GEOFFREY HIMES

 

TWENTY BEST JAZZ ALBUMS OF 2024:

 

1.                  Ambrose Akinmusire: Owl Song (Nonesuch)

2.                  Steve Coleman and Five Elements: Polytropos/Of Many Turns (Pi/M-Base)

3.                  Charles Lloyd: The Sky Will Still Be There Tomorrow (Blue Note)

4.                  Hamilton de Holanda/Gonzalo Rubalcaba: “Saudade, Saudade” from Collab (De Holanda)

5.                  David Murray Quartet: Francesca (Intakt)

6.                  Ben Wendel: Under Story: Ben Wendel Live at the Village Vanguard (Edition)

7.                  Bill Frisell/Kit Downes/Andrew Cyrille: Breaking the Shell (Red Hook)

8.                  Micah Thomas: Mountains (Artwork)

9.                  The Lux Quartet: Tomorrowland (Enja)

10.              Leo Genovese: Forward (577)

11.              Vijay Iyer: Compassion (ECM)

12.              Patricia Brennan Septet: Breaking Stretch (Pyroclastic)

13.              Marta Sanchez Trio: Perpetual Void (Intakt)

14.              Tyshawn Sorey Trio: The Susceptible Now (Pi)

15.              Lucian Ban Mat Maneri: Transylvanian Dances (ECM)

16.              Geof Bradfield: Colossal Abundance (Calligram)

17.              Melissa Aldana: Echoes of the Inner Prophet (Blue Note)

18.              Lakecia Benjamin: Phoenix Reimagined (Live) (Ropeadope)

19.              Erik Friedlander: Dirty Boxing/Floating City (Friedlander)

20.              Kenny Barron: Beyond This Place (Artwork)

 

TWENTY BEST NON-JAZZ ALBUMS OF 2024:

 

1.                  Charley Crockett: $10 Cowboy, Chapters One & Two (Son of Davy)

2.                  Taylor Swift: The Tortured Poets Department (Republic)

3.                  Beyonce: Cowboy Carter (Columbia)

4.                  Kevin Gordon: “You Can’t Hurt Me No More” from The In Between (Gordon)

5.                  MJ Lenderman: “She’s Leaving You” from Manning Fireworks (Anti-)

6.                  Steve Dawson: “Sooner than Expected” from Ghosts (Pravda)

7.                  Billie Eilish: “Lunch” from Hit Me Hard and Soft (Dark Room/Interscope)

8.                  Willi Carlisle: “Two-Headed Lamb” from Critterland (Signature Sounds)

9.                  Willie Nelson: “Last Leaf on the Tree” from The Last Leaf (Legacy)

10.              Jeremie Albino: “I Don’t Mind Waiting” from Our Time in the Sun (Easy Eye)

11.              Japandroids: “D&T” from Fate + Alcohol (Anti-)

12.              Yasmin Williams: “Harvest” from Acadia (Nonesuch)

13.              The Decemberists: “Burial Ground” from As It Ever Was, So It Will Be Again (Yarb)

14.              Zach Bryan: “Sandpaper” from The Great American Bar Scene (Warner)

15.              Kali Uchis: “Pensamientos Intrusivos” from Orquideas (Geffen)

16.              T Bone Burnett: The Other Side (Verve)

17.              Charli XCX: Brat (Atlantic)

18.              Miranda Lambert: Postcards from Texas (Big Loud/Republic)

19.              Dave Alvin & Jimmie Dale Gilmore Texicali (Yep Roc)

20.              Cedric Burnside: Hill Country Love (Provogue)

 

FIVE BEST HISTORICAL JAZZ ALBUMS:

1. Sonny Rollins: Freedom Weaver: The 1959 European Tour Recordings (Resonance)
2. Andrew Hill Sextet Plus 10: A Beautiful Day Revisited (2002, Palmetto)
3. Wayne Shorter: Celebration, Volume 1 (2014, Blue Note)
4. Art Tatum: Jewels in the Treasure Box: The 1953 Chicago Blue Note Club Recordings (Resonance)
5. Sun Ra: Lights on a Satellite: Live at the Left Bank (1978, Resonance)

