Jazz Top Ten: 2007

Jazz Top Ten 2007:
Time Isn't on Our Side

It takes a valiant listener to even dent this year's jazz canon

by Tom Hull

This article is an unpublished draft.


I figure each year is good for about 2,000 new jazz records. This
year I heard 650, which means I missed two out of every three.
It also means I never had enough time to live with any of them,
even favorites. So it's hard to say which are the best, but
these strike me as special:

1. Powerhouse Sound: *Oslo/Chicago Breaks* (Atavistic):
Ken Vandermark probes the differences between Europe and America,
then proceeds to blow them all away.

2. Jewels and Binoculars: *Ships With Tatooed Sails* (Upshot):
Makes a good case for Dylan as a melodist, then reshapes the
melodies with Coleman Hawkins élan.

3. David Murray Black Saint Quartet: *Sacred Ground* (Justin Time):
Two Ishmael Reed texts sung by Cassandra Wilson, stitched together
by protean sax, lamenting the past, offering hope for the future.

4. Albert van Veenendaal/Meinrad Kneer/Yonga Sun: *Predictable
Point of Impact* (Evil Rabbit):
Prepared piano trio, mostly hard rhythmic stuff you can tap your
toes to, but with jagged edges and biting surprises.

5. Chris Byars: *Photos in Black, White and Gray* (Smalls):
Referencing Gigi Gryce's alto and Lucky Thompson's tenor, Byars
finds new niches in old bebop, making you wonder whether postbop
wasn't premature.

6. Billy Bang Quintet: *Above & Beyond* (Justin Time):
Frank Lowe's last concert, his one lung gasping for air, buoyed
up by Bang's prodigious violin swing, the pleasure staving off
the pain.

7. Kahil El'Zabar's Infinity Orchestra: *Transmigration* (Delmark):
The Ethnic Heritage Ensemble scaled up to 39 pieces which add
details so subtle you only gradually realize how far they've
moved beyond the original trio.

8. Assif Tsahar/Cooper-Moore/Chad Taylor: *Digital Primitives*
(Hopscotch): Cooper-Moore's homemade strings add hillbilly
twang to Harry Partch tonality, Taylor's beats bounce like a
balafon, and Tsahar's reeds comp and coo, especially when he
pulls out the didgeridoo.

9. Matt Lavelle Trio: *Spiritual Power* (Silkheart): Plays
bass clarinet with the same sharp short bursts he learned on
trumpet, and flugelhorn with a dusky avant twist.

10. Happy Apple: *Happy Apple Back on Top* (Sunnyside):
Minneapolis power trio, like Hüsker Dü with powerful but unstable
rhythm and stuttering sax instead of vocals.

Of course, the A-list goes on, currently numbering 45. The next
few could just as easily be above the line:
David Torn, *Prezens* (ECM);
Joe Lovano/Hank Jones, *Kids* (Blue Note);
Ted Des Plantes, *Thumpin' and Bumpin'* (Stomp Off);
Wolfgang Muthspiel/Brian Blade, *Friendly Travelers* (Material);
David S. Ware, *Renunciation* (AUM Fidelity);
Logan Richardson, *Cerebral Flow* (Fresh Sound);
Pablo Aslan, *Buenos Aires Tango Standards* (Zoho);
Louis Sclavis, *L'Imparfait des Langues* (ECM);
Rafi Malkiel, *My Island* (Raftone);
Fay Victor, "Cartwheels Through the Cosmos* (ArtistShare);
Bloodcount, *Seconds* (Screwgun).

In the reissues category I missed out on Mosaic's lavish box sets,
but hardly had time digging through Allen Lowe's *That Devilin'
Tune: A Jazz History [1895-1950]* (WHRA), a book lavishly augmented
with 36 CDs, divided into four cramped boxes of nine each. Deliberately
anticanonical, he doesn't get to Louis Armstrong until the end of disc
9, and doesn't let bebop hold court while Kid Ory's still cooking.

