Dan McClenaghan's Best Releases of 2010
By
These are the CDs that never roamed away from the current listening shelf.
Jessica Williams
Touch
Origin Records
Masterpiece isn't a word to be tossed around lightly. Jessica Williams, with the eighty-eight piano keys and a lifetime of musical immersion, has created one with this recording.
Keith Jarrett/Charlie Haden
Jasmine
ECM Records
A sublime duo outing with jazz veterans, pianist Keith Jarrett and bassist Charlie Hadena sort of accidental recording, an understated set of familiar standards exploring the themes of love and love lost.
Matt Jorgensen
Tattooed by Passion
Origin Records
Drummer/band leader Matt Jorgensen continues to push the music forward on this tribute to his late father-in-law, abstract expressionist painter Dale Chisman.
Denny Zeitlin
Precipice
Sunnyside Records
Denny Zeitlin, a jazz Renaissance man who day jobs as a psychiatrist, has offered up one of the finest recordings of his career, a stunningly beautiful solo piano set, recorded live.
Paul Motian / Chris Potter / Jason Moran
Lost In A Dream
ECM Records
Drummer Paul Motian, who came to prominence in the late fifties as a member of pianist Bill Evans' Trio, is still going strong ten years into the new century, with saxophonist Chris Potter and pianist Jason Moran.
Dave Liebman Group
Turnaround: The Music of Ornette Coleman
Jazzwerkstatt Records
Veteran saxophonist Dave Liebman goes deep into Ornette Coleman's music with his long-standing quartet, adding a new harmonic depth to Coleman's Harmolodics.
Pete Malinverni Trio
A Beautiful Thing
Saranac Records
Pete Malinverni has been a top level jazz pianist for a good while, but this highly spontaneous set is a breakout recording effort that lives up to its title and then some.
Bill Carrothers
Joy Spring
Pirouet Records
Pianist Bill Carrothers' tribute to early bop legend, trumpeter Clifford Brown, rollicks and rolls in freewheeling territory, and, in the case of the title tune, slows the pace for an near religious rumination on the music of the died-too-young legend.
Christian Weidner
The Inward Song
Pirouet Records
German alto saxophonist/bandleader Christian Weidner has crafted a fresh, unique and very modern ensemble sound with his stellar quartet.
Dave Douglas and Keystone
Spark of Being: Expand
Greenleaf Music
Trumpeter Dave Douglas and his "soundtrack band," Keystone, add superb atmosphere to yet another take on the Frankenstein theme.

Touch
Origin Records
Masterpiece isn't a word to be tossed around lightly. Jessica Williams, with the eighty-eight piano keys and a lifetime of musical immersion, has created one with this recording.

Jasmine
ECM Records
A sublime duo outing with jazz veterans, pianist Keith Jarrett and bassist Charlie Hadena sort of accidental recording, an understated set of familiar standards exploring the themes of love and love lost.

Tattooed by Passion
Origin Records
Drummer/band leader Matt Jorgensen continues to push the music forward on this tribute to his late father-in-law, abstract expressionist painter Dale Chisman.

Precipice
Sunnyside Records
Denny Zeitlin, a jazz Renaissance man who day jobs as a psychiatrist, has offered up one of the finest recordings of his career, a stunningly beautiful solo piano set, recorded live.

Lost In A Dream
ECM Records
Drummer Paul Motian, who came to prominence in the late fifties as a member of pianist Bill Evans' Trio, is still going strong ten years into the new century, with saxophonist Chris Potter and pianist Jason Moran.

Turnaround: The Music of Ornette Coleman
Jazzwerkstatt Records
Veteran saxophonist Dave Liebman goes deep into Ornette Coleman's music with his long-standing quartet, adding a new harmonic depth to Coleman's Harmolodics.

A Beautiful Thing
Saranac Records
Pete Malinverni has been a top level jazz pianist for a good while, but this highly spontaneous set is a breakout recording effort that lives up to its title and then some.

Joy Spring
Pirouet Records
Pianist Bill Carrothers' tribute to early bop legend, trumpeter Clifford Brown, rollicks and rolls in freewheeling territory, and, in the case of the title tune, slows the pace for an near religious rumination on the music of the died-too-young legend.

The Inward Song
Pirouet Records
German alto saxophonist/bandleader Christian Weidner has crafted a fresh, unique and very modern ensemble sound with his stellar quartet.

Spark of Being: Expand
Greenleaf Music
Trumpeter Dave Douglas and his "soundtrack band," Keystone, add superb atmosphere to yet another take on the Frankenstein theme.
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Best of / Year End
Dan McClenaghan
Two for the Show Media
United States
Jessica Williams
Keith Jarrett
Charlie Haden
Matt Jorgensen
Denny Zeitlin
Paul Motian
Bill Evans
Chris Potter
jason moran
Dave Liebman
Ornette Coleman
Pete Malinverni
Bill Carrothers
Clifford Brown
Christian Weidner
Dave Douglas