The 19th Annual
Francis Davis Jazz Critics Poll:
2024
Past Polls Index
New Albums Rara Avis Vocal Latin Debut
Critics
Ackermann - BoothBorella - DavisDean-Harris - GeikenGijssels - HullHum - LangeLanghoff - MonsenMoore - SaitoSaunders - TeranoTesser - Yokoi

Ballots 2024 [7]

Prev[Ackermann - Booth] · [Borella - Davis] · [Dean-Harris - Geiken] · [Gijssels - Hull] · [Hum - Lange] · [Langhoff - Monsen] · [Moore - Saito] · [Saunders - Terano] · [Tesser - Yokoi]Next

John Frederick Moore (Jazziz)

NEW ALBUMS

  1. Isaiah Collier & the Chosen Few, The Almighty (Division 81) →
  2. Matthew Shipp Trio, New Concepts in Piano Trio Jazz (ESP-Disk) →
  3. Nduduzo Makhathini, Unomkhubulwane (Blue Note) →
  4. Vijay Iyer, Compassion (ECM) →
  5. Kris Davis Trio, Run the Gauntlet (Pyroclastic) →
  6. Joel Ross, Nublues (Blue Note) →
  7. Mike Monford, The Cloth I'm Cut From (self-released) →
  8. Mai Sugimoto, Sunlight Filtering Through the Leaves (Asian Improv) →
  9. Patricia Brennan Septet, Breaking Stretch (Pyroclastic) →
  10. John Escreet, The Epicenter of Your Dreams (Blue Room Music) →

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

  1. Roy Hargrove's Crisol, Grande-Terre (1998, Verve) →
  2. McCoy Tyner & Joe Henderson, Forces of Nature: Live at Slugs' (1966, Blue Note) →
  3. Alice Coltrane, The Carnegie Hall Concert (1971, Impulse!) →
  4. Emily Remler, Cookin' at the Queens (1984-88, Resonance) →
  5. Cannonball Adderley, Poppin' in Paris: Live at L'Olympia 1972 (Elemental Music) →

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Greg Morton (GMort on Record)

NEW ALBUMS

  1. Anthony Branker & Imagine, Songs My Mom Liked (Origin) →
  2. Idit Shner & Mhondoro, Ngatibatanei [Let Us Unite!] (OA2) →
  3. Charles Lloyd, The Sky Will Still Be There Tomorrow (Blue Note) →
  4. Jason Robinson, Ancestral Numbers II (Playscape) →
  5. Kris Davis Trio, Run the Gauntlet (Pyroclastic) →
  6. Amanda Gardier, Auteur (Music Inspired by the Films of Wes Anderson) (self-released) →
  7. Amirtha Kidambi's Elder Ones, New Monuments (We Jazz) →
  8. Layale Chaker & Sarafand, Radio Afloat (In a Circle) →
  9. Frank London/The Elders, Spirit Stronger Than Blood (ESP-Disk) →
  10. Alan Braufman, Infinite Love Infinite Tears (Valley of Search) →

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

  1. Alice Coltrane, The Carnegie Hall Concert (1971, Impulse!) →
  2. Roy Hargrove's Crisol, Grande-Terre (1998, Verve) →
  3. Keith Jarrett-Gary Peacock-Paul Motian, The Old Country (1992, ECM) →

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Ivana Ng (DownBeat)

NEW ALBUMS

  1. Nicole Mitchell & Ballaké Sissoko, Bamako*Chicago Sound System (FPE) →
  2. Nate Mercereau, Excellent Traveler (Third Man) →
  3. Ivo Perelman-Chad Fowler-Reggie Workman-Andrew Cyrille, Embracing the Unknown (Mahakala Music) →
  4. Tomin, Flores Para Verene/Cantos Para Caramina (International Anthem) →
  5. Teiku, Teiku (577) →
  6. YAI, Sky Time (AKP) →
  7. Kinkajous, Nothing Will Disappear (Running Circle) →

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Stuart Nicholson (Jazzwise)

NEW ALBUMS

  1. Magnus Öström & Dan Berglund, e.s.t. 30 (ACT Music) →
  2. Tim Garland, Moment of Departure (Ubuntu Music) →
  3. John Surman, Words Unspoken (ECM) →
  4. Pat Metheny, MoonDial (BMG) →
  5. Sam Anning, Earthen (Earshift Music) →
  6. Jack Walrath, Live at Smalls (Cellar Music) →
  7. Oded Tzur, My Prophet (ECM) →
  8. Matthew Ottingnon, Volant (Earshift) →
  9. Mark Lockheart, Smiling (Edition) →
  10. Black Lives, People of Earth (Jammin' Colors) →

