4 We compiled our top 50 new releases and top 10 historical/reissue recordings of 2009 from year-end lists by our critics. To see each voter’s ballot, go to <a href= http://jazztimes.com/articles/25464-critics-picks-2009-individual-ballots/>this page</a>. Only CDs and box sets released between Nov. 1, 2008, and Oct. 31, 2009 were eligible. Some releases may have slipped through the cracks, however, as release dates shifted or weren’t available. Original blurbs by Evan Haga and Jeff Tamarkin. Review excerpts by Thomas Conrad, Steve Greenlee, Christopher Loudon, Bill Milkowski, Mike Shanley, George Varga, Michael J. West and Josef Woodard. <B>Top 50 New Releases</B> 1. Joe Lovano Us Five <i>Folk Art</i> (Blue Note) In his 57th year, the saxophonist, composer and bandleader Joe Lovano is something of a jazz absolute: consistent in quality but traversing schools, styles and formats in a way that argues the music has somewhere to go without accommodating pop. His 2009 Blue Note release, <i>Folk Art</i>, recorded with a new group he calls Us Five, only reinforces his reputation as the consummate jazzman, an explorer and historian in equal doses. <i>Folk Art</i> is centered in postbop but plays in and around the avant-garde, and it features elements that, on paper, might seem gimmicky, but in Lovano’s hands foster thrilling music. A cross-generational quintet, Us Five features two drummers, Otis Brown II and Francisco Mela, and Lovano uses them to ramp up the intensity as well as multiply the options for exchange. (“It’s as if there are 20 different bands,” he told <i>JT</i>’s Geoffrey Himes.) Then there’s Lovano’s arsenal of texturally brazen woodwind oddities, including the <i>taragato</i> and aulochrome, and the fact that <i>Folk Art</i> is his first album featuring his original compositions exclusively. Those tunes, alternately burning (“Powerhouse”), loping (“Folk Art”), tender (“Song for Judi”) and askew (the Ornette homage “Ettenro”), brilliantly underscore the group’s sensibility—one of dynamic interaction and aesthetic versatility. E.H. 2. Vijay Iyer <i>Historicity</i> (ACT) The evolution of one of contemporary jazz piano’s most inventive artists continues on a set that meshes intellect with humor, syncopation with solace, and smart originals with wild covers ranging from Leonard Bernstein to M.I.A. J.T. 3. Miguel Zenón <i>Esta Plena</i> (Marsalis) Zenón has constructed a compelling merger of his jazz persona and the folkloric plena music of his native Puerto Rico, both in composition and performance, via the blending of bands from each tradition. J.W. 4. Henry Threadgill Zooid <i>This Brings Us To, Vol. 1</i> (Pi) Demanding yet strangely accessible, Threadgill’s latest collection of prickly groove music and algebraic improvisation receives crucial input from guitarist Liberty Ellman. E.H. 5. Allen Toussaint <i>The Bright Mississippi</i> (Nonesuch) The concept itself is audacious: Take one of New Orleans’ most prolific hit-making songwriters and have him do an instrumental album of early jazz offerings, surrounded by players like Marc Ribot, Don Byron and Nicholas Payton. B.M. 6. Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society <i>Infernal Machines</i> (New Amsterdam) With their haunting compositions and imaginative experiments, Argue’s Secret Society might do for jazz what Radiohead did for rock—and poach some of its audience, too. M.W. 7. Gary Burton/Pat Metheny/Steve Swallow/Antonio Sanchez <i>Quartet Live!</i> (Concord) The unusually empathetic playing and listening by each player yields impeccably nuanced musicianship, as the group mixes fetching originals by Burton, Metheny and Swallow with classics by Ellington, Carla Bley and Chick Corea. G.V. 8. Gretchen Parlato <i>In a Dream</i> (ObliqSound) Following in the delicate footsteps of her 2005 eponymous debut EP, Parlato’s <i>In a Dream</i> seems wholly crafted of sweet reveries. She has found an ideal mate for this spirited journey in guitarist and supporting vocalist Lionel Loueke. C.L. 9. Branford Marsalis Quartet <i>Metamorphosen</i> (Marsalis) There may be no better introduction on record to what makes this group one of the finest in jazz at the moment. The sense of ensemble interchange, especially between Marsalis and Watts, has been polished and continually re-fired over many years together. J.W. 10. Jeff “Tain” Watts <i>Watts</i> (Dark Key) It’s been 18 years since Watts’ recording debut as a leader, and his growth and confidence, both as a drummer and a composer, are palpable. His propulsive playing, much like his writing, strikes a fine balance between being brawny and brainy, playful and poignant. G.V. 11. Steve Lehman <i>Travail, Transformation, and Flow</i> (Pi) Lehman wrote his new album by utilizing spectral harmony, but this isn’t just music for academics. The sometimes taut quality of the writing inspires exciting solos from Lehman, tenor saxophonist Mark Shim and trumpeter Jonathan Finlayson. M.S. 12. Keith Jarrett <i>Paris/London—Testament</i> (ECM) To compare the fearless searches and naked commitments of Jarrett’s solo