Notes

The lead paragraph that got out of hand and threatened to eat the whole piece:

Maybe it's my training as a sociologist, or years of sabermetrics, but one thing I always wonder about when I see a year-end list is how big the sample was and how it was shaped. When Francis Davis showed me his list, I saw two records that I hadn't heard yet -- Tyshawn Sorey and Matthew Shipp. Those aren't even obscure, like some records on my list. Their omission below isn't judgment. It's just ignorance. In 2004 I tried to build a master list of every jazz record released. I came up with about 1500 new and 900 old. No doubt I missed some, so figure 2000 as a good estimate of how many new jazz records appear each year. This past year I've heard 650, about one third. The shape is harder to specify, but it is certainly not random. It is skewed toward the market, which among other things means more American and less European, and it is also skewed toward what publicists surmise about my tastes, which among other things means less pop jazz. But there's also a fair amount of hit and miss.

Working list:

Powerhouse Sound: Oslo/Chicago Breaks (Atavistic, 2CD)
Jewels and Binoculars: Ships With Tattooed Sails (Upshot)
David Murray Black Saint Quartet: Sacred Ground (Justin Time)
Albert van Veenendaal/Meinrad Kneer/Yonga Sun: Predictable Point of Impact (Evil Rabbit)
Chris Byars: Photos in Black, White and Gray (Smalls)
Billy Bang Quintet Featuring Frank Lowe: Above & Beyond: An Evening in Grand Rapids (Justin Time)
Kahil El'Zabar's Infinity Orchestra: Transmigration (Delmark)
Assif Tsahar/Cooper-Moore/Chad Taylor: Digital Primitives (Hopscotch)
Matt Lavelle Trio: Spiritual Power (Silkheart)
Happy Apple: Happy Apple Back on Top (Sunnyside)
David Torn: Prezens (ECM)
Joe Lovano & Hank Jones: Kids: Duets Live at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola (Blue Note)
Ted Des Plantes' Washboard Wizards: Thumpin' and Bumpin' (Stomp Off)
Wolfgang Muthspiel/Brian Blade: Friendly Travelers (Material)
David S. Ware Quartet: Renunciation (AUM Fidelity)
Logan Richardson: Cerebral Flow (Fresh Sound New Talent) %
Pablo Aslan: Buenos Aires Tango Standards (Zoho)
Louis Sclavis: L'Imparfait des Langues (ECM)
Rafi Malkiel: My Island (Raftone)
Fay Victor Ensemble: Cartwheels Through the Cosmos (ArtistShare)
Bloodcount: Seconds (Screwgun, 2CD+DVD)
Vijay Iyer + Mike Ladd: Still Life With Commentator (Savoy Jazz)
Fred Anderson & Hamid Drake: From the River to the Ocean (Thrill Jockey)
William Parker/Raining on the Moon: Corn Meal Dance (AUM Fidelity)
Joshua Redman: Back East (Nonesuch)
Joan Stiles: Hurly-Burly (Oo-Bla-Dee)
Alex Kontorovich: Deep Minor (Chamsa)
Keith Jarrett/Gary Peacock/Jack DeJohnette: My Foolish Heart: Live at Montreux (ECM, 2CD)
Slavic Soul Party: Teknochek Collision (Barbès)
Alvin Queen: I Ain't Looking at You (Enja/Justin Time)
Yerba Buena Stompers: The Yama-Yama Man (Stomp Off)
Tierney Sutton: On the Other Side (Telarc)
Adam Lane/Ken Vandermark/Magnus Broo/Paal Nilssen-Love: 4 Corners (Clean Feed)
The Claudia Quintet: For (Cuneiform)
John Sheridan and His Dream Band: Swing Is Still the King (Arbors)
The Harry Allen-Joe Cohn Quartet: Music From Guys and Dolls (Arbors)
Maria Anadon: A Jazzy Way (Arbors)
The Neil Cowley Trio: Displaced (Hide Inside)
Chris Potter Underground: Follow the Red Line: Live at the Village Vanguard (Sunnyside)
McCoy Tyner: Quartet (McCoy Tyner Music/Half Note)
Brent Jensen: One More Mile (Origin)
Hugh Masekela: Live at the Market Theatre (Times Square/4Q, 2CD)
Steve Lacy-Roswell Rudd Quartet: Early and Late (1962-2002, Cuneiform, 2CD)
Joe Morris/Ken Vandermark/Luther Gray: Rebus (Clean Feed) *
Bucky Pizzarelli: 5 for Freddie: Bucky's Tribute to Freddie Green (Arbors)

Reissues:

