020: My favorite jazz albums of 2024!

Electronic experimentation permeates my favorites of the year, alongside the spiritual, the free, and several massive archival discoveries.

Another year has gone by without me putting a dent in my plans to send more newsletters, but I’ve hatched a simple idea that I should be able to pull off next year. More on that later. For now, it’s time to take a trip through the jazz of 2024 in chronological order. I typically share ten albums to go along with the Annual Jazz Critics Poll (now in its 19th year of existence) but I loved so much music that I’m sharing my top twenty jazz albums of 2024. (As a result, this post is too long for email so please make sure to open it in a new window to get to the bottom!) Thank you for reading and listening. As always, please buy work that moves you and support musicians directly. ❤️

Jowee BasH! Omicil
Spiritual Healing: Bwa Kayiman Freedom Suite
1/19, BASH! Village Records/Modular

I wrote about this album for this very newsletter earlier this year and it remains a standout. Omicil, who is Haitian-Canadian, plays woodwinds, clarinets, piccolo flute, and cornet. This music is jazz both free and spiritual, intense and incantatory in equal measure. Recorded in one uninterrupted take and divided into 21 sections, each piece represents a step in the Bwa Kayiman ritual ceremony, an event which sparked the first major slave insurrection of the Haitian Revolution. The album holds up the heavy, resonant weight of its narrative with evocative music that powerfully brings to life Omicil’s imagined version of a critical event in Haitian history. It’s an incredibly cohesive piece of work that rewards close listening.

Ariel Kalma, Jeremiah Chiu & Marta Sofia Honer
The Closest Thing to Silence
2/2, International Anthem

A gorgeous gem of a collaboration between New Age composer Ariel Kalma and two of modern music's finest, synthesist/composer Jeremiah Chiu and violist/violinist Marta Sofia Honer. This album is an expansion of pieces that the trio created for a BBC Radio 3 program that pairs artists who haven’t previously worked together. It’s an intoxicating blend of electronic and jazz, improvised moments mixed in with voice notes and edited with recordings made by Kalma in the ‘70s that give the album a collagistic feel. In my review for Uncut, I described its ecstatic dreaminess and digital phantasmagoria as sonic experiments that reconstitute past and future into a shimmering new world.

Dave Harrington, Max Jaffe, Patrick Shiroishi
Speak, Moment
3/8, AKP Recordings

Another record I wrote about for this newsletter earlier that stayed with me. I’m a sucker for the terrain here: lightly psychedelic and contemplative with plenty of room to get noisy. The shared creative charge between Dave Harrington (guitar and electronics), Max Jaffe (drums, effects, and sensory percussion) and Patrick Shiroishi (saxophone) is sick and wonderful. “Dance of the White Shadow and Golden Kite” has some of my favorite saxophone parts on the album and on top of that, the song as a whole reminds me of Can! “How to Draw Buildings” is very nearly country at times, with what sounds like a lap steel pervading the building atmosphere, slowly but decisively morphing into Sonny Sharrock worship as the song progresses. As a whole, this album is a textural dream!

Charles Lloyd
The Sky Will Still Be There Tomorrow
3/15, Blue Note

You love to see such stunning new work from a living legend. I briefly spoke with the 86-year-old tenor saxophonist when I reviewed this record for Uncut earlier this year and it was a delightful experience and highlight of my year. Beyond that, the album is also excellent, a contemporary expression of post-bop with avant-garde flourishes that sweep in the occasional bits of free and spiritual jazz. I wrote then and still feel strongly now that these songs are transmissions from a gentler world, imbued with a sharpness and depth that accompanies true understanding.

Alice Coltrane
The Carnegie Hall Concert
3/22, Impulse!

