The perfect album to feel that little bit better about 2020.” – Nadja von Massow (nadworks, UK), “Great compositions with constant conversations between trumpet and guitar, wide range of colors, great vintage feel production and masters lineup.” – Saso Popovski (Jazz Factory Festival, NMK), “This album is very timely and manages to capture the essence and emotion of many of the issues the world is facing today. We’ll thus continue last week’s focus as we hear from exceptional releases by Charles Lloyd (shown here), Matt Wilson, Matthew Shipp, Black Art Jazz Collective, and more. The jazz clubs all closed, and so did everything else. By joining Slate Plus you support our work and get exclusive content. Check out how beautiful it is!” – Magdaléna (Czech Republic), “A Rite for All Souls is a rare opportunity to hear a recently-rediscovered recording of 1971 concert by The Mark Harvey Group, a force in the avant-garde. The Month In Jazz – December 2020. The Month In Jazz – December 2020. Recorded live at Santa Barbara’s Lobero Theatre in 2018, on his 80th birthday, the tenor saxophonist Charles Lloyd rekindles his long-standing status as the West Coast Coltrane, fusing a hard tone and sheets-of-sound rapture with a swaying swing. By Fred Kaplan. Music of the moment with lush and funky pop production and a hard-hitting political directness addressing black experience in the BLM era. I think Scott was absolutely able to put together a production that Joe would have been proud of…” – Matteo Finali (Final Step, Switzerland), “Really original and heartfelt.” – Patrick Naylor (musician, UK) [note: check our interview with Ben Wendel here! Ferdinando and his band have created a very distinctive sound with this release. With this in mind, Stingray DJAZZ's editor selected 10 jazz albums that left the biggest impression among all the releases of 2020. But thankfully, the music never stopped. Pick up the December 2020 issue to discover the Top 20 reissues/archive albums of the year. We update links when possible, Dan Rosenboom Absurd in the Anthropocene (2020) Jazz-Rock, Avant-Garde Jazz, Jazz Fusion Favorite tracks: “Still,” “Heliopteryx,” “Forget What You Know,” “Drowning on the High Ground” 3.5 Your email address will not be published. Rather than put together an article of music we’ve been enjoying this year, we instead asked the Jazzfuel community to share their favourites of 2020. These two fine musicians give an assured and inventive duo performance that sits well alongside any of the genre released this year.” – Jim Burlong (Jazz Views, UK), “Original choice and interpretation of Zawinul’s music.” – (Krzysztof Komorek, Donos kulturalny, PL), “It’s refreshing and classic, timely and needed.” – (Aimee-Jo Benoit, Canada), All the Little Things You Do by Rebecca Hennessy, “High-level thought-through modern compositions for an unusual ensemble, extremely strong line-up of high-level players with utmost respect to jazz tradition.” – Daniel Bulatkin (B/Y Organism, Czech Republic). Ben Rosenblum is a passionate pianist, accordionist, composer, arranger, accompanist worth adding to your jazz playlist.” This album dives deeply into Rosenblum’s jazz and world-infused original compositions, exploring the intersection of jazz and improvised American music with global styles ranging from Bulgaria to the Caribbean. If you value our work, please disable your ad blocker. Deneka Peniston. It was released in September, in a changed world. The album opens and closes with Ullmann’s compositions taken from his 2019 album mikroPULS (Intuition, 2019). By Ran Blake and Christine Correa. He unleashes ballads in a dreamlike flow. Release date: September 11. All rights reserved. A Rite for All Souls by The Mark Harvey Group, Kites & Strings by Benjamin Rosenblum Nebula Project, Reflections of the Eternal Line by Florian Arbenz & Greg Osby, Oleś Brothers & Piotr Orzechowski – Waterfall: Music of Joe Zawinul, All The Little Things You Do by Rebecca Hennessy, ‘Songs and Stories’ by Callum Au + Claire Martin, We’re New Again by Gil Scott-Heron & Makaya McCraven, Atlântico by Mário laginha, Julian Argüelles, Helge Andreas Norbakken, Lo Sagrado – Silvana Estrada & Charlie Hunter, Straight on Til Morning by Natalie Williams. This is the one album on this list that was recorded during—and in response to—the pandemic. I’m finding a lot of jazz quite intellectual at the moment!” – James Pettinger (Stablefolk, UK), “I love both Joe Zawinul’s music and Scott Kinsey’s work. Year in review: 25 of the best jazz albums of 2020. A mix of up-tempo rousers and haunting ballads, it’s a gorgeous album with a cooking band (pianist Gerald Clayton, guitarist Julian Lage, bassist Reuben Rogers, drummer Eric Harland) launching the master into some of his most gently adventurous flights. Jazz gets (wrongly) criticized as a style of music that's … Great grooves, happy tunes, if perhaps it’s not jazz. The 2020 NPR Music Jazz Critics Poll The best new and rediscovered jazz recordings that lit up the dark and unsettling year that just ended, as voted on by 148 jazz critics. The 2020 YEAR END TOP 100 Album Chart includes the years most played Smooth Jazz Albums as reported by SmoothJazz.com Global's diverse panel of Smooth Jazz radio stations around the world. The music floats and sways in a different atmosphere. If you’ve followed our #New Music Friday posts throughout the year, then you know