THE BEST 30 JAZZ ALBUMS OF 2019
MATANA ROBERTS
COIN COIN CHAPTER FOUR: MEMPHIS
Constellation Records
"Thoroughly narrated, revolutionary and liberating, this album speaks for itself, showcasing Matana at her highest level of creativity."
ANNA WEBBER
CLOCKWISE
Pi Recordings
"… it’s the magnitude of the collective that makes this body of work so extraordinary..."
AKI TAKASE JAPANIC
THEMA PRIMA
Budapest Music Center
"Demonstrating open-mindedness and an insatiable thirst for exploration, Takase plays and orchestrates with zeal and strong identity."
MIGUEL ZENóN
SONERO: THE MUSIC OF ISMAEL RIVERA
Miel Music
"Zenón pushes the envelope through bold arrangements, creating an unrivaled hybrid sonority that makes his musical personality shine through."
CHRIS POTTER
CIRCUITS
Edition Records
"The creative possibilities seem endless, and Circuits, providing unanticipated rhythmic tapestries, hip grooves, and blistering solos, is nothing short of a masterwork."
VIJAY IYER / CRAIG TABORN
THE TRANSITORY POEMS
ECM Records
"The world trusts these top-tier creative minds to keep shaking and amazing the modern music scene."
ABDULLAH IBRAHIM
THE BALANCE
Gearbox Records
"… Ibrahim continues true to himself and the magic of his individual expression is well alive."
JOE LOVANO
TRIO TAPESTRY
ECM Records
"The creativity and adaptability of Lovano and his peers stimulate Trio Tapestry to endlessly pique our interest with a lucent musicality from which we don’t want to be apart.."
DAVE HOLLAND/ZAKIR HUSSAIN/CHRIS POTTER
GOOD HOPE
Edition Records
"By navigating through exquisite series of textures and producing energizing chants, the trio calls up a potential range of beautiful, exotic images with these tunes."
GUILLERMO KLEIN
LOS GUACHOS CRISTAL
Sunnyside Records
"Klein creates a fascinating multi-cultural universe that’s his own, and Cristal is another compositionally advanced effort that deserves all our respect, attention, and a great deal of listenings."
FIRE! ORCHESTRA
ARRIVAL
Runne Grammofon
"More restrained than any previous work from the Orchestra, Arrival is never formulaic in its presentation. And the fire… still burns."
STEVE LEHMAN TRIO + CRAIG TABORN
THE PEOPLE I LOVE
Pi Recordings
"This keen-witted jazz professed with ferocity and abandon is something you can’t afford to miss."
DAVID TORN/TIM BERNE/CHES SMITH
SUN OF GOLDFINGER
ECM Records
"Sun of Goldfinger is pure teamwork and nothing short of remarkable. Their unmissable debut album is powerful, it grabs you hard and you rise with it."
KRIS DAVIS
DIATOM RIBBONS
Pyroclastic Records
"Advertising Davis at the peak of her compositional grandeur, Diatom Ribbons is original and artistically inspiring, full of subtleties and invention."
MILES OKAZAKI
THE SKY BELOW
Pi Recordings
"Definitely rewarding a deep dive from the listener, this masterwork uses ingenious rhythmic tapestries, mind-boggling grooves, harmonic erudition, and acrobatic stunts in the melody…"
JOSHUA REDMAN QUARTET
COME WHAT MAY
Nonesuch Records
"This formidable body of work not only shows how mature this quartet grew throughout the years, but also how Redman strengthened and deepened his sound and style."
BRAD MEHLDAU
FINDING GABRIEL
Nonesuch Records
"Roll up your sleeves and strap in for this unprecedented work by Mehldau, likely his most conceptually knotty and meticulously composed yet."
TOM HARRELL
INFINITY
HighNote Records
"The trumpeter is an intelligent, exceptionally melodic sculptor who channels discipline and freedom to the right places for the most breathtaking effect."
TOM RAINEY TRIO
COMBOBULATED
Intakt Records
"In this particular chapter of their careers, you will find them at a peak of their musical strength."
TYSHAWN SOREY AND MARILYN CRISPELL
THE ADORNMENT OF TIME
Pi Recordings
"This is uncategorized music keeping an ample sense of communication throughout a cutting context of density and intonation."
ENRICO RAVA / JOE LOVANO
ROMA
ECM Records
"Rava and Lovano not only vouch for thrills that give you a good shake, but also search for spirituality with pathos and fervor."
LARRY OCHS/NELS CLINE/GERALD CLEAVER
WHAT IS TO BE DONE
Clean Feed
"This is a tiny treasure of a disc, where you find no subterfuges and every section becomes a fresh discovery."
JAMIE SAFT QUARTET
HIDDEN CORNERS
RareNoise
"Saft and his peers, besides dominating the genre inside-out, have an engrossing, ardent way of improvising."
MARTA SANCHEZ QUINTET
EL RAYO DE LUZ
Fresh Sound New Talent
"In her quest for excellence, Ms. Sanchez has a lot to give to the scene."
NOAH PREMINGER
ZIGSAW: THE MUSIC OF STEVE LAMPERT
Self Produced
"This is intelligent, groundbreaking music that proves unclassifiable and elevates both Preminger and Lampert to a level of distinction in the progressive 21st-century jazz."
TOMEKA REID QUARTET
OLD NEW
Cuneiform Records
"… blends past and future with an open spirit, balancing softer approaches with cathartic spontaneity. It’s instantly likable."
BRANFORD MARSALIS QUARTET
THE SECRET BETWEEN THE SHADOW AND THE SOUL
OkEh Records
"Cultivating their post-bop artistry with passion…"
STEPH RICHARDS
TAKE THE NEON LIGHTS
Birdwatcher Records
"… takes us to places of avant-jazz merit where ambiguity and tension are created with open-mindedness, subtlety, and finesse."
BRANDEE YOUNGER
SOUL AWAKENING
Self Produced
"What the heck kept this splendid work on the shelf for so many years?"
JOHN ZORN
THE HIEROPHANT
Tzadik
"…perfectly integrates scored parts with intense moments of improvisation, and its expansive directions are no less than breathtaking."