Derek Taylor's Best of 2006

By DEREK TAYLOR
January 5, 2007
Sign in to view read count

Another year gone and an especially bountiful one for excellent jazz and improvised music. Paring down to a modest number was particularly difficult to accomplish, but here are several handfuls of my favorite releases from 2006.

Thomas Chapin Trio
Ride
(Playscape)

Trio 3
Time of Being
(Intakt)

Bill & Kenny Barron Quartet
Live at Cobi's, Vol. 2
(Steeplechase)

Buck Hill
Relax
(Severn)

Otomo Yoshihide's New Jazz Quintet
Live in Lisbon
(Clean Feed)

The Gauci Trio
We're Coming Just One Time
(Cadence Jazz)

Roscoe Mitchell Trio
No Side Effects
(RogueArt)

Ellery Eskelin
Quiet Music
(Prime Source)

Iskra 1903
Chapter Two: 1981-3
(Emanem)

Cooper-Moore/Assif Tsahar/Chad Taylor
Digital Primitives
(Hopscotch)

Loren Conners
Night Through
(Family Vineyard)

Brötzmann/Mangelsdorff/Sommer
Pica Pica
(Atavistic)

Evan Parker
Topography of the Lungs
(Psi)

Roswell Rudd
Blown Bone
(Emanem)

Rashaan Roland Kirk
Brotherman in the Fatherland
(Hyena)

Fred Anderson
Timeless
(Delmark)

Larry Kart
Jazz In Search of Itself
(Yale University Press)

Shop

Best of / Year End What We Liked: 2016
by Michael Ricci
Published: January 5, 2017

Best of / Year End 2016: The Year in Jazz
by Ken Franckling
Published: January 2, 2017

Best of / Year End Top 30 MP3 Downloads: 2016
by Michael Ricci
Published: January 1, 2017

Best of / Year End Top 25 "Read" Album Reviews: 2016
by Michael Ricci
Published: January 1, 2017

Read Top 25 "Recommended" Album Reviews: 2016

Best of / Year End Top 25 "Recommended" Album Reviews: 2016
by Michael Ricci
Published: January 1, 2017

Read Mark F. Turner's Best Releases of 2016

Best of / Year End Mark F. Turner's Best Releases of 2016
by Mark F. Turner
Published: December 31, 2016

Interview Joe La Barbera: Experiencing Bill Evans
by Victor L. Schermer
Published: May 17, 2017

Read Ralph Towner: The Accidental Guitarist

Interview Ralph Towner: The Accidental Guitarist
by Mario Calvitti
Published: May 16, 2017

CD/LP/Track Review Small Town
by John Kelman
Published: May 19, 2017

Read SFJAZZ Collective: Remembering Miles

Interview SFJAZZ Collective: Remembering Miles
by R.J. DeLuke
Published: May 18, 2017

Read Truth, Liberty & Soul Live in New York: The Complete NPR Jazz Alive! Recording

CD/LP/Track Review Truth, Liberty & Soul Live in New York: The Complete...
by John Kelman
Published: May 20, 2017

Read David Finck: The Bass, Scatting Offenses, and the Back Hoe

Interview David Finck: The Bass, Scatting Offenses, and the Back Hoe
by Dr. Judith Schlesinger
Published: May 19, 2017

Best of / Year End Top 25 "Recommended" Album Reviews: 2016
by Michael Ricci
Published: January 1, 2017

Best of / Year End 2016: The Year in Jazz
by Ken Franckling
Published: January 2, 2017

Read "Budd Kopman's Best Releases of 2016"

Best of / Year End Budd Kopman's Best Releases of 2016
by Budd Kopman
Published: December 18, 2016

Read "C. Andrew Hovan's Best Releases of 2016"

Best of / Year End C. Andrew Hovan's Best Releases of 2016
by C. Andrew Hovan
Published: December 17, 2016

Read "Jerome Wilson's Best Releases of 2016"

Best of / Year End Jerome Wilson's Best Releases of 2016
by Jerome Wilson
Published: December 13, 2016

Read "Mark Sullivan's Best Releases of 2016"

Best of / Year End Mark Sullivan's Best Releases of 2016
by Mark Sullivan
Published: December 9, 2016

Story of the Day

It’s often said that good music is the music you think is good, but I don’t buy that. Sure, we all have leanings, from artists to genres, even periods, too, but good music exists as a superset, not a subset
Read more

It’s often said that good music is the music you think is good, but I don’t buy that. Sure, we all have leanings, from artists to genres, even periods, too, but good music exists as a superset, not a subset. Otherwise, how could new genres rise to existence? Too often, people confuse “It’s not for me” for “It’s not good,” letting genre preference or peer acceptance set the bounds on their definition of “good.” Genres facilitate discussions, but classification negatively influences progress and feeds biases, thus, it imposes limitations. Listening: honestly, intently, receptively; good music can only reveal itself then. Its incorporeal, living in the now, to be heard and felt and gone, never to be touched, transferring its full value when auditory input creates new connections between brain and gut. For this, the music must communicate something primal, entirely human; this can only occur if those interfaces between musician and instrument, instruments and results (i.e. music) can successfully capture, process, and render individuality, from musician to listener, so that what is shared is honest self-expression. Technology should introduce new schemes to express one’s humanity in new musical ways—as electricity did to the guitar— not eliminate the human factor, or reduce self-expression to adept clicking on specialized software, or the order in which one pushes a button. Sad to see how much of today’s music is synthetic. Empty. Proof that too many aren’t really listening. But, then again, how many “music lovers” only listen to music in their cars or while walking to work or cleaning the house or… People who listen, really, will argue about what and who’s the best, even on what qualifies as good, but there’s one universal criterion all will give: musicianship. When it’s there and felt, good musicianship doesn't need to be defined among listeners willing to hear. Hence why, when asked what I listen to, genres are useless; I usually reply with, “I listen to good music.”
Show less

By Pascal-Denis Lussier
Member since: 2010