The 10 best new jazz releases of 2020

1.     Tim Ray, Excursions and Adventures (Whaling City Sound)
2.     Maria Schneider Orchestra, Data Lords (ArtistShare)
3.     Artemis, Artemis (Blue Note)
4.     Jeff Rupert and George Garzone, The Ripple (Rupe Media)
5.     Lynne Arriale, Chimes of Freedom (Challenge)
6.     Bernard Purdie, Christian Fabian, Ron Oswanski, Move On! (Consolidated Artists)
7.     3D Jazz Trio, I Love to See You Smile (DIVA Jazz)
8.     Funk Shui NYC, Shark NATO on a Plane (Zoho)
9.     Wayne Alpern, Standard Deviation (Henri Elkan Music)
10.The Michael O’Neill Quartet, And Then It Rained (Jazzmo)

The best historical/reissues of 2020 (includes any recordings made over 10 years ago, whether newly released or reissued):

 2020’s best vocal recordings:

1.     Sinne Eeg & The Danish Radio Big Band, We’ve Just Begun (Stunt/BFM Jazz)
2.     Kenny Washington, What’s The Hurry (A-Train Entertainment)
3.     Clairdee, A Love Letter to Lena (Declare Music)
4.     Melody Gardot, Sunset in Blue (Decca)
5.     Susan Tobocman, Touch & Go (Soliterra)

2020’s best Latin/Brazilian jazz recordings:

1.     Emilio Solla Tango Jazz Orchestra, Puertos: Music From International Waters (Avantango)
2.     Calle Loiza Jazz Project, There Will Never be Another You (self-produced)
3.     John Daversa Quintet, Cuarantena: With Family at Home (Tiger Turn)
4.     Jose Rizo’s Mongorama, Mariposas Cantan (Saungu)
5.     Vanderlei Pereira, Vision for Rhythm (Jazzheads)

 2020’s best debut recording:

Douglas Olsen, 2 Cents (self-produced)

The 10 best new compositions from CDs released in 2020, listed alphabetically:

• Lynne Arriale, “3 Million Steps” from Chimes of Freedom (Challenge)
• Frank Colón, “Spanish Heart” from Latin Lounge (Technoprimal)
• Jenny Davis, “Wise Up” from Rearranged (Three Penny)
• Erik Jekabson, “Dusk” from Erik Jekabson Sextet III, One Note at a Time (Wide Hive)
• Austin McMahon, “Sol” from The Lost Melody, New Songs For Old Souls (Tie)
• Dave Morgan, Noel Cohen, “July Groove/September Funk” from Funk Shui NYC, Shark NATO on a Plane (Zoho)
• Josh Nelson, “Kintsugi” from Josh Nelson Trio, The Discovery Project Live in Japan (Steel Bird)
• Jose Rizo and Francisco Torres, “Descarga Ramon Banda” from Jose Rizo’s Mongarama, Mariposas Cantan (Saungu)
• Renee Rosnes, “Big Top” from Artemis (Blue Note)
• Maria Schneider, “A World Lost” from Data Lords (ArtistShare)

In a year overflowing with mixed blessings, the opportunity to hear more recorded music must rank in my Top Ten--not that I always had the taste or mental energy for doing so. Still, this extraordinary year brought so much extraordinary music to my ears that this alphabetical list is 15 items long. The fact that all releases are by BIPoC and women artists is not an accident.

Ambrose Akinmusire: On the tender spot of every calloused moment (Blue Note)

Camilla Nebbia: Aura (ears & eyes Records)

Code Girl: Artlessly Falling(Firehouse 12)

Dayna Stephens Quartet: Right Now! Live at the Village Vanguard (Contagious Music)

Eric Revis: Slipknots Through A Looking Glass (Pyroclastic Records)

Ingrid Laubrock: Dreamt Twice, Twice Dreamt (Intakt Records)

Ingrid Laubrock+Kris Davis: Blood Moon (Intakt Records)

Irreversible Entanglements:  Who Sent You? (International Anthem)

Manuel Valera & New Cuban Express Big Band: José Martí En Nueva York (Greenleaf Music)

Maria Schneider Orchestra: Data Lords (ArtistShare)

Matthew Shipp: The Piano Equation (Tao Forms)

Shabaka And The Ancestors : We Are Sent Here By History (Impulse!)

Steph Richards: Supersense (Northern Spy)

Thumbscrew: The Anthony Braxton Project (Cunieform)

Tyshawn Sorey: Unfiltered (self released)

Yes, it's hard to select 10 best of the year. Downloads are not making it easier to organize -- I'm flooded! Great to have so much music at my fingertips, so that's not a complaint. And I may return to this list to add other notable releases, but I can recommend all of these albums -- and urge you to hear the title track of 92-year-old-though-you-wouldn't-know-it bluesman Jimmy Johnson's "Ever Day of Your Life."

Monk'estra plays John Beasley (Mack Avenue), John Beasley

Ism (International Anthem), Junius Paul*

Old New, (Cuneiform), Tomeka Reid Quartet*

Omega (Blue Note), Immanuel Wilkins

General Semantics (Delmark), Geof Bradfield-Ben Goldberg-Dana Hall Trio

Night Visitors (SE Records), by Dave Bryant with Charnette Moffett and Gregg Bendian

Every Day of Your Life (Delmark), Jimmy Johnson

Rainbow Sign (Blue Note), Ron Miles

Like the Sun (Dim Mak), Brian Charrett

Cosmicomics (Queen Bee Records), Lisa Mezzacappa

* released in 2019

Also -- Human Rights Trio, Jason Kao Hwang

          Swallow Tales (ECM), John Scofield

Top releases 2020 - in no order

 Sothiac feat Paul Jolly ' Superluna' ( Sotrhiac/33Jazz)

 Ivo Perelman/Gordon Grdina ' The Purity of desire' ( Not Two records)

 The End Allt Ir Intet ( Rare Noise records)

 Will Glaser and James Allsop ' New River Ramble' ( self release)

 Archie The Goldfish 'Hidden Depths' ( Ropeadope)

 Elliot Galvin and Binker Golding 'Ex Nihillo (Byrd Out)

 Ensemble C Small World ( Self Release)

 Dinosaur ' to THe Earth' ( Edition)

 Erodoto Project ' Mythos- Metomorphosis ( Cultural Bridge)

 Tony Kofi - Another Kind Of Soul ( Last Music Company)

 Witch N Monk ' Witch 'N Monk' ( Tzadik )

 David Grubbs/Mats Gustafsson ' The Underflow' (Corbet vs Dempsey)

All of these are worth checking out. So difficult to choose just a few.

Best Interviews I carried out in 2020

Ivo Perelman       Ivo Perelman is Prolific in His Creativity: An Interview with Ivo Perelman ~ The Free Jazz Collective (freejazzblog.org)

Mats Gustafsson  An Interview with Mats Gustafsson ~ The Free Jazz Collective (freejazzblog.org)

Daniel Bennett LOOKING FOR THE BLESSINGS! - Daniel Bennett offers hope during Coronavirus (jazzviews.net) 

These interviews were very revealing