The 19th Annual
Francis Davis Jazz Critics Poll:
2024

Ballots 2024 [6]

Josh Langhoff (Wrigley Field organist)

NEW ALBUMS

  1. Kahil El'Zabar's Ethnic Heritage Ensemble, Open Me, a Higher Consciousness of Sound and Spirit (Spiritmuse) →
  2. Susie Ibarra-Jeffrey Zeigler-Graham Reynolds, Insectum (Golden Hornet) →
  3. Luke Stewart Silt Trio, Unknown Rivers (Pi) →
  4. Patricia Brennan Septet, Breaking Stretch (Pyroclastic) →
  5. Alan Braufman, Infinite Love Infinite Tears (Valley of Search) →
  6. أحمد [Ahmed], Wood Blues (Astral Spirits) →
  7. Kenny Garrett & Svoy, Who Killed AI? (Mack Avenue) →
  8. Vijay Iyer, Compassion (ECM) →
  9. Ches Smith, Laugh Ash (Pyroclastic) →
  10. Kim Cass, Levs (Pi) →

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Martin Laurentius (Jazz Thing)

NEW ALBUMS

  1. Peter Evans, Extra (We Jazz) →
  2. David Murray Quartet, Francesca (Intakt) →
  3. Tamara Lukasheva & INSO Lviv Orchestra, Anima (Tangible Music) →
  4. Oded Tzur, My Prophet (ECM) →
  5. Immanuel Wilkins, Blues Blood (Blue Note) →
  6. Florian Weber, Imaginary Cycle (ECM) →
  7. Tobias Hoffmann Trio, Start/Stop (Klaeng) →
  8. Hildegunn Øiseth, Garden on the Roof (Clap Your Hands) →
  9. Simon Oslender-Steve Gadd-Will Lee, All That Matters (Leopard/Broken Silence) →
  10. Neon Dilemma [Elias Stemeseder-Robert Landfermann-Leif Berger], Neon Dilemma (Klaeng) →

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL) (unranked)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Will Layman (PopMatters)

NEW ALBUMS (unranked)

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

  1. Miles Davis, Miles '54: The Prestige Recordings (Craft) →
  2. Miles Davis Quintet, Miles in France 1963 & 1964 [The Bootleg Series, Vol. 8] (Columbia/Legacy) →
  3. Kurt Rosenwinkel, The Next Step Band: Live at Smalls 1996 (Heartcore) →
  4. Wayne Shorter, Celebration, Volume 1 (2014, Blue Note) →
  5. McCoy Tyner & Joe Henderson, Forces of Nature: Live at Slugs' (1966, Blue Note) →

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Devin Leonard (Bloomberg Businessweek)

NEW ALBUMS

  1. Kim Cass, Levs (Pi) →
  2. Steve Coleman and Five Elements, PolyTropos/Of Many Turns (Pi) →
  3. Noah Preminger & Rob Garcia [Dead Composers Club], Hildegard Project: The Music of Hildegard Von Bingen (Connection Works) →
  4. Brad Mehldau, Après Fauré (Nonesuch) →
  5. Simon Moullier, Elements of Light (Candid) →
  6. M.T.B. [Brad Mehldau-Mark Turner-Peter Bernstein], Solid Jackson (Criss Cross Jazz) →
  7. Out Of/Into [Joel Ross-Gerald Clayton-Kendrick Scott-Matt Brewer-Immanuel Wilkins], Motion I (Blue Note) →
  8. Walter Smith III, Three of Us Are From Houston and Reuben Is Not (Blue Note) →
  9. Ben Wendel, Understory: Live at the Village Vanguard (Edition) →
  10. Immanuel Wilkins, Blues Blood (Blue Note) →

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

  1. McCoy Tyner & Joe Henderson, Forces of Nature: Live at Slugs' (1966, Blue Note) →
  2. Kurt Rosenwinkel, The Next Step Band: Live at Smalls 1996 (Heartcore) →
  3. Bobby Hutcherson, Classic Bobby Hutcherson Blue Note Sessions 1963-1970 (Mosaic) →

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Lance Liddle (Bebop Spoken Here)

