Listen and enjoy the 2002 selection (playlist hereunder, after the detailed list) with 20 amazing tracks extracted from 20 amazing jazz albums.
Best Jazz 2002
Spaceways Inc.
“Back Of A Cab (For Jackie Mittoo)”
from Version Soul
(Atavistic)
“These threee players have a powerfully intuitive relationship that transforms simplicity into ecstasy”
— AllAboutJazz
Ken Vandermark: tenor and baritone saxophone, Bb and bass clarinet | Nate McBride: acoustic and electric bass | Hamid Drake: drums
Released May 2002
Free Jazz
Cecil Taylor
“Willisau Concert Part 2”
from The Willisau Concert
(Intakt Records)
“When Taylor sits at the grand piano, there is no longer any distance, no mellow, cool interpretation. It is a direct fight. He wrests his sounds from the material, from the piano, and practically melds them with himself. “
— Meinrad Buholzer
Discover next The Complete, Legendary, Live Return Concert
Cecil Taylor: piano
Released 2002
Free Improvisation
Arthur Blythe
“Night Creeper”
from Focus
(Savant)
“They’ve spent careers redefining jazz, and the fruits of their labor result in music that is relaxed and understated, yet emotive and powerful”
— Jon Wagner
Arthur Blythe: alto saxophone | Gust William Tsilis: marimba | Bob Stewart: tuba | Cecil Brooks III: drums
Released July, 2002
Post Bop, Contemporary Jazz
Medeski Martin & Wood
“Uninvisible”
from Uninvisible
(Blue Note)
“Back to the GROOVE! Horns. Turntables. Classic MMW with a future twist. Uninvisible will take you many places, none of which expect to go.”
— MM&W
John Medeski: keyboards | Billy Martin: drums | Chris Wood: bass | +Guests
Released in April 2002
Future Jazz, Experimental
Willem Breuker Kollektief
“Hap Sap”
from Misery
(BV Haast Records)
Misery is the final part of the trilogy Hunger, Thirst , and Misery.
Willem Breuker: Soprano Saxophone, Alto Saxophone | Hermine Deurloo: Alto Saxophone, Harmonica | Arjen Gorter: Double Bass | Rob Verdurmen: Drums | Henk de Jonge: Piano, Organ, Electronics | Maarten van Norden: Tenor Saxophone | Andrew Bruce: Trombone | Bernard Hunnekink: Trombone, Tuba | Andy Altenfelder, Boy Raaymakers: Trumpet
Released in November 2002
Contemporary Jazz, Free Jazz, Baroque
Jason Moran
“Planet Rock Postscript”
from Modernistic
(Blue Note)
“Moran burns the rule book and presents something so thoroughly individual as to be practically without precedent.”
— David R. Adler
Jason Moran: piano, mini piano
Released in September 2002
Avant-garde Jazz, Contemporary Jazz, Fusion
Dave Holland Big Band
“The Razor’s Edge”
from What Goes Around
(ECM)
What Goes Around won Holland his first Grammy Award as a leader, in the category Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album.
Dave Holland: bass | Billy Kilson: drums | Antonio Hart: alto saxophone, flute | Steve Nelson: vibraphone | Duane Eubanks, Alex Sipiagin, Earl Gardner: trumpet, flugelhorn | Josh Roseman, Andre Hayward, Robin Eubanks: trombone | Gary Smulyan: baritone saxophone | Chris Potter: tenor saxophone | Mark Gross: alto saxophone
Released in September 2002
Contemporary Jazz
Wayne Shorter
“Aung San Suu Kyi”
from Footprints Live!
(Verve Records)
“It was Shorter’s first official live album released under his own name and the first album to feature the ‘Footprints Quartet’ of Shorter, Danilo Perez, John Patitucci and Brian Blade”
— Wikipedia
Wayne Shorter: saxophones | Danilo Perez: piano | John Patitucci: bass | Brian Blade: drums
Released in 2002
Contemporary Jazz
Tomasz Stanko Quartet
“I”
from Soul Of Things
(ECM)
“He triggers memories of his first heroes – memories of Miles, memories of Chet Baker – in his lonesome, soulful soliloquies.”
