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James Nadal's Best of 2015
by James Nadal
These selections start out heavy into the blues, in appreciation to those that are still playing and producing this important American art form. Gospel and soul tinged vocals as well as a Latin dance oriented orchestra are represented, as is African derived world music featuring native acoustic instrumentation. We round it out by offering a trio ...
Hrayr Attarian's Best Releases of 2015
by Hrayr Attarian
The year 2015 was truly an exciting one for jazz as it saw many superb releases. If I had, however, the proverbial gun to the head to just choose just one it would be Rudresh Mahanthappa's Bird Calls (ACT, 2015). Nevertheless, the cream of the crop of the year is listed below in five triads. The ...
Mark Sullivan’s Best Releases of 2015
by Mark Sullivan
This is my first year end list as an AAJ contributor, hopefully the first of many! I reviewed a lot of great music, major label and independent productions alike. Here's the ten that rose to the top of my list of favorites, in no particular order. Eberhard Weber Hommage à Eberhard ...
Dan Bilawsky's Best Releases Of 2015
by Dan Bilawsky
A theme for this year's list? How about “Jazz Unbound?" I initially planned on placing my picks into different categories, as I've often done in the past. But I thought better of it. The releases that caught my ear in 2015 cover the entire spectrum of possibility--winning straight-ahead outings, audacious affairs, dynamic debuts, intimate encounters, stellar ...
C. Michael Bailey's Best Releases of 2015
by C. Michael Bailey
It is easy this year, only vocal music...twelve months, twelve releases. Lyn Stanley Potions: From the '50s We Baby Boomers are a persnickety bunch. We revel in our nostalgia while keeping a jaundiced eye on current trends and how derivative they are compared with those we experienced when ...
Dan McClenaghan's Best Releases of 2015
by Dan McClenaghan
My search for the best jazz recordings of 2015 led me to these marvelous CDs. Yelena EckemoffLions L&H Productions Pianist Yelena Eckemoff, originally from Russia, and originally a classical player, has driven deep into her quest to create first rate jazz. This ambitious two disc set, featuring Norwegian bassist Arild ...
Troy Collins' Best Releases of 2015
by Troy Collins
2015 was an eventful year for jazz and creative improvised music. A decade and a half into the new century found rising young artists revisiting, reevaluating and reinterpreting standards from the jazz canon in surprisingly creative ways. Many of the albums listed below are conceptual efforts dedicated to the advancements of revered masters, ranging from pre-war ...
Ken Hohman's Top Jazz Releases of 2014
by Ken Hohman
I'd taken a six month hiatus from my radio show, Freedom Jazz Dance, to concentrate on other things. Turns out my timing couldn't have been worse. I was inundated with so many excellent recordings in 2014 that my head was spinning. Fortunately, I now had the time to truly enjoy them! Here are the lucky 13 ...
Robert Bush Best of 2014
by Robert Bush
2014 proved a banner year for jazz recordings. Still, two of my favorite discs this year came in the form of previously unreleased material--the Jarrett Trio and Coltrane Quintet cannot be overlooked, in my opinion. Wadada Leo Smith The Great Lakes Suites (Tum Records) Keith Jarrett, ...
Mark F. Turner's Best of 2014
by Mark F. Turner
Typically, when music is labeled it gets thrown into a box that limits its artistic scope. But the four letter word “jazz" in today's environment obliterates typical categorization as found in these diverse releases. Ambrose Akinmusire The imagined savior is far easier to paint (Blue Note)