NEW ALBUMS

  1. Snorre Kirk, What a Day! (Stunt) →
  2. David Weiss Sextet, Auteur (Origin) →
  3. Roger Kellaway, Live at Mezzrow (Cellar Music) →
  4. Warren Wolf, History of the Vibraphone (Cellar Music) →
  5. Ken Peplowski, Live at Mezzrow (Cellar Music) →
  6. Gerald Cannon, Live at Dizzy's Club: The Music of Elvin & McCoy (Woodneck) →
  7. Tim Armacost Chordless Quintet, Something About Believing (TMA) →
  8. Ricky Alexander, Just Found Joy (Turtle Bay) →
  9. Brian Landrus, Plays Ellington & Strayhorn (Palmetto) →
  10. Ben Wolfe, The Understated (Resident Arts) →

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

  1. Terry Gibbs Dream Band, Vol. 7: The Lost Tapes, 1959 (Whaling City Sound) →
  2. Art Tatum, Jewels in the Treasure Box: The 1953 Chicago Blue Note Jazz Club Recordings (Resonance) →
  3. Oscar Peterson, City Lights: Live in Munich 1994 (Mack Avenue) →
  4. Cannonball Adderley, Burnin' in Bordeaux: Live in France 1969 (Elemental Music) →
  5. Louis Stewart & Jim Hall, The Dublin Concert (1982, Livia) →

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Mark Lomanno (The Rhythm of Study)

NEW ALBUMS (unranked)

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL) (unranked)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Suzanne Lorge (DownBeat, New York City Jazz Record)

NEW ALBUMS

  1. Chick Corea & Béla Fleck, Remembrance (Thirty Tigers) →
  2. Wayne Shorter, Celebration, Volume 1 (2014, Blue Note) →
  3. Maria Schneider Orchestra, Decades (1992-2020, ArtistShare) →
  4. Lakecia Benjamin, Phoenix Reimagined (Live) (Ropeadope) →
  5. Catherine Russell & Sean Mason, My Ideal (Dot Time) →
  6. Samara Joy, Portrait (Verve) →
  7. Pat Metheny, MoonDial (BMG) →
  8. Joel Ross, Nublues (Blue Note) →
  9. The Bad Plus, Complex Emotions (Mack Avenue) →
  10. Fred Hersch, Silent, Listening (ECM) →

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

  1. Paco de Lucia & Pepe de Lucia, Pepito y Paquito (1959-60, BMG) →
  2. Alice Coltrane, The Carnegie Hall Concert (1971, Impulse!) →
  3. Bill Evans, In Norway: The Kongsberg Concert (1970, Elemental Music) →
  4. Keith Jarrett-Gary Peacock-Paul Motian, The Old Country (1992, ECM) →
  5. Miles Davis Quintet, Miles in France 1963 & 1964 [The Bootleg Series, Vol. 8] (Columbia/Legacy) →

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Brad Luen (Semipop Life)

NEW ALBUMS

  1. Eirik Hegdal Eklektisk Samband, Turnchest (Particular) →
  2. Amaro Freitas, Y'Y (Psychic Hotline) →
  3. Darius Jones, Legend of e'Boi (The Hypervigilant Eye) (AUM Fidelity) →
  4. Kris Davis Trio, Run the Gauntlet (Pyroclastic) →
  5. David Murray Quartet, Francesca (Intakt) →
  6. Alfredo Colón, Blood Burden (Out of Your Head) →
  7. Allen Lowe & the Constant Sorrow Orchestra, Louis Armstrong's America (ESP-Disk) →
  8. The Core, Roots (Moserobie) →
  9. Alan Braufman, Infinite Love Infinite Tears (Valley of Search) →
  10. Emmeluth's Amoeba, Nonsense (Moserobie) →

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Phillip Lutz (DownBeat)

NEW ALBUMS (unranked)

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL) (unranked)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Kevin Lynch (The Shepherd Express, Culture Currents (Vernaculars Speak))

NEW ALBUMS

  1. Meshell Ndegeocello, No More Water: The Gospel of James Baldwin (Blue Note) →
  2. Brian Landrus, Plays Ellington & Strayhorn (Palmetto) →
  3. Jean-Michel Pilc-François Moutin-Ari Hoenig, You Are the Song (Justin Time) →
  4. John Hollenbeck & NDR Bigband, Colouring Hockets (Plexatonic) →
  5. Anat Cohen Quartetinho, Bloom (Anzic) →
  6. Kevin Hays-Ben Street-Billy Hart, Bridges (Smoke Sessions '23) →
  7. Doug Richards Orchestra, Through a Sonic Prism: The Music of Antonio Carlos Jobim (self-released '23) →
  8. Paul Dietrich, 5+4 (Shifting Paradigm) →
  9. Yosef-Gutman Levitt (With Lionel Loueke), Soul Song (Soul Song '23) →
  10. Frank Carlberg Large Ensemble, Elegy for Thelonious (Sunnyside) →