I’ve written over 3000 words about this album and I guess I’ll write some more! Well, not too many more as I’d love it if anyone who is interested picks up a copy of the magazine where said 3000 words exist (you can order physical or digital versions right here). My sense is that anyone reading this is most likely well aware of The Carnegie Hall Concert, but just in case: this is the first official release of an Alice Coltrane performance that took place during a benefit for the Integral Yoga Institute, founded by the spiritual guru Swami Satchidananda, who is immortalized in the title of the perfect album that Alice had just released at the time of this concert in 1971. The line-up is tremendous: bassists Jimmy Garrison and Cecil McBee, saxophonists Pharoah Sanders and Archie Shepp, and drummers Ed Blackwell and Clifford Jarvis, with Kumar Kramer on harmonium and Tulsi Reynolds on tamboura. The four songs they chose to play are fantastic, two compositions of Alice’s (“Journey in Satchidananda” and “Shiva Loka”) and two of John’s (“Africa” and “Leo”). Impulse! commissioned the recording at the time but for some reason chose not to release it. An unofficial version of “Africa” has circulated throughout the years, but the quality here is much better. I’ll quote myself just once: “If ‘Africa’ is a primal scream, then ‘Leo’ is a cosmic howl, anchored by the rich, dark textures of Alice’s piano. The music embodies love but there’s a well of pain that can’t be avoided, and it may be best captured on ‘Leo.’”

Cassie Kinoshi's seed.
gratitude
3/22, International Anthem

An album of deeply gorgeous spiritual jazz infused with contemporary textures and the philharmonic sweep of the orchestra. Most of it is a breathtaking live performance of music written by Berlin/London-based alto saxophonist, composer, and arranger Cassie Kinoshi for members of the London Contemporary Orchestra, her large ensemble seed., and the turntablist NikNak. The final track (“Smoke in the Sun”) was recorded at the Total Refreshment Centre two years earlier. It’s so lovely and does feel of a piece with the six movements that precede it, but I was still left wanting more!

Josh Johnson
Unusual Object
4/7, Northern Spy, April 7

Another album I already featured in my newsletter that easily earned its spot here. I’ve become more and more interested in processed saxophone and Johnson’s electronic workings are very compelling to me. I described this music as textured experimental future-jazz that sounds a bit like it might exist in a world of Philip K. Dick’s making. Johnson is a saxophonist and composer who often plays with Jeff Parker, including in the ETA IVtet who you’ll see later on in this list. Unusual Object is dreamy and strange and scratches a uniquely experimental itch.

Steph Richards
Power Vibe
5/3, Northern Spy

Trumpeter Steph Richards has made a wonderful, inventive avant-garde jazz album with the most ‘80s VHS cover art I’ve ever seen (complimentary). Fans of jaimie branch / Fly or Die, Don Cherry, Bill Dixon, and Nicole Mitchell will find much to appreciate here. The title refers to the conceptual framework of the music, which is built around a series of cues that serve to redirect the players into new structures. The trick is that anyone can play a cue at any time, resulting in a radically democratic version of improvised music. The ensemble here includes pianist Joshua White, bassist Stomu Takeishi, and two drummers: Gerald Cleaver on the drumset for the first five tracks and Max Jaffe on the last track. But Jaffe also contributes “sensory electronics” throughout, which gives the music a different flavor of subtly perceptible adventurousness.

Joy Guidry
AMEN
5/10, Whited Sepulchre

If you check out only one album that you didn’t already know from this list, make it AMEN. Bassoonist/composer Joy Guidry is simply brilliant. I fell in love with her work after hearing the strangely jazzy ambient track “Almost There” and eagerly awaited the arrival of this album, which lived up to my expectations and then some. The music is a mesmerizing blend of spiritual jazz, ambient soundscapes, and the communal spirit of gospel, shot through with the power of Guidry’s transcendent vision. Come for the Max Roach-inspired “Members Don’t Get Weary,” stay for absolutely everything else.

Alan Braufman
Infinite Love Infinite Tears
5/19, Valley of Search

A buoyant record of exuberant free jazz that bridges the history of the ‘70s NYC loft scene that spawned alto saxophonist, flutist, and composer Alan Braufman with the captivating swell of creativity and musical mastery to be found among the contemporary musicians that fill out the ensemble: tenor saxophonist James Brandon Lewis, vibraphonist Patricia Brennan, bassist Ken Filiano, drummer Chad Taylor, and percussionist Michael Wimberly. The dynamic between the saxophones is particularly excellent, the key to this album’s powerful vitality.

