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ALBUMS OF THE YEAR 2019
Once again, as a  new year kicks off, we take a look back at the best albums from  last years offerings.
Find out what some of our reviewers have selected as their favourite New Releases and Re-issues of 2019.
CHRIS BABER
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NEW RELEASES
SOWETO KINCH - The Black Peril  (Soweto Kinch Recordings)
TRISH CLOWES - Ninety Degrees Gravity   (Basho Records)
MARTIN ARCHER / ANTHROPOLOGY BAND   (Discus)
EIVIND AUSTAD TRIO – Northbound   (Losen)
MATS EILERTSEN TRIO - And Then Comes The Night  (ECM)
AKI TAKASE JAPANIC - Thema Prima  (Budapest Music Center)
THE BAD PLUS - Active Infinity  (Edition)
VWCR - Noise Of Our Time (Intakt)
BILL FRISELL/THOMAS MORGAN – Epistrophy   (ECM)
DORADO SCHMITT QUARTET - Claire De Lune  (Stunt Records)


It has been another excellent year for the UK jazz scene, with some excellent releases from Yazz Ahmad, the Comet is Coming, Nerija to name but a few.  Sticking with my rule of only including albums that I have had the pleasure of reviewing, my top 10 begins with stunning releases by UK artists exploring different avenues that jazz is taking.   Following this, a bunch of piano-led groups, each working with the rhythmic potential of the piano to produce very different approaches to music making. Finally, two guitar outings – one that shows how two people can create music that is as powerful as a whole orchestra, and one that channels the spirit of the Hot Club de France.

I didn’t get to review many re-releases this year, so have cheated by including DAVID LIEBMAN - On The Corner Live: The Music Of Miles  (EarUp Records), which takes later Miles tunes and finds new ways of interpreting and celebrating them.

JIM BURLONG
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NEW RELEASES
LAURA JURD -  Stepping Back, Jumping In  (Edition Records)
CASIE KINOSHI'S SEEN ENSEMBLE - Driftglass (Jazz Refreshed)
MARIUS NESET & THE LONDON SINFONIETTA - Viaduct  (ACT Records)
INGRID JENSEN & STEVE TRESSLER - Invisible Sounds  (Whirlwind Records)
SARAH TANDY - Infection In The Sentence  (Jazz Refreshed)
MARK KAVUMA - The Banger Factory (Ubuntu Records)
SCOTT HAMILTON - Danish Ballads And More  (Stunt Records)
PETER BROTZMANN - I Surrender Dear  (Trost Records)
TONBUCKET - Masters Of Fog  (ACT Records)
BONSAI - Bonsai Club  (Ubunto Records)

FROM THE VAULTS / RE-ISSUES
KEITH JARRETT - Standards Vol 1  (ECM)
MIKE WESTBROOK ORCHESTRA - Catania  (Westbrook Records)
SARAH VAUGHAN - The Early Years 1944 - 1948  (Acrobat Records)
PAUL BLEY - Ballads (ECM)
LAMBERT, HENDRICK & ROSS - The Early Years 1954 - 1959  (Acrobat Records)

There have been some great albums across the board this year, none more so than from the "Nu Jazz" exponents from these shores. Seed Ensembles "Driftglass" was a major award winner, Pianist Sarah Tandy established herself among the young elite, while Mark Kavuma laid down his credentials as one of our new trumpet kings, plus Bonsai with Rory Ingham's trombone and the drumming of Johnny Mansfield almost drew level with Brooklyn's "Snarky Puppy" in the fusion stakes. Canadian trumpet mistress Ingred Jensen continued to have few equals, while tenor man Scott Hamilton underlined his late entry into the masters of that instrument, at the same time as the great Peter Brotzmann proved that lush ballads and free form can live together, even if only in his hands. Berlin based ACT Records continued to deliver the best of European music with Marius Neset joining one of the very finest contemporary classical orchestras with his superb suite "Viaduct" and ex EST bassist Dan Berglund pressing all the right buttons with his excellent cross over group "Tonbruket. Top of a very fine pile for me however has to be Laura Jurd, who quite rightly won a "Composer For Large Jazz Ensemble" award for her stunning "Stepping Back Jumping In" masterpiece pairing the Ligeti String Quartet with members of her own bands and guest musicians from far and wide in a stunning kaleidoscope of genre bending sounds, that succeeded as easily in live performance as it did on record. In the reissue category, there was an enormous amount to chose from this year, the names above all exude sheer class within their own styles, but if I could own only one it would have to be the the superb trio of Keith Jarrett, Gary Peacock and Jack DeJohnette who were able to dissect and re-build songs from the standard repertoire like none before them or since.