— ECM
Tomasz Stanko: Trumpet | Marcin Wasilewski: Piano | Slawomir Kurkiewicz: Double-Bass | Michal Miskiewicz: Drums
Released in March 2002
Contemporary Jazz
Misha Mengelberg Quartet
“Hypochristmutreefuzz”
from Four In One
(Songlines Recordings)
“”Hypochristmastreefuzz” was written (as Misha put it) “to set Eric Dolphy a little off balance”, and can be found on Dolphy’s Last Date from 1964; this time it’s Douglas’ turn to try the convoluted theme”
— BBC
Misha Mengelberg: Piano | Dave Douglas: Trumpet | Brad Jones: Bass | Han Bennink: Percussion
Released 2002
Contemporary Jazz
John Surman, Jack DeJohnette
“Mysterium”
from Invisible Nature
(ECM)
“The first duo album by John Surman and Jack DeJohnette in more than 20 years is an exultant, highly atmospheric disc recorded live at the jazz festivals of Berlin and Tampere. “
— ECM
John Surman: Soprano Saxophone, Baritone Saxophone, Bass Clarinet, Synthesizers | Jack DeJohnette: Drums, Electronic Percussion, Piano
Released in February 2002
Free Jazz, Contemporary Jazz
Keith Jarrett, Gary Peacock, Jack DeJohnette
“Paradox”
from Always Let Me Go
(ECM)
“Keith himself has described the music as “a volcanic eruption” and feels it is their best and most concentrated work to date”
— ECM
Keith Jarrett: Piano, Production | Gary Peacock: Double bass | Jack DeJohnette: Drums
Released in October 2002
Free Jazz, Contemporary Jazz
Barry Guy, Marilyn Crispell, Paul Lytton
“Double Trouble Too”
from Odyssey
(Intakt Records)
“5 stars”
— Everyone
Barry Guy: Bass/Composer | Marilyn Crispell: Piano | Paul Lytton: Percussion
Released in November 2002
Free Improvisation
Anouar Brahem
“Pique-nique À Nagpur”
from Le Pas Du Chat Noir
(ECM)
“Half of the magic, as he notes, resides in the not-played, in the marvelous mingling of overtones, sounds that rise from the piano to blend with the warm tones of the oud and the breath of the accordion’s bellows.”
— ECM
Anouar Brahem: Oud | François Couturier: Piano | Jean-Louis Matinier: Accordion
Released in June 2002
Contemporary Jazz
Andrew Hill
“Divine Revelation”
from A Beautiful Day
(Palmetto Records)
“With its wide array of available textures and juxtapositions, the big band proves an ideal vehicle for Hill’s powerful, unclassifiable music”
— David R. Adler
Andrew Hill: piano | John Savage: flute, alto saxophone | Marty Ehrlich: clarinet, bass clarinet, alto saxophone | Aaron Stewart, Greg Tardy: tenor saxophone | J. D. Parran: baritone saxophone | Dave Ballou, Laurie Frink, Ron Horton, Bruce Staalens: trumpet | Mike Fahn, Joe Fielder, Charlie Gordon: trombone | Jose D’avila: tuba | Scott Colley: bass | Nasheet Waits: drums
Released in July 2002
Live Jazz
Akosh S. Unit
“Adatott”
from Lenne
(Universal Music Jazz France)
Lenne is the second part of the free jazz trilogy made with Kebelen (2000) and Vetek (2003); 2nd trilogy of Akosh S. Unit after Imafa, Omeko, and Élettér.
