------------Notes on Jazz Best of Jazz for 2015------------------

Every year jazz journalists make their end of year "best of" lists. They become a tradition and they are as subjective as anything can be but they do offer the listening public a great place to start looking and listening to the many new and quality offerings that jazz artists have released in the past year.

No list can be all inclusive and no list can be without personal prejudices, having said that, this is my list of the best of jazz in 2015. I have included a category for best debut album, best historical release, and best Latin Jazz album. One thing I can assure you, there is something in here for almost every taste. There is no particular order to this list so please enjoy this cornucopia of music and Happy Holidays to all.


Vibraphonist Chris Dingman's  The Subliminal and the Sublime  on Inner Arts

Saxophonist JD Allen's Trio with Greg August and Rudy Royston: Graffitti on Savant

Charlie Hunter Trio  with Curtis Fowlkes and Bobby Previte ; Let The Bells Ring On on   Charlie Hunter Music

Jose James: Yesterday I Had The Blues, the Music of Billie Holliday  on Blue Note

John Fedchock New York Big Band: Like It Is  on Mama records

Kenny Werner Trio: The Melody with Ari Hoenig, drums  and Johannes Weidenmueller, bass on Pirouet

Rudresh Mahanthappa: Bird Calls  on ACT Music with ; Adam O’Farrill: trumpet; Matt Mitchell: piano; Francois Moutin: acoustic bass; Rudy Royston: drums. on ACT Music

Orrin Evans: The Evolution of Oneself  with Christian McBride bass and · Karriem Riggins drums. on Smoke Records

Dave Stryker: Messin' with Mr. T :  Jared Gold, organ,, Houston Person, saxophone, McClenty Hunter, drums. on Strikezone 

Manuel Valera and Groove Square: Urban Landscape: with Nir Felder, guitar, John Ellis, saxophones, E.J. Strickland, drums and John Benitez bass.  on Destiny Records

Tigran Hamasysan : Luys I Luso   with the Yerevan State Choir 

Kamsai Washington; The Epic:  on Brainfeeder 

Steve Johns : Family: with Debbie Keefe Johns, saxophone, Daryl Johns, bass, Bob DeVos, guitar, Dave Stryker guitar on Strikezone 

Dave Douglas Quintet : Brazen Heart : with Jon Irabagon (saxophones), Matt Mitchell (piano), Linda Oh (bass) and Rudy Royston (drums) on Greenleaf Music

Giacomo Gates : Everything is Cool:  with John DiMartino , piano, Ed Howard, bass, Willard Dyson Drums, Grant Stewart saxophone, Tony Lombardozzi, guitar. on Savant

Sample "If I Were You I'd Love Me"  here

Kait Dunton ; Trio Kait with Cooper Appelt on bass and Jake Reed on drums 

Pat Bianchi : A Higher Standard:  with Craig Ebner: guitar; Byron Landham: drums.

Mark Winkler: Jazz and Other Four Letter Words, with Cheryl Bentyne: vocals; Jamieson Trotter: piano; John Clayton, Dan Lutz: bass; Jeff Hamilton, Mike Shapiro: drums; Larry Koonse, Pat Kelley: guitar; Bob Sheppard, Kirsten Edkins: saxophones; Walter Fowler: trumpet; Bob McChesney: trombone on Cafe Pacific Records

Peter Oxley and Nicholas Meier:  Chasing Tales on MGP Records

Michael Cain: Sola with  James Genus  bass and Billy Hart drums.

Erik Firedlander : Illuminations 

John Pattitucci's Electric Guitar Quartet : Brooklyn with Adam Rodgers, guitar, Steve Cardenas, guitar, Brian Blade, drums on Three Faces Label.

Lafayette Harris Jr. Trio: Bend the Light with  Lonnie Plaxico on bass and Willie Jones III on drums

on Airmen Records

Christian Howes; American Spirit; with Josh Nelson, piano, Hamilton Hardin, organ, Ben Williams, bass, Gregory Hutchinson, drums and Polly Gibbons, vocals on Resonance Records

Best Debut Album: Katie Theroux: Introducing Katie Theroux with guitarist Graham Dechter, tenor saxophonist Roger Neumann and drummer Matt Witek.

