The following selection is our definitive “Best Jazz Albums of 2023” list. The selection is divided into albums featuring solos, duets, trios, quartets, quintets, sextets, and larger ensembles, with three selections per category, for a total of 21 albums. We also added one category for “Artist of the Year”, and one for “Archive of the Year”, thereby adding two albums to the final selection, for a grand total of 23 albums that sum up how great 2023 was for jazz.
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What’s new to discover in jazz this month? This is our April 2023 selection of albums that have already been released. These got our full attention and should be worth your time! The albums are ordered by their release date.
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Thisness is an album by composer, producer, and guitarist Miles Okazaki. The musician gathered for this album is the usual Trickster band with pianist Matt Mitchell, bassist Anthony Tidd, and drummer Sean Rickman. Thisness was recorded on March 19 and 20, 2021, at Oktaven Studios, Mount Vernon, NY, and was released on April 25, 2022, by Pi Recordings.
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Sara Schoenbeck’s self-titled album has nine different partners for nine different duets. The album was recorded and mixed between May 2019-April 2021 in seven places across North America, including but not limited to Studio G in Brooklyn, NY, Afterlife Studio in Vancouver, BC, and London Bridge Studio in Seattle, WA.
Idiom, by saxophonist, flutist, and composer Anna Webber, was released by Pi Recordings on May 28, 2021. It is divided into two parts: the first, played by Anna Webber’s Simple Trio, with Matt Mitchell on piano, and John Hollenbeck on drums; and the second, played by Anna Webber’s Large Ensemble, consisting of 12 musicians, plus one conductor, Eric Wubbels.
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What to expect in Jazz this month? This is our July 2021 Selection of albums already released or to be released this month (What to Wait For?). Albums – or EPs, or Singles – that got our full attention and should be worth your time.
A playlist with one track per selected album is available at the end of the post.
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