2020: The Year’s Top-Rated Albums (by Downbeat)

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   FIVE-STAR ALBUMS (New)
Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah, AXIOM (Ropeadope)
“Oftentimes when we come into environments like this to play creative improvised music, someone uses the word ‘jazz,’ and then everyone in the room becomes a fuckin’ Fulbright scholar,” trumpeter Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah told the audience at New York’s Blue Note Jazz Club at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. “And that’s cool, but that has nothing to do with where this music’s power rests.” AXIOM, which was recorded that night, is a testament to that power.
John Beasley, MONK’estra Plays John Beasley (Mack Avenue)
John Beasley has arranged the brass brighter and brasher, the low horns to be more growly and his tasty keyboard parts to be artfully highlighted on his third album with the acclaimed MONK’estra. Extending neatly synchronized section motifs—those indelibly quirky Monk phrases—into swelling backdrops that balance freely impassioned soloists, Beasley as a pianist and composer draws out even more melodic, harmonic and rhythmic implications in music by Monk, Bird and Duke.
Carla Bley/Andy Sheppard/Steve Swallow, Life Goes On (ECM)
Life Goes On is a brilliant expression of the camaraderie developed by Carla Bley’s longtime trio with bassist Steve Swallow and saxophonist Andy Sheppard. It offers three suites highlighting Bley’s deft sense of dramatic development, her gifts as a soloist (often overshadowed by her composing) and the trio’s deadpan minimalism and subtly organic interplay. During Bley’s long career, there have been times when her work has merely seemed smart, but not emotionally resonant. Here, it’s both.
Bill Frisell, Valentine (Blue Note)
“Playing together” is a phrase so commonplace it’s easy to forget what it signifies. Of course, there’s the obvious: making music with others, performing as an ensemble, being creative in a group. But the music guitarist Bill Frisell, bassist Thomas Morgan and drummer Rudy Royston offer here suggests a specific spin on the idea, one that emphasizes the togetherness of the playing. Even though the selections on Valentine hail from a range of styles, the performances represent jazz playing at its most sublime. And music seldom gets more “together” than that.
Guillermo Klein Y Los Guachos, Cristal (Sunnyside)
The Argentine pianist, composer and bandleader is working at the top of his game—and so is his 11-piece group, which includes jazz luminaries like alto saxophonist Miguel Zenón. Here, Klein features his own compositions, as well as those of Carlos Gardel, the early 20th-century tango singer whom Klein listened to growing up. But the album isn’t sentimental or even recherché. Cristal is thoroughly modern, with groovy beats, sophisticated horn voicings and a folksy feel that only could have come from Los Gauchos.
Kurt Rosenwinkel Bandit 65, Searching The Continuum (Heartcore)
Because jazz remains a mostly acoustic music, the striking thing about guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel’s Bandit 65 is how overwhelmingly electronic it sounds. Rosenwinkel, fellow guitarist Tim Motzer and drummer Gintas Janusonis all are credited with “electronics.” The range of tones and textures are so deep and beguiling that it’s easy to get lost in the sheer lushness of the sound. Doing so, however, would be a bit like missing the forest for the trees, because the real genius of Searching The Continuum is that each of these tracks was spontaneously conceived of and recorded live.
Emilio Solla Tango Jazz Orchestra, Puertos: Music From International Waters (Avantango)
The high concept that drives Puertos: Music From International Waters has no right to work. Dedicating each song to a different port seems like a hokey idea lifted out of the era of stereo demonstration LPs. But what moves Puertos beyond a simple pastiche is that Emilio Solla has invested heavily in each of the pieces here. It’s the difference between seeing each city from the deck of a ship and exploring the back alleys of each place. The thread running through the various ports is how imperialist conquests, the slave trade and immigration mixed with native traditions to create distinctive yet linked music from Cadiz to Buenos Aires and New York.
