These are the 2025 "Best of Jazz" lists and commentaries compiled by Members of the Jazz Journalists Association. They are displayed in the order received, with the most recent on top. 

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  • 11 Dec 2025 12:15 PM | Bill Milkowski

    Top 50 Picks for 2025:

    1. Mark Turner, The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man (Loveland Music)

    2. Fred Hersch, The Surrounding Green (ECM)

    3. Joshua Redman, Words Fall Short (Blue Note)

    4. Dave Douglas, Alloy (Greenleaf Music)

    5. Nels Cline, Concentric Quartet (Blue Note)

    6. Branford Marsalis, Belonging (Blue Note)

    7. Carl Allen, Tippin’ (Cellar Music)

    8. John Scofield/Dave Holland, Memories of Home (ECM)

    9. Shakti, Mind Explosion (Abstract Logix)

    10. Jerome Sabbath, Stand Up! (Analog Tone Factory)

    11. Chris Cheek, Keepers of the East Door (Analog Tone Factory)

    12. Linda May Han Oh, Strange Heavens (Biophilia)

    13. Anthony Wilson Nonet, House of the Singing Blossoms (Sam First Records)

    14. Rez Abbasi Acoustic Quintet, Sound Remains (Whirlwind Recordings)

    15. Miguel Zenon, Vanugardia Subterranean (Miel Music)

    16. George Coleman, With Strings (Highnote)

    17. Gilad Hekselman, Downhil From Here (La Reserve Records)

    18. Gonzalo Rubalcaba/Chris Potter/Larry Grenadier/Eric Harland, First Meeting: Live at Dizzy's Club (5Passion Records)

    19. Mike Clark, Itai Doshin (Wide Hive)

    20. Sullivan Fortner, Southern Nights (Artwork Records)

    21. Jaleel Shaw, Painter of the Invisible (Changu)

    22. Tony Davis, Jessamine (La Reserve Records)

    23. Aaron Parks, By All Means (Blue Note)

    24. Mary Halvorson, About Ghosts (Nonesuch)

    25. Bela Fleck/Edmar Castaneda/Antonio Sanchez, BEATrio (Thirty Tigers)

    26. Michael Dease, City Life: Music of Gregg Hill (Origin)

    27. Gregory Groover Jr., Old Knew (Criss Cross)

    28. John O'Gallagher, Ancestral (Whirlwind Recordings)

    29. Amina Claudine Myers, Solace of the Wind (Red Hook)

    30. John McLaughlin, Music for Abandoned Heights (IMPEX Records)

    31. David Kikoski Trio, Weekend at Smalls (Cellar Music)

    32. Mike LeDonne's Groover Quartet, Turn It Up! Live at the Side Door (Cellar Music)

    33. Juan Chiavassa, Fourth Generation (Whirlwind Recordings)

    34. Nicole Glover, Memories, Dreams, Reflections (Savant)

    35. Josh Lawrence, Still We Dream (PosiTone)

    36. Kenny Barron, Songbook (Artwork Records)

    37. Nicole Zuraitis & Friends, Live at Vic's Las Vegas (La Reserve)

    38. Olli Soikkeli, New York Trio (ollisoikkeli.com)

    39. Eric McPherson, Double Bass Quartet (Giant Step Arts)

    40. Theon Cross, Affirmations: Live at the Blue Note New York (New Soil)

    41. Pasquale Grasso, Solo Be-Bop! (Sony Masterworks)

    42. Anat Fort, The Dreamworld of Paul Motian (Sunnyside)

    43. Al Foster, Live at Smoke (Smoke Sessions)

    44. David Becker/Paul Wertico, Tuxedo Man (GAD Records)

    45. Billy Hart, Multidirectional (Smoke Sessions)

    46. Eric Reed, Out Late (Smoke Sessions)

    47. Karl Ratzer Trio, Vienna Red (In+Out Records)

    48. Tessa Souter, Shadows and Silence: The Erik Satie Project (Noanara Music)

    49. George Colligan, Live at the Jazz Standard (Whirlwind Recordings)

    50. Danny Gatton, Live at the Holiday Inn, 1987 (Gress Records)  

  • 11 Dec 2025 10:56 AM | Hank Shteamer

    Top 10 new releases of 2025:

