The Best Jazz 2004 in 20 tracks and albums to discover what the year had to offer.
The selection has no rank nor order, just ready to be listened to as it is or in shuffle. The entire playlist is available just after the art covers list.
Best Jazz 2004
Medeski Martin & Wood
“Shine It”
from End Of The World Party (Just In Case)
(Blue Note)
“These are theme songs for the next generation soundtracks that may accompany the end of the world in a more positive setting”
— Medeski Martin & Wood
John Medeski: keyboards | Billy Martin: drums, Percussion | Chris Wood: bass
Released in September 2004
Fusion, Future Jazz, Jazz-Funk
Akosh S. Solo
“Ünnep”
from Aki
(Universal Music Jazz France)
Solo recording at the church “Mindszentek” of Vàmosszabadi, Hungary, 22 september 2003. 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: tárogató, flute, soprano saxophone, clarinet
Released in January 2004
Free Jazz, Contemporary Jazz
Paal Nilssen-Love, Ken Vandermark
“Train Hits The Station”
from Dual Pleasure 2
(Smalltown Superjazzz)
“Their approach to the duo context is ferocious in its intensity, combining extreme rhythmic velocity with formal deconstruction and re-assembly, and a freedom to use any genre at any time.”
— Paalnilssen-love.com
Paal Nilssen-Love: drums | Ken Vandermark: bass clarinet, tenor saxophone
Released in August 2004
Free Jazz
Goran Kajfeš
“The Man With The Golden Arm”
from Headspin
(Amigo)
Won a Grammis (Swedish music awards) in 2004 for “Jazz of the Year”
Goran Kajfeš: trumpet, bass | Per “Ruskträsk” Johansson: alto flute | Johan Berthling: double bass | Janne Robertson: drums | Jesper Nordenström: electric piano, organ
Released in May 2004
Jazzy Hip-Hop, Contemporary Jazz
Don Byron
“I Want To Be Happy”
from Ivey-Divey
(Blue Note)
Don Byron was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Solo in 2005 for his bass clarinet solo on “I Want to Be Happy“.
Don Byron: clarinet, bass clarinet,tenor saxophone | Jason Moran: piano | Jack DeJohnette: drums
Released in September 2004
Post Bop
Monk Hughes & The Outer Realm
“A Piece For Brother Weldon”
from A Tribute To Brother Weldon
(Stones Throw Records)
“A Tribute to Brother Weldon is a tribute album to jazz musician Weldon Irvine by hip hop producer Madlib’s Jazz project under the alias of Monk Hughes. The album features music by Weldon Irvine and was released in 2004 following his death in 2002.”
— Wikipedia
Monk Hughes: Bass, Keyboards | Otis Jackson Jr.: Drums, Loops, Kalimba | Joe McDuphrey: Electric Piano, Synthesizer, Piano | Morgan Adams III: Organ, Synthesizer , Percussion
Released in July 2004
Acid Jazz
Ibrahim Electric
“Endangered Beat”
from Ibrahim Electric
(Ilk Music)
“Ibrahim Electric is a Danish band situated primarily in Copenhagen, Denmark. Ibrahim Electric are widely famous in Denmark for their experimental music, many genres, including jazz, funk, afro-beat, surf and many more.”
— Wikipedia
Jeppe Tuxen: Organ | Niclas Knudsen: Guitar | Stefan Pasborg: Drums
Released in 2004
Contemporary Jazz
Tomasz Stanko Quartet
“II (Suspended Variations)”
from Suspended Night
(ECM)
“Suspended Night builds upon the conceptual framework established by its predecessor – the bulk of the album is devoted to a series of haunting and soulful Suspended Variations – but the improvisational quotient is expanded, as all participants take more solo space and more chances.”
— ECM
Tomasz Stanko: trumpet | Marcin Wasilewski: piano | Slawomir Kurkiewicz: double-bass | Michal Miskiewicz: drums
Released in February 2004
Contemporary Jazz
Craig Taborn
“Junk Magic”
from Junk Magic
(Thirsty Ear)
“The album’s title was also the name of the band, which was formed to be Taborn’s electronic group, allowing him to explore the interactions of composition, improvisation, and electronics. The name came from Sam Shepard’s writings.”
