The Best Jazz Albums of 2016

Initial draft collected on Nov. 14, 2016. The file will be updated as additional worthy records are found (although updating may lag behind the official 2016 list). Last year's list was never frozen (OK, let's say it was frozen on Nov. 14, 2016). There also exists a parallel list of The Best Non-Jazz of 2016.

Note: numbering of lists (aside from A/A-) is only temporary, to make it easier for me to tally up stats.

For A-list only: [*] indicates that I reviewed this on the basis of an advance, often a CDR copy (a good thing, I might add, for vinyl-only releases). [**] identifies a record that I've only heard via download or through a streaming service like Rhapsody/Napster.

For all lists, I've included 2015 (and in rare cases earlier) records that I discovered after last year's freeze date, but I've only included such records if they were so little known that they received less than five points in the 2015 metacritic file. These are marked, e.g., -15, after the label.

New Music

1. Aly Keďta/Jan Galega Brönnimann/Lucas Niggli: Kalo-Yele (Intakt)
Keďta hails from Ivory Coast, playing balafon and kalimba, the soft percussion marvelously matched to Brönnimann's bass clarinet, contrabass clarinet, and soprano sax, with the drummer adding an extra charge. I suppose I knew that Niggli was also born in Africa -- in Cameroon in 1968 -- but hadn't run across Brönnimann before: turns out he too was born in Cameroon, and they've known each other since they were one year old.

2. Houston Person & Ron Carter: Chemistry (HighNote)
Two old guys playing sax-bass duets at a casual pace on comfortable standards. Carter has probably appeared on more records than any other jazz musician (Morton & Cook once tried counting and decided Ray Brown held that distinction, but Carter has long passed Brown). Back cover has a photo of the two with an old white man sandwiched between the more imposing black figures -- presumably that's Executive Producer Joe Fields, who signed Person to Prestige in the 1960s and kept him close ever since. This isn't their first duet album. I should probably recheck that one, but for now I'm too much in love with this one. Guess I'm getting old myself.

3. Henry Threadgill Ensemble Double Up: Old Locks and Irregular Verbs (Pi)
Not a Zooid album (an error I made in unpacking). In fact, Threadgill doesn't play; he's only credited with composition (four pieces, called "Part One" through "Part Four"). The ensemble does double up on piano (Jason Moran and David Virelles), alto sax (Roman Filiu and Curtis MacDonald), and bass substitutes (Christopher Hoffman on cello and Jose Davila on tuba), but only one drummer (Craig Weinrib). Impressive group, way beyond the star pianists. The composer gives them plenty to chew on, and they come up with one surprise after another.

4. Murray, Allen & Carrington Power Trio: Perfection (Motéma)
That's David Murray (tenor sax, bass clarinet), Geri Allen (piano), and Terri Lyne Carrington (drums) -- "Power Trio" would have been redundant had they just spelled out those names. I missed this, and passed up Murray on my latest ballot because I hadn't heard anything by him since 2013. My bad. **

5. George Coleman: A Master Speaks (Smoke Sessions)
Tenor saxophonist, still remembered primarily as the guy who preceded Wayne Shorter in the Miles Davis Quintet, but he was a master -- his 1991 album My Horns of Plenty is an all-time favorite -- and at 80, recording his first album since 2002, he still is. Classic sax quartet, with Mike LeDonne pacing him splendidly on piano, Bob Cranshaw on bass, and George Coleman Jr. on drums. **

6. Roswell Rudd/Jamie Saft/Trevor Dunn/Balasz Pandi: Strength & Power (Rare Noise)
Free jazz quartet, everything joint-credited, presumably improvised on the spot. The trombonist has done things like this in the distant past, none recently, and never has he got the mix this right. Saft has emerged as an exceptional free jazz pianist, and the bassist and drummer know the game. *

7. JD Allen: Americana (Savant)
Tenor saxophonist, leads a trio with Gregg August on bass and Rudy Royston on drums. Sticks to basics here, doesn't strain or strive, but makes it all -- mostly original pieces, only one cover dating back to the '30s -- feel natural, unforced.

8. Gary Lucas' Fleischerei: Music From Max Fleischer Cartoons (Cuneiform)
Max Fleischer (1883-1972) was born in Krakow, emigrated to New York when he was four, and grew up to be a pioneer in the art and technology of animated film, where his characters included Betty Boop and Popeye. Lucas is a guitarist with a checkered career since he joined Captain Beefheart in 1980, with a couple dozen albums under all sorts of names since 1991. Aside from the songs, the star here is Sarah Stiles, who gets the corniness of the jazz era perfect, then makes the switch from Boop to Olive Oyl for the Popeye-Barnacle Bill operetta finale. First-rate jazz band too: Joe Fiedler (trombone), Jeff Lederer (reeds), Michael Bates (bass), and Rob Garcia (drums). **

9. Dave Rempis/Joshua Abrams/Avreeayl Ra + Jim Baker: Periheleon (Aerophonic, 2CD)
Cover/spine just gives you last names, as if these Chicago avant-gardists are household names. Alto/tenor/baritone sax, bass, drums, plus piano/electronics -- three long pieces, just barely over the single-disc limit so 43:09 + 40:32. Runs the range of their art, with Rempis remaining one of the most impressive saxophonists of his time.

10. Rodrigo Amado Motion Trio: Desire & Freedom (Not Two)
Portuguese tenor saxophonist, always an imposing figure in free jazz settings, with his most dependable group -- Miguel Mira on cello and Gabriel Ferrandini on drums. Three long improv pieces, terrific all around, drummer especially.

11. Roswell Rudd & Heather Masse: August Love Song (Red House)
Masse is a singer from Maine, part of the folk group The Wailin' Jennys but also has a couple jazz albums. She wrote one-and-a-half songs here -- the half segues into "Old Devil Moon" -- and the trombone great wrote two songs, the rest from the standards repertoire. With Rolf Sturm on guitar and Mark Helias on bass, what I love is the trombone growl and rumble, but the others, not least the singer, do their part too.

12. Damana (Dag Magnus Narvesen Octet): Cornua Copiae (Clean Feed)
Drummer-led Norwegian octet, with three saxes (alto, tenor, baritone/bass), trumpet, trombone, piano, bass: tremendous power from a horns section, but also texture, layering, and detail, propelled by a rhythm section with a hint of swing. Looks like a debut record, likely my ballot pick.

13. Live the Spirit Residency: Presents the Young Masters 1: Coming of Age (self-released)
The key here, of course, is tenor saxophonist Ernest Dawkins, executive director of Live the Spirit Residency, which runs after-hours jazz ed programs for Chicago youth. They put together a group called the Young Masters Ensemble -- Isaiah Collier (tenor sax), Jeremiah Collier (drums), Alex Lombre (piano), and James Wenzel (bass) -- and they're terrific even when the saxes lay out for a blues vamp. And while I suspect Dawkins plays most of the superb sax runs, they've all earned their group name.

14. Omri Ziegele Noisy Minority: Wrong Is Right (Intakt)
Alto saxophonist, from Switzerland, sixth album since 2002, his Zürich group Noisy Minority normally a trio with Jan Schlegel (electric bass) and Dieter Ulrich (drums, bugle), joined here by trombonist Ray Anderson -- adds another sonic layer, solo contrast, and (I suspect) some funk to the uneven grooves. A bit of spoken word early on suggests a direction they didn't take.

15. Nik Bärtsch's Mobile: Continuum (ECM)
Swiss pianist, alternates between his "zen-funk" group Ronin and this slightly more streamlined ensemble -- clarinetist Sha plays in both but is less conspicuous here, merely coloring the rhythmic figures, as do the strings. The patterns remain compelling, maybe even danceable. **

16. Rich Halley 5: The Outlier (Pine Eagle)
Tenor saxophonist, has an impressive run of albums since he retired from his day job, mostly quartet affairs with Michael Vlatkovich on trombone, Clyde Reed on bass, and son Carson Haley on drums. The fifth here is Vinny Golia (baritone sax, bass clarinet) -- one of Halley's early albums was recorded on Golia's Nine Winds label. This is something of a mess, but frequently turns magnificent, as if rising up from chaos is a good thing. Guess it is.

17. Sonny Rollins: Holding the Stage: Road Shows Vol. 4 (1979-2012, Okeh)
He's 85 now, hasn't cut a new studio album since 2006 but has been touring, and the latest stuff here is recent enough that we'll be treating this as new music in the Jazz Critics Poll. As usual, he's picking things from all over his tape archive, and as usual they all fit together seamlessly because no one towers over his band more completely than the Saxophone Colossus. Details: one cut ("Disco Monk") from 1979, one from 1996, a medley from the 9/15/2001 Boston concert, half of the record from later tours (2006, 2007, 2012). Nothing essential (least of all the disco-era cut), nothing unlike what you've heard before, still no reason not to welcome these periodic reminders of his majesty.

18. Steve Lehman: Sélébéyone (Pi)
Alto saxophonist, Anthony Braxton student, has had a couple records of the year (and not just in my book: Mise en Abime topped the Jazz Critics Poll). Goes for something else here, with HPrizm and Gaston Bandimic (in Wolof) vocals, rhythms borrowed from hip-hop and mbalax then freed up some more by drummer Damion Reid. I really don't know what to make of it, but I do love the shifty in-between music, with Maciek Lasserre's soprano bouncing off the alto, Carlos Homs' keyboards, and Drew Gress holding it all together on bass.

19. Jane Ira Bloom: Early Americans (Outline)
Soprano saxophonist, one of the few specialists, seventeenth album since 1980. Postbop, but trio feels exceptionally lively from the start -- helps to have Mark Helias on bass and Bobby Previte on drums.

20. Stirrup: Cut (Clean Feed)
String-driven avant trio: Fred Lonberg-Holm (cello, guitar), Nick Maori (double bass), Charles Rumback (drums). Seems pretty straightforward: propulsive beat, string drone, easier on guitar but the cello has more bite.

21. Julie Kjaer 3: Dobbeltgaenger (Clean Feed)
Alto saxophonist, website bio doesn't bother with any mundane details like when and where born, where she studied, where she lives, but she does appear to have a previous Kvartet album, a group called Pierette Ensemble, and a chair in Paal Nilssen-Love's Large Unit. Elsewhere I find that she's Danish and based in London, which would put her close to her trio mates, John Edwards (bass) and Steve Noble (drums). I may soft on avant sax trios, but this hits all the right buttons.

22. Omar Sosa/Joo Kraus/Gustavo Ovalle: JOG (Otá -15)
Keyboards (piano, Fender Rhodes, Motif ESB, samplers, effects, vocals), trumpet (flugelhorn, effects, vocals), percussion. Title seems to come from first initials, and J's name appears on cover top left, but I find the album more often attributed to Sosa, often without mentioning his lesser known collaborators. The voices are spoken, a minor part of the flow like the electronics but they move the groove into novel territory, the slower bits atmospheric, the fast ones compelling. **

23. Eric Revis Trio: Crowded Solitudes (Clean Feed)
Bassist, first came to prominence in Branford Marsalis' quartet, mostly has mainstream/postbop credits but his own records have leaned more avant. Kris Davis is the pianist, and he's given her a better trio showcase than she's managed to come up with on her own. And Gerald Cleaver is the drummer -- the only trait he shares with Paul Motian is that he's become the guy who anchors all the best piano trios.

24. Ivo Perelman: Soul (Leo)
Brazilian tenor sax man plus Matthew Shipp (piano), Michael Bisio (bass), and Whit Dickey (drums) -- the latter Shipp's regular trio. Everything jointly credited, so figure improv but at least they came up with nine titles. No squawk, nothing over the edge, but the sort of tight avant interplay that keeps circling around on you, rewarding close attention but pleasurable anyway you take it.

25. Hanna Paulsberg Concept: Eastern Smiles (Odin)
Third group album, Norwegian quartet led by tenor saxophonist Paulsberg, with piano (Oscar Grönberg), bass (Trygve Waldemar Fiske), and drums (Hans Hulbaekmo). Sort of a Rollins feel, a very tasteful sax-lovers album running a bit more than mainstream. **

26. Festen: Festen (Clean Feed)
Swedish avant quartet, no one I've ever heard of: Isak Hedtjärn (reeds), Lisa Ullén (piano), Elsa Bergmann (double bass), Erik Carlsson (drums). Four pieces, hits spots both sweet and sour, shows there's still room for a pianist in a cutting edge sax quartet as long as she makes enough noise.

27. Greg Ward & 10 Tongues: Touch My Beloved's Thought (Greenleaf Music)
Alto saxophonist from Chicago, has a couple previous albums, got a commission for a piece to go with dance and flashed back to Charles Mingus' The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady. Came up with a tentet with three saxes and four brass to cover the harmonics and piano-bass-drums to keep it all moving.

