The 19th Annual
Francis Davis Jazz Critics Poll:
2024 Mid-Year

Ballots 2024 Mid-Year [2]

Laurence Donohue-Greene (The New York City Jazz Record)

NEW RELEASES (unranked)

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL) (unranked)

Ken Dryden (New York City Jazz Record, Hot House, Timeless Jazz [WUTC-FM], All About Jazz)

NEW RELEASES

  1. Charles McPherson, Reverence (Smoke Sessions)
  2. Kenny Barron, Beyond This Place (Artwork)
  3. Denny Zeitlin, Panoply (Sunnyside)
  4. Marshall Gilkes and WDR Big Band, Life Songs (Alternate Side)
  5. Ben Allison-Steve Cardenas-Ted Nash, Tell the Birds I Said Hello: The Music of Herbie Nichols (Sonic Camera)
  6. Ken Peplowski, Unheard Bird (Arbors)
  7. Jon Gordon, 7th Ave South (ArtistShare)
  8. Dave Pietro, The Talisman (SteepleChase)
  9. Chick Corea & Béla Fleck, Remembrance (Thirty Tigers)
  10. Chris Byars, Boptics (SteepleChase)

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

  1. Art Tatum, Jewels in the Treasure Box: The 1953 Chicago Blue Note Jazz Club Recordings (Resonance)
  2. Nat King Cole, Live at the Blue Note Chicago (1953, Iconic)
  3. Don Byas, Classic Don Byas Sessions 1944-1946 (Mosaic '23)
  4. Cannonball Adderley, Burnin' in Bordeaux: Live in France 1969 (Elemental Music)
  5. The Oscar Pettiford Memorial Concert (1960, SteepleChase)

Chuck Eddy (Eliminated for Reasons of Space, Spin, Napster)

NEW RELEASES

  1. Kahil El'Zabar's Ethnic Heritage Ensemble, Open Me, a Higher Consciousness of Sound and Spirit (Spiritmuse)
  2. Alan Braufman, Infinite Love Infinite Tears (Valley of Search)
  3. William Parker-Cooper-Moore-Hamid Drake, Heart Trio (AUM Fidelity)
  4. Sunny Five [Tim Berne-David Torn-Ches Smith-Devin Hoff-Marc Ducret], Candid (Intakt)
  5. James Brandon Lewis Quartet, Transfiguration (Intakt)
  6. Wadada Leo Smith & Amina Claudine Myers, Central Park's Mosaics of Reservoir, Lake, Paths and Gardens (Red Hook)
  7. The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis (Impulse!)
  8. Elephantine, Moonshine (Northern Spy '23)
  9. Charles Lloyd, The Sky Will Still Be There Tomorrow (Blue Note)
  10. Nduduzo Makhathini, Unomkhubulwane (Blue Note)

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

Lee Rice Epstein (Free Jazz Collective, But does it swing?)

NEW RELEASES

  1. Matthew Shipp Trio, New Concepts in Piano Trio Jazz (ESP-Disk)
  2. أحمد [Ahmed], Giant Beauty (Fönstret)
  3. Steph Richards, Power Vibe (Northern Spy)
  4. The Fully Celebrated Orchestra, Sob Story (Relative Pitch)
  5. Matt Mitchell, Illimitable (Obliquity)
  6. Olie Brice-Rachel Musson-Mark Sanders, Immense Blue (West Hill)
  7. Kenny Warren, Sweet World (Out of Your Head)
  8. Fay Victor, Herbie Nichols SUNG: Life Is Funny That Way (Tao Forms)
  9. Frank London/The Elders, Spirit Stronger Than Blood (ESP-Disk)
  10. Christopher Hoffman, Vision Is the Identity (Out of Your Head)

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

  1. Tony Oxley, Angular Apron (1992, Corbett vs. Dempsey)
  2. Sun Ra, At the Showcase: Live in Chicago 1976-1977 (Jazz Detective)
  3. Sonny Rollins, Freedom Weaver: The 1959 European Tour Recordings (Resonance)
  4. Cecil Taylor Unit, Live at Fat Tuesday's February 9, 1980 [First Visit] (1980, Ezz-Thetics)
  5. Soft Machine, Høvikkoden 1971 (Cuneiform)

Steve Feeney (ArtsFuse, Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram)

