The Best Jazz Albums of 2016

[mauidan]

Here's Fred Kaplan's (Sterophile) picks for the 10 best new jazz albums of 2016—and the four best historical releases:

New:
Henry Threadgill's Ensemble Double Up, Old Locks and Irregular Verbs (Pi).
Darcy James Argue's Secret Society, Real Enemies (New Amsterdam).
Frank Kimbrough, Solstice (Pirouet).
Fred Hersch Trio, Sunday Night at the Vanguard (Palmetto).
Brad Mehldau Trio, Blues and Ballads (Nonesuch).
Wadada Leo Smith, America's National Parks (Cuneiform, 2 CDs).
Dave Douglas & Frank Woeste, Dada People (Greenleaf).
Krakauer's Ancestral Groove, Checkpoint (Table Pounding Records).
Kenny Barron Trio, Book of Intuition (Impulse!).
Matt Wilson's Big Happy Family, Beginning of a Memory (Palmetto).

Historical:
Larry Young, In Paris: The ORTF Recordings (Resonance, 2CD/2LP).
Erroll Garner, Ready Take One (Sony, CD/2LP).
Sarah Vaughan, Live at Rosy's (Resonance).
Shirley Horn, Live at the 4 Queens (Resonance).

 

[Alpinist]

I would like to add The Russell Malone Quartet - All About Melody. A truly wonderful album.

Ken

 

[mauidan]

2017 GRAMMY Jazz Nominees

Best Jazz Vocal Album:
Sound Of Red – René Marie
Upward Spiral – Branford Marsalis Quartet With Special Guest Kurt Elling
Take Me To The Alley – Gregory Porter
Harlem On My Mind – Catherine Russell
The Sting Variations – The Tierney Sutton Band

Best Jazz Instrumental Album
“Book of Intuition” — Kenny Barron Trio
“Dr. Um” — Peter Erskine
“Sunday Night at the Vanguard” — The Fred Hersch Trio
“Nearness” — Joshua Redman & Brad Mehldau
“Country for Old Men” — John Scofield

Best Improvised Jazz Solo:
"Countdown" — Joey Alexander, soloist
"In Movement" — Ravi Coltrane, soloist
"We See" — Fred Hersch, soloist
"I Concentrate On You" — Brad Mehldau, soloist
"I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" — John Scofield, soloist

Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album:
Real Enemies — Darcy James Argue's Secret Society
Presents Monk'estra, Vol. 1 — John Beasley
Kaleidoscope Eyes: Music of the Beatles — John Daversa
All L.A. Band — Bob Mintzer
Presidential Suite: Eight Variations On Freedom — Ted Nash Big Band

Best Latin Jazz Album:
Entre Colegas — Andy González
Madera Latino: A Latin Jazz Perspective On The Music Of Woody Shaw — Brian Lynch & Various Artists
Canto América — Michael Spiro/Wayne Wallace La Orquesta Sinfonietta
30 - Trio Da Paz
Tribute To Irakere: Live In Marciac — Chucho Valdés

 

[mauidan]

Here is the top 10 that emerged from NPR's poll:

New:
1. Henry Threadgill's Ensemble Double Up, Old Locks and Irregular Verbs (Pi).
2. Wadada Leo Smith, America's National Parks (Cuneiform).
3. Jack DeJohnette/Matt Garrison/Ravi Coltrane, In Movement (ECM).
4. Mary Halvorson Octet, Away with You (Firehouse 12).
5. Michael Formanek's Ensemble Kolossus, The Distance (ECM).
6. Vijay Iyer & Wadada Leo Smith, A Cosmic Rhythm with Each Stroke (ECM).
7.Nels Cline, Lovers (Blue Note).
8. Matt Wilson's Big Happy Family, Beginning of a Memory (Palmetto).
9. Charlie Haden Liberation Music Orchestra, Time/Life (Impulse!).
10. Steve Lehman & Sélébéyone, Sélébéyone (Pi).

Historical:
1. Larry Young, In Paris: The ORTF Recordings (Resonance).
2. Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra, All My Yesterdays: The Debut 1966 Village Vanguard Recordings (Resonance).
3. Bill Evans, Some Other Time: The Lost Sessions from the Black Forest (Resonance).
4. Miles Davis Quintet, Freedom Jazz Dance: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 5 (Sony Legacy).