NEW YORK (Billboard) - Judging by the stasis on the jazz charts from year to year, one would think jazz was in need of resuscitation, a sentiment echoed by the well-intentioned rallying cry "Keep Jazz Alive" that spearheads jazz public-radio fund drives. But for jazz aficionados who like their music melodically sublime, harmonically sophisticated and rhythmically alert and jarring, the death knell for the idiom rings prematurely. There's still vibrancy in a feast of 2006's forward-looking jazz projects -- none of which charted.
As for Billboard's year-end recaps, its deja vu all over again when comparing 2005's rundown with this year. At No. 1 on this year's Top Jazz Albums chart is "It's Time" by crooner Michael Buble.
And the chart-topper in 2005? Buble, of course, with his now-platinum CD. Then again, given the singer's straight-down-the-middle fare, they're probably happy to be right where they are -- even if they sell CDs in the hundreds or thousands versus hundreds of thousands.
Runners-up on this year's recap are, again, familiar names from 2005. Vocalist/pianist Diana Krall is No. 2 on the Top Jazz Artists recap while three of her albums -- "Christmas Songs," "From This Moment On" and "The Girl in the Other Room" -- rank respectively at No.
2, No. 5 and No. 21 on the Top Jazz Albums recap.
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