Jazz remains a thing of great beauty and intrinsic value, a lively art worthy of our support and admiration. That's despite the best efforts of the likes of Spotify and other bean-counting music industry profiteers to ensure that sales of recordings profit platform owners to the greatest degree possible and financially benefit the actual music makers (the "content creators") to the least degree legally permitted. Consequently, it’s more difficult than ever for musical artists to sustain life by solely focusing on their artistic efforts.

Sadly, in 2022 public radio overlords – at WUSF-FM in my town, Tampa, and elsewhere -- continued dismantling decades-long traditions, ditching originally produced jazz programming and replacing it with generic news broadcasts, consequently damaging local musical communities.

Still, jazz art flourishes, with challenging and provocative music presented live and on recordings by younger and established players alike, in communities around the globe. 

Here are some of my favorite jazz releases of 2022, in alphabetical order:

New Releases

Martin Bejerano, #CubanAmerican (Figgland)

Jeff Coffin, Between Dreaming and Joy (Ear Up) 

Billy Drummond and Freedom of Ideas, Valse Sinistre (Cellar)

Al Foster, Reflections (Smoke Sessions) 

Tom Harrell, Oak Tree (HighNote) 

Julian Lage, View With a Room (Blue Note)

Chuck Owen and the Jazz Surge, Within Us: Celebrating 25 Years of the Jazz Surge (MAMA) 

Redman Mehldau McBride Blade, LongGone (Nonesuch)  

Joel Ross, The Parable of the Poet (Blue Note)  

Snarky Puppy, Empire Central (GroundUp) 

Historical

Bill Evans, Morning Glory (Resonance) 

Bill Evans, Inner Spirit (Resonance) 

Jack McDuff, Live at Parnell’s (Soul Bank)