1/19/2024 0 Comments Take five alto sax part![]() Meshell Ndegeocello The Omnichord Real Bookįor Those Who Like: Afrofuturism, cosmic vibes, self-care So it's official: The list has been finalized. They appear in loosely ranked order below I trust this selection because it has already stood up to all manner of second-guessing, and I can only be true to my lived experience. But just as importantly, these are recordings that I kept within easy reach throughout the year, returning to them often - for comfort or for challenge, or for more inexplicable reasons. The 10 best jazz albums of 2023, according to my own idiosyncratic calculus, capture something of that spark, too. ![]() And I reflect on a series of revelations involving Tyshawn Sorey, either at the helm of his own music or with collaborators like Vijay Iyer, Steve Lehman and Linda May Han Oh (each of whom also released excellent albums this year, in case you weren't aware). I recall another uncontainable band I saw on two separate occasions: Christian McBride's New Jawn, unpacking another terrific new release, Prime. I think about two live encounters with Irreversible Entanglements - a band that fiercely challenges every strain of complacency, not least on a studio album, Protect Your Light, that came close to making the list below. Looking back on 2023, my mind turns first and foremost to the moments that felt supercharged with that spirit of discovery. Considering the many splendors of Shorter's musical life was a welcome reminder of how much space there is to move within this art form, how many layers and levels are still waiting to be found. I communed extensively with Shorter's music, not only as a way of processing my emotions but also because it kept surrendering new truths - partly as a matter of course, but also because of the many enticing details in Wayne Shorter: Zero Gravity, an immersive three-part documentary that arrived on Amazon Prime in August. Like many of us, I had a year of listening defined by season and circumstance. It's a mindset I've struggled to embrace since reckoning with Shorter's departure in early spring, and making the cross-country pilgrimage to an all-star memorial concert in late summer. By his estimation, there was also no such thing as a beginning or an ending. "To me, there's no such thing as a finished anything," Shorter, the august saxophonist and composer, liked to say. Wayne Shorter, one of a few musical sages who left our earthly plane this year, had a standard take on the subject of finality.
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