In the three previous posts, I’ve listed and discussed my favorite jazz albums of 2020. Bright musical oases, in this otherwise miserable year.
In this post, we bring all 30 of them together, in one place. In each album title is embedded a link to the album’s page on Amazon. In these extraordinarily difficult times, we encourage you to purchase these albums, if there’s something that you like. Streaming is nice but the financial support that it provides to the artists, is laughable. So we provide the Amazon links as a first alternative. However, many of the artists also have their own websites, through which you can purchase the music directly from them. If you are so inclined, I encourage you to go that route. It can provide maximum remuneration for the artists that you love. We will also feature tracks from each of these albums, throughout January 2021, on CurtJazz Radio. Click HERE to listen now.
We’ve also created another Spotify playlist, featuring selections from a dozen of the 30 albums on the list, to give those of you who have not yet visited the prior posts, an opportunity to sample the artistry represented here. I can’t say it enough. Streaming is nice but buying is better.
Here are my 30 for ’20, in alphabetical order, by artist name:
ARTIST | TITLE | LABEL |
J.D. Allen | Toys/Die Dreaming | Savant |
John Beasley | MONKestra Plays Beasley | Mack Avenue |
Lakecia Benjamin | Pursuance: The Coltranes | Ropeadope |
Peter Bernstein | What Comes Next | Smoke Sessions |
Stanley Cowell | Live at Keystone Corner Baltimore | SteepleChase |
Wayne Escoffery | The Humble Warrior | Smoke Sessions |
John Fedchock NY Sextet | Into the Shadows | Summit |
Champian Fulton | Birdsong | Self-Release |
Nubya Garcia | Source | Concord |
Jeff Hamilton Trio | Catch Me If You Can | Capri |
Connie Han | Iron Starlet | Mack Avenue |
Jimmy Heath | Love Letter | Verve |
Eddie Henderson | Shuffle and Deal | Smoke Sessions |
Theo Hill | Reality Check | PosiTone |
Christopher Hollyday | Dialogue | Self-Release |
Nduduzo Makhathini | Modes of Communication: Letters from the Underworld | Blue Note |
Jason Marsalis | Live | Basin Street |
Christian McBride Big Band | For Jimmy, Wes, and Oliver | Mack Avenue |
Ron Miles | Rainbow Sign | Blue Note |
Farnell Newton | Rippin’ and Runnin’ | PosiTone |
Redman, Mehldau, McBride, Blade | RoundAgain | Nonesuch |
Eric Reed | For Such a Time as This | Smoke Sessions |
The Royal Bopsters | Party of Four | Motéma |
Kandace Springs | The Women Who Raised Me | Blue Note |
Alexa Tarantino | Clarity | PosiTone |
Gregory Tardy | If Time Could Stand Still | WJ3 |
The Brianna Thomas Band | Everybody Knows | Breathline |
Isaiah J. Thompson | Plays the Music of Buddy Montgomery | WJ3 |
Kenny Washington | What’s the Hurry? | Lower 9th |
Bobby Watson | Keepin’ It Real | Smoke Sessions |
Thank you all, for reading and listening. Here’s to a great 2021. Hopefully, we’ll be able to get back to live music by the time you read my next “Best Of…” list.