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Jazz Top Ten 2006:
by Tom Hull This article is an unpublished draft.
Top Ten:
1. Ornette Coleman: *Sound Grammar* (Sound Grammar):
old school avant-garde, the kind that brings the noise, breaks
down barriers, and still sounds sweet.
2. Jon Faddis: *Teranga* (Koch):
Dizzy's stunt double sums up all you can do with a trumpet.
3. World Saxophone Quartet: *Political Blues* (Justin Time):
the great hornsmen of the apocalypse rant, rave, get funky,
party down.
4. Adam Lane's Full Throttle Orchestra: *New Magical Kingdom*
(Clean Feed):
his grand melodic sweet reminds one of Mingus, as does his
ability to kick ass.
5. Mario Pavone Sextet: *Deez to Blues* (Playscape):
a dazzling upside down cake swirled around the leader's bass.
6. The Harry Allen-Joe Cohn Quartet: *Hey, Look Me Over* (Arbors):
glorious mainstream sax, with nods to Getz, Webster, and Joe's
dad Al.
7. Odyssey the Band: *Back in Time* (Pi):
all the kinkiness that Blood Ulmer strained out of his straight
blues albums comes back in spades.
8. Adam Lane Trio: *Zero Degree Music* (CIMP):
avant-grunge, the bass pulse driving Vinny Golia's rapid-fire
sax riffs.
9. Steven Bernstein's Millennial Territory Orchestra: *MTO Volume 1*
(Sunnyside):
old testament Basie confronts the age of Prince and Wonder.
10. Nik Bärtsch's Ronin: *Stoa* (ECM):
Zen-funk minimalism, improvised section by unexpected section.
Reissues:
1. Fats Waller: *If You Got to Ask, You Ain't Got It* (Bluebird/Legacy):
the pianist, the songwriter, the entertainer, one disc for each.
2. Irène Schweizer: *Portrait* (Intakt):
two decades of amazing piano improv in bitesize chunks.
3. Andrew Hill: *Pax* (Blue Note):
his new found fame uncovers a long lost gem.
Vocal Jazz:
1. Diana Krall: *From This Moment On* (Verve):
the best new Sinatra act since the old Sinatra.
Best Debut:
1. Bob Reynolds: *Can't Wait for Perfect* (Fresh Sound New Talent):
rooted in funk not swing, but reminds me of the brutish young
Ben Webster.
Last Year
1. William Parker Quartet: *Sound Unity* (AUM Fidelity):
balance and teamwork distinguish every album on this list,
but only a great bassist can hold your attention with this
much firepower on trumpet, sax and drums.
2. Anthony Braxton: *20 Standards (Quartet) 2003* (Leo):
spread out over four discs, the set structures delimit a
playpen for Kevin O'Neil's cool guitar and the leader's
lofty sax.
3. Tommy Smith & Brian Kellock: *Symbiosis* (Spartacus):
duets, tenor sax and piano, standard stuff made exquisite.
4. Craig Harris: *Souls Within the Veil* (Aquastra):
heavy with history and horns, sprightly with African percussion,
sublime resistance against the oppression of black souls.
5. FME: *Cuts* (Okka Disk):
stands for Free Music Ensemble, but it's really Ken Vandermark's
postpunk power trio, where freedom reverts to form.
6. Paraphrase: *Pre-Emptive Denial* (Screwgun):
another sax trio, with Tim Berne in the catbird seat, hemmed
in by Drew Gress and Tom Rainey.
7. Dennis González's Spirit Meridian: *Idle Wild* (Clean Feed):
loquacious Oliver Lake fleshes out this quartet's healing
music for distressing times.
8. Fieldwork: *Simulated Progress* (Pi):
Vijay Iyer's robust piano leads Steve Lehman's skiny alto sax,
which is the idea.
9. Sirone Bang Ensemble: *Configuration* (Silkheart):
less ambitious than *Vietnam* but more fun, a stripped down
string section with Charles Gayle in the back seat.
10. The Vandermark 5: *Alchemia* (Not Two):
twelve discs from one week in Krakow, true grit from the
hardest working man in avant-jazz.
NotesBubbling under the top ten:
2005 List:
2004 List:
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