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Your Favorite Albums of the Decade


Robert Middleton

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Not everyone likes lists like this, but I do. I'm kinda obsessed with creating playlists of my favorite albums. This is not a "best of the decade list." Who knows what the best really is? But you do know what you liked the most, listened to the most and generally obsessed over. Here's my list of favorites from 2010 through 2019. What are yours? Current albums only, not reissues. 

Deluxe - Chris Lightcap

Dulces - Billy Fox

Pathways - Dave Holland

Beat Therapy - Dmitri Tymoczko

Hearts Wide Open - Gilad Hekselman

On the Go - Matthew Halsall

The Creep - Ted Nash

The Troubles - The Troubles

Quartette Humaine - Bob James, David Sanborn

Trios - Carla Bley

Harmonious Creatures - Sarah Manning

Instead - Collocutor

Live in Larissa - Nat Birchall

New Song - Omer Avital

Blue Blue - Bengt Berger

Madeleine - Ghost Rhythms

Silent Understanding - Double Pulse

The Time Inside a Year - Dave McDonnell

Beam Me Up - Shauli Einav

Early Americans - Jane Ira Bloom

Homage - Adam Niewood

I Long to See You - Charles Lloyd

Oceanic Suite - Atlantis Jazz Ensemble

What We Bring - Ben Wendell

Hudson - Hudson

La Saboteuse - Yass Ahmed

Layers of the City - Ben Allison

Translator's Note - Oded Tzur

Awase - Nik Barsch's Ronin

Nubaya's 5ive - Nubya Garcia

There is a Place - Maisha

Blume - Nerija

Fyah - Theon Cross

Glitter Wolf - Allison Miller

Good Hope - Dave Holland, Chris Potter, Zakir Hussain

My album of the decade: Nubaya's 5ive - Nubya Garcia

NOTE: I culled this list of 35 down from a list of 100. These really are my desert island disks of the decade. 

Cheers, Robert 

Edited by Robert Middleton
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Robert, I love these list-type threads -- if only to see what others are grooving to. :tup 

I started a similar thread on jazz favorites in the 21st century, so it's focused on the last twenty years instead of the last tenClick here if you'd like to take a look.

More grist for the mill of discussion. :) 

 

EDIT:
Here's my shortened list, modified for this thread:

JD Allen – Radio Flyer (Savant)
Kenny Barron – Concentric Circles (Blue Note)
Richie Beirach – Impressions of Tokyo: Ancient City of the Future (Out Note)
The Brazilian Trio – Constelação (Motéma)
Joey Calderrazo – Live (Sunnyside)
Bill Carrothers – Castaways (Pirouet)
Marc Cary Focus Trio – Four Directions (Motéma)
Ryan Cohan – The River (Motéma)
Adam Cruz – Milestone (Sunnyside)
Alexis Cuadrado – A Lorca Soundscape (Sunnyside)
Duduka Da Fonseca – New Samba Jazz Directions (Zoho)
Orrin Evans – Flip the Script (Posi-Tone)
Tom Harrell – Trip (HighNote)
Donald Harrison with Ron Carter & Billy Cobham – This Is Jazz (Half Note) 
Billy Hart Quartet – One is the Other (ECM)
Pablo Held – Elders (Pirouet)
Frank Kimbrough – Solstice (Pirouet)
Dave Liebman Group: Expansions – Live (Whaling City Sound)
Joe Lovano Us Five – Bird Songs (Blue Note)
Jason Moran – Ten (Blue Note)
Bill O'Connell + the Latin Jazz All Stars – Zócalo (Savant)
Chico O'Farrill & the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra – 40 Acres and a Burro (Zoho)
Enrico Pieranunzi with Scott Colley & Antonio Sanchez – Permutation (CamJazz)
Alfredo Rodriguez – The Invasion Parade (Mack Avenue)
Martial Solal – My One and Only Love: Live at Theater Gütersloh (Intuition)
Wayne Shorter Quartet – Without a Net (Blue Note)
Steve Turre – Delicious and Delightful (HighNote)
Mads Vinding, Jean-Michel Pilc, Billy Hart – Open Minds (Storyville)
Kenny Werner – The Melody (Pirouet)
Larry Willis – This Time the Dream's On Me (HighNote)

Edited by HutchFan
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Something like this:

1. Hera & Hamid Drake - Seven Lines (2013)
2. John Coltrane - Both Directions at Once (2018)
3. John Coltrane - Offering (2014)
4. Abdullah Ibrahim - The Song Is My Story (2014)
5. Angles 9 - Injuries (2014)
6. Anouar Brahem / Dave Holland / Jack DeJohnette / Django Bates - Blue Maqams (2017)
7. Avishai Cohen Trio - From Darkness (2015)
8. Elina Duni Quartet - Matanë Malit (2012)
9. The New Woody Shaw Quintet - Vol.1: At Onkel Pö's Carnegie Hall Hamburg 1982 (2017)
10. Tord Gustavsen / Simin Tander / Jarle Vespestad - What Was Said (2016)

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5 hours ago, HutchFan said:

Hey, Hutch,

I have about a dozen of yours in my collection, but none of them are my faves. :-)

Always interesting how an album that is thrilling to one person leaves another indifferent.

