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Best of / Year End

BEST OF / YEAR END

Matt Hooke's Best Releases of 2017

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2017 marked the first year that I wrote for All About Jazz, and I got to experience some phenomenal music. It was a diverse year in jazz, international artists like Tony Allen and Seckou Keita brought unique perspectives to jazz. Other artists like Chris Thile, Brad Mehldau, and Dayme Arocena, released some of their best work to date, while veteran artists like Fred Hersch and Don Ross expanded upon their already trademark sounds. Here's my list of my favorite of ...

BEST OF / YEAR END

Friedrich Kunzmann's Best Releases Of 2017: Ethno-Jazz on the rise

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2017 brought us much innovation and accomplishment in jazz. While many releases are certainly noteworthy and deserving of high critical acclaim, for me, only a handful truly stood out and prevailed in last year's maze of sharps, flats, and scales. Considering myself an enthusiast of pretty much all things jazz (no specific sub-genre receiving special treatment), I was surprised to find such a narrow selection of albums composing my last year's Top 5. Narrow, because three out of the five ...

BEST OF / YEAR END

2017: The Year in Jazz

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A year of achievements, challenges to gender inequality, scandal and losses The year 2017 was quite something for the jazz world. Incidents or discussions of misogyny and sexual misconduct bubbled up even before the #MeToo phenomenon developed. Beyond that, woman musicians made significant contributions to the genre. International Jazz Day brought its biggest stage to Havana, Cuba. Sonny Rollins made the headlines without playing a note. The New Orleans financial scandal focusing on trumpeter Irvin Mayfield reached the ...

BEST OF / YEAR END

Mark F. Turner's Best Releases Of 2017

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In a year filled with loss, uncertainty and numerous challenges, the following releases by these creative and talented artists repeatedly moved me while bringing something fresh to my ears. No matter what critics or doubters say, the music lives on and is as strong as ever; always colored by its diversity. Harriet Tubman Araminta (Sunnyside) Nicholas Payton Afro-Caribbean Mixtape (Paytone Records) Gerald Clayton ...

BEST OF / YEAR END

Steve Bryant's Best Releases Of 2017

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My personal favorites from 2017. The best of the best. Joey DeFrancesco + The People Project Freedom Mack Avenue Eddie Palmieri Sabiduria Ropeadope Jazzmeia Horn Social Call Concord Charles Lloyd New Quartet Passing Through Blue Note Arturo O'Farrill / Chucho Valdes Familia: Tribute to Bebo & Chico Motema

BEST OF / YEAR END

Ian Patterson's Best Releases of 2017

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I'm always conscious of the fact that no matter how much new music you listen to in a given year it represents but a handful of stars in a teeming galaxy. These are a few of the brightest stars to have illuminated my 2017. The Firebirds Aladdin's Dream ILK Music The Firebirds, the Danish trio of drummer Stefan Pasborg, saxophonist/clarinetist Anders Banke and keyboardist Anders Filipsen recorded a brilliant tribute to the music ...

BEST OF / YEAR END

12 Most Read Album Reviews: 2017

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All About Jazz tracks how often an album review is read, and the reviews listed below represent the top 12 published in 2017. There Is No Love David Sylvian by Phil Barnes Published: July 18, 2017 Bright Lights & Promises: Redefining Janis Ian Sarah Partridge by Dan Bilawsky Published: April 14, 2017 Official Bootleg: Live in Chicago, June 28th, 2017 King Crimson by ...

BEST OF / YEAR END

10 Most Read Articles: 2017

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All About Jazz tracks how often an article is read, and the articles listed below represent our top ten published in 2017. Interview John McLaughlin's American Farewell Tour with Jimmy Herring by Alan Bryson Published: September 5, 2017 Building a Jazz Library Forget Old Europe: 15 European Jazz Musicians You Need To Know About by Enrico Bettinello Published: August 16, 2017 DVD/Film Reviews Bill ...

BEST OF / YEAR END

10 Most Downloaded Tracks: 2017

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All About Jazz tracks how often a featured MP3 is downloaded, and the following represent our top ten in 2017. If you missed them the first time around, give them a listen now, and enjoy! The Hour Has Come (01:51) Mario Duenas From: Cosmic Crossword (Self Produced) Featured: 2017-04-29 70,213 downloads Make It Rain Love My Way (5:17) Tony Adamo ...

BEST OF / YEAR END

C. Andrew Hovan's Best Releases of 2017

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The landscape is constantly changing when it comes to the viability of jazz recordings in our world of free downloads and pervasive internet exposure. Add to that a propensity these days for media to tout anything that is a bit off-center and right wing as the next greatest thing. Much of what passes for jazz these days eludes this reviewer's understanding. As such, some might deem my year end compendium as too safe or mainstream. I prefer to think of ...