Favorites of the Year

If I was limited to what I could load into the car CD changer, if I knew I would be listening to the same music over and over, what would I select from 2007?

• 

  Sky Blue
  Sky Blue, Maria Schneider (Artists Share). If I could pick only one, this is it. It was in the car CD player rotation for about four months and I never tired of the soaring elegance of the soloists or the sweeping grandeur of the compositions from a living legend. (Click her for a Jazz Police review)
• Fantasy, Bill Mays (Palmetto). With only a duo (trumpeter Martin Stamm with pianist Mays) or trio (add cellist Alisa Horn), Mays creates an orchestral tapestry as elegant as Schneider. The original tracks prove Mays to be one of the most lyrically and harmonically satisfying composers on the scene, while the covers, particularly Gerwshin’s “Prelude #2” and the Scriabin “Prelude” (Op. 11 #3) in medley with the standard “Some Time Ago” are at once majestic and haunting. This was my first introduction to Mays. Where have I been?
• My Foolish Heart, Keith Jarrett Trio (ECM). Perhaps the trio with the most longevity and creative collaboration of any in modern jazz. Here Jarrett infuses a little ragtime among his postbop lyricism and storytelling, the three-way interplay stellar as always. (Click here for a Jazz Police review)
• Live at Cezanne’s, Woody Witt (Apria). Not enough people have heard Woody Witt who is sequestered in Houston and occasionally comes north to Minneapolis to knock out a few club gigs and studio efforts with long-time buddy Kelly Rossum. As 21st century tenor saxophonists go, Witt is readily accessible but dangerously inventive, hence a centerpiece here of 16 minutes of recreating “Footprints.” (Click here for a Jazz Police review)
• Stained Glass, Geoff Lapp Trio (Elephant Records). Canadian pianist Lapp seems to conjure many of my favorites into one pair of hands, from Bill Evans, Kenny Barron and Keith Jarrett to Thelonious Monk, Fred Hersch and Lynne Arriale, and from a local perspective, most closely Laura Caviani. While it seems he uses a laundry list of harmonic and rhythmic devices, the music never seems crowded with ideas. (Click here for a Jazz Police review)
• 

  A Spirit Free
  A Spirit Free, Kendra Shank (Challenge Records). My six-CD player needs at least one vocal album and it’s a tough choice. Shank takes the Abbey Lincoln Songbook and gives it a personal interpretation that some will probably like better than Abbey’s originals. And it doesn’t hurt to have pianist Frank Kimbrough along for the ride.

At any given moment, the following have remained in my disc rotation for prolonged pleasure:

