Selwyn Harris, Yazz Ahmed (t, flhn, v, Kaoss pad, perc), Noel Langley (t, flhn, ky, v), Camilla George, Tori Freestone, Helena Kay, Josie Simons (s, v), Gemma Moore, Nubya Garcia (s), Becca Toft (t, v), Alex Ridout, Chloe Abbott (t), Carol Jarvis, Rosie Turton (tb, v), George Crowley (bcl), Alcyona Mick, Nadia Sherrif (ky), Sarah Tandy (ky, v), Sam Halkvist (g), Shirley Teteh (g, v), Johanna Burnheart (vn, v), Charlie Pyne (b, v), Ralph Wyld (vib), Sophie Alloway (d, v), Tom Jenkins (d), Corrina Silverster (perc, v) and Sheila Maurice-Grey (v). Classic indeed: but nary a note of nostalgia. 10. Here’s the latest on second-dose vaccine appointments in L.A. County. Weather reports were a jazz … This is a gorgeous set – another delicate exploration of brass tonality, restrained improv eloquence and quiet empathy from the New York-based Israeli trumpeter Avishai Cohen and his long-time piano partner Yonathan Avishai – the latter also an inspired foil for Cohen’s lyricism and flawless control on the trumpeter’s recent ECM triumphs, Into The Silence, and Cross My Palm With Silver. John Fordham, Bugge Wesseltoft (p, ky), Dan Berglund (b) and Magnus Öström (d). helped give hip-hop a visual presence, dies at 59. Damon Locks Black Monument Ensemble, “Where Future Unfolds” (International Anthem)“Some things never change like monuments,” goes one passionate, agitated refrain in this performance, which was recorded live in Chicago last year. Nérija masterfully weaves early Blue Note era-inspired horn section lines with complex dance rhythms and newcomer Shirley Tetteh’s absolutely stunning guitar work. And the record is in some ways more satisfying than the band can occasionally be in concert, where Ibrahim sometimes cuts off tunes too soon, or if there’s not enough feedback from the crowd, seem slightly sterile. ‘How Deep Is The Ocean’ kicks the collection off with a glossy masterclass in fresh lyrical invention and canny accompaniment, an eagerly impulsive ‘Work’ and a languid ‘Crepuscule With Nellie’ celebrate Corea’s affection for Thelonious Monk (and also his partners’ adroitness at the rhythm-juggling it invites), favourite Corea originals like ‘500 Miles High’, ‘La Fiesta’ and ‘Now He Sings, Now He Sobs’ are given freewheeling makeovers, and a throbbing and increasingly urgent account of ‘All Blues’ typically develops a high-stepping, dancelike feel that distinguishes it from its brooding source. Come to hear a celebration of a timeless, genre-defying legacy that has shaped many of the musicians listed here (and elsewhere); stay to hear that legacy in vibrant motion. Dec. 11, 2019 … The programming is well thought through, with a sumptuously romantic ‘Save The Last Dance For Me’, followed by the freest cut of the set, a gnarly but not alienating ‘Mumbo Jumbo’, before we revel in the dramatics of ‘You Only Live Twice’ and a melancholic but life-affirming ‘Lush Life’. As this duo session’s title implies, the warm acoustic of the studio in Lugano in which it was recorded is an active participant too. Featuring new lyrics by Imogen Ryall to an Andy Bey scat solo, the title-track, ‘Believin’ It’, crystallises all of Martin’s outstanding qualities: infallible pocket, dazzling technique, lustrous timbre and phrasing to die for. 2018. Clockwise from … Nick Hasted, ➜ Read our Cassie Kinoshi interview: 'I feel like, in Britain, we don’t like to acknowledge the problems we have', Michael Janisch (b, el b), George Crowley (ts), John O’Gallagher (as), Jason Palmer (t), Rez Abassi (g), John Escreet (p, ky), Andrew Bain and Clarence Penn (d). But the secret weapon here may be pianist Carmen Staaf, whose flickering excursions provide a bright counterweight to the album’s sweeping melodic drive. Epistrophy picks up from the equally intimate Small Town; recorded live at the Village Vanguard, these are classic standards presented at a classic venue in, well, a most classic performance. Yet Croker also has a more marked Afro-house sensibility in some of his writing and arranging, which