Best of 2006

[LWayne]

I did not turn up any redundant results when searching for existing topics, so I will launch into am annual "best of" post with my personal picks for best new releases, reissues, and concerts of this past year. Same caution as always, except for the first few selections of each category, remaining picks are not in any descending order as far as designating favorites:

Artist Title Label

1 Andrew Hill Time Lines Blue Note

2 Frank Kimbrough Play Palmetto

3 Paul Motian Band Garden of Eden ECM

4 Chris Potter Underground Sunnyside

5 Randy Weston Zep Teppi Random Choice

6 Ben Allison Cowboy Justice Palmetto

7 Tomasz Stanko Quartet Lontano ECM

8 Raw Materials Raw Materials Savoy

9 Paul Motian On Broadway, Volume 4 Winter & Winter

10 Dave Holland Quartet Critical Mass Dare 2 Records

11 Ornette Coleman Sound Grammar Sound Grammar

12 Bill Frisell Bill Frisell, Ron Carter, Paul Motian Nonesuch

13 David Binney Cities and Desire Criss Cross

14 Ted Nash and Still Evolved In The Loop Palmetto

15 Louis Hayes & Cannonball Legacy Band Maximum Firepower Savant

16 Jack DeJohnette and Bill Frisell The Elephant Sleeps But Still Remembers Golden Beams

Overall a better year for new releases than last year IMHO. The depth of my list evidences that it was a good year for new and intriguing music. The top three: Andrew Hill, Frank Kimbrough, and Paul Motian would top a "best of" list any year as all three releases should stand the test of time.

It seems that I purchased a lot of Palmetto, ECM , and Blue Note releases this last year. My musician of the year must be Paul Motian, as he participated in no less than four of the selections on my list as well as being part of two of my favorite concerts of the year.

Reissues

Artist Title Label

1 Red Garland Trio At The Prelude Prestige

2 Dizzy Gillespie Verve/Phillips Small Group Sessions Mosaic

3 Gil Evans The Complete Pacific Jazz Sessions Blue Note

4 Lou Blackburn The Complete Imperial Sessions Blue Note

5 Bill Evans with Lee Konitz Play the Arrangements of Jimmy Giuffre Lonehill Jazz

6 Yusef Lateef Eastern Sounds Prestige

7 Herbie Nichols Trio Complete Studio Master Takes Lonehill Jazz

8 McCoy Tyner Sahara Mobile Fidelity

Not as strong as a year in reissues as compared to the recent past IMHO. Last year, with the releases of "undiscovered" recordings by Monk/Coltrane, Coltrane, and Parker/Gillespie certainly helped make 2005 a particularly strong reissue year. We really need more depth of field in Blue Note Connoisseurs for 2007.

Shows/ Concerts:

1. Paul Motian/ Joe Lovano/ Bill Frisell @ The Village Vanguard NYC 09/13/06

2. Frank Kimbrough/ Paul Motian/Jay Anderson @ The Jazz Standard NYC 07/13/06

3. Raw Materials (Vijay Iyer, Rudresh Mahanthappa) @ An Die Musik Baltimore 10/21/06

4. Henry Threadgill's Zooid @ The International House, Philadelphia 03/17/06

5. Chris Potter 's Underground Quartet @ Jazz Showcase, Chicago 02/02/06

6. Maria Schneider Orchestra @ Manchester Craftsmen's Guild, Pittsburgh 04/08/06

7. Randy Weston's African Rhythms & Gnawa Masters @ Tri-C JazzFest, Cleveland 04/27/06

8. Tomasz Stanko Quartet @ An Die Musik, Baltimore 10/24/06

9. Dave Holland Quintet @ Birdland NYC 01/19/06

10. Jack DeJohnette/ Bill Frisell/ Jerome Harris @ Boulder Theater, Denver 10/08/06

Tremendous year for live music. I was very fortunate to attend many shows and create some great memories that I will treasure.

LWayne

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Just to remind myself to join in later.

MG

[Nate Dorward]

Here's the list I've assembled. The starred items are ones that were released so late in 2006 (November-December) that they really ought to be counted towards a 2007 list. There are a few 2005 items here too.