FOUR-AND-A-HALF-STAR ALBUMS (New)
Jonathan Barber & Vision Ahead, Legacy Holder (Vision Ahead Music)
Marc Copland, And I Love Her ([Illusions] Mirage)
Chick Corea, Plays (Stretch)
Frisell/Lage/Riley, John Zorn: Virtue (Tzadik)
Jimmy Heath, Love Letter (Verve)
Sigurd Hole, Lys/Mørke (Elvesang)
Laubrock/Davis, Blood Moon (Intakt)
Wynton Marsalis, The Ever Fonky Lowdown (Blue Engine)
Ron Miles, Rainbow Sign (Blue Note)
Hedvig Mollestad, Ekhidna (Rune Grammofon)
Nous, Nous II (Our Silent Canvas)
Aaron Parks, Little Big II: Dreams Of A Mechanical Man (Ropeadope)
Redman/Mehldau/McBride/Blade, Round Again (Nonesuch)
Eric Revis, Slipknots Through A Looking Glass (Pyroclastic)
Michele Rosewoman’s New Yor-Uba, Hallowed (Advance Dance Disques)
Felipe Salles Interconnections Ensemble, The New Immigrant Experience (Tapestry)
Sara Serpa, Recognition (Biophilia)
Walter Smith III & Matthew Stevens, In Common 2 (Whirlwind)
Kevin Sun, The Sustain Of Memory (Endectomorph)
Keith Jarrett, Munich 2016 (ECM)
FOUR-STAR ALBUMS (New)
3D Jazz Trio, I Love To See You Smile (Diva Jazz)
11 Guys Quartet, Small Blues And Grooves (VizzTone)
Rez Abbasi, Djanto-shift (Whirlwind)
Idris Ackamoor & The Pyramids, Shaman! (Strut)
Ryoko Akama, Dial (Another Timbre)
JD Allen, Toys/Die Dreaming (Savant)
Antibalas, Fu Chronicles (Daptone)
Lynne Arriale Trio, Chimes Of Freedom (Challenge)
Gregg August, Dialogues On Race, Volume One (Iacuessa)
Omer Avital Qantar, New York Paradox (jazz&people/Zamzama)
John Bailey, Can You Imagine? (Freedom Road)
Marc Benham, Biotope (SteepleChase)
Frank Bey, All My Dues Are Paid (Nola Blue)
Tim Berne’s Snakeoil, The Fantastic Mrs. 10 (Intakt)
Peter Bernstein, What Comes Next (Smoke Sessions)
Laila Biali, Out Of Dust (Chronograph/ACT)
Jim Black Trio, Reckon (Intakt)
Black Art Jazz Collective, Ascension (HighNote)
Blaer, Yellow (Ronin Rhythm)
Bohren & Der Club Of Gore, Patchouli Blue (Ipecac)
Moses Boyd, Dark Matter (Exodus)
Geof Bradfield/Ben Goldberg/Dana Hall, General Semantics (Delmark)
Peter Brötzmann, I Surrender Dear (Trost)
The Darius Brubeck Quartet, Live In Poland (Ubuntu)
Brody Buster’s One Man Band, Damn! I Spilled The Blues (Booga)
Gary Brunton/Simon Goubert/Bojan Z, Night Bus (Juste Une Trace)
Ernesto Cervini, Tetrahedron (Anzic)
Chicago Underground Quartet, Good Days (Astral Spirits)
Gerald Clayton, Happening: Live At The Village Vanguard (Blue Note)
Rob Clutton with Tony Malaby, Offering (Snailbongbong)
Harry Connick Jr., True Love: A Celebration Of Cole Porter (Verve)
Sylvie Courvoisier Trio, Free Hoops (Intakt)
Eddie Daniels, Night Kisses: A Tribute To Ivan Lins (Resonance)
John Daversa Quintet, Cuarentena: With Family At Home (Tiger Turn)
Michael Dease, Never More Here (Posi-Tone)
Chano Dominguez & Hadar Noiberg, Paramus (Sunnyside)
Michael Doucet, Lâcher Prise (Compass)
Dave Douglas, Dizzy Atmosphere: Dizzy Gillespie At Zero Gravity (Greenleaf Music)
Dave Douglas, ENGAGE (Greenleaf Music)
Nick Dunston, Atlantic Extractions: Live At Threes (Out Of Your Head)
Sinne Eeg & The Danish Radio Big Band, We’ve Just Begun (BFM Jazz)
Wayne Escoffery, The Humble Warrior (Smoke Sessions)
Maria Faust Sacrum Facere, Organ (Stunt)
John Fedchock NY Sextet, Into The Shadows (Summit)
Nuphar Fey, Serenity Island (Hypnote)
Joe Fiedler’s Big Sackbut, Live In Graz (Multiphonics)
Amina Figarova Edition 113, Persistence (Amfi)
Fire! Orchestra, Actions (Rune Grammofon)
