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Top Ten: February 2015
Rez Abbasi Acoustic Quartet, Intents and Purposes (Enja) Lotte Anker, What River Is This (ILK) Andy Brown, Soloist (Delmark) Ben Goldberg, Orphic Machine (BAG Productions) Allan Harris, Black Bar Jukebox (Love Productions) Vijay Iyer Trio, Break Stuff (ECM) Rudresh Mahanthappa, Bird Calls (ACT) Chris Potter Underground Orchestra, Imaginary Cities (ECM) Joe Sample & NDR Big Band, Children of the Sun
Top Ten: January 2015
Addison Frei, Intentions (Armored) Art Hirahara, Libations & Meditations (Posi-Tone) Wayne Horvitz & The Royal Room Collective Music Ensemble, At the Reception (Songlines) Justin Kauflin, Dedication (Jazz Village) Tony Malaby’s Tubacello, Scorpion Eater (Clean Feed) Jack Mouse & Scott Robinson, Snakeheads & Ladybugs (Tall Grass) Sam Newsome, The Straight Horn of Africa: A Path to Liberation (ind.) Chris Potter Underground
Top Ten: December 2014
Michael Blake, Tiddy Boom (Sunnyside) Jimmy Greene, A Beautiful Life (Mack Avenue) Louis Hayes, Return of the Jazz Communicators (Smoke Sessions) Owen Howard, Drum Lore Vol. 2: More Lore (BJU) Dave Liebman’s Expansions, Samsara (Whaling City) David Ryshpan, Alicuanta (ind.) Dayna Stephens, Peace (Sunnyside) Lennie Tristano, Chicago April 1951 (Uptown) Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, Over Time: Music of Bob Brookmeyer (Planet
On Bobby Avey
This review appears in the November 2014 issue of The New York City Jazz Record. — Bobby Avey Authority Melts From Me (Whirlwind) By David R. Adler Inspired by a visit to Haiti in 2012, pianist Bobby Avey sought to develop his own musical response to the voudou drumming ensembles he studied. The result is Authority Melts From Me, featuring
Top Ten: November 2014
Jason Adasiewicz’s Sun Rooms, From the Region (Delmark) Andy Bey, Pages from an Imaginary Life (HighNote) Otis Brown III, The Thought of You (Blue Note) Charlie Haden-Jim Hall (Impulse!) Hush Point, Blues and Reds (Sunnyside) Introducing Musette Explosion (Aviary) Tyshawn Sorey, Alloy (Pi) Tom Varner, Nine Surprises (ind.) David Virelles, Mbókò: Sacred Music for Piano, Two Basses, Drum Set and
On Steve Cardenas
This review appears in the October December 2014 issue of The New York City Jazz Record. — Steve Cardenas Melody in a Dream (Sunnyside) By David R. Adler Though his output as a leader is somewhat sparse, guitarist Steve Cardenas brings a vibrancy and a shrewd air of restraint to every outing — the same qualities he’s shown as a sideman with
Top Ten: October 2014
The Bad Plus, Inevitable Western (Okeh) Paul Bollenback, Portraits in Space and Time (Mayimba) Darryl Harper, The Need’s Got to Be So Deep (Hipnotic) Steve Lehman Octet, Mise en Abîme (Pi) Michael Musillami Trio, Pride (Playscape) Matt Pavolka, The Horns Band (Fresh Sound New Talent) Anthony Pirog, Palo Colorado Dream (Cuneiform) Wadada Leo Smith, The Great Lakes Suites (TUM) Walter
On Noah Garabedian
This review appears in the September 2014 issue of The New York City Jazz Record. — Noah Garabedian Big Butter and the Eggmen (BJU) By David R. Adler In giving his debut album the title Big Butter and the Eggmen, bassist Noah Garabedian alludes to a 1926 classic (“Big Butter and Egg Man”) by Louis Armstrong’s Hot Five — the band that