Fifty Favorite Jazz Releases from 2011

Everyone seems to like lists this time of year. Here are my top fifty favorite jazz releases from 2011:

Favorite Jazz Releases 2011 (in no particular order)

Orrin Evans-Captain Black Big Band (Positone)

Kip Hanrahan-At Home In Anger (American Clave)

Wadada Leo Smith-Dark Lady of The Sonnets (TUM)

Vince Mendoza-Nights On Earth (Horizontal)

Anthony Wilson-Seasons (Goat Hill)

Rez Abbasi-Invocation (Enja)

Christian McBride Big Band-The Good Feeling (Mack Avenue)

Roy Haynes-Roy-Alty (Dreyfus)

Gretchen Parlato-The Lost and Found (Oblique Sound)

Sara Serpa-Mobile (Inner Circle)

Trio M-The Guest House (Enja)

Terri Lyne Carrington-The Mosaic Project (Concord)

Craig Taborn-Avenging Angel (ECM)

Miguel Zenon-Alma Adentro (Marsalis Music)

Ambrose Akinmusire-When The Heart Emerges Glistening (Blue Note)

Steve Coleman-The Mancy of Sound (PI)

Ron Carter’s Great Big Band (Sunnyside)

Charles Lloyd/Maria Farantouri-Athens Concert (ECM)

Ralph Alessi-Wiry Strong (Clean Feed)

Dave Douglas-Orange Afternoons (Greenleaf)

Michael Bates-Acrobat (Sunnyside)

Sonny Rollins-Road Shows Vol. 2 (Doxy)

Keith Jarrett-Rio (ECM)

Freddie Hubbard-Pinnacle (Resonance)

Chris Dingman-Waking Dreams (bwm)

Joe Fielder-Sacred Chrome Orb (Yellowsound)

Rudresh Mahanthappa-Samdhi (ACT)

Rene Marie-Black Lace Freudian Slip (Motema)

Kenny Werner-Institute of Higher Learning (Half Note)

Gilad Hekselman-Hearts Wide Open (Chant du Monde)

Tony Malaby’s Novela (Clean Feed)

Jerry Gonzalez-El Comando de la Clave (Sunnyside)

Nicole Mitchell-Awakening (Delmark)

Arturo O’Farrill Latin Jazz Orchestra-40 Acres and a Burro (Zoho)

Randy Brecker-The Jazz Ballad Song Book (Half Note)

Tyshawn Sorey-Oblique-1 (PI)

Gerald Wilson-Legacy (Mack Avenue)

Jacob Karlzon 3-The Big Picture (Stunt)

Warren Wolf-Warren Wolf (Mack Avenue)

Tom Harrell-The Time of the Sun (HighNote)

Ben Williams-State of Art (Concord)

Roseanna Vitro-The Music of Randy Newman (Motema)

Karrin Allyson-‘Round Midnight (Concord)

Nguyen Le-Songs of Freedom (ACT)

James Farm (Nonesuch)

Joe Lovano-Bird Songs (Blue Note)

JD Allen-Victory (Sunnyside)

Fabian Almazan-Personalities (Biophilia)

Søren Kjærgaard/Ben Street/Andrew Cyrille-Femklang (ILK)

Lee Konitz/Brad Mahldau/Charlie Haden/Paul Motian-Live at Birdland (ECM)