2nd Annual Jazz Critics Poll: 2007

The 2007 Jazz Poll

Jazz Record of the Year

  1. Maria Schneider, Sky Blue (ArtistShare) 188.5 points (26 ballots)
  2. Charles Mingus, Cornell 1964 (Blue Note) 133 (19)
  3. Michael Brecker, Pilgrimage (Heads Up) 104 (15)
  4. Terence Blanchard, A Tale of God's Will (A Requiem for Katrina) (Blue Note) 95 (13)
  5. Joe Lovano & Hank Jones, Kids (Blue Note) 92 (14)
  6. Herbie Hancock, River: The Joni Letters (Verve) 75 (13)
  7. Dee Dee Bridgewater, Red Earth (DDB/EmArcy) 71 (9)
  8. Joshua Redman, Back East (Nonesuch) 62 (12)
  9. Keith Jarrett/Gary Peacock/Jack DeJohnette, My Foolish Heart (ECM) 61 (8)
  10. Abbey Lincoln, Abbey Sings Abbey (Verve) 55 (8)
  11. McCoy Tyner, Quartet (HalfNote/McCoy Tyner Music) 54 (9)
  12. Anat Cohen, Poetica (Anzic) 43 (6)
  13. Trio M (Myra Melford/Mark Dresser/Matt Wilson), Big Picture (Cryptogramophone) 42 (7)
  14. Carla Bley, The Lost Chords Find Paolo Fresu (ECM/Watt) 41 (7)
  15. Paul Motian, Time and Time Again (ECM) 35 (7)
  16. Fred Anderson & Hamid Drake, From the River to the Ocean (Thrill Jockey) 34.5 (6)
  17. Joe Zawinul, Brown Street (Heads Up) 34 (5)
  18. Anat Cohen, Noir (Anzic) 32.5 (5)
  19. Miles Davis, Live at the 1963 Monterey Jazz Festival (MJF/Concord) 31 (5)
  20. William Parker, Corn Meal Dance (AUM Fidelity) 31 (4)
  21. Steve Lacy & Roswell Rudd, Early and Late (Cuneiform) 30 (7)
  22. Bill Holman, Hommage (Jazzed Media) 30 (4)
  23. The Bad Plus, Prog (Do the Math/Heads Up) 29.5 (5)
  24. Jewels and Binoculars, Ships With Tattooed Sails: The Music of Bob Dylan (Upshot) 29 (4)
  25. David Murray, Sacred Ground (Justin Time) 28.5 (7)
  26. David Torn, Prezens (ECM) 26 (4)
  27. Charles Tolliver, With Love (Blue Note/Mosaic) 25 (5)
  28. Muhal Richard Abrams, Vision Towards Essence (Pi) 25 (4)
  29. Bill Charlap, Live at the Village Vanguard (Blue Note) 25 (4)
  30. Matthew Shipp, Piano Vortex (Thirsty Ear) 24.5 (5)
  31. Anthony Braxton, 9 Compositions (Iridium) 2006 (Firehouse 12) 24.5 (3)
  32. Chris Potter, Follow the Red Line: Live at the Village Vanguard (Sunnyside) 22 (4)
  33. The Claudia Quintet, For (Cuneiform) 21.5 (4)
  34. Bennie Wallace, Disorder at the Border (Justin Time) 20.5 (3)*
  35. Harry Allen & Joe Cohn, Music From "Guys and Dolls" (Arbors) 20 (4)
  36. Roscoe Mitchell, Composition/Improvisation Nos. 1, 2 & 3 (ECM) 20 (3)
  37. Chris Potter, Song for Anyone (Sunnyside) 19.5 (4)
  38. Peter Brötzmann/Mats Gustafsson/Ken Vandermark, Sonore: Only the Devil Has No Dreams (Jazzwerkstatt) 19 (2)
  39. Bill McHenry, Roses (Sunnyside) 18 (4)
  40. Exploding Star Orchestra, We Are All From Somewhere Else (Thrill Jockey) 18 (3)
  41. Powerhouse Sound, Oslo/Chicago: Breaks (Atavistic) 18 (2)
  42. Andy Bey, Ain't Necessarily So (12th St.) 17.5 (3)
  43. Robert Glasper, In My Element (Blue Note) 17 (3)
  44. Nels Cline Singers, Draw Breath (Cryptogramophone) 17 (2)
  45. John Abercrombie, The Third Quartet (ECM) 16 (4)

*Totals for Disorder at the Border include 5.5 (1) from 2006.