Satoko Fujii/Joe Fonda, Four (Long Song)
Satoko Fujii Orchestra New York, Entity (Libra)
Futurebirds, Teamwork (Easy Sound)
Hal Galper, The Zone: Live At The Yardbird Suite (Origin)
Jan Garbarek/The Hilliard Ensemble, Remember Me, My Dear (ECM)
Marshall Gilkes Trio, Waiting To Continue (Alternate Side)
Yuri Goloubev, Two Chevrons Apart (Basho)
Wolfgang Haffner, Kind Of Tango (ACT)
Tigran Hamasyan, The Call Within (Nonesuch)
Jeff Hamilton Trio, Catch Me If You Can (Capri)
Joel Harrison +18, America At War (Sunnyside)
Eddie Henderson, Shuffle And Deal (Smoke Sessions)
Fred Hersch, Songs From Home (Palmetto)
François Houle 4, Recoder (Songlines)
Jasper Høiby, Planet B (Edition)
Julia Hülsmann Quartet, Not Far From Here (ECM)
Peter Hum, Ordinary Heroes (Self Release)
Jason Kao Hwang, Human Rights Trio (True Sound)
Irreversible Entanglements, Who Sent You? (International Anthem/Don Giovanni)
Jack Mack & The Heart Attack, Live From Centennial Park—Atlanta 1996 (Free Roll)
Teresa James & The Rhythm Tramps, Live! (Jesi-lu)
Tomas Janzon, 130th & Lenox (Changes)
Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, The Music Of Wayne Shorter (Blue Engine)
The Jimmys, Gotta Have It (Brown Cow)
Jimmy Johnson, Every Day Of Your Life (Delmark)
Booker T. Jones, Note By Note (Edith Street)
Andrea Keller, Transients: Volume 2 (Self Release)
Eva Kess, Sternschnuppen: Falling Stars (Neuklang)
Amirtha Kidambi/Lea Bertucci, Phase Eclipse (Astral Spirits/Monofonus Press)
Quin Kirchner, The Shadows And The Light (Astral Spirits)
Mark Knoop, Tim Parkinson: Piano Music 2015–2016 (All That Dust)
Kirk Knuffke, Brightness: Live In Amsterdam (Royal Potato Family)
Diana Krall, This Dream Of You (Verve)
Joachim Kühn & Mateusz Smoczynski, Speaking Sound (ACT)
Kuzu, Purple Dark Opal (Aerophonic)
Miranda Lambert, Wildcard (RCA Nashville)
Nils Landgren/Jan Lundgren, Kristallen (ACT)
Brian Landrus, For Now (Blueland)
Ingrid Laubrock, Dreamt Twice, Twice Dreamt (Intakt)
Jimin Lee, Strange Flower (Mirrorball)
Lauren Lee, Windowsill (eyes&ears)
James Brandon Lewis/Chad Taylor, Live In Willisau (Intakt)
Harold López-Nussa, Te Lo Dije (Mack Avenue)
Harold Mabern, Mabern Plays Mabern (Smoke Sessions)
Rudresh Mahanthappa, Hero Trio (Whirlwind)
Nduduzo Makhathini, Modes Of Communication: Letters From The Underworlds (Blue Note)
Jason Marsalis, Jason Marsalis Live (Basin Street)
Brian Marsella, Gatos Do Sul (Tzadik)
Wojtek Mazolewski Quintet, When Angels Fall (Whirlwind)
Christian McBride Big Band, For Jimmy, Wes And Oliver (Mack Avenue)
Zara McFarlane, Songs Of An Unknown Tongue (Brownswood)
Ross McHenry, Nothing Remains Unchanged (First Word)
John McLaughlin/Shankar Mahadevan/Zakir Hussain, Is That So? (Abstract Logix)
Charles McPherson, Jazz Dance Suites (Chazz Mack)
Brad Mehldau, Suite: April 2020 (Nonesuch)
Maria Mendes, Close To Me (Justin Time)
Anne Mette Iversen Quartet +1, Racing A Butterfly (Brooklyn Jazz Underground)
Nicole Mitchell & Lisa E. Harris, EarthSeed (FPE)
Mute, Mute (Fresh Sound New Talent)
The Necks, Three (Northern Spy)
Marius Neset, Tributes (ACT)
Marius Neset, Viaduct (ACT)
Maciej Obara Quartet, Three Crowns (ECM)
Arturo O’Farrill/The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, Four Questions (Zoho)
Kassa Overall, I Think I’m Good (Brownswood)
Keith Oxman, Two Cigarettes In The Dark (Capri)
Junius Paul, Ism (International Anthem)
Ralph Peterson & The Messenger Legacy, Onward & Upward (Onyx)