    1. Marcus Gilmore, Journey to the New: Live at the Village Vanguard 
    2. Amina Claudine Myers, Solace of the Mind
    3. Jacob Garchik, Ye Olde 2: At the End of Time
    4. Craig Taborn, Nels Cline, Marcus Gilmore, Trio of Bloom
    5. Kassa Overall, Cream
    6. Billy Hart Quartet, Just
    7. Brandee Younger, Gadabout Season
    8. Chicago Underground Duo, Hyperglyph
    9. Joe Farnsworth, The Big Room
    10. Marshall Allen’s Ghost Horizons, Live in Philadelphia

  • 09 Dec 2025 10:26 PM | Marcia K Hocker

    What a joy to have shared tracks from a number of new releases from local Portland musicians as well as established icons. Alternate Wednesdays on KBOO.FM/program/jazz-lives.

    The Powerhouse Quintet - Shared Stories; https://www.youtube.com/@PowerhouseJazz Quintet-xb6wt.

    Christopher Brown Quartet - Sole City; PJCE Records

    Kerry Politzer - Ruminations; PJCE Records

    Tom Wakeling - West By Northwest/Live at Ravenscroft:Vol 1; Cellar Music Group

    Domo Branch - Hands of Gifts: Albina Music Trust

    *Terell Stafford - Between Two Worlds; Le Coq Records

    Allan Harris - The Poetry of Jazz/Live at Blue Llama

    Caelan Cardello - Chapter One; Jazz Bird Records

    NYO Jazz - Live in Johannesburg; Carnegie Hall Weill Music Institute

    Lucy Yeghiazaryan - Some Other Spring w/Grant Steward; self published

    Nicholas Payton - Triune w/Esperanza Spalding, Karriem Riggins; Smoke Sessions

    The EMPRESS - Square One; Cellar Music

    *Live interview on 11/19 in the second hour

  • 09 Dec 2025 5:56 AM | Daniel Polletta

    Here's some of favorite recordings we shared with listeners on Ideastream Public Media's JazzNEO   https://www.ideastream.org/jazz in no particular order in 2025


    • Omer Avital, New York Now & Then (Zamzama) 
    • Marty Ehrlich Trio Exaltation, This Time (Sunnyside) 
    • Anat Fort, The Dreamworld of Paul Motian (Sunnyside) 
    • James Brandon Lewis Quartet, Abstraction Is Deliverance (Intakt) 
    • Billy Mohler, The Eternal (Contagious Music) 
    • Linda May Han Oh, Strange Heavens (Biophilia) 
    • John Scofield & Dave Holland, Memories of Home (ECM) 
    • Chad Taylor Quintet, Smoke Shifter (Otherly Love) 
    • Wild Iris Brass Band, Way Up (Ear Up) 
    • Sarah Wilson, Incandescence (Brass Tonic) 