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

  1. Tomasz Stanko Quartet, September Night (2004, ECM) →
  2. Jan Garbarek Quartet, Afric Pepperbird (1970, ECM) →
  3. Kenny Wheeler, Angel Song (1996, ECM) →
  4. John Taylor-Norma Winstone-Kenny Wheeler, Azimuth (1977, ECM) →
  5. Harold Land, The Fox (1960, Craft) →

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Fotis Nikolakopoulos (Free Jazz Collective)

NEW ALBUMS

  1. Ute Kanngießer-Eddie Prévost-Seymour Wright, Splendid Nettle (Matchless) →
  2. Spaces Unfolding + Pierre Alexandre Tremblay, Shadow Figures (Bead) →
  3. Joëlle Léandre-Elisabeth Harnik-Zlatko Kaučič, Live in St. Johann (Funcadja Sluchaj) →
  4. Ben Bennett-Michael Foster-Jacob Wick, Carne Vale (Relative Pitch) →
  5. yPLO, ob TRU (Feedback Moves) →
  6. Tanja Feichtmair-Mara Kolibri-Stefan Krist-Josef Novotny-Fredi Pröll-Julius Winter-Uli Winter, Adschi (Creative Sources) →
  7. divr, Is This Water (We Jazz) →
  8. Nathan Hubbard & Kyle Motl, Obsidian (Confront) →
  9. Wilson Shook & Ted Byrnes, Joy (Other Ghosts) →
  10. Nick Dunston, Colla Voce (Out of Your Head) →

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. Children of the Sun, Ofamfa (1971, Moved-by-Sound) →

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Tim Niland (freelance, Blue Sky)

NEW ALBUMS

  1. Darius Jones, Legend of e'Boi (The Hypervigilant Eye) (AUM Fidelity) →
  2. Mary Halvorson, Cloudward (Nonesuch) →
  3. Vijay Iyer, Compassion (ECM) →
  4. Patricia Brennan Septet, Breaking Stretch (Pyroclastic) →
  5. David Murray Quartet, Francesca (Intakt) →
  6. Angelica Sanchez & Chad Taylor, A Monster Is Just an Animal You Haven't Met Yet (Intakt) →
  7. Isaiah Collier & the Chosen Few, The Almighty (Division 81) →
  8. John Zorn, New Masada Quartet, Volume 3: Live at Roulette (Tzadik) →
  9. Elephant9 With Terje Rypdal, Catching Fire (Rune Grammofon) →
  10. Tom Harrell, Alternate Summer (HighNote) →

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

  1. Alice Coltrane, The Carnegie Hall Concert (1971, Impulse!) →
  2. Andrew Hill Sextet Plus 10, A Beautiful Day Revisited (2002, Palmetto) →
  3. Charles Gayle-Milford Graves-William Parker, WEBO (1991, Black Editions Archive) →

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Note: Also see 2024 Music Rewind.

Dan Ouellette (DownBeat, Jazz & Beyond Intel, The Landfill Chronicles)

NEW ALBUMS

  1. Melissa Aldana, Echoes of the Inner Prophet (Blue Note) →
  2. Lizz Wright, Shadow (Blues & Greens) →
  3. Arooj Aftab, Night Reign (Verve) →
  4. Nik Bärtsch's Ronin, Spin (Ronin Rhythm) →
  5. Shabaka, Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace (Impulse!) →
  6. Kurt Elling & Sullivan Fortner, Wildflowers Vol. 1 (Edition) →
  7. Mary Halvorson, Cloudward (Nonesuch) →
  8. Hiruy Tirfe, 10,000 Hours (Tirfe) →
  9. Laird Jackson, Life (self-released) →
  10. Ada Rovatti, The Hidden World of Piloo (Piloo) →

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Note: Also see Top Recordings of 2024.