we love Jazz here at Hifitrends. Vitriol and the Third Oraculum (2020) Free Jazz Favorite tracks: “Vitriol” 3.5: Free Jazz Favorite tracks: “Vitriol” 3.5: 47: 47. Photo illustration by Slate. All prices were up to date at the time of publication. On the third Black Art … French Paradox. And, if you’re looking for more great music, take a listen to our New Jazz Releases playlist. March 13, 2020. (Warning: The album begins with a loud, ugly blare. It’s that time of year when magazines and blogs are publishing their round up lists of best jazz albums of 2020. By JAZZ.FM91. The Best Jazz Albums Of 2020. Nigerian pop continued to establish itself more firmly on the international stage in 2020 with successful albums by Burna Boy, Davido, Tiwa Savage, Tems and more. The Denver-based, burnished-glow trumpeter and composer Ron Miles joins an all-star ensemble (pianist Jason Moran, guitarist Bill Frisell, bassist Thomas Morgan, drummer Brian Blade) to crank out the craftiest blend of form and improvisation of the past few years. Affiliate Disclosure: as an Amazon Associate we may earn commissions from qualifying purchases. If you buy something through our links, The Best Jazz Fusion Albums of 2020. It lasts about 10 seconds. It’s that time of year when magazines and blogs are publishing their round up lists of best jazz albums of 2020.. Rather than put together an article of music we’ve been enjoying this year, we instead asked the Jazzfuel community to share their favourites of 2020.. What follows is a collection of these recommended albums – in no particular order – with some comments … Ben Perowsky (a drummer with roots in rock, pop, jazz, and the avant-garde), Chris Speed (a reedman of supple melodies and sinuous rhythms), and John Medeski (the organist from Medeski Martin & Wood, who fuses soul, swing, and wit in a single bar) join together for a session of casual headiness, covering Jaco Pastorius, Miles Davis, Wayne Shorter, and their own excursions in cannily original styles. What follows is a collection of these recommended albums – in no particular order – with some comments about why they were so special to the musicians and industry folk who took part. A lot of 2020 jazz, just like a lot of 2020 life, took shape in isolation. Dolly Parton Sells Out Big Time With This Super Bowl Ad, Don’t Let Queen Latifah’s Acting Career Overshadow Her Rap Legacy, SOPHIE’s Music Was Completely Artificial and Utterly Real, Why Olivia Rodrigo’s “Drivers License” Had the Biggest Debut Since “WAP”. Dec 03, 2020 5:45 AM. Get past it. Her pianist Paul Smith comps with unusually sharp curves. The album has garnered widespread critical acclaim and stands out as a long-lost treasure brought to the fore in 2020.” – Rebecca DeLamotte (Americas Musicworks, US). Webber/Morris Big Band, ‘Both Are True’ There’s little terrain that this big band is afraid to … It’s mesmerizing. Your email address will not be published. We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again. These guys have been on the European scene, playing together in various groups for over 30 years.” – Cathie Rae (manager, Portugal), Atlântico by Mário Laginha, Julian Argüelles and Helge Andreas Norbakken, “I reviewed it for London Jazz News and I loved it at first listen.” – Mary James (UK), “Just discovered this album during lockdown and absolutely love it! Shabaka and the Ancestors - We Are Sent Here By History. The results varied widely but all had the feel of artists who thrive … A brilliant album from one of my favourite cross-genre singers.”, Bull Frogs Croon (Instrumental) by Aoife O’Donovan, “Strong spiritual music, innovative sound of saxophone, interesting compositions.” – Lenny Sendersky (moon strings, Israel), “Ensemble of colors, sounds and good arrangements.” – (Gianmarco Scaglia, bassist, Italy), “A great album of both originals and standards, by the Scottish vocalist and guitarist Sophie Bancroft alongside the double bass of Canadian Tom Lyne. Here, he and singer Christine Correa (a former student of his) cover all the songs on Billie Holiday’s 1958 album Lady in Satin, but unlike that session’s lush orchestral backdrop, it’s just Correa—hitting every note with a smoky indigo blue—backed by Blake’s strangely dissonant chords. Congratulations to … Ralph Alessi by Ferdinando Romano, “Not very often a young jazz artists coming from Asia has Grammy Awards nomination. By Jon Garelick Globe Staff, Updated December 24, 2020, 10:00 a.m. Pianist Carla Bley, Steve Swallow on … Red Piano. A young and inspiring one!” – Agus Setiawan Basuni (WartaJazz, Indonesia), “A high-level meeting of two greats from opposite sides of the Atlantic”, Reflections Of The Eternal Line by Florian Arbenz & Greg Osby, “Innovative music and great interplay.” – Iordache (Romania), “Fresh imaginations on standards with a killing New York band.” – Mike Casey (UK), “An expressive, emotional debut that echoes the solitary experience while being completely right with the universe.” – Debbie (US), “It’s such a perfect modern sound with oriental traditional flavour.” – Claudia Eva Both (Transilvania Jazz Festival, Romania), “This album was recorded live in January 2020, in front of more than 600 people. 6. Ran Blake and Christine Correa, When Soft Rains Fall. These are our 100 favorite albums of 2020. This trio album spans his waterfront, and it’s all captivating, the more so with each successive hearing.