  • 07 Dec 2025 5:11 PM | David Haney

    Top ten from Cadence Magazine

    2025 TOP NEW RECORDINGS - LARRY HOLLIS

    SHAREL CASSITY—GRATITUDE--SUNNYSIDE

    ERIC ALEXANDER/VINCENT HERRING—SPLIT 

      DECISION—SMOKE SESSIONS

    BRANFORD MARSALIS—BELONGING--BLUE NOTE

    BUDDY GUY—AIN'T DONE YET—RCA SILVERTONE

    JOE FARNSWORTH—BIG ROOM—SMOKE SESSIONS

    CORY WEEDS—MEETS JERRY WELDON—CELLAR

    BLUE MOODS—FORCE AND GRACE—POSITONE

    ERIC ALEXANDER—LIKE SUGAR—CELLAR MUSIC

    GEORGE COLEMAN—WITH STRINGS—HIGHNOTE

    ALVIN QUEEN—THE JAZZ CUP CAFE BLUES—CELLAR


    REISSUES/HISTORICAL - LARRY HOLLIS

    CHARLIE PARKER—BIRD IN K.C.--VERVE

    TUBBY HAYES—ANTIBES 1962—JAZZ IN BRITAIN

    BACK DOOR—VIENNA BREAKDOWN—ESOTERIC

    JIMMY WITHERSPOON/ROBBEN FORD—JUMP BLUES 

      LIVE 1972—LIBERATION HALL

    CHET BAKER QUINTET—FIVE FROM 65—NEW LAND

    ROY BROOKS—THE FREE SLAVE—TIME TRAVELER

    MEMPHIS SLIM—AT THE GATE OF HORN—CRAFT

    MILES DAVIS QUINTET—COMPLETE PLUGGED 

      NICKEL—SONY LEGACY

    KENNY BURRELL-ON VIEW AT THE FIVE SPOT—BLUE  

      NOTE

    ROLAND KIRK QUARTET—DOMINO—MIG(CD/DVD}


    2025 TOP NEW RECORDINGS - FRANK KoHL

    Florian Arbenz — The Alpine Sessions 

    Yunmi Kang & John Stowell Duo — A Timeless 

      Piece

    Dave Stryker — Goes To The Movies 

    Ari Hoenig — Punkbop- Live At Smalls  

    Leo Larratt — Rahim’s Blues 

    Donny McCaslin — Lullaby Of The Lost 

    Shawn Purcell — Oblivity 

    Mike Stern — Echoes And Other Songs 

    Johnathan Blake — My Life Matters 

    Randy Napoleon — Waking Dream 


    2025 TOP NEW RECORDINGS - ABE goldstein

    Eric McPherson — Double Bass Quartet —

      Giant Steps

    James Brandon Lewis — Abstractions in   

      Deliverance — Intakt

    Thomas Ruckert — For All We Know

      — Challenge

    Ehud Asherie — Thank You Barry Harris —

      Arbors

    Michael Bisio — NuMBq — Mahakala

    Joe McPhee — We Know Why The Caged Bird Sings — Rogue Art

    Thomas Heberer — Hipp Hipp Hooray — FSR

    David Kikoski— Weekend at Smalls — Cellar

    Joris Roelofs— Rite of Spring — ICP

    Steve Hirsh — The Back Nine — Self produced 


    REISSUES/HISTORICAL - ABE goldstein

    Dave Burrell — The Lost Session — No Business

    Rashied Ali — Sidewalks In Motion — Survival

    Ellery Eskelin — About (Or On) First — 

      Ezzthetics

    Kenny Dorham — Blue Bossa in the Bronx  — Resonance

    Irene Schweizer — Irene’s Hot Four — Intakt Gato Barbieri — Standards Lost & Found

    ChaRles Mingus — In Argentina — Resonance

    Jimmy Bennington — Blue Veils — That Swan

    Frank Kimbrough — The CallHorace Tapsctott — Live at Widney High 1971

    2025 TOP NEW RECORDINGS - Jerome wilson

    Ensemble C —  Every Journey — Adhyaropa 

    Amina Claudine Myers — Solace of the Mind

    Linda May Han Oh — Strange Heavens

    Fabia Mantwill Orchestra — In - Sight 

    Jason Kao Hwang — Myths of Origin 

    Patricia Brennan — Of the Near and Far

    Van Morrison — Remembering Now — Exile 

    Jimmy Farace —  Hours Fly, Flowers Die

    The Hemphill Stringtet — Plays the Music of 

      Julius Hemphill — Out Of Your Head 

    Branford Marsalis Quartet — Belonging (


    2025 TOP NEW RECORDINGS - Ken weiss 

    RAPHAEL PANNIER QUARTET/KHADIM NIANG & 

      SABAR GROUP – LIVE IN SAINT LOUIS, SENEGAL 

    SYLVIE COURVOISIER/MARY HALVORSON – BONE 

      BELLS – PYROCLASTIC 

    SATOKO FUJII TOKYO TRIO – DREAM A DREAM 

    PATRICIA BRENNAN – OF THE NEAR AND FAR  

    SYLVIE COURVOISIER /WADADA LEO SMITH – ANGEL 

      FALLS – INTAKT

    ALISTER SPENCE TRIO – GATHER 

    HENRY THREADGILL – LISTEN SHIP – PI

    SPINIFEX – MAXXIMUS – TRYTONE

    MARTY EHRLICH EXALTATION TRIO – THIS TIME 

    PLAINS PEAK – SOMEONE TO SOMEONE 


    REISSUES/HISTORICAL - Ken weiss 

    PHAROAH SANDERS – THE COMPLETE THERESA 

      RECORDINGS  

    ELLERY ESKELIN - ELLERY ESKELIN TRIO NEW YORK: 

