Curt's Jazz Cafe

The Pop Music press went apoplectic when Beyoncé and a few others, dropped their latest projects online in the middle of the night, with no advance promotion.When I heard that my first thought was: Oh, please! In jazz, we call that “Tuesday”.

The fact that an eclectic release schedule has become the norm, did force me to play catch-up on a few releases in the last month. I’m glad I did as several of them went right from my ears to this list.

I’m also breaking my “tradition” in that I’m publishing the full list first. Since it is relatively late this year, I figured that we’d cut to the chase and then follow with the rationales and video clips in several posts over the next week. I also was unable to get out a mid-term list this year so instead we’re doing it in one glorious heap.

That said, her are 25 Jazz projects that moved me this year, in alpha order by album title. Comments and disagreements are always welcomed:

• Amalgamations – Ali Jackson (Sunnyside)
• The Art of Conversation – Kenny Barron and Dave Holland (Impulse!)
• Beautiful Life – Jimmy Greene (Mack Avenue)
• Bring it Back – Catherine Russell (Jazz Village)
• Eight Track – Dave Stryker (Strikezone)
• Face Forward, Jeremy – Jeremy Pelt (HighNote)
• Floating – Fred Hersch Trio (MRI)
• Gathering Call – Matt Wilson Quartet + John Medeski (Palmetto)
• Im.Pro.Vise (Never Before Seen) – Sean Jones (Mack Avenue)
• The Lagos Music Salon – Somi (OKeh)
• Live at the Breeding Ground – Brandee Younger 4Tet (CD Baby)
• A Meeting of Minds – Sheryl Bailey (Cellar Live)
• Mother’s Touch – Orrin Evans’ Captain Black Big Band (Posi-Tone)
• Music Appreciation – Chris Greene Quartet (Single Malt)
• New Song – Omer Avital (Motema)
• The Offense of the Drum – Arturo O’Farrill (Motema)
• Promises to Burn – Janice Borla Group (Tall Grass)
• The Puppeteers – The Puppeteers (Red)
• Questioned Answer – Brian Lynch & Emmet Cohen (Hollistic Music)
• Relentless – Michael Dease (Posi-Tone)
• Road Shows, Volume 3 – Sonny Rollins (OKeh)
• Soul to Soul – Carmen Lundy (Afrasia)
• The Thought of You – Otis Brown III (Blue Note)
• Tiddy Boom – Michael Blake (Sunnyside)
• Wiring – Trio 3 & Vijay Iyer (Intakt)

Tracks from these albums and more can be heard on Curt’s Cafe Noir, our 24/7 streaming jazz radio station, starting December 27th, through most of January 2015.

We wish you all a very Happy, Healthy and Blessed Holiday Season.

Until the next time, the Jazz Continues…

This entry was posted on December 22, 2014 at 10:14 am and is filed under Best Jazz Albums of 2014 with tags ali jackson, arturo o'farrill, best jazz of 2014, Brandee Younger, Brian Lynch, carmen lundy, catherine russell, chris greene, dave holland, dave stryker, emmet cohen, fred hersch, janice borla, jazz, jeremy pelt, jimmy greene, john medeski, kenny barron, matt wilson, michael blake, michael dease, omer avital, orrin evans, otis brown iii, sean jones, sheryl bailey, somi, sonny rollins, the puppeteers, trio 3, vijay iyer. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.