Billie Holiday: Lady Day: The Master Takes and Singles (1935-42, Columbia/Legacy, 4CD)
That Devilin' Tune: A Jazz History: Volume 3 (1934-45, WHRA, 9CD)
Charlie Mingus: Tijuana Moods (1957, RCA Victor/Legacy)
Thelonious Monk Trio (1952-54, Prestige)
Art Pepper: Unreleased Art, Vol. 1: The Complete Abashiri Concert (1981, Widow's Taste, 2CD)
Andrew Hill: Compulsion (1965, Blue Note)
Ornette Coleman: To Whom Who Keeps a Record (1959-60, Water)
Art Pepper: Unreleased Art, Vol. 2: The Last Concert (1982, Widow's Taste)
The Essential Benny Goodman (1934-46, Columbia/Bluebird/Legacy, 2CD)
The Essential John McLaughlin (1963-2006, Columbia/Legacy, 2CD)
That Devilin' Tune: A Jazz History: Volume 2 (1927-34, WHRA, 9CD)
Miles Davis: The Complete On the Corner Sessions (1972-75, Columbia/Legacy, 6CD)
That Devilin' Tune: A Jazz History: Volume 1 (1895-1927, WHRA, 9CD)
The Best of Von Freeman on Premonition (1996-2006, Premonition, 2CD+DVD)
William Parker & Hamid Drake: First Communion + Piercing the Veil (2000, AUM Fidelity, 2CD)
Albert Ayler: The Hilversum Session (1964, ESP-Disk)
Steamin' With the Miles Davis Quintet (1956, Prestige)
Frank Foster: Manhattan Fever (1968-69, Blue Note)
Jackie McLean: New and Old Gospel (1967, Blue Note)
That Devilin' Tune: A Jazz History: Volume 4 (1945-51, WHRA, 9CD)
Jimmy Heath: Really Big! (1960, Riverside)
Booker Ervin: The Freedom Book (1963, Prestige)
Thad Jones: The Magnificent Thad Jones (1956, Blue Note)
Andrew Hill: Change (1966, Blue Note)
Lee Morgan: Candy (1957, Blue Note)
Lou Donaldson: Gravy Train (1961, Blue Note)
Count Basie: Basie at Birdland (1961, Roulette Jazz)
The War (A Ken Burns Film): I'm Beginning to See the Light (1937-44, Legacy) **

Vocals:

Fay Victor Ensemble: Cartwheels Through the Cosmos (ArtistShare)
William Parker/Raining on the Moon: Corn Meal Dance (AUM Fidelity)
Tierney Sutton: On the Other Side (Telarc)
Maria Anadon: A Jazzy Way (Arbors)

Debuts:

Logan Richardson: Cerebral Flow (Fresh Sound New Talent) %

Latin Jazz:

Pablo Aslan: Buenos Aires Tango Standards (Zoho)

2006

Top Ten:

 1. Ornette Coleman: *Sound Grammar* (Sound Grammar):
    old school avant-garde, the kind that brings the noise, breaks
    down barriers, and still sounds sweet.

 2. Jon Faddis: *Teranga* (Koch):
    Dizzy's stunt double sums up all you can do with a trumpet.

 3. World Saxophone Quartet: *Political Blues* (Justin Time):
    the great hornsmen of the apocalypse rant, rave, get funky,
    party down.

 4. Adam Lane's Full Throttle Orchestra: *New Magical Kingdom*
    (Clean Feed):
    his grand melodic sweet reminds one of Mingus, as does his
    ability to kick ass.

 5. Mario Pavone Sextet: *Deez to Blues* (Playscape):
    a dazzling upside down cake swirled around the leader's bass.

 6. The Harry Allen-Joe Cohn Quartet: *Hey, Look Me Over* (Arbors):
    glorious mainstream sax, with nods to Getz, Webster, and Joe's
    dad Al.

 7. Odyssey the Band: *Back in Time* (Pi):
    all the kinkiness that Blood Ulmer strained out of his straight
    blues albums comes back in spades.

 8. Adam Lane Trio: *Zero Degree Music* (CIMP):
    avant-grunge, the bass pulse driving Vinny Golia's rapid-fire
    sax riffs.

 9. Steven Bernstein's Millennial Territory Orchestra: *MTO Volume 1*
    (Sunnyside):
    old testament Basie confronts the age of Prince and Wonder.

