The Top Jazz Releases of 2013

Here, in order, are my top 10 jazz releases of 2013. I kept my list to 10 in order to conform to the format established by Francis Davis, who graciously asked me to take part in his 8th annual jazz critics poll, hosted this year by NPR Music. For this blog I cheated and added an "Honorable Mention" list as well, below the list of my main choices.

My top 10 are:

Mary Halvorson Septet - Illusionary Sea (Firehouse 12)
Ms. Halvorson takes yet another step forward in an already remarkable career. In a lineage with Point of Departure.

Convergence Quartet – Slow & Steady (No Business)
Taylor Ho Bynum and Alexander Hawkins both figure again on this list, and along with Dominic Lash and Harris Eisenstadt, reinvent a traditional-sounding trumpet/piano/bass/drums lineup.

Taylor Ho Bynum Sextet & 7-tette – Navigation (Firehouse 12)
Fascinating to hear how he approaches recasting a set of materials over four performances outside of his work with Braxton.

Drew Gress – The Sky Inside (Pirouet)
Compelling compositions and arrangements from Gress, and compelling performances from his long-time collaborators. 

Craig Taborn – Chants (ECM)
A dark, complex record that with mysterious depths beneath the surface. 

Alexander Hawkins – Song Singular (Babel Label)
The record that puts Hawkins in the same league as Melford, Taborn, Fujii, etc. 

Ralph Alessi – Baida (ECM)
Alessi seems in total command of his horn and his approach, and he sounds like he’s having fun as well. 

Satoko Fujii Trio – Spring Storm (Libra)
Another winning trio record. 

Francois Houle/Havard Wiik – Aves (Songlines)
A beautiful dialogue between clarinet and piano.

Nate Wooley – (Sit In) The Throne of Friendship (Clean Feed)
Wooley has some pretty wild freer recordings, but I like him best when he balances composition with unique arrangements. 

Honorable mentions:

Ingrid Laubrock Anti-House - Strong Place (Intakt)

Gabriella Friedli Trio – Started (Intakt)

Samuel Blaser/Benoit Delbecq/Gerry Hemingway - Fourth Landscape (Nuscope)

Harris Eisenstadt – Golden State (Songlines)

Tim Berne's Snakeoil - Shadow Man (ECM)

Satoko Fujii – Gen Himmel (Libra)

Full results of Mr. Davis' poll will be posted in the coming days at www.nprmusic.org.

Drew Gress – The Sky Inside

Drew Gress
The Sky Inside
Pirouet

Drew Gress - Bass, Electronics
Tim Berne - Alto Saxophone
Ralph Alessi - Trumpet
Craig Taborn - Piano
Tom Rainey - Drums

The Sky Inside is the fourth release by Drew Gress with essentially the same group. He started with Spin & Drift (2001, Premonition), a release that looked good on paper but never really fulfilled its promise. 7 Black Butterflies (2005, Premonition) substituted Craig Taborn for Uri Caine and added trumpeter Ralph Alessi. I initially passed when it came out, but eventually came around and was very glad I did. He followed that with The Irrational Numbers (2008, Koch), another excellent record.

The Sky Inside shows that everyone has grown as mature, expressive players over the years. Tom Rainey is a modern rhythm master, able to accentuate the proceedings without calling undue attention to himself. Tim Berne and Alessi are both in the middle of probably the most productive periods of their careers, with their respective ECM albums and numerous guest appearances. Taborn shows himself to particularly good effect, whether helping hold down repeating rhythmic figures or providing key transitions in the compositions.

There’s always something interesting going on with Gress’s arrangements, a sense of motion and intricacy underneath while the horns play with and around each other. While his compositions strike a balance between melody and abstraction, In Streamline stands out because it is simply, unabashedly, beautiful. It reminded me of one of those perfect fall days when I lived in NYC, walking along brownstones in the afternoon sun, everything right with the world, if only for a moment. It’s the kind of performance that would be perfect on the soundtrack of a sophisticated, urban film.

As with the previous releases, there’s a very subtle use of electronic effects to enhance the arrangements in some places on the record. I usually hate any kind of studio manipulation, but the effects work here because they are so unobtrusive.

Distribution has been an issue recently for the label in the U.S., but you should be able to get it through Downtown Music Gallery, or through the Pirouet website.