16th Annual Jazz Critics Poll: 2021
2021 Totals: New Albums
- James Brandon Lewis Red Lily Quintet, Jesup Wagon (TAO Forms) 388.5 (53)
- Vijay Iyer-Linda May Han Oh-Tyshawn Sorey, Uneasy (ECM) 225 (34)
- Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders & the London Symphony Orchestra, Promises (Luaka Bop) 195 (28)
- Charles Lloyd & the Marvels, Tone Poem (Blue Note) 182.5 (25)
- Wadada Leo Smith's Great Lakes Quartet, The Chicago Symphonies (TUM) 169 (24)
- Henry Threadgill Zooid, Poof (Pi) 163 (32)
- Ches Smith & We All Break, Path of Seven Colors (Pyroclastic) 143 (23)
- Artifacts [Tomeka Reid-Nicole Mitchell-Mike Reed], . . . And Then There's This (Astral Spirits) 139 (25)
- Sons of Kemet, Black to the Future (Impulse!) 123 (21)
- William Parker, Mayan Space Station (AUM Fidelity) 117.5 (23)
- Anna Webber, Idiom (Pi) 112 (17)
- Irreversible Entanglements, Open the Gates (International Anthem) 98 (17)
- Johnathan Blake, Homeward Bound (Blue Note) 91.5 (17)
- Kimbrough (Newvelle) 89 (12)
- Amir ElSaffar Rivers of Sound, The Other Shore (Outnote) 83 (12)
- Archie Shepp & Jason Moran, Let My People Go (Archieball) 76 (12)
- Makaya McCraven, Deciphering the Message (Blue Note) 76 (11)
- William Parker, Migration of Silence Into and Out of the Tone World (Centering/AUM Fidelity) 76 (9)
- Craig Taborn, Shadow Plays (ECM) 74 (10)
- Sylvie Courvoisier & Mary Halvorson, Searching for the Disappeared Hour (Pyroclastic) 71.5 (18)
- Julian Lage, Squint (Blue Note) 70 (16)
- David Sanford Big Band Featuring Hugh Ragin, A Prayer for Lester Bowie (Greenleaf Music) 70 (9)
- Bill Charlap Trio, Street of Dreams (Blue Note) 69 (13)
- Adam O'Farrill, Visions of Your Other (Biophilia) 68 (14)
- Ben Goldberg, Everything Happens to Be. (BAG Productions) 68 (13)
- Wadada Leo Smith-Jack DeJohnette-Vijay Iyer, A Love Sonnet for Billie Holiday (TUM) 67 (13)
- Pat Metheny, Side-Eye NYC (V1.IV) (Modern) 66 (10)
- Miguel Zenón-Ariel Bringuez-Demian Cabaud-Jordi Rossy, Law Years: The Music of Ornette Coleman (Miel Music) 63.5 (12)
- Hafez Modirzadeh, Facets (Pi) 60 (10)
- Dave Holland, Another Land (Edition) 59 (12)
- Andrew Cyrille Quartet, The News (ECM) 58.5 (12)
- Jason Moran, The Sound Will Tell You (Yes) 58 (10)
- Joe Lovano & Dave Douglas Soundprints, Other Worlds (Greenleaf Music) 57 (10)
- East Axis [Matthew Shipp-Allen Lowe-Gerald Cleaver-Kevin Ray], Cool With That (ESP-Disk) 56.5 (11)
- Brandee Younger, Somewhere Different (Impulse!) 54.5 (12)
- Patricia Brennan, Maquishti (Valley of Search) 52.5 (11)
- Damon Locks & Black Monument Ensemble, Now (International Anthem) 50.5 (8)
- Chick Corea Akoustic Band, Live! (Concord Jazz) 50 (6)
- The Cookers, Look Out! (Gearbox) 49 (7)
- Natural Information Society & Evan Parker, Descension (Out of Our Constrictions) (Aguirre/Eremite) 49 (6)
- Nicholas Payton, Smoke Sessions (Smoke Sessions) 47 (6)
- Tim Berne-Chris Speed-Reid Anderson-Dave King, Broken Shadows (Intakt) 44 (7)
- Caroline Davis, Portals, Volume 1: Mourning (Sunnyside) 44 (7)
- Matthew Shipp, Codebreaker (TAO Forms) 43 (7)
- Gerry Gibbs Thrasher Dream Trios, Songs From My Father (Whaling City Sound) 42 (9)
- Darius Jones, Raw Demoon Alchemy (A Lone Operation) (Northern Spy) 41 (7)
- Thumbscrew, Never Is Enough (Cuneiform) 40 (9)
- Alexander Hawkins, Togetherness Music: For Sixteen Musicians (Intakt) 40 (5)
- Ivo Perelman, Brass and Ivory Tales (Fundacja Sluchaj) 38.5 (5)
- Helen Sung, Quartet + (Sunnyside) 37.5 (7)
- Miguel Zenón & Luis Perdomo, El Arte Del Bolero (Miel Music) 37.5 (7)
- Renee Rosnes, Kinds of Love (Smoke Sessions) 37 (9)
- Jihye Lee Orchestra, Daring Mind (Motéma Music) 37 (8)
- Wadada Leo Smith, Sacred Ceremonies (TUM) 36.5 (8)
- Terence Blanchard, Absence (Blue Note) 36 (6)
- Ron Carter-Jack DeJohnette-Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Skyline (5 Passion) 35 (7)
- Jakob Bro-Arve Henriksen-Jorge Rossy, Uma Elmo (ECM) 34 (8)
