Wadada Leo Smith Archives

All posts tagged “Wadada Leo Smith”

Best of Jazz 2023 (So Far)

The Best of Jazz 2023 (So Far!) says a lot about how strangely good this year has already been.

We say “strangely” because coming out of the COVID-19 years was believed to be a new beginning and the promise of an easier existence. However, for the last few months, everyday life has been exhausting, wearisome, and hard for all of us.

Despite these struggles, jazz musicians did manage to expand their creativity, broaden their horizons, and explore uncharted territories. Additionally, the fact that many of the following releases cannot fit properly into one category, says a lot about the current state of creativity ahead of classification. Last, a large part of this creativity is getting noticed by a broader audience that is younger than the usual crowd of jazz aficionados.

Jazz March 2023

The March 2023 selection will start as a list, without review.

Yes, it’s a bit raw. But this month looks so good, there’s no point in waiting at the risk of missing the releases of the following albums; our inputs or reviews will come later.

So, what should you expect from jazz this month? Welcome to our March 2023 selection of albums that have already been released or will soon be released this month (“What to Wait For”). These albums got our full attention and are worth your time. They are listed in order of release date.

Satoko Fujii – Hyaku: One Hundred Dreams

Hyaku, One Hundred Dreams is an album by pianist and composer Satoko Fujii. It was recorded on September 20, 2022, at the DiMenna Center in New York City, and it was released on December 9, 2022, by Libra Records, which is owned by Satoko Fujii and her husband Natsuki Tamura.

Best of Jazz – Year 1997

Discover the Best of Jazz selection for 1997 with our ten best jazz albums released that year. Once again, the albums are listed in no particular order: all are amazing in their own ways. At the end of the article, you will also find a playlist with a track to represent each of those ten albums, plus ten extra, for nearly 150 minutes of breath-taking music.

Best of Jazz – Year 2021

Discover our final and definitive “Best Jazz Albums of 2021” list.

This year, the selection is divided into albums featuring solos, duets, trios, quartets, quintets, and larger ensembles, with three selections per category, for a total of 18 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 20 albums that sum up how great 2021 was for jazz.