NEW RELEASES

  1. Tomeka Reid Quartet, 3+3 (Cuneiform)
  2. Matthew Shipp Trio, New Concepts in Piano Trio Jazz (ESP-Disk)
  3. Kim Cass, Levs (Pi)
  4. David Murray Quartet, Francesca (Intakt)
  5. Luke Stewart Silt Trio, Unknown Rivers (Pi)
  6. Charlie Kohlhase's Explorer's Club, A Second Life (Mandorla Music)
  7. Ivanna Cuesta, A Letter to the Earth (Orenda)

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)

Gary Finney (WQLN NPR [Eric, PA])

NEW RELEASES (unranked)

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

  1. Mal Waldron & Steve Lacy, The Mighty Warriors: Live in Antwerp (1995, Elemental Music)

Filipe Freitas (JazzTrail)

NEW RELEASES

  1. Oded Tzur, My Prophet (ECM)
  2. Vijay Iyer, Compassion (ECM)
  3. Charles Lloyd, The Sky Will Still Be There Tomorrow (Blue Note)
  4. Tomeka Reid Quartet, 3+3 (Cuneiform)
  5. Bill Frisell, Orchestras (Blue Note)
  6. Nduduzo Makhathini, Unomkhubulwane (Blue Note)
  7. John Escreet, The Epicenter of Your Dreams (Blue Room Music)
  8. Jon Irabagon's Outright!, Recharge the Blade (Irabbagast)
  9. John Surman, Words Unspoken (ECM)
  10. Gush, Afro Blue (1998, Trost)

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

Pat Frisco (WHFR-FM [Dearborn, MI])

NEW RELEASES

  1. Jason Stein-Marilyn Crispell-Damon Smith-Adam Shead, Spi-raling Horn (Balance Point Acoustics)
  2. Darius Jones, Fluxkit Vancouver (Its Suite but Sacred) (We Jazz '23)
  3. François Houle-Kate Gentile-Alexander Hawkins, Fatrasies (Victo)
  4. Stemeseder Lillinger Quartet, Umbra II (Intakt)
  5. PNY Quintet, Over the Wall (RogueArt)
  6. James Brandon Lewis Quartet, Transfiguration (Intakt)
  7. Potsa Lotsa XL, Chamber Works (Trouble in the East '23)
  8. Tomeka Reid-Isadora Edwards-Elisabeth Coudoux, Reid/Edwards/Coudoux (Relative Pitch)
  9. Albert Beger-Ziv Taubenfeld-Shay Hazan-Hamid Drake, Cosmic Waves (NoBusiness)
  10. Jon Irabagon's Outright!, Recharge the Blade (Irabbagast)

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

  1. Cecil Taylor Unit, Live at Fat Tuesday's February 9, 1980 [First Visit] (1980, Ezz-Thetics)
  2. Karen Borca Trio Quartet & Quintet, Good News Blues: Live at the Vision Festival 1998 & 2005 (NoBusiness)
  3. Sun Ra Akrestra, Live at Pit-Inn Tokyo, Japan 8-8-1988 (Super Fuji Discs)
  4. Mal Waldron & Steve Lacy, The Mighty Warriors: Live in Antwerp (1995, Elemental Music)

Ana Gavrilovska (Uncut, Maggot Brain, Aquarium Drunkard)

NEW RELEASES (unranked)

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL) (unranked)

Richard Gehr (Relix, Maggot Brain, Bandcamp)

NEW RELEASES

  1. Kim Cass, Levs (Pi)
  2. Kahil El'Zabar's Ethnic Heritage Ensemble, Open Me, a Higher Consciousness of Sound and Spirit (Spiritmuse)
  3. Federico Ughi, Infinite Cosmos Calling You You You, Vol. 1 (577)
  4. Joy Guidry, Amen (Whited Sepulchre)
  5. David Murray Quartet, Francesca (Intakt)
  6. Basher, May Day (Sinking City)
  7. Mary Halvorson, Cloudward (Nonesuch)
  8. Elephant9, Mythical River (Rune Grammofon)
  9. Byron Asher's Skrontch Music, Lord, When You Send the Rain (Sinking City)
  10. New Orleans Klezmer All Stars, Tipish (self-released)

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

  1. Joe Henderson, Power to the People (1969, Craft/Jazz Dispensary)
  2. Jack Bruce, Smiles and Grins: Broadcast Sessions 1970-2001 (Esoteric)

Kurt Gottschalk (New York City Jazz Record, The Wire, WKCR)