- Christian McBride & Inside Straight, Live at the Village Vanguard (Mack Avenue) 33.5 (6)
- Eliane Elias, Mirror Mirror (Candid) 33 (6)
- Esperanza Spalding, Songwrights Apothecary Lab (Concord) 33 (6)
- Borderlands Trio [Stephan Crump-Kris Davis-Eric McPherson], Wandersphere (Intakt) 33 (5)
- Veronica Swift, This Bitter Earth (Mack Avenue) 32 (6)
- Sara Schoenbeck, Sara Schoenbeck (Pyroclastic) 31 (5)
- Greg Abate, Magic Dance: The Music of Kenny Barron (Whaling City Sound) 30.5 (5)
- Miho Hazama & Danish Radio Big Band, Imaginary Visions (Edition) 29 (5)
- Sana Nagano, Smashing Humans (577) 29 (5)
- Orrin Evans, The Magic of Now (Smoke Sessions) 28 (7)
- William Parker, Painters Winter (AUM Fidelity) 28 (4)
- Joe Lovano Trio Tapestry, Garden of Expression (ECM) 27 (5)
- Whit Dickey-William Parker-Matthew Shipp, Village Mothership (TAO Forms) 27 (4)
- Rich Halley-Dan Clucas-Clyde Reed-Carson Halley, Boomslang (Pine Eagle) 26.5 (5)
- Ethan Iverson & Umbria Jazz Orchestra, Bud Powell in the 21st Century (Sunnyside) 26 (5)
- Nate Wooley, Mutual Aid Music (Pleasure of the Text) 26 (5)
- Pino Palladino and Blake Mills, Notes With Attachments (Impulse!) 25 (5)
- Ahmed, Nights on Saturn (Communication) (Astral Spirits) 24 (5)
- Rodrigo Amado This Is Our Language Quartet, Let the Free Be Men (Trost) 24 (5)
- Frank Kimbrough, Ancestors (Sunnyside) 24 (4)
- Kate McGarry + Keith Ganz Ensemble, What to Wear in the Dark (Resilience) 24 (4)
- Kevin Sun, <3 Bird (Endectomorph) 23.5 (5)
- Punkt. Vrt. Plastik [Kaja Draksler/Petter Eldh/Christian Lillinger], Somit (Intakt) 23 (4)
- Joe Fiedler's "Open Sesame", Fuzzy and Blue (Multiphonics) 23 (3)
- Ben LaMar Gay, Open Arms to Open Us (International Anthem) 23 (3)
- Michael Wollny-Emile Parisien-Tim Lefebvre-Christian Lillinger, XXXX (ACT Music) 21 (4)
- Ingebrigt Håker Flaten, (Exit) Knarr (Odin) 21 (3)
- Remy Le Boeuf's Assembly of Shadows, Architecture of Storms (SoundSpore) 21 (3)
- Marc Cary, Life Lessons (Sessionheads United) 20 (4)
- Masabumi Kikuchi, Hanamichi: The Final Studio Recording (Red Hook) 20 (3)
- Terrace Martin, Drones (BMG) 20 (3)
- Jen Shyu & Jade Tongue, Zero Grasses: Ritual for the Losses (Pi) 19 (4)
- Jaimie Branch, Fly or Die Live (International Anthem) 19 (3)
- Carlos Henriquez, The South Bronx Story (Tiger Turn) 19 (3)
- Wadada Leo Smith-Douglas R Ewart-Mike Reed, Sun Beans of Shimmering Light (Astral Spirits) 18 (4)
- Fire!, Defeat (Rune Grammofon) 18 (3)
- Roscoe Mitchell, Dots: Pieces for Percussion and Woodwinds (Wide Hive) 18 (3)
- Simon Moullier Trio, Countdown (Fresh Sound New Talent) 18 (3)
- Nate Smith, Kinfolk 2: See the Birds (Edition) 18 (3)
- Trondheim Jazz Orchestra & Ole Morten Vågan, Plastic Wave (Odin) 18 (3)
- Jamire Williams, But Only After You Have Suffered (International Anthem) 18 (2)
- Nik Bärtsch, Entendre (ECM) 17.5 (3)
- Marc Johnson, Overpass (ECM) 17 (3)
- Burnt Sugar/The Arkestra Chamber, Angels Over Oakanda (Avant Groidd) 16 (4)
- George Cables, Too Close for Comfort (HighNote) 16 (3)
- Silke Eberhard Trio, Being the Up and Down (Intakt) 16 (3)
- Jon Gordon, Stranger Than Fiction (ArtistShare) 16 (3)
- Arturo O'Farrill, . . . Dreaming in Lions . . . (Blue Note) 16 (3)
- Tom Rainey Obbligato, Untucked in Hannover (Intakt) 15.5 (4)
- Brian Lynch, Songbook Vol. 1: Bus Stop Serenade (Holistic MusicWorks) 15.5 (3)
- William Hooker, Big Moon (Org Music) 15.5 (2)
- Matt Mitchell & Kate Gentile, Snark Horse (Pi) 15 (4)
- Blue Reality Quartet, Blue Reality Quartet! (Mahakala) 15 (3)
- Ill Considered, Liminal Space (New Soil) 15 (3)
- Wadada Leo Smith, Trumpet (TUM) 15 (3)
- Charlie Ballantine, Reflections/Introspection: The Music of Thelonious Monk (Green Mind) 15 (2)
- Angelika Niescier & Alexander Hawkins, Soul in Plain Sight (Intakt) 15 (2)
- Alex Sipiagin, Upstream (Posi-Tone) 15 (2)
- Rossano Sportiello, That's It (Arbors) 15 (2)