Instrumental

• Pilgrimage, Michael Brecker (Heads Up). It seems to be at or near the top of every list for 2007, and it is a lot more than sentiment for the late saxophonist. Using every ounce of strength remaining, Brecker created his magnum opus, literally with his last breath. Compatriots Pat Metheny, Herbie Hancock, Brad Mehldau, John Patitucci and Jack Dejohnette played as if it was their last effort as well.
• River: The Joni Mitchell Letters, Herbie Hancock (Verve). Mitchell only joins in on one tune while other vocalists provide diversity (from Norah Jones to Tina Turner), but the instrumental tracks are at least as riveting.
• Lawn Chair Society, Kenny Werner (Blue Note). Always experimenting without straying to the edge, pianist Werner’s Blue Note debut was auspicious. With a dream band featuring Nicholas Payton and Chris Potter, Werner and company redefine modern music. (Click here for Jazz Police review).
• Four of a Kind, Jim Rotondi (Positone). This technically might fall in 2008 as the official release is yet to come, but with a preview copy I decided to include it now. One of the most respected modern trumpeters, Rotondi blows the sweet and thoughtful side of Miles with a quartet cast that includes pianist David Hazeltine. In a year of outstanding trumpet releases (from Jeremy Pelt, Christian Scott, Terence Blanchard and Terell Stafford), this was my favorite.
• A Tale of God’s Will, Terence Blanchard (Blue Note). I saw this performed live before I heard the recording, a tribute to the survivors of Katrina. Either way, it is a sweeping epic tone poem that evokes tragedy and strength. Blanchard is one of the most gifted composers in modern jazz. And he’s a gifted hornman as well.
• Night and the Music, Fred Hersch (Palmetto). It was a good year for Palmetto with standout releases from Matt Wilson, Bill Mays and Hersch. In my favorite Hersch format with Drew Gress and Nasheet Waits, Hersch sprinkles originals around the covers of Berlin, Porter and (of course!) Monk. His touch is exquisite and so are his arrangements.
• Scenic Route, Matt Wilson’s Arts and Crafts (Palmetto). Wilson is one of the busiest drummers around, appearing on it seem every hot vocal release as well as the avant garde (Myra Melford). His Arts and Crafts ensemble swings through compositions recalling country roads, small town fairs and down-home cooking—and they all cook, especially trumpeter Terell Stafford. (Click here for a Jazz Police review)
• Taking Chances (Live at the Dakota), Terell Stafford (MaxJazz). Speaking of Stafford…. The live recording recreates the enthusiasm of this ensemble with plenty of swing and one of the most lyrical trumpet/flugelhorn players around. Thoroughly modern mainstream. (Click here for a Jazz Police review)
• Kids, Hank Jones and Joe Lovano (EMI). There’s something special about piano/sax duets and there is always something special about the partnership between nearly 90-year-old Jones and a couple generations removed Lovano. Some originals and more than a little from brother Thad Jones as well as Tadd Dameron and more. Recorded live at Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola, you wish you had been there in person to see the collaboration first hand.
• Prog, The Bad Plus (Do the Math Records). The Fab Four of modern jazz went to their own label and found the artistic freedom that pushes this outing above the rest of their discography to date. It’s less bombastic and more interesting. (Click here for a Jazz Police review.)
• Keep Your Sunnyside Up, Bill Carrothers (Pirouet). Still better known in France than in his native US, Minnesota favorite son Carrothers gives us the Funny Side as well as some serious ensemble work. It’s always fun to hear Carrothers because you never know for sure what he will do next—it might be a series of quotes from his vast knowledge of standards or a percussive attack on the inside of the piano. (Click here for a Jazz Police review)
• Department of Good and Evil, Rachel Z Trio (Savoy Jazz). Daring and delightful, and as interactive as any piano trio on the planet. Z has the chops to do whatever she wants. (Click here for a Jazz Police review)
• 

  The Return of Slide Huxtable
  The Return of Slide Huxtable, Slide Huxtable. Something locally stands out every year. This quartet of former Motion Poets led by New York-based trombonist Mark Miller, with bassist Chris Bates, drummer JT Bates and guitarist Bill Bergmann, takes modern jazz to the edge and dangles there, not quite falling into the atonality and free form of avant garde but offering a wide range of sounds, from lyrical and bluesy to squealing and scraping over our comfortable predictions. Four from Miller, one from Chris Bates, a few covers and a blues from Dave Holland fill the disk with joy and humor.
• Reflections, Frank Morgan (High Note). This might be stretching the year back a few weeks into 2006, but this turned up after the first of the year so I am calling it a 2007 recording. With Frank’s passing at age 73 last month, his recent output (including three releases from a live date at Jazz Standard) is all the more compelling. This is a studio date but no less intimate, a full throttle display of the altoist’s finest moments as a great bopper and romantic balladeer. You can’t go wrong with any of the Live at Jazz Standard volumes either, the latest issued in spring 2007.
• Quartet, McCoy Tyner (MTM/Half Note). He may not have the power of his younger days but Tyner remains…. Tyner. Percussive in attack if somewhat lighter handed, in the company of the following generation of giants including Joe Lovano, Christian McBride and Jeff Watts, the quartet covers a mostly Tyner program with considerable finesse.
• Architect of the Silent Moment, Scott Colley (Cam Jazz). Bassist Colley couldn’t miss with the likes of Ralph Alessi, Craig Taborn, Antonio Sanchez, and guests Dave Binney, Jason Moran, Gregoire Maret (harmonica) and Adam Rogers. Frankly any excuse to listen to Craig Taborn puts a recording on my list of favorites. The bassist is appropriately prominent in performance as well as compositions—all are Colley’s except one from Andrew Hill. Cool sounds from all angles of the music.

