Music attracts a broad group of players who bring style, culture, virtuosity, and imagination to each year's offerings and this year is no different. It is up to us as listeners to take the time and effort and sit back and take it all in. From my point of view, it has been a rewardingly rich year for creative music in 2024.
Contemporary improvised music is a broad-stroked genre, often referred to under the name of "jazz." Whether you like the name or prefer something else, jazz is like a petri dish, a fertilization ground that can germinate new ideas, styles, and approaches to modern creative music. Musicians who play this music today are culturally diverse, technically well-educated, and usually dedicated to the art of creative music. They come here to play with their peers and/or elders. They come here to learn, expand, and leave their mark on the music. They can come from as close as next door to halfway across the globe. Diversity continues to prove to be a real strength in the evolution of this music.
As one of America's most important indigenously created art forms, the Afro-American roots of this music should always be acknowledged, preserved, and cherished. International influences, like ethnic-inspired folk music, European and non-European musical traditions, and other more subtle cultural musical inspirations feed the art, expanding it with vibrancy and passion. Music is a unifying art form for humanity. Through cooperation, creativity, hope, and beauty, music has the power to transcend geographical borders, erase ethnic differences, and be color-blind to the foibles of racism. Music is power!
I have decided to post my favorite albums from the year in five different categories. Records released from October of 2023 through November of 2024 were included in no particular order. The categories are Best Contemporary Jazz, Best of Jazz and Contemporary Vocals, Best Latin Jazz, and Best Big Band Jazz; I will have another post selecting the best historical jazz albums released in 2024, hopefully next week.
I hope this list gives readers a chance to explore some albums and types of music that they might otherwise have missed. Please don't take this list as being exclusionary if one of your favorites hasn't made this list. While I listen to hundreds of albums over the year. There are certainly many releases that I have not had the chance to preview and therefore, whether worthy or not, didn't make my list. So onward and upward and happy listening.
Best Contemporary Jazz:
Taylor Eigsti-Plot Armor- Ground Up Records
Peter Bernstein-Better Angels-Smoke Session Records
Jim Snidero-For All We Know- Savant Records
Jamie Baum-What Times Are These-Sunnyside Records
Ben Allison, Steve Cardenas and Ted Nash- Tell The Birds I Said Hello: The Music of Herbie Nichols-Sonic Camera Records
Kenny Barron-Beyond This Place- Artworks/PIAS
Isaiah Collier and the Chosen Few-The World Is On Fire- Division 81 Records
Chris Potter-Eagle's Point-Edition Records
Julian Lage-Speak To Me-Blue Note Records
Ryan Keberle & Catharsis-Music Is Connection-Alternate Side Records
Charles Llyod- The Sky Will Be There Tomorrow-Blue Note Records
Tomasz Stank Quartet-September Night-ECM
Grégoire Maret and Romain Collin-Ennio-ACT Music
Andy Milne and Unison- Time Will Tell-Sunnyside Records
John Surman-Words Unspoken-ECM Records
Pat Bianchi- Three-21H Records
Jenny Scheinman-All Species Parade-Royal Potato Family
Michael Shrieve-Drums of Compassion-7D Media
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Ron Horton-A Prayer for Andrew-Newvelle Records
Ben Wolfe-The Understated-Resident Arts Records
Tyshawn Sorey Trio-The Susceptible Now-Pi Records
Best Jazz and Contemporary Music Vocals:
Fay Victor-Life Is Funny That Way, Herbie Nichols Sung-Tao Form Records
Catherine Russell and Sean Mason- My Ideal- Dot Time Records
Lizz Wright-Shadow-Blues and Greens
Best Latin Jazz:
Donald Vega-As I Travel-Imaginary Records
Gonzalo Rubalcaba and Hamilton DeHolanda- Collab-Sony Music Brazil
Zaccai Curtis-CuBop Lives!-Truth Revolution
Best Jazz Debut Albums:
Art Baden-How Much Of It Is real-Rainy Day Records
Euan Edmonds-Beyond Hope and Fear-Desafio Candente Records
Best Jazz Big Band Releases:
Mike Holober and the Gotham Jazz Orchestra-This Rock We're On-Palmetto Records
Jihye Lee Orchestra-Daring Mind-Motema Records
John Hollenbeck and the NDR Big Band-Colouring Hockets-Flexatonic Records