KEN CHEETHAM
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NEW RELEASES
PATRICK BATTSTONE - The Last Taxi: In Transit (Leo Records)
IVO PERELMAN - Strings 1 / Strings 2(Leo Records)
DIANA TORTI - On A Cloud (Slam Productions)
CHRISTOF MAHNIG & DIE ABMAHNUNG - Red Carpet (Leo Records)
SIMON NABATOV - Readings: Red Cavalry (Leo Records)
DANIEL CARTER ET AL- Live Constructions Volume 2 (S (Slam Productions)
GEORGE HASLAM / NIKOLAS SKORDAS - Lethe - Ληθη (Slam Productions)
GEORGE HASLAM / STEVE COHN / STEVE KERSHAW - Ancient & Modern (Slam Productions)
LUMINOS - Luminos (FMR Records)
THE BALDERIN SALI VARIATIONS - Boreal Delights At the Soundscape & Soundportraits Festival - 2018 (Leo Records) 

FROM THE VAULTS / RE-ISSUES
PAUL BLEY - Ballads (ECM)
KENNY WHEELER - Double, Double You (ECM)
TUBBY HAYES QUARTET - Grits, Beans & Greens: The Lost Fontana Studio Sessions 1969 (Decca)
MILES DAVIS - The Lost Quintet (Sleepy Night Records)
JOHN COLTRANE - Blue World (Impulse) 

My ‘archival’ choices are a bit of a blend – some have not been released before, others are reissues; who cares?  Should our shelves take the added loads of our choices – bring them on!  Imagine the delight arising from the Coltrane and Davis albums, especially if you are playing them from vinyl?

EUAN DIXON
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NEW RELEASES
BRANFORD MARSALIS QUARTET - The Secret Between The Shadow and The Soul (Okeh/Marsalis)
ENRICO RAVA & JOE LOVANO - Roma (ECM)
JOSHUA REDMAN QUARTET - Come What May (Nonesuch)
HERLIN RILEY - Perpetual Optimism (Mack Avenue)
RALPH ALESSI - Imaginary Friends (ECM)
JOEY DEFRANCESCO - In The Key of the Universe (Mack Avenue)
GWILYM SIMCOCK - Near and Now (Act)
BURAK BEDIKYAN - New Beginning (Steeplechase)
WOLFGANG MUTHSPIEL - Where the River Flows (ECM)
VINCENT PEIRANI & NIGHT WALKER - Living Being 2 (Act) 

FROM THE VAULTS / RE-ISSUES
BRITISH MODERN JAZZ PIANISTS (1948-62) - So Much, So Quickly (Acrobat)
STAN GETZ QUARTET - Getz at the Gate (Verve)
DOUG RANEY & NIKOLAI GROMIN - There Will Never Be Another You (Stunt)
BLEY/PEACOCK/MOTIAN - When Will The Blues Leave (ECM)

Of the new releases heard this year the Branford Marsalis set tops my list but after that my choices come in no particular order, all representing music making of the very highest order from the solid swing of Herlin Riley to the intriguing amalgams offered by cross-over artistes like Vincent Peirani. So much to enjoy, savour and reflect upon.

Of the re-issues, the standout compilation was the anthology of British modern jazz pianists, reminding us how quickly and effectively indigenous musicians took up and absorbed the new sounds coming across the Atlantic.

JACK KENNY
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NEW RELEASESJAN GARBAREK/HILLIARD ENSEMBLE - Remember Me, My Dear (ECM)CECIL TAYLOR - Conversations with Tony Oxley (Jazzwerkstatt)
STAN GETZ QUARTET - Getz at The Gate (Verve)
BLEY/PEACOCK/MOTIAN - When Will The Blues Leave? (ECM)
GERRY MULLIGAN CONCERT JAZZ BAND - Young Blood (Dutch Jazz Archive)
STAN KENTON - Concerts in Miniature The Final Part Vol 24 (Sounds of Yesteryear)
MIKE WESTBROOK - Catania (Westbrook Records)
PAUL BLEY - Ballads (ECM)
BILL EVANS - Evans in England (Resonance Records)
TUBBY HAYES - Grits, Beans and Greens (Decca)
DUKE ELLINGTON - Uppsala 1971 (Storyville)

The one CD from the list that I would not relinquish is the Stan Getz, Getz At The Gate, recorded at the Village Gate in late 1961.  Getz returning from a long stay in Europe is intent on asserting himself.  Behind him, he has Roy Haynes drumming with finesse, wit, inventive taste and precision. Getz is full of vitality, teeming with ideas and that beautiful tone.  It is a kind of perfection.  

