Best of 2012 (so far)

[Alypius]

Originally Posted by Homer

Here's my current top 25:

Amit Friedman Sextet - Sunrise
Bobby Sanabria Big Band - Multiverse
Chick Corea - Further Explorations
Christian Scott - Christian aTunda Adjuah
Elio Villafranca & Arturo Stable - Dos Y Mas
Gary Husband - Dirty & Beautiful Vol 2
Guillermo Klein - Carrera
Jeff Parker Trio - Bright Light in Winter
Jenny Scheinman - Mischief & Mayhem
Jim Black Trio - Somatic
Joe Locke and Geoffrey Keezer - Signing
Kenny Wheeler - The Long Waiting
Mary Halvorson Quintet - Bending Bridges
Masabumi Kikuchi Trio - Sunrise
Matt Wilson - An Attitude for Gratitude
Metta Quintet - Big Drum, Small World
Michael Mussillami Trio - Mettle
Myra Melford & Trio M - The Guest House
Omer Avital - Suite of the East
Richard Galliano - Nino Rota
Scott DuBois - Lanscape Scripture
Tim Berne - Snakeoil
Tom Harrell - Number 5
Tord Gustavesen Quartet - The Well
Wayne Escoffery - The Only Son of One

Homer, Great list. It's been a very good year. A few on your list are new to me (Jim Black, Metta Quintet, Bobby Sanabria, Richard Galliano), and given the overlap of our taste, likely things I would enjoy.

[djangoblackbird]

Jacob Garchik - "The Heavens (The Atheist Gospel Trombone Album)"

I don't know where to start.

I don't know how to make a better case for this record other than standing on my roof with a bullhorn. This is one of the most beautiful, original and exciting recordings I've ever heard.

It's Garchik on all instruments, including tuba, baritone horn, trombone and slide trumpet and right there, it's already an incredible achievement in overdubbing/solo record. But the writing is breathtaking. It's rooted in all forms of gospel music (some takes on the subject are more avant-garde than others), but it's all really accessible.

It's one of those recordings I don't need anything else from; it covers everything. And it's 28 minutes, which is such a beautiful length. Nothing ever gets boring.

I encourage all of you to check it out at the very least. You can listen to it on the Bandcamp page below. Just listen to the first track - "Creation's Creation". It will be the best use of 1:18 minutes of your time, guaranteed.

http://jacobgarchik.bandcamp.com/

[Alypius]

Tomorrow is October 1st. Three months to go. It seems a good moment to pause and reassess. Here's my updated listing of what, for me, have been the best of 2012. Some are in the same spot, some up, some down, some new.

1. John Moulder, The Eleventh Hour: Live at the Green Mill (Origin)
2. Vijay Iyer, Accelerando (ACT)
3. Joe Locke / Geoffrey Keezer, Signing (Motema)
4. Enrico Pieranunzi, Permutations (CamJazz)
5. Federico Casagrande, The Ancient Battle of the Invisible (CamJazz)

6. Brad Mehldau, Ode (Nonesuch)
7. Brad Mehldau, Where Do You Start (Nonesuch)
8. Pat Metheny, Unity Band (Nonesuch)
9. Johnathan Blake, The Eleventh Hour (Sunnyside)
10. Marc Johnson / Elaine Elias, Swept Away (ECM)

11. Jeff Parker, Bright Light in Winter (Delmark)
12. The Bad Plus, Made Possible (E One)
13. Tom Harrell, Number Five (High Note)
14. Steve Turre, Woody’s Delight (High Note)
15. Christian Scott, Christian aTunde Abjuah (Concord)

16. Scott DuBois, Landscape Scripture (Sunnyside)
17. Floratone [Bill Frisell], Floratone II (Savoy Jazz)
18. Medeski, Martin & Wood, Free Magic (Indirecto)
19. Ben Wendel, Frame (Sunnyside)
20. Wayne Escoffery, The Only Son of One (Sunnyside)

[KBerube80]

So far....


Harris Eisenstadt - Canada Day III
Harris Eisenstadt - Canada Day Octet
Angles 8 - By Way Of Deception (Live In Ljubljana)
Mary Halvorson Quintet - Bending Bridges
Steve Lehman Trio - Dialectic Flourescent
Tim Berne - Snakeoil
Alexander Hawkins Ensemble - All There Ever Out
Michael Formanek Quartet - Small Places

[xybert]

The Bad Plus is one of those groups that it's a joy to be a fan of. They consistently put out great albums; this has lead to them having a discography that represents one of the great runs of This Music, in my opinion, and i'm getting to experience it in real time, as it happens, one album at a time (look out for a 'Beauty is a Rare Thing' style boxset in the year 2042! ).

I'm seriously digging it. The electronics sound great. I'm not sure if it's something they'll stick with, but for me it's a case of whatever floats their boats. They made great choices in terms of the sounds they've employed, going for more of a lo-fi, analog aesthetic. The mistake a lot of jazz groups make when using electronics is that they go for a tacked on 'Super Sounds of Electronica 95' aesthetic, and it instantly sounds dated and lame. Compare the drums used on Pat Metheny's 'We Live Here' with Allen Lowe's 'Blues and the Empirical Truth'; both albums i dig, but it's a good example of artists going the glossy/stock/off the shelf sounding route when employing electronics versus a more earthy/raw/personalised route.

Anyway, i set out with the intention of raving on about this album but as usual i've run out of steam/the moment has passed. Great album, great group.

[robmid]

This has been an interesting year for jazz. Not my favorite, but a good one.

For the past 13 years - 2000 to 2012 I've averaged about 100 new albums per year, but this year, so far, under 50. So I've been a lot pickier. I'm passing up a lot of stuff I might have gotten in past years. When you have this much jazz (and that includes about 2200 albums from before 2000), there's an awful lot of good stuff to listen to, so the desire to expand my collection has been on the decline.

I'll list my favorites for this year at the end of the year. Still looking forward to some good ones, such as the Rosenwinkel - Star of Jupiter.

Cheers, Robert

[HutchFan]

I don't keep up with the new releases like many of you, so I'm limiting my top picks to just five. In 2012, most of my spending & listening has gone toward older stuff -- but I've particularly enjoyed these new releases. They've been in heavy rotation all year, and I expect that will continue for a long while.


My favorite 2012 releases (alpha order, not preference):
******************************************
- Orrin Evans - Flip the Script
- Bill McHenry - La Peur du Vide
- Luis Perdomo - Universal Mind
- Enrico Pieranunzi - Permutation
- Matt Wilson's Arts & Crafts - An Attitude for Gratitude


Orrin Evans gets my vote for musician of the year -- by virtue of appearing on two of the records. (Along with his own trio record, he's a sideman on McHenry's.) Plus, Evans deserves more recognition; I think he's a TREMENDOUS musician. Listen to what he does with "The Sound of Philadelphia" -- better known as the theme to "Soul Train." It's the final track on Flip the Script. Phew! Good stuff.

[niels]

Originally Posted by HutchFan

- Bill McHenry - La Peur du Vide

Thanks for the heads up on this one! Never heard of Bill McHenry, but checked the album out in the beginning of this week, and completely loved it. So bought the download, and the album is on continuous rotation since then. Very strong and fun album to listen to.

Another album from this year I very highly love listening to (and I think it hasn't been mentioned yet here), is the Nik Bartsch's Ronin Live album. It really catches the exciting live vibe the group has going on when on stage, and the production/sound of this album is really staggering (even for ECM standards).

[Alypius]

It's Dec. 1, one month to go. I've posted various iterations of this over the year. A number of mine got settled early in the year. I've kept hoping new works might displace my early choices, but I've not found new releases that have done so. Hopefully others' recommendations will alert me to releases that I missed. In any case, this will be my last listing for the year:

1. John Moulder, The Eleventh Hour: Live at the Green Mill (Origin)
2. Joe Locke / Geoffrey Keezer, Signing (Motema)
3. Vijay Iyer, Accelerando (ACT)
4. Brad Mehldau, Ode (Nonesuch)
5. Federico Casagrande, The Ancient Battle of the Invisible (CamJazz)

6. Enrico Pieranunzi, Permutations (CamJazz)
7. Pat Metheny, Unity Band (Nonesuch)
8. Benedikt Jahnel Trio, Equilibrium (ECM)
9. Kurt Rosenwinkel, Star of Jupiter (Wommusic)
10. Johnathan Blake, The Eleventh Hour (Sunnyside)

11. Marc Johnson / Elaine Elias, Swept Away (ECM)
12. Jeff Parker, Bright Light in Winter (Delmark)
13. Brad Mehldau, Where Do You Start (Nonesuch)
14. The Bad Plus, Made Possible (E One)
15. Donny McCaslin, Casting for Gravity (Greenleaf)

16. Tom Harrell, Number Five (High Note)
17. Steve Turre, Woody’s Delight (High Note)
18. Medeski, Martin & Wood, Free Magic (Indirecto)
19. Manu Katché, Manu Katché (ECM)
20. Scott DuBois, Landscape Scripture (Sunnyside)

21. Floratone [Bill Frisell], Floratone II (Savoy Jazz)
22. Ben Wendel, Frame (Sunnyside)
23. Christian Scott, Christian aTunde Abjuah (Concord)
24. Wayne Escoffery, The Only Son of One (Sunnyside)
25. Jenny Scheinman, Mischief & Mayhem (self-released)

I still need to explore a few others (e.g. Bobo Stenson). And I've just added a new release, Benedikt Jahnel's Equilibrium. Great last-minute discovery.

[Alypius]

NPR posted its "Top 10 Jazz Albums of 2012". Here's the link:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/bestmusic20...albums-of-2012

I'm disappointed that so few have posted their own lists. In years past, this sort of thread has seen lots of posts. Was this a down year? Or are people not buying much new jazz?

[JETman]

Originally Posted by Alypius

NPR posted its "Top 10 Jazz Albums of 2012". Here's the link:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/bestmusic20...albums-of-2012

I'm disappointed that so few have posted their own lists. In years past, this sort of thread has seen lots of posts. Was this a down year? Or are people not buying much new jazz?

Some of us are buying SO MUCH new jazz that whittling down to a list of 25 would be near impossible

But I'll try when I have some more time.

[robmid]

Originally Posted by Alypius

NPR posted its "Top 10 Jazz Albums of 2012". Here's the link:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/bestmusic20...albums-of-2012

I'm disappointed that so few have posted their own lists. In years past, this sort of thread has seen lots of posts. Was this a down year? Or are people not buying much new jazz?

Well, A, I did post earlier this year, but still buyin' stuff so I'm waiting 'till the end of the year to give my definitive top-ten list!

Cheers, Robert

[xybert]

Originally Posted by Alypius

NPR posted its "Top 10 Jazz Albums of 2012". Here's the link:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/bestmusic20...albums-of-2012

I'm disappointed that so few have posted their own lists. In years past, this sort of thread has seen lots of posts. Was this a down year? Or are people not buying much new jazz?

I'll be posting my final list soon... there's been plenty to be interested in but the majority of my 'must buy' albums came out in the first six months or so of 2012. I must say i've only just gotten around to Mehldau's Ode and i think it will end up being my number one.

I have been less focused on new releases this year; really enjoyed going back and filling in some gaps in my collection. I'm a big advocate of stuff getting released in the now but i must admit i found it quite liberating not to be so worried about keeping up.

[hamlake]

My favorite albums of 2012 (so far), alphabetically:

Tim Berne: Snakeoil
Dave Douglas: Be Still
Scott DuBois: Landscape Scripture
Steve Lehman: Dialect Fluorescent
Eivind Opsvik: Overseas IV
Christian Scott: Christian aTunde Adjuah
Trespass Trio: Bruder Beda
Matt Ulery: By a Little Light

