Happy new year and best wishes to everyone for a significant upgrade for 2021! This is my final reflection on a decidedly terrible 2020.
The 2020 NPR Music Jazz Critics Poll has now been published and Francis Davis has again let me chime in. Go buy all of this great music!
The overview results are here
Davis’ commentary is here
…and my contribution is here
My favorite part of this poll is reading each of the contributor’s picks, which can be done here
My best of 2020 are as follows…
NEW RELEASES
Craig Taborn’s Junk Magic, Compass Confusion (Pyroclastic)
Jennifer Curtis and Tyshawn Sorey, Invisible Ritual (Tundra)
WHO Trio, STRELL The Music of Billy Strayhorn & Duke Ellington (Clean Feed)
Mary Halvorson’s Code Girl, Artlessly Falling (Firehouse 12)
Susan Alcorn, Pedernal (Relative Pitch)
The Warriors of the Wonderful Sound, Soundpath (Clean Feed)
Ingrid Laubrock, Dreamt Twice, Twice Dreamt (Intakt)
Ron Miles, Rainbow Sign (Blue Note)
Steph Richards, Supersense (Northern Spy)
Rob Mazurek Exploding Star Orchestra, Dimensional Stardust (International Anthem/Nonesuch)
REISSUES
Charles Mingus, @ Bremen 1964 & 1975 (Sunnyside)
Theloinious Monk, Palo Alto (Impulse)
Ivan Zagni and Steve Garden, Trouble Spots (Rattle Echo)
VOCAL
Mary Halvorson’s Code Girl, Artlessly Falling (Firehouse 12)
DEBUT
Emi Makabe, Anniversary (Greenleaf)
LATIN
Aruán Ortiz with Andrew Cyrille and Mauricio Herrera, Inside Rhythmic Falls (Intakt)