NICK LEA
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NEW RELEASES
ANÖNA TRIO - One January Morning (Beeboss Records)
MARTIN ARCHER - Another Fantastic Individual (Discus)
WENDY KIRKLAND - The Music's On Me (Self Release)
MARK LOCKHEART - Days On Earth (Edition)
DENISE MANGIARDI - Brown Book (Self Release)
LUCA MANNING WITH FERGUS McCREADIE - When The Sun Comes Out (Self Release)
CLAIRE MARTIN - Believin' It (Linn)
MARTIN SPEAKE / ALEX MAGUIRE - Feathers (Pumpkin Records)
KEN STUBBS - Big Hush (CherryK Records)
KATE WILLIAMS' FOUR PLUS THREE Meets GEORGIA MANCIO - Finding Home (KWJAZZ002)

ECM
AVISHAI COHEN / YONATHAN AVISHAI - Playing The Room
JAN GARBAREK / THE HILLIARD ENSEMBLE - Remember Me, ​My Dear
KEITH JARRETT - Munich 2016
​BARRE PHILLIPS - End To End
​MARK TURNER / ETHAN IVERSON - Temporary Kings

FROM THE VAULTS / RE-ISSUES
​PAUL BLEY - Ballads (ECM)
KEITH JARRETT - At The Blue Note: ​Saturday June 4th,  1994 - 1st Set 
(ECM)
TRYGVE SEIM - Different Rivers (ECM)
LEO SMITH - Divine Love (ECM)
EDWARD VESALA - Lumi (ECM)

As always a difficult task at this time of the year, but a huge amount of pleasure involved in revisiting albums reviewed earlier in the year to make sure that nothing that I might wish to include has been missed. But, of course there have been albums that I would have liked to include that have narrowly missed out, Bassist, Calum Gourlay with his superb new quartet and their album New Ears, and another fine album to check out is Keys & Strings by saxophonist, Jakob Dinesen, and released on the Danish imprint Stunt who have an impressive showing from our reviewers in this years selection.

What has been most rewarding from a listening perspective is the sheer variety of the music that has been released over the last twelve months, and more importantly the quality. The eagerly awaited recording from Kate Williams and Georgia Mancio did not disappoint, and even exceeded expectations and it has been a real pleasure to hear how pianist/vocalist Wendy Kirkland has developed from her debut album a couple of years ago to the fully realised, The Music's On Me. Staying with vocalists, Luca Manning's stunning debut, When The Sun Comes Out, is a joy to behold and I look forward to hearing how this inventive young singer takes his music forward over the coming years.
Again a lot of my listening has come from ECM Records, this year celebrating their fiftieth anniversary. This has meant as well as their usual new releases there has been a lot of re-ssues via the Touchstone series and this is where I have picked my selection, in addition to squeezing in five new recording from the label. From these new albums, the sets from Keith Jarrett and Jan Garbarek / Hilliard Ensemble must be regarded as pretty much essential listening.

EDDIE MYER
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NEW RELASES
​MARK KAVUMA -  The Banger Factory (Ubuntu) 
ALEX HITCHCOCK QUINTETE - All The Good Things  (Fresh Sound New Talent) 
DAVE O'HIGGINS & ROB LUFT - O’Higgins & Luft Play Monk & Trane (Ubuntu)
REBECCA NASH/ATLAS - Peaceful King (Whirlwind)
MIGUEL GORDI - Apophenia (Ubuntu)
DUNCAN EAGLES - Citizen (Ropeadope)
THEON CROSS - Fyah  (Gearbox) 
CASSIE KINOSHI'S SEED ENSEMBLE - Driftglass (Jazzre:freshed)
SARAH TANDY - Infection In The Sentence (Jazz:refreshed)
BINKER GOLDONG - Abstractions of Reality Past and Incredible Feathers (Gearbox)
NÉRIJA - Blume (Domino Records)
STEVE FISHWICK QUARTET - Marshian Time Slip

Due to an oversight when publishing, it is unfortunate that several of Eddie Myer's reviews were not included prior to December 2019. As Eddie had wanted to include them in his albums of the year selection, three of these reviews are now included in our January write up.

Eddie has not reviewed any re-issues in 2019, and instead has selected a baker's dozen of his favourite albums of the last 12 months.

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