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)

Here are my ten favorite new albums of 2024. A full write-up on each of these, as well as my selections for numbers 11 through 35  can be found at PostGenre. Also on that site, you can find interviews from the past year with several of the artists on my list. 

NEW RELEASES

1. Wadada Leo Smith & Amina Claudine Myers, Central Park's Mosaics of Reservoir, Lake, Paths and Gardens (Red Hook)
2. Mulatu Astatke and Hoodna Orchestra, Tension (Batov) 
3. Brandon Ross Phantom Station, Off the End (Sunnyside)
4. Amaro Freitas, Y'Y (Psychic Hotline)
5. Colin Stetson, The love it took to leave you (Envision)
6. Patricia Brennan, Breaking Stretch (Pyroclastic)
7. David Leon, Bird's Eye (Pyroclastic)
8. The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis (Impulse!)
9. Mary Halvorson, Cloudward (Nonesuch)
10. Sun Ra Arkestra, Lights on a Satellite (In + Out)

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

1. Emily Remler, Cookin' at the Queens: Live in Las Vegas (1984 & 1988) (Resonance)
2. Wayne Shorter, Celebration Vol. 1 (Blue Note)
3. Alice Coltrane, Live at Carnegie Hall (Impulse!) 
4. Joe Henderson & McCoy Tyner, Forces of Nature: Live at Slug's 1966 (Blue Note)
5. The Malombo Jazz Men, Castle Lager Jazz Festival, 1964 (Strut)

VOCAL

1. Arooj Aftab, Night Reign (Verve) 
2. John Zorn & Jesse Harris, Love Songs Live (Tzadik)
3. Milton Nascimento & esparanza spalding, Milton + esperanza (Concord)

DEBUT

1. Riley Mulherkar, Riley (Westerlies)
2. Willy Rodriguez, Seeing Sounds (Coucs)
3. Alfredo Colón, Blood Burden (Out of Your Head)

LATIN

1. Amaro Freitas, Y'Y (Psychic Hotline)
2. Patricia Brennan, Breaking Stretch (Pyroclastic)
3. David Leon, Bird's Eye (Pyroclastic)

Top Ten New Releases

Charles Lloyd, The Sky Will Still Be There Tomorrow (Blue Note)

Jon Batiste, Beethoven Blues (Verve)

Milton + Esperanza, Milton + Esperanza (Concord)

Joel Ross, nublues (Blue Note)

Vijay Iyer, Compassion (ECM)

Walter Smith III, three of Us Are From Houston and Reuben Is Not (Blue Note)

Tarbaby, You Think This America (Giant Step Arts)

Ndudzo Makhathini, Unomkhubulwane (Blue Note)

Lizz Wright, Shadow (Blues and Greens)

Lakecia Benjamin, Phoenix Reimagined (ropeadope)

Ten (or so) More

Isaiah Collier and the Chosen Few, The Almighty/The World Is On Fire (Division 81) (I counted these as one release because it's my list and I can do what I want.)

Sun Ra Arkestra, Lights on a Satellite (In+Out Records)

Steve Turre, Sanyas (Smoke Sessions)

Jazzmeia Horn, Messages (Empress Legacy)

Melissa Aldana, Echoes of the Inner Prophet (Blue Note)

Oscar Hernandez & Alma Libre, No Words Needed (Ovation)

Brian Bromberg, LaFaro (Be Squared)

Mike Stern, Echoes and Other Songs (Mack Avenue)

Emmet Cohen, Vibe Provider (Mack Avenue)

Out of/Into, Motion 1 (Blue Note) (This is probably a top ten album but it was just released and I have only listened to it once...)

