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

Ballots 2024 Mid-Year [3]

Tom Hull (tomhull.com)

NEW RELEASES

  1. Fay Victor, Herbie Nichols SUNG: Life Is Funny That Way (Tao Forms) →
  2. Emmeluth's Amoeba, Nonsense (Moserobie) →
  3. Luke Stewart Silt Trio, Unknown Rivers (Pi) →
  4. Ballister, Smash and Grab (Aerophonic) →
  5. Dave Douglas, Gifts (Greenleaf Music) →
  6. The Core, Roots (Moserobie) →
  7. James Brandon Lewis Quartet, Transfiguration (Intakt) →
  8. Roby Glod-Christian Ramond-Klaus Kugel, No Toxic (Nemu) →
  9. Ivo Perelman Quartet, Water Music (RogueArt) →
  10. Mike Monford, The Cloth I'm Cut From (self-released) →

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

  1. Sonny Rollins, Freedom Weaver: The 1959 European Tour Recordings (Resonance) →
  2. Mal Waldron & Steve Lacy, The Mighty Warriors: Live in Antwerp (1995, Elemental Music) →
  3. Alice Coltrane, The Carnegie Hall Concert (1971, Impulse!) →
  4. Karen Borca Trio Quartet & Quintet, Good News Blues: Live at the Vision Festival 1998 & 2005 (NoBusiness) →
  5. Mars Williams & Hamid Drake, I Know You Are but What Am I (1996, Corbett vs. Dempsey) →

Jim Hynes (Glide, Making a Scene!)

NEW RELEASES

  1. Wadada Leo Smith & Amina Claudine Myers, Central Park's Mosaics of Reservoir, Lake, Paths and Gardens (Red Hook) →
  2. Isaiah Collier & the Chosen Few, The Almighty (Division 81) →
  3. Mary Halvorson, Cloudward (Nonesuch) →
  4. Julian Lage, Speak to Me (Blue Note) →
  5. The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis (Impulse!) →
  6. Oded Tzur, My Prophet (ECM) →
  7. Ches Smith, Laugh Ash (Pyroclastic) →
  8. Frank London/The Elders, Spirit Stronger Than Blood (ESP-Disk) →
  9. Brandon Ross Phantom Station, Off the End (Sunnyside) →
  10. Charles Lloyd, The Sky Will Still Be There Tomorrow (Blue Note) →

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

  1. Alice Coltrane, The Carnegie Hall Concert (1971, Impulse!) →
  2. Ron Miles, Old Main Chapel (2011, Blue Note) →
  3. Phil Haynes' 4 Horns and What?, The Complete American Recordings (1989-95, Corner Store Jazz) →
  4. Sonny Rollins, Freedom Weaver: The 1959 European Tour Recordings (Resonance) →
  5. Yusef Lateef, Atlantis Lullaby: The Concert From Avignon (1972, Elemental Music) →

Martin Johnson (Wall Street Journal, NPR, Bandcamp)

NEW RELEASES

  1. Marta Sanchez Trio, Perpetual Void (Intakt) →
  2. Luke Stewart Silt Trio, Unknown Rivers (Pi) →
  3. Fay Victor, Herbie Nichols SUNG: Life Is Funny That Way (Tao Forms) →
  4. The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis (Impulse!) →
  5. Ryan Truesdell, Synthesis: The String Quartet Sessions (ArtistShare) →
  6. SML, Small Medium Large (International Anthem) →
  7. Mary Halvorson, Cloudward (Nonesuch) →
  8. John Escreet, The Epicenter of Your Dreams (Blue Room Music) →
  9. Carlos Niño & Friends, Placenta (International Anthem) →
  10. Matt Wilson's Good Trouble (Palmetto) →

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

T.R. Johnson (WWOZ 98.7 FM [New Orleans])

NEW RELEASES

  1. Daymé Arocena, Alkemi (Brownswood) →
  2. Chris Potter-Brad Mehldau-John Patitucci-Brian Blade, Eagle's Point (Edition) →
  3. Norah Jones, Visions (Blue Note) →
  4. Melissa Aldana, Echoes of the Inner Prophet (Blue Note) →
  5. Laufey, Bewitched (AWAL '23) →
  6. Dave Douglas, Gifts (Greenleaf Music) →
  7. Charles Lloyd, The Sky Will Still Be There Tomorrow (Blue Note) →
  8. Jeremy Pelt, Tomorrow's Another Day (HighNote) →
  9. Julian Lage, Speak to Me (Blue Note) →
  10. SML, Small Medium Large (International Anthem) →

