Best of 2012 (so far)

[Alypius]

Originally Posted by HutchFan

More fodder for discussion: author & critic Ted Gioia's "The 100 Best Albums of 2012 (all styles, all genres)."

Hutch, Thanks for posting that. I had run across it a couple of weeks ago. I appreciate his effort--combining jazz and classical and rock and world. My own excursions cover some of the same range, and so I'm appreciative of the attempt. That said, his 2012 choices don't match mine very much--though I find we overlapped a good deal more in 2011. Not sure why the difference this year.

In any case, Let me copy here something he put in his sidebar that I do agree with:

Why do I compile this list? Like any music lover, I enjoy sharing my favorite music with others. But in the last few years, a different motivation has spurred me. I believe that the system of music discovery is broken in the current day. There is more music recorded than ever before, but it is almost impossible for listeners to find the best new recordings. The most creative work in music is increasingly found on self-produced projects and releases from small indie labels—to an extent hardly conceivable only a decade ago. Very little of this music ever shows up on the radio, where formats seem to get narrower and narrower with each passing year. Music fans once heard good new music at indie record stores, but most of them have closed. Or they could read reviews in the newspaper, but both the newspapers and the music reviews are shrinking or disappearing. And the big record labels are the worst culprits of all, picking acts for their looks or their potential appeal to fourteen-year-olds, or some other egregious reason, and in general jumping on the most trivial passing fads. On the other hand, the Internet presents an almost infinite amount of music and music commentary—yet where do fans even begin to separate the good from the bad and ugly? My personal solution to this dilemma has been to listen to lots and lots of music, and try to identify recordings of quality and distinction. I share my list because I know, from past experience, that many other listeners are frustrated with the broken system of music discovery, and are also looking for good new music.

And in his preface to his 2011 he adds:

And if you hear something you like, spread the word.

I think that's what all of us around here do so well.

[slowshoes]

Originally Posted by Alypius

Hutch, Thanks for posting that. I had run across it a couple of weeks ago. I appreciate his effort--combining jazz and classical and rock and world. My own excursions cover some of the same range, and so I'm appreciative of the attempt. That said, his 2012 choices don't match mine very much--though I find we overlapped a good deal more in 2011. Not sure why the difference this year.

In any case, Let me copy here something he put in his sidebar that I do agree with:



And in his preface to his 2011 he adds:



I think that's what all of us around here do so well.

Amen brother! And a double amen to the author's thoughts on the music scene today.

[The elephant shrew]

About Oskar Schönning – The Piano: Is that available yet in the U.S.?

Alypius, I've scouted around the various Swedish jazz retail sites that I normally order CDs from, and I can only find one site that has Oskar Schönning's "The Violin" (my apologies for referring to it as "The Piano" in my original list. I don't know what came over me).
Anyway, the site that has the album is - no surprise - Schönning's own site, Schönning Records. The site is in both English and Swedish, and it looks as though he does mail the CDs internationally for SEK 50.

The address is this:

http://www.oskarschonning.com/english/shop/fysisk.html

Still, it's a bit of a pity that the CD isn't available more widely. At the moment, the quality of the album's distribution doesn't match the quality of the music therein.

[xybert]

Here's my final top ten list. The usual 'this is completely subjective and based purely on what i've managed to hear' disclaimers apply:

Brad Mehldau - Ode
Harris Eisenstadt - Canada Day lll
Chick Corea - The Continents
Henry Threadgill - Tomorrow Sunny / The Revelry, Spp
Guillermo Klein - Carrera
The Bad Plus - Made Possible
Eri Yamamoto - The Next Page
Steve Lehman - Dialect Fluorescent
Vijay Iyer - Accelerando
Pat Metheny - Unity Band

For the sake of context, these are the other 2012 releases that i purchased and spent time with this year:

Charlie Haden & Hank Jones - Come Sunday (late 2011?)
Marty Ehrlich - Frog Leg Logic (late 2011 but it really deserves a mention)
Chick Corea - Further Explorations (late 2011 elsewhere/2012 US?)
Chick Corea & Gary Burton - Hot House
Darius Jones - Book of Mæ'bul (Another Kind of Sunrise)
Foxes Fox - Live at the Vortex
Harris Eisenstadt - Canada Day Octet
Joe Morris - Altitude
Kenny Wheeler - The Long Waiting
Mary Halvorson - Bending Bridges
Rob Mazurek - Stellar Pulsations
Tim Berne - Snakeoil
The Troubles - The Troubles

Special mention for the Mingus Mosaic set which is excellent.