Critics were asked to list 10 albums in descending order, with 10 points awarded for their 1, nine for 2, etc. (On ballots where choices were listed alphabetically, each received 5.5 points.) The first bold number indicates total points; the number in parentheses is the tally of ballots on which a CD appeared, which was used as a tiebreaker.

Jazz Reissue of the Year

  1. Miles Davis, The Complete "On the Corner" Sessions (Columbia/Legacy) 61 points (23 ballots)
  2. John Coltrane, Interplay (Prestige) 23 (11)
  3. Chu Berry, Classic Columbia and Victor Sessions (Mosaic) 20 (8)
  4. Andrew Hill, Compulson (Blue Note) 14 (7)
  5. Duke Ellington, The Complete 1936-1940 Variety, Vocalion and Okeh Small Group Sessions (Mosaic) 14 (6)
  6. Lionel Hampton, The Complete Victor Sessions, 1937-1941 (Mosaic) 11 (4)
  7. King Oliver, Off the Record: The Complete 1923 Jazz Band Recordings (Off the Record) 10 (5)*
  8. Roy Haynes, A Life in Time: The Roy Haynes Story (Dreyfus) 10 (4)
  9. Dewey Redman, The Struggle Continues (ECM) 9 (5)
  10. Billie Holiday, Lady Day: The Master Takes and Singles (Columbia/Legacy) 8 (4)

*Totals include 2 (1) from 2006

*Totals include 3 (1) from 2006

Critics were asked to list three reissues in descending order, with three points awarded for 1, two for 2, and one for 3. The first bold number indicates total points; the number in parentheses tallies ballots on which a CD appeared, which was used as a tiebreaker.

Best Vocal Album

  1. Dee Dee Bridgewater, Red Earth (EmArcy) 8
  2. Kurt Elling, Nightmoves (Concord) 4
  3. Andy Bey, Ain't Necessarily So (12th Street) 3
  4. Best Debut Album

    1. Tyshawn Sorey, That/Not (Firehouse 12) 11
    2. Amir ElSaffar, Two Rivers (Pi) 3

    Best Latin Album

    1. Bobby Sanabria Big Band, Urban Folktales (Jazzheads) 11
    2. Paquito D'Rivera, Funk Tango (Sunnyside) 3

    For Best Vocal, Debut, and Latin Jazz albums, critics were asked to name one album apiece, with no point system.

    Thanks to all the critics who participated:

    David R. Adler, Larry Applebaum, Paul Blair, Larry Blumenfeld, Stuart Broomer, Nate Chinen, Thomas Conrad, Francis Davis, Paul de Barros, Steve Dollar, Laurence Donohue-Greene, Ken Dryden, Steve Feeney, Phil Freeman, David Fricke, Will Friedwald, Kurt Gottschalk, Tom Greenland, David Hajdu, James Hale, Ed Hazell, Don Heckman, Tad Hendrickson, Andrey Henkin, Geoffrey Himes, Tom Hull, Willard Jenkins, Martin Johnson, Ashley Kahn, George Kanzler, Fred Kaplan, Suzanne Lorge, John McDonough, Jim Macnie, Howard Mandel, John Matouk, Bill Milkowski, Dan Morgenstern, Russ Musto, Dan Ouellette, Ted Panken, Thierry Peremarti, Bob Porter, Doug Ramsey, Derk Richardson, Bob Rusch, Gene Seymour, Bill Shoemaker, Slim, Steve Smith, Zan Stewart, Jeff Stockton, W. Royal Stokes, John Szwed, Neil Tesser, George Varga, Josef Woodard, and Ron Wynn.

    You can see how they voted here.

    December 25, 2007, The Village Voice