Best year in Jazz?

[AHP]

OK, so which was the best year in Jazz? - based on recordings, not releases (as sometimes release order doesn't remotely reflect musicians' activity, e.g. Miles records coming out between 1975 and 1980 and indeed long after he was dead)

In my view there are three candidates.

1956:
- An amazing series of records from Miles (Cookin', Relaxin' etc); Sonny Rollins (Saxophone Colossus, Tour de Force, +4 etc); Jazz Advance, Cecil Taylor's first album; Art Tatum's awesome recording session with Ben Webster (variously released as "The Group Masterpieces Volume 8" and other names), Duke Ellington's Newport Concert, Mingus' Pithecanthropus Erectus, Monk's Brilliant Corners.

1959:
- Giant Steps, Kind of Blue, The Shape of Jazz to Come, Time Out. 'Nuff said. Perhaps edges out '56 in terms of quality if not quantity.

1964:
- Excellent series of albums from Herbie Hancock (Maiden Voyage, Empyrean Isles) and Wayne Shorter (incl. Speak No Evil); Coltrane's A Love Supreme, Dolphy's Out To Lunch, Andrew Hill's Point of Departure, Miles Davis's 1964 Concert, probably tons more.

Obviously this is completely subjective, depending on what styles / musicians you like, but it's as good a topic as any! I think most would agree that the period 1955-1965 was a remarkable one for Jazz, but anyone with any other suggestions?

[princeplanet]

from wiki:

1959

Dave Brubeck - Time Out (Columbia)
Ornette Coleman - The Shape of Jazz to Come (Atlantic)
John Coltrane - Giant Steps (Atlantic)
Miles Davis - Kind of Blue (Columbia)
Johnny Hodges and Duke Ellington - Back to Back: Duke Ellington and Johnny Hodges Play the Blues (Verve)
Milt Jackson and John Coltrane - Bags & Trane (Atlantic)
Charles Mingus - Mingus Ah Um (Columbia)
Art Pepper - Art Pepper + Eleven – Modern Jazz Classics (Contemporary/OJC)
Horace Silver - "Blowin' the Blues Away," Finger Poppin'" (Blue Note)
Cannonball Adderley & John Coltrane - "Quintet in Chicago" (Polygram)

These are some of the big guns, although I'd put Cannon's "Something Else" in there as well...

The best year in Jazz? So long as no-one claims to speak for us all, and that we're cool with each of us merely expressing their preference, ill informed or otherwise, then yes, I can safely say I prefer 1959 to any other.

But next year it might be 1964! Maybe one day I'll eventually catch up to the 70's or even beyond, but as I started out liking post 70's jazz, I don't think I'll be going back there soon. To me, it seems as though my tastes have actually evolved (yes!) by searching back through the 60's and mid to late 50's.

I think I could spend a lifetime or 2 exploring, studying, playing and enjoying my fave Jazz from say '53 to '69. So sue me.....

[walkin]

1961:Bill Evans and John Coltrane`s Village Vanguard recordings,Mingus Oh Yeah,Roland Kirk`s We Free Kings,Dolphy`s Five Spot recordings...

[spitfirepete]

Pick any year between 1955 and 1965

Monk, Miles, Mulligan, Mingus, Mann,Manne, Milt, MJQ, Maynard, Ella, Sarah, Torme, Getz, Cannonball, Trane, Bill Evans, Gil Evans, Brubeck, Kirk, Blakey, Hancock, Silver, Basie, Ellington, Kirk, ....you get the idea... many more.

Those were also years when jazz hit the top 40 charts with regularity...

[A. Kingstone]

1955 was probably the worst year in jazz. Bird died.

[princeplanet]

Originally Posted by A. Kingstone

1955 was probably the worst year in jazz. Bird died.

word.

[JETman]

Can't this year, or any year going forward be the "best"?

[xybert]

I wouldn't argue against 56, 59 and 64 being some of the best years ever but here's my case for 2009:

John Hollenbeck - Eternal Interlude
Henry Threadgill - This Brings Us To Vol 1
Vijay Iyer - Historicity
Joe Morris - Today On Earth
Steve Lehman - Travail, Transformation & Flow

Those are stone cold classics to me, up there with anything ever recorded.

Also from 2009 i highly, highly rate the following:

Rob Mazurek - Sound Is
Harris Eisenstadt - Canada Day
Darius Jones - Man'ish Boy
Tony Malaby - Paloma Recio
Tony Malaby - Voladores
Ben Allison - Think Free
Wynton Marsalis - He and She
Marty Ehrlich - Things Have Got to Change
John Zorn - O'o
Joe Morris - Colorfield
Joe Morris - Wildlife
The Fully Celebrated - Drunk on the Blood of the Holy Ones
The Bad Plus - For All I care
Chick Corea & John McLaughlin - Five Peace Band
Fly - Sky & Country
Farmers By Nature
Miguel Zenon - Esta Plena
Die Enttauschung 5
Keith Jarrett - Paris/London: Testament
Keith Jarrett - Yesterdays
Herculaneum lll
The Empty Cage Quartet - Gravity

There are some albums in the second list that i think are good enough to be in the first list but i'm being conservative. Anyway, 2009 was a phenomenal year from my point of view, bolstered by the fact that it's bookended by 2008 and 2010 (2008, 2009 and 2010 kind of blur in to each other in my head as i realised when i sat down to do this list). I'm in awe of some of the albums that came out in 2010... Cheers.