28. Scott Hamilton/Harry Allen: Live! (GAC)
Friendly tenor sax duel, about as close as you can come these days to witnessing Lester Young and Coleman Hawkins square off, this time in Santa Cruz -- the six cuts include "Tickle Toe" and "Body and Soul"). Pianist Rossano Sportiello is a fan of both, as am I. **

29. Jack DeJohnette: In Movement (ECM)
Drummer, leads a sax trio, with Ravi Coltrane and Matthew Garrison -- sons of the most legendary quartet of the 1960s plying their fathers' trades -- their names prominent enough on the cover that they could be listed on the artist line. Starting with the Father's "Alabama, touching on Miles Davis and EWF, with Ravi playing as much soprano sax as tenor, ending with something DeJohnette couldn't help but call "Soulful Ballad." Not a bad idea to focus on the drums. **

30. Barbara Dane with Tammy Hall: Throw It Away . . . (Dreadnaught Music)
Folksinger, born in Detroit in 1927 of parents who migrated north from Arkansas, moved to San Francisco in the 1950s. I've long regarded her 1959 Anthology of American Folk Songs as a classic, and vaguely recall her longstanding political activism -- her recording career petered out in the early 1970s with FTA! Songs of the GI Resistance and I Hate the Capitalist System -- but wasn't aware she wrote songs with Lu Watters, cut albums with Lightnin' Hopkins and the Chambers Brothers, or one called Livin' With the Blues (with Earl Hines, Benny Carter, and Shelly Manne). She's 88 now, thanks Mose Allison's "My Brain" for getting hers back to work, and her voice has aged fine. Hall's piano trio turns her into a jazz singer, guest harmonica and sax flesh out the blues. Starts with Memphis Minnie, then Leonard Cohen, Abbey Lincoln, Paul Simon, then gets more personal, and political, and/or corny. When she sketches out her dream society and asks "What Kind of Country" that would be, "socialism" is so obviously the answer she doesn't need to mention it (or Bernie).

31. Cortex: Live in New York (Clean Feed)
Norwegian avant-jazz quartet -- Thomas Johansson (trumpet), Kristoffer Alberts (saxophones), Ola Hřyer (bass), Gard Nilssen (drums) -- second album on Clean Feed, may have more but share no relationship I can find with the 1975-79 French avant band Cortex. They can really kick up a storm, making this relatively short live album (35:38) pretty huge.

32. Samo Salamon Bassless Trio: Unity (Samo)
Guitarist, from and still based in Slovenia, has been prolific since 2003 or so. I don't quite get the significance of this trio being "bassless" -- basically it's a sax trio with Julian Argüelles (sic: should be Arguëlles) on soprano and tenor, John Hollenbeck on drums, and a guitarist who can take charge instead of a bassist to fill out the harmonics. Really takes off when he does.

33. The Evenfall Quartet: Evenfall (Blue Duchess)
Boston group, first album, very mainstream tenor sax (Mark Earley), piano (Joe "Sonny" Barbato), bass (Brad Hallen), drums (Jerzy "Jurek" Glod) outfit. All standards, leading with "That Old Black Magic," passing through "Time After Time" and "Old Devil Moon" and "After You're Gone" to wrap up with "Stardust." Earley's background is playing in blues bands (Duke Robillard, Roomful of Blues) and he doesn't have the rich vibrato of a Bob Rockwell much less Ben Webster, nor does the band aspire to anything retro (like a Scott Hamilton). In short, as a critic I should insist on them working harder, doing something more ambitious, but in fact my idea of a perfectly lovely album.

34. Alexander Hawkins/Evan Parker: Leaps in Leicester (Clean Feed)
Improv duo, piano and tenor sax, the former a young guy who can play with avant-gardists -- his group Decoy has several albums with Joe McPhee -- and other styles, the latter one of the legendary founders of European free jazz. A bit subdued, which makes the music seem less radical than it is.

35. Paal Nilssen-Love Large Unit: Ana (PNL)
Fourteen-piece ensemble, short on horns (two reeds, one trumpet, one trombone, two tubas), long on percussion including Latin and African specialists, electronics, guitar, two basses, no piano. Three longish pieces, many remarkable passages with blaring horns over electronic squiggles and all sorts of complex rhythm. **

36. Terell Stafford: Forgive and Forget (Herb Harris Music)
Mainstream trumpet player, originally from Miami, last time tried his hand at a Lee Morgan tribute (BrotherLee Love), but didn't really get the vibe right until now, with a superb hard bop quintet. Pianist Kevin Hays is essential, tenor saxophonist Tim Warfield mostly shades but delivers when he gets a solo shot. But it's mostly the trumpet -- the fast ones grab you right away, the ballads take a while for the slow burn to emerge.

37. Jacam Manricks: Chamber Jazz (self-released)
Saxophonist, credited here with alto, soprano, tenor, flute, alto flute, and clarinet; leading a quartet with Kevin Hays on piano and Fender Rhodes, Gianluca Renzi on acoustic bass, and Ari Hoenig on drums. Nothing I think of as "chamber jazz," although he incorporates bits from some classical composers as well as Nascimento and Miles Davis, adding to the album's sheer catchiness.

38. Slavic Soul Party: Plays Duke Ellington's Far East Suite (Ropeadope)
New York jazz guys started this Slavic dance band on a lark, have six albums now, but as I said, despite various lineup changes they're still New York jazz guys. This lineup is a nonet with accordion, tuba, and Matt Moran playing percussion instruments I'm unfamiliar with. Still, they stay pretty close to the text -- one of my all-time favorite suites of music. I miss Johnny Hodges, of course, but still find this irresistible. The original, of course, is greater still.

39. Franklin Kiermyer: Closer to the Sun (Mobility Music)
Drummer, has a thing for the scattered sacred musics of the world but mostly the late sainted Coltrane. Conventional sax quartet, no one I've ever heard of -- Lawrence Clark (tenor sax), Davis Whitfield (piano), Otto Gardner (bass) -- but they're thrilling when they run wild, and when they slow down you hang on the tension.

40. Peter Kuhn Trio: The Other Shore (NoBusiness)
Kuhn plays b-sharp and bass clarinet, tenor and alto sax, backed here by Kyle Motl on bass and Nathan Hubbard on drums. He came out of the late '70s loft scene, recorded obscure albums with Arthur Williams and/or Denis Charles (recently reissued by NoBusiness), and mostly vanished after 1982, until recently. This picks up where the old records left off, and while it won't shock or startle, this is the sort of inside creativity one listens to free jazz for.

41.

Fredrik Nordström: Gentle Fire/Restless Dreams (Moserobie, 2CD)
Tenor saxophonist from Sweden, look him up and most likely you'll find a different person -- a heavy metal guitarist with the same name. This one has a half-dozen previous albums going back to 2000. Two albums here cut in the same two-day session, with the same quartet: Jonas Östhom (piano), Torbjörn Zetterberg (bass), Gerald Cleaver (drums). Mixed with the gentle stuff on one disc, the restless on the other (or vice versa). Restless is better, of course, but I've played this enough I've also grown quite fond of the fire.

42. Bobby Kapp/Matthew Shipp: Cactus (Northern Spy)
First album I see to list drummer Kapp's name first, but he dates back to the avant 1960s, and more recently played in the Fine Wine Trio. Duo with the younger but much more famous pianist -- who is terrific here, thinking percussion and building on that. **

43. Dave Holland/Chris Potter/Lionel Loueke/Eric Harland: Aziza (Dare2)
Bass, tenor/soprano sax, guitar/vocals, drums -- not sure why I missed the first two names when I filed this (other than that my advance didn't come with a cover, and the spine only says Aziza). Strong rhythm record, moves right along. Potter, of course, is superb, and when he switches to soprano they just double down on the Latin tinge. Two songs each, the sort of balance you rarely find in a supergroup. *

44. Rent Romus' Life's Blood Ensemble: Rising Colossus (Edgetone)
Alto saxophonist, I've become a big fan of his work in recent years. Here he goes big, with a septet that sounds larger still, doing pieces "he's commissioned from younger Bay Area artists," fellow altoists John Tchicai and Anthony Braxton, plus one original. Hits a couple nubs that gave me pause, but ultimately they power through everything.

45. Oles Brothers & Antoni Gralak: Primitivo (ForTune)
Twin brothers Marcin and Bartlomiej Oles (bass and drums, respectively), long one of Poland's most sought-after rhythm sections, in a trio with trumpeter Gralak -- 18 years older but not nearly as well known (he's mostly worked in groups: Tie Break, Graal, Yeshe). They scoured early (primitive) recordings for ideas: old ones, as deep and universal as possible. Terrific all around, especially the bass. **

46. Brahja Waldman: Wisdomatic (Fast Speaking Music)
Alto saxophonist, also plays synth here, has several albums, this a quintet with Adam Kinner on tenor sax, D Shadrach Hankoff on piano, Martin Heslop on bass, and Daniel Gelinas on drums. Most songs build off a mechanical up-down, push-pull rhythm, just enough framework to elaborate something enticing on. *

47. Stephan Crump: Stephan Crump's Rhombal (Papillon)
Bassist, ten or so albums since 1997, I especially like his knack for mixing the bass up so it balances evenly with the other instruments -- harder to do here in a two-horn quartet, but he manages it nonetheless. With Adam O'Farrill (trumpet), Ellery Eskelin (tenor sax), and Tyshawn Sorey (drums).

48. Allen Lowe: In the Diaspora of the Diaspora: Hell With an Ocean View (Constant Sorrow)
Opens with some of Lowe's best alto sax, but often gives way to let the twin guitarists (Nels Cline and Ray Suhy) shine. With Matthew Shipp (piano), Kevin Ray (bass), Larry Feldman (violin, mandolin), and Carolyn Castellano (drums). The song forms range from hymns to Hendrix, each with its own fascination.

49. Ivo Perelman/William Parker/Gerald Cleaver: The Art of the Improv Trio Volume 4 (Leo)
The bassist makes a difference here, setting up a groove (or at least momentum) that keeps the sax man on his toes, bobbing and weaving, never far from the edge. Moreover, he can go loud without knocking the leader out, so he has no need to hold back (as the pianists have done).

50. Eve Risser White Desert Orchestra: Les Deux Versants Se Regardent (Clean Feed)
French pianist, has a half dozen previous albums, working frequently with prepared piano. This is something else: a ten-piece orchestra (two saxes, flute, bassoon, trumpet, trombone, electric guitar and bass, drums), the pieces inspired by various rugged landscapes, a rhythm section itching to break free, the horns striving to heighten the tension, not to break free.

51. Honey Ear Trio: Swivel (Little (i) Music)
Sax-bass-drums trio, with Jeff Lederer, Rene Hart, and Allison Miller -- I filed their 2011 debut under Erik Lawrence but he's the only one who didn't return. Lederer has less power but trickier moves (cf. his Brooklyn Blowhards earlier this year). All three write (also Thelonious Monk), and Kirk Knuffke (cornet) joins on three tracks.

52. Albert Cirera/Hernâni Faustino/Gabriel Ferrandini/Agustí Fernández: Before the Silence (NoBusiness)
Tenor/soprano saxophonist, based in Lisbon, backed by the bassist (Faustino) and drummer (Ferrandini) from the RED Trio and avant-pianist Fernández. Three long pieces (average 18 minutes), plus a brief coda. Best here is the pianist -- I've mostly heard him in duos before, but he throws himself into this with abandon, certainly helped by the rhythm section, and the sax benefits as well.

53. Peter Kuhn/Dave Sewelson/Gerald Cleaver/Larry Roland: Our Earth/Our World (pfMentum)
Kuhn plays more sax (alto, tenor) than clarinet here, with Sewelson weaving below (baritone sax) and above (sopranino). Three long pieces, rougher than Kuhn's trio, more given to squeals and growls, but also more propulsive (note drummer).

54. Sonic Liberation 8: Bombogenic (High Two)
Kevin Diehl's former Sonic Liberation Front, shorn of most of the horns and voices but still built around Cuban bata drums, joined here by guests in small type: the Classical Revolution Trio (violin and two cellos), who tilt this toward post-classical weepy abstraction, and alto saxophonist Oliver Lake, who brings us back to avant-jazz.

55. Black Bombaim/Peter Brötzmann: Black Bombaim & Peter Brötzmann (Clean Feed)
Portuguese "stoner/psychedelic rock" group, a power trio with guitar-bass-drums but no singer, so they're into densely textured noise. That suits the saxophonist. He does what he's been doing for nearly fifty years, but the framing makes this more accessible without compromising his rawness.

