Discover or re-discover and enjoy the Best Jazz Albums of 2000.
The Best Jazz Releases of 2000
Anouar Brahem Trio
Astrakan Café
(ECM)
“Tunisian oud virtuoso Anouar Brahem counts as one of ECM’s most important ‘discoveries’ of the last decade. After his highly successful trans-cultural recording ‘Thimar’, he returns to a more purely Middle Eastern music on ‘Astrakan Café’, with the trio that has been his first priority for several years. The improvisational exchanges between Brahem, clarinetist Barbaros Erköse, and percussionist Lassad Hosni are exceptionally fluid, and the atmospheres that they create by turns mysterious, hypnotic, dramatic…”
— ECM
Anouar Brahem: Oud; Barbaros Erköse: Clarinet; Lassad Hosni: Bendir, Darbouka
Released September 2000
St Germain
Tourist
(Blue Note)
As of 2018, Tourist has sold over four million copies worldwide!
Part of the selection: The Best Acid Jazz Albums
Ludovic Navarre: producer; Pascal Ohsé: trumpet; Claudio De Queiroz: baritone saxophone; Edouard Labor: saxophones, flute; Alexandre Destrez: keyboards; Ernest Ranglin: guitar; Idrissa Diop: talking drum; Edmundo Carneiro: percussion
Released May 2000
Andrew Hill
Dusk
(Palmetto Records)
“With Dusk, Andrew Hill makes it plain that his uncompromising musical vision is intact, undiluted, and perhaps more advanced than ever”
— David R. Adler
Andrew Hill: piano; Marty Ehrlich: bass clarinet, alto saxophone; Greg Tardy: bass clarinet, tenor saxophone; Ron Horton: trumpet; Scott Colley: bass; Billy Drummond: drums
Released May 2000
David S. Ware
Surrendered
(Columbia)
“All in all, Surrendered might truly represent one of Ware’s finest recordings to date as no two songs sound alike which makes for a divergent and noteworthy mix while Steven Joerg’s sharp and insightful production only enhances the overall scenario”
— Glenn Astarita
David S. Ware: tenor sax; Matthew Shipp: piano; William Parker: bass; Guillermo E. Brown: drums
Released May 2000
Tony MacAlpine, Bunny Brunel, Dennis Chambers
CAB
(Tone Center)
“Cab delivers an aggressive fusion Super Session, bringing together three of the most revered instrumentalists of our time.”
— Guitar9
Tony MacAlpine: guitar, keyboard; Bunny Brunel: keyboard, bass, engineering, mixing, production; Dennis Chambers: drums; Brian Auger: organ
Released March 2000
Discover the Best Jazz Fusion Albums
Wikipedia
Matthew Shipp Quartet
Pastoral Composure
(Thirsty Ear)
“One of Shipp’s more accessible albums, making it a great place to start for those interested in checking out this important modern jazz pianist”
— Joslyn Layne
Matthew Shipp: piano; Roy Campbell: trumpet, pocket trumpet, flugelhorn; William Parker: bass; Gerald Cleaver: drums
Released 2000
Keith Jarrett, Gary Peacock, Jack DeJohnette
Whisper Not (Live In Paris 1999)
(ECM)
“It’s a reframing of what always was, and ever will be, a profound talent”
— Tyran Grillo
Keith Jarrett: Piano; Gary Peacock: Double-Bass; Jack DeJohnette: Drums
Released September 2000
Avishai Cohen
Colors
(Stretch Records)
“The composer wrote 13 selections for this program and each is a meeting of artistic colors, each rare and emanating its own originality through Cohen’s sense of harmony, expansive tones, and polyrhythms.”
— Paula Edelstein
Avishai Cohen: Piano, Fender Rhodes Piano, Acoustic & Electric Basses, Percussion; Jimmy Greene: Soprano & Tenor Saxophones, Flute; Avi Lebovich, Steve Davis: Trombone; Tom Chin, Jesse Mills: Violin; Kenji Bunch: Viola; Fred Sherry: Cello; Amos Hoffman: Oud and Guitar; Jason Lindner: Piano; Yagil Bavas: Acoustic Bass; Jeff Ballard, Antonio Sanchez: Drums
Released August 2000
Open Spaces
Serenity
(ECM)
The Penguin Guide to Jazz selected Serenity as part of its suggested Core Collection.
Bobo Stenson: piano; Anders Jormin: bass; Jon Christensen: drums
Released June 2000
Medeski Martin & Wood
The Dropper
(Blue Note)
“The Dropper is a complex blend of Latin jazz, haunting soundscapes, hip-hop grooves, and John Medeski’s trademark organ funk”
— Zac Johnson
John Medeski: keyboards; Billy Martin: drums, percussion; Chris Wood: basses
Released October 2000
Pat Metheny
Trio 99→00
(Warner Bros. Records)
Metheny won the 2000 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Solo for “(Go) Get It
Pat Metheny: electric, acoustic guitars; Larry Grenadier: double bass; Bill Stewart: drums
Released February 2000
Branford Marsalis Quartet
Contemporary Jazz
(Columbia)
“But I think we’re finally playing good contemporary music. We’ve gone through what we needed to, as people and as musicians, to be at the top of our game. We’re not students anymore; we’ve gone through ‘university.’ Now we can just play good tunes.”
