IT'S TIME to cue up the year that was one more time. Here's our list of the top 10 jazz records of 2007:
1. “Mi Sueno," Ibrahim Ferrer (World Circuit/Nonesuch)
The title translates to “My Dream," a reference to Ferrer's lifelong ambition to record an entire album of boleros. The dream remained just that for decades due to a widely held belief in the industry that his voice wasn't the right fit for the deeply romantic style of Latin music. But then he finally got the chance to record such an album.
Unfortunately, the Cuban vocalist -- who came to fame as part of the “Buena Vista Social Club" documentary film and recordings -- would die of multiple organ failure in 2005 before he could put the finishing touches on the album. From his deathbed, as the story goes, the 78-year-old star dictated a letter asking that “Mi Sueno" be completed in his absence.
Two years later, the album finally surfaced and it's nothing less than an absolute dream recording for Latin music lovers. The tracks are all breathtaking, and Ferrer's performance, in my mind, further cements his place among the very best singers in history. “Mi Sueno" is a work of understated elegance, yet bursting with romance, and it's the single greatest new disc -- of any genre -- that I heard in 2007.
2. “Tuesday Wonderland," Esbjorn Svensson Trio (Spamboolimbo/Decca)
Like clockwork, the Esborn Svennsson Trio releases a new album and then, a few months later, it winds up on my year-end Top 10 list. E.S.T. is my current pick for the best piano trio in the jazz game, a position it has held ever since drummer Jorge Rosse left Brad Mehldau's group. All the things that make this threesome so special -- the unparalleled drama found in the music, the cohesiveness and adventurousness of the playing, the compositions that defy easy classification, and the gentle builds that somehow climax with a tsunami-like force -- can be found in abundance on “Tuesday Wonderland."
1. “Mi Sueno," Ibrahim Ferrer (World Circuit/Nonesuch)
The title translates to “My Dream," a reference to Ferrer's lifelong ambition to record an entire album of boleros. The dream remained just that for decades due to a widely held belief in the industry that his voice wasn't the right fit for the deeply romantic style of Latin music. But then he finally got the chance to record such an album.
Unfortunately, the Cuban vocalist -- who came to fame as part of the “Buena Vista Social Club" documentary film and recordings -- would die of multiple organ failure in 2005 before he could put the finishing touches on the album. From his deathbed, as the story goes, the 78-year-old star dictated a letter asking that “Mi Sueno" be completed in his absence.
Two years later, the album finally surfaced and it's nothing less than an absolute dream recording for Latin music lovers. The tracks are all breathtaking, and Ferrer's performance, in my mind, further cements his place among the very best singers in history. “Mi Sueno" is a work of understated elegance, yet bursting with romance, and it's the single greatest new disc -- of any genre -- that I heard in 2007.
2. “Tuesday Wonderland," Esbjorn Svensson Trio (Spamboolimbo/Decca)
Like clockwork, the Esborn Svennsson Trio releases a new album and then, a few months later, it winds up on my year-end Top 10 list. E.S.T. is my current pick for the best piano trio in the jazz game, a position it has held ever since drummer Jorge Rosse left Brad Mehldau's group. All the things that make this threesome so special -- the unparalleled drama found in the music, the cohesiveness and adventurousness of the playing, the compositions that defy easy classification, and the gentle builds that somehow climax with a tsunami-like force -- can be found in abundance on “Tuesday Wonderland."
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