Best Archival Releases

Art Tatum, Jewels in the Treasure Box, The 1953 Chicago Blue Note Jazz Club Recordings (Resonance)

Keith Jarrett/Gary Peacock/Paul Motian, The Old Country (ECM)

Roy Hargrove Crisol, Grande-Terre (Verve)

Best Non-Jazz Archival Release

B.B King In France, Live at the 1977 Nancy Jazz Pulsations Festival (Deep Digs/Elemental)

Best Non-Jazz New Release

Beyonce, Cowboy Carter (Parkwood/Columbia) 

Best Dance Music 

Spanish Harlem Orchestra, Swing Forever (Ovation) (This is the best salsa album I have heard in decades...) 

 

Some 2024 favorites

NEW ALBUMS (alphabetical)

• Peter Bernstein, Better Angels (Smoke Sessions) →
• John Escreet, The Epicenter of Your Dreams (Blue Room Music) →
• Orrin Evans and the Captain Black Big Band, Walk a Mile in My Shoe (Imani) →
• Bill Frisell, Orchestras (Blue Note) →
• Julian Lage, Speak to Me (Blue Note) →
• Brian Landrus, Plays Ellington & Strayhorn (Palmetto) →
• Charles Lloyd, The Sky Will Still Be There Tomorrow (Blue Note) →
• One for All, Big George (Smoke Sessions) →
• Chris Potter-Brad Mehldau-John Patitucci-Brian Blade, Eagle's Point (Edition) →
• Joel Ross, Nublues (Blue Note) →

REISSUES/ARCHIVAL

1. McCoy Tyner & Joe Henderson, Forces of Nature: Live at Slugs' (1966, Blue Note) →
2. Sonny Rollins, Freedom Weaver: The 1959 European Tour Recordings (Resonance) →
3. Miles Davis Quintet, Miles in France 1963 & 1964 [The Bootleg Series, Vol. 8] (Columbia/Legacy) →
4. John Abercrombie-Dave Holland-Jack DeJohnette, Gateway (1975, ECM) →
5. Terry Gibbs Dream Band, Vol. 7: The Lost Tapes, 1959 (Whaling City Sound) →

VOCAL

• Samara Joy, Portrait (Verve) →
• Kurt Elling & Sullivan Fortner, Wildflowers Vol. 1 (Edition) →
• Kurt Elling & Sullivan Fortner, Wildflowers Vol. 2 (Edition) →

LATIN

• Miguel Zenón, Golden City (Miel Music) →
• Dafnis Prieto, 3 Sides of the Coin (Dafnison Music) →
• Diego Rivera, Ofendra (Posi-Tone) →

My 20 favorite albums for 2024.

Andrew Bird - Sunday Morning Put On

Arooj Aftab - Night Reign

David Preston - Volume 2 - Purple / Black

Edward Simon - Three Visitors

Eyolf Dale - The Space Between Two Notes

Fernando Huergo - Relentless

Ivanna Cuesta - A Letter To The Earth 

Jihye Lee Orchestra - Infinite Connections

Jonathan Powell - Mambo Jazz Party

Joy Guidry - Amen

Karl-Martin Almqvist - The Travelers

Marlon Simon - On Different Paths

Michael Eckroth - Human Geography

Miguel Zenón - Golden City

Milton Nascimento & esperanza spalding - Milton & esperanza

OKAN - Okantomi

Ryan Keberle & Catharsis - Music Is Connection

Ryan Truesdell - SYNTHESIS: The String Quartet Sessions

Shabaka - Perceive its Beauty, Acknowledge its Grace

Taylor Eigsti - Plot Armor

Patricia Brennan Septet - Breaking Stretch
Oded Tzur - My Prophet
Tomeka Reid - 3+3
Vijay Iyer - Compassion
Charles Lloyd - The Sky Will Still Be There Tomorrow
Peter Evans - Extra
Miguel Zenon - Golden City
Jon irabagon - Recharge the Blade
Anna Webber - Simpletrio2000
Nduduzo Makhathini - Unomkhubulwane

