Ten of the Best
Dec 24 '02
The Bottom Line Listen to Jazz.
I can't claim to have listened to everything, so these are my ten favorites. Some of these are titles I reviewed for jazzreview.com, in which case I have included links to the original articles. In no particular order:
Top Ten Jazz CDs for 2002:
Marian McPartland Trio--Live at Shanghai Jazz. (Concord)
Recorded shortly after Marian McPartland's 81st birthday, this beautiful recording finds the nimble pianist teamed with an experienced rhythm team, bassist Rufus Reid & drummer Joe Morello. Marian & co. give us an engaging, age-defying performance here, mostly standards, but with a couple of free improvisations and an original ballad from Mr. Reid thrown in for good measure. I interviewed Marian last summer, you can read the piece at: http://www.jazzreview.com/articledetails.cfm?ID=1045
Wayne Shorter--Footprints Live! (Verve)
Wayne Shorter has accomplished so much in his career, I don't know what he would have to do at this point to affect his reputation one way or the other. So it says something about the magnitude of Shorter's output when I say Footprints Live! is one of the best jazz CDs of the year, but probably not an essential document in Wayne Shorter oeuvre. Nevertheless, it is tremendous fun to listen to and serves well as either an introduction to a remarkable player or as an exercise in nostalgia for his fans. Wayne plays well on both tenor & soprano, and he is matched with a very talented and sympathetic group of younger musicians. The material spans the length of his career, from the very early "Juju" to the very recent "Aung San Suu Kyi."
Charles Lloyd--Lift Every Voice (ECM)
Charles Lloyd is another saxophonist with a well established reputation--and one that he is steadily building upon. With each new CD from Charles Lloyd--with every show he plays, for that matter--you can hear the sound of a man pushing at his limits musically and spiritually. Billy Hart does an admirable job taking over for Billy Higgins on drums, and Geri Allen sounds wonderful on keyboards. WOW WOW WOW were they good last winter in L.A.--they taped the shows that weekend, I hope they put that out soon.
Roscoe Mitchell & the Note Factory--Song for My Sister. (Pi)
Mitchell's latest version of the Note Factory lacks several of the big names from the previous editions of the group--Matthew Shipp, William Parker and George Lewis are all absent this time out--but the group delivers a pleasant, surprisingly accessible set. The title track features a nifty bop theme and actually reminds me a bit of the Grateful Dead with it's open rhythms. But don't worry--tracks like "The Inside of A Star" prove that the sax heavyweight is still willing to go out there. See my interview with Roscoe at: http://www.jazzreview.com/articledetails.cfm?ID=995
Ned Otter--So Little Time. (2 and 4)
An excellent date from saxophonist Otter, a student of the great George Coleman, who guests here on a couple of tracks. Anchored by two of the all time greats--pianist Harold Mabern and the late drummer Billy Higgins--and recorded by Rudy Van Gelder, Ned Otter's debut as a bandleader has a classic feel. My interview with Ned is at: http://www.jazzreview.com/articledetails.cfm?ID=730
Ray Brown--Some of My Best Friends are...Guitarists. (Telarc)
The last recording released during the prolific Mr. Brown's lifetime is good, straight ahead fun & features a who's who of living jazz guitarists, including Herb Ellis, Russell Malone and Kenny Burrell.
Judith Ren-Lay. Out of Nowhere. (Knitting Factory)
Jazz? Performance art? Whatever, it sounds good. Read the review: http://www.jazzreview.com/cdreview.cfm?ID=3204
John Butcher & Gerry Hemmingway--Shooters and Bowlers. (Red Toucan)
Actually a late 2001 release, but I got it in '02. See my review at http://www.jazzreview.com/cdreview.cfm?ID=2735
Don Preston Trio--Transformation. (Cryptogramophone)
Another 2001 release that took a year to find me. I got it at a Don Preston concert in early '02, and it was still his 'new album,' so what the hey....
see http://www.jazzreview.com/cdreview.cfm?ID=3007
Natsuki Tamura and Satoko Fujii--Clouds. (Libra)
Interesting free jazz duets from Japan. See:
http://www.jazzreview.com/cdreview.cfm?ID=2974
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Member: Edward Kane
Location: Long Beach, CA
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