THE BEST 30 JAZZ ALBUMS OF 2018
JOHN COLTRANE
BOTH DIRECTIONS AT ONCE (IMPULSE!)
"Masterpiece."
Not Reviewed.
ANDREW CYRILLE
LEBROBA (ECM)
"Cyrille already made history in jazz, but keeps enriching his discography with great recordings and marking the scene with his grandiose presence and availability. His collaborators here are equally outstanding."
JAMIE SAFT
SOLO A GENOVA (RARENOISE)
"Tossing passing notes with pinpoint accuracy… Saft pays a beautiful homage to American music through a work that sheds light on the depth of his talent."
JONATHAN FINLAYSON
3 TIMES ROUND (PI RECORDINGS)
"This is a must-have album from a rising trumpet star and smart composer whose innovative jazz perspective has absolutely everything one might ask for."
HENRY THREADGILL 14 OR 15 KESTRA: AGG
DIRT… AND MORE DIRT (PI RECORDINGS)
"As a top-tier experimentalist, Threadgill continues to innovate through a spontaneity and reflex that navigate the abstract and the emotional."
BOBBY PREVITE
RHAPSODY (RARENOISE)
"Boasting a stupendous sound and concept, as well as an unconventional repertoire of converging influences and metaphors, this is a masterwork by a fearless musician who never ceases to innovate."
SYLVIE COURVOISIER TRIO
D’AGALA (INTAKT)
"… maintains a strong bite throughout and comes dressed with ingratiating sonorities that are a joy to explore."
JON IRABAGON
DR. QUIXOTIC’S TRAVELING EXOTICS (IRABBAGAST)
"Nothing in this music is pointless or forced, in the same way that everything is tangible, honest and risk-taking. Irabagon shows off brilliant compositional skills and a personal tenor conception that elevates him to a superior level."
MARIA GRAND
MAGDALENA (BIOPHILIA)
"There’s something magnetic and exquisitely offbeat in Grand’s compositions. Carving a niche for herself, the saxophonist speaks with an authentic voice in a fascinating album that deserves repeated listenings."
BEN WENDEL
THE SEASONS (MOTÉMA)
"The Seasons is a wonderful, multi-colored work; a sagacious demonstration of Wendel's capacities."
JOHN ESCREET
LEARN TO LIVE (BRM)
"Escreet is indeed a forward-thinking musician and savvy songwriter whose music will delight creative music listeners."
JD ALLEN
LOVE STONE (SAVANT)
"In a quietly revolutionary mode, JD deftly reimagines familiar tunes with a sharp, affective, and pragmatic vision."
HARRIET TUBMAN
THE TERROR END OF BEAUTY (SUNNYSIDE)
"By intelligently interspersing moments of opaque obscurity and sheer beauty, Harriet Tubman achieves a perfect balance in its incisive and concise writing."
STEVE COLEMAN AND FIVE ELEMENTS
LIVE AT VILLAGE VANGUARD VOL. I (PI RECORDINGS)
"… constantly stepping outside comfort zones through unpredictable arrangements suffused with spiraling movements and a free-funk infectiousness that dazzles."
LEE KONITZ / DAN TEPFER
DECADE (DECCA)
"Wielding a delightfully quirky style, Konitz and Tepfer provide the listeners with those truly magical moments that will keep them sigh with pleasure."
CUONG VU 4TET
CHANGE IN THE AIR (RARENOISE)
"This is a highly enjoyable disc; one that thrives through effective teamwork and forthright personal statements."
NELS CLINE 4
currents, CONSTELLATIONs (BLUE NOTE)
"The levels of abstraction in Currents, Constellations makes it more indisputably alluring than any recent project led by Cline"
TORD GUSTAVSEN TRIO
THE OTHER SIDE (ECM)
"The record is soulful and inspired, and Gustavsen and his bandmates are all refined musical taste, originality, and perception."
KEITH JARRETT
LA FENICE (ECM)
"This particular recording brings the best of Jarrett. Solo and in top form."
Not Reviewed
MYRA MELFORD’S SNOWY EGRET
THE OTHER SIDE OF AIR (FIREHOUSE12)
"The tight structures of this jazz-influenced new music encapsulate a fluid amalgam of composition and improvisation that strikes you with the force of a thunder."
ARILD ANDERSEN
IN-HOUSE SCIENCE (ECM)
"Andersen is a fabulous and inveterate soloist whose terrific language, full of groove and rhythmic contortions, will blow your mind."
WAYNE SHORTER
EMANON (BLUE NOTE)
"Great return by a living jazz legend."
Not Reviewed
PATRICK ZIMMERLI QUARTET
CLOCKWORKS (SONGLINES)
"This quartet of modernists allows us to discover new ways of looking at jazz through oblique angles and groundbreaking perspectives."
JOE LOCKE
SUBTLE DISGUISE (ORIGIN)
"Locke’s lavishly textured compositions, often associated with imaginative post-bop trajectories, get to the top whenever its round edges are bent by contrasting stimuli."
NIK BARTSCH’S RONIN
AWASE (ECM)
"… contemporary musical luster with sure-footed ritualistic grooves."
INGRID LAUBROCK
CONTEMPORARY CHAOS PRACTICES (INTAKT)
"Continually oozing energy and following an impressive narrative arc, this progressive big band recording is a one-of-a-kind experience."
MICHAEL FORMANEK ELUSION QUARTET
TIME LIKE THIS (INTAKT)
"… a worthy effort from a gifted bassist who deserves all our respect and admiration, not just for this particular great outing but for all the work done so far."
JAMES BRANDON LEWIS / CHAD TAYLOR
RADIANT IMPRINTS (OFF)
"The intensity of these spiritual duets delights."
Not Reviewed
ROMAN FILIU
QUARTERIA (SUNNYSIDE)
"Filiu transpires all his innate musicality and strong dynamism, establishing sure-footed connections between musical styles with a forward-thinking posture."