puts the onus as much on soaring unison lines with saxophonist Irwin Hall as it does on the leader’s solos, which blend radiant timbres with spinning phrases. Such longevity leads to the production of remarkable thematic projects. If you want an album that can make you dance and think, explore and exult, sing and sigh then look no further than Polyhymnia. Mehldau, who plays all instruments including drums and vocal on the track, instead offers a comforting musical salvation. THE BEST 30 JAZZ ALBUMS OF 2019. How it’s thriving amid Trump’s attempted ban, Even as COVID-19 surges, Triller planned a red carpet party in a Hollywood Hills mansion. French band Phoenix finds all the right grooves for ‘On the Rocks’. Mike Flynn Daily reviews of every important album in music. How a Southern Californian punk rock song became an Orange County hockey anthem. Here we take a look at 10 favorite jazz vocals albums in 2019 that stood out: Tierney Sutton Band – ScreenPlay. Avishai Cohen’s ballad ‘The Opening’ has a Bill-Evans-meets-Abdullah-Ibrahim piano intro and a wistful, tone-shifting melody, and Coltrane’s ‘Crescent’ is a trumpet soliloquy of soft ascents, octave-hopping strides and airy top notes. It should have happened a long time ago, but much better late than never. But on ‘Barbara’, dedicated to Barbara Thompson’s ongoing creativity despite her chronic illness, there are jazz rock themes, a playing with tempo and rhythms that echo yet develop Thompson’s work over the decades. The title-track would fit the Silver-Blakey template exactly and has their kind of momentum, trumpet at the front, crisp and clear, before the impressive Richardson pushes in and Nimmer opens up, bassist Sanders swinging hard. ‘Cianna’, also by Calderazzo, is slowish, but has one of those themes you feel you’ve heard before, it so insidiously becomes an earworm, with Branford on tenor this time. But the real stars remain Almazan and a rhythm section of Linda May Han Oh and Henry Cole, who shift through styles and standout turns with grace. Here, he proves himself as a singular voice in his own right, teaming with a nimble quartet on a lushly drawn record full of empathetic interplay that carries echoes of vibes master Bobby Hutcherson while still reaching toward new ground. Rec. The sound is highly effective when cast against combinations of upright bass, guitar, brass and reeds. Producer Toussaint adds his sinuous tenor to two tracks. Universal Music Group said it removed music by Drake, Pop Smoke and others from the streaming app Triller after the company stopped paying UMG artists. Andy Robson, ➜ Read our Yazz Ahmed interview: “Music has helped me identify who I am”, Matana Roberts (as, cl, v), Hannah Marcus (g, acc, fiddle, v), Sam Shalabi (g, oud, v), Nicholas Coloia (b, v), Ryan Sawyer (d, vib, jaw harp, bells, v), Steve Swell (tb, v), Ryan White (vib), Thierry Amar, Nadia Moss, Jessica Moss and Ian Haysksy (v). Rec. 2018. If a performer was the focus of a major feature, it’s likely their album wasn’t reviewed, and accounts for its omission from the list below. As the culture continued to sag in 2019, music soared. As the subtitle makes clear this is a celebration of a grand milestone for the Art Ensemble of Chicago. Stop signs! This is a quietly intimate dialogue of course, but almost everything in it glows. Kris Davis, “Diatom Ribbons” (Pyroclastic)A proud descendant of the inside-out piano ventures of Cecil Taylor, Davis has long shown a dazzling facility with deconstructing a melody, but here she applies the same approach to the groove. The 50th anniversary of one of the seminal groups to have emerged from post-war America is a timely reminder of its epic journey of daring experimentation and collaboration. After all, last year revealed the first set of unheard John Coltrane music in decades. 