These are a Lot of My Favorite Recordings of 2018

Like many critics/reviewers (I'm in the latter camp), I make a year-end list of my favorite recordings of the past 12 months.  Since I rarely, if ever, review an album I truly dislike (or even are lukewarm about), it's hard to keep that list at 10 or 20.  In June of this year, I remarked to a good friend that I could probably create a 2018 "Best of" list with all Big Band or large ensemble albums alone. Nonetheless, this year, I present you the entire list with spare comments. This list, unlike the one I created for the NPS Jazz Critics Poll (which was truly a Top 10 and will be published soon) is in no particular order.

Top Albums 2018

Felipe Salles Interconnections Ensemble – “The Lullaby Project (and Other Works for Large Ensemble)” (Tapestry Records) - Such brilliant section writing as well as memorable melodies

Jim McNeely & The Frankfurt Radio (HR) Big Band – “Barefoot Dances and Other Visions” (Planet Arts) - Same as above but with the Ellingtonian legacy of "knowing" who you re writing for

Kate McGarry, Keith Ganz, & Gary Versace – “The Subject Tonight is Love” (Binxtown Records) - The joy of intimate collaboration and emotionally strong material makes this collection something to listen over and over

Dafnis Prieto Big Band – “Back To The Sunset” (Dafnison Music) - Power and precision, melodies fired by rhythms led by an amazing drummer

Ambrose Akinmusire – “Origami Harvest” (Blue Note Records) - Mr. Akinmusire is really in a class by himself, moving in multiple directions without diluting his vision

Rudy Royston – “Flatbed Buggy” (Greenleaf Music) - Mr. Royston, known for his fiery and exuberant drumming, is maturing into a fine composer blending a variety of influences with a splendid ensemble of musical colleagues 

Kind Folk – “Why Not” – (Fresh Sound New Talent) - The spirit of the late Kenny Wheeler is celebrated here by four young musicians who gelled long before entering the studio

Andrew Rathbun Large Ensemble – “Atwood Suites” (Origin Records) - Mr. Rathbun takes a number of chances never missing his mark to bring Margaret Atwood's writing to a listing audience

Miguel Zenon & The Spektral Quartet – “Yo Soy La Tradicion”  (Miel Music) - Mr. Zenon with a string quartet playing traditional religious music and ore from his native land of Puerto Rico is chock-full of brilliant writing and playing

Edward Simon (w/ Afinidad and Imani Winds) – “Sorrows and Triumphs” (Sunnyside Records) - A subtly beautiful recording which sounds better with each listen

Thumbscrew - “Ours” + “Theirs” – (Cuneiform Records) - Amazing musicality and interplay between three masterful musicians who often think as one
Mary Halvorson - "Code Girl" (Firehouse 12 Records) - A new quintet that utilizes her Thumbscrew mates plus the expressive trumpet of Ambrose Akinmusire and amazing voice of Amirtha Kidambi. Prog-rock roots (I hear the influence of Robert Fripp in the opening guitar sounds) plus much more

Miles Okazaki – “Work: The Complete Works of Thelonious Monk”  (self-released/Bandcamp) - Wow!  So much thought and vision in this project, giving the listener an even better understanding how Thelonious Monk continues inspire generations of musicians and music

Frank Kimbrough - "Monk's Dreams: The Complete Compositions of Thelonious Sphere Monk” (Sunnyside Records - See above - Mr. Kimbrough shares the spotlight with three colleagues including the amazing multi-instrumentalist Scott Robinson

Noah Preminger – “Genuinity” – (CrissCross Records) - Moving back to Boston has energized young Mr. Preminger as both a composer and saxophonist. The addition of Dan Weiss has lit a fire under his quartet (which already boasts the great bassist Kim Cass and trumpeter supreme Jason Palmer)

Cecile McLorin Salvant – “The Window” (Mack Avenue) - What a voice! What an actress, a composer, an interpreter, and judos as well to the versatile Sullivan Fortner

Benjamin Boone/Philip Levine – “The Poetry of Jazz”  (Origin Records) - The late Philip Levine is one of my favorite poets yet it took me nine months to dig into this amazing blend of the poet's voice and the intelligent compositions and arrangements of Mr. Boone