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

  1. Alice Coltrane, The Carnegie Hall Concert (1971, Impulse!) →

Sanford Josephson (Jersey Jazz Magazine)

NEW RELEASES (unranked)

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

  1. Sonny Rollins, Freedom Weaver: The 1959 European Tour Recordings (Resonance) →

Ammar Kalia (The Guardian, The Observer, Jazzwise, DownBeat)

NEW RELEASES

  1. Fabiano do Nascimento & Sam Gendel, The Room (Real World) →
  2. Meshell Ndegeocello, No More Water: The Gospel of James Baldwin (Blue Note) →
  3. James Brandon Lewis Quartet, Transfiguration (Intakt) →
  4. Kamasi Washington, Fearless Movement (Young) →
  5. Amaro Freitas, Y'Y (Psychic Hotline) →
  6. Malcolm Jiyane Tree-O, True Story (New Soil/Mushroom Hour) →
  7. Sam Gendel & Sam Wilkes, The Doober (Leaving) →
  8. Jasmine Myra, Rising (Gondwana) →
  9. Shabaka, Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace (Impulse!) →
  10. Poeji, Nant (Squama) →

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

  1. Ron Miles, Old Main Chapel (2011, Blue Note) →

Richard B. Kamins (Step Tempest, WESU-FM [Middletown CT])

NEW RELEASES

  1. Mike Holober & the Gotham Jazz Orchestra, This Rock We're On: Imaginary Letters (Palmetto) →
  2. Samuel Torres & the Latin Chamber Ensemble, A Dance for Birds (Blue Conga) →
  3. Jamie Baum Septet+, What Times Are These (Sunnyside) →
  4. David Murray Quartet, Francesca (Intakt) →
  5. Chris Potter-Brad Mehldau-John Patitucci-Brian Blade, Eagle's Point (Edition) →
  6. Charles Lloyd, The Sky Will Still Be There Tomorrow (Blue Note) →
  7. Marshall Gilkes and WDR Big Band, Life Songs (Alternate Side) →
  8. Frank Carlberg Large Ensemble, Elegy for Thelonious (Sunnyside) →
  9. Neal Kirkwood Big Band, Night City (Brooklyn Jazz Underground) →
  10. Allison Miller, Rivers in Our Veins (Royal Potato Family '23) →

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

  1. Art Tatum, Jewels in the Treasure Box: The 1953 Chicago Blue Note Jazz Club Recordings (Resonance) →
  2. Sonny Rollins, Freedom Weaver: The 1959 European Tour Recordings (Resonance) →
  3. Shelly Manne & His Men, Jazz From the Pacific Northwest (1958-66, Reel to Real) →
  4. Cannonball Adderley, Burnin' in Bordeaux: Live in France 1969 (Elemental Music) →

George Kanzler (Hot House, New York City Jazz Record)

NEW RELEASES

  1. Mercer Hassy Orchestra, Duke's Place (Mercer Hassy) →
  2. Adriano Clemente, The Coltrane Suite and Other Impressions (Dodicilune '23) →
  3. John Escreet, The Epicenter of Your Dreams (Blue Room Music) →
  4. Neal Kirkwood Big Band, Night City (Brooklyn Jazz Underground) →
  5. Marshall Gilkes and WDR Big Band, Life Songs (Alternate Side) →
  6. Ben Allison-Steve Cardenas-Ted Nash, Tell the Birds I Said Hello: The Music of Herbie Nichols (Sonic Camera) →
  7. Nick Finzer, Legacy: A Centennial Celebration of JJ Johnson (Outside In Music) →
  8. Roberto Magris, Love Is Passing Thru: Solo/Duo/Trio/Quartet (2005, JMood) →
  9. Steve Turre, Sanyas (Smoke Sessions) →
  10. Matt Wilson's Good Trouble (Palmetto) →

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

  1. Brother Jack McDuff, Ain't No Sunshine: Live in Seattle (1972, Reel to Real) →
  2. Lee Konitz, TenorLee (1977, Candid '23) →
  3. Sonny Rollins, Freedom Weaver: The 1959 European Tour Recordings (Resonance) →
  4. Yusef Lateef, Atlantis Lullaby: The Concert From Avignon (1972, Elemental Music) →
  5. Cannonball Adderley, Poppin' in Paris: Live at L'Olympia 1972 (Elemental Music) →

Fred Kaplan (Slate, Tracking Angle)

NEW RELEASES (unranked)