56. Made to Break: Dispatch to the Sea (Audiographic)
More from not just the same group but the same date in Antwerp. Three longish pieces (65:03), the electronics filling in the gaps, but the leader finally breaks loose with awesome sax runs -- all he really needs to do. **

57. Steve Swell Quintet: Soul Travelers (RogueArt)
Avant-trombonist, quintet adds Jemeel Moondoc (alto sax), Dave Burrell (piano), William Parker (bass), and Gerald Cleaver (drums), each adding something distinctive and remarkable to the mix. Still, I always enjoy a good trombone lead, of which there are many. Looks like this only came out on vinyl, so runs to a respectable length (4 cuts, 43:40). **

58. Judy Carmichael/Harry Allen: Can You Love Once More? (GAC)
Singer (since 1980) and tenor saxophonist (a decade younger), credit line actually reads "Judy & Harry Play Carmichael & Allen" -- all original pieces, backed by Mike Renzi (piano), Mike Karn (bass), and Alvin Atkinson (drums). Their new standards are clasically structured but with postmodern wit -- I look forward to hearing "Take Me Back to Macchu Picchu" elsewhere -- the ballads dragging a bit but mostly relative to the way Allen rips through the fast ones. He is really terrific here. She, by the way, has a reputation as a pianist -- even has published two books on stride. **

59. Fred Hersch: Sunday Night at the Vanguard (Palmetto)
The pianist's fourth Vanguard title, although when I saw this title I flashed not on his own previous efforts but on Bill Evans' justly legendary Sunday at the Village Vanguard -- Hersch has always had a thing for Evans, but in the liner notes he only mentions the first time he sat foot in the Village Vanguard, in 1976 for Dexter Gordon's homecoming (the only time I ever went there). Trio with John Hébert and Eric McPherson mostly staying out of the way -- not my recipe for for a great piano trio but the pianist is on such a roll he's fascinating anyway.

60. Ivo Perelman/Joe Morris: Blue (Leo)
Morris plays acoustic guitar here -- not his norm, certainly not powerful enough to deflect let alone direct the tenor saxophonist in any direction, just enough to scuff up the edges, adding fractal detail. Which is to say just enough.

61. David Greenberger, Keith Spring, and Dinty Child: Take Me Where I Don't Know I Am (Pel Pel)
More spoken word texts from conversations at a nursing home in Jamaica Plain, MA 1979-83 -- back far enough you get a good story about Joe Louis. The others (and Keiji Hashimoto) provide the music, which is jazzy for the opener on "Three Spaniels" and moodier toward the end, not least for the nonogenarian who hopes to die soon.

62. Revolutionary Snake Ensemble: I Want That Sound! (Innova)
Alto saxophonist Ken Field's Boston-based answer to New Orleans' second line brass bands, actually just a sextet with two saxes, trumpet, and the trombonist doubling on tuba. Fourth album, more of their infectious funk groove.

63. Generations Quartet: Flow (Not Two)
Three veterans -- Oliver Lake (alto sax), Michael Jefry Stevens (piano), Joe Fonda (bass) -- their birthdates spanning 1944-54 so more or less of the same generation, and a drummer I hadn't heard of, presumably much younger. Lake wrote three pieces, Fonda and Stevens two each. Fierce and imaginative, my only reservation that it may be a bit too harsh, but I can't help but be impressed by their energy. **

64. Made to Break: N N N (Audiographic)
Digital-only, four tracks totalling 97:50, so would require two CDs. Nothing feels rushed here, the subterranean growl of the bass pulling Vandermark toward his r&b roots. **

65. Taylor Ho Bynum: Enter the Plustet (Firehouse 12)
Cornet player, Braxton protégé, has built an impressive body of work since 1999, recently working with mid-size groups, this one much grander with fifteen names on the cover, only two I didn't immediately recognize. Unconventional big band, the six brass including French horn and tuba, only three reeds, violin (Jason Kao Hwang), cello (Tomeka Reid), bass (Ken Filiano), guitar (Mary Halvorson), drums and vibes. Three pieces, richly varied, neglecting neither group power nor individual finnesse. **

66. Ivo Perelman/Joe Morris/Gerald Cleaver: The Art of the Improv Trio Volume 6 (Leo)
Recorded in July, probably the same time as Volume 5, the difference here is that Morris has switched from guitar to bass. As with Volume 4, this both loosens up the saxophonist and lets him be fiercer or more eloquent as the opportunity arises.

67. Catherine Russell: Harlem on My Mind (Jazz Village)
Late-blooming singer, started at 50, some 43 years after her famous father father, bandleader Luis Russell (1902-63), passed on. This is her sixth album, perhaps her most retro -- for her father's heyday (see Retrieval's 2-CD The Luis Russell Story 1929-1934) and the following decade). Five songs arranged for tentet by Andy Farber, smaller groups directed by banjoist Matt Munisteri, all impeccable, as is the singer -- the only fault I see, but not one to get worked up about. **

68. Charlie Haden/Liberation Music Orchestra: Time/Life (Song for the Wahles and Other Beings) (Impulse)
The bassist died in 2014, after the live tracks that open and close, but before the middle three studio cuts where Steve Swallow fills in. Still, fairly seamless with Carla Bley arranging throughout and no other personnel changes. Richly textured, deeply resonant. Haden gets a bit sappy at the end, but that's the way he lived his life, and we should be grateful. **

69. Adam Pieronczyk: Monte Albán (Regent)
Polish saxophonist (tenor/soprano, also credited with keyboards, electronics, drum programming), leads a sax trio with electric bass (Robert Kubiszyn) and drums (Hernán Hecht) through tricky freebop mazes.

70. Sabir Mateen/Conny Bauer/Mark Tokar/Klaus Kugel: Collective Four (ForTune)
Last names only on the cover, playing reeds (mostly alto and tenor sax), trombone, bass, and drums, on three long pieces recorded live in Poland. Mateen shows up in a lot of avant groups but rarely as the leader -- Discogs credits him with 28 albums, but his name comes first only eight times, and they also show him belonging to 27 other groups. He's incendiary here, and the Europeans, especially Bauer, are up to the challenge. **

71. Ellery Eskelin: Trio Willisau Live (Hatology)
Tenor saxophonist, with Gary Versace (organ) and Gerry Hemingway (drums). Some remarkable sax and cliché-free organ. **

72. Peter Brötzmann/Steve Swell/Paal Nilssen-Love: Live in Copenhagen (Not Two)
The saxophonist backs a bit off his usual full fury, giving the trombone a fighting chance -- something Swell makes the most of. And the drummer is always masterful in this sort of company.

73. Jon Lundbom & Big Five Chord: Play All the Notes (Hot Cup, EP)
The third of four promised EPs this year, to be rolled up into a box later this year. Group has two formidable saxophonists -- Jon Irabagon (alto) and Bryan Murray (tenor, prepared tenor, and balto, here dba Balto Exclamationpoint) -- with MOPDTK leader Moppa Elliott on bass and Dan Monaghan on drums. Probably the best of the series thus far, not least for the leader's strong solos, but I still have qualms about the marketing concept, and it's short (three tracks, 26:44). *

74. Jon Lundbom & Big Five Chord: Make the Changes (Hot Cup, EP)
Guitarist, group includes formidable saxophonists Jon Irabagon and Bryan Murray, Moppa Elliott on bass and Dan Monaghan on drums. The fourth and last of this year's promised set of EPs, to be released digitally September 30 along with a 4-CD package rolling them all up. I'm not wild about the marketing concept -- stretches my work and filing out on what could just as well have been two CDs in a single package. Main economy would be that they're very consistent, with a slight nod to EP:3 Play All the Notes. Four cuts, 31:34. *

75. Alberto Pinton Noi Siamo: Resiliency (Moserobie)
Pinton's a multi-reed player from Venice, credited here with baritone sax, clarinet, and bass clarinet. "Noi siamo" is just Italian for "we are." Leads a quartet here with Niklas Barno (trumpet) Torbjorn Zetterberg (bass), and Konrad Agnas (drums), recorded live in Stockholm. A real barnburner.

Also added the following 2015 albums after freezing the year-end file:

  1. Audio One: What Thomas Bernhard Saw (Audiographic) **
  2. Charles Gayle Trio: Christ Everlasting (ForTune) **
  3. Paul Dunmall/Matthew Bourne/Steve Davis/Dave Kane: Mandalas in the Sky (Babel) **
  4. Fred Hersch: Solo (Palmetto) **
  5. High Definition Quartet: Bukoliki (ForTune) **

Honorable Mention

Additional jazz rated B+(***), listed alphabetically.

