Troy Dostert's Best Jazz Albums Of 2024

Another year of first-rate creative jazz is in the books, along with another impossible set of choices in assembling a top-10 list. These are some of the standouts, in a year in which trios and quartets were especially prominent, taking advantage of the unparalleled opportunities for close collaboration that smaller ensembles provide. My favorites are listed here alphabetically, without ranking them, as all of them are exceptional.

Borderlands Trio
Rewilder
Intakt Records

Following on their previous efforts, Asteroidea (Intakt, 2017) and Wandersphere (Intakt, 2021), one of the preeminent free-improvisation trios in today's music returns for the supremely engaging Rewilder. Pianist Kris Davis, bassist Stephan Crump and drummer Eric McPherson have extensive experience playing in free contexts, and it shows. Creating rhythmic motifs that emerge spontaneously and often exhibiting a subtle lyricism, these three musicians know each other so well that they are consistently able to intuit the next move collectively and cohesively.


Geof Bradfield
Colossal Abundance
Calligram Records

An ambitious and multi-layered album, Colossal Abundance sees Chicago-based saxophonist Bradfield leading a top-shelf large ensemble through well-constructed compositions that meld African influences and instrumentation with blues and jazz idioms to produce a distinctive and innovative body of music. Bradfield recruited some big names for this project, as folks like clarinetist Ben Goldberg and saxophonist Anna Webber will be well-known to fans of cutting-edge jazz, and other longtime Chicago stalwarts like guitarist Scott Hesse, bassist Clark Sommers and drummer Dana Hall are also on hand to drive Bradfield's rhythmically-charged music forward.


Steve Coleman and Five Elements
PolyTropos/Of Many Turns
Pi Recordings

Saxophonist Coleman has always had a relentlessly exploratory disposition, and nowhere is that more evident than on PolyTropos, his latest venture with Five Elements. Drawing on the superlative musicianship of longtime colleagues, trumpeter Jonathan Finlayson and drummer Sean Rickman, along with new addition bassist Rich Brown, the band navigates Coleman's dense, shape-shifting funk with ease, making incredibly difficult music sound almost effortless. Capturing two live performances in France, this release offers a generous helping of in-the-moment musical collaboration of the highest order.


Isaiah Collier and the Chosen Few
The Almighty
Division 81 Records

A relatively recent arrival on the jazz scene, Collier hasn't taken long to make his impact, with his incendiary tenor saxophone dazzling listeners since his 2018 debut, Return of the Black Emperor. The Almighty reflects an unapologetically spiritual yearning, with Collier clearly influenced by Love Supreme-era Coltrane. He also benefits from a potent band, as pianist Julian Davis Reid, bassist Jeremiah Hunt and drummer Michael Shekwoaga Ode offer all the energy to match Collier's ecstatic impulses. Appearances by Chicago veterans, saxophonist Ari Brown and vocalist Dee Alexander, are also highlights.


Caleb Wheeler Curtis
The True Story of Bears and the Invention of the Battery
Imani Records

Don't let the whimsical title fool you: this is one serious album. Multi-instrumentalist Curtis has long thrived in the space between reverence for the jazz tradition and pathbreaking adventure, and this two-disc release captures his aesthetic wonderfully. Utilizing two different trios, the first is largely comprised of Curtis's own compositions and includes him on a range of instruments via some wily multitracking, while the second is a tribute to Thelonious Monk, focusing chiefly on the pianist's lesser-known work. The results are stimulating and imaginative throughout, justifying lots of re-listening.


Vijay Iyer
Compassion
ECM Records

Iyer's inimitable pianistic skills are again on display on Compassion, his current trio's follow-up to its 2021 debut, Uneasy. Accompanied by bassist Linda May Han Oh and drummer Tyshawn Sorey, two of the finest musicians on their respective instruments, Iyer has all the resources he needs to craft compositions that are simultaneously enticing and cerebral. Like Uneasy, it is a dark-hued record, but there are occasional traces of light shining through, with an inventive cover of Stevie Wonder's "Overjoyed" being just one example.


Matt Mitchell
Zealous Angles
Pi Recordings

For a keyboardist who knows no limits, Mitchell's latest release provides a welcome opportunity to hear him in a (relatively) conventional trio format, alongside fellow mavericks Chris Tordini (bass) and Dan Weiss (drums). The results are, of course, anything but conventional. The taut, sharply-defined pieces demand one's full attention, as Mitchell's knotty compositions are always bedeviling. But the rewards for careful listening are abundant, and when Mitchell takes flight we are reminded of his astonishing virtuosity.


David Murray Quartet
Francesca
Intakt Records

Joined by a trio of relative youngsters, Murray's tenor saxophone truly comes alive on a sparkling set of tunes, all composed by Murray with the exception of Don Pullen's "Richard's Tune." Pianist Marta Sanchez, bassist Luke Stewart and drummer Russell Carter help Murray create the kind of dynamic chemistry that evokes his vintage 1980s and 1990s work on the Black Saint and DIW labels.


Tomeka Reid Quartet
3+3
Cuneiform Records

Reid's instincts are always impeccable, both in terms of her own work on the cello but also in her ability to find the perfect partners for her releases. In this instance we find her teamed up with can't-miss guitarist Mary Halvorson, bassist Jason Roebke and drummer Tomas Fujiwara, and the quartet shows itself to be eminently able to channel Reid's muse. The three substantial pieces are capacious, with plenty of room for intriguing detours and subtle nuances. But they also swing mightily, with infectious verve.


Fay Victor
Life Is Funny That Way
TAO Forms

Like many adventurous musicians in the jazz world, Victor has long had a fascination with the idiosyncratic corpus of pianist Herbie Nichols, and she is the ideal translator of his remarkable compositions to a vocal format. Victor's voice is by turns angular, playful, and protean, embodying Nichols's distinctive vision as though she were born to make this album. It doesn't hurt that she has a sterling group of colleagues, including saxophonist Michael Attias, pianist Anthony Coleman, bassist Ratzo Harris and drummer Tom Rainey.

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