1. Simon Fell, Compilation IV, Bruce’s Fingers

2. Trio BraamDeJoodeVatcher, Change This Song, BBB

3. Bobby Zankel and the Warriors of the Wonderful Sound, Ceremonies of Forgiveness, Dreambox Media

4. Kent Carter String Trio, Intersections, Emanem

5. Andrew Rathbun, George Colligan, Renderings: The Art of the Duo, Fresh Sound New Talent

6. Misha Mengelberg, Afijn, ICP/Data Images (DVD)

7. Nels Cline, New Monastery, Cryptogramophone

8. Trio 3 (Oliver Lake, Reggie Workman, Andrew Cyrille), Time Being, Intakt

9. Roy Nathanson, Sotto Voce, AUM Fidelity

10. Buck Hill, Relax, Severn

11. Fred Hess, How ’Bout Now, Tapestry

12. Ran Blake, All That is Tied, Tompkins Square

13. Paul Flaherty, Chris Corsano, The Beloved Music, Family Vineyard

14. Simon Nabatov, A Few Incidences, Leo

15. Jesse Zubot, Dementia, Drip Audio

16. Billy Stein, Hybrids, Barking Hoop

17. Rudresh Mahanthappa, Codebook, Pi

18. Trio Continuo, Authentic Basics, WLJWC

19. Ab Baars, Kinda Dukish, Wig

20. Evan Parker, Crossing the River, Psi

21. Lee Konitz/Ohad Talmor String Project, Inventions, OmniTone

22. ROVA, Totally Spinning, Black Saint

23. John Butcher/Christof Kurzmann, The Big Misunderstanding Between Hertz and Megahertz, Potlatch

24. Howard Riley, Two is One, Emanem

25. Peter Evans, More is More, Psi

26. Tony Bevan, John Edwards, Orphy Robinson, Mark Sanders, Ashley Wales, Derek Bailey, Bruise with Derek Bailey, Foghorn