— Branford Marsalis
Branford Marsalis: Saxophones; Eric Revis: bass; Jeff “Tain” Watts: drums; Joey Calderazzo: piano
Released August 2000
Bill Frisell
Ghost Town
(Nonesuch)
“But the overall mood here is relatively dark, though consistently beautiful.”
— AllMusic
Bill Frisell: electric and acoustic guitars, 6 string banjo, loops & bass
Released 2000
Jason Moran
Facing Left
(Blue Note)
“It’s impossible not to view him as one of the most striking originals to emerge in jazz in years. With rare technical assurance and a bold sense of vision, Moran has made a record for the ages.”
— JazzTimes
Jason Moran: piano, Hammond B3 organ, Fender Rhodes piano; Tarus Mateen: bass; Nasheet Waits: drums
Released June 2000
Bill Dixon With Tony Oxley
Papyrus – Volume I
(Soul Note)
“On Papyrus Volume I Dixon and Oxley provide the listener with a series of miniatures that go straight to the heart as though the twosome were transfixed in some sort of mystical aura.”
— All About Jazz
Bill Dixon: trumpet, piano; Tony Oxley: drums, percussion
Released January 2000
Erik Truffaz
The Mask
(Blue Note)
The Mask is a compilation of the three previous albums published by EMI France – Out of Dream, The Dawn, and Bending new Corners – but this time released on Blue Note and highlighting exclusively instrumental pieces.
Erik Truffaz: trumpet; Patrick Muller: piano, Fender Rhodes; Marcello Giuliani: bass; Marc Erbetta: drums, percussion
Released June 2000
James Carter
Chasin’ The Gypsy
(Atlantic)
Chasin’ the Gypsy is an homage to Django Reinhardt.
“This is the spirit marriage a tribute should be. It swings like a horse thief, parlays Fransay, and adores the melody.”
— Robert Christgau
James Carter: bass saxophone, tenor saxophone, mezzo-soprano saxophone, soprano saxophone; Regina Carter: violin; Jay Berliner: steel-string acoustic guitar; Romero Lubambo: classical guitar; Charles Giordano: accordion; Steve Kirby: bass; Cyro Baptista: percussion; Joey Baron: drums
Released 2000
Terence Blanchard
Wandering Moon
(Sony Classical)
For “I Thought About You”, the album was nominated in 2000 for Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Solo.
“Trumpeter Blanchard has released some fine recordings in the ’90s, but this one may be the best of them all”
— Michael G. Nastos
Terence Blanchard: trumpet; Aaron Fletcher: alto saxophone; Dave Holland: bass; Eric Harland: drums; Edward Simon: piano; Branford Marsalis: tenor saxophone; Brice Winston: tenor saxophone
Released February 2000
Chucho Valdés
Live At The Village Vanguard
(Blue Note)
Live At The Village Vanguard won Chucho Valdés the Grammy Award for Best Latin Jazz Album.
Chucho Valdés: Piano; Francisco Rubio Pampin: Acoustic Bass; Roberto Vizcaíno Guillot: Congas, Drums; Raul Pineda Roque: Drums
Released April 2000
Charles Lloyd
The Water Is Wide
(ECM)
“After the highly successful Voice In The Night album, the most widely praised of all his ECM recordings, the great saxophonist from Memphis, Tennessee, follows up with an imaginatively programmed album that takes his music to the next level.”
— ECM
Charles Lloyd: Tenor Saxophone; Brad Mehldau: Piano; John Abercrombie: Guitar; Larry Grenadier: Double-Bass; Billy Higgins: Drums; Derek Oles: Double-Bass
Released August 2000
Best Jazz 2000 – Albums List
Here is the entire short list of our best jazz 2000 albums:
- Anouar Brahem Trio – Astrakan Café
- St Germain – Tourist
- Andrew Hill – Dusk
- David S. Ware – Surrendered
- Tony MacAlpine, Bunny Brunel, Dennis Chambers – CAB
- Matthew Shipp Quartet – Pastoral Composure
- Keith Jarrett, Gary Peacock, Jack DeJohnette – Whisper Not (Live In Paris 1999)
- Avishai Cohen – Colors
- Bobo Stenson Trio – Serenity
- Medeski Martin & Wood – The Dropper
- Pat Metheny – Trio 99→00
- Branford Marsalis Quartet – Contemporary Jazz
- Bill Frisell – Ghost Town
- Jason Moran – Facing Left
- Bill Dixon With Tony Oxley – Papyrus – Volume I
- Erik Truffaz – The Mask
- James Carter – Chasin’ The Gypsy
- Terence Blanchard – Wandering Moon
- Chucho Valdés – Live At The Village Vanguard
- Charles Lloyd – The Water Is Wide
Discover the Spotify Playlist “Best Jazz 2000”, with 20 tracks, one for each of the selected album.
The 2000s
Discover all the other 2000’s best jazz selections: 2000 – 2001 – 2002 – 2003 – 2004 – 2005 – 2006 – 2007 – 2008 – 2009