Hey AT Readers,
Like many respectable jazz columns, blogs and so forth, I begin with the proverbial jazz opener: My “Best Jazz of 2011” list is by no means the gospel. It’s just my answer for the “If I Were On a Stranded Island and Could Only Take 10 Jazz Albums That Came Out In 2011 I’d bring…” game.
What. You know you play that game.
2011 gifted us with some amazing music, evidenced by the list below. No two albums are remotely the same, proving that jazz is most certainly vibrant and thriving. I am also extremely grateful to have interviewed half of the artists on my list this year. The 1 – 10 order doesn’t really matter. Just check out these artists if you haven’t already. Every album here is worthy of a home in your listening device.
Sincerely,
Angelika
Best Jazz Albums of 2011
1. Gretchen Parlato: The Lost and Found (ObliquSound)
2. Marcus Strickland: Triumph of the Heavy Vol. 1 & 2 (Strick Muzik)
3. Ambrose Akinmusire: When the Heart Emerges Glistening (Blue Note)
4. Ben Williams: State of Art (Concord Jazz)
5. Ari Hoenig: Lines of Oppression (Naive)
6. Captain Black Big Band: Captain Black Big Band (Posi-Tone)
7. J.D. Allen Trio: Victory! (Sunnyside)
8. Terri Lyne Carrington: The Mosaic Project (Concord Jazz)
9. Adam Cruz: Milestone (Sunnyside)
10. Sonny Rollins: Road Shows, Volume 2 (Emarcy)
SO excited to check these out. Thanks for the roundup!
You’re welcome! Enjoy!
Hi Angelika, first of all “Happy Holiday Days, Merry Christmas & New Year” to my follow jazz enthusiast!
Great list, I haven’t heard them all but the majority I have delved into … as always you’re on point!
Love, Peace and Joy always, Rob
Good collection. I head the first one and i like it.
That’s great — thanks for stopping by!
Good collection. I heard only the first one and i liked it
Awesome! i really like your refer jazz Adam Cruz: Milestone (Sunnyside).
thanks for putting in
Adam is a fantastic drummer, so I was so glad to find out he was releasing his own album. And it is great! Thank you!
Thanks a lot for this post: I’ve been wanting to download some mod. Jazz music and I hate stumbling around in the dark so it’s good to have a guideline.
I know exactly what you mean! You’re welcome, I hope you enjoy!
Good choices what about Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band album “Thats How We Roll?” Gotta love that rendition of Rhapsody in Blue
I think it’s a great time for big bands; they are really reemerging in a significant way!
I’d like to recommend Fallen Angeles by Daniel Rosenboom, my pick for the #1 jazz album of 2011, and the #1 album. Period. 🙂
I am not familiar. I checked him out on YouTube, and it’s very interesting…thanks for mentioning them!
I have been looking for some good Jazz music. Hopefully after reading this article my search will be over!
I think it will definitely set you up nicely for 2012! Cheers!
Reading through your list reminds me of how distanced I’ve become in recent years from current jazz (wonder what Dave Douglas is up to?). That said, I do have a list of recent releases in my Amazon shopping cart to purchase some day, and I’ll try to check out some of the items listed here.
Oh, and BTW, it would be helpful since you’re not reviewing any of the records if you could provide links to reviews, the artists’ respective home pages, or places to purchase them. Maybe next time?
Point taken. I’ve interviewed many of the artists on my list this year on the blog. There is a ton of information there. The decision to leave it to the artists, album names and cover art was almost all my own. A part of it was that I was having some technical difficulty with adding media. But then I thought long and hard about it, and decided it would be fin to just keep it visually stimulating and let reader’s fingers do the googling, which many have been doing and writing to say so. I don’t know, to me, there is something still mystifying and fun about digging through the virtual crates (before all of the retailers shut down, it was super therapeutic for me to thumb through the CD’s at Tower Records 🙂 ). But I do understand your perspective, obviously. Thanks for stopping by, and hope some of these albums make it into your Amazon cart. Happy Holidays…
so nice!…….am gonna check all ov em!
plzzz read my new blog 22
thxx1
Will get listening immediately and pass on list to partner – thanks for round up and best wishes of the season 😉
You’re welcome, and enjoy! Happy Holidays to you!
Very nice!
I’ve been very dubious and leery of a lot of new music because by-and-large I really don’t like it but every once in a while do come across good stuff worth listening to – though been out of the Jazz scene for a while.