FIVE BEST HISTORICAL NON-JAZZ ALBUMS:

 

• 1.      Elvis Costello: King of America & Other Realms (Universal)
• 2.      Neil Young: Archives III (Reprise)
• 3.      Joni Mitchell: Archives—Volume Four (1976-1980) (Rhino)
• 4.      The dBs: Stands for Decibels (Propeller)
• 5.      Joe Grushecky: Houserocker: A Joe Grushecky Anthology (Omnivore)

 

 

TOP 10 NEW RELEASES

1. Vijay Iyer, Compassion (ECM)
2. Charles Lloyd, The Sky Will Still Be There Tomorrow (Blue Note)
3. James Brandon Lewis Quartet, Transfiguration (Intakt)
4. Lux Quartet, Tomorrowland (enja)
5. Peter Bernstein, Better Angels (Smoke Sessions Records)
6. One for All, Big George (Smoke Sessions Records) 
7. Walter Smith III, three of us are from Houston and Rueben is not (Blue Note)
8. Joel Ross, Nublues (Blue Note) 
9. Chris Potter-Brad Mehldau-John Patitucci-Brian Blade, Eagle's Point (Edition) 
10. Immanuel Wilkins, Blues Blood (Blue Note)

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

1. Tomasz Stanko Quartet, September Night (ECM)
2. Roy Hargrove's Crisol, Grande-Terre (Verve)
3. Emily Remler, Cookin' at the Queens: Live in Las Vegas (Resonance)
4. Kurt Rosenwinkel, The Next Step Band: Live at Smalls, 1996 (Heartcore Records)
5. McCoy Tyner & Joe Henderson, Forces of Nature, Live at Slugs (Blue Note)

VOCAL

1. Alyssa Allgood, From Here (Next Records)

2. Samara Joy, Portrait (Verve)

DEBUT ALBUM

1. Sarah Hanahan, Among Giants (Blue Engine Records)

1) Azar Lawrence Experience @Yoshi's, Oakland...6/18/2024. Master tenor and soprano saxophonist Azar Lawrence brought his band to a nearly sold out, mid-week gig at venerable Oakland jazz club, Yoshi’s, to celebrate Freedom Day, Juneteenth. On this night, Lawrence was joined by long time band mate, Brian Swartz (trumpet), among others, and special guests vocalist Tiffany Austin and old friend ,the legendary Taj Mahal!!!! The band generated the fire that one expects from Azar Lawrence, a searing heat he felt first hand with the bands of Elvin Jones and McCoy Tyner in the 1970s. A Tyner composition, ”Walk Spirit, Talk Spirit,” that Lawrence recorded with the piano master on the classic “live” album, “Enlightenment Suite,” afforded an opportunity for the band to stretch out. In my humble opinion, there is no one on the jazz scene today who blows the saxophone with the fire Lawrence generates.

2)The great alto saxophonist, Charles McPherson, celebrated his 85^th birthday and his hard swinging 2024 release, “Reverance”(Smoke Sessions Records), with Mr Jazz San Diego, Gilbert Castellanos(trumpet) at Lou Lou's, a swanky new club in San Diego. McPherson, at eight-five, still plays with the speed of a 20 year old but tempered by the more than six decades of musical experience he embodies. The alto master's display of his undiminished dexterity on the Be Bop classic, “Cherokee,” had Castellanos shaking his head in admiration. The band performed several compositions from the CD, including sensitive originals honoring McPherson’s beloved fellow Motowners, Barry Harris and Lonnie Hillyer. To reference a Be Bop classic, “Now's The Time” to honor Charles McPherson with an NEA Jazz Masters award.

