Top 10 Jazz 2004
10. Albert Ayler - Holy Ghost
Too big with dodgy sound and superfluous material, it's still a fascinating artifact of Ayler's development in a live setting. From warped bebopper to free jazz Messiah to gospel r b this is quite a package.
9. The Bad Plus - Give
A moldy fig's worst nightmare, The Bad Plus continue their mix of jazz and pop, creating an acoustic fusion all their own.
8.
Dead Cat Bounce - Home Speaks to the Wandering
An out of left field disc, this creative group from Boston keeps alive the swinging bluesy jazz that Charles Mingus' groups made famous.
7. Sam Rivers - Celebration
Recorded just prior to his 80th (!
) birthday, Rivers switches effortlessly between tenor and soprano sax, flute and piano. The ageless one.
6.
Fred Hersch - Fred Hersch Trio + 2
After years of playing solo or trio formats Hersch hooks up with a couple of horns and proves that his lyrical, thoughtful style of piano is comfortable in any setting.
5. Dave Douglas - Strange Liberation
Dave Douglas and Bill Frisell seemed like a match made in heaven and the music bore this out.
Not a polite meeting of leaders, this disc had a true group feel to it.
4. Chris Potter - Lift
Chris Potter adds his name to an impressive array of musicians who have made their mark at the Village Vanguard.
3. Marilyn Crispell Trio - Storyteller
Beautiful, haunting piano music. Crispell and her colleagues play music that is crystalline and elegiac but never maudlin or sentimental.
2. Don Braden - The New Hang
Braden's New Hang is pretty close to his old hang. If there was any saxophonist today who was meant to play with a groovin' organ trio, he is it.
At any tempo from cooker to ballad, the group just nails it.
1. Susie Ibarra - Folkloriko
When I saw Susie Ibarra's trio in concert a few years ago I know they were on the verge of something great and this proves it.
Portraying the day of a Filipono laborer in music, the music is exploratory and deeply moving.
Honorable mention:
Jenny Scheinman - Shalagaster
Branford Marsalis - The Steep Anthology
Cecil Taylor the Italian Instabile Orchestra - The Owner of the Riverbank
Spaceways Inc. VS.
News RSS