Jeff Baker – “Phrases”  (Oa2 Records) - Another album that took its way to burrow under my skin and in my ears. Baker's emotional delivery and a great band featuring pianist Darrell Grant and drummer Brian Blade
Lorraine Feather – “Math Camp” (Relarion Records) - Ms. Feather is such a delightfully intelligent and humorous lyricist, not to forget she sings nicely as well. With science at its core, this album sparkles
Tessa Souter – “Pictures In Black and White” – (self-released) - Heartfelt, honest, adventurous, smartly arranged set of songs that allows the listener into Ms. Souter's complicated life story and her triumphs

Darrell Katz and the JCA Orchestra – “Rats Live On No Evil Star” (JCA Records) - Mr. Katz utilizes his orchestra to tell stories that range from political satire to treatises on friendship. A good number of these musicians have appeared on previous Katz/JCA recordings and he writes knowing their voices. Also, the voice of Katz's late wife, poet Paula Tatarunis, is heard in the impressive vocal work of Rebecca Shrimpton

Henry Conerway III.  "With Pride For Dignity" (self-released) – Best Debut Recording! Such joy, gospel, blues, and jazz with life experience makes for a splendid album.  

Carn Davidson 9 – “Murphy” (self-released) - I love how this ensemble blends all its voices int such a delightful stew - special shout-out to drummer Ernesto Cervini for his powerhouse yet subtle drumming

Ingrid Jensen & Steve Treseler - “Invisible Sounds: For Kenny Wheeler” (Whirlwind Recordings) - A fine quintet of musicians including the four members of saxophonist Steve Treseler's quartet plus trumpeter Ingrid Jensen pay tribute to the late Kenny Wheeler with an excellent selection of his songs

NYSQ – "Seven Steps to Heaven” (Whirlwind Recordings) - Nothing standard about this "standards" and the New York Standard Quintet - they make this material fresh and new.

Owen Broder – “Heritage: The American Roots Project” (ArtistShare) - Intelligent arrangements! Great musicianship!  Music that speaks of today by going back and examining material that mines the American spirit

Benje Danneman’s SearchParty – “Light In The Darkness”  (Self-released) - Heartfelt & thoughtful project played an amazing quintet of musicians

Anne Mette Iversen & the Norrbotten Big Band – “Everything In Between” (Prophone) -Brilliant section writing and arranging - this band loves to play!

Marshall Gilkes & the WDR Big Band – “Always Forward” (Alternate Sides Records/WDR - see comment just above

Judy Niemack & the Danish Radio Big Band – “New York Stories” (Sunnyside Records) - More great work from Jim McNeely plus great lyrics to T Monk tunes from Ms. Niemack

John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble – “All Can Work” (New Amsterdam) - Certainly one of the most intriguing group of arrangements

Joe Lovano & Dave Douglas: Sound Prints – “Scandal” (Greenleaf Music) - Two masters and great young band plus such passionate material

Jon Irabagon Quartet (with Tim Hagans) – “Dr. Quixotic’s Traveling Exotics”  (Irabbagast Records) - Perhaps the most powerful performances on record this year

Henry Threadgill Ensemble Double Up – “Double Up, Plays Double Up Plus”  (Pi Recordings)

Henry Threadgill 14 or 15 Kestra: Egg – "Dirt….And More Dirt" (Pi Recordings) - Mr. Threadgill continues to grow, expanding his interests as well as his sonic palette.

Steve Coleman & Five Elements – “ Live at The Village Vanguard (The Embedded Sets)"  (Pi Recordings) - Intense music from start to finish, a great front line paired with an equally great rhythm section

Jonathan Finlayson – “3 Times Round” (Pi Recordings) - Mr. Finlayson continues to grow as a composer and performer

Walter Smith III – “Twio” (Whirlwind Recordings) - Music that is so filled with the joy of playing together
Michael Musilami Trio + 2 - "Life Anthem" (Playscape Recordings) - Guitarist and composer Musillami bounces back after a life-threatening brain tumor - the album features his long-time trio plus cornetist Kirk Knuffke and multi-reed player Jason Robinson. Like the composer/musician, the music is so filled with life!

Jamie Baum Septet + - “Bridges”  (Sunnyside Records) - Ms. Baum's music continues to expand as she challenges her musicians and the audiences

Andy Biskin - "16 Tons: Songs from the Alan Lomax Collection" (AnDorfin Music) - Modern American music has so many influences and Mr. Biskin on reeds with a four-trumpet choir manages to mash a whole bunch together!