  1. Antonio Adolfo: Tropical Infinito (AAM)
  2. Melissa Aldana: Back Home (Wommusic) *
  3. Ralph Alessi: Quiver (ECM) **
  4. Ehud Asherie: Shuffle Along (Blue Heron)
  5. Karlis Auzins/Lucas Leidinger/Tomo Jacobson/Thomas Sauerborn: Mount Meander (Clean Feed)
  6. Bobby Avey: Inhuman Wilderness (Inner Voice Jazz)
  7. BassDrumBone: The Long Road (Auricle, 2CD)
  8. Shirantha Beddage: Momentum (Factor)
  9. Beekman: Vol. 02 (Ropeadope)
  10. Mili Bermejo/Dan Greenspan: Arte Del Dúo (Ediciones Pentagrama)
  11. Eraldo Bernocchi/Prakash Sontakke: Invisible Strings (RareNoise) *
  12. Nat Birchall: Creation (Sound Soul & Spirit) **
  13. Jim Black Trio: The Constant (Intakt) *
  14. Carla Bley/Andy Sheppard/Steve Swallow: Andando el Tiempo (ECM) **
  15. Thomas Borgmann Trio: One for Cisco (NoBusiness) *
  16. Brooklyn Blowhards (Little (i) Music)
  17. Jaimeo Brown Transcendence: Work Songs (Motema) **
  18. George Cables: The George Cables Songbook (HighNote)
  19. The Uri Caine Trio: Calibrated Thickness (816 Music) **
  20. Jonas Cambien Trio: A Zoology of the Future (Clean Feed)
  21. Joăo Camőes/Jean-Marc Foussat: Ŕ La Face du Ciel (Shhpuma) **
  22. The Ian Carey Quintet + 1: Interview Music (Kabocha)
  23. François Carrier/Michel Lambert/Rafal Mazur: The Joy of Being (NoBusiness)
  24. Chaise Lounge: Gin Fizz Fandango (Modern Songbook)
  25. Rhys Chatham: Pythagorean Dream (Foom)
  26. Richie Cole: Plays Ballads & Love Songs (Mark Perna Music)
  27. Sylvie Courvoisier/Mark Feldman/Ikue Mori/Evan Parker: Miller's Tale (Intakt) *
  28. Andrew Cyrille Quartet: The Declaration of Musical Independence (ECM) **
  29. Tim Daisy/Marc Riordan: Joyride (Relay) **
  30. Kris Davis: Duopoly (Pyroclastic)
  31. DEK Trio: Burning Below Zero (Trost) **
  32. The Dynamic Les DeMerle Band: Comin' Home Baby (Origin)
  33. Whit Dickey/Kirk Knuffke: Fierce Silence (Clean Feed)
  34. Dave Douglas/Frank Woeste: Dada People (Greenleaf Music) **
  35. Andrew Durkin: Breath of Fire (PJCE) **
  36. Florian Egli Weird Beard: Everything Moves (Intakt) **
  37. Mats Eilertsen: Rubicon (ECM) **
  38. Harris Eisenstadt: Old Growth Forest (Clean Feed)
  39. ELEW: And to the Republic (Sunnyside) **
  40. Marty Elkins: Walkin' by the River (Nagel Heyer)
  41. Empirical: Connection (Cuneiform) **
  42. Kali Z. Fasteau: Intuit (Flying Note)
  43. Piere Favre: DrumSights NOW (Intakt) *
  44. Michael Formanek/Ensemble Kolossus: The Distance (ECM) **
  45. Anat Fort Trio/Gianluigi Trovesi: Birdwatching (ECM) **
  46. Daniel Freedman: Imagine That (Anzic) **
  47. Fresh Cut Orchestra: Mind Behind Closed Eyes (Ropeadope)
  48. Erik Friedlander: Rings (Skipstone)
  49. Friends & Neighbors: What's Wrong? (Clean Feed)
  50. Fred Frith Trio: Another Day in Fucking Paradise (Intakt) *
  51. Satoko Fujii/Joe Fonda: Duet (Long Song)
  52. Clay Giberson: Pastures (Origin)
  53. Jean-Brice Godet Quartet: Mujô (Fou)
  54. Bob Gluck/Billy Hart/Eddie Henderson/Christopher Dean Sullivan: Infinite Spirit: Revisiting Music of the Mwandishi Band (FMR)
  55. GoGo Penguin: Man Made Object (Blue Note) **
  56. André Gonçalves: Currents & Riptides (Shhpuma) **
  57. Danny Green Trio: Altered Narratives (OA2)
  58. Gunwale: Polynya (Aerophonic)
  59. Barry Guy: The Blue Shroud (Intakt) *
  60. Barry Guy/Marilyn Crispell/Paul Lytton: Deep Memory (Intakt) *
  61. Jason Hainsworth: Third Ward Stories (Origin)
  62. Mary Halvorson Octet: Away With You (Firehouse 12)
  63. Ross Hammond and Sameer Gupta: Upward (Prescott) *
  64. Hanami: The Only Way to Float Free (Ears & Eyes) *
  65. Lafayette Harris Jr.: Hangin' With the Big Boys (Airmen)
  66. Billy Hart & the WDR Big Band: The Broader Picture (Enja/Yellowbird) *
  67. Craig Hartley: Books on Tape Vol. II: Standard Edition (self-released)
  68. Hearts & Minds (Astral Spirits)
  69. The Heliocentrics: From the Deep (Now-Again) **
  70. Heroes Are Gang Leaders: Highest Engines Near/Near Higher Engineers (Flat Langston's Arkeyes)
  71. Marquis Hill: The Way We Play (Concord Jazz) **
  72. Florian Hoefner: Luminosity (Origin)
  73. Eric Hofbauer Quintet: Prehistoric Jazz - Volume 3: Three Places in New England (Creative Nation Music)
  74. Anna Högberg: Attack (Omlott) **
  75. Joseph Howell: Time Made to Swing (Summit)
  76. Charlie Hunter: Everybody Has a Plan Until They Get Punched in the Mouth (Ground Up/Decca) **
  77. I Am Three: Mingus Mingus Mingus (Leo) **
  78. Christoph Irniger Pilgrim: Big Wheel Live (Intakt) *
  79. Stacey Kent: Tenderly (Okeh) **
  80. Krakauer's Ancestral Groove: Checkpoint (Table Pounding)
  81. Elektra Kurtis & Ensemble Elektra: Bridges From the East (Elektra Sound Works/Milo)
  82. Mathias Landaeus: From the Piano (Moserobie)
  83. Marilyn Lerner/Ken Filiano/Lou Grassi: Live at Edgefest (NoBusiness) *
  84. Allen Lowe: In the Diaspora of the Diaspora: A Day in Brooklyn: At Ibeam (Constant Sorrow, 2CD)
  85. Jon Lundbom & Big Five Chord: Bring Their 'A' Game (Hot Cup, EP) *
  86. Jon Lundbom & Big Five Chord: Make the Magic Happen (Hot Cup, EP) *
  87. Steven Lugerner: Jacknife: The Music of Jackie McLean (Primary)
  88. Tony Malaby Paloma Recio: Incantations (Clean Feed)
  89. Mamutrio [Lieven Cambré/Piet Verbist/Jesse Dockx]: Primal Existence (Origin)
  90. Joel Miller With Sienna Dahlen: Dream Cassette (Origin)
  91. Modular String Trio: Ants, Bees and Butterflies (Clean Feed)
  92. Mostly Other People Do the Killing: (Live) (ForTune) **
  93. Tisziji Muńoz: Tathagata Guitar: Whisperings of Peace (Anami Music) **
  94. Simon Nabatov/Mark Dresser/Dominik Mahnig: Equal Poise (Leo) **
  95. Nacka Forum: We Are the World (Moserobie)
  96. Naftule's Dream: Blood (self-released)
  97. Angelika Niescier/Florian Weber: NYC Five (Intakt) *
  98. Steve Noble & Kristoffer Berre Alberts: Condest Second Yesterday (Clean Feed)
  99. The Phil Norman Tentet: Then & Now: Classic Sounds & Variations of 12 Jazz Legends (MAMA)
  100. Eva Novoa: Butterflies and Zebras by Ditmas Quartet (Fresh Sound New Talent) **
  101. Uwe Oberg & Silke Eberhard: Turns (Leo) **
  102. Aruán Ortiz Trio: Hidden Voices (Intakt) *
  103. Phil Palombi: Detroit Lean (Xcappa)
  104. Ken Peplowski: Enrapture (Capri)
  105. Ivo Perelman: Breaking Point (Leo)
  106. Ivo Perelman/Karl Berger/Gerald Cleaver: The Art of the Improv Trio Volume 1 (Leo)
  107. Ivo Perelman/Mat Maneri/Whit Dickey: The Art of the Improv Trio Volume 2 (Leo)
  108. Ivo Perelman/Joe Morris/Gerald Cleaver: The Art of the Improv Trio Volume 5 (Leo)
  109. Dominique Pifarély Quartet: Tracé Provisoire (ECM) **
  110. Leslie Pintchik: True North (Pintch Hard)
  111. Valery Ponomarev Jazz Big Band: Our Father Who Art Blakey (Zoho Music) **
  112. Richard Poole/Marilyn Crispell/Gary Peacock: In Motion (Intakt) *
  113. Protean Reality: Protean Reality (Clean Feed)
  114. Punkt 3: Ordnung Herrscht (Clean Feed)
  115. John Raymond: John Raymond & Real Feels (Shifting Paradigm)
  116. RED Trio/John Butcher: Summer Skyshift (Clean Feed)
  117. Renku: Live in Greenwich Village (Clean Feed)
  118. Little Johnny Rivero: Music in Me (Truth Revolution)
  119. Jason Roebke Octet: Cinema Spiral (NoBusiness)
  120. Roji: The Hundred Headed Woman (Shhpuma/Clean Feed)
  121. Rent Romus/Teddy Rankin-Parker/Daniel Pearce: LiR (Edgetone)
  122. Rřnnings Jazzmaskin: Jazzmaskin (Losen) **
  123. Rudy Royston Trio: RisEofOrion (Greenleaf Music)
  124. Schlippenbach Trio: Warsaw Concert (Intakt) *
  125. Elliott Sharp Aggregat: Dialectrical (Clean Feed)
  126. Susana Santos Silva/Lotte Anker/Sten Sandell/Torbjörn Zetterberg/Jon Fält: Life and Other Transient Storms (Clean Feed)
  127. Bria Skonberg: Bria (Okeh/Masterworks) **
  128. Wadada Leo Smith: America's National Parks (Cuneiform, 2CD)
  129. Mike Sopko/Simon Lott: The Golden Measure (self-released)
  130. Tyshawn Sorey: The Inner Spectrum of Variables (Pi, 2CD)
  131. Markus Stockhausen/Florian Weber: Alba (ECM) **
  132. Dave Stryker: Eight Track II (Strikezone)
  133. The Stryker/Slagle Band Expanded: Routes (Strikezone)
  134. Yves Theiler Trio: Dance in a Triangle (Musiques Suisses)
  135. Thumbscrew: Convallaria (Cuneiform) **
  136. Harvey Valdes: Point Counter Point (self-released)
  137. Alexander von Schlippenbach: Jazz Now! (Live at Theater Gütersloh) (Intuition)
  138. Mat Walerian/Matthew Shipp/Hamid Drake: Jungle: Live at Okuden (ESP-Disk, 2CD) **
  139. Anna Webber's Simple Trio: Binary (Skirl)
  140. Wolter Wierbos/Jasper Stadhouders/Tim Daisy: Sounds in a Garden (Relay) **
  141. Jeff Williams: Outlier (Whirlwind)
  142. Matt Wilson's Big Happy Family: Beginning of a Memory (Palmetto)

Also added the following 2015 albums after freezing the year-end file:

  1. Adam Baldych & Helge Lien Trio: Bridges (ACT) **
  2. Black Top: #Two (Babel) **
  3. Ran Blake: Ghost Tones: Portraits of George Russell (A-Side) **
  4. Oran Etkin, What\'s New? Reimagining Benny Goodman (Motéma) **
  5. Orrin Evans: The Evolution of Oneself (Smoke Sessions) **
  6. Sullivan Fortner: Aria (Impulse!) **
  7. Charles Gayle/William Parker/Hamid Drake: Live at Jazzwerkstatt Peitz (Jazzwerkstatt) **
  8. Made to Break: Before the Code (Trost) **
  9. Rob Mazurek/Exploding Star Orchestra: Galactic Parables: Volume 1 (Cuneiform, 2CD) **
  10. The Souljazz Orchestra: Resistance (Strut) **
  11. Marlene VerPlanck: The Mood I'm In (Audiophile) **
  12. Charenée Wade: Offering: The Music of Gil Scott-Heron and Brian Jackson (Motéma) **
  13. Mat Walerian-Matthew Shipp Duo: The Uppercut: Live at Okuden (ESP-Disk) **
  14. Yells at Eels: In Quiet Waters (ForTune) **

Reissues/Historic Music

The standard for historic music is a record where everything was recorded 10+ years ago, regardless of whether it's ever been in print before. Some past lists may have treated previously unreleased music as new (regardless of actual age), but I've never been able to manage that distinction consistently. This category also includes compilations of previously released music, including straight reissues, although my selection is very erratic.

1. Coleman Hawkins: Intimate: Duo, Trio, Quartet & Quintet Recordings 1934-38 (Acrobat)
The fount of all worthwhile saxophone playing, as one guide put it, he broke with big bands in 1934 when he moved to Europe and found himself recording with small pick-up groups, taking melodic responsibility for whole songs and driving them in ways no one expected. I wouldn't call these "intimate," at least in the sense of later "quiet storm" balladeering. More like one tour de force after another. **

2. Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra: All My Yesterdays (1966, Resonance, 2CD)
Jones was a veteran bebop trumpet player, elder brother of Hank and Elvin, better known as a composer than for his chops although his early records are remarkable. Lewis was a big band drummer who came to prominence with Stan Kenton and Woody Herman. In 1966 they put together a big band to play regular gigs at New York's Village Vanguard, a band which survived leader deaths in 1986 and 1990. This goes back to the band's first gigs, and it's hard to exaggerate how vibrant they sound.

3. Peter Kuhn: No Coming, No Going: The Music of Peter Kuhn, 1978-1979 (NoBusiness, 2CD)
Plays clarinet, bass clarinet, and tenor sax. Another reissue from the New York "loft scene" years, when avant-jazz went underground, that period after most US jazz labels folded or slunk into fusion and before European labels like Hat and Soul Note picked up the slack (Kuhn, by the way, has 1981-82 albums on both, but little after that). First disc is from same group that recorded Arthur Williams' Forgiveness Suite -- Williams and Toshinori Kondo on trumpet, William Parker on bass, and Denis Charles on drums -- is often bracing, a solid effort. Second disc is just Kuhn with Charles, a better showcase for each. Comes with a substantial booklet helping us recover valuable history.

4. William Hooker: Light: The Early Years 1975-1989 (NoBusiness, 4CD)
A trawl through the avant drummer's early oeuvre. First disc starts with him solo, a failed soul singer backed only by his own percussion. Then comes two monster pieces with saxophonists: a 26:48 trio with David Murray (1975), and a 19:27 duo with a young and even more visceral David S. Ware. Second disc is more obscure, ending with a 16:07 trio with two saxophonists (Jameel Moondoc and Hasaan Dawkins). Third jumps ahead to 1988, a previously unreleased trio with Roy Campbell on trumpet and Booker T. Williams on tenor sax. Fourth gives you a set with Lewis Barnes (trumpet) and Richard Keene (reeds) and a 16:18 drum solo. All avant, very underground, and while the horns make a lot of noise, there's very little filler -- I think just one cut with bass, no piano or guitar -- so the drums always ring clear.

5. Shirley Horn: Live at the 4 Queens (1988, Resonance)
A major jazz singer from 1965 to her death in 2005, and such a sparkling pianist she not only accompanied herself but was in demand for non-vocal sessions. At some point I need to go back and listen to the albums she released in her lifetime (only four in my database), but this is the sort of posthumous record that motivates such a search. Backed with bass, drums, and her own impeccable piano, she covers standards she made a career of (including two Jobims, and a definitive "Lover Man"), reminding us she was major indeed.

6. Dave Burrell and Bob Stewart: The Crave (1994, NoBusiness)
Piano and tuba duets, the fine print reads "play the music of Jelly Roll Morton and Dave Burrell." Three of each, but Burrell was likely thinking of Morton when he wrote his. Indeed, this set follows Burrell's 1991 album The Jelly Roll Joys, and improves upon it, the not-so-secret ingredient Stewart's tuba. *
7. Don Cherry/John Tchicai/Irčne Schweizer/Léon Francioli/Pierre Favre: Musical Monsters (1980, Intakt)
Recorded at Willisau in north-central Switzerland, hence the all-Swiss rhythm section, the headliners playing trumpet and alto sax. Danish-born Tchicai joined the New York avant-garde in the mid-'60s, picking up a pronounced Ayler influence (and shout), while Cherry started out with Ornette Coleman and went global. Impressive piano too, and terrific work from Favre.

8. The Great American Music Ensemble: It's All in the Game (Jazzed Media)
Doug Richards has taught at Virginia Commonwealth University since 1979, founding its Jazz Studies program and forming the Great American Music Ensemble (GAME), which played annual Kennedy Center concerts from 1990-97, but while I've found a 1992 Geoffrey Himes piece raving about them, I've yet to find any evidence that they recorded -- until now, that is, and this has been sitting on the shelf since 2001. I don't recognize anyone in the big band, but they exemplify Gary Giddins' notion of repertory concert jazz as well as I can imagine. And special guests violinist Joe Kennedy Jr., singer René Marie, and especially Jon Faddis -- whose Armstrong is as uncanny as his Gillespie -- go the extra mile. Mostly familiar tunes, but that's half the fun.

9. The Rough Guide to South African Jazz [Second Edition] (World Music Network)
The original 2000 edition spanned the years 1958-98. As usual, it's difficult-to-impossible to track down these thirteen tracks (e.g., the opener by African Jazz Pioneers, a group dating from the late 1950s, was on a 1989 album on Kaz which I suspect was a compilation of older material; on the other hand, the second track is by a pianist born in 1986). South African jazz builds on local pop traditions much like swing built on American pop songs, and many of those roots are irresistibly catchy. Still, this reboot sounds less classic than the first edition -- probably because it is newer and glitzier. **

Honorable Mention

Additional jazz rated B+(***), listed alphabetically.

