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Dan Bilawsky's Best Releases of 2014
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How does an album end up on this list? It really comes down to two things: strength on impact and staying power. Some records hit hard from the start, ultimately losing power with play after play. Other records come on gently, growing on the ear and the mind over time. But it's the truly rare one that manages to draw you in immediately and retain its power over time. I had the absolute pleasure of reviewing nearly two hundred albums for All About Jazz in 2014. These were the two dozen among them that hooked me from the start and still have a hold on me:
Stellar Small Group Sets
Big(ger), Be It Bold Or Beautiful (Or Both)
And The Angels Sing
From Then To NowBlasts From The Past
Stellar Small Group Sets
Jeff Ballard Trio Time's Tales (Okeh) | Matt Wilson Quartet + John Medeski Gathering Call (Palmetto Records) | Fred Hersch Trio Floating (Palmetto Records) |
Ryan Keberle & Catharsis Into The Zone (Greenleaf Music) | Larry Goldings/Peter Bernstein/Bill Stewart Ramshackle Serenade (Pirouet Records) | Frank Kimbrough Quartet (Palmetto Records) |
The Bad Plus The Rite Of Spring (Sony Masterworks) | Marc Ribot Trio Live At The Village Vanguard (Pi Recordings) | Myriad3 The Where (Alma Records) |
Big(ger), Be It Bold Or Beautiful (Or Both)
Christine Jensen Jazz Orchestra Habitat (Justin Time Records) | Dan Weiss Fourteen (Pi Recordings) | Emilio Solla Y La Inestable De Brooklyn Second Half (Self Produced) |
Regina Carter Southern Comfort (Sony Masterworks) | Edward Simon Venezuelan Suite (Sunnyside Records) | Arturo O'Farrill & The Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra The Offense Of The Drum (Motema Music) |
And The Angels Sing
Kate McGarry And Keith Ganz Genevieve And Ferdinand (Sunnyside Records) | Hilary Gardner The Great City (Anzic Records) | Stacey Kent The Changing Lights (Warner Jazz) | Billy Childs Map To The Treasure: Reimagining Laura Nyro (Sony Masterworks) | Amy Cervini Jazz Country (Anzic Records) | Laurie Antonioli Songs Of Shadow, Songs Of Light: The Music Of Joni Mitchell (Origin Records) |
From Then To NowBlasts From The Past
Charles Lloyd Manhattan Stories (Resonance Records) | Sonny Rollins Road Shows, Vol. 3 (Doxy Records) | Joe Beck Get Me Joe Beck (Whaling City Sound) |
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Tags
Best of / Year End
Dan Bilawsky
Jeff Ballard
Matt Wilson
John Medeski
Fred Hersch
Ryan Keberle
Larry Goldings
Peter Bernstein
Bill Stewart
Frank Kimbrough
The Bad Plus
Marc Ribot
Myriad3
Christine Jensen
Dan Weiss
Emilio Solla
Regina Carter
Edward Simon
Arturo O'Farrill
Kate McGarry
Keith Ganz
Hilary Gardner
Stacey Kent
Billy Childs
Amy Cervini
Laurie Antonioli
charles lloyd
Sonny Rollins
Joe Beck