Musically, they're very dissimilar -- but both succeed in conveying a sense of vastness and wonder. Powerful music! 

And outside the world of jazz:

Mahler - Symphony No. 7 / Boulez, Cleveland O (DG, 1996)
Boulez's transparent textures and the Cleveland Orchestra's virtuosity make this "problematic" symphony seem almost inevitable.

Rush - Snakes and Arrows (Anthem/Atlantic, 2007)
70s prog rock lives! 

****************************

So how about you?  What has knocked you out this year??? 

By the way, don't feel compelled to create a big list.  If you want to name one record (or artist), that's fine.  If you want to list twenty, that's fine too.  Whatever.  No rules -- other than telling us what you've discovered & dug in 2017.

And if you don't like list-type threads . . . well, you don't get to play.  

 

Edited November 17, 2017 by HutchFan

[soulpope]

5 hours ago, HutchFan said:

Michel Petrucciani/Ron McClure - Cold Blues (Owl, 1985)

Mahler - Symphony No. 7 / Boulez, Cleveland O (DG, 1996)
Boulez's transparent textures and the Cleveland Orchestra's virtuosity make this "problematic" symphony seem almost inevitable

 

!!!

[mikeweil]

The reissue of Dorothy Ashby's Atlantic album was new to me (although I had a download on some hard disc, which I never listened to), and is in constant rotation:

[kh1958]

Some favorites from 2017:

Dennis Coffey, Hot Coffey in the D

Mokoomba, Rising Tide and Luyando

Lee Konitz, Frescalalto

Vieux Farka Toure, Samba

The Ecstatic Music of Alice Coltrane

Terence Blanchard and the E Collective, Live at the 2017 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival

Cedric Burnside Project, Live at the 2017 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival

Somi, Petite Afrique and The Lagos Music Salon

Heads of State, Four in One

Bobby Watson, Made in America

Khari Allen Lee, The New Earth

Chucho Valdes, Border-Free

Charnett Moffett, Music from our Soul

Ben Allison, Layers in the City

Welcome to Zamrock, volume 2

Ote Maloya

Martial Solal and Dave Liebman, Masters in Bordeaux

Ahmad Jamal, Marseille

Mike Stern, Trip

Nikki Hill, Heavy Hearts Hard Fists

Chet Baker, Live from the Moonlight

Sameer Gupta, Namaskar

Sweet As Broken Dates: Lost Somali Tapes from the Horn of Africa

Christian Scott, Ruler Rebel, Diaspora and The Emancipation Procrastination

 

 

Edited November 17, 2017 by kh1958

[mjazzg]

I enjoy these lists as an opportunity to discover even more new music. 

My top ten listens for the year, some old, some new, in no particular order apart from the Alice Coltrane which has been my album of the year - most rewarding, most revisited

Alice Coltrane - The Ecstatic Music of Alice Coltrane Turiyasangitananda

Hawkins/Michener Quartet - Uproot

Nicole Mitchell - Mandorla Awakening II: Emerging Worlds

Jaimie Branch - Fly Or Die

Evan Parker/Mark Nauseef/Toma Goubard - As The Wind

Francois Tusques - Free Jazz

Frank Ricotti Quartet - Our Point Of View

The Necks - Unfold

Charenee Wade - Offering (The Music Of Gil Scott Heron and Brian Jackson)

Avishai Cohen - Cross My Palm With Silver
 

 

[HutchFan]

Just realized that I overlooked this LP on my list above:

Dollar Brand/Abdullah Ibrahim - Ode to Duke Ellington (issued on Philips Japan, Inner City, and West Wind, rec. 1973)
Unlike many tributes, which can be pedestrian and uninspired, Ibrahim's tribute to Ellington is extraordinary, a deeply personal meditation.

[xybert]

These were my new release purchases for 2017:

All are really good, really enjoyable. If i had to pick a standout favourite it would be Harris Eisenstadt's Recent Developments. Corea's the Musician is the only one that i could arguably live without, just the nature of it being a bit of a mixed bag of live tracks makes it slightly 'dispensable' but as a fairly hardcore Corea fan i wouldn't be without it. The new Snakeoil sent me on a bit of of Tim Berne listening bender, thoroughly enjoyed it after not really feeling like listening to him much in recent years.

Apart from that, so many great 'new to me' discoveries this year. highlights would be the Cedar Walton Eastern Rebellion albums and Red Garland's Groovy (i know, right!?!).

Edited December 8, 2017 by xybert

[sonnyhill]

With respect to new releases, this year I liked (in no particular order):

Trickster - Miles Okazaki

Fly or Die - Jamie Branch

Radio Flyer - JD Allen Trio

Mediation/Resurrection - William Parker Quartets

Live in New York, 2010 - David S. Ware Trio

A Rift in Decorum - Ambrose Akinmusire

Painted Ruins - Grizzly Bear

Verisimilitude - Tyshawn Sorey

New to me:  I never paid attention to Shostakovich's string quartets until recently.  I also listened to a lot of the Clifford Jordan "Magic Triangle" band with Sam Jones, Cedar Walton, and Billy Higgins his year.  I also finally "got" the Modern Jazz Quartet.