30-31 October 2018. A more aggressive ‘voice’ of the mob chants ‘Build That Wall!’ on ‘The Prophet is a Fool’, Mehldau’s most direct resistance to Trump-ism. John Fordham. The Best Jazz Albums of 2019. If Dawid’s album … The answer is a resounding yes. With star names, newcomers and a few jazz legends, our end-of-year Top 20s demonstrate peak creativity levels among contemporary artists, as well as archival aces aplenty. Perhaps the most concerted attempt so far at a major album from a generation of young London players more attuned to performing, Driftglass draws on Afrofuturism for its hopeful scope, our musical melting-pot for its sound, and Kinoshi’s classical studies for its structure. Nicole Mitchell (f, piccolo, b f), Tomeka Reid (c), Dudu Kouaté, Enoch Williams, Tito Sompa (perc), Moor Mother, Christina Wheeler (v, poetry) and Stephen Rush (cond). Not all the meters or rhythms are straightforward, but so assured is the playing that even the most complex settings sound entirely natural. A slow cook of a release, its roots deep in a 2015 concert piece commissioned by Tomorrow’s Warriors with support from PRS Women Make Music, Polyhymnia is a celebratory paean to the brave, the gentle, those that won’t back down. By Dylan Jones 25 August 2019. Resulting in their 9th Grammy Nomination for Best Jazz Vocals. By JAZZ.FM91. But Mehldau tackles it from an interesting alternative perspective, honed from several years absorbing religious texts. Kevin Le Gendre, ➜ Read our Michael Janisch interview: “People have become so tribal, which is what humans do anyway. This L.A.-based app aims to be the new TikTok. Finding Gabriel signals a radical departure from Mehldau’s very recent recording projects, namely his stellar acoustic trio’s Seymour Reads the Constitution and solo piano investigations of JS Bach on After Bach. Joe Pesci, Etienne Charles, and Michele Rosewoman. Dedicated to Egberto Gismonti, the concluding three-movement, ‘Many Worlds Away’, ranges from the hieratic to the rhapsodic to the ecstatic. (A part of the His three solo improvisations offer a very different level of emotional depth, being introvert and involving. The best jazz albums on vinyl is deserving of its own gallery but here's one album you don't see as often. What binds all of the music together is Simcock’s fulsome tone, clarity of line and the way in which his seemingly effortless pianism carves out hugely satisfying harmonic journeys. ‘Drivers License’ singer Olivia Rodrigo performed her hit debut single live for the first time on ‘The Tonight Show.’ Try not to get chills. Many of the pieces are his; others are by saxophonist Tom Harrison, a frequent associate who was unable to make the session, Gillard being his replacement. Subscribe now to see all of our writers' Top 10s as well as the full Reissues/Archive Top 20 and all of our seasonal subscription offers by visiting www.magsubscriptions.com, Branford Marsalis, (ss, ts), Joey Calderazzo (p), Eric Revis (b) and Justin Faulkner (d). With Yuja Wang, Julie Andrews, Common, Katy Perry and an orchestra playing in an empty Hollywood Bowl, the L.A. Phil delivers a gala like none before. October 2017. There is a similarly intelligent blend of soulful melodies and hard-edged rhythms, finessed by the engineering of Bob Power, who worked with Hargrove’s star collaborators, Erykah Badu and D’Angelo. Kevin Le Gendre, Alice Zawadzki (v, vn, p, ky), Fred Thomas (p, d, ky, perc, clo, db), Rob Luft (g), Misha Mullov-Abbado (db), Hyelim Kim (taegum), Simmy Singh (vn), Laura Senior, Lucy Nolan (vla) and Peggy Nolan (clo). Harrison’s ‘Float, Flitter, Flutter’ allows Collins to show his Hubbard-like inclinations and Gillard to solo affectingly, the hauntingly, hymn-like ‘Look Ahead’ written by Collins for his son quite sublime. September 2018. There’s no sterility here, and no sense of anything being curtailed. The heads-playing is occasionally a little ragged (though in an Ornette/Cherry good way), but this is a meeting of hearts and minds. Her very DNA combines both jazz and country heritages. Lovano’s ‘Fort Worth’ (a nod to Ornette) is exhilaratingly and free-jazzily polyphonic and conversational, ‘Divine Timing’ a haunting two-horns dirge that