27. Alex Ward, Luke Barlow, Simon Fell, Steve Noble, Help Point, Copepod

28. George Lewis, Sequel (For Lester Bowie), Intakt

29. Conjure, Bad Mouth, American Clavé

30. São Paulo Underground, Sauna: Um, Dos, Três, Aesthetics

31. Fond of Tigers, A Thing to Live With, Drip Audio

32. Jeff Kaiser, Andrew Pask, G.E. Stinson, Steuart Liebig, The Choir Boys with Strings, pfMentum

33. Stefano Battaglia, Raccolto, ECM

34. John Ettinger, Kissinger in Space, self-released

35. Johnny Valentino, Stingy Brim, OmniTone

36. Thom Gossage/Other Voices, 5, Effendi

37. Achim Kaufman, Michael Moore, Dylan van der Schyff, Kamosc, Red Toucan

38. Robert Marcel Lepage, Pee Wee et Moi, Ambiances Magnétiques

39. Phil Nimmons/David Braid, Beginnings, self-released (NNB)

40. Michiel Braam’s Wurli Trio, Hosting Changes, BBB

41. Tony Wilson, Horse’s Dream, Drip Audio

42. Temperamental Trio, Raw and the Cooked, Kadima Collective Recordings

43. Dave Liebman/Bobby Avey, Vienna Dialogues, Zoho

44. Jorrit Dijkstra/John Hollenbeck, Sequence, Trytone

45. Reuben Radding, Fugitive Pieces, Pine Ear

46. Billy Hart, Billy Hart Quartet, HighNote

47. Jack DeJohnette/Bill Frisell, The Elephant Sleeps but Still Remembers, Golden Dreams

48. Johnny la Marama, “…Fire!”, Traumton

49. Jack Wright, Tom Djll, Bhob Rainey, Tim Feeney, Road Signs, Soul on Rice

50. Jack Wright, As Is: Solos from Beirut & Barcelona, Spring Garden Music

51. Badland (Simon Rose/Simon H Fell/Steve Noble), The Society of the Spectacle, Emanem

52. Agusti Fernandez/Mats Gustafsson, Critical Mass, Psi

53. Free Zone Appleby 2005, Psi

54. Roscoe Mitchell, No Side Effects, RogueArt

55. Mujician, There’s No Going Back Now, Cuneiform

56. Omer Avital, Asking No Permission, Smalls Records

57. Polwechsel, Archives of the North, Hatology

58. Miles Perkin, Common Thread, Ombu

59. Lindsey Horner, Don’t Count on Glory, Cadence

60. Matt Steckler, Persiflage, Innova

61. *Dave Burrell, Momentum, High Two

62. *Drumheller, Wives, Rat-Drifting

63. *Schlippenbach Trio, Winterreise, Psi

64. *The Reveries, Live in Bologna, Rat-Drifting

65. Otomo Yoshihide/ONJQ, Live in Lisbon, Clean Feed

Reissues/Vault issues

1. Roswell Rudd, Blown Bone, Emanem

2. John Butcher, Phil Durrant, Paul Lovens, Radu Malfatti, John Russell, News from the Shed, Emanem

3. Barry Guy/London Jazz Composers Orchestra, Study II, Stringer, Intakt

4. Thomas Chapin, Ride, Playscape

5. Evan Parker, Derek Bailey, Han Bennink, The Topography of the Lungs, Psi

6. Warne Marsh, Ne Plus Ultra, Hatology

7. Spontaneous Music Ensemble, Biosystem, Psi

8. *Iskra 1903 (Rutherford/Wachsmann/Guy), Chapter Two, Emanem

[B. Clugston]

Haven’t heard many new releases from 2006, but of the few I've heard, the one I enjoyed the most was:

Anthony Braxton, 4 Compositions (Ulrichsberg) 2005 Phonomanie VIII

Favourite archival release:

Harry Miller’s Isipingo, Which Way Now

Favourite reissues:

Ned Rothenberg, Solo Works—The Lumina Recordings

Lee Morgan, The Gigolo

Favourite concerts (all in Vancouver):

OrkestRova

Fe-Mail

Billy Bragg

Wolf Eyes

[PHILLYQ]

The best concert I went to this year was a rock concert- I saw Jeff Beck in September and three months later I'm still buzzing about it. Incredible technique, but strictly in service to the tune, not technique for its own sake. What a guitar player

In February I saw Rashanim at the Stone, a mashup of fusion and klezmer that worked just right.

I saw Wayne Krantz with Anthony Jackson on bass & Keith Carlock on drums- excellent and funky.

[sidewinder]

Reissues/New Stuff

1. 'Complete Lou Blackburn Imperial' (Blue Note)

2. 'Complete Ike Quebec 45 Sessions' (Blue Note)

3. 'Red Garland at the Prelude' (Concord)

4. New Jazz Orchestra 'Western Reunion' (Vocalion)

5. Andrew Hill 'Pax' (Blue Note)

6. 'Mike Westbrook's Love Songs' (Vocalion)

7. Trio Beyond 'Saudades' (ECM)

8. John Taylor 'Angel of the Presence' (Cam Jazz)

9. Gerald Wilson 'In My Time' (Mack Avenue)

10. Miles Davis 'Cellar Door Sessions' (Columbia)

Concerts:

1. Trio Beyond (NorthSea)

2. Wayne Shorter Quartet (NorthSea)

2= Wayne Shorter Quartet (Barbican, UK)

4. John Taylor Trio (Southampton UK)

5. Tomasz Stanko Quintet (Bath Festival, UK)

6. Yusef Lateef & Belmondos (NorthSea)

7. Gerald Wilson (Barbican UK)

8. Hank Jones/Roberta Gamborini (NorthSea)

9. Eddie Henderson & Gary Bartz (Exeter, UK)

10. Keith Tippett (Bath Festival, UK)

[GA Russell]

Monk with Coltrane at Carnegie Hall got the most plays. Can't say it was a vintage year.

I agree with John; my "new to me" CDs were not as good this year as they were last. But going over the list, it hasn't been a bad year.

The * indicates reissue/vault.

*Bill Evans - Plays for Lovers

*Stan Getz - Plays For Lovers

David Murray 4tet - Waltz Again

Moacir Santos - Choros & Allegria

Joey DeFrancesco - Organic Vibes

Karrin Allyson - Footprints

Bennie Maupin Ensemble - Penumbra

Jeff Gauthier Goatette - One and the Same

*Miles Davis - Legendary Prestige Quintet, disc 1

Jovino Santos Neto - Roda Carioca

*Kenny Dorham - Quiet Kenny

*Joe Henderson - Milestone Profiles

*Richard "Groove" Holmes - Soul Message

Mort Weiss - The B3 and Me

Sonny Rollins - Sonny, Please

*Sergio Mendes - Pure Bossa Nova

Mike Marshall and Hamilton de Hollanda - New Words Novas Palavras

Various - Jazz Yule Love II

11 new issues, 7 vaults.