  1. Mose Allison: I'm Not Talkin': The Soul Stylings of Mose Allison 1957-1971 (BGP) **
  2. Cheryl Bentyne: Lost Love Songs (2003-11, Summit)
  3. Joe Bushkin: Live at the Embers 1952 (Dot Time) **
  4. The Jim Cullum Jazz Band/William Warfield: George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess Live (1992, Riverwalk Jazz, 2CD)
  5. Steve Lehman Camouflage Trio: Interface (2003, Clean Feed) **
  6. Joe Lovano Quartet: Classic! Live at Newport (2005, Blue Note) **
  7. Allen Lowe: Louis Armstrong: An Avant Garde Portrait (1992, Constant Sorrow) **
  8. Howard Riley: Constant Change 1976-2016 (NoBusiness, 5CD)
  9. David S. Ware & Matthew Shipp Duo: Live in Sant'Anna Arresi, 2004 (2004, AUM Fidelity) **
  10. Jürgen Wuchner/Rudi Mahall/Jörg Fischer: In Memoriam: Buschi Niebergall (1997, Sporeprint)
  11. Larry Young: In Paris: The ORTF Recordings (1964-65, Resonance, 2CD)

Also added the following 2015 albums after freezing the year-end file:

  1. Sheila Jordan: Better Than Anything: Live (1991, There) **

Notes

Additional new jazz records rated B+(**) or below (listed alphabetically by artist).