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

  1. John Coltrane With Eric Dolphy, Evenings at the Village Gate (1961, Impulse! '23) →
  2. Emily Remler, Cookin' at the Queens (1984-88, Resonance) →
  3. The Dave Brubeck Quartet, Live From the Northwest, 1959 (Brubeck Editions '23) →

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Jim Macnie (DownBeat, Lament for a Straight Line)

NEW ALBUMS

  1. Patricia Brennan Septet, Breaking Stretch (Pyroclastic) →
  2. Charles Lloyd, The Sky Will Still Be There Tomorrow (Blue Note) →
  3. Out Of/Into [Joel Ross-Gerald Clayton-Kendrick Scott-Matt Brewer-Immanuel Wilkins], Motion I (Blue Note) →
  4. Marta Sanchez Trio, Perpetual Void (Intakt) →
  5. Steve Coleman and Five Elements, PolyTropos/Of Many Turns (Pi) →
  6. Tomeka Reid Quartet, 3+3 (Cuneiform) →
  7. Angelica Sanchez & Chad Taylor, A Monster Is Just an Animal You Haven't Met Yet (Intakt) →
  8. Darius Jones, Legend of e'Boi (The Hypervigilant Eye) (AUM Fidelity) →
  9. Matt Mitchell, Zealous Angles (Pi) →
  10. Ben Allison-Steve Cardenas-Ted Nash, Tell the Birds I Said Hello: The Music of Herbie Nichols (Sonic Camera) →

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

  1. McCoy Tyner & Joe Henderson, Forces of Nature: Live at Slugs' (1966, Blue Note) →
  2. Black Artist Group, For Peace and Liberty: In Paris, Dec 1972 (WeWantSounds) →
  3. Tim Berne & Michael Formanek, Parlour Games (1991, Relative Pitch) →
  4. Keith Jarrett-Gary Peacock-Paul Motian, The Old Country (1992, ECM) →
  5. Andrew Hill Sextet Plus 10, A Beautiful Day Revisited (2002, Palmetto) →

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Peter Margasak (Nowhere Street, DownBeat, The Wire, Bandcamp Daily)

NEW ALBUMS

  1. أحمد [Ahmed], Giant Beauty (Fönstret) →
  2. Adam O'Farrill, Hueso (Food) →
  3. Mary Halvorson, Cloudward (Nonesuch) →
  4. Space, Embrace the Space (Relative Pitch) →
  5. Patricia Brennan Septet, Breaking Stretch (Pyroclastic) →
  6. Alexander Hawkins & Sofia Jernberg, Musho (Intakt) →
  7. Nick Dunston, Colla Voce (Out of Your Head) →
  8. Jeff Parker ETA IVtet, The Way Out of Easy (International Anthem) →
  9. Darius Jones, Legend of e'Boi (The Hypervigilant Eye) (AUM Fidelity) →
  10. Amalie Dahl's Dafnie, Står Op Med Solen (Aguirre) →

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

  1. McCoy Tyner & Joe Henderson, Forces of Nature: Live at Slugs' (1966, Blue Note) →
  2. King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band, Centennial (1923, Archeophone) →
  3. Don Byas, Classic Don Byas Sessions 1944-1946 (Mosaic '23) →
  4. Alice Coltrane, The Carnegie Hall Concert (1971, Impulse!) →
  5. Nisse Sandström Group, Öppet Ett (1965-67, Caprice '23) →

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Paul Medrano (Best of Jazz)

NEW ALBUMS

  1. Matthew Shipp Trio, New Concepts in Piano Trio Jazz (ESP-Disk) →
  2. Vijay Iyer, Compassion (ECM) →
  3. أحمد [Ahmed], Giant Beauty (Fönstret) →
  4. Tyshawn Sorey Trio, The Susceptible Now (Pi) →
  5. Darius Jones, Legend of e'Boi (The Hypervigilant Eye) (AUM Fidelity) →
  6. Patricia Brennan Septet, Breaking Stretch (Pyroclastic) →
  7. Wadada Leo Smith & Amina Claudine Myers, Central Park's Mosaics of Reservoir, Lake, Paths and Gardens (Red Hook) →
  8. ØKSE, ØKSE (Backwoodz Studioz) →
  9. Charles Lloyd, The Sky Will Still Be There Tomorrow (Blue Note) →
  10. Sylvie Courvoisier, To Be Other-Wise (Intakt) →

