JJA Top Ten for '04

Alan Chase · "Best Of List" for 2004

I have to admit, this was a hard list for me to put together. It seems to me that a lot of what has been coming out in jazz lately, just doesn’t grab me. Must be a sign of advancing age.

Dimitry Ukhov · 10 bests as seen from (Eastern) Europe

in alphabetic order

Art Ensemble of Chicago “Sirius Calling” (Pi)
ICP Orchestra “Aan & Uit” (ICP)
Charles Lloyd/Billy Higgins “Which Way Is East” (ECM)
Leszek Mozdzer “Piano” (ACM)
Luciana Souza “Neruda” (Sunnyside)
Springheel Jack “Sweetness of Water” (Thirsty Ear)
Louis Sclavis “Napoli’s Walls” (ECM)
Cecil Taylor Quartet “Incarnation” (FMP)
Craig Taborn “Junk Magic” (Thirsty Ear)
Vienna Art Orchestra “Big Band Poesie” (EmArcy/ Universal)

Reissues

Albert Ayler “Holy Ghost” (Revenant)
Miles Davis “Seven Steps:1963-1964” (Columbia Legacy)
Komeda Quintet “Astigmatic” (Polskie Nagrania/Jazz Forum)

Dmitry Ukhov, Moscow JJA, chairman

Matt Merewitz · Top 11 Recordings for 2004

I’m in the world of college radio as a DJ and genre director at a station that has a ridiculous amount of jazz that doesn’t get played often enough (Carnegie Mellon University). I am honored to have my picks featured in this listing. Hope you dig on what you’ve heard and dig deeper what you haven’t.

W. Royal Stokes · Favorite CDs & DVDs of 2004

JAZZ CDs

Andy Bey, American Song (Savoy)
Don Byron, Ivey-Divey (Blue Note)
Alice Coltrane, Translinear Light (Verve)
David Eyges/Arthur Blythe/Abe Speller, Ace (MidLantic)
Five Play . . . Plus (Arbors)
Mimi Fox, She’s the Woman (Favored Nations)
Bill Frisell, Unspeakable (Nonesuch)
Steve Kuhn, Promises Kept (ECM)
Jane Monheit, Taking a Chance on Love (Sony Classical)
Ken Peplowski, Easy to Remember (Nagel-Heyer)

BLUES and BEYOND CDs

Vassar Clements, Livin’ With the Blues (Acoustic Disc)
Dr. John, N’Awlin Dis Dat or D’Udda ( Blue Note)
Alison Krauss and Union Station, Lonely Runs Both Ways (Rounder)
Norah Jones, Feels Like Home (Blue Note)
Unbroken Circle, The Musical Heritage of the Carter Family (Dualtone)

REISSUES

Coleman Hawkins, The Centennial Collection (Bluebird/BMG)
The Contemporary Records Story (Fantasy/Contemporary)
Happy Birthday Newport: 50 Swinging Years (Columbia Legacy)
Preservation Hall: The Best of the Early Years (Preservation Hall)
Seven Steps: The Complete Columbia Recordings of Miles Davis 1963-1964 (Sony/Columbia)

DVDs

Rosemary Clooney, Girl Singer – Songs from the Classic Television Series (Concord)
Los Hombres Calientes, Live (Basin Street)
Branford Marsalis, Coltrane’s A Love Supreme Live in Amsterdam Marsalis Music/Rounder)
Boz Scaggs, Greatest Hits Live (Copy Cat)
Fiddlin’ Man: The Life and Times of Bob Wills (View Video)

W. Royal Stokes’ third collection of profiles for Oxford University Press, Growing Up With Jazz: Twenty-Four Musicians Talk About Their Lives and Careers, will see publication in March 2005.

Phil DiPietro · Top 10 for '04

Phil DiPietro here, jja member and writer for Allaboutjazz, submitting my top 10 for ‘04 with links to my articles/reviews. Indulge me in submitting a “top ten sideman appearances” category for 2004; an slight bit of recognition for some stellar, essential performances.