- Mike LeDonne's Groover Quartet + Big Band, It's All Your Fault (Savant) 14.5 (2)
- Kurt Elling, SuperBlue (Edition) 14 (3)
- Joshua Abrams & Natural Information Society, Mandatory Reality (Eremite) 14 (2)
- Theo Bleckmann and the Westerlies, This Land (Westerlies Music) 14 (2)
- Hamid Drake-Elaine Mitchener-William Parker-Orphy Robinson-Pat Thomas, Black Top Presents: Some Good News (Otoroku) 14 (2)
- Jeff Lederer's Sunwatcher, Eightfold Path (Little(i)Music) 14 (2)
- Kuzu, All Your Ghosts in One Corner (Aerophonic) 13 (2)
- John McLaughlin, Liberation Time (Abstract Logix) 13 (2)
- Allison Miller & Jane Ira Bloom, Tues Days (Outline) 13 (2)
- Rachel Musson, Dreamsing (577) 13 (2)
- Jeremy Pelt, Griot: This Is Important! (HighNote) 13 (2)
- Tyshawn Sorey & Alarm Will Sound, For George Lewis/Autoschediasms (Cantaloupe) 13 (2)
- Noah Haidu-Buster Williams-Billy Hart, Slowly: Song for Keith Jarrett (Sunnyside) 12.5 (2)
- Mario Pavone Dialect Trio + 1, Blue Vertical (Out of Your Head) 12 (4)
- The Baylor Project, Generations (Be a Light) 12 (3)
- Chamber 4, Dawn to Dusk (JACC) 12 (3)
- Steven Feifke Big Band, Kinetic (Outside In Music) 12 (3)
- Jon Irabagon, Bird With Streams (Irabbagast) 12 (3)
- Lyle Mays, Eberhard (self-released) 12 (3)
- Steph Richards With Joshua White, Zephyr (Relative Pitch) 12 (3)
- Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra With Wynton Marsalis, The Democracy! Suite (Blue Engine) 12 (2)
- Dave Liebman Expansions, Selflessness: The Music of John Coltrane (Dot Time) 12 (2)
- Evan Parker Quartet, All Knavery and Collusion (Cadillac) 12 (2)
- Theo Croker, BLK2LIFE ∥ A Future Past (Sony Masterworks) 11.5 (2)
- Satoko Fujii Tokyo Trio, Moon on the Lake (Libra) 11 (3)
- Chris Potter Circuits Trio, Sunrise Reprise (Edition) 11 (3)
- The Generations Quartet [Dave Liebman-Billy Test-Evan Gregor-Ian Froman], Invitation (Albert Murray/John Aveni) 11 (2)
- Emmet Cohen, Future Stride (Mack Avenue) 11 (2)
- Jeremiah Cymerman, Citadels & Sanctuaries (5049) 11 (2)
- Cameron Graves, Seven (Mack Avenue) 11 (2)
- Charlotte Greve, Sediments We Move (New Amsterdam) 11 (2)
- Vincent Herring, Preaching to the Choir (Smoke Sessions) 11 (2)
- Jacqueline Kerrod, 17 Days in December (Orenda) 11 (2)
- Jeff Parker, Forfolks (International Anthem) 11 (2)
- The Source, . . . But Swinging Doesn't Bend Them Down (Odin) 11 (2)
- JD Allen, Queen City (Savant) 10 (3)
- John Zorn, New Masada Quartet (Tzadik) 10 (2)
- Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio, I Told You So (Colemine) 10 (2)
- Gretchen Parlato, Flor (Edition) 10 (2)
- The Tiptons Sax Quartet & Drums, Wabi Sabi (Sowie Sound) 10 (2)
- Sharel Cassity-Rajiv Halim-Greg Ward, Altoizm (Afar Music) 10 (1)
- Slava Ganelin-Alexey Kruglov-Oleg Yudanov, Access Point (Losen) 10 (1)
- Derrick Gardner and the Big Dig! Band, Still I Rise (Impact Jazz -20) 10 (1)
- Milford Graves & Jason Moran, Live at Big Ears (Yes) 10 (1)
- Barry Guy, Irvin's Comet (NoBusiness -20) 10 (1)
- Malcolm Jiyane Tree-O, Umdali (Mushroom Hour Half Hour) 10 (1)
- Joëlle Léandre, Beauty/Resistance (Not Two) 10 (1)
- Nadje Noordhuis, Gullfoss (Little Mystery) 10 (1)
- Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog, Hope (Northern Spy) 10 (1)
- Jared Schonig, Two Takes Vol. 1 Quintet / Two Takes Vol. 2 Big Band (Anzic) 10 (1)
- Ohad Talmor Trio, Mise En Place (Intakt) 10 (1)
- Kaidi Tatham, An Insight to All Minds (First Word) 10 (1)
- The Underflow, Instant Opaque Evening (Blue Chopsticks) 10 (1)
- Diego Rivera, Indigenous (Posi-Tone) 9 (4)
- Cowboys & Frenchmen, Our Highway (Outside In Music) 9 (3)
- Dahveed Behroozi, Echos (Sunnyside) 9 (2)
- Francisco Mela, M.P.T. Trio: Volume 1 (577) 9 (2)
- Camila Nebbia Quartet, Corre El Río De La Memoría Sobre La Tierra Que Arrastra Trazos, Dejando Rastros De Alguna Huella Que Hoy Es Número (Ramble) 9 (2)
- Arturo O'Farrill & the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, Virtual Birdland (Zoho) 9 (2)