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

  1. Charles Gayle-Milford Graves-William Parker, WEBO (1991, Black Editions Archive) →

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Note: Also see Best Jazz Albums of 2024

Allen Michie (The Arts Fuse)

NEW ALBUMS

  1. Patricia Brennan Septet, Breaking Stretch (Pyroclastic) →
  2. John Hollenbeck & NDR Bigband, Colouring Hockets (Plexatonic) →
  3. Kahil El'Zabar's Ethnic Heritage Ensemble, Open Me, a Higher Consciousness of Sound and Spirit (Spiritmuse) →
  4. Vijay Iyer, Compassion (ECM) →
  5. Kenny Barron, Beyond This Place (Artwork) →
  6. Warren Wolf, History of the Vibraphone (Cellar Music) →
  7. Bria Skonberg, What It Means (Cellar Live) →
  8. Emile Parisien Quartet, Let Them Cook (ACT) →
  9. Jamie Baum Septet+, What Times Are These (Sunnyside) →
  10. Troy Roberts, Green Lights (Toy Robot Music) →

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

  1. Terry Gibbs Dream Band, Vol. 7: The Lost Tapes, 1959 (Whaling City Sound) →
  2. Charlie Parker, Bird in Kansas City (1941-51, Verve) →
  3. Sonny Rollins, Freedom Weaver: The 1959 European Tour Recordings (Resonance) →
  4. McCoy Tyner & Joe Henderson, Forces of Nature: Live at Slugs' (1966, Blue Note) →
  5. Miles Davis Quintet, Miles in France 1963 & 1964 [The Bootleg Series, Vol. 8] (Columbia/Legacy) →

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Milo Miles (The Arts Fuse, Miles to Go)

NEW ALBUMS (unranked)

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL) (unranked)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Note: New vote for James Carter Organ Trio, Live From Newport Jazz (Blue Note) disqualified (released in 2019)

Bill Milkowski (DownBeat, Absolute Sound, Jazziz, Jazzthing [Germany], The Milkman's Musings)

NEW ALBUMS

  1. Kenny Barron, Beyond This Place (Artwork) →
  2. Miguel Zenón, Golden City (Miel Music) →
  3. Chris Potter-Brad Mehldau-John Patitucci-Brian Blade, Eagle's Point (Edition) →
  4. Lionel Loueke & Dave Holland, United (Edition) →
  5. Tim Armacost Chordless Quintet, Something About Believing (TMA) →
  6. Brian Lynch, 7x7by7 (Holistic MusicWorks) →
  7. Walter Smith III, Three of Us Are From Houston and Reuben Is Not (Blue Note) →
  8. Out Of/Into [Joel Ross-Gerald Clayton-Kendrick Scott-Matt Brewer-Immanuel Wilkins], Motion I (Blue Note) →
  9. Charles Lloyd, The Sky Will Still Be There Tomorrow (Blue Note) →
  10. Conrad Herwig, The Latin Side of McCoy Tyner (Savant) →

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

  1. McCoy Tyner & Joe Henderson, Forces of Nature: Live at Slugs' (1966, Blue Note) →
  2. Keith Jarrett-Gary Peacock-Paul Motian, The Old Country (1992, ECM) →
  3. Emily Remler, Cookin' at the Queens (1984-88, Resonance) →
  4. Charles Tolliver Music Inc., Live at the Captain's Cabin (1973, Cellar Music) →
  5. Art Tatum, Jewels in the Treasure Box: The 1953 Chicago Blue Note Jazz Club Recordings (Resonance) →

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Roz Milner (freelance)

NEW ALBUMS

  1. Dave Douglas, Gifts (Greenleaf Music) →
  2. Fay Victor, Herbie Nichols SUNG: Life Is Funny That Way (TAO Forms) →
  3. Kim Cass, Levs (Pi) →
  4. Mary Halvorson, Cloudward (Nonesuch) →
  5. Kevin Sun, The Fate of the Tenor (Endectomorph) →
  6. Ivo Perelman & Nate Wooley, Polarity 3 (Burning Ambulance) →
  7. Ethan Iverson, Technically Acceptable (Blue Note) →
  8. Elephant9 With Terje Rypdal, Catching Fire (Rune Grammofon) →
  9. Immanuel Wilkins, Blues Blood (Blue Note) →
  10. Kamasi Washington, Fearless Movement (Young) →

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

  1. Cecil Taylor Unit, Live at Fat Tuesday's February 9, 1980 [First Visit] (1980, Ezz-Thetics) →
  2. Sun Ra, Lights on a Satellite: Live at the Left Bank (1978, Resonance) →
  3. Roy Hargrove's Crisol, Grande-Terre (1998, Verve) →
  4. McCoy Tyner & Joe Henderson, Forces of Nature: Live at Slugs' (1966, Blue Note) →
  5. Tomasz Stanko Quartet, September Night (2004, ECM) →

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Ralph A. Miriello (Notes on Jazz, Jazz Journalists Association)

NEW ALBUMS (unranked)

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL) (unranked)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Rick Mitchell (Jazz in the New Millennium [book/radio program])

NEW ALBUMS

  1. Charles Lloyd, The Sky Will Still Be There Tomorrow (Blue Note) →
  2. Milton Nascimento & Esperanza Spalding, Milton + Esperanza (Concord) →
  3. Joel Ross, Nublues (Blue Note) →
  4. Vijay Iyer, Compassion (ECM) →
  5. Walter Smith III, Three of Us Are From Houston and Reuben Is Not (Blue Note) →
  6. Tarbaby, You Think This America (Giant Step Arts) →
  7. Jon Batiste, Beethoven Blues [Batiste Piano Series, Vol. 1] (Verve/Interscope) →
  8. Nduduzo Makhathini, Unomkhubulwane (Blue Note) →
  9. Lizz Wright, Shadow (Blues & Greens) →
  10. Lakecia Benjamin, Phoenix Reimagined (Live) (Ropeadope) →

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

  1. Art Tatum, Jewels in the Treasure Box: The 1953 Chicago Blue Note Jazz Club Recordings (Resonance) →
  2. Mal Waldron & Steve Lacy, The Mighty Warriors: Live in Antwerp (1995, Elemental Music) →
  3. Roy Hargrove's Crisol, Grande-Terre (1998, Verve) →
  4. Sun Ra, At the Showcase: Live in Chicago 1976-1977 (Jazz Detective) →
  5. Keith Jarrett-Gary Peacock-Paul Motian, The Old Country (1992, ECM) →

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Chris Monsen (Musikkmagasinet/Klassekampen, Jazznytt, Chris Monsen's Listening Booth)

NEW ALBUMS

  1. AALY Trio [Mats Gustafsson-Peter Janson-Kjell Nordeson], Sustain (Silkheart) →
  2. ØKSE, ØKSE (Backwoodz Studioz) →
  3. Ivo Perelman-Mark Helias-Tom Rainey, Truth Seeker (Fundacja Sluchaj) →
  4. Alan Braufman, Infinite Love Infinite Tears (Valley of Search) →
  5. أحمد [Ahmed], Giant Beauty (Fönstret) →
  6. Darius Jones, Legend of e'Boi (The Hypervigilant Eye) (AUM Fidelity) →
  7. Peter Evans, Extra (We Jazz) →
  8. Patricia Brennan Septet, Breaking Stretch (Pyroclastic) →
  9. Eirik Hegdal Eklektisk Samband, Turnchest (Particular) →
  10. Mary Halvorson, Cloudward (Nonesuch) →

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

  1. Charles Gayle-Milford Graves-William Parker, WEBO (1991, Black Editions Archive) →
  2. Alice Coltrane, The Carnegie Hall Concert (1971, Impulse!) →
  3. Sonny Rollins, Freedom Weaver: The 1959 European Tour Recordings (Resonance) →
  4. McCoy Tyner & Joe Henderson, Forces of Nature: Live at Slugs' (1966, Blue Note) →
  5. Mal Waldron & Steve Lacy, The Mighty Warriors: Live in Antwerp (1995, Elemental Music) →

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Note: Also see Year end picks: 50 favorite albums of 2024