Another Year, Another List

Mulling over (for days and days) a deluge of CDs released in 2024

The idea of mounting a Top 10 list each year is really preposterous, given the deluge of discs and downloads that we freelance music writers are flooded with each year. And while I do continue to submit year-end Top Ten lists to Jazziz, Absolute Sound and Jazzthing (Germany), I always feel compelled to come up with a Top 100 list for my own purposes, like this Substack column, just to show the wealth of quality product out there. Just off the top of my head, and checking some notes of things that I covered in 2024, I came up with 200 CDs worthy of consideration then spent several days whittling it down to a final list of 100. And I decided at the last minute to compile a separate list of archival recordings (and there were many great ones released in 2024) to make more room for those recordings that were done more recently. Also, while I do place significance on the Top 10 recordings listed here, the following 90 do not follow in any kind of hierarchical ranking. They are all great CDs that I just happened to especially dig this year. And while there were some perennials like Kenny Barron, Miguel Zenón, Chris Potter, Bill Frisell, Charles Lloyd, Joel Ross, Immanuel Wilkins, Mary Halvorson, Ben Wolfe, Vijay Iyer, et al who made my list, there were also some gifted and promising newcomers that I included, like tenor saxophonists Neta Raanan, Nicole Glover and Julieta Eugenio, pianists Micah Thomas and Andrew Wilcox, vibraphonist Patricia Brennan and vocalist Michael Mayo.