Fuubutsushi
Meridians
6/27, Cached Media

Easily one of this year’s most beautiful albums, ambient jazz at its absolute finest that occasionally approaches post-rock while also feeling generally like something new. The band is Chris Jusell (violin), Chaz Prymek (guitars), Matthew Sage (keys and percussion), and Patrick Shiroishi (saxophones) and the album bio describes this music as “​​ liquid explorations of melody and timbre,” which is too perfect not to quote. I’m partial to jazz that includes the violin and it’s done so quite gorgeously here.

William Parker / Cooper-Moore / Hamid Drake
Heart Trio
6/28, AUM Fidelity

The magnificent bassist and composer William Parker has recorded about a million records (or maybe closer to 150, who can say?) so it can be easy to miss when something new comes out but I’m really glad this one didn’t pass me by. Parker has been playing with his fellow composers the pianist/multi-instrumentalist Cooper-Moore and drummer Hamid Drake for over 30 years and particularly in his Order to Survive quartet since 2012, but somehow this is their debut as a trio on record! And it’s a fantastic one. Parker’s list of instruments includes the bass duduk (an Armenian double-reed woodwind), a Serbian flute in F#, and the doson ngoni (a West African string instrument also known as the hunter's harp). Meanwhile, Cooper-Moore has his hand-crafted ashimba and horizontal-hoe-handle harp, instruments that he built himself in the 1970s. Drake’s frame drum and drum kit are the rhythmic scaffolding, which is sometimes gentle and contemplative (“Five Angels by the Stream”) and other times intense free jazz (“Serbia”).

SML
Small Medium Large
6/28, International Anthem

The debut release of a new quintet formed at the nexus of jazz, indie, and improvised music in Los Angeles: bassist Anna Butterss, synthesist Jeremiah Chiu, saxophonist Josh Johnson, percussionist Booker Stardrum, and guitarist Gregory Uhlmann. SML makes electroacoustic kraut jazz with a hint of dubbed out techno and euphoric electronic explorations. The track “Industry” is a favorite, on which the group’s many outré impulses congeal into jazz that’s practically post-punk.

Miles Okazaki
Miniature America
7/19, Cygnus Recordings

CD-only releases seem to get less attention than vinyl, which is unfortunate in all cases but especially so with an album as fascinating, wonderful, and capacious as this set of improvised experimental jazz led by guitarist Miles Okazaki. Inspired by visual art and poetry, Okazaki utilized musical variables and instructional elements that make the resulting work feel more like “sonic treasure hunts” than traditional compositions. (I recommend reading more in the accompanying booklet if this interests you.) The full ensemble features ten musicians, including vibraphonist Patricia Brennan, one of several repeat offenders on the list this year. (I like who I like!) The last thing I’ll say is that Miniature America sort of feels like a Thomas Pynchon novel in jazz form: “The Funambulist” and “The Funicular” and “Zodiacal Cloud” in particular, and not solely because of their titles.

Nala Sinephro
Endlessness
9/6, Warp Records

We've been blessed with a plethora of brilliant work in the zone of ambient jazz in recent years and two of the best have come from experimental musician and composer Nala Sinephro: Space 1.8 and this year's Endlessness, which is simply sublime. Sinephro plays synths (both modular and otherwise) and the harp, which is a perfect celestial combination for me. If you loved Floating Points and Pharoah Sanders’ Promises, this is an album for you.

Patricia Brennan Septet
Breaking Stretch
9/6, Pyroclastic Records

I first became aware of Patricia Brennan when I wrote about her for Issue #4 of Maggot Brain (sold out pretty much everywhere in the US it looks like but seemingly available in the UK) and have been happily following her career ever since. This album is her third and it’s a scintillating blend of avant-garde impulses with bop horns, rhythmic funk, and a touch of contemporary classical. The moods range from eerie (“Sueños de Coral Azul [Blue Coral Dreams]”) to frenzied (“Manufacturers Trust Company Building”) but always bend toward creativity.