turns to effortless grooveswitching, and the closing segue embraces a Coltrane-quartet feel (on Coltrane’s ‘Spiritual’) and a disguised and almost-ambient visit to ‘Over the Rainbow’ by Guidi. This follow-up to Simcock’s Mercury Prize-shortlisted 2011 ACT debut, the brilliant Good Days At Schloss Elmau, was penned primarily on the road while the pianist was touring the world as part of the Pat Metheny Quartet. Social engagement has again inspired ambitious black American music in these fractious, urgent times, but local racial oppression and liberation animate these songs. Firstly, because it’s an out-and-out ‘concept’ album with extramusical motivations: Mehldau attempts to make sense of socio-political culture in the Trump era by consulting sacred literature, and citing a selection of texts from the Old Testament books of Prophets and Writings. 9. TWELVE JAZZ GUITAR ALBUMS YOU SHOULD HEAR. The strikingly wide timbral spectrum features the ecstatic ricochet of a jaw harp, rabble-rousing country-blues fiddle riffs, occasional Ornetteish breakdowns and instrumental interludes that are consistently imaginative, none more so than during an utterly haunting movement of vibraphone and percussion that sounds like wind chimes running backwards. View reviews, ratings, news & more regarding your favorite band. It’s an object lesson in how an established group can dig deeper into musical and emotional resources than many a short-lived ensemble, however starry the personnel. Neither are we, so to prep for The Weeknd’s Super Bowl halftime show, we offer this ranked list of every song from his new best-of. The Weeknd says he “wouldn’t bet on” seeing any guests during his Super Bowl LV halftime show Sunday. Peter Quinn, ➜ Read our Gwilym Simcock interview: “I want to have an emotional experience when I listen to music. March 2017-October 2018. “Abuse of any kind has no place in any relationship,” Dita Von Teese, burlesque entertainer and Marilyn Manson’s ex-wife, wrote in a statement Wednesday. May 28-30 2018. The process for getting a COVID-19 vaccine varies county to county. Jenny Scheinman & Allison Miller, “Parlour Game” (Royal Potato Family)A spinoff of Miller’s hard-hitting Boom Tic Boom project, this quartet works a rich seam connecting jazz and Americana led by Sheinman’s dynamic violin and Miller, who in recent years has cemented her reputation as one of the most vital drummers in jazz. Castaldi’s bells-and-gongs soundscape for Lovano’s echoing first tenor entry on ‘One Time In’ presents the saxophonist with a wealth of tonal temptations. Grenfell Tower’s stubborn symbol of murderous social schism stands accusingly at the record’s heart, as ‘Wake (for Grenfell)’ turns a Langston Hughes line into a mournful work-song chant, pointedly soured by Kinoshi’s tart alto tone. 2. Roberts’ ability to treat such demanding, multi-layered material with a clear focus is a testament to the strength of her original vision and skill as a narrator. Janisch enjoys considerable kudos as the founder and head of the dynamic independent record label Whirlwind Recordings, but that should not overshadow his skill as a leader, composer and soloist. Rec. Dedicated to Billy Childs, the three-movement album opener ‘Beautiful Is Our Moment’ features some of Simcock’s most exuberant, joyous writing, with its elegiac coda providing the final surprise. The band, featuring jazz vocalist Tierney Sutton, has been together for twenty plus years. Other surprises abound: bet you don’t see ‘Men of Harlech’ coming on the Suffragette-inspired ‘Deeds Not Words,’ or the brass spikes that crunch against the Mardi Gras piano rolls of ‘Ruby Bridges’. November 2018. The Oracle was one of a slew of jazz-adjacent 2019 albums that utilized voices without really touching on anything resembling conventional jazz singing. Rec. I want it to move me”, Abdullah Ibrahim (p), Andrae Murchison (tb), Cleave Guyton, Lance Bryant, Marshall McDonald (reeds), Adam Glasser (hca), Noah Jackson, (v, b), Alec Dankworth (b) and Will