Geoff Bradfield – “Yes, and...Music for Nine Improvisers”  (Delmark Records) - Mr. Bradfield is a true student of jazz eras, writers and soloists. His latest mines the various strains that have developed in Chicago

Art Hirahara – “Sunward Bound”  (Posi-Tone Records) - Great band, great pianist, great material!

Tom Tallitsch – "Self-titled" (Posi-Tone) - Another artist who continues to mature with every album

Adam O'Farrill - "El Maquech" (Biophilia Records) - Great young band led by a trumpeter who already has an identifiable sound

Reissues and Historical

John Coltrane – “Both Directions At Once – The Lost Album” (Impulse) - Coltrane was always in transition and this is a fascinating example of a band in its prime

Wes Montgomery - "Wes Montgomery In Paris: The Definitive ORTF Recording” (Resonance Records) - What a treat to hear Wes let loose!

Fred Hersch Trio - “Heartsongs” (Sunnyside Records) - His first trio record, a unspoken tribute to several of his major influences as well as a reminder that Mr. Hersch's trios have been collaborative from the beginning

Sonny Rollins – “Way Out West (Deluxe Edition)” (Craft Recordings) - A favorite since forever, a one-shot trio that made history. 

Beyond Category

Yo-Yo Ma – “Six Evolutions – Bach: Cello Suites” (Sony Music) - Third time is a charm for Yo-Yo Ma in his life-long quest to plumb the depths of these amazing dance pieces - one could argue that one and second times through the music are also pretty great.
Tyshawn Sorey - "Pillars" (Firehouse 12 Records) - 21st Century Creative music with subtle influences from around the world doesn't do justice to the sounds that Mr. Sorey (drums, trombone, dungchen - low Tibetan horn, percussion, conductor) and his seven collaborators create on this trio of 75-minute + pieces

Label of the Year

Hard to choose - let's congratulate Pi Recordings, Sunnyside Records (a perennial favorite), Greenleaf Music, Whirlwind Recordings, and Resonance Records for their continuing excellence!

Best News of the Year!

Jason Crane and The Jazz Session has returned - it's still a joy to listen to.  I am so jealous of his interviewing skills and his continuing good taste (and not just because he chose to interview me.....no, really, I've written that before).

  

Voices of Love, Loss, Happiness, Desire, and More (Pt 1)

Honestly, I have been returning to listen to the latest album from singer and songwriter Jeff Baker since it arrived at the beginning of 2018.  "Phrases" (Oa2 Records) is a 76-minute program that, on initial listens, struck me as a series of vignettes on love and loss as if Baker was working his way through a dark time. On a personal note, throughout the year, the writer has dealt with deaths and/or illnesses of friends and relatives as well as health issues that affected the closest of compatriots.  The solace received from certain recordings and live performances was great but how does one write about the unspeakable.  I am not such a fool as to drown my sorrows in drink or drugs but crave the nearness of people.  Heaven forbid, I read about contemporary politics - much of the good happening in the world, in this country, and the state is covered by screaming headlines of divisions and inequalities (proving that not much has changed over the years only that we hear about faster and from all corners of the globe.  Easier to curl up with a book with music welling and cooing in the background.

Back to "Phrases."  From Baker's adaptation of Pablo Neruda's poem "Tonight I can write the saddest lines" to the singer's quiet take of "Don't Worry 'Bout Me" (from the pens of Rube Bloom and Fred Koehler), the songs deal with issues of the heart.  He's got quite a sparkling band, one that includes Darrell Grant (piano), Clark Sommers (bass), and Brian Blade (drums) as well as the smart reeds of Steve Wilson (alto saxophone) and Geof Bradfield (tenor saxophone) and the powerfully rich trumpet of Marquis Hill.  One also hears the electric guitar of Gregory Uhlmann plus contributions from the Avalon String Quartet (Blaise Magniere and Marie Wang on violin, Anthony Devrove on viola, and Cheng-Hou Lee on cello).

Listen to how Baker folds his tenor voice around the horns on "Lost" with Blade really driving the ensemble, Uhlmann's ringing guitar phrases (good solo as well) and Grant's flowing lines in support.  This is one of the songs that pulled me back into the album, lyrics that spoke of possibilities, mostly positive.  Note how Wilson's expressive soprano sax dances with the guitarist in the solo section of "Salinger" - based on a short story by the late J.D. Salinger as well as novel by Stephen Chbosky, this song also shows the influence of the music of Sting.  The slow ballad "Harbor" (composed by bassist Sommers and Baker) is a true love song, no premonitions of breaking hearts.