Black Artist Group (BAG)
For Peace and Liberty
9/20, Wewantsounds

I reviewed a lot of wonderful stuff this year but aside from the big Alice Coltrane story, this may have been my favorite one to write. Black Artist Group (also known as Black Artists Group, plural) was an arts collective founded in St. Louis, Missouri in 1968, influenced and inspired by Chicago’s Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians. They only existed for a few years, but in that time became known for their adventurous combination of free jazz and experimental theatre. The BAG quintet consisted of saxophonist Oliver Lake, trumpeters Baikida Carroll and Floyd LeFlore, trombonist Joseph Bowie (younger brother of Art Ensemble of Chicago’s Lester Bowie), and percussionist Charles “Bobo” Shaw. In the early ‘70s they travelled to France and recorded the only album released under the BAG name during their existence: In Paris, Aries 1973, a fearless gem of the free jazz underground. For a long time, that was the only document of BAG’s music. Now we have one more, a recording from 1972 serendipitously discovered in the vaults of the Institut National de l’Audiovisuel, home of French radio and television archives. The sound is immaculate thanks to Radio France's state-of-the-art audio equipment and the music is exhilarating, 35 radiant minutes of intrepid free jazz. A window into a long-gone world, this album is sonic poetry transmuted across space and time.

McCoy Tyner, Joe Henderson
Forces of Nature (Live At Slugs')
11/22, Blue Note

I listened to this album immediately, as soon as it hit my inbox, before they even had the album art sorted. Both of these men have made some of my favorite music of all time and I knew this archival release wouldn’t disappoint, and it sure didn’t. The quartet is filled out by bassist Henry Grimes and drummer Jack DeJohnette, out of whose personal archives came the original tape upon which this set was captured. The mood is ferocious from the jump, opening with a nearly half-hour long version of Henderson composition “In ‘N Out” on which he does not let up until it’s time for Tyner to solo, both playing with an agility that threatens to overwhelm without ever quite tipping over into cacophony. It’s brilliant!

Jeff Parker ETA IVtet
The Way Out of Easy
11/22, International Anthem

Another stunner from Jeff Parker, but what do we expect? The man can truly do no wrong. I enjoy so much of his work but I think my personal favorite sounds are coming from ETA IVtet. The four winding tracks here, none of which dip below sixteen minutes, chart a hypnotic path through impressionistic grooves of improvised music. Halfway through “Chrome Dome” it gets dubbed out for a bit and that rules. About five minutes into “Easy Way Out,” there’s a moment that sounds like music from Twin Peaks and it rules. Everything they get up to rules. I hope I get to see this ensemble live someday.

Charles Tolliver / Music Inc.
Live at the Captain​’​s Cabin
11/29, Cellar Music

Came in right under the wire but I knew it would easily earn its place on this list as soon as I pressed play. Trumpeter/composer Charles Tolliver founded the influential post-bop and spiritual jazz label Strata-East in 1971 with pianist Stanley Cowell and pretty much every album on it is excellent (consider Pharoah Sanders’ Izipho Zam [My Gifts], Billy Harper’s Capra Black, and Gil Scott-Heron and Brian Jackson’s Winter in America). This live set presents Tolliver & co. in a newly discovered recording from 1973 at the Captain's Cabin in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Starting with the fiery “Black Vibrations,” the ensemble is in excellent form, playing one heater after another, studded with terrific solos. If you dig that soulful ‘70s post-bop sound, this one is a must.

I leave you with a clip from Free Music Fridays, a monthly event at Hello Records that’s a showcase for the best and brightest improvisational and creative jazz in and around Detroit. This ensemble is called Inner 4tet and its members are Djallo Djakate, Betty Pride, Michael Carey, and Xavier Bonner.

Thanks for reading and following me this year. I appreciate each and every comment and message, even if I’m not always able to respond to all of them. I love you all. Be well.

Now Reading: The Two Towers by Tolkien; Against the Day by Thomas Pynchon; The Saddest Words: William Faulkner's Civil War by Michael Gorra; Mornings in Jenin by Susan Abulhawa; End Zone by Don DeLillo