Charlie Porter, Immigration Nation (OA2)
Ryan Porter & The West Coast Get Down, Live In Paris At New Morning (World Galaxy/Alpha Pup)
Ilya Portnov, 3 (Self Release)
Tineke Postma, Freya (Edition)
Dafnis Prieto Sextet, Transparency (Dafnison)
Rava/Herbert/Guidi, For Mario (Live) (Accidental)
Tomeka Reid Quartet, Old New (Cuneiform)
Reverso, The Melodic Line (Out Note)
Steph Richards, SUPERSENSE (Northern Spy)
Jason Robinson, Harmonic Constituent (Playscape)
Roomful of Blues, A Roomful Of Blues (Alligator)
Charles Rumback, June Holiday (Astral Spirits)
Jeff Rupert/George Garzone, The Ripple (Rupe Media)
Angelica Sánchez/Marilyn Crispell, How To Turn The Moon (Pyroclastic)
Marta Sánchez Quintet, El Rayo De Luz (Fresh Sound New Talent)
John Scofield, Swallow Tales (ECM)
Matthew Shipp, The Piano Equation (Tao Forms)
Lisa Marie Simmons, NoteSpeak (Amori E Tragedie In Musica) (Ropeadope)
Six Organs of Admittance, Companion Rises (Drag City)
Sonar With David Torn, Tranceportation (Volume 1) (RareNoise)
Dave Specter, Blues From The Inside Out (Delmark)
Anders Svanoe, Solo Flight: State Of The Baritone, Vol. 4 (Irabbagast)
Shabaka And The Ancestors, We Are Sent Here By History (Impulse)
Gary Smulyan, Our Contrafacts (SteepleChase)
Son of Goldfinger (David Torn/Ches Smith/Tim Berne), (Congratulations To You) (9 Donkeys)
Tyshawn Sorey And Marilyn Crispell, The Adornment Of Time (Pi)
Luciana Souza, Storytellers (Sunnyside)
Kandace Springs, The Women Who Raised Me (Blue Note)
Leni Stern, 4 (LSR)
Cecilie Strange, Blue (April)
Swamp Dogg, Sorry You Couldn’t Make It (Joyful Noise)
Rachel Therrien, Vena (Bonsaï)
Brianna Thomas, Everybody Knows (Breathline)
Thumbscrew, The Anthony Braxton Project (Cuneiform)
Thundercat, It Is What It Is (Brainfeeder)
David Tranchina Large-ish Ensemble, The Ogre (Big Ego)
Rebecca Trescher, Where We Go (Enja)
Trio Grande, Trio Grande (Whirlwind)
Manuel Valera New Cuban Express Big Band, José Martí En Nuevo York (Greenleaf Music)
Gary Versace, All For Now (SteepleChase)
Will Vinson, Four Forty One (Whirlwind)
Alexander von Schlippenbach, Slow Pieces For Aki—Piano Solo (Intakt)
Marcin Wasilewski Trio/Joe Lovano, Arctic Riff (ECM)
Waterless Hills, The Great Mountain (Cardinal Fuzz/Feeding Tube)
Bobby Watson, Keepin’ It Real (Smoke Sessions)
Anna Webber, Rectangles (Out Of Your Head)
Ben Wendel, High Heart (Edition)
Lucinda Williams, Good Souls Better Angels (Thirty Tigers/Highway 20)
Norma Winstone & John Taylor, In Concert (Sunnyside)
Warren Wolf, Reincarnation (Mack Avenue)
Stephane Wrembel, Django L’Impressionniste (Water Is Life)
Eri Yamamoto Trio & Choral Chameleon, Goshu Ondo Suite (AUM Fidelity)
Alice Zawadzki, Within You Is A World Of Spring (Whirlwind)

Author	Message Topic Search Topic Options Post Reply Create New Topic Printable Version Translate Topic
snobb Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Visit Members Homepage Add to Buddy List Forum Admin Group Site Admin Joined: 22 Dec 2010 Location: Vilnius Status: Offline Points: 29587	Post Options Post Reply Quote snobb Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: 2020: The Year’s Top-Rated Albums (by Downbeat) Posted: 15 Dec 2020 at 11:28am
