THE BEST 30 JAZZ ALBUMS OF 2017
MICHAEL ATTIAS QUARTET
NERVE DANCE (Clean Feed)
"... a suburban ritualistic journey, an ear-opener, and an asset for any lover of contemporary jazz"
NICOLE MITCHELL
MANDORLA AWAKENING II:EMERGING WORLDS (FPE)
"... pacific coexistence between the modern and the ancient, the rhetoric and the philosophical, the euphony and the dissonance…"
STEVE COLEMAN'S NATAL ECLIPSE
MORPHOGENESIS (PI RECORDINGS)
"... indestructible relationship between structure, unity, and improvisation"
MATTHEW SHIPP TRIO
PIANO SONG (THIRSTY EAR)
"... a bottomless well of impactful creativity and divine inspiration that consolidates Shipp as a forward-thinker with a radiant, unique voice."
AVISHAI COHEN
CROSS MY PALMS WITH SILVER (ECM)
"... embraces impressionism as it explores the edges of form and freedom."
KAMASI WASHINGTON
THE HARMONY OF DIFFERENCE (YOUNG TURKS)
"... passionate and poignant… deep understanding of the past and an eye in the future."
CHARLES LLOYD nEW QUARTET
PASSIN' THRU (BLUE NOTE)
"Insightful, exciting, prayerful, genuine…"
VIJAY IYER SEXTET
FAR FROM OVER (ECM)
"... propagates revolutionary sound waves with visceral earnestness."
WILLIAM PARKER QUARTETS
MEDITATION / RESURRECTION (AUM FIDELITY)
"Parker's dedication to and innate passion for creative music is unflinching and an example for every aspiring musician."
MATT MITCHELL
A POUTING GRIMACE (PI RECORDINGS)
"Every inch of this uncategorizable music is cerebral, intelligent, and absolutely mesmeric."
ALAN FERBER BIG BAND
JIGSAW (SUNNYSIDE)
"... doesn’t need frivolous pyrotechnics or radical asymmetries or complicated meters to sound marvelous."
CRAIG TABORN
DAYLIGHT GHOSTS (ECM)
"Suffused with finesse and lyricism… great dynamics and a very personal character"
MARC COPLAND
NIGHTFALL (INNERVOICE)
"Throughout his musical solitude, the piano speaks volumes, resulting in a generous, dainty gift."
PAUL JONES
CLEAN (OUTSIDE IN MUSIC)
"... thrillingly emotional... astonishingly lyric… a balmy elixir in today’s jazz."
BRIAN CHARETTE
KURRENT (SELF PRODUCED)
"... a riveting spiral of unprecedented modern fusion with reverence for the dandy sounds of the past."
REZ ABBASI
UNFILTERED UNIVERSE (WHIRWIND)
"... exposes a world fusion extravagance, which, even if tumultuous at times, is no less than emphatically magical."
LINDA MAY HAN OH
WALK AGAINST WIND (BIOPHILIA)
"... successfully straddles the realms of post-bop and modern groove"
TOMAS FUJIWARA
TRIPLE DOUBLE (FIREHOUSE 12)
"... a precious work… elevates the new shapes of jazz through a refreshing originality."
WADADA LEO SMITH
NAJWA (TUM)
"... takes us out of our comfort zones with unflinching, daring, and sculptural forms and sounds."
TIM BERNE'S SNAKEOIL
INCIDENTALS (ECM)
"... another taut album full of nerve, audacity, and mutual inspiration."
MILES OKAZAKI
TRICKSTER (PI RECORDINGS)
"... elaborate layers of sound that intrigue and astound."
CHRIS POTTER
THE DREAMER IS THE DREAM (ECM)
"... compositional sophistication materialized in a high-end jazz that lives from communication, balance, and authenticity."
BURNING GHOSTS
RECLAMATION (TZADIK)
"... it will make you spin with the immense force of their underground volleys."
CHRIS SPEED TRIO
PLATINUM ON TAP (INTAKT)
"... brings an irrefutable breath of fresh air to the chord-less trio formats."
DAVID BINNEY
THE TIME VERSES (CRISS CROSS)
"... everything we could expect from a visionary saxophonist of multiple talents and resources."
SATOKO FUJII ORCHESTRA NEW YORK
FUKUSHIMA (libra)
"Painfully contemporary and garnished with off-kilter elements and conscientious coalescence."
AMIR ELSAFFAR RIVERS OF SOUND
NOT TWO (NEW AMSTERDAM)
"... these tunes never close doors to exploration and new possibilities."
FRANÇOIS BOURASSA QUARTET
NUMBER 9 (effendi)
"... rhythmic and harmonic twists and turns defy our expectations."
URI GURVICH
KINSHIP (JAZZ FAMILY)
"... a mature, multicultural, and urgent album… adventurous voice in the post-Coltranean fashion"