Home » Jazz Articles » Year in Review » Publisher's Top Picks for 2008

632

Publisher's Top Picks for 2008

By

View read count
It was another productive year for "Team AAJ" as we delivered some new features and upgraded several others across the website. We also beefed up our editorial staff to better manage the increasing number of contributors. The programming staff (Mike Lorenz and myself) continued to build on our foundation that has firmly established AAJ as the nexus for jazz online. And the esprit de corps is stronger than ever as we forge ahead in 2009. Last year's accomplishments ranged from subtle refinements to dramatic improvements and our impressive spike in traffic has kept us inspired and focused. Musicians have also encouraged us with their praise and suggestions. Thanks everyone! 2009 is already proving to be another exciting year. We're developing a new photo gallery, we're working on a streaming audio solution (so musicians can showcase their music), we're building a gathering place for students, and we're reviewing how best to deliver video. Back to 2008 and the music. I heard somewhere (NPR?) that 2008 wasn't a very good year for jazz music. That person and I are obviously not on the same service lists, as I was exposed to consistently strong efforts every day. From the thousands of CDs that arrived at AAJ HQ, here are some that received the most ear play. I highlighted some specific releases from Sunnyside Records as well as some standout vocal releases. In no particular order...


Rudresh Mahanthappa
Kinsmen
(Pi Recordings)
Reviews

Leonardo Cioglia
Contos
(Self Produced)
Reviews

Ulf Wakenius
Love is Real
(ACT Music)
Review



Joe Locke
Force of Four
(Origin Records)
Reviews

Kurt Rosenwinkel
The Remedy: Live at the Village Vanguard
(ArtistShare)
Reviews

Nik Bärtsch
Holon
(ECM Records)
Reviews



Rob Mosher
The Tortoise
(Self Produced)
Reviews

Elephant9
Dodovoodoo
(Rune Grammofon)
Review

Bobby Previte
Set the Alarm for Monday
(Palmetto Records)
Review



Brad Mehldau
Live
(Nonesuch Records)
Review

Aaron Parks
Invisible Cinema
(Blue Note Records)
Reviews

Todd Sickafoose
Tiny Resistors
(Cryptogramophone)
Review



Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah
Live at Newport
(Concord Music Group)
Review

Brian Blade
Season of Changes
(Verve Music Group)
Review

Revolutionary Snake Ensemble
Forked Tongue
(Cuneiform Records)
Reviews



David Sanchez
Cultural Survival
(Concord Picante)
Reviews

e.s.t.
Leucocyte
(ACT Music)
Review

Gonzalo Rubalcaba
Avatar
(Blue Note Records)
Reviews



Matt Penman
Catch of the Day
(Fresh Sound New Talent)

Bill Cunliffe
The Blues and the Abstract Truth, Take 2
(Resonance Records)
Review

Ben Schachter
Omnibus
(Ben-Jam Music)
Review




Label Spotlight: Sunnyside Records




Guillermo Klein
Filtros
Reviews

JD Allen
I Am I Am
Review

Fernando Huergo
Provinciano
Review


More picks...

Marcin Wasilewski's January, Steve Turre's Rainbow People, Tom Tallitsch's Medicine Man, Roy Hargrove's Earfood, Massimo Biolcati's Persona, Avishai Cohen's Flood, The Wee Trio's Capitol Diner Vol. 1, Matt Jorgensen's Another Morning and Francisco Mela's Cirio. And two very late 2007 releases well worth mentioning: Felipe Salles's South American Suite and Christof May's MAYGUS.

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter 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.

More

Jazz article: Libero Farnè's Best Jazz Albums Of 2024
Jazz article: Giuseppe Segala's Best Jazz Albums Of 2024
Jazz article: Neri Pollastri's Best Jazz Albums Of 2024

Popular

Read Take Five with Pianist Irving Flores
Read Jazz em Agosto 2025
Read Bob Schlesinger at Dazzle
Read SFJAZZ Spring Concerts
Read Sunday Best: A Netflix Documentary
Read Vivian Buczek at Ladies' Jazz Festival

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.