- Ivo Perelman Trio, Garden of Jewels (TAO Forms) 9 (2)
- Dave Rempis-Tomeka Reid-Joshua Abrams-Tim Daisy-Tyler Damon, The Covid Tapes: Solos, Duos, & Trios (Aerophonic) 9 (2)
- Matthew Stevens, Pittsburgh (Whirlwind) 9 (2)
- This Is It! [Satoko Fujii-Natsuki Tamura-Takashi Itani], Mosaic (Libra) 9 (2)
- Lina Allemano Four, Vegetables (Lumo) 9 (1)
- Doug Beavers, Sol (Circle 9 -20) 9 (1)
- Daniel Carter-Tobias Wilner-Djibril Toure-Federick Ughi, New York United, Volume 2 (577) 9 (1)
- Claire Chase, Density 2036 (2016-2017) (Corbett vs Dempsey) 9 (1)
- John Daversa Jazz Orchestra, All Without Words: Variations Inspired by Loren (Tiger Turn) 9 (1)
- Mathias Eick, When We Leave (ECM) 9 (1)
- John Ellis-Adam Levy-Glenn Patscha, Say It Quiet (Sunnyside) 9 (1)
- Joe Farnsworth, City of Sound (Smoke Sessions) 9 (1)
- Sam Gendel & Josiah Steinbrick, Mouthfeel/Serene (Full Bloom) 9 (1)
- Karkhana, Al Azraqayn (Karlrecords) 9 (1)
- Amirtha Kidambi & Lea Bertucci, End of Softness (Astral Spirits -20) 9 (1)
- Allen Lowe, A Love Supine: Ascension Into the Maelstrom (ESP Disk) 9 (1)
- Adi Meyerson, I Want to Sing My Heart Out in Praise of Life (Adi Meyerson) 9 (1)
- Ulysses Owens Jr Big Band, Soul Conversations (Outside In Music) 9 (1)
- Pierrick Pédron, Fifty-Fifty: New York Sessions (Gazebo) 9 (1)
- Potsa Lotsa XL, Silk Songs for Space Dogs (Leo -20) 9 (1)
- Nigel Price Organ Trio, Wes Reimagined (Ubuntu Music) 9 (1)
- Martial Solal, Coming Yesterday: Live at Salle Gaveau 2019 (Challenge) 9 (1)
- Three-Layer Cake, Stove Top (RareNoise) 9 (1)
- Dara Tucker, Dreams of Waking: Music for a Better World (Green Hill) 9 (1)
- Wild Up, Julius Eastman Vol. 1: Femenine (New Amsterdam) 9 (1)
- Martin Wind Quartet, My Astorian Queen (Laika) 9 (1)
- ROVA, The Circumference of Reason (ESP-Disk) 8.5 (2)
- Benito Gonzalez, Sing to the World (Rainy Days) 8 (3)
- Jazzmeia Horn and Her Noble Force, Dear Love (Empress Legacy) 8 (3)
- Irène Schweizer & Hamid Drake, Celebration (Intakt) 8 (3)
- Rocio Giménez López-Luciana Bass-Fermin Suarez-Rosina Scampino, Reunión En La Granja (Discos ICM) 8 (2)
- Lucian Ban-John Surman-Mat Maneri, Transylvanian Folk Songs (Sunnyside -20) 8 (1)
- Benjamin Boone, The Poets Are Gathering (Origin -20) 8 (1)
- Kazemde George, I Insist (Greenleaf Music) 8 (1)
- Ghost Rhythms, Spectral Music (Cuneiform) 8 (1)
- Binker Golding-John Edwards-Steve Noble, Moon Day (Byrd Out) 8 (1)
- Pasquale Grasso, Pasquale Plays Duke (Sony Masterworks) 8 (1)
- Craig Klein, Talkative Horns (Tromboklein Music) 8 (1)
- Lunar Octet, Convergence (Summit) 8 (1)
- Michael Mayo, Bones (Artistry Music) 8 (1)
- Joe McPhee-Michael Bisio-Fred Lonberg-Holm-Juma Sultan, The Sweet Spot (RogueArt) 8 (1)
- Moor Mother, Black Encyclopedia of the Air (Anti-) 8 (1)
- William Parker & Patricia Nicholson, No Joke! (ESP-Disk) 8 (1)
- Ralph Peterson, Raise Up Off Me (Onyx Music) 8 (1)
- Chris Potter, There Is a Tide (Edition -20) 8 (1)
- Samo Salamon-Dominique Pifarely-Michel Godard-Dejan Terzic, Live Ones: Vol. 1 (self-released) 8 (1)
- Tom Ward-Martina Verhoeven-Dirk Serries-Cath Roberts, Imaginary Junction (A New Wave of Jazz) 8 (1)
- Matthew Shipp & William Parker, Re-Union (RogueArt) 7 (3)
- Steven Bernstein's Millennial Territory Orchestra, Tinctures in Time (Community Music Vol. 1) (Royal Potato Family) 7 (2)
- Harold Danko, Spring Garden (SteepleChase) 7 (2)
- James Francies, Purest Form (Blue Note) 7 (2)
- Pedro Melo Alves Omniae Large Ensemble, Lumina (Clean Feed) 7 (1)
- Jalen Baker, This Is Me, This Is Us (Outside In Music) 7 (1)
- Wayne Coniglio & Scott Whitfield, Faster Friends (Summit) 7 (1)
- Dopolarians, The Bond (Mahakala Music) 7 (1)
- Rachel Eckroth, The Garden (Rainy Days) 7 (1)
- Andy Farber and His Orchestra, Early Blue Evening (ArtistShare) 7 (1)
- Joel Frahm, The Bright Side (Anzic) 7 (1)
- Erik Friedlander, Sentinel (Skipstone -20) 7 (1)