  1. The 3.5.7 Ensemble: Amongst the Smokestacks and Steeples (Milk Factory Productions, 2CD) [B]
  2. The 14 Jazz Orchestra: Nothing Hard Is Ever Easy (self-released) [B]
  3. Greg Abate & Phil Woods with the Tim Ray Trio: Kindred Spirits: Live at Chan's (Whaling City Sound, 2CD) ** [B+(**)]
  4. Rez Abbasi & Junction: Behind the Vibration (Cuneiform) ** [B+(**)]
  5. Andy Adamson Quartet: A Cry for Peace (Andros) [B+(*)]
  6. Ben Adkins: Salmagundi (Ben Adkins Music) [B+(**)]
  7. Stefan Aeby Trio: To the Light (Intakt) [B+(**)]
  8. Sophie Agnel/Daunik Lazro: Marguerite D'Or Pâle (Fou) [B+(**)]
  9. Raul Agraz: Between Brothers (OA2) [B]
  10. Aguankó: Latin Jazz Christmas in Havana (Aguankó) [B]
  11. Cyrille Aimée: Let's Get Lost (Mack Avenue) ** [B+(*)]
  12. Alchemy Sound Project: Further Explorations (ARC) [B+(*)]
  13. Joey Alexander: Countdown (Motema) ** [B+(*)]
  14. Harry Allen's All Star New York Saxophone Band: The Candy Men (Arbors) ** [B+(*)]
  15. Kris Allen: Beloved (Truth Revolution) [B+(**)]
  16. Livio Almeida: Action and Reaction (self-released) [B+(*)]
  17. Amendola vs. Blades: Greatest Hits (Sazi) [B+(**)]
  18. Dave Anderson: Blue Innuendo (Label 1) [B+(*)]
  19. Brian Andres and the Afro-Cuban Jazz Cartel: This Could Be That (Bacalao) [B+(*)]
  20. Paolo Angeli/Robert Burke/Mirko Guerrini/Jordan Murray/Stephen Magnusson/Stefano Tamborrino: Sardinian Liturgy (Jazzhead) ** [B+(*)]
  21. Darcy James Argue's Secret Society: Real Enemies (New Amsterdam) ** [B+(**)]
  22. Allison Au Quartet: Forest Grove (self-released) [B+(*)]
  23. Jay Azzolina/Dino Govoni/Adam Nussbaum/Dave Zinno: Chance Meeting (Whaling City Sound) [B+(**)]
  24. Ricardo Bacelar: Concerto Para Moviola: Ao Vivo (Bacelar) [B+(*)]
  25. Carol Bach-y-Rita: Minha Casa/My House (Arugula) [B+(**)]
  26. The Bad Plus: It's Hard (Okeh) ** [B+(*)]
  27. BadBadNotGood: IV (Innovative Leisure) ** [B-]
  28. Jon Balke: Warp (ECM) ** [B+(*)]
  29. Lucian Ban Elevation: Songs From Afar (Sunnyside) ** [B+(*)]
  30. Kenny Barron Trio: Book of Intuition (Impulse) ** [B+(**)]
  31. Steve Barta: Symphonic Arrangement: Suite for Flute and Jazz Piano Trio (Steve Barta Music) [B]
  32. Bauer Baldych Duchnowski Konrad: Trans-Fuzja (ForTune) ** [B+(**)]
  33. Battle Trance: Blade of Love (New Amsterdam) ** [B+(*)]
  34. Nicholas Bearde: Invitation (Right Groove) [B+(*)]
  35. John Beasley: Presents MONK'estra Vol. 1 (Mack Avenue) ** [B-]
  36. Martin Bejerano: Trio Miami (Figgland) [B+(*)]
  37. The Bill Belasco Trio: Three Musicians (Summit) [B+(*)]
  38. Aaron Bennett/Darren Johnston/Lisa Mezzacappa/Tim Rosaly: Shipwreck 4 (NoBusiness) [B+(*)]
  39. Peter Bernstein: Let Loose (Smoke Sessions) ** [B+(*)]
  40. Black Art Jazz Collective: Presented by the Side Door Jazz Club (Sunnyside) ** [B+(**)]
  41. Michael Blake: Fulfillment (Songlines) ** [B+(*)]
  42. Seamus Blake: Superconductor (5Passion) ** [B-]
  43. Seamus Blake/Chris Cheek: Let's Call the Whole Thing Off (Criss Cross) ** [B+(**)]
  44. The Michael Blum Quartet: Chasin' Oscar: A Tribute to Oscar Peterson (self-released) [B+(*)]
  45. Erik Bogaerts/Hendrik Lasure/Pit Dahm: Bogaerts & Lasure + Dahm (self-released) ** [B-]
  46. Mike Bogle Trio: Live at Stoney's (MBP/Groove) [B]
  47. Boi Akih: Liquid Songs (TryTone) [B+(*)]
  48. Christiane Bopp/Jean-Luc Petit: L'Écorce et la Salive (Fou) [B+(*)]
  49. Bobby Bradford/Hafez Modirzadeh: Live at the Open Gate (NoBusiness) * [B+(**)]
  50. Cristina Braga & Brandenburger Symphoniker: Whisper (Enja) [B-]
  51. Anthony Branker & Imagine: Beauty Within (Origin) ** [B+(**)]
  52. Anthony Braxton: 3 Compositions (EEMHM) 2011 (Firehouse 12, 3CD) ** [B+(**)]
  53. Brazzamerica (self-released) [B+(**)]
  54. Joshua Breakstone/The Cello Quartet: 88 (Capri) [B+(**)]
  55. Jakob Bro: Streams (ECM) ** [B]
  56. Brian Bromberg: Full Circle (Artistry) ** [B]
  57. Peter Brotzmann/Heather Leigh: Ears Are Filled With Wonder (Not Two) ** [B]
  58. Peter Brötzmann & ICI Ensemble: Beautiful Lies (Neos Jazz) ** [B+(*)]
  59. Andy Brown Quartet: Direct Call (Delmark) [B+(*)]
  60. Rich Brown: Abeng (self-released) [B+(**)]
  61. Jane Bunnett & Maqueque: Oddara (Linus Entertainment) ** [B]
  62. Burning Ghosts (Orenda) ** [B+(**)]
  63. Buselli-Wallarab Jazz Orchestra: Basically Baker Vol. 2: The Big Band Music of David Baker (Patois, 2CD) [B+(*)]
  64. John Butcher & Stĺle Liavik Solberg: So Beautiful, It Starts to Rain (Clean Feed) [B+(**)]
  65. Oguz Buyukberber and Simon Nabatov: Wobbly Strata (TryTone) [B+(**)]
  66. Oguz Buyukberber/Tobias Klein: Reverse Camouflage (TryTone) [B+(**)]
  67. Rex Cadwallader/Mike Aseta/Arti Dixson/Tiffany Jackson: A Balm in Gilead (Stanza USA) [B-] [B-]
  68. Lou Caimano/Eric Olsen: Dyad Plays Jazz Arias (self-released) [B]
  69. Will Calhoun: Celebrating Elvin Jones (Motéma) ** [B]
  70. Laura Cannell: Simultaneous Flight Movement (Brawl) ** [B+(*)]
  71. Marialuisa Capurso/Jean-Marc Foussat: En Respirant (Fou) [B]
  72. Jean-Luc Cappozzo/Didier Lasserre: Ceremony's a Name for the Rich Horn (NoBusiness) * [B-]
  73. Lou Caputo Not So Big Band: Uh Oh! (JazzCat 47) [B+(*)]
  74. Carate Urio Orchestra: Ljubljana (Clean Feed) [B+(*)]
  75. Ron Carter Quartet & Vitoria Maldonado: Brasil L.I.K.E. (Summit) [B+(*)]
  76. Frank Catalano/Jimmy Chamberlin: Bye Bye Blackbird (Ropeadope) ** [B+(*)]
  77. Bill Charlap Trio: Notes From New York (Impulse) ** [B+(*)]
  78. Etienne Charles: San Jose Suite (Culture Shock) * [B+(**)]
  79. Chat Noir: Nine Thoughts for One Word (Rare Noise) * [B+(*)]
  80. Chris Cheek: Saturday Songs (Sunnyside) ** [B]
  81. John Chin: Fifth (Jinsy) * [B+(**)]
  82. The Roger Chong Quartet: Funkalicious (self-released) [B+(*)]
  83. Corey Christensen: Factory Girl (Origin) [B+(**)]
  84. Claudia Quintet: Super Petite (Cuneiform) [B+(**)]
  85. Rob Clearfield: Islands (Ears & Eyes) [B+(*)]
  86. Nels Cline: Lovers (Blue Note, 2CD) ** [B-]
  87. Avishai Cohen: Into the Silence (ECM) ** [B+(**)]
  88. Tom Collier: Impulsive Illuminations (Origin) [B]
  89. Jeff Collins: The Keys to Christmas (Crossroads) [C-]
  90. Mary Foster Conklin: Photographs (MockTurtle Music) [B+(**)]
  91. Taylor Cook: The Cook Book (self-released) [B]
  92. The Cookers: The Call of the Wild & Peaceful Heart (Smoke Sessions) ** [B+(*)]
  93. The Core Trio: Live Featuring Matthew Shipp (Evil Rabbit) [B+(**)]
  94. Patrick Cornelius: While We're Still Young (Whirlwind) [B+(*)]
  95. Larry Coryell, Barefoot Man: Sanpaku (Purple Pyramid) ** [B+(*)]
  96. Roxy Coss: Restless Idealism (Origin) [B+(**)]
  97. Dan Cray: Outside In (Origin) [B+(**)]
  98. Matt Criscuolo: The Dialogue (Jazzeria) [B+(**)]
  99. Theo Croker: Escape Velocity (Okeh) ** [B+(*)]
  100. Alexis Cuadrado: Poetica (Sunnyside) ** [B+(**)]
  101. Alan Cumming: Alan Cumming Sings Sappy Songs: Live at the Cafe Carlyle (Yellow Sound) ** [B+(*)]
  102. Jeremy Cunningham Quartet: Re: Dawn (From Far) (Ears & Eyes) [B+(*)]
  103. Daniele D'Agaro/Giovanni Maier/Zlatko Kaucic: Disorder at the Border Plays Ornette (Not Two) ** [B+(**)]
  104. Tim Daisy: Relucent: Music for Marimba, Radios and Turntables (Relay) ** [B]
  105. Tim Daisy's Celebration Sextet: The Halfway There Suite (Relay) ** [B+(**)]
  106. Tim Daisy: October Music Vol. 2: 7 Compositions for Duet (Relay) ** [B+(**)]
  107. Joseph Daley/Warren Smith/Scott Robinson: The Tuba Trio Chronicles (JoDa Locust Street Music) [B+(**)]
  108. Daria: Strawberry Fields Forever: Songs by the Beatles (OA2) [B+(*)]
  109. Tim Davies Big Band: The Expensive Train Set (Origin) [B]
  110. Orbert Davis' Chicago Jazz Philharmonic Chamber Ensemble: Havana Blue (3Sixteen) [B+(**)]
  111. Suzanne Dean: Come to Paradise (Ship's Bell Music) [B]
  112. Eli Degibri: Cliff Hangin' (Blujazz) [B+(*)]
  113. Gonzalo Del Val Trio: Koiné (Fresh Sound New Talent) ** [B+(*)]
  114. The Delegation: Evergreen (Canceled World) (ESP-Disk, 2CD) [B+(*)]
  115. Jeff Denson Quartet: Concentric Circles (Ridgeway) [B-]
  116. Olegario Diaz: Aleph in Chromatic (SteepleChase) ** [B+(**)]
  117. John Dikeman/Luis Vicente/Hugo Antunes/Gabriel Ferrandini: Salăo Brazil (NoBusiness) [B+(*)]
  118. Dim Lighting: Your Miniature Motion (Off) * [B+(*)]
  119. Dinosaur: Together, as One (Edition) ** [B+(**)]
  120. The Dirty Snacks Ensemble: Tidy Universe (Gotta Groove) ** [C+]
  121. The Diva Jazz Orchestra: Special Kay! (self-released) [B+(**)]
  122. The DKV Thing Trio: Collider (Not Two) ** [B+(**)]
  123. The Dominican Jazz Project (Summit) [B+(*)]
  124. Pierre Dřrge's New Jungle Orchestra: Ubi Zaa (SteepleChase) ** [B]
  125. Dave Douglas: Dark Territory (Greenleaf Music) ** [B+(*)]
  126. Andrew Downing: Otterville (self-released) [B]
  127. Mark Dresser Seven: Sedimental You (Clean Feed) [B+(**)]
  128. Paquito D'Rivera/Armando Manzanero: Paquito & Manzanero (Paquito/Sunnyside) ** [B+(*)]
  129. Lajos Dudas Quartet: Brückenschlag (Jazz Sick) [B+(**)]
  130. Rebecca DuMaine and the Dave Miller Trio With Friends: Happy Madness (Summit) [B-]
  131. Krzyysztof Dys Trio: Toys (ForTune) ** [B+(**)]
  132. Earprint (Endectomorph Music) [B+(**)]
  133. Earth Tongues: Ohio (Neither/Nor, 2CD) [B]
  134. Moppa Elliott: Still Up in the Air (Hot Cup) [B+(**)]
  135. Darren English: Imagine Nation (Hot Shoe) [B+(*)]
  136. Ari Erev: Flow (self-released) [B+(**)]
  137. Gene Ess: Absurdist Theater (SIMP) [C]
  138. Orrin Evans: #Knowingishalfthebattle (Smoke Sessions) ** [B+(**)]
  139. Fail Better!: Owt (NoBusiness) [B+(**)]
  140. The Fat Babies: Solid Gassuh (Delmark) [B+(**)]
  141. Alan Ferber: Roots & Transitions (Sunyside) ** [B]
  142. Brian Fielding: An Appropriate Response: Volume One (Broken Symmetries Music) [B+(**)]
  143. Jonathan Finlayson & Sicilian Defense: Moving Still (Pi) [B+(**)]
  144. Fire!: She Sleeps/She Sleeps (Rune Grammofon) ** [B+(**)]
  145. Clare Fischer Latin Jazz Big Band: ˇIntenso! (Clavo) [B+(**)]
  146. Cheryl Fisher: Quietly There (OA2) [B+(**)]
  147. David Fiuczynski: Flam! Blam! Pan-Asian MicroJam (Rare Noise) * [B]
  148. Five in Orbit: Tribulus Terrestris (Fresh Sound New Talent) ** [B+(**)]
  149. Nick Fraser: Starer (self-released) [B+(**)]
  150. Free Nelson Mandoomjazz: The Organ Grinder (RareNoise) ** [B+(*)]
  151. James Freeman: Echoes of Nature III (Edgetone) [B-]
  152. Mike Freeman ZonaVibe: Blue Tjade (VOF) [B+(**)]
  153. Paolo Fresu/Richard Gallliano/Jan Lundgren: Mare Nostrum II (ACT) ** [B+(**)]
  154. Paolo Fresu & Omar Sosa: Eros (Otá) ** [B+(*)]
  155. Matthew Fries: Parallel States (Xcappa) [B+(*)]
  156. David Friesen Circle 3 Trio: Triple Exposure (Origin) [B+(*)]
  157. Bill Frisell: When You Wish Upon a Star (Okeh) * [B]
  158. Fred Frith/Darren Johnston: Everybody Is Somebody Is Nobody (Clean Feed) [B+(**)]
  159. The Funky Organics (Chicken Coup/Summit) [B]
  160. Slava Ganelin/Lenny Sendersky: Hotel Cinema (Leo) ** [B+(**)]
  161. Socrates Garcia Latin Jazz Orchestra: Back Home (Summit) [B]
  162. Kenny Garrett: Do Your Dance! (Mack Avenue) ** [B+(*)]
  163. Gaudi: EP (RareNoise, EP) * [B+(**)]
  164. Sara Gazarek/Josh Nelson: Dream in the Blue (Steel Bird) [B]
  165. Trevor Giancola Trio: Fundamental (self-released) [B+(*)]
  166. Robert Glasper: Everything's Beautiful (Legacy) ** [B+(**)]
  167. Robert Glasper Experiment: ArtScience (Blue Note) ** [B+(*)]
  168. Will Goble: Consider the Blues (OA2) [B+(*)]
  169. Alex Goodman: Border Crossing (OA2) [B-]
  170. Macy Gray: Stripped (Chesky) ** [B+(**)]
  171. Ricardo Grilli: 1954 (Tone Rogue) [B+(**)]
  172. Brian Groder Trio: R Train on the D Line (Latham) ** [B+(**)]
  173. Giovanni Guidi: Ida Lupino (ECM) ** [B+(*)]
  174. Tord Gustavsen: What Was Said (ECM) ** [B+(**)]
  175. Gutbucket: Dance (Gut) [B+(**)]
  176. Jeff Guthery: Black Paintings (self-released) ** [B-]
  177. Jari Haapalainen Trio: Fusion Machine (Moserobie) [B+(*)]
  178. Iro Haarla: Ante Lucem (ECM) ** [B+(**)]
  179. Nancy Harms: Ellington at Night (Gazelle) ** [B+(**)]
  180. Stu Harrison: Volume I (One Nightstand) [B+(**)]
  181. Julian Hartwell: The Julian Hartwell Project (self-released -15) [B+(**)]
  182. Cory Healey's Beautiful Sunshine Band: Beautiful Sunshine (Shifting Paradigm) [B+(*)]
  183. Luke Hendon: Silk & Steel (self-released) [B+(*)]
  184. Freddie Hendrix: Jersey Cat (Sunnyside) ** [B+(**)]
  185. Cory Henry: The Revival (Ground Up) ** [B-]
  186. Louis Heriveaux: Triadic Episode (Hot Shoe) [B+(**)]
  187. Heroes Are Gang Leaders: Flukum (Flat Langston's Arkeyes) [B+(**)]
  188. Terrie Hessels & Ken Vandermark: Splinters (Audiograph) ** [B+(*)]
  189. Hiromi: Spark (Telarc) ** [B+(*)]
  190. Dre Hocevar: Collective Effervescence (Clean Feed) [B+(**)]
  191. Dre Hocevar: Transcendental Within the Sphere of Indivisible Remainder (Clean Feed) [B+(*)]
  192. The Hot Sardines: French Fries + Champagne (Decca) ** [B+(*)]
  193. The James Hughes/Jimmy Smith Quintet: Ever Up & Onward (self-released) [B+(*)]
  194. Jason Kao Hwang: Voice (Innova) [B+(*)]
  195. I.P.A.: I Just Did Say Something (Cuneiform) ** [B+(**)]
  196. Ethan Iverson: The Purity of the Turf (Criss Cross) ** [B+(**)]
  197. Vijay Iyer/Wadada Leo Smith: A Cosmic Rhythm With Each Stroke (ECM) * [B+(**)]
  198. Keefe Jackson/Jason Adasiewicz: Rows and Rows (Delmark) [B+(*)]
  199. Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra With Wynton Marsalis: The Abyssinian Mass (Blue Engine, 2CD) [C-]
  200. Erik Jekabson: A Brand New Take (OA2) [B+(*)]
  201. Jerome Jennings: The Beast (Iola) [B+(**)]
  202. Christine Jensen and Maggi Olin: Transatlantic Conversations: 11 Piece Band Live (Linedown) [B+(*)]
  203. Mike Jones Trio: Roaring (Capri) [B+(**)]
  204. Mimi Jones: Feet in the Mud (Hot Tone Music) [B+(*)]
  205. Norah Jones: Day Breaks (Blue Note) ** [B+(**)]
  206. Joonsam: A Door (Origin) [B+(*)]
  207. The Matthew Kaminski Quartet: Live at Churchill Grounds (Chicken Coup) [B+(*)]
  208. Matt Kane & the Kansas City Generations Sextet: Acknowledgement (Bounce-Step) [B]
  209. Manu Katché: Unstatic (Anteprima) ** [B+(*)]
  210. Darrell Katz and OddSong: Jailhouse Doc With Holes in Her Socks (JCA) [B]
  211. Ryan Keberle & Catharsis: Azui Infinito (Greenleaf Music) [B+(**)]
  212. Grace Kelly: Trying to Figure It Out (Pazz Productions) ** [B+(*)]
  213. Walter Kemp 3oh!: Dark Continent (Blujazz) [B+(*)]
  214. The Corey Kendrick Trio: Rootless (self-released) [B+(*)]
  215. The Stan Kenton Legacy Orchestra: Storming Through the South (Summit) [B+(*)]
  216. Irene Kepl: SololoS (Fou) [B+(*)]
  217. Sari Kessler: Do Right (Ruby Street Music) [B+(*)]
  218. Amirtha Kidambi/Elder Ones: Holy Science (Northern Spy) ** [B+(*)]
  219. Masabumi Kikuchi: Black Orpheus (ECM) ** [B+(*)]
  220. Frank Kimbrough: Solstice (Pirouet) [B+(**)]
  221. Dave King Trucking Company: Surrounded by the Night (Sunnyside) ** [B+(**)]
  222. Ron King: Triumph (self-released) [B]
  223. Kirk Knuffke/Jesse Stacken: Satie (SteepleChase) ** [B]
  224. Lefteris Kordis: Mediterrana (Goddess of Light) (Inner Circle Music) [B+(*)]
  225. Steffen Kuehn: Leap of Faith (Stefrecords) [B+(*)]
  226. Joachim Kühn New Trio: Beauty & Truth (ACT) ** [B+(**)]
  227. Rolf Kühn: Spotlights (Edel/MPS) ** [B+(**)]
  228. Julian Lage: Arclight (Mack Avenue) [B+(*)]
  229. Sinikka Langeland: The Magical Forest (ECM) ** [B+(**)]
  230. Zach Larmer Elektrik Band: Inner Circle (self-released) [B+(*)]
  231. Ingrid Laubrock: Serpentines (Intakt) * [B+(*)]
  232. Matt Lavelle's 12 Houses: Solidarity (Unseen Rain) [B+(**)]
  233. Le Boeuf Brothers + Jack Quartet: Imaginist (Panoramic/New Focus) [B-]
  234. Jerry Leake: Crafty Hands (Rhombus Publishing) [B+(**)]
  235. Joëlle Léandre/Théo Ceccaldi: Elastic (Cipsela) [B+(**)]
  236. Mike LeDonne & the Groover Quartet: That Feelin' (Savant) [B+(**)]
  237. Tom Lellis: The Flow (Beamtime) ** [C-]
  238. Nate Lepine Quartet: Vortices (Eyes & Ears) [B+(*)]
  239. Alison Lewis: Seven (self-released) [B-]
  240. John Lindberg BC3: Born in an Urban Ruin (Clean Feed) [B+(**)]
  241. John Lindberg Raptor Trio: Western Edges (Clean Feed) [B+(**)]
  242. Charles Lloyd & the Marvels: I Long to See You (Blue Note) ** [B+(**)]
  243. Luis Lopes: Love Song (Shhpuma) ** [B]
  244. Joey Locascio: Meets the Legend (Blujazz) [B+(*)]
  245. Lok 03+1: Signals (Trost) ** [B+(**)]