Terrill (d). Given Rava’s Miles allegiances (but maybe also a Lacy and Don Cherry-inspired inclination toward looser jazz forms), it’s perhaps not surprising that quite a lot of this music sounds like the almost-free leanings of Miles’ and Wayne Shorter’s 1960s Second Great Quintet pushed further out. June/July 2016. As with those projects, Rymden also takes its cue more from rock than jazz, even though it retains a jazz sensibility. Regardless of the inspiration that Roberts has drawn from the location, her treatment of the subject maintains the high standards set by the previous work. November 2018. The best ballad playing on the album is in Revis’s composition ‘Nilaste’ which seems to evoke heartbreak and beauty at the same time. ‘Gilmore Girls’ creator Amy Sherman-Palladino on Carole King: ‘I’m grateful to her forever’. The album is hardcore jazz influenced, but maintains the funk sensibilities that is layered in production effects that age the music like the mighty Orgone. Perhaps most impressively, Croker has also edited performances so that the 10 tracks make a running time under 45 minutes – one side of a trusty C-90 – so the material is well paced towards the climactic closer ‘Understand Yourself’, which has an imperious, strikingly conscious vocal from Jamaican reggae sensation Chronixx. By Howard Reich. The pair are particularly fine Monk masters, notably on the title-track; unlike so many they don’t play up the ‘quirkiness’, but revel in the damn fine tune: Frisell even squeezes in a rock’n’roll flavour which would’ve had Monk doing one of his little dances. Wesseltoft is really at home here, creatively shifting around sci-fi like synth-centred soundscapes, tastefully funky Fender Rhodes and meditative acoustic piano. Each piece has its own pleasures: above all, there’s a sense of a fine project properly realised and accomplished. Diatom Ribbons, by Kris Davis (center) was selected as the No. 2019’s best funk albums are here! The year in entertainment: 2019’s best movies, music, TV shows, games and more. Ibrahim sits out much of this track – just as he might do on stage – but he comes back in exactly where it matters, ushering back the scalar head arrangement. The mood is post-bop, with an augmented Messengers feel, the writing compact and the execution consistently rewarding. It’s quite scary at times, and that’s what Worlds Collide is about”, Alice Zawadzki: “This pain of Spring often comes from the way we lay ourselves on the line again and again, especially in love”, Yazz Ahmed interview: “Music has helped me identify who I am”, Abdullah Ibrahim interview: "In our music there’s no such thing as a mistake and, actually, maybe in life itself there’s no such thing as a mistake either ", Double-bassist Thomas Morgan: “For me music has always been the most natural and the deepest way to share something with people”, Gwilym Simcock: “I want to have an emotional experience when I listen to music. Theon Cross, “Fyah” (Gearbox)Part of a booming London jazz scene led in part by rising star saxophonist Shabaka Hutchings (who features Cross in his band Sons of Kemet), this tuba player propels the low end of that boom. John Fordham, Cassie Kinoshi (as), Miguel Gorodi, Sheila Maurice-Grey (t), Chelsea Carmichael (ts, f), Joe Bristow (tb), Theon Cross (tba), Joe Armon-Jones, Sarah Tandy (p, Fender Rhodes), Shirley Tetteh (g), Xana, Cherise Adams-Burnett, Mr. Ekow (v), Rio Kai (b) and Patrick Boyle (d). ‘Lahan al-Mansour’, dedicated to Saudi’s first female film director, most obviously draws upon Ahmed’s Gulf roots, but her full-toned flugelhorn also echoes Kenny Wheeler’s contributions to Rabih Abou-Khalil’s great albums like Blue Camel. The three of them (plus producer Manfred Eicher) have boldly adopted a repertoire rooted in 12-tone serial forms, to produce what the saxophonist calls, “some of the most intimate and personal music I’ve recorded so far”. Peter Quinn, Enrico Rava (t), Joe Lovano (ts, tarogato), Giovanni Guidi (p), Dezron Douglas (b) and Gerald Cleaver (d). 