- Muriel Grossmann, Union (RR Gems) 7 (1)
- Jaubi, Nafs at Peace (Astigmatic) 7 (1)
- KORR, Tombé De La Voûte (We Insist) 7 (1)
- Okkyung Lee, Na-Reul (Corbett vs. Dempsey) 7 (1)
- Mark Lewis Quartet, Naked Animals (Audio Daddio) 7 (1)
- Ed Neumeister Quartet, What Have I Done? (Meistero Music) 7 (1)
- The New Muse 4Tet, Blue Lotus (self-released) 7 (1)
- Alexis Parsons, Alexis (New Artists) 7 (1)
- Paxton/Spangler Septet, Anthem for the New Nation (Eastlawn) 7 (1)
- Portico Quartet, Monument (Gondwana) 7 (1)
- Omar Sosa, An East African Journey (Ota) 7 (1)
- Luke Stewart, Works for Electric Bass Guitar (Tripticks Tapes) 7 (1)
- Strictly Missionary, Heisse Scheisse (Astral Spirits) 7 (1)
- Sun Ra Arkestra, Swirling (Strut -20) 7 (1)
- Dan Weiss & Miles Okazaki, Music for Drums and Guitar (Cygnus) 7 (1)
- Work Money Death, The Space in Which the Uncontrollable Unknown Resides, Can Be the Place From Which Creation Arises (ATA) 7 (1)
- Brian Charette, Power From the Air (SteepleChase) 6.5 (2)
- Gregg Belisle-Chi, Koi: Performing the Music of Tim Berne (Relative Pitch) 6 (3)
- Stephanie Nilles, I Pledge Allegiance to the Flag - The White Flag (Sunnyside) 6 (3)
- Tomoko Omura, Branches, Vol. 2 (Outside In Music) 6 (2)
- BADBADNOTGOOD, Talk Memory (XL/Innovative Leisure) 6 (1)
- Balimaya Project, Wolo So (Jazz Re:Freshed) 6 (1)
- Sarah Bernstein, Exolinger (577 -20) 6 (1)
- Bisbâyé, Le Sens De La Fin (Cuneiform) 6 (1)
- Anat Cohen & Marcello Gonçalves, Reconvexo (Anzic) 6 (1)
- Bruce Forman, Reunion! (B4Man Music) 6 (1)
- Mulo Francel, Mountain Melody (GLM) 6 (1)
- Friends & Neighbors, The Earth Is # (Clean Feed) 6 (1)
- Daniel Garcia Trio, Via De La Plata (ACT) 6 (1)
- Bertrand Gauguet & John Tilbury, Contre-Courbes (Akousis) 6 (1)
- Aaron Germain, Bell Projections (Aaron Germain Music) 6 (1)
- Pasquale Grasso, Solo Ballads (Sony Masterworks) 6 (1)
- Susie Ibarra, Talking Gong (New Focus) 6 (1)
- Koma Saxo, Live (We Jazz) 6 (1)
- Joëlle Léandre-Pauline Oliveros-George Lewis, Play as You Go (Trost) 6 (1)
- David Leon, Aire De Agua (Out of Your Head) 6 (1)
- Johan Lindström Septett, On the Asylum (Moserobie) 6 (1)
- Doug MacDonald, Serenade to Highland Park (DMAC Music) 6 (1)
- Roberto Magris & Eric Hochberg, Shuffling Ivories (JMood) 6 (1)
- Carlos Niño & Friends, More Energy Fields, Currrent (International Anthem) 6 (1)
- Ivo Perelman & Nate Wooley, Polarity (Burning Ambulance Music) 6 (1)
- Barre Phillips-John Butcher-Ståle Liavik Solberg, We Met - And Then (Relative Pitch) 6 (1)
- Freddie Redd, Reminiscing (Bleebop) 6 (1)
- Alex Riel-Bo Stief-Carsten Dahl, Our Songs (Storyville) 6 (1)
- Claudio Scolari Project, Cosmology (Principal) 6 (1)
- Josh Sinton, b. (Form Is Possibility) 6 (1)
- Dave Stryker, Baker's Circle (Strikezone) 6 (1)
- Amanda Tosoff, Earth Voices (Empress Music Group) 6 (1)
- Carlos Vega, Art of the Messenger (Origin) 6 (1)
- Young Pilgrims, We're Young Pilgrims (Stoney Lane) 6 (1)
- Rahsaan Barber, Mosaic (Jazz Music City) 5.5 (1)
- Rubén Blades y Roberto Delgado & Orquesta, Salswing! (Rubén Blades Productions) 5.5 (1)
- Rubén Blades y Roberto Delgado & Orquesta, Swing! (Rubén Blades Productions) 5.5 (1)
- Rubén Blades y Roberto Delgado & Orquesta, Salsa Plus! (Rubén Blades Productions) 5.5 (1)
- Block Ensemble, Hugs & Bugs (Clean Feed) 5.5 (1)
- Françcois Houle & Samo Salamon, Unobservable Mysteries (Samo) 5.5 (1)
- Roscoe Mitchell & Mike Reed, The Ritual and the Dance (Astral Spirits) 5.5 (1)
- Greg Murphy, Cool Water (Whaling City Sound) 5.5 (1)
- Gene Perla, 3 Trios (PM) 5.5 (1)
- Jean-Jacques Rojer, Soko (Sunnyside) 5.5 (1)
- Adam Rudolph Go: Organic Guitar Orchestra, Resonant Bodies (Meta) 5.5 (1)
- Sten Sandell & Lisa Ullén, Double Music (Clean Feed) 5.5 (1)
- Alexander von Schlippenbach, Slow Pieces for Aki (Intakt -20) 5.5 (1)
- J Peter Schwalm, Aufbruch (RareNoise) 5.5 (1)
