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Page 1 of 2 If
you are reading this, chances are that there’s at least one jazz
fan on your holiday gift list. Or maybe you need to provide a few
hints to your family and friends! The Jazz Police want to help with
our second annual Gifts of Jazz list. The possibilities
are like jazz itself, filled with endless themes and variations…
but here’s a starting point if you are stumped or just curious! And
don’t be shy about writing us with your own suggestions, which we
will incorporate into the 2006 list.
 Ho Ho Ho Recordings
It’s
not always easy to pick out CDs, even when you are well acquainted
with someone’s taste in music. Fortunately, unopened CDs are
generally easy to exchange, so don’t hesitate to add a disk to a
loved one’s stocking or send a friend one of your favorites.
Personally I enjoy finding out what someone else thinks I would like,
and if I already have it, or really don’t want it, I have had the
fun of picking out something else in exchange. It’s a win-win gift!
And while you are looking at CDs, browse through the increasing
number of jazz performances on DVD, too.
 Following
on the heels of 2004, there were a lot of great releases of “old”
music in the form of reissues and previously-unreleased gems such as
the Monk/Coltrane At Carnegie Hall sessions on Blue Note. In
fact, most of the “new” recordings listed as “best of the year”
in the January 2006 issue of Down Beat are really re-issues
and new findings of old recordings, including Miles Davis’ One
Down, One Up: Live at the Half Note (Impulse); Dizzy
Gillespie/Charlie Parker Town Hall New York City , June 22, 1945
(Uptown); and the legendary Pat Metheny/Ornette Coleman re-issue of
Song X (Nonesuch). Top profile living artists issued some new
gems as well—Keith Jarrett’s solo Radiance (ECM); Sonny
Rollins’ Without a Song (Milestone); James Carter’s Organ
Trio, Out of Nowhere (Half Note); Bill Frisell’s Unspeakable
and East/West (both on Nonesuch); the Dave Holland Big
Band’s Overtime (Sunnyside); Ahmad Jamal’s live After
Fajr (Dreyfus); Jason Moran’s Same Mother (Blue Note);
Dianne Reeves’ Good Night and Good Luck (Concord); Joe
Lovano’s Joyous Encounter (Blue Note), and of course a
plethora of holiday albums, the best led by Diana Krall and Jane
Monheit. But a number of great disks may have slipped under your
radar screen due to lesser known artists or lower profile marketing.
For something a little off the Billboard path, consider the following
highly recommended releases from the past year, in no particular
order. And this list is not exhaustive; there are many more great
musical moments on record this year.
 Rick Germanson, Photo by Andrea Canter -
Rick
Germanson, You Tell Me (Fresh Sound/New Talent). His sophomore release is a set of mostly original
compositions that display the richly textured ideas of an ever-evolving
pianist. [ Click
here for a Jazz Police review] -
Paquito D'Rivera, Jazz Chamber Trio. Not the usual fare from the Latin reed master, but a highly lyrical, neoclassical set.
-
Terence Blanchard, Flow. Maybe the trumpet master's best work to date.
-
Geoff
Keezer, Wildcrafted: Live at the Dakota (Maxjazz). In a long
list of recordings from this still-thirty something virtuoso, this is
his first live recording as leader and one of the most fully developed
of original compositions and some inside-out covers. [
Click
here for a
Jazz Police review]
-
Dave
Peck, Good Road (Let’s Play Stella Records). The best piano
trio you never heard of, Peck is based in Seattle where Jazz Alley is
home. Any of Peck’s half dozen or so recordings is a gift.
-
E.S.T., Viacticum (215
records). Their 2004 recording Seven Days of
Falling made my list last year and the Esbjorn Svensson Trio just keeps
evolving as one of the most celestial collaborations in the galaxy.
-
Kate
McGarry, Mercy Streets (Palmetto). I’m a new Kate McGarry fan
and this new recording is part of the reason why. Somewhere between
Joni Mitchell and Karrin Allyson, this voice reminds me of the best
sounds of the late 60s and 70s mixed with the best of the great
interpreters of the 30s and 40s.
-
Sara
Gazarek, Yours (Native Language). A great debut from a rising
star. Clear, clean vocals that will haunt you for a long while.
-
Tierney
Sutton, I’m With the Band (Telarc). She IS the band. There may
be no more powerful voice on the scene today than Tierney Sutton. [
Click here
for a Jazz Police
review]
-
Fred
Hersch, Leaves of Grass (Palmetto). Only the inventive Fred
Hersch would put Whitman’s masterpiece to music, and bring together
Kurt Elling and Kate McGarry to give it voice.
-
Eldar,
Eldar (Sony). Maybe the best jazz recording ever by a teenager. At
18, Eldar is already a mature talent with piano chops that echo Tatum,
Peterson, Evans, and Tyner…. all at once. [
Click here
for a Jazz Police
review]
-
Mulgrew
Miller, Live at Yoshi’s Vol, 2 (Maxjazz). One of the best trios
in modern jazz, second set.
-
Kenny
Barron, The Perfect Set (Verve). The much delayed follow-up
release to Live at Bradleys, this 1996 set features Ray Drummond
and Ben Riley, and it is perfect.
-
Harry
Connick/Branford Marsalis, Occasion (Marsalis Music). Piano on
all tracks for Connick as he joins forces with arguably the hottest
soprano sax player on the scene (and Branford is no slouch on tenor
either). Duplicity at its best.
-
Pat
Mallinger, Moorean Moon (Blue Jack Jazz). Unfortunately
obscure, this recording is available only from the Dutch label or the
artist, but very worth tracking down. Modern mainstream saxophone never
sounded better. [
Click here
for a Jazz Police review]
-
Gary
Burton, Next Generation (Concord). Vibes master with three
young turks who will make big names for themselves.
Local
recordings are another option. Particularly if you’re
shopping for a jazz fan who lives in another city, a local artist is
sure to please. As performers always remind us, CDs make great gifts
and usually artists are happy to sign your purchase. Check out your
local CD sources for recordings by area artists, or take advantage of
sales at local venues--“CD release parties” are great
opportunities to pick up brand new releases. Here in the Twin Cities,
2005 witnessed some great recordings from our home-grown heroes:  Carole Martin, Songs From My Heart |
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Tuesday, 02 December 2008
