"Top Ten" lists often seem rather arbitrary, so here are my favorites out of more than a thousand CDs which came my way last year.

Favorite Jazz | Reissues | Northwest | Earlier Picks




artist - album title - label

Small groups -
Dave Douglas- Mountain Passage - Greenleaf Music
Pat Metheny Group - The Way Up - Nonesuch
David “Fathead” Newman - I Remember Brother Ray - High Note
Joey De Francesco/Jimmy Smith - Legacy - Concord
Jim Hall Trio - Magic Meeting - ArtistShare
Marian McPartland - 85 Candles - Concord (2 CD)
Fred Hersch Ensemble - Leaves of Grass - Palmetto
Eric Alexander/ Grant Stewart - Reeds and Deeds - Criss Cross Jazz
John Swana & The Philadelphians - Philly Gumbo Vol.2 - Criss Cross Jazz
Amina Figarova - Come Escape With Me - Munich
Various Artists - One More/ Music of Thad Jones - IPO
Ted Nash & Odeon - La Espada de la Noche - Palmetto
Kenny Wheeler - What Now? - CAM Jazz
Joe Lovano/ Hank Jones - Joyous Encounter - Blue Note
John Scofield - That’s What I Say - Verve
Terence Blanchard - Flow - Blue Note
Sean Jones - Gemni - Mack Avenue
Brian Lynch -24/ 7 - Nagel Heyer
Bud Shank/ Phil Woods - Bouncing with Bud & Phil - Capri
The Stryker/ Slagle Band - Live at The Jazz Standard - ZOHO
Enrico Rava - Full of Life - CAM
Organissimo - This Is The Place - Big “O”
Sonny Rollins - Without a Song the 9/11 Concert - Milestone
Wynton Marsalis - Live at The House of Tribes - Blue Note
Oregon - Prime - CAM Jazz
Marc Johnson - Shades of Jade - ECM
The Clayton Brothers - Back in the Swing of Things - Hyena
Joe Locke - Rev-elation - Sharp Nine
Jimmy Ponder - What’s New - HighNote
Avram Fefer/ Bobby Few - Kinded Spirits - Boxholder
Ryan Kisor Quintet - This is Ryan - Video Arts
Jim Hall/ Geoffrey Keezer - Free Association - ArtistShare

Pianists, solo, duo, trio -
John Abercrombie/Andy Laverne -A Nice Idea -SteepleChase
Hod O’Brien Trio -Blues Alley: Second Set - Reservoir
Red Mitchell/ George Cables - Live at Port Townsend - Challenge
Harry Connick Jr./ Branford Marsalis - Occasion - Marsalis Music
Ahmad Jamal - After Fajr - Dreyfus Jazz
Bill Charlap - Plays George Gershwin - Blue Note
Mulgrew Miller - Live at Yoshi’s Volume Two - MaxJazz
Jessica Williams - Live at Yoshi’s Volume Two - MaxJazz
Bill Mays Trio - Live at the Jazz Standard - Palmetto
Bob Florence (solo) - Friends/Treasures/Heroes - Summit
Kenny Barron - The Perfect Set live at Bradley’s II- Sunnyside
Alan Broadbent - ‘Round Midnight - Artistry Music
Steve Kuhn Trio - Quiéreme Mucho - Sunnyside

Singers -
Judy Wexler - Easy on the Heart - Jazzopolis
Dena DeRose - A Walk In The Park - MaxJazz
Lorraine Feather - Dooji Wooji - Sanctuary
Luciana Souza - Duos II - Sunnyside
Mary Stallings - Remember Love - Half Note
Sara Lazarus - Give Me The Simple Life - Dreyfus
Chris McNulty - Dance Delicioso - Elefant Dreams
Ilona Knopfler - Live the Life - Mack Avenue
Tierney Sutton - I’m With the Band - Telarc
Sheila Jordan/Cameron Brown - Celebration - HighNote
Dee Dee Bridgewater - J’ai deux amours - Sovereign Artists
Mark Murphy - Once To Every Heart - Verve
Pratt Bros Big Band w. Roberta Gambarini - 16 Men & A Chick Singer - CAP