	FIVE-STAR ALBUMS (New) Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah, AXIOM (Ropeadope) “Oftentimes when we come into environments like this to play creative improvised music, someone uses the word ‘jazz,’ and then everyone in the room becomes a fuckin’ Fulbright scholar,” trumpeter Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah told the audience at New York’s Blue Note Jazz Club at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. “And that’s cool, but that has nothing to do with where this music’s power rests.” AXIOM, which was recorded that night, is a testament to that power. John Beasley, MONK’estra Plays John Beasley (Mack Avenue) John Beasley has arranged the brass brighter and brasher, the low horns to be more growly and his tasty keyboard parts to be artfully highlighted on his third album with the acclaimed MONK’estra. Extending neatly synchronized section motifs—those indelibly quirky Monk phrases—into swelling backdrops that balance freely impassioned soloists, Beasley as a pianist and composer draws out even more melodic, harmonic and rhythmic implications in music by Monk, Bird and Duke. Carla Bley/Andy Sheppard/Steve Swallow, Life Goes On (ECM) Life Goes On is a brilliant expression of the camaraderie developed by Carla Bley’s longtime trio with bassist Steve Swallow and saxophonist Andy Sheppard. It offers three suites highlighting Bley’s deft sense of dramatic development, her gifts as a soloist (often overshadowed by her composing) and the trio’s deadpan minimalism and subtly organic interplay. During Bley’s long career, there have been times when her work has merely seemed smart, but not emotionally resonant. Here, it’s both. Bill Frisell, Valentine (Blue Note) “Playing together” is a phrase so commonplace it’s easy to forget what it signifies. Of course, there’s the obvious: making music with others, performing as an ensemble, being creative in a group. But the music guitarist Bill Frisell, bassist Thomas Morgan and drummer Rudy Royston offer here suggests a specific spin on the idea, one that emphasizes the togetherness of the playing. Even though the selections on Valentine hail from a range of styles, the performances represent jazz playing at its most sublime. And music seldom gets more “together” than that. Guillermo Klein Y Los Guachos, Cristal (Sunnyside) The Argentine pianist, composer and bandleader is working at the top of his game—and so is his 11-piece group, which includes jazz luminaries like alto saxophonist Miguel Zenón. Here, Klein features his own compositions, as well as those of Carlos Gardel, the early 20th-century tango singer whom Klein listened to growing up. But the album isn’t sentimental or even recherché. Cristal is thoroughly modern, with groovy beats, sophisticated horn voicings and a folksy feel that only could have come from Los Gauchos. Kurt Rosenwinkel Bandit 65, Searching The Continuum (Heartcore) Because jazz remains a mostly acoustic music, the striking thing about guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel’s Bandit 65 is how overwhelmingly electronic it sounds. Rosenwinkel, fellow guitarist Tim Motzer and drummer Gintas Janusonis all are credited with “electronics.” The range of tones and textures are so deep and beguiling that it’s easy to get lost in the sheer lushness of the sound. Doing so, however, would be a bit like missing the forest for the trees, because the real genius of Searching The Continuum is that each of these tracks was spontaneously conceived of and recorded live. Emilio Solla Tango Jazz Orchestra, Puertos: Music From International Waters (Avantango) The high concept that drives Puertos: Music From International Waters has no right to work. Dedicating each song to a different port seems like a hokey idea lifted out of the era of stereo demonstration LPs. But what moves Puertos beyond a simple pastiche is that Emilio Solla has invested heavily in each of the pieces here. It’s the difference between seeing each city from the deck of a ship and exploring the back alleys of each place. The thread running through the various ports is how imperialist conquests, the slave trade and immigration mixed with native traditions to create distinctive yet linked music from Cadiz to Buenos Aires and New York. FOUR-AND-A-HALF-STAR ALBUMS (New) Jonathan Barber & Vision Ahead, Legacy Holder (Vision Ahead Music) Marc Copland, And I Love Her ([Illusions] Mirage) Chick Corea, Plays (Stretch) Frisell/Lage/Riley, John Zorn: Virtue (Tzadik) Jimmy Heath, Love Letter (Verve) Sigurd Hole, Lys/Mørke (Elvesang) Laubrock/Davis, Blood Moon (Intakt) Wynton Marsalis, The Ever Fonky Lowdown (Blue Engine) Ron Miles, Rainbow Sign (Blue Note) Hedvig Mollestad, Ekhidna (Rune Grammofon) Nous, Nous II (Our Silent Canvas) Aaron Parks, Little Big II: Dreams Of A Mechanical Man (Ropeadope) Redman/Mehldau/McBride/Blade, Round Again (Nonesuch) Eric Revis, Slipknots Through A Looking Glass (Pyroclastic) Michele Rosewoman’s New Yor-Uba, Hallowed (Advance Dance Disques) Felipe Salles Interconnections Ensemble, The New Immigrant Experience (Tapestry) Sara Serpa, Recognition (Biophilia) Walter Smith III & Matthew Stevens, In Common 2 (Whirlwind) Kevin Sun, The Sustain Of Memory (Endectomorph) Keith Jarrett, Munich 2016 (ECM) FOUR-STAR ALBUMS (New) 3D Jazz Trio, I Love To See You Smile (Diva Jazz) 11 Guys Quartet, Small Blues And Grooves (VizzTone) Rez Abbasi, Djanto-shift (Whirlwind) Idris Ackamoor & The Pyramids, Shaman! (Strut) Ryoko Akama, Dial (Another Timbre) JD Allen, Toys/Die Dreaming (Savant) Antibalas, Fu Chronicles (Daptone) Lynne Arriale Trio, Chimes Of Freedom (Challenge) Gregg August, Dialogues On Race, Volume One (Iacuessa) Omer Avital Qantar, New York Paradox (jazz&people/Zamzama) John Bailey, Can You Imagine? (Freedom Road) Marc Benham, Biotope (SteepleChase) Frank Bey, All My Dues Are Paid (Nola Blue) Tim Berne’s Snakeoil, The Fantastic Mrs. 10 (Intakt) Peter Bernstein, What Comes Next (Smoke Sessions) Laila Biali, Out Of Dust (Chronograph/ACT) Jim Black Trio, Reckon (Intakt) Black Art Jazz Collective, Ascension (HighNote) Blaer, Yellow (Ronin Rhythm) Bohren & Der Club Of Gore, Patchouli Blue (Ipecac) Moses Boyd, Dark Matter (Exodus) Geof Bradfield/Ben Goldberg/Dana Hall, General Semantics (Delmark) Peter Brötzmann, I Surrender Dear (Trost) The Darius Brubeck Quartet, Live In Poland (Ubuntu) Brody Buster’s One Man Band, Damn! I Spilled The Blues (Booga) Gary Brunton/Simon Goubert/Bojan Z, Night Bus (Juste Une Trace) Ernesto Cervini, Tetrahedron (Anzic) Chicago Underground Quartet, Good Days (Astral Spirits) Gerald Clayton, Happening: Live At The Village Vanguard (Blue Note) Rob Clutton with Tony Malaby, Offering (Snailbongbong) Harry Connick Jr., True Love: A Celebration Of Cole Porter (Verve) Sylvie Courvoisier Trio, Free Hoops (Intakt) Eddie Daniels, Night Kisses: A Tribute To Ivan Lins (Resonance) John Daversa Quintet, Cuarentena: With Family At Home (Tiger Turn) Michael Dease, Never More Here (Posi-Tone) Chano Dominguez & Hadar Noiberg, Paramus (Sunnyside) Michael Doucet, Lâcher Prise (Compass) Dave Douglas, Dizzy Atmosphere: Dizzy Gillespie At Zero Gravity (Greenleaf Music) Dave Douglas, ENGAGE (Greenleaf Music) Nick Dunston, Atlantic Extractions: Live At Threes (Out Of Your Head) Sinne Eeg & The Danish Radio Big Band, We’ve Just Begun (BFM Jazz) Wayne Escoffery, The Humble Warrior (Smoke Sessions) Maria Faust Sacrum Facere, Organ (Stunt) John Fedchock NY Sextet, Into The Shadows (Summit) Nuphar Fey, Serenity Island (Hypnote) Joe Fiedler’s Big Sackbut, Live In Graz (Multiphonics) Amina Figarova Edition 113, Persistence (Amfi) Fire! Orchestra, Actions (Rune Grammofon) Satoko Fujii/Joe Fonda, Four (Long Song) Satoko Fujii Orchestra New York, Entity (Libra) Futurebirds, Teamwork (Easy Sound) Hal Galper, The Zone: Live At The Yardbird Suite (Origin) Jan Garbarek/The Hilliard Ensemble, Remember Me, My Dear (ECM) Marshall Gilkes Trio, Waiting To Continue (Alternate Side) Yuri Goloubev, Two Chevrons Apart (Basho) Wolfgang Haffner, Kind Of Tango (ACT) Tigran Hamasyan, The Call Within (Nonesuch) Jeff Hamilton Trio, Catch Me If You Can (Capri) Joel Harrison +18, America At War (Sunnyside) Eddie Henderson, Shuffle And Deal (Smoke Sessions) Fred Hersch, Songs From Home (Palmetto) François Houle 4, Recoder (Songlines) Jasper Høiby, Planet B (Edition) Julia Hülsmann Quartet, Not Far From Here (ECM) Peter Hum, Ordinary Heroes (Self Release) Jason Kao Hwang, Human Rights Trio (True Sound) Irreversible Entanglements, Who Sent You? (International Anthem/Don Giovanni) Jack Mack & The Heart Attack, Live From Centennial Park—Atlanta 1996 (Free Roll) Teresa James & The Rhythm Tramps, Live! (Jesi-lu) Tomas Janzon, 130th & Lenox (Changes) Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, The Music Of Wayne Shorter (Blue Engine) The Jimmys, Gotta Have It (Brown Cow) Jimmy Johnson, Every Day Of Your Life (Delmark) Booker T. Jones, Note By Note (Edith Street) Andrea Keller, Transients: Volume 2 (Self Release) Eva Kess, Sternschnuppen: Falling Stars (Neuklang) Amirtha Kidambi/Lea Bertucci, Phase Eclipse (Astral Spirits/Monofonus Press) Quin Kirchner, The Shadows And The Light (Astral Spirits) Mark Knoop, Tim Parkinson: Piano Music 2015–2016 (All That Dust) Kirk Knuffke, Brightness: Live In Amsterdam (Royal Potato Family) Diana Krall, This Dream Of You (Verve) Joachim Kühn & Mateusz Smoczynski, Speaking Sound (ACT) Kuzu, Purple Dark Opal (Aerophonic) Miranda Lambert, Wildcard (RCA Nashville) Nils Landgren/Jan Lundgren, Kristallen (ACT) Brian Landrus, For Now (Blueland) Ingrid Laubrock, Dreamt Twice, Twice Dreamt (Intakt) Jimin Lee, Strange Flower (Mirrorball) Lauren Lee, Windowsill (eyes&ears) James Brandon Lewis/Chad Taylor, Live In Willisau (Intakt) Harold López-Nussa, Te Lo Dije (Mack Avenue) Harold Mabern, Mabern Plays Mabern (Smoke Sessions) Rudresh Mahanthappa, Hero Trio (Whirlwind) Nduduzo Makhathini, Modes Of Communication: Letters From The Underworlds (Blue Note) Jason Marsalis, Jason Marsalis Live (Basin Street) Brian Marsella, Gatos Do Sul (Tzadik) Wojtek Mazolewski Quintet, When Angels Fall (Whirlwind) Christian McBride Big Band, For Jimmy, Wes And Oliver (Mack Avenue) Zara McFarlane, Songs Of An Unknown Tongue (Brownswood) Ross McHenry, Nothing Remains Unchanged (First Word) John McLaughlin/Shankar Mahadevan/Zakir Hussain, Is That So? (Abstract Logix) Charles McPherson, Jazz