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Your Top Ten of 2010


GA Russell

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Here's my baker's dozen of jazz favorites for 2010 (alphabetical order):

Mulatu Astatke - Steps Ahead

Brandon Bernstein, Aaron Shragge, & Matt Otto - Innocent When You Dream

Claudia Quintet - Royal Toast

Dave Douglas - Spark of Being Expanded

John Ellis - Puppet Mischief

Bill Frisell - Beautiful Dreamer

Ben Goldberg - Go Home

Vijay Iyer - Solo

Keith Jarrett & Charlie Haden - Jasmine

Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra - Portrait in Seven Shades

Marc Ribot - Silent Movies

Liam Sillery - Phenomenology

Tomasz Stanko Quintet - Dark Eyes

Edited by okierambler
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This was my list published Sunday in the Detroit Free Press.I'll give the titles here with a link to the paper where there are capsule summaries too. It ran under the umbrella of "a baker's dozen of the best jazz CDs and reissues for 2010." Like Larry, I think of the order as rather arbitrary. A version of this with a couple alterations will run in the Village Voice poll.

http://www.freep.com/article/20101226/ENT04/12260412/1039/Top-jazz-CDs-Geri-Allen-Sinatra-the-Cookers-Ahmad-Jamal

Tom Harrell, "Roman Nights" (High Note)

Geri Allen, "Flying Toward the Sound"

(Montema Music)

Keith Jarrett/Charlie Haden, "Jasmine"

(ECM)

Rudresh Mahanthappa & Bunky Green,

"Apex" (Pi)

Kenny Dorham, "The Flamboyan, Queens,

NY, 1963" (Uptown)

Hal Galper, "E Pluribus Unum" (Origin)

Bruce Barth and Steve Wilson, "Home"

(WASJS-1002)

John Irabagon, "Foxy" (Hot Cup)

The Cookers, "Warriors" (Jazz Legacy)

Chris Lightcap's Bigmouth, "Deluxe" (Clean

Feed)

Jason Moran, "Ten" (Blue Note)

Edited by Mark Stryker
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Ehud Asherie - Welcome to New York (Arbors)

Dmitry Baevsky - Down With It (Sharp Nine)

Carl Fontana - The Fifties (Uptown)

Jimmy Greene - Live at Small's (Smalls Live)

Scott Hamilton/Rossano Sportiello - Midnight at Nola's (Arbors)

Keith Jarrett/Charlie Haden - Jasmine (ECM)

Wynton Marsalis Quintet & Richard Galliano - From Billie Holiday to Edith Piaf (WM)

Grant Stewart - Around the Corner (Sharp Nine)

Spike Wilner - Solo Piano Live at Small's (Smalls Live)

Gerald Wilson - Detroit (Mack Avenue)

Phil Woods Quintet - Ballads and Blues (Venus)

* footnoting 2 excellent recordings on the Woodville label from England which were released in 2008 but which I only heard in '10 - Simon Spillett - Sienna Red; Alan Barnes Octet - Harlem Airshaft.

Edited by John Tapscott
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  • 2 weeks later...

No order

- Braxton/ Hemingway: "Old Dogs" (Mod/Avant)

- Parker/ Guy/ Lytton + Peter Evans: "Scenes In The House Of Music" (Clean Feed)

- Warne Marsh Trio: "New York City Live" (Riverworks Records)

- Potsa Lotsa: "The Complete Works Of Eric Dolphy" (Jazzwerkstatt)

- Steve Lacy: "November" (Intakt)

- Ross Bolleter: "Night Kitchen: An Hour Of Ruined Piano" (Emanem)

- Cecil Taylor & Tony Oxley: "Ailanthus/ Altissima (Bilateral Dimension Of Two Roots Songs)" (Triple Point)

- Nate Wooley & Paul Lytton: "Crack Above 33" (Emanem)

- Herman Keller: "Nicht Ohne Wasser (Quartet)/ 29 Stücke (Solo)" (Jazzwerkstatt)

- Uwe Oberg & Evan Parker: "Full Bloom" (Jazzwerstatt)

+ (copyright 2009, but I get it in early 2010)

- Fred Anderson Trio: "A Night At The Velvet Lounge/ Made In Chicago Festival 2007" (Estrada Poznanska)

Reissues:

- John Carter & Bobby Bradford: "Mosaic select 036" (Mosaic Records)

- Henry Threadgill: "Complete Novus/ Columbia Recordings" (Mosaic Records Limited Edition Box Set)

- Bill Dixon: "The Complete Remastered Recordings On Black Saint & Soul Note" (CamJazz)

wowh, looks very impressive and sweeping, but also exhausting and demanding....do you hear this already for breakfast...??

perhaps try some tord gustavsen or ketil bjornstad from time to time....

;-)

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  • 2 weeks later...

It would be interesting to know an estimate of how many new releaes posters have actually heard? Seems that selecting ten favorites from a pool of one hundred new releases has a bit more weight than selecting ten from twenty?

That's something that always keeps me from creating these lists. I feel like I've just now caught up sufficiently to give my definitive best of 2008 list.

My premature 2010 list...

1. "The Adventures of a Polar Expedition" - Ulrik, Koppel, Balke, Danielsson, and Riel.

2. "Goddess" - John Zorn/Alhambra Love Quintet

3. "In Search of the Miraculous" - John Zorn/Alhambra Love Quartet

4. "Terre lontane" - Michel Godard, Maurizio Aliffi, Marco Bianchi, Niccolò Faraci, and Francesco D'Auria.