- Skeeter Shelton & Hamid Drake, Sclupperbep (Two Rooms) 5.5 (1)
- Patrick Shiroishi, Hidemi (American Dreams) 5.5 (1)
- Asaf Sirkis, Solar Flash (MoonJune) 5.5 (1)
- Stephan Thelen, Fractal Guitar 2 (MoonJune) 5.5 (1)
- Andreas Willers, Haerae (Evil Rabbit -20) 5.5 (1)
- Deanna Witkowski, Force of Nature: The Music of Mary Lou Williams (MCG Jazz) 5.5 (1)
- Ben Allison, Moments Inside (Sonic Camera) 5 (2)
- Bremer McCoy, Natten (Luaka Bop) 5 (2)
- Chet Doxas, You Can't Take It With You (Whirlwind) 5 (2)
- Christer Bothén 3, Omen (Bocian) 5 (1)
- Michael Dease, Give It All You Got (Posi-Tone) 5 (1)
- Graham Dechter, Major Influence (Capri) 5 (1)
- Barbara Ellison, CyberSongs (Unsounds) 5 (1)
- Firm Roots Duo [Chris White & Lara Driscoll], Firm Roots (Firm Roots Music) 5 (1)
- Gabby Fluke-Mogul–Matteo Liberatore–Joanna Mattrey–Ava Mendoza, Death in the Gilded Age (Tripticks Tapes) 5 (1)
- Steve Gadd Band, At Blue Note Tokyo (BFM Jazz) 5 (1)
- The Vinny Golia Quartet, Left, Outside . . . ! (Nine Winds -19) 5 (1)
- Tim Hagans & NDR Bigband, A Conversation (Waiting Moon) 5 (1)
- Art Hirahara, Open Sky (Posi-Tone) 5 (1)
- David Janeway, Distant Voices (SteepleChase LookOut) 5 (1)
- Keith Jarrett, Munich 2016 (ECM -19) 5 (1)
- La La Lars, La La Lars III (self-released) 5 (1)
- Thomas Lossius Septet, Seven Words for Ekstasia (AMP) 5 (1)
- Rob Mazurek Exploding Star Orchestra, Dimensional Stardust (International Anthem -20) 5 (1)
- Tobias Meinhart, The Painter (Sunnyside) 5 (1)
- Francisco Mela Featuring Matthew Shipp and William Parker, Music Frees Our Souls Vol. 1 (577) 5 (1)
- Chris Pattishall, Zodiac (self-released) 5 (1)
- Roots Magic, Take Root Among the Stars (Clean Feed -20) 5 (1)
- Wadada Leo Smith-Henry Kaiser-Alex Varty, Pacifica Koral Reef (577 -22) 5 (1)
- Cat Toren's Human Kind, Scintillating Beauty (New Focus -20) 5 (1)
- 2B3 [Mike Abbott-Jeff Jenkins-Mike Marlier], Jimi (self-released) 5 (1)
- Gabriel Vicéns, The Way We Are Created (Inner Circle Music) 5 (1)
- Ali Shaheed Muhammad & Adrian Younge, Jazz Is Dead 6: Gary Bartz (Jazz Is Dead) 5 (1)
- John Zorn, Nostradamus: The Death of Satan (Tzadik) 5 (1)
- Jane Ira Bloom & Mark Helias, Some Kind of Tomorrow (self-released) 4 (2)
- Aki Takase-Christian Weber-Michael Griener, Auge (Intakt) 4 (2)
- Florian Arbenz, Conversations #2 & #3 (Hammer) 4 (1)
- Body Meπa, The Work Is Slow (Hausu Mountain) 4 (1)
- François Carrier, Glow (FMR) 4 (1)
- Glenn Close & Ted Nash, Transformation (Tiger Turn) 4 (1)
- The Coast Jazz Orchestra, The Temp (Music by Taylor Ho Bynum, Words by Matthea Harvey) (self-released) 4 (1)
- Pat Coil, How Deep Is the Ocean (Burton Avenue) 4 (1)
- Theon Cross, Intra-I (New Soil) 4 (1)
- The Flatland Quartet, Songs From the Urban Forest (Gold Lion Arts) 4 (1)
- Flow Trio With Joe McPhee, Winter Garden (ESP-Disk) 4 (1)
- The Flying Luttenbachers, Negative Infinity (UgExplode) 4 (1)
- Jü, III (RareNoise) 4 (1)
- Timo Lassy, Trio (We Jazz) 4 (1)
- Jean-Marie Machado, Majakka (La Buissonne) 4 (1)
- Branford Marsalis, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom [Original Soundtrack] (Milan -20) 4 (1)
- Hedvig Mollestad, Tempest Revisited (Rune Grammofon) 4 (1)
- Ben Monder-Tony Malaby-Tom Rainey, Live at the 55 Bar (Sunnyside) 4 (1)
- Nortonk, Nortonk (Biophilia) 4 (1)
- Nubiyan Twist, Freedom Fables (Strut) 4 (1)
- Ivo Perelman & Matthew Shipp, Special Edition Box: Procedural Language (SMP) 4 (1)
- PRISM Quartet, Heritage/Evolution Volume 2 (XAS) 4 (1)
- Reggie Quinerly, New York Nowhere (Redefinition) 4 (1)
- Hank Roberts Sextet, Science of Love (Sunnyside) 4 (1)
- Terell Stafford & the Temple University Jazz Band, Without You, No Me (BCM+D) 4 (1)
- Will Vinson-Gilad Hekselman-Antonio Sanchez, Trio Grande (Whirlwind -20) 4 (1)
- Nate Wooley-Liudas Mockunas-Barry Guy-Arkadijus Gotesmanas, Nox (NoBusiness -20) 4 (1)
- Roxana Amed, Ontology (Sony Music Latin) 3 (2)
