2018 Jazz Favorites

I’ve written before about best-of-the-year summaries. And while I haven’t done much writing about music for commercial publications these past 12 months (still mostly focused on health and recovery), I’ve done enough focused listening to document the new releases in jazz that gave me the most pleasure this year. Here they are, in no particular order:

Cecile McLorin Salvant “The Window” (Mack Avenue)

Charles Lloyd and The Marvels featuring Lucinda Williams “Vanished Gardens” (Blue Note)

Matt Stevens, Walter Smith III, et al “In Common” (Whirlwind)

Joe Locke “Subtle Disguise” (Origin)

David Virelles “Igbo Alakorin (The Singer’s Grove), Vol. I and II” (Pi)

Carlos Henriquez “Dizzy Con Clave” (Redbros)

Joel Harrison “Free Country Vol. 3 (High Note)

Cannonball Adderley “Swingin’ In Seattle” (Reel to Real)

Aaron Parks “Little Big” (Ropeadope)

Chucho Valdes “Jazz Bata” (Mack Avenue)

Charlie Haden & Brad Mehldau “Long Ago and Far Away” (Impulse)

Jonathan Finlyson “Three Time Round” (Pi)

Keith Jarrett “La Fience” (ECM)

Luciana Souza “The Book of Longing” (Sunnyside)

Wadada Leo Smith “Rosa Parks: Pure Love” (TUM)

Thumbscrew “Ours” and “Theirs” (Cuneiform)

Brad Mehldau “Seymour Reads the Constitution” (Nonesuch)

Jure Purkl “Doubtless” (Whirlwind)

JALC Orchestra “Una Noche con Ruben Blades” (Blue Engine)

Dominique Eade & Ran Blake “Town and Country” (Sunnyside)

Kenyon Harrold “The Mugician” (Legacy)

Andrew Cyrille “Lebroba” (ECM)

Woody Shaw “Tokyo 1981” (Elemental)

Tyshawn Sorey, “Pillars” (Firehouse 12)

Dave Liebman & John Stowell “Petite Fleur” (Origin)

Miles Davis and John Coltrane “The Final Tour” (Legacy)

Aaron Goldberg “At the Edge of the World” (Sunnyside)

Sasha Mashin “Outside The Box” (Rainy Days)

Henry Threadgill “Double Up, Plays Double Up, Plus (Pi)

Joshua Redman/Ron Miles/Scott Colley/Brian Blade “Still Dreaming” (Nonesuch)

Norma Winstone “ Descansado-Songs For Films” (ECM)

Ambrose Akinmusire “Origami Harvest” (Blue Note)

Sons of Kemet “Your Queen is a Reptile” (Impulse)

Allison Miller/Carmen Staaf “Science Fair” (Sunnyside)

Mark Turner/Ethan Iverson “Temporary Kings” (ECM)

Wayne Shorter “Emanon” (Blue Note)

Gregory Porter “Nat “King” Cole & Me” (Blue Note)

Miles Okazaki “Work” (self-produced)

Trygvie Seim “Helsinki Songs” (ECM)

Freebird by Walking Distance featuring Jason Moran (Sunnyside)

Iro Haarla/Ulf Krokfers/Barry Altschul “Around Again” (TUM)