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Dan Bilawsky's Best Releases of 2012

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Transcendent recordings don't come with a label identifying their magnificence, but they're easy to pick out. I had the honor and privilege of receiving, and listening to, more than 375 CDs for review consideration in 2012. I reviewed approximately 165 of them and these were the 15 that rose above the rest. Some are bold and others practice the art of quiet seduction, but every one of them won me over from the get go and remain close to my ears and heart (Note: these albums are not ranked in order of preference):




























































































Avishai Cohen - Trumpet
Triveni II
(Anzic Records)

Sara Gazarek
Blossom & Bee
(Palmetto Records)

Ryan Truesdell
Centennial—Newly Discovered Works Of Gil Evans
(ArtistShare)

Kate McGarry
Girl Talk
(Palmetto Records)

Branford Marsalis
Four MFs Playin' Tunes
(Marsalis Music)

Ehud Asherie with Harry Allen
Upper West Side
(Posi-Tone Records)

Gregory Porter
Be Good
(Motéma Music)

Anat Cohen
Claroscuro
(Anzic Records)

Wes Montgomery
Echoes Of Indiana Avenue
(Resonance Records)

Halie Loren
Heart First
(Justin Time Records)

Ablaye Cissoko/Volker Goetze
Amanke Dionti
(Motéma Music)

Andy Hunter
Think Like A Mountain
(Self Produced)

Jazz Soul Seven
Impressions Of Curtis Mayfield
(BFM Jazz)

Ferenc Nemeth
Triumph
(Dreamers Collective)

Greg Lewis/Organ Monk
Uwo In The Black
(Self Produced)

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