  246. Jasmine Lovell-Smith's Towering Poppies: Yellow Red Blue (Paint Box) [B+(**)]
  247. LUME: Xabregas 10 (Clean Feed) [B+(**)]
  248. The Tony Lustig Quintet: Taking Flight (Bimperl) [B+(**)]
  249. Kirk MacDonald: Symmetry (Addo) [B+(*)]
  250. Mack Avenue Superband: Live From the 2015 Detroit Jazz Festival (Mack Avenue) ** [B]
  251. Made to Break: Before the Code: Live (Audiographic) ** [B+(**)]
  252. Magnet Animals: Butterfly Killer (Rare Noise) * [B+(**)]
  253. Roberto Magris: Need to Bring Out Love (JMood) * [B+(**)]
  254. Thierry Maillard Trio: Ethnic Sounds (Blujazz) [B-]
  255. J Mancera: Mancera #5 (self-released) [B+(**)]
  256. Grégoire Maret: Wanted (Sunnyside) ** [B-]
  257. Lasse Marhaug & Ken Vandermark: Close Up (For Abbas Kiarostami) (Audiographic) ** [B]
  258. René Marie: Sound of Red (Motéma Music) ** [B+(*)]
  259. Tom Marko: Inner Light (Summit) [B]
  260. Melanie Marod: I'll Go Mad (ITI) [B+(*)]
  261. Branford Marsalis Quartet: Upward Spiral (Okeh) ** [B-]
  262. Delfeayo Marsalis presents the Uptown Jazz Orchestra: Make America Great Again! (Troubadour Jass) [B+(**)]
  263. Terrace Martin: Velvet Portraits (Ropeadope) ** [B]
  264. Gabriela Martina: No White Shoes (self-released) [B]
  265. The Pedrito Martinez Group: Habana Dreams (Motéma) ** [B+(*)]
  266. MAST: Love and War_ (Alpha Pup) * [B+(*)]
  267. Jřrgen Mathisen/Christian Meaas Svendsen/Andreas Wildhagen: Momentum (Clean Feed) [B+(*)]
  268. Tina Marx: Shades of Love (self-released) [B+(**)]
  269. Shawn Maxwell: Shawn Maxwell's New Tomorrow (OA2) [B+(**)]
  270. Jenny Maybee/Nick Phillips: Haiku (self-released) [B]
  271. Matt Mayhall: Tropes (Skirl) [B+(*)]
  272. Rob Mazurek & Emmett Kelly: Alien Flower Sutra (International Anthem) ** [C]
  273. Andrew McAnsh: Illustrations (self-released) [B-]
  274. Donny McCaslin: Beyond Now (Motema) ** [B+(*)]
  275. Tom McCormick: South Beat (Manatee) [B+(*)]
  276. Joe McPhee: Flowers (Cipsela) [B+(*)]
  277. Adam Meckler Quintet: Wonder (Shifting Paradigm) [B+(**)]
  278. Brad Mehldau Trio: Blues and Ballads (Nonesuch) ** [B+(**)]
  279. Francisco Mela: Fe (self-released) ** [B+(**)]
  280. Myra Melford + Ben Goldberg: Dialogue (BAG) ** [B]
  281. Daniel Meron: Sky Begins (Rabbit Rabbit Rabbit) [B]
  282. Gabriel Mervine: People (Synergy Music) [B]
  283. Merzbow/Keiji Haino/Balasz Pandi: An Untroublesome Defencelessness (RareNoise) * [B+(**)]
  284. Pat Metheny: The Unity Sessions (Nonesuch, 2CD) ** [B]
  285. Hendrik Meurkens: Harmonicus Rex (Height Advantage) [B+(*)]
  286. Camila Meza: Traces (Sunnyside) ** [B]
  287. Michelson Morley: Strange Courage (Babel) ** [B+(*)]
  288. Rale Micic: Night Music (Whaling City Sound) [B+(*)]
  289. Sei Miguel: (Five) Stories Untold (Clean Feed) [B+(**)]
  290. Allison Miller's Boom Tic Boom: Otis Was a Polar Bear (Royal Potato Family) ** [B+(**)]
  291. Dave Miller: Old Door Phantoms (Ears & Eyes) [B-]
  292. Russ Miller and the Jazz Orchestra: You and the Night and the Music (Doctheory) [B+(*)]
  293. Nick Millevoi: Desertion (Shhpuma) [B+(**)]
  294. Minim Experiment: Dark Matter (ForTune) ** [B+(**)]
  295. Bob Mintzer: All L.A. Band (Fuzzy Music) [B+(*)]
  296. Cameron Mizell: Negative Spaces (Destiny) [B]
  297. Modus Factor: The Picasso Zone (Browntasaurus) [B+(**)]
  298. Moker: Ladder (El Negocito) ** [B+(*)]
  299. Moksha: The Beauty of an Arbitrary Moment (Jazzland) ** [B+(*)]
  300. Hedvig Mollestad Trio: Black Stabat Mater (Rune Grammofon) ** [B+(*)]
  301. Nils Petter Molvaer: Buoyancy (Okeh) ** [B+(*)]
  302. Jane Monheit: The Songbook Sessions: Ella Fitzgerald (Emerald City) [B+(*)]
  303. Meredith Monk: On Behalf of Nature (ECM) ** [B+(*)]
  304. Moonbow: When the Sleeping Fish Turn Red and the Skies Start to Sing in C Major I Will Follow You to the End (ILK) [B+(**)]
  305. Tony Moreno: Short Stories (Mayimba Jazz, 2CD) [B+(**)]
  306. Moskus: Ulv Ulv (Hubro) ** [B+(**)]
  307. Motif: My Head is Listening (Clean Feed) ** [B+(**)]
  308. John Moulder: Earthborn Tales of Soul and Spirit (Origin) [B]
  309. Jack Mouse & Scott Robinson with Janice Borla: Three Story Sandbox (Tall Grass) [B+(*)]
  310. Moutin Factory Quintet: Deep (Blujazz) [B+(*)]
  311. Tisziji Muńoz: Heart Ground (Anami Music) ** [B+(*)]
  312. Mark Murphy: Slip Away (Mini Movie) [B]
  313. Wolfgang Muthspiel: Rising Grace (ECM) ** [B+(**)]
  314. Amina Claudine Myers: Sama Rou: Songs From My Soul (Amina C) ** [B+(*)]
  315. Myriad 3: Moons (ALMA) [B+(*)]
  316. Simon Nabatov Trio: Picking Order (Leo) ** [B+(**)]
  317. Quinsin Nachoff: Flux (Mythology) [B+(**)]
  318. Naima: Bye (Cuneiform) ** [B+(*)]
  319. Naked Truth: Avian Thug (Rare Noise) * [B+(*)]
  320. Naked Wolf: Ahum (Clean Feed) [B+(*)]
  321. Qasim Naqvi: Chronology (New Amsterdam) ** [B]
  322. Ted Nash Big Band: Presidential Suite: Eight Variations on Freedom (Motema, 2CD) ** [B]
  323. Roy Nathanson: Nearness and You (Clean Feed)
  324. Anthony E. Nelson Jr.: Swift to Hear, Slow to Speak (Music Stand) [B+(*)]
  325. Scott Neumann/Tom Christensen: Spin Cycle (Sound Footing) [B+(*)]
  326. New Standard Jazz Orchestra: Waltz About Nothing (OA2) [B-]
  327. New Zion w. Cyro: Sunshine Seas (Rare Noise) * [B+(**)]
  328. Bryan Nichols: Looking North (Shifting Paradigm) [B+(**)]
  329. Pascal Niggenkemper Le 7čme Continent: Talking Trash (Clean Feed) [B+(**)]
  330. Nine Live: Sonus Inenarribilis: Nine Live Plays the Music of John Clark (Mulatta) [B]
  331. Sebastian Noelle: Shelter (Fresh Sound New Talent) * [B]
  332. Noertker's Moxie & the Melancholics: Curious Worlds: The Art & Imagination of David Beck (Edgetone) [B+(*)]
  333. Nonch Harpin': Native Sons (self-released) [B-]
  334. Sean Noonan: Memorable Sticks (ForTune) ** [B]
  335. Northern Winds and Voices: Inside/Outside (Sisällä/Ulkona) (Edgetone) [B+(*)]
  336. The Nu Band: The Final Concert (NoBusiness) * [B+(**)]
  337. Lina Nyberg: Aerials (Hoob Jazz, 2CD) ** [B+(**)]
  338. The Oatmeal Jazz Combo: Instant Oats (LGY) [B+(*)]
  339. Dick Oatts/Mats Holmquist/New York Jazz Orchestra: A Tribute to Herbie +1 (Summit) [B+(*)]
  340. Ray Obiedo: Latin Jazz Project Vol. 1 (Rhythmus) [B+(**)]
  341. Roberto Occhipinti: Stabilimento (Modica Music) [B]
  342. Arturo O'Farrill Sextet: Boss Level (Zoho) ** [B+(*)]
  343. Nils Řkland: Kjřlvatn (ECM) ** [B+(**)]
  344. Adam O'Farrill: Stranger Days (Sunnyside) ** [B+(**)]
  345. One for All: The Third Decade (Smoke Sessions) ** [B+(**)]
  346. Os Clavelitos: Arriving (self-released) [B-]
  347. Francisco Pais Lotus Project: Verde (Product of Imagination) [B+(*)]
  348. Pale Horse: Badlands (5049) ** [B+(*)]
  349. Jason Palmer/Cedric Hanriot: City of Poets (Whirlwind) [B+(**)]
  350. Jason Palmer: Beauty 'N' Numbers: The Sudoku Suite (SteepleChase) ** [B+(**)]
  351. Phil Parisot: Lingo (OA2) [B+(*)]
  352. Jeff Parker: The New Breed (International Anthem) ** [B]
  353. Jeff Parker: Slight Freedom (Eremite) ** [B+(**)]
  354. Matt Parker Trio: Present Time (BYNK) [B+(**)]
  355. William Parker: Stan's Hat Flapping in the Wind (Centering/AUM Fidelity) ** [B+(**)]
  356. Parker Abbott Trio: Elevation (self-released) [B]
  357. Aaron Parks/Thomas Fonnesbaek/Karsten Bagge: Groovements (Stunt) ** [B+(**)]
  358. Kat Parra: Songbook of the Americas (Jazzma) [B]
  359. Bruno Parrinha/Luis Lopes/Ricardo Jacinto: Garden (Clean Feed) [B+(**)]
  360. Nicholas Payton: Textures (Paytone) ** [B-]
  361. Felix Peikli & Joe Doubleday: It's Showtime! (self-released) [B+(*)]
  362. Florian Pellissier Quintet: Cap De Bonne Esperance (Heavenly Sweetness) ** [B+(**)]
  363. Luis Perdomo: Montage (Hot Tone Music) [B+(*)]
  364. Sergio Pereira: Swingando (self-released) [B+(*)]
  365. Luis Perdomo: Spirits and Warriors (Criss Cross) ** [B+(**)]
  366. Ivo Perelman/Karl Berger: The Hitchhiker (Leo) [B+(**)]
  367. Ivo Perelman/Matthew Shipp: Corpo (Leo) [B+(*)]
  368. Ivo Perelman/Matthew Shipp/Gerald Cleaver: The Art of the Improv Trio Volume 3 (Leo) [B+(**)]
  369. Christian Perez: Anima Mundi (CPM) [B]
  370. Laura Perlman: Precious Moments (Miles High) [B+(*)]
  371. Ralph Peterson/Zaccai Curtis/Luques Curtis: Triangular III (Truth Revolution/Onyx Music) ** [B+(**)]
  372. Phronesis: Parallax (Edition) ** [B+(**)]
  373. Enrico Pieranunzi with Simona Severini: My Songbook (Via Veneto) ** [B+(*)]
  374. Roberta Piket: One for Marian: Celebrating Marian McPartland (Thirteenth Note) [B+(*)]
  375. Richard Pinhas/Barry Cleveland: Mu (Cuneiform) ** [B+(**)]
  376. John Pizzarelli: Sinatra & Jobim @ 50 (Concord) ** [B-]
  377. Gregory Porter: Take Me to the Alley (Blue Note) ** [B-]
  378. Pram Trio: Saga Thirteen (self-released) [B]
  379. Noah Preminger: Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground (self-released) [B+(*)]
  380. Bobby Previte: Mass (RareNoise) * [C+]
  381. Bobby Previte & the Visitors: Gone (ForTune) ** [B+(*)]
  382. Jemal Ramirez: Pomponio (First Orbit Sounds Music) [B+(*)]
  383. Ratatet: Arctic (Ridgeway) [B]
  384. Joshua Redman & Brad Mehldau: Nearness (Nonesuch) ** [B+(**)]
  385. Scott Reeves Jazz Orchestra: Portraits and Places (Origin) [B-]
  386. Dave Rempis/Elisabeth Harnik/Michael Zerang: Wistfully (Aerophonic) ** [B+(*)]
  387. Dave Rempis/Joe Morris/Tomeka Reid/Jim Baker: Nettles (Aeroponic) ** [B+(*)]
  388. Dave Rempis/Darren Johnston/Larry Ochs: Neutral Nation (Aerophonic) ** [B]
  389. ResAUnance: Migration (FMR) [B+(**)]
  390. Restroy: Saturn Return (Milk Factory) [B+(*)]
  391. Rhythm Future Quartet: Travels (Magic Fiddle Music) [B+(*)]
  392. Marc Ribot/The Young Philadelphians: Live in Tokyo (Yellowbird) [B+(**)]
  393. Logan Richardson: Shift (Blue Note) ** [B+(*)]
  394. Herlin Riley: New Direction (Mack Avenue) ** [B+(*)]
  395. Rocco John Quartet: Embrace the Change (Unseen Rain) [B+(**)]
  396. Alfredo Rodriguez: Tocororo (Mack Avenue/Qwest) [B+(**)]
  397. Renee Rosnes: Written in the Rocks (Smoke Sessions) ** [B]
  398. Ned Rothenberg/Mark Feldman/Sylvie Courvoisier: In Cahoots (Clean Feed) [B+(**)]
  399. Jim Rotondi: Dark Blue (Smoke Sessions) ** [B+(*)]
  400. Jerome Sabbagh/Simon Jermyn/Allison Miller: Lean (Music Wizards) [B+(**)]
  401. Carol Saboya: Carolina (AAM) [B+(*)]
  402. Samo Salamon/Stefano Battaglia: Winds (Sazas/Klopotec) [B+(**)]
  403. Sao Paulo Underground: Cantos Invisiveis (Cuneiform) ** [B+(**)]
  404. Ken Schaphorst Big Band: How to Say Goodbye (JCA) [B+(*)]
  405. Daniel Schmitz/Johannes Schmitz/Jörg Fischer: Botanic Mob (Sporeprint) [B+(**)]
  406. Adam Schneit Band: Light Shines In (Fresh Sound New Talent) * [B+(**)]
  407. J. Peter Schwalm: The Beauty of Disaster (Rare Noise) * [B+(**)]
  408. John Scofield: Country for Old Men (Impulse!) ** [B+(*)]
  409. Richard Sears Sextet: Altadena (Ropeadope) ** [B+(**)]
  410. Mikael Seifu: Zelalem (RVNG Intl, EP) ** [B+(*)]
  411. Trygve Seim: Rumi Songs (ECM) ** [B]
  412. Jim Self and the Tricky Lix Latin Jazz Band: ˇYo! (Basset Hound) [B]
  413. Sex Mob: Cultural Capital (Rex) ** [B+(**)]
  414. Julian Shore: Which Way Now (Tone Rogue) [B]
  415. Deborah Shulman: My Heart's in the Wind (Summit) [B+(*)]
  416. Naomi Moon Siegel: Shoebox View (self-released) ** [B+(*)]
  417. Silva/Rasmussen/Solberg: Free Electric Band (ForTune) ** [B+(*)]
  418. Edward Simon: Latin American Songbook (Sunnyside) ** [B+(**)]
  419. Nana Simopoulos: Skins (Na) [B+(**)]
  420. Sirius Quartet: Paths Become Lines (Autentico) [B+(*)]
  421. Enoch Smith Jr.: The Quest: Live at APC (Misfitme Music) [C]
  422. Ches Smith: The Bell (ECM) ** [B+(*)]
  423. Dr. Lonnie Smith: Evolution (Blue Note) ** [B]
  424. Tommy Smith: Modern Jacobite (Spartacus) [B-]
  425. Snaggle: The Long Slog (Browntasaurus) [B-]
  426. Snarky Puppy: Culcha Vulcha (Decca) ** [C+]
  427. Snarky Puppy: Family Dinner Volume Two (Decca) ** [B-]
  428. Ferenc Snétberger: In Concert (ECM) ** [B+(*)]
  429. Jim Snidero: MD66 (Savant) * [B+(**)]
  430. Mark Solborg & Herb Robertson: Tuesday Prayers (ILK) ** [B]
  431. Soul Basement feat. Jay Nemor: What We Leave Behind (ITI) [B+(*)]
  432. Sound Underground: Quiet Spaces (Tiny Music) [B+(*)]
  433. Esperanza Spalding: Emily's D+Evolution (Concord) ** [B]
  434. Vinnie Sperrazza/Jacob Sacks/Masa Kamaguchi: Play Tadd Dameron (Fresh Sound New Talent) ** [B+(**)]
  435. Michael Spiro/Wayne Wallace/La Orquesta Sinfonietta: Canto América (Patois) [B-]
  436. Kandace Springs: Soul Eyes (Blue Note) ** [B]
  437. Tomasz Sroczynski Trio: Primal (ForTune) ** [B+(**)]
  438. Ron Stabinsky: Free for One (Hot Cup) [B+(*)]
  439. Starlite Motel: Awosting Falls (Clean Feed) [B+(*)]
  440. Peggy Stern: Z Octet (Estrella Productions) [B+(*)]
  441. Colin Stetson: Sorrow: A Reimagining of Gorecki\'s 3rd Symphony (52Hz) ** [B-]
  442. Michael Jefry Stevens: Brass Tactics (Konnex) ** [B+(*)]
  443. Bill Stewart: Space Squid (Pirouet) ** [B+(*)]
  444. Eric St-Laurent: Planet (Katzenmusik) [B+(*)]
  445. John Stowell/Michael Zilber Quartet: Basement Blues (Origin) [B+(**)]
  446. Marcus Strickland's Twi-Life: Nihil Novi (Blue Note) ** [B-]
  447. Zhenya Strigalev: Never Group (Whirlwind) [B+(**)]
  448. Al Strong: Love Strong Volume 1 (Al Strong Music) [B+(**)]
  449. Sundae + Mr. Goessl: Makes My Heart Sway (self-released) [B+(**)]
  450. Richard Sussman: The Evolution Suite (Zoho) [B]
  451. Lew Tabackin Trio: Soundscapes (self-released) [B+(**)]
  452. Vladimir Tarasov/Eugenius Kanevicius/Ludas Mockunas: Intuitus (NoBusiness) * [B+(**)]
  453. Gregory Tardy: Chasing After the Wind (SteepleChase) ** [B]
  454. Tell Tale: Film in Music (Drip Audio) [B+(*)]
  455. Throttle Elevator Music: IV (Wide Hive) ** [B+(**)]
  456. Bruce Torff: Down the Line (Summit) [B]
  457. Trio Da Paz: 30 (Zoho Music) ** [B+(**)]
  458. Trio Red Space: Fields of Flat (Relay) ** [B+(**)]
  459. Steve Turre: Colors for the Masters (Smoke Sessions) ** [B+(**)]
  460. Twenty One 4tet: Live at Zaal 100 (Clean Feed) [B+(**)]
  461. Twin Talk (Ears & Eyes) [B+(*)]
  462. The U.S. Army Blues: Live at Blues Alley (self-released) [C]
  463. The U.S. Army Blues: Swamp Romp: Voodoo Boogaloo (self-released) [B]
  464. Peter Van Huffel/Alex Maksymiw: Kronix (Fresh Sound New Talent) ** [B+(*)]
  465. Andrew Van Tassel: It's Where You Are (Tone Rogue) [B+(*)]
  466. Marcos Varela: San Ygnacio (Origin) [B]
  467. Carlos Vega: Bird's Ticket (Origin) [B+(*)]
  468. Ray Vega & Thomas Marriott: Return of the East West Trumpet Summit (Origin) [B+(**)]
  469. Glauco Venier: Miniatures: Music for Piano and Percussion (ECM) ** [B+(**)]
  470. Martti Vesala Soundpost Quintet: Helsinki Soundpost (Ozella) ** [B]
  471. David Virelles: Antenna (ECM, EP) ** [B+(**)]
  472. Miroslav Vitous: Music of Weather Report (ECM) ** [B+(**)]
  473. Cuong Vu/Pat Metheny: Cuong Vu Trio Meets Pat Metheny (Nonesuch) ** [B+(*)]
  474. Ernie Watts Quartet: Wheel of Time (Flying Dolphin) [B+(**)]
  475. The Doug Webb Quartet: Sets the Standard (VSOP) ** [B+(*)]
  476. Dan Weiss: Sixteen: Drummers Suite (Pi) [B]
  477. Scott Whitfield: New Jazz Standards (Volume 2) (Summit) [B+(*)]
  478. Steve Wiest and Phröntrange: The High Road (Blujazz) [B-]
  479. Anthony Wilson: Frogtown (Goat Hill) ** [B+(*)]
  480. Florian Wittenburg: Eagle Prayer (NurNichtNur) [B+(**)]
  481. Nate Wooley: Argonautica (Firehouse 12) ** [B+(**)]
  482. Nate Wooley: Seven Storey Mountain V (Pleasure of the Text) ** [B+(*)]
  483. Nate Wooley/Hugo Antunes/Jorge Queijo/Mario Costa/Chris Corsano: Purple Patio (NoBusiness) * [B]
  484. WorldService Project: For King and Country (Rare Noise) * [D+]
  485. Rik Wright's Fundamental Forces: Subtle Energy (Hipsync) [B+(*)]
  486. Pawel Wszolek Quintet: Faith (ForTune) ** [B+(**)]
  487. Eri Yamamoto Trio: Life (AUM Fidelity) ** [B+(**)]
  488. Basak Yavuz: A Little Red Bug (Things&) [B+(**)]
  489. C. Spencer Yeh & Ken Vandermark: Schlager (Audiographic) ** [B+(**)]
  490. Yellowjackets: Cohearence (Mack Avenue) ** [B+(**)]
  491. Brandee Younger: Wax & Wane (Revive, EP) ** [B+(*)]
  492. Dhafer Youssef: Diwan of Beauty and Odd (Okeh) ** [B]
  493. Yussef Kamaal: Black Focus (Brownswood) ** [B+(*)]
  494. Peter Zak: Standards (SteepleChase) ** [B+(*)]
  495. Zarabande: El Toro (AFlo) [B+(*)]
  496. Denny Zeitlin: Early Wayne: Explorations of Classic Wayne Shorter Compositions (Sunnyside) ** [B+(*)]
  497. Christopher Zuar Orchestra: Musings (Sunnyside) [B+(**)]