Phil Overeem (Living to Listen)

NEW ALBUMS

  1. أحمد [Ahmed], Giant Beauty (Fönstret) →
  2. Bill Orcutt Guitar Quartet, Four Guitars Live (Palilalia) →
  3. Darius Jones, Legend of e'Boi (The Hypervigilant Eye) (AUM Fidelity) →
  4. Ohad Talmor, Back to the Land (Intakt) →
  5. QOW Trio, The Hold Up (Ubuntu Music) →
  6. Fay Victor, Herbie Nichols SUNG: Life Is Funny That Way (TAO Forms) →
  7. Alan Braufman, Infinite Love Infinite Tears (Valley of Search) →
  8. Patricia Brennan Septet, Breaking Stretch (Pyroclastic) →
  9. Frank London/The Elders, Spirit Stronger Than Blood (ESP-Disk) →
  10. Javon Jackson & Nikki Giovanni, Javon & Nikki Go to the Movies (Solid Jackson/Palmetto) →

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

  1. Sonny Rollins, Freedom Weaver: The 1959 European Tour Recordings (Resonance) →
  2. Sun Ra, Excelsior Mill (1984, Sundazed/Modern Harmonic) →
  3. Phil Haynes' 4 Horns and What?, The Complete American Recordings (1989-95, Corner Store Jazz) →
  4. Christer Bothén Featuring Bolon Bata, Trancedance [40th Anniversary Edition] (1984, Black Truffle) →
  5. Black Artist Group, For Peace and Liberty: In Paris, Dec 1972 (WeWantSounds) →

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Annie Parnell (VPM Music/WCVE [NPR/Richmond, VA], Paste, Flood)

NEW ALBUMS

  1. Kamasi Washington, Fearless Movement (Young) →
  2. Nala Sinephro, Endlessness (Warp) →
  3. Milton Nascimento & Esperanza Spalding, Milton + Esperanza (Concord) →
  4. Wadada Leo Smith & Amina Claudine Myers, Central Park's Mosaics of Reservoir, Lake, Paths and Gardens (Red Hook) →
  5. Nubya Garcia, Odyssey (Concord Jazz) →
  6. Miguel Zenón, Golden City (Miel Music) →
  7. Arooj Aftab, Night Reign (Verve) →
  8. Abdullah Ibrahim, 3 (Gearbox) →
  9. Mary Halvorson, Cloudward (Nonesuch) →
  10. Jasmine Myra, Rising (Gondwana) →

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

  1. Alice Coltrane, The Carnegie Hall Concert (1971, Impulse!) →
  2. Miles Davis Quintet, Miles in France 1963 & 1964 [The Bootleg Series, Vol. 8] (Columbia/Legacy) →
  3. Sun Ra & His Arkestra, Pink Elephants on Parade (1985-90, Modern Harmonic) →
  4. Dave Pike, The Doors of Perception (1966, Nature Sounds) →
  5. Louis Armstrong, Louis in London (1968, Verve) →

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Tomás Peña (JazzDeLaPena)

NEW ALBUMS

  1. Dave Schumacher & Cubeye, Smoke in the Sky (Cellar Music) →
  2. Pete Rodriguez, I'm Pete Rodriguez, Volume 1 (Sunnyside) →
  3. Joaju Cuarteto, Avy'a Jave (Polka Blue) →
  4. Roy Hargrove's Crisol, Grande-Terre (1998, Verve) →
  5. Linda Sikhakhane, Iladi (Blue Note) →
  6. Melvis Santa, Jazz Orishas (Distro) →
  7. Jonathan Powell, Mambo Jazz Party (Circle 9) →
  8. Omar Sosa's 88 Well-Tuned Drums (1996-2018, Otá) →
  9. William Cepeda Afro-Puerto Rican Big Band, The Sound of Puerto Rican Jazz (Casabe) →
  10. Demetrio Muñiz, Tromboneando con Demetrio Muñiz (Egrem) →

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Note: Also see 2024 Recordings on and off the Beaten Path

Lawrence Peryer (Spotlight On [podcast], The Tonearm, freelance)

NEW ALBUMS

  1. Kris Davis Trio, Run the Gauntlet (Pyroclastic) →
  2. Joe Fonda Quartet, Eyes on the Horizon (Long Song) →
  3. Dan Fortin, Cannon (Elastic) →
  4. Satoko Fujii Quartet, Dog Days of Summer (Libra) →
  5. Satoko Fujii Tokyo Trio, Jet Black (Libra) →
  6. Gordon Grdina & Christian Lillinger, Duo Work (Attaboygirl) →
  7. Markus Reuter, Sea of Hopeless Angels (Flatiron) →
  8. Angelica Sanchez & Chad Taylor, A Monster Is Just an Animal You Haven't Met Yet (Intakt) →
  9. Kevin Sun, The Fate of the Tenor (Endectomorph) →
  10. Colin Vallon, Samares (ECM) →

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

  1. Roy Hargrove, The Love Suite: In Mahogany (1993, Blue Engine '23) →
  2. B.B. King, In France: Live at the 1977 Nancy Jazz Pulsations Festival (Deep Digs/Elemental Music) →
  3. Sun Ra, Lights on a Satellite: Live at the Left Bank (1978, Resonance) →
  4. McCoy Tyner & Joe Henderson, Forces of Nature: Live at Slugs' (1966, Blue Note) →

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Terry Perkins (DownBeat)

NEW ALBUMS (unranked)

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL) (unranked)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Sergio Piccirilli (El Intruso)

NEW ALBUMS

  1. Peter Evans, Extra (We Jazz) →
  2. Mary Halvorson, Cloudward (Nonesuch) →
  3. Ches Smith, Laugh Ash (Pyroclastic) →
  4. Wadada Leo Smith & Amina Claudine Myers, Central Park's Mosaics of Reservoir, Lake, Paths and Gardens (Red Hook) →
  5. Anthony Braxton, 10 Comp (Lorraine) 2022 (Braxton House) →
  6. Joëlle Léandre, Lifetime Rebel (RogueArt) →
  7. Vijay Iyer, Compassion (ECM) →
  8. James Brandon Lewis Quartet, Transfiguration (Intakt) →
  9. Matt Mitchell, Zealous Angles (Pi) →
  10. Camila Nebbia-Leo Genovese-Alfred Vogel, Eyes to the Sun (Boomslang) →

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

  1. Alice Coltrane, The Carnegie Hall Concert (1971, Impulse!) →
  2. Mal Waldron & Steve Lacy, The Mighty Warriors: Live in Antwerp (1995, Elemental Music) →
  3. Andrew Hill Sextet Plus 10, A Beautiful Day Revisited (2002, Palmetto) →
  4. Art Tatum, Jewels in the Treasure Box: The 1953 Chicago Blue Note Jazz Club Recordings (Resonance) →
  5. Emily Remler, Cookin' at the Queens (1984-88, Resonance) →

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Steve Pick (Steve Pick's Writing Place)

NEW ALBUMS

  1. Mary Halvorson, Cloudward (Nonesuch) →
  2. Wadada Leo Smith & Amina Claudine Myers, Central Park's Mosaics of Reservoir, Lake, Paths and Gardens (Red Hook) →
  3. William Parker-Cooper-Moore-Hamid Drake, Heart Trio (AUM Fidelity) →
  4. Alan Braufman, Infinite Love Infinite Tears (Valley of Search) →
  5. Vijay Iyer, Compassion (ECM) →
  6. John Blum-David Murray-Chad Taylor, The Recursive Tree (Relative Pitch '23) →
  7. Ivo Perelman & Gabby Fluke-Mogul, Duologues 2: Joy (Ibeji Music) →
  8. Kenny Barron, Beyond This Place (Artwork) →
  9. Dave Douglas, Gifts (Greenleaf Music) →
  10. Noah Haidu, Standards II (Sunnyside) →

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Dan Polletta (JazzNEO [Ideastream Public Media])

NEW ALBUMS (unranked)

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL) (unranked)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Peter Quinn (Jazzwise, The Arts Desk, Songlines)

NEW ALBUMS

  1. Taylor Eigsti, Plot Armor (GroundUP Music) →
  2. Jihye Lee Orchestra, Infinite Connections (Motéma Music) →
  3. Kenny Barron, Beyond This Place (Artwork) →
  4. Julian Lage, Speak to Me (Blue Note) →
  5. Jamie Baum Septet+, What Times Are These (Sunnyside) →
  6. Melissa Aldana, Echoes of the Inner Prophet (Blue Note) →
  7. Charles Lloyd, The Sky Will Still Be There Tomorrow (Blue Note) →
  8. Immanuel Wilkins, Blues Blood (Blue Note) →
  9. Pat Metheny, MoonDial (BMG) →
  10. Nubya Garcia, Odyssey (Concord Jazz) →

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

  1. Wayne Shorter, Celebration, Volume 1 (2014, Blue Note) →
  2. Dorothy Ashby, Afro-Harping [Deluxe Edition] (1968, Verve) →
  3. Thelonious Monk, Criss-Cross (1963, Columbia/Pure Pleasure) →
  4. Duke Ellington, Copenhagen 1958 (Storyville) →
  5. Art Tatum, Jewels in the Treasure Box: The 1953 Chicago Blue Note Jazz Club Recordings (Resonance) →

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Derk Richardson (The Absolute Sound)