If you want to explore Akosh S. discography or complete your collection, then here are the five essential albums you should definitely go for: Five Essential Akosh Szelevényi Albums
Akosh Szelevényi: Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone, Bass Clarinet, Flute, Kalimba, Bombarde, Vocals | Bernard Malandain: Double Bass | Philippe Foch: Drums, Percussion, Djembe | Mokhtar Choumane: Flute | Joe Doherty: Violin, Viola, Alto Saxophone, Bass Clarinet, Flute
Released in 2002
Avant Garde Jazz
Bill Charlap
“The Nearness Of You”
from Stardust
(Blue Note)
Stardust is a tribute to the prodigious talents of Hoagy Carmichael by Bill Charlap.
Bill Charlap: piano | Peter Washington: bass | Kenny Washington: drums
Released in April 2002
Jazz
William Parker Quartet Featuring Leena Conquest
“Hunk Pappa Blues”
from Raining On The Moon
(Thirsty Ear)
So good – so one of the best jazz 2002 – that since the original album, the name Raining on the Moon has also come to identify the group from this record.
William Parker: bass | Leena Conquest: vocals | Louis Barnes: trumpet | Rob Brown: alto saxophone, flute | Hamid Drake: drums
Released in May 2002
Contemporary Jazz
Matthew Shipp
“Nu-Bop”
from Nu Bop
(Thirsty Ear)
“The sheer breadth of Shipp’s ideas, the ingenuity of his writing and the individuality of his pianism make Nu Bop one of the more important releases of the year and reaffirm Shipp’s position at the forefront of jazz innovation.”
— Chicago Tribune
Matthew Shipp: Piano | William Parker: Bass | Daniel Carter: Saxophone & Flute | Guillermo E. Brown: Drums | Flam: Synths & Programming
Released in January 2002
Free Jazz, Post Bop
Guillermo Klein, Los Guachos
“Coco”
from Los Guachos III
(Sunnyside)
Coco is a beautiful introduction to the strange follow-up trip in between J.S. Bach and life in the Argentinian pampas.
Guillermo Klein: piano solo, guitar, voice, keyboards | Diego Urcola: trumpet, fluegelhorn | Taylor Haskins: trumpet, fluegelhorn | Chris Cheek: tenor sax, soprano sax | Bill McHenry: tenor sax | Miguel Zenon: alto sax, flute | Sandro Tomassi: trombone | Ben Monder: electric guitar | Fernando Huergo: electric bass | Jeff Ballard: drums, percussion | Marlon Browden: drums | Luciana Souza: voice | Matt Pavolka: double bass | Adrian Buono: guitar | Roman Giudice: guitar & percussion | Pablo Salzman: electric bass | Richard Nant: percussion
Released in August 2002
Latin Jazz, Post Bop
Playlist Best Jazz 2002
Best Jazz 2002 – Albums List
Here is the entire list of the 20 albums we highlighted for this Best Jazz 2002 selection
- Spaceways Inc. – Version Soul
- Cecil Taylor – The Willisau Concert
- Arthur Blythe – Focus
- Medeski Martin & Wood – Uninvisible
- Willem Breuker Kollektief – Misery
- Jason Moran – Modernistic
- Dave Holland Big Band – What Goes Around
- Wayne Shorter – Footprints Live!
- Tomasz Stanko Quartet – Soul Of Things
- Misha Mengelberg Quartet – Four In One
- John Surman, Jack DeJohnette – Invisible Nature
- Keith Jarrett, Gary Peacock, Jack DeJohnette – Always Let Me Go
- Barry Guy, Marilyn Crispell, Paul Lytton – Odyssey
- Anouar Brahem – Le Pas Du Chat Noir
- Andrew Hill – A Beautiful Day
- Akosh S. Unit – Lenne
- Bill Charlap – Stardust
- William Parker Quartet Featuring Leena Conquest – Raining On The Moon
- Matthew Shipp – Nu Bop
- Guillermo Klein, Los Guachos – Los Guachos III
2000’s
Discover all the other 2000’s jazz selections: 2000 – 2001 – 2002 – 2003 – 2004 – 2005 – 2006 – 2007 – 2008 – 2009