2012 releases i'm particularly keen to hear and will probably get to in the near future:

Eric Revis - Parallax
Ted Nash - The Creeper
Robert Glasper - Black Radio
And a ton of others i'm probably forgetting...

So i guess that's it. As usual my top ten is made up of the albums that i honestly enjoyed the most and found myself returning to most often. The list of 'other' albums is made up of albums that i also thoroughly enjoyed and are all top ten worthy in their own right.

[1/2 Baked, Not Fried]

Originally Posted by Alypius

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?

Yeah – it’s been a down year for me as far as new jazz purchases. But even in good years, I don’t buy nearly as many new releases as some here, so I always feel a bit sheepish opining on what the best releases of the year were. I do pay attention to this thread, though, as well as the “New Releases Only” thread – and pick up a smattering here and there. Otherwise, my buying habits tend to be all over the board, across genres and eras, without a lot of rhyme or reason. This was probably more true this year than ever, as I probably bought more non-jazz albums than I have in years.

Of those that have received mention, I’ve only picked up these:

Matt Wilson’s Arts and Crafts
Threadgill’s latest
Metheny’s Unity Band
Mehldau: Ode
Jeff Parker Trio: Bright Light in Winter
Haden/Jones

I like them all, although “Ode” probably leads the pack.

Ones on the radar that I’m most likely to pick up next:

Omer Avital’s Suite of the East
Matt Ulery – Buy a Little Light (as well as his other project, Eastern Blok, which sounds pretty amazing)
Rivers/Holland/Altschul: Reunion – Live in New York (which sounds good enough on samples to possibly propel me onto another free jazz kick)
Anat Cohen: Claroscuro
Vic Juris's latest, “Free Admission”

Others mentioned that I’m most intrigued by include:

Martin Hoper
Mary Halvorsen
Enrico Pieranunzi
Matthew Halsall
John Moulder
Jenny Scheinman

[beekman]

I didn't really realize it until now, but most of what I bought (& liked) this year was older stuff. Anyway, in no real order:

Harris Eisenstadt -- Canada Day III
Tim Berne -- Snake Oil
Eve Risser -- En Corps
Zen Widow w/ Wadada Leo Smith -- Screaming in Daytime
Masumbi Kikuchi -- Sunrise

[xybert]

Originally Posted by 1/2 Baked, Not Fried

Jeff Parker Trio: Bright Light in Winter

I'm pretty keen to hear this album after hearing a random track on internet radio and having a ''wow, who is this?" moment.

[robmid]

Favorites of 2012

I no longer claim to name anything the best. But this list includes the top ten albums I've enjoyed the most this year, out of about 60 purchased. Listed from favorite to least favorite. All of them are quite distinctive and memorable.

Ryan Truesdell, Gil Evans Project - Centennial

Thomas Chapin - Never Let me Go (3 Disk box)

The Troubles - The Troubles

Andy Emler - E Total

Michael Musillami - Mettle

Scott Dubois - Landscape Scripture

Anders Kopel - Everything is Subject to Change

Kurt Rosenwinkel - Star of Jupiter

Ted Nash - The Creep

Linda Oh - Initial Here

Honorable Mentions

E.S.T. - 301

Time Berne - Snakeoil

Ben Wendel - Frame

Bill McHenry - Las Peur du Vide

Hans Glawischnig - Jahira

Harris Eisenstadt - Canada Day III and Canada Day Octet

Jacam Manricks - Cloud Nine

Matt Wilson - An Attitude for Gratitude

Myra Melford - The Guest House

Omer Avital - Suite of the East

Pat Metheny (with Chris Potter) - Unity Band

Vijay Iyer - Accelerando

On another note, a few albums that I had high hopes for made virtually no impression on me. I played them several times and can't remember one tune.

