Editor's Choice

It's great to be able to pick and choose from an overflowing roster of great titles, then relive the pleasure of discovery from the past twelve months. The Brad Mehldau Trio Ode Nonesuch Records The pianist's trio offers its perspective on the world around us by filtering it through its original music, the playing ...

2012 was a year of stimulating music made all of the more relevant by artists who poured out their hearts and souls in diverse and compelling ways. Younger voices emerged like pianist Robert Glasper and drummer Henry Cole to deliver contemporary visions through fresh personal and cultural influences . Esteemed trumpeter/composer Wadada Leo Smith brought his ...

With more and more music being produced independently, it's harder each year to find the time to listen to a lot of it, never mind review it. The following baker's dozen represents some, though not all of my favorite music of 2012.

Jenny Scheinman Mischief and Mayhem Self Produced 2012

The title ...

The year of 2012 proved once again that jazz remains a wonderfully diverse and diverting art form. Here are ten of my favorite albums, in no particular order. Christine Tobin Sailing To Byzantium (Trail Belle) A joy from first note to last, this is a majestic and beautiful work. Ian Shaw ...

A ton of fine music came out in 2012, like most years, making these year-end lists very difficult. A lot we don't get to hear, so that limits some. For example, I've not yet heard the 2012 disks of drummer Jack DeJohnette, trumpeter Christian Scott or guitarist John McLaughlin and the Fourth Dimension. Having seen each ...

From Laos to the Palestinian Territories, from Borneo to Vietnam, from Kuala Lumpur to London, and from Singapore to France, it was a busy year as far as reviewing gigs went. There were many wonderful concerts and some worthy of mention include guitarist Federico Casagrande, pianist Nicolas Bouloukos, guitarist Jeremy Tjordman and Norwegian duo Albatrosh, but ...

A list of some of the new releases that enriched life in 2012. In no particular order...

Peter Brötzmann Chicago Tentet Walk, Love, Sleep Smalltown Superjazz

A long time ago I lost count of how many albums I have by Peter Brötzmann. Or how many I still want in my collection or how many ...

Here are ten new releases which stood out this year:

Wadada Leo Smith Ten Freedom Summers Cuneiform

Without a doubt, Ten Freedom Summers is the crowning achievement of trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith's distinguished career to date. Years in the making, the complete sequence of 19 songs, inspired by the Black American Civil ...

To paraphrase Mark Twain, the reports of the death of jazz have been greatly exaggerated. 2012 has been an outstanding year for jazz and improvised music. Here is a list of some of the best.

Stephen Gauci Thunk!(Not Two Records) Matt Wilson/Arts & CraftsAttitude For Gratitude (Palmetto)

Considering the quantity of recordings released in a year's time, attempting to compile an end of the year list mentioning every first-rate session would be difficult at best. The ten titles included below are among the most exceptional new jazz albums I've heard in 2012. Jason Robinson Tiresian Symmetry Cuneiform Records Multi-instrumentalist Jason ...

Transcendent recordings don't come with a label identifying their magnificence, but they're easy to pick out. I had the honor and privilege of receiving, and listening to, more than 375 CDs for review consideration in 2012. I reviewed approximately 165 of them and these were the 15 that rose above the rest. Some are bold and ...

Another tremendous year of travel, to find music in whatever nook and cranny it's hiding. From South Africa to Sweden, from Norway to the Netherlands, and from Germany to home base in Ottawa, Canada, it seemed as though there was an endless supply of great music to see--and even more that sadly had to be skipped. ...

2012 has been another banner year, but one with an ever-present problem: so much good music, but so little time. While there are many other recordings worthy of attention--and inclusion--with the usual condition that only albums that have been reviewed are eligible for selection, here are just a few of the top recorded events in jazz ...

Scores of excellent CDs were released in 2012. These are some of the finest. Click on the CD titles for more in depth reviews.

Hal Galper Airegin Revisited Origin Records

Pianist Hal Galper has been delving deeply into his rubato explorations of the standards, along with his own distinctive compositions, and each release ...