Right now I’m going a little nutso about the London jazz scene. Highly talented young players with music that really grooves. At the top of the list is Nubya Garcia whose first album, Nubya’s 5ive, (2017) became quite popular and she’s drawing large crowds everywhere she plays. Check her out on YouTube. I’m gobsmacked, but nobody is for everybody. There are a ton of articles on the London jazz scene online if you want to check it out.

Cheers, R
 

Robert, I love these list-type threads -- if only to see what others are grooving to. :tup 

I started a similar thread on jazz favorites in the 21st century, so it's focused on the last twenty years instead of the last tenClick here if you'd like to take a look.

More grist for the mill of discussion. :) 

 

EDIT:
Here's my shortened list, modified for this thread:

JD Allen – Radio Flyer (Savant)
Kenny Barron – Concentric Circles (Blue Note)
Richie Beirach – Impressions of Tokyo: Ancient City of the Future (Out Note)
The Brazilian Trio – Constelação (Motéma)
Joey Calderrazo – Live (Sunnyside)
Bill Carrothers – Castaways (Pirouet)
Marc Cary Focus Trio – Four Directions (Motéma)
Ryan Cohan – The River (Motéma)
Adam Cruz – Milestone (Sunnyside)
Alexis Cuadrado – A Lorca Soundscape (Sunnyside)
Duduka Da Fonseca – New Samba Jazz Directions (Zoho)
Orrin Evans – Flip the Script (Posi-Tone)
Tom Harrell – Trip (HighNote)
Donald Harrison with Ron Carter & Billy Cobham – This Is Jazz (Half Note) 
Billy Hart Quartet – One is the Other (ECM)
Pablo Held – Elders (Pirouet)
Frank Kimbrough – Solstice (Pirouet)
Dave Liebman Group: Expansions – Live (Whaling City Sound)
Joe Lovano Us Five – Bird Songs (Blue Note)
Jason Moran – Ten (Blue Note)
Bill O'Connell + the Latin Jazz All Stars – Zócalo (Savant)
Chico O'Farrill & the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra – 40 Acres and a Burro (Zoho)
Enrico Pieranunzi with Scott Colley & Antonio Sanchez – Permutation (CamJazz)
Martial Solal – My One and Only Love: Live at Theater Gütersloh (Intuition)
Wayne Shorter Quartet – Without a Net (Blue Note)
Steve Turre – Delicious and Delightful (HighNote)
Mads Vinding, Jean-Michel Pilc, Billy Hart – Open Minds (Storyville)
Kenny Werner – The Melody (Pirouet)
Larry Willis – This Time the Dream's On Me (HighNote)

 

8 hours ago, colinmce said:

Image may contain: text

Boy, not only do I not have any of these, I haven’t heard of most of the artists! The jazz world is vast.

Cheers, R

3 hours ago, Д.Д. said:

Ok, well, I do have the Steve Lehman! Pretty amazing album. His latest is great, too. I’ll check out the others.

Cheers, R

Edited by Robert Middleton
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4 hours ago, Robert Middleton said:

Hey, Hutch,

I have about a dozen of yours in my collection, but none of them are my faves. :-)

Always interesting how an album that is thrilling to one person leaves another indifferent.

So true.  De gustibus non est disputandum:)

 

4 hours ago, Robert Middleton said:

Right now I’m going a little nutso about the London jazz scene. Highly talented young players with music that really grooves. At the top of the list is Nubya Garcia whose first album, Nubya’s 5ive, (2017) became quite popular and she’s drawing large crowds everywhere she plays. Check her out on YouTube. I’m gobsmacked, but nobody is for everybody. There are a ton of articles on the London jazz scene online if you want to check it out.

I've been reading a bit about the UK jazz scene, but I haven't had much of a chance to dig into it yet.  For quite a while, I've been focused on my 70s blog project.  Looks like there's a lot to discover there though! :tup 

 

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2 hours ago, HutchFan said:

So true.  De gustibus non est disputandum:)

 

I've been reading a bit about the UK jazz scene, but I haven't had much of a chance to dig into it yet.  For quite a while, I've been focused on my 70s blog project.  Looks like there's a lot to discover there though! :tup 

 

What is your 70’s blog project? 70’s Jazz, the decade jazz changed dramatically? Do you have a link?