Edited December 9, 2017 by sonnyhill

[Chuck Nessa]

Sure to miss something but right now, all from friends:

Jaimie Branch

Haven't had a chance to listen to Nicole Mitchell's recent release, but am sure I would place it here.

Yves Charuest 

 

and Roscoe's MCA extravaganza

 

and finally

Mazz, Tomeka and Silvia

Edited December 10, 2017 by Chuck Nessa

[David Ayers]

Props here for the William Parker and David S. Ware releases on AUM mentioned by Sonnyhill. Both include a bit of drift but nonetheless very pleasurable. 

 

Not a big new listening year for me in any genre - when I have the time I just rake over old coals... much of which I can’t remember or never played when I bought it...

[Guy Berger]

So 3 newsies that I really enjoyed this year were Tim Berne's INCIDENTALS, Vijay Iyer's FAR FROM OVER, and Chris Potter's THE DREAMER IS THE DREAM.

In terms of new-to-me, some highlights: I spent a lot of time discovering Muhal Richard Abrams's Black Saint recordings (most of these were new to me), Art Ensemble of Chicago's FULL FORCE & NICE GUYS, Monteverdi's later madrigals (books 5-8), and David Bowie's albums from STATION TO STATION through SCARY MONSTERS.

[Steve Reynolds]

For jazz/free improvisation the following are favorites - all new to me and 90% are late 2016 or 2017 releases:

Jaimie Branch: Fly or Die

Chicago/London Underground: A Night Walking Through Mirrors

David S Ware Trio: Live in New York - Blue Note

Nu Band: Live in Geneva - Heberer & Whitecage are great here

Daniele D’Agaro Trio: Disorder at the Border

Liudas Mockunas with Rafal Mazur & Raymond Strid: Live at Divadlo 29

Red Trio with John Butcher: Summer Skyshift

Jones Jones: Moscow Improvisations

By quite a bit the best thing I’ve heard is Tensegrity - 4 CD box of Barry Guy’s Blue Shroud Band in small formations - improvisations

[aparxa]

Another glorious year, an orgy of fantastic new-to-me records:

*Mal Waldron (Meditations, 19, with Marion Brown, All Alone vol. 2, One Entrance)

*Dollar Brand (South Africa, Memories, Duke's memories)

*Ellington (Piano Reflections, Ellington 59, The Fairmonts)

*Konitz (Very Cool, Tranquility, Art of Duo, Peacemeal)

*Hampton Hawes - Spanish Steps

*Little Band Big Jazz

*Bley and Giuffre

*Solal - Son 66

* Rollins - Worktime

*Gene Ammons (all the Prestige twofers, Bad Bossa Nova)

*Arnett Cobb (Go Power, Smooth Sailing, More Party Time)

*Dexter Calling

And 50 more.

Not many new records, but all great:

* Jamal - Marseille

*Konstrukt & Hawkins at Cafe Oto

* Laurent de Wilde - New Monk Trio

* Monk - Liaisons dangereuses 1960

 

[soulpope]

2 hours ago, aparxa said:

Another glorious year, an orgy of fantastic new-to-me records:

*Mal Waldron (Meditations, 19, with Marion Brown, All Alone vol. 2, One Entrance)

*Dollar Brand (South Africa, Memories, Duke's memories)

*Ellington (Piano Reflections, Ellington 59, The Fairmonts)

*Konitz (Very Cool, Tranquility, Art of Duo, Peacemeal)

*Hampton Hawes - Spanish Steps

*Little Band Big Jazz

*Bley and Giuffre

*Solal - Son 66

* Rollins - Worktime

*Gene Ammons (all the Prestige twofers, Bad Bossa Nova)

*Arnett Cobb (Go Power, Smooth Sailing, More Party Time)

*Dexter Calling

And 50 more.

Not many new records, but all great:

* Jamal - Marseille

*Konstrukt & Hawkins at Cafe Oto

* Laurent de Wilde - New Monk Trio

* Monk - Liaisons dangereuses 1960

 

Lot of tremendous music .... what are your impressions of ths one .... :

[aparxa]

Overall good. The session is clearly a project rather than a Let's-do-another-tribute. Every tune  has a pretty original rendition. The piano of De Wilde is aery and yet very precise, a delight. The trio functions well, and I was happy to hear the bassist Regard that I had the opportunity to catch live many times with the pianist Alfio Origlio when I was in Grenoble.
A few tunes relies on a repetitive pattern (the first two tunes in particular) than may be present in the original compositions but which does not work out very well for me. Some tunes are excellent (the tune from de Wilde, Friday the 13th, 4 in 1). A bit too thought-out maybe, but a very good experience as a listener.