2018. Both the songs’ rigid overall structures and occasionally slack development hold Driftglass back from greatness. Experimental; Jazz; by: Daniel Felsenthal; January 19 2021. Roberts has kept her conceptual focus and creative engine finely tuned to deliver work that has structural invention and a deep poignancy that should move anybody interested in real lives. 8. By Carl Wilson. Why you won’t see any special guests at the Weeknd’s Super Bowl halftime show. Here’s what you need to know. The fourth installment in Matana Roberts’ ambitious meditation on African-American history and folklore focuses on the city of Memphis “unlike a place I have yet 2 know”, according to the artist. She’s backed by a band that at various points includes turntablist Val Jeanty, guitarist Nels Cline, bassist Esperanza Spalding (heard only as a vocalist) and drummer Terri Lynn Carrington, who provides a steady yet supple anchor to a record that’s as unpredictable as it is approachable. The rebirth of cool has seen a massive spike in young jazz audiences, with Spotify revealing that 40% of jazz listening is done by people under 30.This is all thanks to the daring, urgent, and often politically minded genius of the artists below. The Branford Marsalis Quartet (left to right: Marsalis, Justin Faulkner, Eric Revis, and Joey Calderazzo) made the best jazz album of 2019, according to JazzTimes‘ critics. 4. As the 78-year-old Chick Corea reminded UK audiences at this summer’s Love Supreme festival, wear and tear doesn’t touch the relish, grace and inventiveness with which he has performed in a multiplicity of styles all his life. With the untimely passing of Esbjörn Svensson in 2008, Öström and Berglund have buried their head in their own solo projects. Of course, we shouldn’t be surprised that Frisell takes this fresh start as an opportunity to bring together his love of American folk and the Great American Songbook, but rarely has even he harmonised them so profoundly. By Fred Kaplan. But you can bet he’ll be telling a story. Antonio Sánchez, Lines in the Sand (Cam Jazz) Release date: January 25. 2016-2019. Duke Ellington’s ‘Azalea’ is a standard-song stroll sprung off Yonathan Avishai’s inventive comping, Abdullah Ibrahim’s ‘Kofifi Blue’ gets some Armstrong-like end-note shakes, while ‘Sir Duke’ has its famous melody burnished with an almost baroque courtliness. A highlight is ‘Make It All Go Away’, an evocative nod to rock psychedelia and dominated by two exceptional guest vocalists: Kurt Elling improvises gliding horn-like lines and in-demand singer-songwriter Becca Stevens’ soaring vocal is not unlike Cocteau Twins’ Liz Frazer. On one hand, the admission is a defining quality for an artist capable of conjuring a storm whether on saxophone or through spoken word, but it also defines Roberts’ restless, holistic approach to musical storytelling, which here conjures the nightmares of the slavery era in a way that’s haunting, challenging and consistently engrossing. Photo illustration by Slate. Every song on the Weeknd’s greatest-hits-ish ‘Highlights,’ ranked. The ensemble instrumental palette is an eclectic one, and the soundscape is agitated and ominous in places but for the most part is dream-like, kaleidoscopic, and a bit trippy. Browse through and check out what music our editors have been listening to this year. Trumpeter Collins assembled a spectacular line-up for this very impressive album, balancing an all-American rhythm section with a strong UK frontline. Best jazz albums of 2019: Dee Alexander, Miguel Zenon and Anat Cohen Tentet had a very good year. If this isn’t a candidate for record of the year from many reviewers, I’ll be very surprised. Fox News cancels Lou Dobbs’ show; pro-Trump host not expected to be back on air. Alyn Shipton, ➜ Read our Abdullah Ibrahim interview: "In our music there’s no such thing as a mistake and, actually, maybe in life itself there’s no such thing as a mistake either ", Quentin Collins (t, flhn), Meilana Gillard (as), Leo