— Wikipedia
Craig Taborn: Piano & Keyboards & Programming | Mat Maneri: Viola | Aaron Stewart: Tenor Sax | David King: Drums
Released in April 2004
Future Jazz
Magma
“K.A I”
from K.A
(Seventh Records)
“K.A was Magma’s first full-length studio release in over 20 years. The material was largely composed by drummer Christian Vander in 1973–74, and fragments of it can be heard on Magma’s 1977 live album Inédits. K.A is sung almost entirely in Magma’s constructed language Kobaïan.”
— Wikipedia
Christian Vander: vocals, drums, percussion | Stella Vander: vocals, percussion | Isabelle Feuillebois: vocals | Himiko Paganotti: vocals | Antoine Paganotti: vocals | James Mac Gaw: guitar | Emmanuel Borghi: piano, Fender Rhodes | Frédéric d’Oelsnitz: Fender Rhodes | Philippe Bussonnet: bass
Released in 2004
Jazz-Rock, Fusion, Prog Rock
Jan Garbarek
“In Praise Of Dreams”
from In Praise Of Dreams
(ECM)
“If dreams are movies for the mind, the album is aptly titled – its atmospheres are evocative and decidedly ‘filmic’.”
— ECM
Jan Garbarek: Saxophones | Kim Kashkashian: Viola | Manu Katché: Drums
Released in September 2004
Contemporary Jazz
Chris Potter Quartet
“Boogie Stop Shuffle”
from Lift – Live At The Village Vanguard
(Sunnyside)
“In some ways, Chris Potter’s career has led up to this recording. A brilliant live performer, his ecstatic improvisations and searching, inventive compositions, have earned him lavish praise his entire career.”
— Sunnyside
Chris Potter: tenor and soprano saxophones | Kevin Hays: piano, Fender Rhodes | Scott Colley: bass | Bill Stewart: drums, percussion
Released in May 2004
Contemporary Jazz, Post Bop
Charles Lloyd, Billy Higgins
“Tagi”
from Which Way Is East
(ECM)
Recorded in January 2001 and released in 2004, “Which Way Is East” contains the last recordings by Billy Higgins before he died in May 2001
Charles Lloyd: tenor and alto saxophones, bass, alto and C flutes, piano, taragato, Tibetan oboe, percussion, maracas, voice | Billy Higgins: drums, percussion, guitar, guimbri, Syrian “one string,” various Senegalese and Guinean hand drums, Indian hand drum, Juno’s wood box, voice
Released in Mars 2004
Contemporary Jazz
Alice Coltrane
“Blue Nile”
from Translinear Light
(Impulse!)
“Translinear Light is the last studio album released by Alice Coltrane […]. Produced by her son, Ravi Coltrane, who also played, it is the final album of Coltrane’s career.”
— Wikipedia
Alice Coltrane: Wurlitzer organ, piano, synthesizer | Ravi Coltrane: percussion, soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone, sleigh bells | James Genus: bass | Jeff “Tain” Watts: drums
Released in September 2004
Space-Age, Modal
Mylab
“Land Trust Picnic”
from Mylab
(Terminus Records)
“Horvitz and Martine’s ability to assemble and mix such an incredibly diverse range of pop, rock, jazz, folk, urban, bluegrass, traditional and alternative artists produced the kind of adventurous record that would have made the late, great Sun-Ra proud. “
— Terminus Records
Tucker Martine: Piano, Electric Piano, Organ, Synthesizer | Wayne Horvitz: pianos, Hammond B-3, pump organ, synthesizers | Doug Wieselman: Guitar | Timothy Young: Guitar | Andy Roth: Drums | Danny Barnes: Banjo | Keith Lowe: Acoustic Bass, Electric Bass
Released in February 2004
Art Rock, Contemporary Jazz, Experimental
Anthony Braxton, György Szabados, Vladimir Tarasov
“Improvisation 3”
from Triotone
(Leo Records)
Live at the 9th festival of jazz and improvised music in Kanizsa, Serbia-Montenegro at Art-House, Cnesa.