[medjuck]

I know it barely came out in time to make the cut but you gotta add the Mosaic Duke Ellington Small Groups to the reissue list.

[sal]

My favorite new releases this year were:

Andrew Hill - "Time Lines"

Trio Beyond - "Saudedes"

Ornette Coleman - "Sound Grammar"

My favorite reissue was Warne Marsh's "Ne Plus Ultra"

[nathan]

I don't have Ornette Coleman's Sound Grammer or Tom Waits' new album yet, so they're not on the list. They probably would be if I'd heard them.

Top 10 jazz/jazz-ish:

1. BEN GOLDBERG QUINTET - the door, the hat, the chair, the fact (crypto)

2. PAUL MOTIAN - On Broadway vol. 4 (winter & winter)

3. DAVE BURRELL & BILLY MARTIN - Consequences (amulet)

4. NELS CLINE - New Monastery (crypto)

5. DAVID BINNEY - Cities and Desire (criss cross)

6. BRIDGE 61 - Journal (atavistic)

7. PAUL MOTIAN BAND - Garden of Eden (ecm)

8. DAVE DOUGLAS QUINTET - Meaning and Mystery

9. ANTHONY COLEMAN - Pushy Blueness (tzadik)

10. BILLY HART - Quartet (high note)

Top 5 non-jazz:

1. JOANNA NEWSOM - Ys (drag city)

2. BONNIE "PRINCE" BILLY - The Letting Go (drag city)

3. CAT POWER - The Greatest (matador)

4. 7 YEAR RABBIT CYCLE - Ache Horns (free porcupine society)

5. TALK DEMONIC - Beat Romantic

Reissues:

1a. GIL EVANS - Complete Pacific Jazz Recordings

1b. PAVEMENT - Wowee Zowee

Concerts of the Year:

1. Deerhoof / Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog - 9/5/06 @ Great American Music Hall, San Francisco

2. Bill McHenry, Dred Scott & Ben Goldberg - 4/9/06 @ The Jazz School, Berkeley

3. Sufjan Stevens - 10/11/06 @ Zellerbach Hall, Berkeley

4. Silver Jews - 9/10/06 @ Mezzanine, San Francisco

5. Dave Douglas Quintet - 4/25/06 @ Yoshi's, Oakland

6. Graham Connah Jazz Argosy / Mitch Marcus Big Band - 8/24/06 @ Oakland Metro, Oakland

7. Rashied Ali & Sonny Fortune Duo - 8/1/06 @ Yoshi's, Oakland

8. Aaron Novik's Simulacra & Kipple - 12/15/06 @ Hemlock Tavern, San Francisco

9. Todd Sickafoose's Blood Orange / Myra Melford Group (w/ Sickafoose, Ben Goldberg, Ches Smith & Carla Kihlstedt) - 4/11/06 @ Freight & Salvage, Berkeley

10. Aaron Goldberg Trio - 9/18/06 @ Yoshi's

nathan

[montg]

From among those relatively few new releases that I've purchased, I found the Holland CD "Critical Mass" to be very enjoyable, probably my favorite of the year. Loren Stillman, Brothers' Breakfast (Steeplechase) is interesting.

Some enjoyable 2005 releases that I didn't get around to purchasing until 2006 include Adam Rogers "Apparitions" (Criss Cross) and Gerald Wilson's "In My Time" (Mack Ave.).

From among the reissues, proabaly the one I've listened to the most this year is the new RVG version of the Lockjaw Davis Cookbook CD (vol. 1). I listened to Hutcherson's "Happenings" a lot this year too.

[Chalupa]

http://www.organissimo.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=31503

[White Lightning]

2006 was a great year for new releases. Many good to very good recordings. The ones that really caught my ear were:

Kidd Jordan/Hamid Drake/William Parker - Palm of Soul

Odean Pope - Locked & Loaded

Andrew Hill - Time Lines

Roberta Gambarini - Easy To Love