NEW ALBUMS

  1. Joe Fonda Quartet, Eyes on the Horizon (Long Song) →
  2. Jenny Scheinman, All Species Parade (Royal Potato Family) →
  3. Mary Halvorson, Cloudward (Nonesuch) →
  4. Zen Widow, IV (From One Dark Age to Another) (Objet-a/Intervention '23) →
  5. Ches Smith, Laugh Ash (Pyroclastic) →
  6. Kris Davis Trio, Run the Gauntlet (Pyroclastic) →
  7. Kaze, Unwritten (Circum/Libra) →
  8. Matthew Shipp Trio, New Concepts in Piano Trio Jazz (ESP-Disk) →
  9. Allen Lowe & the Constant Sorrow Orchestra, Louis Armstrong's America (ESP-Disk) →
  10. The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis (Impulse!) →

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

  1. Mal Waldron & Steve Lacy, The Mighty Warriors: Live in Antwerp (1995, Elemental Music) →
  2. Alice Coltrane, The Carnegie Hall Concert (1971, Impulse!) →
  3. Sun Ra, At the Showcase: Live in Chicago 1976-1977 (Jazz Detective) →
  4. Andrew Hill Sextet Plus 10, A Beautiful Day Revisited (2002, Palmetto) →
  5. Sonny Rollins, Freedom Weaver: The 1959 European Tour Recordings (Resonance) →

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Britt Robson (Minnpost, Bandcamp)

NEW ALBUMS

  1. David Murray Quartet, Francesca (Intakt) →
  2. Tomeka Reid Quartet, 3+3 (Cuneiform) →
  3. Charles Goold, Triptych Lespri (La Reserve) →
  4. Tarbaby, You Think This America (Giant Step Arts) →
  5. Walter Smith III, Three of Us Are From Houston and Reuben Is Not (Blue Note) →
  6. Vijay Iyer, Compassion (ECM) →
  7. Mary Halvorson, Cloudward (Nonesuch) →
  8. Mabe Fratti, Sentir Que No Sabes (Tin Angel/Unheard of Hope) →
  9. Darius Jones, Legend of e'Boi (The Hypervigilant Eye) (AUM Fidelity) →
  10. Wayne Escoffery, Alone (Smoke Sessions) →

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

  1. Art Tatum, Jewels in the Treasure Box: The 1953 Chicago Blue Note Jazz Club Recordings (Resonance) →
  2. Joe Henderson, Power to the People (1969, Craft/Jazz Dispensary) →
  3. Arthur Blythe Quartet, Live From Studio Rivbea: July 6, 1976 (NoBusiness) →
  4. Art Ensemble of Chicago, A Jackson in Your House (1969, BYG-Actuel) →
  5. Sonny Rollins, Freedom Weaver: The 1959 European Tour Recordings (Resonance) →

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Marek Romański (Jazz Forum, Polish Radio RDC)

NEW ALBUMS

  1. Charles Lloyd, The Sky Will Still Be There Tomorrow (Blue Note) →
  2. Tomasz Dąbrowski & the Individual Beings, Better (April) →
  3. Walter Smith III, Three of Us Are From Houston and Reuben Is Not (Blue Note) →
  4. Kris Davis Trio, Run the Gauntlet (Pyroclastic) →
  5. James Brandon Lewis Quartet, Transfiguration (Intakt) →
  6. Nubya Garcia, Odyssey (Concord Jazz) →
  7. Mary Halvorson, Cloudward (Nonesuch) →
  8. David Murray Quartet, Francesca (Intakt) →
  9. Błoto, Grzybnia (Astigmatic) →
  10. Marek Pospieszalski Octet & Zoh Amba, Now! (Instant Classics) →

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

  1. McCoy Tyner & Joe Henderson, Forces of Nature: Live at Slugs' (1966, Blue Note) →
  2. Tomasz Stanko Quartet, September Night (2004, ECM) →
  3. Keith Jarrett-Gary Peacock-Paul Motian, The Old Country (1992, ECM) →
  4. Jakob Bro-Lee Konitz-Bill Frisell-Jason Moran-Thomas Morgan-Andrew Cyrille, Taking Turns (2014, ECM) →
  5. Mieczysław Kosz, Debiut. Jazz Jamboree '67/'68 (Polskie Radio/Polish Radio) →

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Akira Saito (JazzTokyo, Jaz.in, Music Magazine, Taiwan Beats, Jazz Right Now)

NEW ALBUMS (unranked)

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL) (unranked)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

 

Prev[Ackermann - Booth] · [Borella - Davis] · [Dean-Harris - Geiken] · [Gijssels - Hull] · [Hum - Lange] · [Langhoff - Monsen] · [Moore - Saito] · [Saunders - Terano] · [Tesser - Yokoi]Next