Additional reissued/archival jazz records rated B+(**) or below (listed alphabetically by artist).

  1. Albert Ayler: European Radio Studio Recordings 1964 (Hatology) ** [B+(**)]
  2. Harry Beckett: Still Happy (1974, My Only Desire, EP) ** [B]
  3. Borah Bergman/Peter Brötzmann/Frode Gjerstad: Left (1996, Not Two) ** [B+(**)]
  4. Brother Ahh/Sounds of Awareness: Move Ever Onward (1975, Manufactured) ** [B-]
  5. Brother Ah and the Sounds of Awareness: Key to Nowhere (1983, Manufactured) ** [B+(*)]
  6. Miles Davis Quintet: Freedom Jazz Dance [The Bootleg Series Vol. 5] (1966-68, Columbia/Legacy, 3CD) ** [B+(*)]
  7. Peter Erskine Trio/John Taylor/Palle Danielsson: As It Was (1992-97, ECM, 4CD) ** [B+(*)]
  8. Ella Fitzgerald: Jazz at the Philharmonic: The Ella Fitzgerald Set (1949-54, Verve) ** [B+(*)]
  9. Erroll Garner: Ready Take One (1967-71, Legacy) ** [B+(*)]
  10. Dizzy Gillespie & Friends: Concert of the Century: A Tribute to Charlie Parker (1980, Justin Time) ** [B+(*)]
  11. Daunik Lazro/Joëlle Léandre/George Lewis: Enfances 8 Janv. 1984 (Fou) [B+(*)]
  12. Joëlle Léandre: No Comment (1994-95, Fou) [B]
  13. Allen Lowe: Julius Hemphill Plays the Music of Allen Lowe (1989-91, self-released) ** [B+(**)]
  14. Chris McGregor & the Castle Lager Big Band: Jazz/The African Sound (1963, Jazzman) ** [B+(**)]
  15. Joe McPhee & Raymond Boni: Live From the Magic City (Birmingham, Alabama) (1985, Trost) ** [B+(**)]
  16. Joe Newman Sextet: The Happy Cats (1956, Fresh Sound) ** [B+(*)]
  17. Arthur Williams: Forgiveness Suite (1979, NoBusiness) * [B+(**)]
  18. Born to Be Blue: Music From the Motion Picture (Rhino) ** [B+(*)]
  19. Miles Ahead [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack] (Columbia/Legacy) ** [B+(*)]

New jazz records I haven't heard estimated to have a 2% (or better) chance of making the A-list if/when I finally hear them:

  1. Rez Abbasi & Junction: Behind the Vibration (Cuneiform)
  2. Jerry Bergonzi: Spotlight on Standards (Savant)
  3. Tim Berne's Snakeoil: Angus Oleum (Screwgun)
  4. Michael Bisio & Kirk Knuffke: Row for William O (Relative Pitch)
  5. Jakob Bro: Streams (ECM)
  6. Peter Brotzmann/William Parker/Hamid Drake: Song Sentimale (Otoroku)
  7. Robert Dick: Our Cells Know (Tzadik)
  8. Christy Doran's Sound Fountain: Belle Epoque (Between the Lines)
  9. Ellery Eskelin: Trio Willisau Live (Hatology)
  10. Daniel Freedman: Imagine That (Anzic)
  11. Tomas Fujiwara/Ben Goldberg/Mary Halvorson: The Out Louds (Relative Pitch)
  12. Charles Gayle/Roger Turner/John Edwards: 26.05.15 (OtoRoku)
  13. Tom Harrell: Something Gold Something Blue (HighNote)
  14. Bret Higgins: Bret Higgins' Atlas Revolt (Tzadik)
  15. Jemeel Moondoc & Hilliard Greene: Cosmic Nickelodeon (Relative Pitch)
  16. Jason Moran: The Armory Concert (Yes)
  17. Wolfgang Muthspiel: Rising Grace (ECM)
  18. Jeremy Pelt: #Jiveculture (HighNote)
  19. Colin Stetson: Sorrow: A Reimagining of Gorecki's 3rd Symphony (52Hz)
  20. Craig Taborn: Flaga: The Book of Angels Vol 27 (Tzadik)

Reissued jazz records I haven't heard estimated to have a 2% (or better) chance of making the A-list if/when I finally hear them: