Wondering Sound’s 25 Best Jazz Albums of 2014

The Wondering Sound 25 Best Jazz Albums of 2014 has just been published.  You can find it by following this LINK.

Kevin Whitehead, Britt Robson, Seth Colter Walls and myself compiled the list through a series of nominations and votes.  The process was surprisingly static free.  This is, in part, due to the fact that my counterparts are pro’s pros, but you can’t overlook the contribution of editor-in-chief J. Edward Keyes, who, in addition to somehow corralling a herd of cats, could also probably get them to punch out a decent 200 words on their favorite albums.

Albums that I nominated that were ultimately included were:

• John Ellis & Andy Bragen – MOBRO
• The Westerlies – Wish the Children Would Come Home
• Rafael Karlen – The Sweetness of Things Half-Remembered
• Get the Blessing – Lope and Antilope
• Angles 9 – Injuries

I wrote little blurbs on all of the above, except for the Westerlies album, which was written by Kevin Whitehead.  I also wrote a blurb for Spiral Mercury, by Pharoah & The Underground… a collaboration between Pharoah Sanders and a couple of Rob Mazurek’s projects.

There’s some great music on that list.  There weren’t any albums included that made me react with a “what the hell is that person thinking?”  This did not surprise me.  I have a ton of respect for the way my counterparts write and the music they choose to write about.

Now, go explore!