Vocals

In addition to Kendra Shank’s gem:

• Night Moves, Kurt Elling (Concord). His Concord debut finds Elling at the top of the heap of jazz vocalists of either gender. He just keeps getting better. (See Jazz Police review)
• Red Earth: A Malian Journey, Dee Dee Bridgewater (DDB Music). You never know which direction Dee Dee will go next, from Ella to Paris, and now honoring a journey of self discovery as she sought her African Roots and found herself in Mali. With her rhythm section she recorded and later toured with a band of Malian musicians who give this recording its cultural stamp and unique blend of African roots and modern post bop swing.
• You and the Night and the Music, Jackie Ryan (Open Art). My first encounter with Jackie Ryan will not be my last. The swingingest vocalist I’ve heard in a long time, this recording is exuberant and charming from start to finish. I hope to catch Jackie live sometime soon. (Click here for a Jazz Police Review)
• Women’s Work, Judi Silvano (JSL Records). The instrumentals are so strong that this could be placed in either list, but Silvano is the hub of it all, a tribute to the great women composers including Abbey Lincoln, Blossom Dearie, Mary Lou Williams, and of course Silvano herself. It’s an all-womens’ band with pianist Janice Friedman, bassist Jennifer Vincent, and drummer Allison Miller. And a great time is had by all. (Click for a Jazz Police review)
• Sun Set, Linda Ciofalo (Lucky Jazz). Another new to me, New York-based vocalist Linda Ciofalo knows how to sell a song and put together a band to do it justice—saxman Joel Frahm, guitarist John Hart, pianist John DiMartino, bassist Marcus McLaurine and drummer Matt Wilson. Frahm and Wilson in particular keep turning up wherever there’s a sophisticated vocalist. (Click for a Jazz Police Review)
• 

  Love's Refrain
  Love’s Refrain, Maud Hixson. Not many vocal issues in the Twin Cities this past year but quality trumps quantity any day, and Maud, with the understated piano of husband Rick Carlson, provides one of the most intimate recordings imaginable, a subtle dialogue that nearly makes you feel like an intruder overhearing a private conversation. (See Jazz Police review)
• It’s Christmas, PJ Parker (PJ Music). An odd choice for one not inclined to celebrate Christmas in the first place, but like Hixson, PJ sells her songs with her heart and soul, and I don’t really care what the subject matter is….. the weather outside IS frightful and I love being here… with PJ. (See Jazz Police Review)
• In My Life, Rondi Charleston (Virgin Music). And in her life, Rondi has been a theater student, opera singer, and Emmy/Peabody Award-winning investigative reporter before taking to jazz fulltime. Her CD/DVD release was really intended as a demo but caught the ears of critics with her unique set of covers and original music, her enthusiastic interpretations, and her virtuoso band. Yeah. Joel Frahm shows up here too, along with pianist and arranger Bruce Barth, guitarist Adam Rogers and drummer Clarence Penn. The DVD is even more enjoyable as the interplay among the musicians is visually as well as sonically enticing. (See Jazz Police Review)
• The Target, Kate McGarry (Palmetto). Kate’s latest presentation of eclectic repertoire redefines the realm of vocal jazz. Showcasing Kate’s elastic contralto and inventive phrasing, The Target is enveloped in a lush tapestry of engaging instrumentals. Yet the attentive listener will also be rewarded by the nuances evolved from a childhood of Irish folk melodies, a study of African rhythms and avant garde experiments, spiritual reflection, and an unwavering mission to infuse each song with new meaning.

There’s still a pile of CDs from 2007 to hear and more that I have enjoyed this year, from Cyrus Chestnut, Steve Kuhn, Bill Charlap, Jeremy Pelt, Christian Scott, Rufus Reid, David Tornz, dave Brubeck…. And I really need to get my ears around the two recent releases from Chris Potter. Now the 2008 releases are starting to arrive. So much music, so little time.

Andrea apologizes for any great CDS she has missed or left out of this round-up. She hopes to listen to a bunch more from 2007 in the next few months.