NEW RELEASES

  1. أحمد [Ahmed], Giant Beauty (Fönstret)
  2. Anthony Braxton, 10 Comp (Lorraine) 2022 (Braxton House)
  3. Alexander Hawkins & Sofia Jernberg, Musho (Intakt)
  4. Marta Warelis & Andy Moor, Escape (Relative Pitch)
  5. Ches Smith, Laugh Ash (Pyroclastic)

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

  1. Anthony Braxton-Roland Dahinden-Hildegard Kleeb, Four Compositions (Wesleyan) 2013 (Prague Music Platform '23)
  2. Alice Coltrane, The Carnegie Hall Concert (1971, Impulse!)
  3. Sun Ra & His Arkestra, Pink Elephants on Parade (1985-90, Modern Harmonic)

Stephen Graham (marlbank)

NEW RELEASES

  1. Tutu Puoane, Wrapped in Rhythm, Vol. 1 (SoulFactory)
  2. Gonzalo Rubalcaba & Hamilton De Holanda, Collab (Sony Music Brazil)
  3. Oddgeir Berg Trio, A Place Called Home (Ozella)
  4. Amaro Freitas, Y'Y (Psychic Hotline)
  5. Jo Harrop, The Path of a Tear (Lateralize)
  6. Madeleine Peyroux, Let's Walk (Just One/Thirty Tigers)
  7. Fred Hersch, Silent, Listening (ECM)
  8. Monty Alexander, D Day (Pee Wee)
  9. Nduduzo Makhathini, Unomkhubulwane (Blue Note)
  10. Dal Sasso Big Band, Chick Corea's Three Quartets Revisited (Jazz & People)

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

  1. Tomasz Stanko Quartet, September Night (2004, ECM)

Jason Gross (Perfect Sound Forever)

NEW RELEASES

  1. Vijay Iyer, Compassion (ECM)
  2. Kiki Valera, Vacilón Santiaguero (Circle 9 Music)

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

  1. Charles Mingus, Mingus Takes Manhattan: The Complete Birdland Dates: 1961-1962 (New Land)
  2. John Coltrane 4tet, Live in France July 27/28 1965: The Complete Concerts (Fingerpoppin)
  3. Mal Waldron & Terumasa Hino, Reminscent Suite (1973, BBE)
  4. Johnny Griffin, Live at Ronnie Scott's (1964, Gearbox '23)

James Hale (DownBeat, SoundStageXperience.com)

NEW RELEASES

  1. Kenny Barron, Beyond This Place (Artwork)
  2. James Brandon Lewis Quartet, Transfiguration (Intakt)
  3. Vijay Iyer, Compassion (ECM)
  4. Kim Cass, Levs (Pi)
  5. Oded Tzur, My Prophet (ECM)
  6. Melissa Aldana, Echoes of the Inner Prophet (Blue Note)
  7. Tomasz Stanko Quartet, September Night (2004, ECM)
  8. Ron Miles, Old Main Chapel (2011, Blue Note)
  9. Ivanna Cuesta, A Letter to the Earth (Orenda)
  10. Jamie Baum Septet+, What Times Are These (Sunnyside)

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

Eyal Hareuveni (Free Jazz Blog, Salt Peanuts)

NEW RELEASES

  1. Kim Myhr & Kitchen Orchestra, Hereafter (Sofa Music)
  2. Isabelle Duthoit & Franz Hautzinger, Dans le Morvan (Relative Pitch)
  3. Stian Westerhus & Maja S. K. Ratkje, All Losses Are Restored (Crispin Glover)
  4. Joe McPhee With Ken Vandermark, Musings of a Bahamian Son: Poems and Other Words (Corbett vs. Dempsey)
  5. Izumi Kimura-Barry Guy-Gerry Hemingway, Six Hands Open as One (Fundacja Słuchaj)
  6. Anthony Braxton, 10 Comp (Lorraine) 2022 (Braxton House)
  7. John Butcher + 13, Fluid Fixations (Weight of Wax)
  8. Splitter Orchester, Splitter Musik (Hyperdelia)
  9. Jürg Frey, Outermost Melodies (Another Timbre)
  10. أحمد [Ahmed], Giant Beauty (Fönstret)

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

  1. Die Like a Dog [Peter Brötzmann-Toshinori Kondo-William Parker-Hamid Drake], Fragments of Music, Life and Death of Albert Ayler (1994, Cien Fuegos)
  2. Peter Brötzmann & Paal Nilssen-Love, Chicken Shit Bingo (2015, Trost)
  3. Peter Brötzmann-Toshinori Kondo-Sabu Toyozumi, Complete Link (2016, NoBusiness)
  4. Anthony Braxton, Solo Bern 1984 [First Visit] (Ezz-Thetics)
  5. Paal Nilssen-Love & Ken Vandermark, Japan 2019 (PNL/Audiographic)