- Gordon Grdina's Square Peg, Klotski (Attaboygirl) 3 (2)
- Eivind Aarset 4tet, Phantasmagoria, or a Different Kind of Journey (Jazzland) 3 (1)
- Rodrigo Amado Motion Trio & Alexander von Schlippenbach, The Field (NoBusiness) 3 (1)
- BIGYUKI, Neon Chapter (Universal) 3 (1)
- Charged Particles With Tod Dickow, Live at the Baked Potato: The Music of Michael Brecker (Summit) 3 (1)
- Todd Cochran TC3, Then and Again, Here and Now (Sunnyside) 3 (1)
- Xhosa Cole, Know Them, Know Us (Stoney Lane) 3 (1)
- Joey DeFrancesco, More Music (Mack Avenue) 3 (1)
- Randal Despommier, Dio C'e (Outside In Music) 3 (1)
- Disquiet [Christof Kurzmann-Sofia Jernberg-Joe Williamson-Mats Brandlmayr], Disquiet (Trost) 3 (1)
- Kevin Hays-Ben Street-Billy Hart, All Things Are (Smoke Sessions) 3 (1)
- Hiromi, Silver Lining Suite (Telarc) 3 (1)
- Indaba Is (Brownswood) 3 (1)
- Arushi Jain, Under the Lilac Sky (Leaving) 3 (1)
- Paul Jost Quartet, While We Were Gone (Paul Jost Music) 3 (1)
- Mary LaRose, Out Here (Little (i) Music) 3 (1)
- Jacky Naylor, The Industrial Suite (Ubuntu) 3 (1)
- Chuck Owen and the Jazz Surge, Within Us: Celebrating 25 Years of the Jazz Surge (MAMA/Summit) 3 (1)
- Mario Pavone & The Tampa Quartet, Isabella (Clean Feed) 3 (1)
- Angel Roman & Mambo Blue, Festive Interplay (self-released) 3 (1)
- Jacques Schwarz-Bart, Sone Ka-La 2: Odyssey (Enja) 3 (1)
- Gary Smulyan & Ronnie Cuber, Tough Baritones (SteepleChase) 3 (1)
- Natsuki Tamura, Koki Solo (Libra) 3 (1)
- Alexa Tarantino, Firefly (Posi-Tone) 3 (1)
- Umlaut Big Band, Mary's Ideas (Umlaut) 3 (1)
- Denny Zeitlin & George Marsh, Telepathy (Sunnyside) 3 (1)
- Lady Blackbird, Black Acid Soul (BMG) 2 (2)
- Alfa Mist, Bring Backs (Anti-) 2 (1)
- Mariel Bildsten, Backbone (Outside In Music -20) 2 (1)
- Michael Bisio-Kirk Knuffke-Fred Lonberg-Holm, The Art Spirit (ESP-Disk) 2 (1)
- Bugpowder, Cage Tennis (Trytone) 2 (1)
- Gwen Cahue, Margin Call (Quest) 2 (1)
- Edmar Castañeda, Family (Arpa y Voz) 2 (1)
- Tony Coe & John Horler, Dancing in the Dark (Gearbox) 2 (1)
- Yelena Eckemoff, Adventures of the Wildflower (L&H Production) 2 (1)
- Amaro Freitas, Sankofa (Far Out) 2 (1)
- Satoko Fujii, Piano Music (Libra) 2 (1)
- Lauren Henderson, Musa (Brontosaurus) 2 (1)
- The JCA Orchestra, Live at the BPC (JCA -20) 2 (1)
- Richard D. Johnson, First Glance (Afar Music) 2 (1)
- Samara Joy, Samara Joy (Whirlwind) 2 (1)
- Judson Trio [Joëlle Léandre-Mat Maneri-Gerald Cleaver], Light and Dance (RogueArt) 2 (1)
- Amirtha Kidambi & Matteo Liberatore, Neutral Love (Astral Editions) 2 (1)
- Kiefer, Then There's Love Around (Stones Throw) 2 (1)
- Georgia Mancio & Alan Broadbent, Quiet Is the Star (Roomspin) 2 (1)
- Myele Manzanza, Crisis & Opportunity (Vol 1) (London) (DeepMatter) 2 (1)
- Pat Metheny, Road to the Sun (Modern) 2 (1)
- Kjetil Mulelid, Piano (Rune Grammofon) 2 (1)
- Jessica Pavone, Lull (Chalkin) 2 (1)
- Houston Person, Live in Paris (HighNote) 2 (1)
- Pieranunzi Fonnesbæk Duo, The Real You: A Bill Evans Tribute (Stunt) 2 (1)
- Phil Ranelin, Infinite Expressions (ORG Music) 2 (1)
- R+R=Now, Live (Blue Note) 2 (1)
- Charles Rumback, Seven Bridges (Astral Spirits) 2 (1)
- See Through 4, Permanent Moving Parts (All-Set! Editions) 2 (1)
- Jim Snidero, Live at the Deer Head Inn (Savant) 2 (1)
- Marcin Wasilewski Trio, En Attendant (ECM) 2 (1)
- Jessica Ackerley, Morning/Mourning (Cacophonous Revival) 1 (1)
- Pat Bianchi, Something to Say: The Music of Stevie Wonder (Savant) 1 (1)
- Bitchin Bajas, Switched On Ra (Drag City) 1 (1)
- Lena Bloch & Feathery, Rose of Lifta (Fresh Sound New Talent) 1 (1)
- Matt Booth & Palindromes, Mythomania (Ears & Eyes) 1 (1)
- Weedie Braimah, The Hands of Time (Stretch Music/Ropeadope) 1 (1)
- Pablo Martín Caminero, Al Toque (Karonte) 1 (1)
- Isaiah Collier & the Chosen Few, Cosmic Transitions (Division 81) 1 (1)
- Gustavo Cortiñas, Desafío Candente (Woolgathering) 1 (1)
- Lao Dan & Deng Boyu, TUTU Duo (NoBusiness) 1 (1)