      ABOUT (OR ON) FIRST VISIT  

    FREDDIE HUBBARD – FREDDIE HUBBARD ON FIRE LIVE 

      FROM THE BLUE MOROCCO – RESONANCE

    RAHSAAN ROLAND KIRK – SEEK & LISTEN: LIVE AT THE PENDTHOUSE – RESONANCE

    CHARLES MINGUS - MINGUS IN ARGENTINA – THE 

       BUENOS AIRES CONCERTS 

    JIMMY LYONS – LIVE FROM STUDIO RIVBEA –1974 & 

      1976  

    KENNY DORHAM – KENNY DORHAM BLUE BOSSA IN 

      THE BRONX LIVE FROM THE BLUE MOROCCO 

    RAHSAAN ROLAND KIRK – VIBRATIONS IN THE 

      VILLAGE: LIVE AT THE VILLAGE GATE


    2025 TOP NEW RECORDINGS - Scott Yanow

    Joe Farnsworth – The Big Room – Smoke 

      Sessions

    Irving Flores Afro-Cuban Sextet – Armando mi 

      Conga – Amor de Flores Productions

    Sullivan Fortner – Southern Nights – Pias

    nenna Freelon – Beneath The Skin – Origin

    Caity Gyorgy – Hello! How Are You? – Self-

      Released

    David Kikoski – Weekend At Smalls – Cellar

    Branford Marsalis – Belonging – Blue Note

    Arturo O’Farrill & The Afro Latin Jazz 

      Orchestra - Mundoagua – Zoho

    Anais Reno – Lady Of The Lavender Mist – Club 

      44

    Gonzalo Rubalcaba – First Meeting –   

      5passion

     

    REISSUES/HISTORICAL – Scott Yanow

    Bob Crosby - Classic Decca Recordings Of 

      Bob Crosby Orchestra/Bob Cats (1936-1942)             Miles Davis – Miles In Paris – Columbia/Legacy

    Ella Fitzgerald – Live At The Concetgebouw 

      1961 – The Lost Recordings

    Rahsaan Roland Kirk – Vibrations In The 

      Village - Resonance

    Oscar Moore – The Enchanting Guitar – Fresh 

      Sound

    Charlie Parker – Bird In Kansas City - Verve

    Art Pepper – An Afternoon In Norway – 

      Elemental Music

    Andre Previn – Early Years – Acrobat

    McCoy Tyner & Joe Henderson – Forces Of 

      Nature – Blue Note

    Various Artists – Classic Vanguard Small 

      Group Swing Sessions – Mosaic

     

    2025 TOP NEW RECORDINGS - George Harris

    Eddie Daniels – To Milton With Love

    Mike LeDonne's Groover Quartet– Turn It Up!

