Yes, it's that time again. The season for turkey dinners, holiday cheer and, soon, New Year's resolutions is also the time for reflection and endless best of lists. Hopefully you'll see ours first, before you have become numb to every publication in sight choosing their year's highlights. Though a new year is around the corner, with its to-be-released albums, as-yet-unheard performances and unachieved important achievements, there is still time to reflect on what has transpired in the past 12 months. We are not a news journal so comments on the state of the world would be inappropriate and better mentioned elsewhere. But as New York's only homegrown jazz gazette, we can speak about events and people in the city's, and world's, jazz community. Our center spread is devoted to a host of "Best Of s from archival recordings to musicians to clubs. The process of culling these choices is probably something like Santa uses to assign gifts versus coal: shrouded in mystery. We have checked our list more than twice and are proud to present to our readers AllAboutJazz-New York's Best of 2005.
But before you turn the page, we would like to look back at some trends and happenings that we feel were hallmarks of this past year...
Where is Brooklyn?
If Don Cherry had recorded this famous album now, he might have had to change its title. Brooklyn has always been a vital part of New York's jazz scene but the past year has seen its profile increase even more. The borough's renaissance began in 2003 with the opening of Barbès in Park Slope. That club has continued to put on great shows, often by the neighborhood's musical community, month after month. But now they have some friendly competition. The French café-cum-jazz club Zebulon has become one of the city's most vibrant venues, helped by their quality booking, no cover charge and popular Williamsburg location. Other entries include the down-to-earthiness of The Backroom or The Pourhouse, the cozy caffeination of the Tea Lounge, the moody lighting of Koze Lounge, Cornelia Street Café's sister club Night and Day and the absolutely stunning rotunda of Issue Project Room. Don't forget the places that have been there for a while though, like Sistas' Place or The Jazz Spot in Bed-Stuy. Where is Brooklyn? The question is where isn't Brooklyn!
Yankee come here
The history of jazz as an expatriate artform is a storied one. For as long as there have been American jazz musicians, there have been supporters from overseas. If last year showed how far a musician can go while self-releasing their albums, 2005 demonstrated that there are new labels in Europe willing to take chances. Between Portugal's Clean Feed, Poland's Not Two and France's Rogue Arts, NYC musicians have had a bevy of new recordings. Of course European labels have always been there; this is just the latest flock. When at the stores, don't forget the UK's Leo and Emanem/Psi, Sweden's Ayler and Moserobie, Denmark's SteepleChase, Norway's Smalltown Supersound and Jazzaway, Italy's Soul Note and Camjazz, Germany's FMP, Skip, Between the Lines and Enja and Switzerland's hatHUT and Intakt. The EU and US might have there differences but not on the record store shelves.
If you want it done right...
Self-released albums have been going on for decades but this year some very established artists decided to do what John Zorn and Tzadik have been excelling at for years: start their own labels. Though Branford Marsalis' Marsalis Music, Dave Douglas' Greenleaf, Dave Holland's Dare2 and Jack DeJohnette's Golden Beams are all relatively new imprints, they all have tremendous energy behind them. We will keep close eyes on them in 2006 and see what other musicians might be similarly inspired.
Short and Sweet
During the Golden Ages of jazz, when LPs were king, technical limitations meant that albums couldn't exceed 45 minutes. But given the quality and focus of that era's sessions, who cares? But with the advent of compact discs, with a time capacity of close to 80 minutes, for a while many musicians felt the need to fill up this available space, regardless of whether they had enough quality material to warrant such a decision. This led to lots of good albums that lost steam after the hour-mark and lots of nostalgia for the good old days. The technology won't go backwards but more and more players are seeing the benefits of brevity, releasing records under an hour at most, some even going back to under-40 minute days of the late '50s. There is nothing more satisfying than having an album be over before you have a chance to get sick of it. Listeners are also more likely to sit through albums more than once if the time committment is more reasonable.
Performances of the Year
BRIAN BLADE
Jon Cowherd, Myron Walden, Melvin Butler, Chris Thomas, Mark Griffith
Joe's Pub, January 13th
PAT METHENY
Lyle Mays, Steve Rodby, Cuong Vu, Antonio Sanchez, Gregoire Maret, Nando Lauria
Beacon Theater, April 2nd