Anthony Braxton: Reeds | György Szabados: Piano | Vladimir Tarasov: Percussion
Released in December 2004
Free Improvisation, Free Jazz, Contemporary Jazz
Ravish Momin’s Trio Tarana
“String Drum Tarana”
from Climbing The Banyan Tree
(Clean Feed)
“It is fair to say that Tarana is without precedent in improvised music. A true synthesis of North African, South, and East Asian motifs with the classical organization and the immediacy of free improv has probably not existed prior to Climbing the Banyan Tree. “
— Allen Clifford
Ravish Momin is an Indian-born drummer, electronic music producer and educator residing in New York City.
Ravish Momin: drums, percussion | Jason Kao Hwang: violon | Shanir Ezra Blumenkranz: bass, oud
Released in November 2004
Free Jazz, Fusion
El-P Feat. The Blue Series Continuum
“Get Your Hand Off My Shoulder, Pig”
from High Water
(Thirsty Ear)
“Made in conjunction with jazz pianist Matthew Shipp and the group for which he is artistic director, The Blue Series Continuum, the album is a striking departure from El-P’s usual style, almost completely eschewing conventional ideas of hip hop in favor of electronically-tinged jazz fusion compositions, bordering on the avant-garde. “
— Genius.com
El-P: composition, production, arrangement, mixing | Matthew Shipp: piano | Daniel Carter: reeds, flute | Steve Swell: trombone | Roy Campbell: trumpet | William Parker: double bass | Guillermo E. Brown: drums
Released in March 2004
Acid Jazz, Future Jazz
The Great Jazz Trio
“Someday My Prince Will Come”
from Someday My Prince Will Come
(Eighty-Eight’s)
“When Hank Jones expounds upon “Satin Doll” or “Someday My Prince Will Come,” it’s not like anything you’ve heard before. His creativity continues to produce vibrant improvisations, unlike the standard treatment.”
— Jim Santella @AllAboutJazz
Hank Jones: piano | Richard Davis: bass | Elvin Jones- drums
Released in September 2004
Bop, Post Bop, Hard Bop
Dave Douglas
Dave Douglas
“A Single Sky”
from Strange Liberation
(Bluebird)
Strange Liberation received widespread critical acclaim and did well on the jazz album charts, reaching number three on Billboard’s and number one on CMJ’s.
Dave Douglas: trumpet | Bill Frisell: guitar | Chris Potter: tenor saxophone, bass clarinet | Uri Caine: Fender Rhodes | James Genus: bass | Clarence Penn: drums, percussion
Released in January 2004
Contemporary Jazz
Playlist
Best Jazz 2004 – Albums List
Here is the list of the 20 best jazz 2004 albums:
- Medeski Martin & Wood – End Of The World Party (Just In Case)
- Akosh S. Solo – Aki
- Paal Nilssen-Love, Ken Vandermark – Dual Pleasure 2
- Goran Kajfeš – Headspin
- Don Byron – Ivey-Divey
- Monk Hughes & The Outer Realm – A Tribute To Brother Weldon
- Ibrahim Electric – Ibrahim Electric
- Tomasz Stanko Quartet – Suspended Night
- Craig Taborn – Junk Magic
- Magma – K.A
- Jan Garbarek – In Praise Of Dreams
- Chris Potter Quartet – Lift – Live At The Village Vanguard
- Charles Lloyd, Billy Higgins – Which Way Is East
- Alice Coltrane – Translinear Light
- Mylab – Mylab
- Anthony Braxton, György Szabados, Vladimir Tarasov – Triotone
- Ravish Momin’s Trio Tarana – Climbing The Banyan Tree
- El-P Feat. The Blue Series Continuum – High Water
- The Great Jazz Trio – Someday My Prince Will Come
- Dave Douglas – Strange Liberation
2000’s
Discover all the other 2000’s jazz selections: 2000 – 2001 – 2002 – 2003 – 2004 – 2005 – 2006 – 2007 – 2008 – 2009