Best Historical Release : John Abercrombie: The First Quartet;  Arcade with Richie Beirach, George Mraz and Peter Donald on ECM

Best Latin Jazz Album: The Latin Side of Joe Henderson Conrad Herwig with Joe Lovano 

Graffiti: JD Allen's Art of the Saxophone Jazz Trio

JD Allen's Graffiti Savant SCD 2147

Forty-three year old tenor saxophonist J.D. Allen is a man on the rise. He was named as Downbeat’s Rising Star in 2011 and has matured nicely in the succeeding  four years. Witness his latest creation Graffiti ,  a tour de force of purpose and inventiveness. With this album Mr. Allen has developed a much clearer vision for himself and his sound. Together with the propulsive drums of Rudy Royston and the rooted bass of Greg August, the music sounds like it harkens back to the past while pointing us forward to  the next step in the evolution of the jazz saxophone trio. The album is both a celebration of form and measured free improvisation.

JD Allen (photo credit unknown)

From the opening salvo of Royston’s exploding drums to the clarion voice of Mr. Allen’s tenor on “Naked,” Allen does indeed bare his musical soul. His fluent grasp of the language  makes for an immediately visceral connection with the listener, a free form cry that one can still relate to by virtue of its recognizable form.

“Jawn Henry” is an inspirational tune based on the folktale of John Henry the Steel Driving’ Man.  On this song Mr. August’s plucky  bass provides a low register respite from the dynamic dueling of Mr. Allen and Mr. Royston. The two seem to be musically bent on recreating the man versus machine theme of the folk tale’s legendary duel of strength and they do so effectively.

Allen composed all of the songs on this album and described his intention for each one in the liner notes. On “Third Eye” he writes  “The saxophone and bass play rubato while the drums have the option of playing against type.”  To this end we find Mr. August establishing the heartbeat of the song  . Mr. Royston playing against the tempo, as he so often does, with Mr. Allen left to find his own ground either with the tempo or as a counterpoint to what Mr. Royston is doing. Through it all Mr. Allen returns  to a plaintive call that seems to unify the whole for the listener.

The song “Graffiti,” as the title suggests, is a potpourri of color, rhythm and texture much like the radical, free form of wall art the name implies.  With the short repeated line from Allen’s saxophone as the only basis, Royston pulses, bobs and weaves like a fighter in the ring. August reaches for some grounding  beat for the group to hold onto and Allen explores the color palette, disciplined but carefree. Allen’s tenor has an implied sense of earnestness that is not something that can be contrived.

My favorite piece is the loping “G-dspeed , B, Morris“ perhaps because its melody is memorable and  heartfelt. August is particularly effective in anchoring the tune’s march-like cadence as Mr. Allen plays between the bass lines with an easy swagger that is laid back and mellow.  It is a dedication to the late Butch Morris who originated Conduction, a form of structured free form  improvisation  that allowed the musical conductor to direct an improvising group through the use of his baton and actions. Perhaps this association with Mr. Morris is the guiding light that has allowed Mr. Allen to create this delicate balance between the form and the formless, a  balance he navigates so expertly on this album? 

Butch Morris (photo credit unknown)

The economical “Little Mack” is buoyed by the walking bass line of Mr. August who keeps the pace of this blues right where it should be. Mr. Royston lays back on this one,  punctuating the air here and there with a rim shot or a splash of his cymbal as Mr. Allen  swoons over the melody with succinct clarity. 

On “Sonny Boy”  Mr. August’s bass is again the lead, repeating a motif that allows Mr. Allen to play an ascending and descending line harmonically over the top.   

On the liner notes Mr. Allen says about “Indigo (Blue Like)” Sometimes I feel like the most avant garde thing a jazz musician could do today is to try to straight up and down swing.”  My sentiments exactly. Swing he does with Mr. August and Mr. Royston keeping the tempo as Mr. Allen rides above it, simmering in a slow burn on his saxophone. His sound is uncluttered, heartfelt and swinging

“Disambiguation”  is another take on the aforementioned “Jawn Henry,” a seemingly endless source of  inspiration for Mr. Allen. This time he does so with an openness of form that uses only the barest implication of the original melody to inspire the ensemble improvisation Allen is trying to achieve. Royston and August are free to roam the periphery of the melody finding their own way. This leaves Mr. Allen in the role of foil, responding to the free form dynamic created by his band mates.  Clearly there is trust with this triumvirate of musicians, co creators of this ensemble sound.

With Graffiti Mr. Allen and company have created a body of music  that leaves a lasting impression  and hopefully promises more to come.