- Angel Bat Dawid, Hush Harbor Mixtape Vol. 1 Doxology (International Anthem) 1 (1)
- Scott DuBois, Summer Water (Sunnyside) 1 (1)
- Rodrigo Faina and Change Ensemble, Different Roots (Red Piano) 1 (1)
- Linda Fredriksson, Juniper (We Jazz) 1 (1)
- Futari [Satoko Fujii & Taiko Saito], Underground (Libra) 1 (1)
- Nubya Garcia, Source ⧺ We Move (Concord Jazz) 1 (1)
- Theo Jörgensmann-Christopher Dell-Christian Ramond-Klaus Kugel, At the Fields Edge (Not Two) 1 (1)
- Benjamin Koppel-Kenny Werner-Scott Colley-Jack DeJohnette, The Art of the Quartet (Cowbell Music/Unit -20) 1 (1)
- Pablo Ledesma-Paula Shocron-Mono Hurtado-Pablo Díaz, Inmanencia (Nendo Dango) 1 (1)
- João Lencastre's Communion, Unlimited Dreams (Clean Feed) 1 (1)
- Maurice Louca, Saet El Hazz (The Luck Hour) (Sub Rosa/Northern Spy) 1 (1)
- Stephan Micus, Winter's End (ECM) 1 (1)
- Ron Miles, Rainbow Sign (Blue Note -20) 1 (1)
- Roscoe Mitchell-Sandy Ewen-Damon Smith-Weasel Walter, A Railroad Spike Forms the Voice (Balance Point Acoustics) 1 (1)
- Aakash Mittal, Nocturne (self-released) 1 (1)
- Aaron Myers, The Pride Album (self-released) 1 (1)
- Mankwe Ndosi and Body MemOri, Felt/not said (Auspice NOW) 1 (1)
- Out to Dinner, Play On (Posi-Tone) 1 (1)
- Polyorchard, An Excess of Primary Forms (Out and Gone) 1 (1)
- Noah Preminger & Kim Cass, Thunda (Day Bridge) 1 (1)
- Victor Rendón & Bronx Conexión Latin Jazz Big Band, Mambo Boulevard (Bronx Conexión Music) 1 (1)
- Stephen Riley, I Remember You (SteepleChase) 1 (1)
- Soil and "Pimp" Sessions, The Essence of Soil (JVC) 1 (1)
- Alister Spence Trio With Ed Kuepper, Asteroid Ekosystem (Alister Spence Music) 1 (1)
- Craig Taborn, 60 X Sixty (Pyroclastic) 1 (1)
- Yuma Uesaka and Marilyn Crispell, Streams (Not Two) 1 (1)
- Unscientific Italians, Play the Music of Bill Frisell Vol. 1 (Hora) 1 (1)
- Uptown Jazz Tentet, What's Next (Irrabagast -20) 1 (1)
- Min Xiao-Fen, White Lotus (Outside In Music) 1 (1)
- Dave Zinno Unisphere, Fetish (Whaling City Sound) 1 (1)
- John Zorn, Heaven and Earth Magick (Tzadik) 1 (1)
- John Zorn, Parables (Tzadik) 1 (1)
- Gabriel Zucker, Leftover Beats From the Edges of Time (ESP Disk) 1 (1)
Notes
Records are eligible here if not reissued and all the music on
them was recorded within the past 10 years (from 2011 on).
Critics were asked to list 10 albums in descending order, with
10 points awarded for their #1, 9 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.
New Releases albums that erroneously received votes as Rara Avis
(Reissues/Archival):
- Connie Crothers & Tom Hamilton, Two Improvisations: Live in Concert (2015, Data Day Music) 1 (1)
Rara Avis (Reissues/Archival) albums that erroneously received votes
as New Releases:
Albums receiving votes this year that had received votes in
last year's poll (2020
vote + 2021 vote). Rule is that we add the old votes to this year's
only if the album received votes on more ballots this year than last.
None did.
- Ron Miles, Rainbow Sign (Blue Note -20) 126.5 (20) + 1 (1)
- Rob Mazurek Exploding Star Orchestra, Dimensional Stardust (International Anthem -20) 77 (15) + 5 (1)
- Sun Ra Arkestra, Swirling (Strut -20) 69 (11) + 7 (1)
- Lucian Ban-John Surman-Mat Maneri, Transylvanian Folk Songs (Sunnyside -20) 29 (4) + 8 (1)
- Chris Potter, There Is a Tide (Edition -20) 15 (2) + 8 (1)
- Alexander von Schlippenbach, Slow Pieces for Aki (Intakt -20) 19 (3) + 5.5 (1)
- Potsa Lotsa XL, Silk Songs for Space Dogs (Leo -20) 13 (3) + 9 (1)
- The JCA Orchestra, Live at the BPC (JCA -20) 13 (2) + 2 (1)
- Roots Magic, Take Root Among the Stars (Clean Feed -20) 9 (2) + 5 (1)
- Cat Toren's Human Kind, Scintillating Beauty (New Focus -20) 8 (2) + 5 (1)
- Larry Ochs & Aram Shelton Quartet, Continental Drift (Clean Feed -20) 7 (1) + 8 (1)
- Pedro Melo Alves, In Igma (Clean Feed -20) 5 (2) + 4 (1)
- Uptown Jazz Tentet, What's Next (Irrabagast -20) 5 (1) + 1 (1)