Chris Heim (KMUW-FM [Wichita, KS])

NEW RELEASES

  1. Etienne Charles, Creole Orchestra (Culture Shock)
  2. John Ellis Quartet, Bizet: Carmen in Jazz (Blue Room Music '23)
  3. Queen Esther, Things Are Looking Up (EL)
  4. Christian McBride & Edgar Meyer, But Who's Gonna Play the Melody? (Mack Avenue)
  5. Snorre Kirk, Top Dog (Stunt '23)
  6. Blue Moods, Swing & Soul (Posi-Tone)
  7. Nick Finzer, Legacy: A Centennial Celebration of JJ Johnson (Outside In Music)
  8. Conrad Herwig, The Latin Side of McCoy Tyner (Savant)
  9. Live Edge Trio With Steve Nelson, Closing Time (OA2)
  10. Andrew Bird Trio, Sunday Morning Put-On (Loma Vista)

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

  1. Nat King Cole, Live at the Blue Note Chicago (1953, Iconic)
  2. Art Tatum, Jewels in the Treasure Box: The 1953 Chicago Blue Note Jazz Club Recordings (Resonance)
  3. Les McCann, Never a Dull Moment! Live From Coast to Coast 1966-1967 (Resonance '23)
  4. Cal Tjader, Catch the Groove: Live at the Penthouse 1963-1967 (Jazz Detective/Elemental '23)
  5. Gerry Mulligan, Night Lights (1963, Philips)

Andrey Henkin (New York Times, WeJazz, JazzWise, Stereophile, The Brooklyn Rail, NPR; Jazz Passings)

NEW RELEASES (unranked)

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL) (unranked)

Geoffrey Himes (Paste, Chamber Music)

NEW RELEASES

  1. Ambrose Akinmusire, Owl Song (Nonesuch '23)
  2. David Murray Quartet, Francesca (Intakt)
  3. Charles Lloyd, The Sky Will Still Be There Tomorrow (Blue Note)
  4. Joel Ross, Nublues (Blue Note)
  5. Marta Sanchez Trio, Perpetual Void (Intakt)
  6. Kenny Barron, Beyond This Place (Artwork)
  7. Melissa Aldana, Echoes of the Inner Prophet (Blue Note)
  8. Vijay Iyer, Compassion (ECM)
  9. Chick Corea & Béla Fleck, Remembrance (Thirty Tigers)
  10. Gregory Tardy, In His Timing (WJ3 '23)

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

  1. Sonny Rollins, Freedom Weaver: The 1959 European Tour Recordings (Resonance)
  2. Art Tatum, Jewels in the Treasure Box: The 1953 Chicago Blue Note Jazz Club Recordings (Resonance)
  3. Sun Ra, At the Showcase: Live in Chicago 1976-1977 (Jazz Detective)
  4. Ron Miles, Old Main Chapel (2011, Blue Note)

Rob Hoff (WQLN NPR [Erie, PA], WETF [South Bend, IN], JazzErie)

NEW RELEASES

  1. Nduduzo Makhathini, Unomkhubulwane (Blue Note)
  2. Wadada Leo Smith & Amina Claudine Myers, Central Park's Mosaics of Reservoir, Lake, Paths and Gardens (Red Hook)
  3. Vijay Iyer, Compassion (ECM)
  4. Marta Sanchez Trio, Perpetual Void (Intakt)
  5. Melissa Aldana, Echoes of the Inner Prophet (Blue Note)
  6. Joel Ross, Nublues (Blue Note)
  7. Brian Landrus, Plays Ellington & Strayhorn (Palmetto)
  8. Taylor Eigsti, Plot Armor (GroundUP)
  9. John Escreet, The Epicenter of Your Dreams (Blue Room Music)
  10. Chris Potter-Brad Mehldau-John Patitucci-Brian Blade, Eagle's Point (Edition)

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

  1. Mal Waldron & Steve Lacy, The Mighty Warriors: Live in Antwerp (1995, Elemental Music)
  2. Wes Montgomery/Wynton Kelly Trio, Maximum Swing: The Unissued 1965 Half Note Recordings (Resonance '23)

Larry Hollis (Cadence)

NEW RELEASES (unranked)

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL) (unranked)