 

[soulpope]

2 hours ago, aparxa said:

Overall good. The session is clearly a project rather than a Let's-do-another-tribute. Every tune  has a pretty original rendition. The piano of De Wilde is aery and yet very precise, a delight. The trio functions well, and I was happy to hear the bassist Regard that I had the opportunity to catch live many times with the pianist Alfio Origlio when I was in Grenoble.
A few tunes relies on a repetitive pattern (the first two tunes in particular) than may be present in the original compositions but which does not work out very well for me. Some tunes are excellent (the tune from de Wilde, Friday the 13th, 4 in 1). A bit too thought-out maybe, but a very good experience as a listener.

 

Thnx for the telling description ....

[B. Clugston]

My favourite new release of 2017 is Roscoe Mitchell's Bells for the South Side (ECM).

My favourite reissue is Sonny Clark's The 1960 Time Sessions (Tompkins Square), with Sun Ra's The Magic City (Cosmic Myth) not far behind.

Favourite new-to-me LPs I came across this year are Jaki Byard's On the Spot (Prestige) and the Masaru Imada Quarter's Now! (Three Blind Mice).

[ghost of miles]

2 hours ago, B. Clugston said:

My favourite new release of 2017 is Roscoe Mitchell's Bells for the South Side (ECM).

My favourite reissue is Sonny Clark's The 1960 Time Sessions (Tompkins Square)

You and me both!  These were my top picks in those two categories for a jazz poll I participated in a few days ago.

[B. Clugston]

4 hours ago, ghost of miles said:

You and me both!  These were my top picks in those two categories for a jazz poll I participated in a few days ago.

Awesome! They really are great releases.

[xybert]

Recently picked up the Bill Frisell / Thomas Morgan album Small Town. 

This is one of those albums that i’d listened to a bit of on Spotify and was never quite fully feeling it, but at the same time couldn’t avoid scratching the itch of finally buying a copy, and now that i’ve bought it and listened to it several times through i’m kind of in love with it. 

If you’re a hardcore Frisell fan i’m sure your down; if you’re like me and a bit picky with your Frisell you’ll at least find it solid, but there’s the potential for it to go further and get under your skin like it has with me. Recommended, as they say.

FYI it’s a live recording, not sterile. Glasses clink and people cough, it’s surreal imagining being there. Quite a transportative recording in more ways than one.

 

[LWayne]

My top ten new recordings for 2017:

Bill Frisell    Small Town    ECM Records
Miles Okazaki    Trickster    Pi Recordings
Craig Taborn    Daylight Ghosts    ECM Records
Vijay Iyer Sextet    Far From Over    ECM Records
Wadada Leo Smith    Solo: Reflections and Meditations on the Monk    Tum Records
Matt Mitchell    Forage    Screwgun Records
Chris Potter    The Dreamer is the Dream    ECM Records
Matthhew Shipp Trio    Piano Song    Thirsty Ear Records
William Parker Quartets    Meditation/Resurrection    Aum Fidelity
Tomas Fujiwara    Triple Double    Firehouse 12 Records
 

Stay tuned for more...

LWayne

[jeffcrom]

There's a lot I haven't heard, but here are my ten favorite new releases and exemplary reissues from 2107. Not just jazz, and annotations included when I thought they would be helpful.

Roscoe Mitchell - Bells for the South Side (ECM)
Steve Lacy - Free for a Minute (Emanem)
Nick Mazzarella/Tomeka Reid - Signaling (Nessa)
Bill Pritchard - Amplituba (Amplituba). A virtuoso Atlanta tuba player improvising with loops and electronics. Scary and awesome.
Thelonious Monk -  Les Liaisons Dangereuses 1960 (Sam)
Bill Evans - Another Time: The Hilversum Concert (Resonance)
Lester Bowie - Numbers 1 & 2 (Nessa)
Bent Frequency Duo Project - Diamorpha (Centaur). Atlanta "classical" new music saxophone/percussion duo.
Randy Newman - Dark Matter (Nonesuch). His best album in many years.
Allman Brothers Band - The Fox Box (Peach). First "real" CD issue of a set previously available as a download or "instant" CDr. Three nights in Atlanta in 2004 - a high point by the final lineup of the band.

And how about some lagniappe:
Preservation Hall Jazz Band - So it Is (Legacy). Thoroughly contemporary New Orleans music, touched by R & B and Cuba.

[7/4]

Notable releases 2017

 

 

 

[uli]

 

 

 

haven't actually heard the record yet but was at the concerts and it is on my to get list

 

new to me is this.bought it just this week on recommendation from friends

glad i did

 

Edited December 25, 2017 by uli