Home » Jazz Articles » Year in Review » Mark F. Turner's Best Releases of 2012

Mark F. Turner's Best Releases of 2012

By Mark F. Turner
January 5, 2013
View read count

2012 was a year of stimulating music made all of the more relevant by artists who poured out their hearts and souls in diverse and compelling ways. Younger voices emerged like pianist Robert Glasper and drummer Henry Cole to deliver contemporary visions through fresh personal and cultural influences . Esteemed trumpeter/composer Wadada Leo Smith brought his monumental four-disc project to life, inspired from events centered around America's tumultuous past within the Civil Rights Movement. Another creative exploit included the convergence of modern jazz and an influential Argentine literary work in saxophonist Miguel Zenon and pianist Laurent Coq's Rayuela(Sunnyside), dedicated to novelist Julio Cortázar's work of the same name. As always, there were simply not enough hours in the day to experience so many of the year's releases. Here are a few that made lasting impressions.

New Releases

Wadada Leo Smith Ten Freedom Summers (Cuneiform)

Henry Cole Afro Beat Collective Roots Before Branches (Self Produced)

Robert Glasper Experiment Black Radio (Blue Note)

Miguel Zenon / Laurent Coq Rayuela (Sunnyside)

Johnathan Blake The Eleventh Hour (Sunnyside)

Jacob Garchik The Heavens (Yestereve)

Lionel Loueke Heritage (Blue Note)

Dafnis Prieto Proverb Trio (Dafnison)

Ron Miles Quiver (Enja)

Jazz Soul Seven Impressions of Curtis Mayfield (BFM)

Charlie Haden / Hank Jones Come Sunday (EmArcy)

Darius Jones Quartet Book of Mae'bul (AUM Fidelity)

New Discoveries (including new groups)

Caroline Davis Live Work & Play (ears&eyes)

Snarky Puppy groundUP (Ropeadope)

Jack Davies Big Band Jack Davies Big Band (V&V)

Tohpati Bertiga Riot (Moonjune)

Beyond Jazz

Me'Shell NdegeOcello Pour une âme souveraine (Naïve)

Bobby Womack Bravest Man In The Universe (XL)

Donald Fagen Sunken Condos (Reprise)

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Scarlet - The Director's Cut
< Previous

Casa Corp
Next >

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.