[flat5]

Jazz is wide and we all have different tastes.
I find the topic mildly interesting but mostly silly.
I'd have to spend a lot of time and thought to TRY to answer the question using my bias set.

[AHP]

Originally Posted by xybert

I wouldn't argue against 56, 59 and 64 being some of the best years ever but here's my case for 2009:

I think the 2000s were the best decade in the music since the 1960s.

[AHP]

Originally Posted by flat5

Jazz is wide and we all have different tastes.
I find the topic mildly interesting but mostly silly.
I'd have to spend a lot of time and thought to TRY to answer the question using my bias set.

Of course. I recognised this in the OP. You are right but if you followed that logic to its conclusion people would never discuss anything. It seemed like an interesting question that might start an interesting discussion. If you're not interested, nobody's forcing you to read it or to post.

[xybert]

Originally Posted by AHP

I think the 2000s were the best decade in the music since the 1960s.

I think so too!

With regards to the thread topic, yeah i would love to see more people get into the spirit of it and share their personal subjective favourite years and make a case for why. I guess it is kind of pointless, but what isn't? For the sake of fun and discussion it could be great. The likes of 59 and 64 are pretty hard to 'beat' but still looking at peoples listening habits on the board i reckon there could be some fascinating picks. What about a year pre 1950 or even pre 1940? A year from the 70's, 80's or 90's?

[HutchFan]

I'll play. I thought I might dive right into a much-maligned decade and go with 1975. I'm not sure that it's my SINGLE favorite year, but it's definitely one of my favorites.

I'd rate all of these gems 4.5 stars or better:

• John Abercrombie, Dave Holland, Jack DeJohnette - Gateway (ECM)
• Gato Barbieri - Chapter Four: Alive in New York (ABC Impulse)
• Anthony Braxton - The Montreux/Berlin Concerts (Arista)
• Dave Brubeck & Paul Desmond - 1975: The Duets (A&M Horizon)
• Kenny Burrell - Ellington Is Forever, Vol. 1 (Fantasy)
• Gary Burton & Ralph Towner - Matchbook (ECM)
• Al Cohn - Play It Now (Xanadu)
• Miles Davis - Agharta (Columbia)
• Paul Desmond - Paul Desmond Quartet Live (A&M Horizon)
• Art Farmer - To Duke with Love (East Wind/Test of Time)
• Sonny Fortune - Awakening (A&M Horizon)
• Stan Getz & Jimmy Rowles - The Peacocks (Columbia)
• Jim Hall - Live (A&M Horizon)
• Jim Hall - Concierto (CTI)
• Billy Harper - Black Saint (Black Saint)
• Bobby Hutcherson - Montara (Blue Note)
• Keith Jarrett - The Köln Concert (ECM)
• Keith Jarrett - Shades (ABC Impulse)
• Keith Jarrett - Mysteries (ABC Impulse)
• Clifford Jordan - Night of the Mark VII (Muse)
• Clifford Jordan - Firm Roots (Steeplechase)
• Lee Konitz & Hal Galper - Windows (Steeplechase)
• David Liebman & Richie Beirach - Forgotten Fantasies (A&M Horizon)
• New York Jazz Quartet ‎– In Concert In Japan (CTI/Salvation)
• Enrico Rava - The Pilgrim and the Stars (ECM)
• Woody Shaw - Love Dance (Muse)
• Martial Solal - Nothing But Piano (MPS)
• Charles Tolliver - Impact (Enja)
• Cedar Walton - Eastern Rebellion (Timeless)
• Kenny Wheeler - Gnu High (ECM)
• Buster Williams - Pinnacle (Muse)

An amazing year for ECM. And A&M Horizon!

[AHP]

A year from the 70's, 80's or 90's?

There is perhaps a case to be made for 1985 for the 80s, with such gems as

Song X (Pat Metheny/Ornette Coleman)
Aura (Miles Davis) - easilly Miles' best comeback years record
The State of the Tenor (Joe Henderson)
The Sixth Sense (Don Pullen)
Black Codes from the Underground (W Marsalis)
J Mood (W Marsalis)

As for pre-50s its harder to say, because of artists not producing albums as such, but 1947 was a great year for bebop, with many of Bird's Savoys/Dials & Monk's Blue Notes being recorded. Good period for Ellington too.

[flat5]

No negative opinions. Is that one of the rules?
Is being politically correct one of the rules too?