3) Veteran tenor saxophonist, Ralph Moore, brought a hard swingin' band into one of the top jazz clubs in the Los Angeles area, Sam First, conveniently located just down the street from LAX. This cozy club has also started recording music, as well as presenting live jazz almost nightly for the last several years. It's hard to believe that Moore has been one of the most respected saxophonists of the last forty years. It seems like just yesterday he was one of the Young Lions of the 80s, along with Cats like his dear, departed friend Roy Hargrove, the Marsalis Brothers & Joshua Redman, among others. Moore and the band, including the supernaturally youthful 88 year old dynamo of the drums, Roy McCurdy, came out of the gate with an uptempo composition, “Ugetsu” by master pianist and composer, the late Cedar Walton. And on the classic, “Moment's Notice,” the band transported the audience to a 1950s smoky club on NYC's Lower East Side where this pure, unadulterated, foot tappin' hard bop could be heard regularly. These days it seems, at least to my jaundiced ears, there's a bit too much ambient sound emanating from the band stand. Not on this night as Moore breathed a Coltrane influence and McCurdy drove the band to delirious heights.

4) Phil Ranelin, “The Found Tapes: Live in Los Angeles, 1978-1981” (Org Music). One of the most important musicians of the last 50+ years, trombonist, composer and band leader Phil Ranelin discovered these recordings in the (process of  moving back to his Indianapolis hometown after suffering a debilitating stroke. Most of this CD was recorded by Ranelin on  cassettes during a performance at Maiden Voyage in LA in the summer of 1981. The band included a young and already brilliant pianist, Billy Childs along with two of LA’s first call Cats, bassist Tony Dumas and drummer Ralph Penland. Included is music from a broad spectrum of jazz including be bop and the post-bop modal sound that Ranelin reveled in. While the music is technically a bit raw, that quality has its charms in preserving these vital years of Ranelin’s on the LA jazz scene. 

5) Michael Stephans, “Om Shalom” (Dot Time Records). This remarkable recording by drummer, composer, author and educator, Michael Stephans is a valuable reissue first recorded in 2005. Stephans had an epiphany over decades ago in which he was inspired to create music that would somehow blend his memories of Jewish sounds(both songs and prayers) with the Eastern influenced sounds in John Coltrane’s music in which he immersed himself as an adult. The result is an unforgettable recording made with his intrepid friends including NEA saxophone master, David Liebman, Bennie Maupin(saxophones, bass clarinet), Scott Colley(acoustic bass) and percussionist Munyungo Jackson. 

                                                          And 5 more special performances of 2024

1) Henry “the Skipper” Franklin Quintet @ LACMA, 5/9/2024. 

2) Cosmic Vibrations @The World Stage, 5/30/2024.

3) Pan African Peoples Arkestra @The World Stage, 2/9/2024.

4) Bobby West Trio @The World Stage, 1/19/2024.

5) Joshua White Trio @The World Stage, 2/2/2024.

Top Jazz Releases of 2024:

NEW ALBUMS

1. Jim Snidero, For All We Know (Savant)

2. Kenny Barron, Beyond This Place (Artwork) 

3. Immanuel Wilkins, Blues Blood (Blue Note) 

4. Peter Bernstein, Better Angels (Smoke Sessions) 

5. Louis Hayes, Artform Revisited (Savant) 

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

6. McCoy Tyner & Joe Henderson, Forces of Nature: Live at Slugs' (1966, Blue Note) 

7. Roy Hargrove's Crisol, Grande-Terre (1998, Verve) 

8. Louis Armstrong, Louis in London (1968, Verve) 

9. Sonny Rollins, A Night at the Village Vanguard: The Complete Masters (1957, Blue Note) 

10. Bobby Hutcherson, Classic Bobby Hutcherson Blue Note Sessions 1963-1970 (Mosaic)

Here are my ten favorite new albums of 2024. A full write-up on each of these, as well as my selections for numbers 11 through 35  can be found at PostGenre. Also on that site, you can find interviews from the past year with several of the artists on my list. 