Thanks for sharing, some of this looks great and the little of it I’ve already check out online while reading the blog gives me hope – cheers!
I know what you mean. Great music should be super accessible, not the scavenger hunt it has become. But all of these albums make it worth it, and give me hope as well.
Lovely. I’ve not heard them all yet, but I’m listening to Marcus Strickland right now. I’ll definitely check out some of your recommendations.
Thank you, I hope you enjoy!
nice info i like it. thks ..blog walking
Thank you!
I’m a list man. thanks for the tips. I’ll check them out.
You’re welcome, I’m glad to offer! Hope you enjoy!
nice
Excellent soulful choices!
Curious…do you count the “darkjazz” movement as actual jazz? I thought the Kilamanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble’s “Staircase” album was amazing.
Thanks for this post! I really needed recommendations to refresh my jazz collection.
I love jazz and was very interested to see your perspective on what the best jazz album was in 2011. I will have to check out a few of these albums, thanks for the heads up.
Oooh. Thanks for sharing! I have a pretty new interest in jazz, so this helps me know where to start. I also recently wrote my own “best of” list, but for movies coming out in 2012. Here’s the link if you’d like to read: http://startablogabout.wordpress.com/2011/12/18/movies-to-watch-for-and-my-predictions-for-best-movies-of-2012/
Unfortunately for me, I would choose 10 albums from a source of origin beginning in the 50s and not just an exclusive 2011 list. But, that is not the point because you asked for 2011. I will YouTube your list and listen to what you have indicated as worthy of a list of ten best project. Thanks for your intuitive creativity. PrimitiveCool@WordPress.com
oh yes, yes
Good post! I am listening to them one by one. My favourite so far is captain black.
Just returning to jazz again. Thanks for this list to jump start from.
You’re welcome, and welcome back! Hope you enjoy…
Thanks for this post. I just discovered a great jazz trombone player this weekend in DC named Jeff Bradshaw. He put on a great show!
You’re welcome!
Oh, nice! I really like the music scene in D.C.
Great list! Thanks for sharing~
Congratulations on being Freshly Pressed! Woohoo!
Sure thing. And thank you!!!!
Thanks for this list! Definitely will check these out. Been getting back into the jazz scene & this will help a lot! Cheers!!
I have some music to followup on.
Ooh, I like your blog. I’m a music buff and blog at http://www.wholemusicexp.blogspot.com I need to check out the artists you mentioned in your post.
Happy musical holidays!
Thank you! Looking forward to checking out your blog, too…
Happy Musical Holidays to you as well! Cheers!
i love jazz
Good list! I do have a desert island list as well! ‘Consummation’ is right at the top.
Love it!
Extraordinary blog. I love Jazz. I follow you.
Thank you very much!
I haven’t listened to jazz in a long time, years. Back in the day, when I did, it was Coltrane. I listened to CD 101 fm. Wow, I haven’t thought about this in years. Unfortunately, I’ve no idea who the above artists are. My bad 😦
My husband and I love to listen to jazz, mostly live local bands. This list intrigues me and I will have to check these artists out. We caught Esperanza Spalding on Austin City Limits this weekend and she was pretty amazing too. Merry Christmas!
Love your choices for Jazz… Will definitely check them all out. Congrats on being freshly pressed!
Thank you so much!
No Eric Reed?! A great list nonetheless! Glad I’ve (finally) found your blog! 😉
Eric Reed is a treasure for sure! Thank you! I’m glad to meet you!
I will have to check them out. Thank you for sharing. 😀
Great post !
a few musicians I haven’t heard of…the album art is great, hope the music is just as good. thanks.
Angelika,
Thanks for the post and list. Just checked out Ambrose Akinmusire. Great musician! I plan to go through the rest.
Congrats on the Freshly Pressed and have a great holiday!
Thanks for posting. Will definitely peep some of it.
What a great list…Captain Black are stunning…if there were room for an eleventh I would respectfully propose Tenoration by Pee Wee Ellis…
I’ve listened to (and loved!) Gretchen Parlato’s album, but haven’t listened to the others. I’m always looking for more jazz music to add to my library, so this is perfect. Thanks for sharing the list!
This is a fantastic list! Thank you for the tip on great music!
I want to love Jazz but it just isn’t in me. It’s like scraping nails down a blackboard but thanks for a fab posting