Cheers R.

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57 minutes ago, HutchFan said:

URL: https://jazzinthe70s.blogspot.com

And here's a thread about the blog on this site: 

 

Hutch, this is fantastic. I know what it takes to write something regularly. I’ve written an ezine/blog for my business once a week for 22 years. But I can’t quite imagine writing something so comprehensive for a full year. And your writing is terrific. Full of color and love for you topic. I will be a dedicated reader!! And I expect to discover some real gems.

Cheers, R

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Here is an “off the top of my head” list for the decade starting with the great box sets 

all 4 of the Barry Guy Small Formations boxes - first 2 from the members of the New Orchestra and the most recent 2 from members of the Blue Shroud Band:

Mad Dogs - 4 CD’s

Mad Dogs On The Loose - 4 CD’s 

Tensegrity - 4 CD’s 

Intensegrity - 5 CD’s

then the other boxes:

Joelle Leandre: A Woman’s Work - 8 CD’s 

Zlatko Kaucic: Diversity - 5 CD’s

Per Ake Holmlander Carliot - It’s Never Too Late Orchestra - 3 CD’s

Peter Brotzmann - Long Story Short - 5 CD’s

Agusti Fernandez: River Tiger Fire - 4 CD’s

Anthony Braxton: Quartet (New Haven) 2014 - 4 CD’s 

Mats Gustafsson - 50th Birthday Celebration - Peace and Fire - 3 CD’s

all 3 DKV boxes but I like Sound in Motion the best - 5 CD’s from 2013-14 shows

single or double CD releases:

Peter Brotzmann Tentet: Love, Walk & Sleep - 2 CD’s

Dragonfly Breath: !!!!

Mats Gustafsson, Peter Evans & Agusti Fernandez: A Quietness of Water

DKV Trio: Latitude 

Rodrigo Amado: Searching for Adam, The Flame Alphabet, This is Our Language and The Freedom Principle

Joelle Leandre Sudo Quartet - with Carlos Zingaro, Sebi Tramontana & Paul Lovens 

Fire! Orchestra: both Exit & Enter

Ken Vandermark Resonance Ensemble: Head Above Water, Feet Out of the Fire - 2 CD’s

a bunch from Dave Rempis - at least 5 or 6 that deserve mention. Start with Kuzu & From Wolves to Whales 

Agusti Fernandez Celebration Ensemble

Angelika Niescer New York Trio: The Berlin Concert

Tom Rainey Trio: Hotel Grief

Jury Wickiehalder Trio: Beyond

John Butcher with Red Trio: Summer Skyscape

Joe Morris, Joe McPhee, Jamie Saft & Charles Downs: Ticonderoga

Parker-Guy-Lytton: Music for David Mossman - Live at the Vortex

Before the Silence with Albert Cirera on saxophones and a stunning band

North and the Red Stream: Red Trio & Mattias Stahl

Joe McPhee - maybe too many to count but start with Journey to Parazzar

 

 

That's just a start

really many many more on labels like Relative Pitch that might be on the edge of Jazz. Things like Bind the Hands that Feed with Michael Foster, Katherine Young and Michael Zerang. So much recent game changing and mind boggling great recordings and live NYC performances that any listing of these things doesn’t give the current wide swath of improvised music it’s due credit

 

Old Smoke, baby

 

 

  

 

 

Edited by Steve Reynolds
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Yay lists!  Here's mine for the decade just past (or not):

Mary Halvorson/Bill Frisell:  Girl With the Flaxen Hair (Johnny Smith tribute), this is the record that turned me around on Halvorson

Lonnie Smith:  All In My Mind (Blue Note), simple straight forward live date with working trio, greasy and spacey

John Scofield - Country For Old Men, not as good as the live date in support I saw, but a great concept

JD Allen - Graffiti, this grabbed me in a way his others haven't, it's got that Sax Colossus/Our Man in Paris swagger

Rolling Stones - Blue & Lonesome, finally the album the've been threatening to make for decades

William Bell - This is Where I Live (Stax), not a recreation of vintage Stax but certainly rooted in it

Enrico Rava - On the Dance Floor (ECM), an MJ tribute, live with a big band, putting him in a context ranging from Sousa to JB

Regina Carter - Southern Comfort, a tribute to her coal miner forbearers

an I'm sure I forgot one or two.  do Sonny R's Road Show comps count?

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