We've created several
best of lists for 2003 ranging from the best live shows to the best reissues. Enjoy!
Quick Links
Best New Releases Of 2003
Musicians Of The Year
Musicians To Watch
Best Vocal Releases
Best Latin Releases
Unearthed Gems
Best Reissues
Best Shows Of 2003
Best Record Labels
Books Of The Year
Meet the AAJ:NY Staff
BEST NEW RELEASES OF 2003
- Tim Berne, The Sublime And... Science Friction Live (Thirsty Ear)
- Dave Douglas - Freak In (BMG)
- Either/Orchestra - Neo-Modernism (Accurate)
- Robert Glasper - Mood (Fresh Sound New Talent)
- Fred Hersch - Live at the Village Vanguard (Palmetto)
- Pat Metheny - One Quiet Night (Warner)
- Mario Pavone - Orange (Playscape)
- Ben Perowsky - Camp Songs (Tzadik)
- Jean-Michel Pilc - Cardinal Points (Dreyfus)
- Angelica Sanchez - Mirror Me (OmniTone)
~ David Adler
- Art Ensemble of Chicago â€" The Meeting (Pi)
- Daniel Carter/Reuben Radding â€" Luminescence (AUM Fidelity)
- Mark Helias/Open Loose â€" Verbs of Will (Radio Legs)
- Ahmad Jamal â€" In Search Of Momentum (Dreyfus)
- John Lindberg - Ruminations on Ives and Gottschalk (Between The Lines)
- Peter Madsen â€" Sphere Essence: Another Side of Monk (Playscape)
- Kevin Norton â€" Dream Catcher (for Wilber Morris) (CIMP)
- Matthew Shipp - Equilibrium (Thirsty Ear)
- Clark Terry/Max Roach â€" Friendship (Eighty-Eights-Columbia)
- Jessica Williiams - All Alone (MAXJAZZ)
~ Laurence Donohue-Greene
- Kevin Norton/Joelle Leandre/Tomas Ulrich - Oceans of Earth (Barking Hoop)
- Art Ensemble of Chicago - Tribute to Lester (ECM)
- Josh Abrams â€" Cipher (Delmark)
- Spring Heel Jack â€" Live (Thirsty Ear)
- Anthony Braxton - Solo (NYC) 2002 (Parallactic)
- Loren Connors - The Departing of a Dream Volume II (Family Vineyard)
- Fred Frith/Lesli Dalaba/Eric Glick Rieman/Carla Kihlstedt (Accretions)
- Barry Guy/Evan Parker - Birds and Blades (Intakt)
- Rova Saxophone Quartet - Resistance (Victo)
- William Parker/Joe Morris/Hamid Drake - Eloping With The Sun (Riti)
~ Kurt Gottschalk
- Gordon Beck - Gyroscope (Art of Life)
- Peter Br�tzmann - More Nipples (Atavistic UMS)
- Bill Frisell/Marc Ribot/Tim Sparks - Masada Guitars (Tzadik)
- Abdullah Ibrahim - African Magic (Enja-Justin Time)
- Rahsaan Roland Kirk - Compliments of the Mysterious Phantom (Hyena)
- Peter Kowald/William Parker - The Victoriaville Tapes (Victo)
- Willam Parker/Billy Bang/Hamid Drake - Scrapbook (Thirsty Ear)
- Howard Riley/John Tilbury/Keith Tippett - Another Part of the Story (Emanem)
- John Surman - Free and Equal (ECM)
- Alexander von Schlippenbach - Globe Unity Orchestra 2002 (Intakt)
~ Andrey Henkin
- Art Ensemble of Chicago â€" Tribute to Lester (ECM)
- Michael Brecker â€" Wide Angles (Verve)
- Ravi Coltrane â€" Mad 6 (Eighty Eights-Columbia)
- Kenny Garrett â€" Standard of Language (Warner)
- Joe Lovano â€" On this Day: At the Vanguard (Blue Note)
- Branford Marsalis â€" Romare Bearden Revealed (Marsalis Music)
- Mulgrew Miller â€" The Sequel (MAXJAZZ)
- Eric Reed â€" E-Bop (Savant)
- Wayne Shorter â€" Alegria (Verve)
- David S. Ware â€" Threads (Thirsty Ear)
~ Russ Musto
MUSICIANS OF THE YEAR
- Henry Grimes
- Dave Holland
- Vijay Iyer
- Matthew Shipp
- John Zorn
MUSICIANS TO WATCH
- Liberty Ellman (guitar)
- Mary Halvorsen (guitar)
- Jeremy Pelt (trumpet)
- Matana Roberts (reeds)
- Miguel Zenon (reeds)
BEST VOCAL RELEASES
- Devorah Day â€" Light of Day (Abaton)
- Sheila Jordan - Little Song (HighNote)
- Abbey Lincoln - It’s Me (Verve)
- Maroon - Who the Sky Betrays (Head Fulla Brains)
- Dianne Reeves - A Little Moonlight (Blue Note)
BEST LATIN RELEASES
- Ray Barretto - Homage to Art Blakey (Sunnyside)
- Either/Orchestra - Afro-Cubism (Accurate)
- David Murray Latin Big Band - Now is Another Time (Justin Time)
- Poncho Sanchez - Out of Sight (Concord)
- Papo V�squez - Carnival in San Juan (Cubop-Ubiquity)
UNEARTHED GEMS
- Albert Ayler - The Copenhagen Tapes (Ayler)
- Lenny Breau â€" Hallmark Sessions (Art of Life)
- Allen Eager - In the Land of Oo-Bla-Dee (Uptown)
- Andrew Hill - Passing Ships (Blue Note)
- Jimmy Lyons - The Box Set (Ayler)
BEST REISSUES
- Gil Evans â€" Gil Evans & Ten (Prestige-Fantasy)
- Jeanne Lee - Natural Affinities (Owl-Sunnyside)
- Grachan Moncur III - Mosaic Select (Blue Note-Mosaic)
- Pee Wee Russell - Ask Me Now (Impulse-Verve)
- Sonny Simmons - Burning Spirits (Contemporary-Fantasy)