Still, it's hard to stay away from the heartbreak.  Baker's sweet take of Bonnie Raitt's "Not 'Cause I Wanted To" (which opens with a fine bass solo) is emotionally rich without being saccharine.  "People of Paper", based on the 2005 debut novel of Mexican-born author Salvador Plascencia, is a story of love unrequited and lost.  The horns float above the vocals until Hill steps out with a most reserved yet heartfelt solo - don't miss the short but stunning soprano sax phrase as the piece fades away.  .

Several of the reviews have said that the songs on "Phrases" go on too long and no one song stands out. I beg to differ; to my ears, each piece is part of a longer story, a tale in which love and loss are at the center.  Pay attention to the musicians Jeff Baker surrounds himself with, how they serve the music, how the arrangements have a strong sense of drama, and how Sommers and Blade offer such great support.  And, I can't through "A Hundred Less One" without tearing up knowing it speaks for the many people I know who have been married for decades.  Some music blazes trails, some music makes you dance, and some music takes so far inside yourself you feel as if your life is exposed to the world. "That's "Phrases" in a sentence!

For more information, go to jeffbakerjazz.com.

Twenty-two years ago, New York Voices shared the bill on an album alongside the Count Basie Orchestra.  Five years ago, the quartet - founded in 1998 by original members Kim Nazarian, Darmon Marer, and Peter Eldridge plus Lauren Kinhan (who joined in 1992) - recorded with the WDR Big Band.  2018 finds them joining the Bob Mintzer Big Band for "Meeting of Minds" (MCG Jazz). It's a treat from track one, a bluesy take on "Autumn Leaves" to the hard-driving samba of "I'll Remember April."

The album title certainly refers to the splendid band arrangements written by Mintzer as well as the wonderful vocal arrangements by Marder.  Yet, it's Eldridge and Marder who arranged both the band and vocal arrangements on Hoagy Carmichael's "I Get Along Without You Very Well" and Meader who does the dual honors on the Big Band (without NY Voices) on "I Want To Be Happy."  The former has a more "modern" sound with an arrangement perhaps influenced by Maria Schneider (especially how the high reeds frame the voice).  The latter tune bounces along on the powerful drum work of John Riley and solid bass of Jay Anderson.  Arranger Marder shines the spotlight on Scott Wendholdt's trumpet and the delightful piano of Phil Markowitz (both in support and when he takes his solo.)

The 17-member Mintzer Big Band has been in existence over 35 years, recording 21 Lps and CDs for labels such as DMP and MCG. Since 2004, the BMBB has issued seven CDs for the Pittsburgh, PA-based label.  Composed of musicians who are busy in large ensembles action both coasts, they can play just about everything.  Listen to the funky take of "Old Devil Moon" - with its raucous vocal from Ms. Kinhan and "down-and-dirty" drums, one feels the need to dance.  Check out the way Mintzer supports the voices of Ms. Nazarian and Mr. Eldridge on "The Way You Look Tonight" plus the smashing center section of wordless vocals and section voices.  The long tenor sax solo from Mintzer is also a treat.

Even though the vast majority of the music on "Meeting of Minds" comes from the 1930s-40s Golden Era of the Great American Songbook (save for Mintzer's original "Weird Blues" yet that would sound out of place played by the Count Basie Orchestra in the late 1950s), this album is no throwback.  Kudos to the Bob Mintzer Big and and New York Voices and all involved bringing this project to light! This album will brighten your day and do so perceptibly.

For more information, go to newyorkvoices.com or to www.bobmintzer.com.

Here are the groups in action:


Personnel of Bob Mintzer Big Band:

Bob Mintzer – Tenor Saxophone, Flute
Bob Sheppard – Alto Saxophone, Flute
Lawrence Feldman – Alto Saxophone, Flute
Bob Malach – Tenor Saxophone
Roger Rosenberg – Baritone Saxophone, Clarinet
Bob – Millikan – Trumpet
Frank Greene – Trumpet
Scott Wendholt – Trumpet
James Moore – Trumpet
Keith O’Quinn – Trombone
Jeff Bush – Trombone
Jay Ashby – Trombone, Percussion
David Taylor – Bass Trombone
Phil Markowitz – Piano
Marty Ashby – Guitar
Jay Anderson – Bass
John Riley – Drums