    Denny Zeitlin – With A Song In My Heart

    Bob James and Dave Koz – Just Us

    Diego Figuieredo – I Love Samba

    Gunhild Carling – Jazz Is My Lifestyle

    Horace Silver – Live At The Penthouse

    Gillian Margot and Geoffrey Geezer – Gillian 

      Margot and Geoffrey Geezer

    Freddie Hubbard – On Fire

    Kenny Dorham – Blue Bossa In Bronx


    2025 TOP NEW RECORDINGS - ZIM TARRO

    DAVID “FATHEAD” NEWMAN - RETURN TO THE WIDE 

      OPEN SPACES

    Rob Brown - Walkabout - Mahakala

    Dave Sewelson, Steve Swell, Matthew Shipp, 

      William Parker & Steve Hirsh – Muscle Memory

    LOUIS ROSEN – AMERICAN SUNSET – DI-TONE 

    HENRY THREADGILL – LISTEN SHIP – PI

    Patricia Brennan — Of the Near and Far

    The Hemphill Stringtet — Plays the Music of 

      Julius Hemphill — Out Of Your Head 

    BUDDY GUY—AIN'T DONE YET—RCA SILVERTONE

    John Taylor, Marc Johnson, Joey Baron · -   

      Tramonto  —  ECM



  • 05 Dec 2025 7:50 PM | Rick Mitchell

    Top Jazz Albums 2025

    Charles Lloyd, Figure In Blue

    Branford Marsalis Quartet, Belonging

    Kenny Barron, Songbook

    Artemis, Arboresque

    Joshua Redman, Words Fall Short

    Fieldwork, Thereupon

    David Murray Quartet, Birdly Serenade

    Mike Clark, Itai Doshin

    Tyreek McDole, Open Up Your Senses

    Irving Flores Afro-Cuban Jazz Sextet, Armando Mi Conga

    Joe Farnsworth, The Big Room

    Isaiah J. Thompson, The Book of Isaiah: Modern Jazz Ministry

    Billy Hart Quartet, Just

    Ryan Truesdale Presents Gil Evans Project, Shades of Sound

    George Coleman, George Coleman with Strings

    Comment: Though it was not planned, it occurs to me that each of these albums except one has one or more bad-ass saxophonists: The band leaders Charles Lloyd, Branford Marsalis, Joshua Redman and David Murray; the essential band members or side players Steve Lehman (with Fieldwork), Craig Handy (with Mike Clark), Mark Turner (with Billy Hart) Steve Wilson and Donny McCaslin (with Ryan Truesdale), Norbert Stachel (with Irving Flores); and the relative newcomers Nicole Glover (with Artemis), Sarah Hanahan (with Joe Farnsworth), Julian Lee (with Isaiah J. Thompson) and Dylan Band (with Tyreek McDole). And then there's 90-year-old George Coleman, surrounded by a bed of strings. The one exception is Kenny Barron's Songbook, which is all about the singers and the songs. 

    Five non-jazz albums I enjoy.

    Van Morrison, Remembering Now

    Various Artists, A Tribute to the King of Zydeco

    Don Was and the Pan-Detroit Ensemble, Groove in the Face of Adversity

    Mavis Staples, Sad and Beautiful World

    Taj Mahal and Keb' Mo', Room on the Porch 


  • 16 Jan 2025 7:50 AM | Geoffrey Himes

    GEOFFREY HIMES

     

    TWENTY BEST JAZZ ALBUMS OF 2024:

     

    1.                  Ambrose Akinmusire: Owl Song (Nonesuch)

    2.                  Steve Coleman and Five Elements: Polytropos/Of Many Turns (Pi/M-Base)

    3.                  Charles Lloyd: The Sky Will Still Be There Tomorrow (Blue Note)

    4.                  Hamilton de Holanda/Gonzalo Rubalcaba: “Saudade, Saudade” from Collab (De Holanda)

    5.                  David Murray Quartet: Francesca (Intakt)

    6.                  Ben Wendel: Under Story: Ben Wendel Live at the Village Vanguard (Edition)

    7.                  Bill Frisell/Kit Downes/Andrew Cyrille: Breaking the Shell (Red Hook)

    8.                  Micah Thomas: Mountains (Artwork)

    9.                  The Lux Quartet: Tomorrowland (Enja)

    10.              Leo Genovese: Forward (577)

    11.              Vijay Iyer: Compassion (ECM)

    12.              Patricia Brennan Septet: Breaking Stretch (Pyroclastic)

    13.              Marta Sanchez Trio: Perpetual Void (Intakt)

    14.              Tyshawn Sorey Trio: The Susceptible Now (Pi)

    15.              Lucian Ban Mat Maneri: Transylvanian Dances (ECM)

    16.              Geof Bradfield: Colossal Abundance (Calligram)

    17.              Melissa Aldana: Echoes of the Inner Prophet (Blue Note)

    18.              Lakecia Benjamin: Phoenix Reimagined (Live) (Ropeadope)

    19.              Erik Friedlander: Dirty Boxing/Floating City (Friedlander)

    20.              Kenny Barron: Beyond This Place (Artwork)

     

    TWENTY BEST NON-JAZZ ALBUMS OF 2024:

     

    1.                  Charley Crockett: $10 Cowboy, Chapters One & Two (Son of Davy)

    2.                  Taylor Swift: The Tortured Poets Department (Republic)

    3.                  Beyonce: Cowboy Carter (Columbia)

    4.                  Kevin Gordon: “You Can’t Hurt Me No More” from The In Between (Gordon)

    5.                  MJ Lenderman: “She’s Leaving You” from Manning Fireworks (Anti-)

    6.                  Steve Dawson: “Sooner than Expected” from Ghosts (Pravda)

    7.                  Billie Eilish: “Lunch” from Hit Me Hard and Soft (Dark Room/Interscope)

    8.                  Willi Carlisle: “Two-Headed Lamb” from Critterland (Signature Sounds)

    9.                  Willie Nelson: “Last Leaf on the Tree” from The Last Leaf (Legacy)

    10.              Jeremie Albino: “I Don’t Mind Waiting” from Our Time in the Sun (Easy Eye)

    11.              Japandroids: “D&T” from Fate + Alcohol (Anti-)

    12.              Yasmin Williams: “Harvest” from Acadia (Nonesuch)

    13.              The Decemberists: “Burial Ground” from As It Ever Was, So It Will Be Again (Yarb)

    14.              Zach Bryan: “Sandpaper” from The Great American Bar Scene (Warner)

    15.              Kali Uchis: “Pensamientos Intrusivos” from Orquideas (Geffen)

    16.              T Bone Burnett: The Other Side (Verve)

    17.              Charli XCX: Brat (Atlantic)

    18.              Miranda Lambert: Postcards from Texas (Big Loud/Republic)

    19.              Dave Alvin & Jimmie Dale Gilmore Texicali (Yep Roc)

    20.              Cedric Burnside: Hill Country Love (Provogue)

     