Dance Suites (Chazz Mack) Brad Mehldau, Suite: April 2020 (Nonesuch) Maria Mendes, Close To Me (Justin Time) Anne Mette Iversen Quartet +1, Racing A Butterfly (Brooklyn Jazz Underground) Nicole Mitchell & Lisa E. Harris, EarthSeed (FPE) Mute, Mute (Fresh Sound New Talent) The Necks, Three (Northern Spy) Marius Neset, Tributes (ACT) Marius Neset, Viaduct (ACT) Maciej Obara Quartet, Three Crowns (ECM) Arturo O’Farrill/The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, Four Questions (Zoho) Kassa Overall, I Think I’m Good (Brownswood) Keith Oxman, Two Cigarettes In The Dark (Capri) Junius Paul, Ism (International Anthem) Ralph Peterson & The Messenger Legacy, Onward & Upward (Onyx) Charlie Porter, Immigration Nation (OA2) Ryan Porter & The West Coast Get Down, Live In Paris At New Morning (World Galaxy/Alpha Pup) Ilya Portnov, 3 (Self Release) Tineke Postma, Freya (Edition) Dafnis Prieto Sextet, Transparency (Dafnison) Rava/Herbert/Guidi, For Mario (Live) (Accidental) Tomeka Reid Quartet, Old New (Cuneiform) Reverso, The Melodic Line (Out Note) Steph Richards, SUPERSENSE (Northern Spy) Jason Robinson, Harmonic Constituent (Playscape) Roomful of Blues, A Roomful Of Blues (Alligator) Charles Rumback, June Holiday (Astral Spirits) Jeff Rupert/George Garzone, The Ripple (Rupe Media) Angelica Sánchez/Marilyn Crispell, How To Turn The Moon (Pyroclastic) Marta Sánchez Quintet, El Rayo De Luz (Fresh Sound New Talent) John Scofield, Swallow Tales (ECM) Matthew Shipp, The Piano Equation (Tao Forms) Lisa Marie Simmons, NoteSpeak (Amori E Tragedie In Musica) (Ropeadope) Six Organs of Admittance, Companion Rises (Drag City) Sonar With David Torn, Tranceportation (Volume 1) (RareNoise) Dave Specter, Blues From The Inside Out (Delmark) Anders Svanoe, Solo Flight: State Of The Baritone, Vol. 4 (Irabbagast) Shabaka And The Ancestors, We Are Sent Here By History (Impulse) Gary Smulyan, Our Contrafacts (SteepleChase) Son of Goldfinger (David Torn/Ches Smith/Tim Berne), (Congratulations To You) (9 Donkeys) Tyshawn Sorey And Marilyn Crispell, The Adornment Of Time (Pi) Luciana Souza, Storytellers (Sunnyside) Kandace Springs, The Women Who Raised Me (Blue Note) Leni Stern, 4 (LSR) Cecilie Strange, Blue (April) Swamp Dogg, Sorry You Couldn’t Make It (Joyful Noise) Rachel Therrien, Vena (Bonsaï) Brianna Thomas, Everybody Knows (Breathline) Thumbscrew, The Anthony Braxton Project (Cuneiform) Thundercat, It Is What It Is (Brainfeeder) David Tranchina Large-ish Ensemble, The Ogre (Big Ego) Rebecca Trescher, Where We Go (Enja) Trio Grande, Trio Grande (Whirlwind) Manuel Valera New Cuban Express Big Band, José Martí En Nuevo York (Greenleaf Music) Gary Versace, All For Now (SteepleChase) Will Vinson, Four Forty One (Whirlwind) Alexander von Schlippenbach, Slow Pieces For Aki—Piano Solo (Intakt) Marcin Wasilewski Trio/Joe Lovano, Arctic Riff (ECM) Waterless Hills, The Great Mountain (Cardinal Fuzz/Feeding Tube) Bobby Watson, Keepin’ It Real (Smoke Sessions) Anna Webber, Rectangles (Out Of Your Head) Ben Wendel, High Heart (Edition) Lucinda Williams, Good Souls Better Angels (Thirty Tigers/Highway 20) Norma Winstone & John Taylor, In Concert (Sunnyside) Warren Wolf, Reincarnation (Mack Avenue) Stephane Wrembel, Django L’Impressionniste (Water Is Life) Eri Yamamoto Trio & Choral Chameleon, Goshu Ondo Suite (AUM Fidelity) Alice Zawadzki, Within You Is A World Of Spring (Whirlwind)