2024 Top 100 List

1. Kenny Barron, Beyond This Place (Artwork Records)

2. Miguel Zenón, Golden City (Miel Music)

3. Chris Potter, Eagle’s Point (Edition Records)

4. Lionel Loueke/Dave Holland, United (Edition Records)

5. Tim Armacost Chordless Quintet, Something About Believing (TMA Records)

6. Brian Lynch, 7X7BY7 (Hollistic Musicworks)

7. Walter Smith III, three of us are from Houston and Reuben is not (Blue Note)

8. Out Of/Into, Motion 1 (Blue Note)

9. Charles Lloyd, The Sky Will Still Be There Tomorrow (Blue Note)

10. Conrad Herwig, The Latin Side of McCoy Tyner (Savant)

11. Mary Halvorson, Cloudward (Nonesuch)

12. Milton Nascimento and Esperanza Spalding, Milton + Esperanza (Concord)

13. Brian Landrus, Plays Ellington & Strayhorn (Palmetto Records)

14. Joel Ross, Nublues (Blue Note)

15. Gerald Cannon, Live at Dizzy’s Club: The Music of Elvin & McCoy (Woodneck Records)

16. Ben Wolfe, The Understated (Resident Art Records)

17. Troy Roberts, Green Lights (Toy Robot Music)

18. Ben Wendel, Understory: Live at the Village Vanguard (Edition Records)

19. Steve Davis, We See (Smoke Sessions)

20. David Weiss Sextet, Auteur (Origin Records)

21. Geoffrey Keezer, Live at Birdland (Markeez)

22. Bill Frisell, Orchestras (Blue Note)

23. Patricia Brennan Septet, Breaking Stretch (Pyroclastic Records)

24. Peter Bernstein, Better Angels (Smoke Sessions)

25. Dave Douglas, Gifts (Greenleaf Music)

26. Immanuel Wilkins, Blues Blood (Blue Note)

27. Micah Thomas, Mountains (Artwork)

28. John Escreet, The Epicenter of Your Dreams (Blue Room Music)

29. The Jamie Baum Septet +, What Times Are These (Sunnyside)

30. Ben Allison/Steve Cardenas/Ted Nash, Tell the Birds I Said Hello: The Music of Herbie Nichols (Sonic Camera Records)

31. Ryan Keberle, Bright Moments (Posi-Tone)

32. Julieta Eugenio, Stay (Cristalyn Records)

33. Neta Raanan, Unforseen Blossom (Giant Step Arts)

34. Tarbaby, You Think This America (Giant Step Arts)

35. Nasheet Waits, New York Love Letter (Bitter Sweet) (Giant Step Arts)

36. The Fury, Live in Brooklyn (Giant Step Arts)

37. Jason Palmer, The Cross Over: Live in Brooklyn (Giant Step Arts)

38. Lakeicia Benjamin, Phoenix Reimagined (Live) (Ropeadope)

39. Dafnis Prieto Sí o Sí Quartet, 3 Sides of the Coin (Dafnison Music)

40. Vijay Iyer/Linda May Han Oh/Tyshawn Sorey, Compassion (ECM)

41. Franco Ambrosetti, Sweet Caress (Enja)

42. Wolfgang Muthspiel, Etudes/Quietudes (ECM)

43. Gonzalo Rubalcaba and Hamilton de Holanda, Collab (Sonny Music Brasil)

44. Chick Corea & Bela Fleck, Remembrance (Thirty Tigers)

45. Ryan Keberle & Catharsis, Music Is Connection (Alternate Side Records)

46. Michael Mayo, Fly (Mack Avenue)

47. Samara Joy, Portrait (Verve)

48. Lisa Rich, Long As You’re Living (Tritone Records)

49. Javon Jackson/Nikki Giovanni, Javon & Nikki Go To The Movies (Solid Jackson)

50. Brian Bromberg, LaFaro (Be Squared Productions)

51. Steve Millhouse Cinema Trio, Music on the Way: The Music of Henry Mancini (self)

52. Julian Lage, Speak to Me (Blue Note)

53. Mike Stern, Echoes and Other Songs (Mack Avenue Records)

54. Ben Monder, Planetarium (Sunnyside)

55. Stephane Wrembel, Triptych (Water Is Life Records)

56. Jason Keiser, Kind of Kenny (OA2 Records)

57. Steve Coleman and Five Elements, PolyTropos/Of Many Turns (Pi Recordings)

58. Al Di Meola, Twentyfour (earMUSIC)

59. Gilad Hekselman, Live at the Village Vanguard (La Reserve Records)

60. Yotam Silberstein, Standards (JoJo Records)

61. Wadada Leo Smith/Amina Claudine Myers, Central Park Mosaics of Reservoir, Lake, Paths and Gardens (Red Hook Records)

62. Michael Dease, Found in Space: The Music of Greg Hill (Origin)

63. David Murray Quartet, Francesca (Intakt)

64. Eric Person, Rhythm Edge (Distinction Records)

65. Matthew Shipp, New Concepts in Piano Trio Jazz (ESP-Disk)

66. Tyshawn Sorey, The Susceptible Now (Pi Recordings)

67. Jeff Coffin, Only the Horizon (Ear Up)

68. Nicole Glover, Plays (Savant)

69. John Beasley/Frankfurt Radio Big Band, Returning To Forever (Candid)

70. Matt Wilson, Good Trouble (Palmetto)

71. Tom Harrell, Alternate Summer (HighNote)

72. Dave Gibson, Fellowship (Imani)

73. Louis Hayes, Artform Revisited (Savant)

74. Jonathan Barber & Vision Ahead, In Motion (Vision Ahead Music)

75. Zaccai Curtis, Cubop Lives! (Truth Revolution Recording Collective)

76. Jeanfrançois Prins, Blue Note Mode (GAM)

77. The Dave Stryker Trio with Bob Mintzer, Groove Street (Strykezone)

78. Rich Goldstein, Into the Blue (Truth Revolution Recording Collective)

79. Greg Skaff, Re-Up (Soulmation Records)

80. Pat Bianchi, Three (21H Records)

81. The Bobby Broom Organization, Jamalot Live (Clean Sweep Music)

82. Something Else!, Soul Jazz (Smoke Sessions)

83. Charles McPherson, Reverence (Smoke Sessions)

84. One For All featuring George Coleman, Big George (Smoke Sessions)

85. Jack Walrath, Live at Small’s (Cellar Music Group)

86. Melissa Aldana, Echoes of the Inner Prophet (Blue Note)

87. Bill Charlap, And Then Again (Blue Note)

88. Andrew Wilcox, Dear Mr. Hill (Truth Revolution Recording Collective)

89. Michael Wolff/Leon Lee Dorsey/Mike Clark, Letter to Bill Evans (Jazz Avenue 1)

90. Nduduzo Makhathini, Unomkhubulwane (Blue Note)

91. Elliott Zigmund Quartet, Golden (New Direction Records)

92. Emmett Cohen, Vibe Provider (Mack Avenue)

93. Andy Ezrin, I Was Here (Ez It Music)

94. Edward Simon/Scott Colley/Brian Blade, Three Visitors (GroupUP)

95. Ed Neumeister Quartet + 3, Covers (MeisteroMusic Records)

96. Max Light, Chaotic Neutral (AGS Recordings)

97. Scott Kinsey, Luniwaz LIVE (Whirlwind Recordings)

98. Scott Henderson, Karnevel! (Mango Music)

99. Ken Serio, Brooklyn Oasis (Tripping Tree Music)

98. Thumbscrew, Wingbeats (Cuneiform Records)

100. James Emery, Inner Drive (Modern Sounds)

Archival Top Ten

1. McCoy Tyner & Joe Henderson, Forces of Nature: Live at Slugs’ (Blue Note)

2. Wayne Shorter, Celebration, Volume 1 (Blue Note)

3. Ron Miles, Old Main Chapel (Blue Note)

4. Emily Remler, Cookin’ at the Queens (Resonance Records)

5. Sonny Rollins, Freedom Weaver (Resonance Records)

6. Charles Tolliver, Live at the Captains Cabin (Reel to Real)

7. Oscar Peterson Quartet, City Lights: Live in Munich 1994 (Mack Avenue)

8. Art Tatum, Jewels in the Treasure Box (Resonance Records)

9. Louis Stewart/Jim Hall: The Dublin Concert (Livia Records)

10. Keith Jarrett (with Paul Motian & Gary Peacock), The Old Country (ECM)