With our January issue featuring our Best Of 2008, we give our readers plenty of reason to brave the chill winds of winter. Please browse our two-page spread (pgs. 26-27) for categories such as Record Labels, Debut Albums, Boxed Sets as well as Albums and Performances of the Year. Even as jazz becomes more and more of a niche market, there are plenty of fine releases from the past 12 months, making the job of picking the best from an amazing array of choices remarkably difficult.
We hope this helps you with any belated holiday presents you still need to buy. Dont forget to check out our Honorable Mention border for another 115 worthwhile discs. And no you didnt drink too much over the holidays, this is AllAboutJazz-New Yorks first foray into color!
Another, sadder, side to the end-of-the year nostalgia is compiling the In Memoriam list. Jazz took a heavy hit this year: Cachao, Johnny Griffin, Jimmy Giuffre, Dennis Irwin, Jimmy McGriff, Teo Macero and Ronnie Mathews to name but a few. The complete list is on pg. 51. Our sincere condolences go out to the families, friends and fans of these figures, individuals without whom jazz would have been a lot less vibrant.
To start the New Year, we at AllAboutJazz-New York just keep up the momentum from 2008. Bassist William Parker (On the Cover) is his usual ubiquitous self, playing several times this month. Drummer Jeff Tain Watts (Interview) presents a new showcase as part of the annual Association of Performing Arts Presenters (APAP) Conference and Winter Jazzfest. Saxophonist Lotte Anker (Artist Feature) makes a rare trip Stateside from Denmark to play at The Stone. And on top of that, there are features on the German label Pirouet Records and the jazz series at Middle Collegiate Church as well as a Festival Report from a snowless location, Morocco!
A happy new year to you and your family and here’s to another 12 months of jazziness...
Happy Holidays from AllAboutJazz-New York!
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