piano concerts to most standard piano jazz is like comparing the full turbulence of actual life to a selective memory of it. T.C. 13. Bill Frisell <i>Disfarmer</i> (Nonesuch ) This highly personal response to the work of an “outsider artist” is one of Frisell’s most accessible albums, perhaps because the haunting sonorities of rural America are universal in their longing and loneliness. T.C. 14. Keith Jarrett/Gary Peacock/Jack DeJohnette <i>Yesterdays</i> (ECM) The creative consistency and scale of Jarrett’s discography with Gary Peacock and Jack DeJohnette is unprecedented among piano trios in the history of jazz. Yesterdays is characterized by extremes of dynamic and emotional range. T.C. 15. The Monterey Quartet <i>Live at the 2007 Monterey Jazz Festival</i> (MJF) Built around bassist Dave Holland, two recent collaborators (drummer Eric Harland and saxophonist Chris Potter) and the Cuban-born pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba, the quartet’s rare gig coheres like of a band that’s been road-tested. J.T. 16. Dave Douglas <i>Spirit Moves</i> (Green Leaf) 17. Chris Potter Underground <i>Ultrahang</i> (ArtistShare) 18. James Moody <i>4A</i> (IPO) 19. James Carter/John Medeski/Christian McBride/Adam Rogers/Joey Baron <i>Heaven on Earth</i> (Half Note) 20. Charles Tolliver Big Band <i>Emperor March</i> (Half Note) 21. Steve Kuhn <i>Mostly Coltrane</i> (ECM) 22. Fly <i>Sky & Country</i> (ECM) 23. Joshua Redman <i>Compass</i> (Nonesuch) 24. Ravi Coltrane <i>Blending Times</i> (Savoy) 25. Rudresh Mahanthappa’s Indo-Pak Coalition <i>Apti</i> (Innova) 26. Robert Glasper <i>Double Booked</i> (Blue Note) 27. Dee Alexander <i>Wild Is the Wind</i> (Blujazz ) 28. Arve Henriksen <i>Cartography</i> (ECM) 29. Roy Hargrove Big Band <i>Emergence</i> (Emarcy) 30. Jim Hall & Bill Frisell <i>Hemispheres</i> (ArtistShare) 31. Matt Wilson Quartet <i>That’s Gonna Leave a Mark</i> (Palmetto) 32. Melody Gardot <i>My One and Only Thrill</i> (Verve) 33. John Patitucci Trio <i>Remembrance</i> (Concord) 34. SFJAZZ Collective <i>Live 2009: The Works of McCoy Tyner</i> (SFJAZZ ) 35. Martial Solal <i>Live at the Village Vanguard</i> (Cam Jazz) 36. Darius Jones Trio <i>Man’ish Boy</i> (AUM Fidelity) 37. Enrico Rava <i>New York Days</i> (ECM) 38. Jan Garbarek Group <i>Dresden: In Concert</i> (ECM) 39. Jackie Ryan <i>Doozy</i> (Open Art) 40. Linda Oh Trio <i>Entry</i> (Linda Oh) 41. Kurt Elling <i>Dedicated to You</i> (Concord) 42. Stefon Harris and Blackout <i>Urbanus</i> (Concord) 43. John Scofield <i>Piety Street</i> (Emarcy) 44. Seamus Blake <i>Live in Italy</i> (Jazz Eyes) 45. Gerald Wilson Orchestra <i>Detroit</i> (Mack Avenue) 46. Joe Locke-David Hazeltine Quartet <i>Mutual Admiration Society 2</i> (Sharp Nine) 47. The Manhattan Transfer <i>The Chick Corea Songbook</i> (Four Quarters) 48. Stanley Clarke Trio with Lenny White & Hiromi <i>Jazz in the Garden</i> (Heads Up) 49. J.D. Allen Trio <i>Shine!</i> (Sunnyside) 50. Chick Corea/John McLaughlin <i>Five Peace Band Live</i> (Concord) <B>Top 10 Historical/Reissues</B> 1. Freddie Hubbard <i>Without a Song (Live in Europe, 1969)</i> (Blue Note) On these nights in England and Germany in 1969, Hubbard blew higher and faster and louder than anyone had heard since Louis Armstrong toured those countries in his prime. B.M. 2. John Coltrane <i>Side Steps</i> (Prestige) During the mid-’50s, Trane often served as a sideman, adding licks to recordings by Red Garland, Gene Ammons, Mal Waldron and even Sonny Rollins. His distinctive style is already in place on the five discs comprising this box set. J.T. 3. Lucky Thompson <i>New York City, 1964-65</i> (Uptown ) Hot on the heels of his celebrated <i>Lucky Strikes</i> album, the underrated tenor/soprano saxophonist tore it up at two NYC gigs a year apart, in both octet and quartet configurations. J.T. 4. Tony Bennett/Bill Evans <i>The Complete Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Recordings</i> (Fantasy/Concord) Considered by many the perfect jazz-pop amalgam, this mid-’70s collaboration retains all of its sparkle today. A second disc of alternate takes illustrates the creative process at work and offers new perspectives on the session. J.T. 5. Codona <i>The Codona Trilogy</i> (ECM) Roughly three decades later, listening to the collected music of Codona gives a strong impression that the group was much less a novel footnote in the annals of world-inspired jazz than it was an important creative statement. J.W. 6. Scott LaFaro, <I>Pieces of Jade</I> (Resonance) 7. Ella Fitzgerald <i>Twelve Nights In Hollywood</I> (Verve Select) 8. Art Pepper <i>The Art History Project: Unreleased Art IV</I> (Widow's Taste) 9. Duke Ellington <I>The Great Concerts (London & New York 1963-1964)</I>(Musicmasters/Nimbus) 10. Miles Davis <I>Sketches of Spain (50th Anniversary Enhanced Edition)</I> (Sony Legacy) true 261 2009-12-15T11:40:38-05:00 false 25461 179 true 140 2010-01-01T00:00:00-05:00

JazzTimes compiles the top new release and historical/reissue albums for the year, based on voting by its contributors

2010-01-11T10:25:41-05:00