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

  1. Sonny Rollins, Freedom Weaver: The 1959 European Tour Recordings (Resonance) →
  2. Mal Waldron & Steve Lacy, The Mighty Warriors: Live in Antwerp (1995, Elemental Music) →
  3. Art Tatum, Jewels in the Treasure Box: The 1953 Chicago Blue Note Jazz Club Recordings (Resonance) →

Yoshi Kato (DownBeat, San Francisco Classical Voice, San Francisco Chronicle)

NEW RELEASES (unranked)

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL) (unranked)

Glenn Kenny (Some Came Running, RogerEbert.com, New York Times, X)

NEW RELEASES

  1. Beings, There Is a Garden (No Quarter) →
  2. Sunny Five [Tim Berne-David Torn-Ches Smith-Devin Hoff-Marc Ducret], Candid (Intakt) →
  3. Vijay Iyer, Compassion (ECM) →
  4. Ethan Iverson, Technically Acceptable (Blue Note) →
  5. Anthony Braxton, 10 Comp (Lorraine) 2022 (Braxton House) →
  6. Tomeka Reid Quartet, 3+3 (Cuneiform) →
  7. Mary Halvorson, Cloudward (Nonesuch) →
  8. Ambrose Akinmusire, Owl Song (Nonesuch '23) →
  9. Carla Santana-José Lencastre-Maria do Mar-Gonçalo Almeida, Defiant Ilussion (A New Wave of Jazz) →
  10. Paul Dunmall-Paul Rogers-Mark Sanders, Wildlife (Fundacja Słuchaj) →

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

  1. Alice Coltrane, The Carnegie Hall Concert (1971, Impulse!) →
  2. Sonny Rollins, Freedom Weaver: The 1959 European Tour Recordings (Resonance) →
  3. Art Tatum, Jewels in the Treasure Box: The 1953 Chicago Blue Note Jazz Club Recordings (Resonance) →
  4. Gastr del Sol, We Have Dozens of Titles (1993-98, Drag City) →
  5. Pat Smythe Quartet, New Dawn: Live 1973 (British Progressive Jazz) →

James Koblin (The Necessary Blues)

NEW RELEASES

  1. Tomeka Reid Quartet, 3+3 (Cuneiform) →
  2. أحمد [Ahmed], Wood Blues (Astral Spirits) →
  3. Matt Mitchell, Illimitable (Obliquity) →
  4. David Leon, Bird's Eye (Pyroclastic) →
  5. David Murray Quartet, Francesca (Intakt) →
  6. Amirtha Kidambi's Elder Ones, New Monuments (We Jazz) →
  7. Christopher Hoffman, Vision Is the Identity (Out of Your Head) →
  8. Vinnie Sperrazza Apocryphal, Sunday (Loyal Label) →
  9. Nick Dunston, Colla Voce (Out of Your Head) →
  10. Borderlands Trio [Stephan Crump-Kris Davis-Eric McPherson], Rewilder (Intakt) →

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

  1. Sonny Rollins, Freedom Weaver: The 1959 European Tour Recordings (Resonance) →
  2. Alice Coltrane, The Carnegie Hall Concert (1971, Impulse!) →
  3. Emahoy Tsegue Maryam Gebru, Souvenirs (1977-85, Mississippi) →
  4. Mal Waldron & Steve Lacy, The Mighty Warriors: Live in Antwerp (1995, Elemental Music) →
  5. Charles Gayle-Milford Graves-William Parker, WEBO (1991, Black Editions Archive) →

Elzy Kolb (freelance)

NEW RELEASES

  1. Dave Douglas, Gifts (Greenleaf Music) →
  2. Charles Lloyd, The Sky Will Still Be There Tomorrow (Blue Note) →
  3. Bill Frisell, Orchestras (Blue Note) →
  4. Tomeka Reid Quartet, 3+3 (Cuneiform) →
  5. Dafnis Prieto, 3 Sides of the Coin (Dafnison Music) →
  6. David Murray Quartet, Francesca (Intakt) →
  7. Jamie Baum Septet+, What Times Are These (Sunnyside) →
  8. Isaiah Collier & the Chosen Few, The Almighty (Division 81) →
  9. Tomasz Stanko Quartet, September Night (2004, ECM) →
  10. Melissa Aldana, Echoes of the Inner Prophet (Blue Note) →

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

Will Layman (PopMatters)