Richardson, Jean Toussaint (ts), Dan Nimmer (p, ky), Joe Sanders (b) and Willie Jones III (d). (photo: Eric Ryan Anderson) As we await this week's Fridays at Five streaming concert with guitarist John Scofield and the funk superband Lettuce, we take a look back at one of our most popular and controversial posts, originally posted in August 2016, which includes a landmark album for Scofield. Somewhat of a follow-up to his acclaimed 1991 album, Heart of the Bass, which featured acoustic bass and 6-string in an orchestral setting, Soul of the Bass is centered around solo melodic and … The players contribute an original each, the other seven tracks visit jazz sources from Coltrane and Ellington to Ornette, Stevie Wonder’s ‘Sir Duke’, and Israeli composer Alexander Argov’s pretty lullaby ‘Shir Eres’ – so this is a set rooted in orthodox song-forms, but the imaginativeness of the playing transforms them all. That outgoing mood is sustained in Monk’s ‘Skippy’ with Guyton’s piccolo making the running. This is more about composition and Mehldau’s analogue synth sounds, which this time largely take on a more understated, ambient role. ... Albums Best New Albums Best New Reissues 8.0 ... Patricia Brennan; Maquishti. For the most part, the tracks on drummer-composer Antonio Sánchez’s Lines in the Sand suggest scores for imaginary films, drawing from his experience writing the score for the 2014 film Birdman.In some cases, he also builds upon ideas from his previous album, 2017’s Bad Hombre. If ‘Before The Elegant Hour’ (for Brad Mehldau) possesses a rough-hewn grandeur, the brief ‘You’re My You’ (dedicated to Simcock’s first jazz piano teacher, Les Chisnall) is a touching jazz chorale, while ‘Inveraray Air’ (for Russell Ferrante) is marked by a profound lyricism and a dramatic textural stripping away at the close. Enrico Rava, the 80-year-old Italian trumpet star whose expeditions include Miles-infused post-bop, free-jazz with Steve Lacy, and a few personal takes on Italian opera besides, toured with Joe Lovano in November 2018 – this terrific live recording catches their Rome concert. Rec. The Best Jazz of 2019 ... Our list of the best for 2019 ripples with variety and diversity. County by county, here’s how to get a COVID-19 vaccine in Southern California. (photo: Eric Ryan Anderson) We calculated our top 40 new releases and top 10 historical/reissue recordings of 2019 based on year-end lists by our writers. If you played this spaciously exploratory album without investigating its origins, you might disrespectfully ponder if Joe Lovano had moved into sound-of-silence ECM territory as an audience-building variant on his more familiar avant-bop and world-musical agendas. Here, on his first album as a leader, Cross delivers a standout showcase for his often-overlooked instrument, rumbling through elements of New Orleans funk, soul-jazz and Afrobeat with the help of two more essential U.K. figures in saxophonist Nubya Garcia and drummer Moses Boyd. The Best Albums of 2019 Plus the best songs. Ricky Powell, a quintessential New Yorker whose point-and-shoot photos of the Beastie Boys and Run-D.M.C. 6. Rec. If anything, Martin’s reworking of Pat Metheny’s ‘Timeline’, for which she has penned new lyrics, is even more spectacular, with her control of the rapid-fire melodic line a thing of wonder. MATANA ROBERTS COIN COIN CHAPTER FOUR: MEMPHIS. On this 2-CD release (one studio set and one live) revered founder, multi-reedist and composer Roscoe Mitchell and his trusty co-leader, drummer-percussionist Famoudou Don Moye, are joined by a brilliant cast of guests that provides the adequate resources to build an intricate, kaleidoscopic orchestral work that is a logical, coherent outgrowth of the original small group with its vast array of instruments. Also heard as part of the Art Ensemble’s arresting new album, cellist Tomeka Reid continues to explore new reaches for her instrument. Well, as you ask, it’s rich, sonorous, big, melodic, puts a kick in your heels and a smile on your face.