    FIVE BEST HISTORICAL JAZZ ALBUMS:

    1. Sonny Rollins: Freedom Weaver: The 1959 European Tour Recordings (Resonance)
    2. Andrew Hill Sextet Plus 10: A Beautiful Day Revisited (2002, Palmetto)
    3. Wayne Shorter: Celebration, Volume 1 (2014, Blue Note)
    4. Art Tatum: Jewels in the Treasure Box: The 1953 Chicago Blue Note Club Recordings (Resonance)
    5. Sun Ra: Lights on a Satellite: Live at the Left Bank (1978, Resonance)

    FIVE BEST HISTORICAL NON-JAZZ ALBUMS:

     

    • 1.      Elvis Costello: King of America & Other Realms (Universal)
    • 2.      Neil Young: Archives III (Reprise)
    • 3.      Joni Mitchell: Archives—Volume Four (1976-1980) (Rhino)
    • 4.      The dBs: Stands for Decibels (Propeller)
    • 5.      Joe Grushecky: Houserocker: A Joe Grushecky Anthology (Omnivore)

     

     

  • 15 Jan 2025 1:21 PM | Jeff Cebulski

    TOP 10 NEW RELEASES

    1. Vijay Iyer, Compassion (ECM)
    2. Charles Lloyd, The Sky Will Still Be There Tomorrow (Blue Note)
    3. James Brandon Lewis Quartet, Transfiguration (Intakt)
    4. Lux Quartet, Tomorrowland (enja)
    5. Peter Bernstein, Better Angels (Smoke Sessions Records)
    6. One for All, Big George (Smoke Sessions Records) 
    7. Walter Smith III, three of us are from Houston and Rueben is not (Blue Note)
    8. Joel Ross, Nublues (Blue Note) 
    9. Chris Potter-Brad Mehldau-John Patitucci-Brian Blade, Eagle's Point (Edition) 
    10. Immanuel Wilkins, Blues Blood (Blue Note)

    RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

    1. Tomasz Stanko Quartet, September Night (ECM)
    2. Roy Hargrove's Crisol, Grande-Terre (Verve)
    3. Emily Remler, Cookin' at the Queens: Live in Las Vegas (Resonance)
    4. Kurt Rosenwinkel, The Next Step Band: Live at Smalls, 1996 (Heartcore Records)
    5. McCoy Tyner & Joe Henderson, Forces of Nature, Live at Slugs (Blue Note)

    VOCAL

    1. Alyssa Allgood, From Here (Next Records)

    2. Samara Joy, Portrait (Verve)


    DEBUT ALBUM

    1. Sarah Hanahan, Among Giants (Blue Engine Records)

  • 01 Jan 2025 6:33 PM | Chuck Koton



    1) Azar Lawrence Experience @Yoshi's, Oakland...6/18/2024. Master tenor and soprano saxophonist Azar Lawrence brought his band to a nearly sold out, mid-week gig at venerable Oakland jazz club, Yoshi’s, to celebrate Freedom Day, Juneteenth. On this night, Lawrence was joined by long time band mate, Brian Swartz (trumpet), among others, and special guests vocalist Tiffany Austin and old friend ,the legendary Taj Mahal!!!! The band generated the fire that one expects from Azar Lawrence, a searing heat he felt first hand with the bands of Elvin Jones and McCoy Tyner in the 1970s. A Tyner composition, ”Walk Spirit, Talk Spirit,” that Lawrence recorded with the piano master on the classic “live” album, “Enlightenment Suite,” afforded an opportunity for the band to stretch out. In my humble opinion, there is no one on the jazz scene today who blows the saxophone with the fire Lawrence generates.