NEW RELEASES

  1. Jamie Baum Septet+, What Times Are These (Sunnyside) →
  2. Fay Victor, Herbie Nichols SUNG: Life Is Funny That Way (Tao Forms) →
  3. The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis (Impulse!) →
  4. Mary Halvorson, Cloudward (Nonesuch) →
  5. Matt Mitchell, Illimitable (Obliquity) →
  6. Dave Douglas, Gifts (Greenleaf Music) →
  7. Melissa Aldana, Echoes of the Inner Prophet (Blue Note) →
  8. Marta Sanchez Trio, Perpetual Void (Intakt) →
  9. Matthew Shipp Trio, New Concepts in Piano Trio Jazz (ESP-Disk) →
  10. Chris Potter-Brad Mehldau-John Patitucci-Brian Blade, Eagle's Point (Edition) →

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

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

Lance Liddle (Bebop Spoken Here)

NEW RELEASES

  1. Gerald Cannon, Live at Dizzy's Club: The Music of Elvin & McCoy (Woodneck) →
  2. Roger Kellaway, Live at Mezzrow (Cellar Music) →
  3. Ken Peplowski, Live at Mezzrow (Cellar Music) →
  4. Tim Armacost, Something About Believing (TMA) →
  5. Petra Van Nuis & Dennis Luxion, From Me to You (String Damper) →
  6. Jack Walrath, Live at Smalls (Cellar Music) →
  7. Jo Harrop, The Path of a Tear (Lateralize) →
  8. Noah Haidu, Standards II (Sunnyside) →
  9. Peter Hand, Blue Topaz (Whaling City Sound) →
  10. Alvin Queen Trio, Feeling Good (Stunt) →

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. The Louis Stewart Trio, Louis the First (1975, Livia) →
  4. The Cannonball Adderley Quintet, Live in Montreal: May 1975 (Liberation Hall) →
  5. Shelly Manne & His Men, Jazz From the Pacific Northwest (1958-66, Reel to Real) →

Suzanne Lorge (DownBeat, New York City Jazz Record)

NEW RELEASES

  1. Pat Metheny, MoonDial (BMG) →
  2. Joel Ross, Nublues (Blue Note) →
  3. Catherine Russell & Sean Mason, My Ideal (Dot Time) →
  4. Christian McBride & Edgar Meyer, But Who's Gonna Play the Melody? (Mack Avenue) →
  5. Hilary Gardner, On the Trial with the Lonesome Pines (Anzic) →
  6. Chris Potter-Brad Mehldau-John Patitucci-Brian Blade, Eagle's Point (Edition) →
  7. Jeremy Pelt, Tomorrow's Another Day (HighNote) →
  8. Fred Hersch, Silent, Listening (ECM) →
  9. Mike Holober & the Gotham Jazz Orchestra, This Rock We're On: Imaginary Letters (Palmetto) →

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

  1. Maria Schneider, Decades (ArtistShare) →
  2. Alice Coltrane, The Carnegie Hall Concert (1971, Impulse!) →
  3. Chet Baker & Jack Sheldon, In Perfect Harmony: The Lost Album (1972, Jazz Detective) →

Brad Luen (Semipop Life)

NEW RELEASES

  1. Amaro Freitas, Y'Y (Psychic Hotline) →
  2. Alfredo Colón, Blood Burden (Out of Your Head) →
  3. The Core, Roots (Moserobie) →
  4. Emmeluth's Amoeba, Nonsense (Moserobie) →
  5. John Blum-David Murray-Chad Taylor, The Recursive Tree (Relative Pitch '23) →
  6. Marthe Lea Band, Herlighetens Vei (Motvind '23) →
  7. Advancing on a Wild Pitch, Disasters Vol. 2 (Hot Cup) →
  8. Ballister, Smash and Grab (Aerophonic) →
  9. Vijay Iyer, Compassion (ECM) →
  10. Kahil El'Zabar's Ethnic Heritage Ensemble, Open Me, a Higher Consciousness of Sound and Spirit (Spiritmuse) →

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

Paul Medrano (Best of Jazz)

NEW RELEASES

  1. Vijay Iyer, Compassion (ECM) →
  2. أحمد [Ahmed], Giant Beauty (Fönstret) →
  3. Wadada Leo Smith & Amina Claudine Myers, Central Park's Mosaics of Reservoir, Lake, Paths and Gardens (Red Hook) →
  4. Matthew Shipp Trio, New Concepts in Piano Trio Jazz (ESP-Disk) →
  5. Ballister, Smash and Grab (Aerophonic) →
  6. Monty Alexander, D Day (Pee Wee) →
  7. Charles Lloyd, The Sky Will Still Be There Tomorrow (Blue Note) →

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

Allen Michie (The Arts Fuse)

NEW RELEASES (unranked)

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL) (unranked)

Milo Miles (The Arts Fuse, Miles to Go)

NEW RELEASES (unranked)

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL) (unranked)