Big Bands, large ensembles -
Bob Brookmeyer/New Art Orchestra - Get Well Soon - Challenge
Chris Walden Big Band - Home of My Heart - Origin
Dave Holland Big Band - Overtime - Dare2
Irvin Mayfield - Strange Fruit - Basin Street
Lars Danielsson - Libera Me - ACT
The New Talent Jazz Orch - Sound of New York Jazz Underground - Fresh Sound New Tal
Mark Masters Ensemble - Porgy & Bess - Capri
Bill Holman Band - Live - Jazzed Media
Mingus Big Band/ Orch/Dynasty - I Am Three - Mingus Music/ Sunnyside
Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orch - Live at MCG - Manchester Craftsmens Guild
Philip Catherine, Bert Joris, Brussells Jazz Orch - Meeting Colours - Dreyfus Jazz
Charlie Haden Liberation Music Orch - Not In Our Name - Verve
Gerald Wilson Orch - In My Time - Mack Avenue
John La Barbera Big Band - Fantazm - Jazz Compass
Maria Schneider - Days of Wine and Roses - ArtistShare
Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo - Symphonic Jobim - Adventure Music
Seattle Repertory Jazz Orch - Sacred Music of Duke Ellington - Origin 2 CD (advance)

Afro-Cuban & Latin Jazz -
Sammy Figueroa ... and Sammy Walked - In Savant
Poncho Sanchez - Do It! - Concord Picante
Dave Valentin - World on a String - HighNote
Bujo Kevin Jones - Tenth World - Motéma
Bebo Valdés - Bebo de Cuba - Calle 54
Brian Lynch Latin Jazz Sextet - Conclave - Criss Cross
Jerry Gonzalez & Fort Apache Band - Rumba Buhaina - Random Chance
Moacir Santos - Choros & Alegria - Adventure Music

Collections -
Various artists - 100 years of Jazz Guitar - Columbia/Legacy
Various artists - Our New Orleans 2005 - Nonesuch
Various artists - Higher Ground Benefit Concert - Blue Note




Art Pepper - Mosaic Select 15 - Mosaic 3 CD
Joe Williams/Ben Webster - Havin’ A Good Time - Hyena
Count Basie - Complete Clef/Verve Studio Sessions - Mosaic (8 CDs)
Sonny Stitt - Work Done - HighNote
Dizzy Gillespie/Charlie Parker - Town Hall, New York 1945 - Uptown
Jelly Roll Morton - Complete Library of Congress - Rounder
Thelonious Monk Qrt - w.John Coltrane at Carnegie Hall - Blue Note
The Jazz Crusaders - Pacific Jazz Qnt Studio Sessions - Mosaic 6 CDs
Tommy Dorsey - The Sentimental Gentleman of Swing - Bluebird/ Legacy 3CD
The King Cole Trio - The Capitol Transcriptions - Blue Note (3 CDs)
Bill Evans - Complete Village Vanguard 1961 - Riverside (3 CDs)

For Northwest jazz fans in particular, here are some of the exceptional releases from artists living in Seattle, Portland, Vancouver and Victoria.

Tom Collier/ Dan Dean - Duos - Origin
Carl & Carmen Staaf - The Staaf Quartet
Thomas Marriott - Individuation - Origin
Hadley Caliman/ Nicholas Hoffman - Fangs - The Jazz Project
Jay Thomas/Wataru Hamasaki - Accidentally Yours - McVouty
Oliver Gannon - That’s What - Cellar Live
John Stowell - Resonance - Origin
Dave Peck - Good Road - Let’s Play Stella
Tilden Webb Trio - Cellar Groove - Cellar Live
Ian McDougall Quintet - In A Sentimental Mood - Barbarian (2 CD)
Kelley Johnson - Music is the Magic - Saphire
The Ben Thomas Group - Triskaidekaphobia - Origin
Floyd Standifer - Scotch and Soda - Pony Boy
Emerald City Jazz Orchestra - Come Rain or Come Shine - Pony Boy
Greta Matassa - Favorites from a Long Walk - Origin
Bruno Hubert Trio/ B3 Kings - A Cellar Live Christmas - Cellar Live
Karen Shivers - Precious Love - Pony Boy

Spoken word -
Lynn Darroch Jazz Stories

Jazz Books -
Dizzy - The Life and Times of John Birks Gillespie, by Donald Maggin - Harper Collins

Take Five - Public & Private Lives of Paul Desmond, by Doug Ramsey - Parkside

The Billboard Illustrated Encyclopedia of Jazz & Blues, General Editor Howard Mandel - Blllboard Books

Earlier picks:  2004  2003  2002  2001  2000  1999  1998  1997


Buy any CD on this list and you're guaranteed some great music! Each of these CDs has received frequent airplay on Jazz After Hours and/or Jazz Northwest.

—Jim