    2)The great alto saxophonist, Charles McPherson, celebrated his 85th birthday and his hard swinging 2024 release, “Reverance”(Smoke Sessions Records), with Mr Jazz San Diego, Gilbert Castellanos(trumpet) at Lou Lou's, a swanky new club in San Diego. McPherson, at eight-five, still plays with the speed of a 20 year old but tempered by the more than six decades of musical experience he embodies. The alto master's display of his undiminished dexterity on the Be Bop classic, “Cherokee,” had Castellanos shaking his head in admiration. The band performed several compositions from the CD, including sensitive originals honoring McPherson’s beloved fellow Motowners, Barry Harris and Lonnie Hillyer. To reference a Be Bop classic, “Now's The Time” to honor Charles McPherson with an NEA Jazz Masters award.


    3) Veteran tenor saxophonist, Ralph Moore, brought a hard swingin' band into one of the top jazz clubs in the Los Angeles area, Sam First, conveniently located just down the street from LAX. This cozy club has also started recording music, as well as presenting live jazz almost nightly for the last several years. It's hard to believe that Moore has been one of the most respected saxophonists of the last forty years. It seems like just yesterday he was one of the Young Lions of the 80s, along with Cats like his dear, departed friend Roy Hargrove, the Marsalis Brothers & Joshua Redman, among others. Moore and the band, including the supernaturally youthful 88 year old dynamo of the drums, Roy McCurdy, came out of the gate with an uptempo composition, “Ugetsu” by master pianist and composer, the late Cedar Walton. And on the classic, “Moment's Notice,” the band transported the audience to a 1950s smoky club on NYC's Lower East Side where this pure, unadulterated, foot tappin' hard bop could be heard regularly. These days it seems, at least to my jaundiced ears, there's a bit too much ambient sound emanating from the band stand. Not on this night as Moore breathed a Coltrane influence and McCurdy drove the band to delirious heights.


    4) Phil Ranelin, “The Found Tapes: Live in Los Angeles, 1978-1981” (Org Music). One of the most important musicians of the last 50+ years, trombonist, composer and band leader Phil Ranelin discovered these recordings in the (process of  moving back to his Indianapolis hometown after suffering a debilitating stroke. Most of this CD was recorded by Ranelin on  cassettes during a performance at Maiden Voyage in LA in the summer of 1981. The band included a young and already brilliant pianist, Billy Childs along with two of LA’s first call Cats, bassist Tony Dumas and drummer Ralph Penland. Included is music from a broad spectrum of jazz including be bop and the post-bop modal sound that Ranelin reveled in. While the music is technically a bit raw, that quality has its charms in preserving these vital years of Ranelin’s on the LA jazz scene. 


    5) Michael Stephans, “Om Shalom” (Dot Time Records). This remarkable recording by drummer, composer, author and educator, Michael Stephans is a valuable reissue first recorded in 2005. Stephans had an epiphany over decades ago in which he was inspired to create music that would somehow blend his memories of Jewish sounds(both songs and prayers) with the Eastern influenced sounds in John Coltrane’s music in which he immersed himself as an adult. The result is an unforgettable recording made with his intrepid friends including NEA saxophone master, David Liebman, Bennie Maupin(saxophones, bass clarinet), Scott Colley(acoustic bass) and percussionist Munyungo Jackson. 


                                                              And 5 more special performances of 2024


    1) Henry “the Skipper” Franklin Quintet @ LACMA, 5/9/2024. 


    2) Cosmic Vibrations @The World Stage, 5/30/2024.


    3) Pan African Peoples Arkestra @The World Stage, 2/9/2024.


    4) Bobby West Trio @The World Stage, 1/19/2024.


    5) Joshua White Trio @The World Stage, 2/2/2024.


  • 29 Dec 2024 1:03 PM | C. Andrew Hovan

    Top Jazz Releases of 2024:

    NEW ALBUMS

    1. Jim Snidero, For All We Know (Savant)

    2. Kenny Barron, Beyond This Place (Artwork) 

    3. Immanuel Wilkins, Blues Blood (Blue Note) 

    4. Peter Bernstein, Better Angels (Smoke Sessions) 

    5. Louis Hayes, Artform Revisited (Savant) 

    RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

    6. McCoy Tyner & Joe Henderson, Forces of Nature: Live at Slugs' (1966, Blue Note) 

    7. Roy Hargrove's Crisol, Grande-Terre (1998, Verve) 

    8. Louis Armstrong, Louis in London (1968, Verve) 

    9. Sonny Rollins, A Night at the Village Vanguard: The Complete Masters (1957, Blue Note) 

    10. Bobby Hutcherson, Classic Bobby Hutcherson Blue Note Sessions 1963-1970 (Mosaic)


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