My favorite shows of 2012 (so far), ranked:
1. Pharoah Sanders at Bohemian Caverns
2. Brian Blade Fellowship Band at Village Vanguard
3. Christian Scott Quintet at Bohemian Caverns
4. David Murray Black Music Infinity Quartet at Bohemian Caverns
5. Azar Lawrence Quartet at Twins Jazz
6. Ben Goldberg's Unfold Ordinary Mind at Windup Space
7. Jason Moran & the Bandwagon with Bill Frisell and Alicia Hall Moran at KC Jazz Club
8. Regina Carter at Jazz Standard
9. Bobby Avey Group "Authority Melts From Me" at An die Musik
10. Becca Stevens Band at Artisphere

This is subject to change, particularly because I have a few upcoming shows before the year is over (Mary Halvorson, Miguel Zenon & Laurent Coq, Anthony Braxton, Bad Plus, Cedar Walton, Jimmy Cobb).

[niels]

First, I wanted to wait until I got the new Eric Revis' Paralax album, but I don't think I will be getting that before the end of the year so this is a good time for my best of 2012 list.
For me personally it was a great year (much, much better than last year), with a few phenomenal albums that I think will be future classics in my book.

Christian Scott - Christian a Tunde Adjuah (Concord Jazz)
(Personell: Christian Scott (trumpet/sirenette/flugelhorn), Kristopher Keith Funn (bass), Jamire Williams (drums), Matthew Stevens (guitar), Lawrence Fields (piano))

Nik Bartsch’s Ronin – Live (ECM)
(Personell: Nik Bartsch (piano/electric piano), Bjorn Meyer/Thomy Jordi (bass), Sha (bass clarinet, alto saxophone), Kaspar Rast (drums), Andi Pupato (percussion))

E.S.T. – 301 (Act)
(Personell: Esbjorn Svenson (piano/electronics), Dan Berglund (double bass/electronics), Magnus Ostrom (drums/electronics/voice))

Vijay Iyer Trio – Accelerando (Act)
(Personell: Vijay Iyer (piano), Stephan Crump (bass), Marcus Gillmore (drums))

Chick Corea, Paul Motian & Eddy Gomez - Further Explorations (Concord Jazz)
(Personell: Chick Corea (piano), Eddy Gomez (bass), Paul Motion (drums))

Ron Miles – Quiver ( Enja Yellowbird Records)
(Personell: Ron Miles (trumpet), Brian Blade (drums), Bill Frissell (guitar))

Bill McHenry - La Peur du Vide (Sunnyside)
(Personell: Bill McHenry (saxophone), Eric Revis (bass), Andrew Cyrille (drums, Orrin Evans (piano))

Brad Mehldau – Ode (Nonesuch)
(Personell: Brad Mehldau (piano), Larry Grenadier (bass), Jeff Ballard (drums))

Pat Metheny - Unity Band (Nonesuch)
(Personell: Pat Metheny (guitar), Ben Williams (accoustic bass), Criss Potter (soprano&tenor saxophone/bass clarinet), Antonio Sanchez (drums))

Steve Lehman – Dialect Fluorescent (Pi Recordings)
(Personell: Steve Lehman (alto saxophone), Matt Brewer (bass), Damion Reed (drums))

Enrico Pieranunzi - Permutation (Camjazz)
(Personell: Enrico Pieranunzi (piano), Scott Colley (bass), Antonio Sanchez (drums))

Ravi Coltrane - Spirit Fiction (Blue Note)
(Personell: Ravi Coltrane (soprano/tenor saxophone), Drew Gress/James Genus (bass), Eric Harland/E.J. Strickland (drums), Gerie Allen/Luis Perdomo (piano), Joe Lovano (tenor saxophone), Ralph Alessi (trumpet))

Steve Kuhn – Wisteria (ECM)
(Personell: Steve Kuhn (piano), Steve Swallow (bass), Joey Barron (drums))

Ted Nash – the Creep (Plastic Sax Records)
(Personell: Ted Nash (alto/tenor saxophone, Paul Sikivie (bass), Ulysses Owens (drums), Ron Horton (trumpet))

Sam Rivers, Dave Holland & Barry Altschul – Reunion Live in New York (Pi Recordings)
(Personell: Sam Rivers (soprano&tenor saxophone/flute/piano), Dave Holland (bass), Barry Altschul (drums))