5. "Royal Toast" - Claudia Quintet

6. "Radioactive" - Dave Chisholm

7. "Guiding Spirit" - Nat Birchall

8. "If Not For You" - Our Park

9. "Domandor De Huellas" - Guillermo Klein

10. "Prima" - Carlos Bica + Materia

10. "Beautiful Dreamers" - Bill Frisell

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No order

- Braxton/ Hemingway: "Old Dogs" (Mod/Avant)

- Parker/ Guy/ Lytton + Peter Evans: "Scenes In The House Of Music" (Clean Feed)

- Warne Marsh Trio: "New York City Live" (Riverworks Records)

- Potsa Lotsa: "The Complete Works Of Eric Dolphy" (Jazzwerkstatt)

- Steve Lacy: "November" (Intakt)

- Ross Bolleter: "Night Kitchen: An Hour Of Ruined Piano" (Emanem)

- Cecil Taylor & Tony Oxley: "Ailanthus/ Altissima (Bilateral Dimension Of Two Roots Songs)" (Triple Point)

- Nate Wooley & Paul Lytton: "Crack Above 33" (Emanem)

- Herman Keller: "Nicht Ohne Wasser (Quartet)/ 29 Stücke (Solo)" (Jazzwerkstatt)

- Uwe Oberg & Evan Parker: "Full Bloom" (Jazzwerstatt)

+ (copyright 2009, but I get it in early 2010)

- Fred Anderson Trio: "A Night At The Velvet Lounge/ Made In Chicago Festival 2007" (Estrada Poznanska)

Reissues:

- John Carter & Bobby Bradford: "Mosaic select 036" (Mosaic Records)

- Henry Threadgill: "Complete Novus/ Columbia Recordings" (Mosaic Records Limited Edition Box Set)

- Bill Dixon: "The Complete Remastered Recordings On Black Saint & Soul Note" (CamJazz)

wowh, looks very impressive and sweeping, but also exhausting and demanding....do you hear this already for breakfast...??

perhaps try some tord gustavsen or ketil bjornstad from time to time....

;-)

No I prefered Schönberg, Webern or, even, some Varese, for Breakfast. An easy going music to start the day. I keep serious music for the late afternoon. Maybe you should try some of it yourself, it could give you a real sense of humour.

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It would be interesting to know an estimate of how many new releaes posters have actually heard? Seems that selecting ten favorites from a pool of one hundred new releases has a bit more weight than selecting ten from twenty?

I guess I could go through my log of new releases received or purchased to figure that out, but it would be time-consuming, plus there are titles I didn't hear until after I compiled my list.

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It would be interesting to know an estimate of how many new releaes posters have actually heard? Seems that selecting ten favorites from a pool of one hundred new releases has a bit more weight than selecting ten from twenty?

Ron, of course what you say makes sense. But I don't set the bar so high. I'm just looking for ten albums I can recommend to my friends.

I was generally unimpressed with my new recordings throughout 2010, and I was surprised last month as I went through my new CDs that there actually were ten I can recommend.

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Marc Cary - Focus Trio Live 2009 l54566.jpg

I just played a gig with David Ewell (the Focus Trio bassist)--unreal player. I actually hadn't heard him before that (save for hearing the Focus Trio, momentarily). The local talent here can be very, very intense (Ewell and Dan Seamans--of the Lost Trio and New Klezmer Trio--are two of the best bass soloists I've heard in person, period).

Do you live in the SF Bay Area? I've caught the Lost Trio a few times here in Sacramento and really liked them, bought two of their cds. I spoke briefly with Phillip after one of the gigs, really nice guy. I haven't seen their name around lately so I didn't know if they had "snuck" into town without me knowing, split up or just busy closer to home.

I haven't listened to too many new releases this year but among those I listened to, here are my favorites:

Junko Onishi - Baroque 1547647.jpg

Jason Moran - Ten 41oM-oKZWzL._.jpg

Geri Allen- Flying Toward the Sound 5189pVpAYbL._SS500_.jpg

Marc Cary - Focus Trio Live 2009 l54566.jpg

How does the Onishi album sound? Is it truly Baroque influenced or is that just the title? I wasn't aware of the Geri Allen album and it looks inviting.

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When I look over all those top ten lists posted here It verifies that what appeals to me is a far cry from what others here find most interesting.

The only list that seems to share similar taste to mine was that by John Tapscott.

New releases

Kenny Dorham - The Flamboyan, Queens, NY, 1963 - Uptown

Grant Stewart - Around The Corner - Sharp 9

P.J. Perry - Nota Bene - P J Perry

Neal Smith Quintet - Live At Smalls - Smalls Live

Rich Perry - Gone - Steeplechase

Stan Getz Quartet - Live In Stockholm 1978 - Gambit

Alan Broadbent Trio - Live At Giannelli Square, Vol.1 - Chilly Bib

Harry Allen - New York State Of Mind - Challenge

Peter Beets - Chopin Meets The Blues - Criss Cross

Peter Bernstein Quartet - Live At Smalls - Smalls Live

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It would be interesting to know an estimate of how many new releaes posters have actually heard? Seems that selecting ten favorites from a pool of one hundred new releases has a bit more weight than selecting ten from twenty?

I guess I could go through my log of new releases received or purchased to figure that out, but it would be time-consuming, plus there are titles I didn't hear until after I compiled my list.

Between new arrivals and purchases of new releases, I received around 700 titles. I have no idea how many of them that I found time to hear.

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