10. Nik Bärtsch's Ronin: *Stoa* (ECM):
    Zen-funk minimalism, improvised section by unexpected section.

Reissues:

 1. Fats Waller: *If You Got to Ask, You Ain't Got It* (Bluebird/Legacy):
    the pianist, the songwriter, the entertainer, one disc for each.

 2. Irène Schweizer: *Portrait* (Intakt):
    two decades of amazing piano improv in bitesize chunks.

 3. Andrew Hill: *Pax* (Blue Note):
    his new found fame uncovers a long lost gem.

Vocal Jazz:

 1. Diana Krall: *From This Moment On* (Verve):
    the best new Sinatra act since the old Sinatra.

Best Debut:

 1. Bob Reynolds: *Can't Wait for Perfect* (Fresh Sound New Talent):
    rooted in funk not swing, but reminds me of the brutish young
    Ben Webster.

Working List:

Ornette Coleman: Sound Grammar (Sound Grammar)
Jon Faddis: Teranga (Koch)
World Saxophone Quartet: Political Blues (Justin Time)
Mario Pavone Sextet: Deez to Blues (Playscape)
Adam Lane's Full Throttle Orchestra: New Magical Kingdom (Clean Feed)
The Harry Allen-Joe Cohn Quartet: Hey, Look Me Over (Arbors)
Adam Lane Trio: Zero Degree Music (CIMP)
Odyssey the Band: Back in Time (Pi)
Satoko Fujii Four: When We Were There (Libra)
Nik Bärtsch's Ronin: Stoa (ECM)
Steve Lacy Quintet: Esteem (1975, Atavistic)
Joe Morris Quartet: Beautiful Existence (Clean Feed)
Steven Bernstein's Millennial Territory Orchestra: MTO Volume 1 (Sunnyside)
The Vandermark 5: A Discontinuous Line (Atavistic)
Ben Allison: Cowboy Justice (Palmetto) *
Fred Anderson: Timeless: Live at the Velvet Lounge (Delmark)
Zentralquartett: 11 Songs -- Aus Teutschen Landen (Intakt)
Diana Krall: From This Moment On (Verve)
Ulf Wakenius: Notes From the Heart (ACT)
François Carrier: Happening (Leo, 2CD)
Ramón Díaz: Diàleg (Fresh Sound New Talent)
Bob Reynolds: Can't Wait for Perfect (Fresh Sound New Talent)
Maurice El Médioni Meets Roberto Rodriguez: Descarga Oriental: The New York Sessions (Piranha)
Sonny Rollins: Sonny, Please (Doxy)
Rabih Abou-Khalil/Joachim Kühn: Journey to the Centre of an Egg (Enja/Justin Time)
Ignacio Berroa: Codes (Blue Note)
Scott Hamilton: Nocturnes & Serenades (Concord)
Soft Machine: Grides (1971, Cuneiform)
Charles Lloyd: Sangam (ECM)
Erik Friedlander: Prowl (Cryptogramophone)
Nils Petter Molvaer: An American Compilation (Thirsty Ear)
Manu Katché: Neighbourhood (ECM)
Jeff Healey & the Jazz Wizards: It's Tight Like That (Stony Plain)
Harry Miller's Isipingo: Which Way Now (1975, Cuneiform)
Omer Avital: The Ancient Art of Giving (Smalls)
Club D'Elf: Now I Understand (Accurate)
Rudresh Mahanthappa: Codebook (Pi)
Frank Hewitt: Fresh From the Cooler (1996, Smalls)
Sound in Action Trio: Gate (Atavistic)
Kidd Jordan/Hamid Drake/William Parker: Palm of Soul (AUM Fidelity)
Maurice Hines: To Nat "King" Cole With Love (Arbors)
Paul Motian: On Broadway Vol. 4 (Winter & Winter)
Moncef Genoud: Aqua (Savoy Jazz)
Kieran Hebden and Steve Reid: The Exchange Session Vol. 1 (Domino)
Bill Carrothers: Shine Ball (Fresh Sound New Talent) %
Carneyball Johnson (Akron Cracker)
Junk Box: Fragment (Libra)
Thomas Strønen: Pohlitz (Rune Grammofon)

Later discoveries:

Wolfgang Muthspiel Trio: Bright Side (Material)
Gato Libre: Nomad (No Man's Land)
Saborit: Que Linda Es Mi Cuba (Tumi Music)
Les Primitifs du Futur: World Musette (1999, Sunnyside)
Sonic Liberation Front: Change Over Time (High Two)
Hat: Hi Ha (Fresh Sound New Talent)
The David S. Ware Quartet: BalladWare (Thirsty Ear)
The Brian Lynch/Eddie Palmieri Project: Simpático (ArtistShare)
Frank Wright: Unity (1974, ESP-Disk)
Vittor Santos: Renewed Impressions (Adventure Music)

2005

 1. William Parker Quartet: *Sound Unity* (AUM Fidelity):
    balance and teamwork distinguish every album on this list,
    but only a great bassist can hold your attention with this
    much firepower on trumpet, sax and drums.

 2. Anthony Braxton: *20 Standards (Quartet) 2003* (Leo):
    spread out over four discs, the set structures delimit a
    playpen for Kevin O'Neil's cool guitar and the leader's
    lofty sax.

 3. Tommy Smith & Brian Kellock: *Symbiosis* (Spartacus):
    duets, tenor sax and piano, standard stuff made exquisite.

 4. Craig Harris: *Souls Within the Veil* (Aquastra):
    heavy with history and horns, sprightly with African percussion,
    sublime resistance against the oppression of black souls.

 5. FME: *Cuts* (Okka Disk):
    stands for Free Music Ensemble, but it's really Ken Vandermark's
    postpunk power trio, where freedom reverts to form.

 6. Paraphrase: *Pre-Emptive Denial* (Screwgun):
    another sax trio, with Tim Berne in the catbird seat, hemmed
    in by Drew Gress and Tom Rainey.

 7. Dennis González's Spirit Meridian: *Idle Wild* (Clean Feed):
    loquacious Oliver Lake fleshes out this quartet's healing
    music for distressing times.

 8. Fieldwork: *Simulated Progress* (Pi):
    Vijay Iyer's robust piano leads Steve Lehman's skiny alto sax,
    which is the idea.

 9. Sirone Bang Ensemble: *Configuration* (Silkheart):
    less ambitious than *Vietnam* but more fun, a stripped down
    string section with Charles Gayle in the back seat.

10. The Vandermark 5: *Alchemia* (Not Two):
    twelve discs from one week in Krakow, true grit from the
    hardest working man in avant-jazz.

Ballot

Due Wednesday, Dec. 11 (11PM).

Name and primary affiliation(s): Tom Hull (Village Voice)

Ten best new releases:

  1. Powerhouse Sound: Oslo/Chicago Breaks (Atavistic)
  2. Jewels and Binoculars: Ships With Tatooed Sails (Upshot)
  3. David Murray Black Saint Quartet: Sacred Ground (Justin Time)
  4. Albert van Veenendaal/Meinrad Kneer/Yonga Sun: Predictable Point
     of Impact (Evil Rabbit)
  5. Chris Byars: Photos in Black, White and Gray (Smalls)
  6. Billy Bang Quintet: Above & Beyond (Justin Time)
  7. Kahil El'Zabar's Infinity Orchestra: Transmigration (Delmark)
  8. Assif Tsahar/Cooper-Moore/Chad Taylor: Digital Primitives (Hopscotch)
  9. Matt Lavelle Trio: Spiritual Power (Silkheart)
 10. Happy Apple: Happy Apple Back on Top (Sunnyside)

Top three reissues:

  1. That Devilin' Tune: A Jazz History (WHRA)
  2. Art Pepper: Unreleased Art Vol. 1: The Complete Abashiri Concert
     (Widow's Taste)
  3. Andrew Hill: Compulsion (Blue Note)

Year's best vocal album:

  1. Fay Victor Ensemble: Cartwheels Through the Cosmos (ArtistShare)

Year's best debut CD:

  1. Logan Richardson: Cerebral Flow (Fresh Sound New Talent)

Year's best Latin jazz CD:

  1. Pablo Aslan: Buenos Aires Tango Standards (Zoho)

Jazz Top Ten 2007:Time Isn't on Our Side

Notes

2006

2005

Ballot

Jazz Top Ten 2007:
Time Isn't on Our Side