NEW RELEASES

1. Wadada Leo Smith & Amina Claudine Myers, Central Park's Mosaics of Reservoir, Lake, Paths and Gardens (Red Hook)
2. Mulatu Astatke and Hoodna Orchestra, Tension (Batov) 
3. Brandon Ross Phantom Station, Off the End (Sunnyside)
4. Amaro Freitas, Y'Y (Psychic Hotline)
5. Colin Stetson, The love it took to leave you (Envision)
6. Patricia Brennan, Breaking Stretch (Pyroclastic)
7. David Leon, Bird's Eye (Pyroclastic)
8. The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis (Impulse!)
9. Mary Halvorson, Cloudward (Nonesuch)
10. Sun Ra Arkestra, Lights on a Satellite (In + Out)

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

1. Emily Remler, Cookin' at the Queens: Live in Las Vegas (1984 & 1988) (Resonance)
2. Wayne Shorter, Celebration Vol. 1 (Blue Note)
3. Alice Coltrane, Live at Carnegie Hall (Impulse!) 
4. Joe Henderson & McCoy Tyner, Forces of Nature: Live at Slug's 1966 (Blue Note)
5. The Malombo Jazz Men, Castle Lager Jazz Festival, 1964 (Strut)

VOCAL

1. Arooj Aftab, Night Reign (Verve) 
2. John Zorn & Jesse Harris, Love Songs Live (Tzadik)
3. Milton Nascimento & esparanza spalding, Milton + esperanza (Concord)

DEBUT

1. Riley Mulherkar, Riley (Westerlies)
2. Willy Rodriguez, Seeing Sounds (Coucs)
3. Alfredo Colón, Blood Burden (Out of Your Head)

LATIN

1. Amaro Freitas, Y'Y (Psychic Hotline)
2. Patricia Brennan, Breaking Stretch (Pyroclastic)
3. David Leon, Bird's Eye (Pyroclastic)

Top Ten New Releases

Charles Lloyd, The Sky Will Still Be There Tomorrow (Blue Note)

Jon Batiste, Beethoven Blues (Verve)

Milton + Esperanza, Milton + Esperanza (Concord)

Joel Ross, nublues (Blue Note)

Vijay Iyer, Compassion (ECM)

Walter Smith III, three of Us Are From Houston and Reuben Is Not (Blue Note)

Tarbaby, You Think This America (Giant Step Arts)

Ndudzo Makhathini, Unomkhubulwane (Blue Note)

Lizz Wright, Shadow (Blues and Greens)

Lakecia Benjamin, Phoenix Reimagined (ropeadope)

Ten (or so) More

Isaiah Collier and the Chosen Few, The Almighty/The World Is On Fire (Division 81) (I counted these as one release because it's my list and I can do what I want.)

Sun Ra Arkestra, Lights on a Satellite (In+Out Records)

Steve Turre, Sanyas (Smoke Sessions)

Jazzmeia Horn, Messages (Empress Legacy)

Melissa Aldana, Echoes of the Inner Prophet (Blue Note)

Oscar Hernandez & Alma Libre, No Words Needed (Ovation)

Brian Bromberg, LaFaro (Be Squared)

Mike Stern, Echoes and Other Songs (Mack Avenue)

Emmet Cohen, Vibe Provider (Mack Avenue)

Out of/Into, Motion 1 (Blue Note) (This is probably a top ten album but it was just released and I have only listened to it once...)

Best Archival Releases

Art Tatum, Jewels in the Treasure Box, The 1953 Chicago Blue Note Jazz Club Recordings (Resonance)

Keith Jarrett/Gary Peacock/Paul Motian, The Old Country (ECM)

Roy Hargrove Crisol, Grande-Terre (Verve)

Best Non-Jazz Archival Release

B.B King In France, Live at the 1977 Nancy Jazz Pulsations Festival (Deep Digs/Elemental)

Best Non-Jazz New Release

Beyonce, Cowboy Carter (Parkwood/Columbia) 

Best Dance Music 

Spanish Harlem Orchestra, Swing Forever (Ovation) (This is the best salsa album I have heard in decades...) 