Fly Trio - Year of the Snake

Bill Hart - All Our Reasons

Michael Formanek - Small Places

Manu Katche - Manu Katche

Andy Sheppard - Trio Libero

Wow, all from ECM. Sorry John!

One ECM that I did enjoy was Snakeoil from Tim Berne

Cheers, and Happy New Year, Robert

[jkelman]

Originally Posted by robmid

On another note, a few albums that I had high hopes for made virtually no impression on me. I played them several times and can't remember one tune.

Fly Trio - Year of the Snake

Bill Hart - All Our Reasons

Michael Formanek - Small Places

Manu Katche - Manu Katche

Andy Sheppard - Trio Libero

Wow, all from ECM. Sorry John!

No apologies necessary, Rob! We can't all like the same stuff, now can we?
Best of the season to you!
John

[robmid]

Originally Posted by jkelman

No apologies necessary, Rob! We can't all like the same stuff, now can we?
Best of the season to you!
John

Well, I guess it's kinda mellow background music or music to fall asleep to, and I don't really mean that in a negative way. It's nice in it's own ECMish way.

Uh, check out the Ryan Truesdell, Gil Evans Project. Heaven.

Cheers,

[HutchFan]

FYI:

The Jazz Journalist Association's site lists a bunch of writers "Best of 2012" lists here.


Edit:
Just reviewed the lists. Robmid, apparently you aren't alone in loving Ryan Truesdell's Gil Evans Project. It's on a bunch of writers' lists.

[jkelman]

Originally Posted by robmid

Well, I guess it's kinda mellow background music or music to fall asleep to, and I don't really mean that in a negative way. It's nice in it's own ECMish way.

Argh. The fallback for those who've not listened to TIm Berne's Snakeoil, Michael Formanek's Small Places, Arild Andersen's Celebration, Nik Bartsch's Ronin Live, Jarrett's Sleeper or Rypdal's Odyssey (including, as I am, reissues and archival finds).

Mellow? Some of it, sure. But background music? Hardly. Does it have to be energetic to be captivating or attention-grabbing?

I dunno, maybe it's because I just came back from Munich, where I saw Alexei Lubimov perform absolutely spellbinding readings of Part and Debussy that i find my attention completely captivated by music that's very, very quiet

[Steven Reynolds]

will be picking up Snakeoil and Small Places soon.

this form one not enamored with the ECM sound/approach

fwiw I did see the Formanek Quartet in late 2011 and they were fine, but NOWHERE nerar as good as the band that played the previous set which was mat Maneri's Quintet.

I have heard that Small Places is a step up from The Rub and Spare Change - so I will pick it up this long weekend if possible.

I did see Formanek with a great quartet last Saturday (with Travis Laplante on tenor, and with the great pairing of Mat Maneri (violin) and Randy Peterson (drums). He was fantastic.

[slowshoes]

Originally Posted by Steven Reynolds

will be picking up Snakeoil and Small Places soon.

this form one not enamored with the ECM sound/approach

fwiw I did see the Formanek Quartet in late 2011 and they were fine, but NOWHERE nerar as good as the band that played the previous set which was mat Maneri's Quintet.

I have heard that Small Places is a step up from The Rub and Spare Change - so I will pick it up this long weekend if possible.

I did see Formanek with a great quartet last Saturday (with Travis Laplante on tenor, and with the great pairing of Mat Maneri (violin) and Randy Peterson (drums). He was fantastic.

I have both, and I feel Snakeoil is the better album - just my opinion of course. (In fact,one of the top albums of the year for me, but I haven't bought much new stuff this year, so I don't feel I should try to throw together a top ten list).

[jkelman]

My Best Releases of 2012, published today at All About Jazz.

2012 has been another banner year, but one with an ever-present problem: so much good music, but so little time. While there are many other recordings worthy of attention—and inclusion—with the usual condition that only albums that have been reviewed are eligible for selection, here are just a few of the top recorded events in jazz and beyond for 2012, in no particular order.

Review here.