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10 Best Jazz Albums of 2011

I realize that there are a lot of people who do not care for the word “best” when it comes to music. To those, you may also call this list “Kevin’s Favorite Jazz Albums of 2011” if you’d like. Regardless, it is simply my opinion of 10 releases that stood out to me over the past year (with an informal ranking). Enjoy!

1. Live in Marciac – Brad Mehldau (Nonesuch, February 2, 2011) CLICK HERE TO BUY

2. Bird Songs – Joe Lovano/Us Five (EMI Catalogue, March 21, 2011) CLICK HERE TO BUY

3. Three Stories – Eldar Djangirov (Masterworks Jazz, April 5, 2011) CLICK HERE TO BUY

4. Forever – Corea, Clarke, & White (Concord Jazz, June 6, 2011) CLICK HERE TO BUY

5. Chano y Dizzy! – Poncho Sanchez & Terence Blanchard (Concord Picante, September 27, 2011) CLICK HERE TO BUY

6. Songs From the Chateau – Kyle Eastwood (Mack Avenue, August 29, 2011) CLICK HERE TO BUY

7. Ninety Miles – Stefon Harris/David Sanchez/Christian Scott (Concord, June 21, 2011) CLICK HERE TO BUY

8. Dawn of Goodbye – Dominick Farinacci (E1 Entertainment, July 26, 2011) CLICK HERE TO BUY

9. ‘Round Midnight – Karrin Allyson (Concord Jazz, May 3, 2011) CLICK HERE TO BUY

10. Road Shows, Vol. 2 – Sonny Rollins (Emarcy, September 13, 2011) CLICK HERE TO BUY

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1,000 Jazz Albums You Should Hear Before You Die (771-780)

Here is another 10 to add to the list.

Remember that there is no ranking system here, and if you don’t see your favorite jazz album yet, it doesn’t mean it won’t show up.

Hopefully these lists will inspire you to seek some of these albums out that perhaps you haven’t heard before, or revisit an old favorite. And as always, we want your thoughts on any or all of these albums. Either way, let’s get started with this week, and in no particular order, albums 771 through 780.

1. Kelly Blue – Wynton Kelly (Riverside Records, 1959) CLICK HERE TO BUY

2. Fly Away Little Bird – Jimmy Giuffre (Universal Distribution, 1992) CLICK HERE TO BUY

3. Piano Interpretations by Bud Powell – Bud Powell (Universal/Verve, 1955) CLICK HERE TO BUY

4. Rush Hour – Joe Lovano (Blue Note, 1994) CLICK HERE TO BUY

5. Biting the Apple – Dexter Gordon (SteepleChase, 1976) CLICK HERE TO BUY

6. The Sun of Latin Music – Eddie Palmieri (Varese, 1973) CLICK HERE TO BUY

7. With Respect to Nat – Oscar Peterson (Verve, 1965) CLICK HERE TO BUY

8. E.S.P. – Miles Davis (Columbia/Legacy, 1965) CLICK HERE TO BUY

9. Leucocyte – E.S.T. (Emarcy, 2008) CLICK HERE TO BUY

10. Dippin’ – Hank Mobley (Blue Note, 1965) CLICK HERE TO BUY

1,000 Jazz Albums You Should Hear Before You Die (761-770)

1,000 Jazz Albums You Should Hear Before You Die (751-760)

1,000 Jazz Albums You Should Hear Before You Die – The First 750

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Joe Lovano Us Five – Taking Bird to new heights

Joe Lovano paid us a visit in our KPLU performance studio on April 29th. Check out the audio, photo, and video below!

Joe Lovano Us Five – Taking Bird to new heights

By Justin Steyer, Abe Beeson and Nick Francis

CLICK HERE FOR AUDIO

Live sessions in the KPLU Performance Studio are always fun.  However, when saxophonist, Joe Lovano, stopped by with his group, Us Five, it was more than fun.  It was also an honor.

New York Times jazz critic, Ben Ratliff, put it very succinctly:

“It’s fair to say that (Lovano’s) one of the greatest musicians in jazz history.”

Usually in our studio sessions we begin with a song from the visiting artist, chat for a moment, hear another song, chat again, hear another song and that’s that.  Joe, though, wanted to go about it a bit differently….a few introductory remarks and then an uninterrupted four-song mini-set of Charlie Parker compositions (reflecting the content of his current tour and his latest CD, Bird Songs), so that’s the way we rolled.

As far as we’re concerned, Joe Lovano can do it any way he wants to. With Us Five, Bird lives…and soars to new heights.

The Band:

  • Joe Lovano: Saxophone
  • James Weideman: Piano
  • Peter Slavov: Bass
  • Otis Brown III: Drums
  • Francisco Mela: Drums

Songs:

  1. Yardbird Suite
  2. Koko
  3. Donna Lee
  4. Barbados