 

Some 2024 favorites

NEW ALBUMS (alphabetical)

• Peter Bernstein, Better Angels (Smoke Sessions) →
• John Escreet, The Epicenter of Your Dreams (Blue Room Music) →
• Orrin Evans and the Captain Black Big Band, Walk a Mile in My Shoe (Imani) →
• Bill Frisell, Orchestras (Blue Note) →
• Julian Lage, Speak to Me (Blue Note) →
• Brian Landrus, Plays Ellington & Strayhorn (Palmetto) →
• Charles Lloyd, The Sky Will Still Be There Tomorrow (Blue Note) →
• One for All, Big George (Smoke Sessions) →
• Chris Potter-Brad Mehldau-John Patitucci-Brian Blade, Eagle's Point (Edition) →
• Joel Ross, Nublues (Blue Note) →

REISSUES/ARCHIVAL

1. McCoy Tyner & Joe Henderson, Forces of Nature: Live at Slugs' (1966, Blue Note) →
2. Sonny Rollins, Freedom Weaver: The 1959 European Tour Recordings (Resonance) →
3. Miles Davis Quintet, Miles in France 1963 & 1964 [The Bootleg Series, Vol. 8] (Columbia/Legacy) →
4. John Abercrombie-Dave Holland-Jack DeJohnette, Gateway (1975, ECM) →
5. Terry Gibbs Dream Band, Vol. 7: The Lost Tapes, 1959 (Whaling City Sound) →

VOCAL

• Samara Joy, Portrait (Verve) →
• Kurt Elling & Sullivan Fortner, Wildflowers Vol. 1 (Edition) →
• Kurt Elling & Sullivan Fortner, Wildflowers Vol. 2 (Edition) →

LATIN

• Miguel Zenón, Golden City (Miel Music) →
• Dafnis Prieto, 3 Sides of the Coin (Dafnison Music) →
• Diego Rivera, Ofendra (Posi-Tone) →

My 20 favorite albums for 2024.

Andrew Bird - Sunday Morning Put On

Arooj Aftab - Night Reign

David Preston - Volume 2 - Purple / Black

Edward Simon - Three Visitors

Eyolf Dale - The Space Between Two Notes

Fernando Huergo - Relentless

Ivanna Cuesta - A Letter To The Earth 

Jihye Lee Orchestra - Infinite Connections

Jonathan Powell - Mambo Jazz Party

Joy Guidry - Amen

Karl-Martin Almqvist - The Travelers

Marlon Simon - On Different Paths

Michael Eckroth - Human Geography

Miguel Zenón - Golden City

Milton Nascimento & esperanza spalding - Milton & esperanza

OKAN - Okantomi

Ryan Keberle & Catharsis - Music Is Connection

Ryan Truesdell - SYNTHESIS: The String Quartet Sessions

Shabaka - Perceive its Beauty, Acknowledge its Grace

Taylor Eigsti - Plot Armor

Patricia Brennan Septet - Breaking Stretch
Oded Tzur - My Prophet
Tomeka Reid - 3+3
Vijay Iyer - Compassion
Charles Lloyd - The Sky Will Still Be There Tomorrow
Peter Evans - Extra
Miguel Zenon - Golden City
Jon irabagon - Recharge the Blade
Anna Webber - Simpletrio2000
Nduduzo Makhathini - Unomkhubulwane

Best Puerto Rico Jazz Albums 2024

1. Miguel Zenón - Golden City     

2. Papo Vázquez - Songs del Yucayeke

3. Oscar Hernández Alma Libre - No Words Needed

4. Giovanni Hidalgo - Jubilation

5. William Cepeda - The Sound of Puerto Rican Jazz 

6. Sofia Ramos y Richard Peña - La Música de Sylvia Rexach 

7. Rubén Caban - Kangana

8. Angel Cuyar - Chapter One

9. William García - Aventuras del Caribe 

10. Willy Rodríguez - Seeing Sounds