Best Puerto Rico Jazz Albums 2024

1. Miguel Zenón - Golden City     

2. Papo Vázquez - Songs del Yucayeke

3. Oscar Hernández Alma Libre - No Words Needed

4. Giovanni Hidalgo - Jubilation

5. William Cepeda - The Sound of Puerto Rican Jazz 

6. Sofia Ramos y Richard Peña - La Música de Sylvia Rexach 

7. Rubén Caban - Kangana

8. Angel Cuyar - Chapter One

9. William García - Aventuras del Caribe 

10. Willy Rodríguez - Seeing Sounds

• 2024 Top 20 Recordings + Historical Recordings-Strictly Jazz Sounds Podcast 

• 1.        Kris Davis: Run the Gauntlet-Pyroclastic Records
• 2.        Tarbaby: You Think This America-Imani Records
• 3.        Patricia Brennan Septet: Breaking Stretch-Pyroclastic Records
• 4.        Orin Evans and The Captain Black Big Band: Walk a Mile in My Shoe-Imani Records
• 5.        Lakecia Benjamin: Phoenix Reimagines (Live)-Ropeadope Records
• 6.        Geoffrey Keezer: Live at Birdland-Markeez Records
• 7.        Melissa Aldana: Echoes of the Inner Prophet-Blue Note
• 8.        Charles Lloyd: The Sky Will Still Be There Tomorrow-Blue Note
• 9.        Sarah Hanahan: Among Giants-Blue Engine Records
• 10.  Ulysses Owens, Jr. and Generation Y: A New Beat-Cellar
• 11.  Marta Sanchez: Perpetual Void-Intakt Records
• 12.  Caleb Wheeler-Curtis: The True Story of Bears and the Invention of the Battery-Imani Records
• 13.  Jason Palmer: The Cross Over: Live in Brooklyn-Giant Step Arts
• 14.  The Fury: Live in Brooklyn-Giant Step Arts
• 15.  Walter Smith III: three of us are from Houston and Reuben is not-Blue Note
• 16.  Jason Robinson: Ancestral Numbers-Playscape Records
• 17.  Alex Spain: Horizons-Blue Room Music
• 18.  Neta Raanan: Unforeseen Blossom-Giant Step Arts
• 19.  Out of/Into: Motion 1-Blue Note
• 20.  Marius Van Den Brink: New York Knock-Highline Music NYC

Historical

McCoy Tyner, Joe Henderson: Forces of Nature: Live at Slubs’-Blue Note

Roy Hargrove: Grande-Terre-Verve

Alice Coltrane: The Carnegie Hall Concert-Impulse

Louis Stewart & Jim Hall: Louis Stewart with Jim Hall-The Dublin Concert-Livia Records

Wayne Shorter: Celebration, Vol. 1-Blue Note

Top 10 2024 Albums, alphabetical by artist

Brian Bromberg, La Faro (Be Squared)

Summer Camargo, To Whom I Love (Blue Engine)

Anat Cohen, Bloom (Anzic)

Sarah Hanahan, Among Giants (Blue Engine)

Vincent Herring (Something Else!), Soul Jazz (Smoke Sessions)

Charles McPherson, Reverence (Smoke Sessions)

Ulysses Owens, Jr. and Generation Y, A New Beat (Cellar Music)

Ken Peplowski, Live at Mezzrow (Cellar Music)

Catherine Russell & Sean Mason, My Ideal (Dot Time)

Bria Skonberg, What It Means (Cellar Music)

In my personal chart, I would include not only musicians, but also those who contribute to the development of jazz, such as teachers and educators.

Among my favorites in 2024 are super professionals, with whom I had the opportunity to meet and work at the University of North Texas College of Music. These include

• Alan Baylock, a composer, arranger, band leader, and director of the One O’clock Lab Band, 
• Kimberly Hannon Teal, Associate Professor of Jazz History and Research, whose lectures on Jazz I was grateful to attend, 
• the fantastic Ari Hoening Trio which brought me bright emotions, 
• and Park Stickney, a wonderful harpist, and his magical harp which stole my heart.