The 19th Annual
Francis Davis Jazz Critics Poll:
2024 Mid-Year
Past Polls Index
New Albums Rara Avis
Critics
Ackermann - DollarDonohue-Greene - HollisHull - MilesMilner - TaylorToland - Wilson

Ballots 2024 Mid-Year [4]

Prev[Ackermann - Dollar] · [Donohue-Greene - Hollis] · [Hull - Miles] · [Milner - Taylor] · [Toland - Wilson]Next

Roz Milner (Dusted, Milner on Music)

NEW RELEASES

  1. Dave Douglas, Gifts (Greenleaf Music) →
  2. Kamasi Washington, Fearless Movement (Young) →
  3. Fay Victor, Herbie Nichols SUNG: Life Is Funny That Way (Tao Forms) →
  4. Friends & Neighbors, Circles (Clean Feed) →
  5. Welf Dorr-Elias Meister-Dmitry Ishenko-Kenny Wollesen, So Far So Good (self-released) →

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

  1. Cecil Taylor Unit, Live at Fat Tuesday's February 9, 1980 [First Visit] (1980, Ezz-Thetics) →
  2. Sun Ra, At the Showcase: Live in Chicago 1976-1977 (Jazz Detective) →
  3. Mal Waldron & Steve Lacy, The Mighty Warriors: Live in Antwerp (1995, Elemental Music) →

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

NEW RELEASES

  1. Charles Lloyd, The Sky Will Still Be There Tomorrow (Blue Note) →
  2. Joel Ross, Nublues (Blue Note) →
  3. Lizz Wright, Shadow (Blues & Greens) →

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL) (unranked)

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

NEW RELEASES (unranked)

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL) (unranked)

John Frederick Moore (Jazziz)

NEW RELEASES (unranked)

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL) (unranked)

Greg Morton (freelance)

NEW RELEASES

  1. Idit Shner & Mhondoro, Ngatibatanei [Let Us Unite!] (OA2) →
  2. Amanda Gardier, Auteur (Music Inspired by the Films of Wes Anderson) (self-released) →
  3. Amirtha Kidambi's Elder Ones, New Monuments (We Jazz) →
  4. Layale Chaker & Sarafand, Radio Afloat (In a Circle) →
  5. Charles Lloyd, The Sky Will Still Be There Tomorrow (Blue Note) →
  6. Wadada Leo Smith & Amina Claudine Myers, Central Park's Mosaics of Reservoir, Lake, Paths and Gardens (Red Hook) →
  7. Kenny Barron, Beyond This Place (Artwork) →
  8. Julieta Eugenio, Stay (Cristalyn) →
  9. Ill Considered, Precipice (New Soil) →
  10. Alan Braufman, Infinite Love Infinite Tears (Valley of Search) →

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

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

Stuart Nicholson (Jazzwise)

NEW RELEASES

  1. John Surman, Words Unspoken (ECM) →
  2. Pat Metheny, MoonDial (BMG) →
  3. Tim Garland, Moment of Departure (Ubuntu Music) →
  4. Oded Tzur, My Prophet (ECM) →
  5. Nduduzo Makhathini, Unomkhubulwane (Blue Note) →
  6. Remy Le Boeuf's Assembly of Shadows, Heartland Radio (SoundSpore) →
  7. Giovanni Guidi, A New Day (ECM) →
  8. Jeremy Rose & the Earshift Orchestra, Discordia (Earshift Music) →
  9. Stephan Crump, Slow Water (Papillon Sounds) →
  10. Magnus Öström & Dan Berglund, e.s.t. 30 (ACT Music) →

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

  1. Jan Garbarek Quartet, Afric Pepperbird (1970, ECM) →
  2. Kenny Wheeler, Angel Song (1996, ECM) →
  3. John Abercrombie-Dave Holland-Jack DeJohnette, Gateway (1975, ECM) →
  4. The Jazzanians, We Have Waited Too Long (1988, Ubuntu Music) →
  5. John Taylor-Norma Winstone-Kenny Wheeler, Azimuth (1977, ECM) →

Fotis Nikolakopoulos (Free Jazz Collective)

NEW RELEASES (unranked)

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

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

Tim Niland (freelance social media microblogger: X, Facebook)

NEW RELEASES

  1. Mary Halvorson, Cloudward (Nonesuch) →
  2. Vijay Iyer, Compassion (ECM) →
  3. David Murray Quartet, Francesca (Intakt) →
  4. Kahil El'Zabar's Ethnic Heritage Ensemble, Open Me, a Higher Consciousness of Sound and Spirit (Spiritmuse) →
  5. Isaiah Collier & the Chosen Few, The Almighty (Division 81) →
  6. QOW Trio, The Hold Up (Ubuntu Music) →
  7. Angelica Sanchez & Chad Taylor, A Moster Is Just an Animal You Haven't Met Yet (Intakt) →
  8. Francisco Mela & Zoh Amba, Causa y Efecto (Vol. 2) (577) →
  9. Jason Stein-Marilyn Crispell-Damon Smith-Adam Shead, Spi-raling Horn (Balance Point Acoustics) →
  10. Alan Braufman, Infinite Love Infinite Tears (Valley of Search) →

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. Marion Brown, Three for Shepp to Gesprächsfetzen Revisited (1966-68, Ezz-Thetics) →
  4. Art Tatum, Jewels in the Treasure Box: The 1953 Chicago Blue Note Jazz Club Recordings (Resonance) →
  5. Mal Waldron & Steve Lacy, The Mighty Warriors: Live in Antwerp (1995, Elemental Music) →

Phil Overeem (Living to Listen)

NEW RELEASES

  1. Bill Orcutt Guitar Quartet, Four Guitars Live (Palilalia) →
  2. Miha Gantar, New York City (Clean Feed) →
  3. Amaro Freitas, Y'Y (Psychic Hotline) →
  4. Satoko Fujii Tokyo Trio, Jet Black (Libra) →
  5. QOW Trio, The Hold Up (Ubuntu Music) →
  6. Fay Victor, Herbie Nichols SUNG: Life Is Funny That Way (Tao Forms) →
  7. Acceleration Due to Gravity, Jonesville: Music by and for Sam Jones (Hot Cup) →
  8. Alan Braufman, Infinite Love Infinite Tears (Valley of Search) →
  9. Kronos Quartet, Outer Spaceways Incorporated (Red Hot Org) →
  10. James Carter, Un (Unaccompanied Baritone Saxophone) (J.M.I.) →

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. Mal Waldron & Steve Lacy, The Mighty Warriors: Live in Antwerp (1995, Elemental Music) →
  4. Art Tatum, Jewels in the Treasure Box: The 1953 Chicago Blue Note Jazz Club Recordings (Resonance) →
  5. Christer Bothén Featuring Bolon Bata, Trancedance [40th Anniversary Edition] (1984, Black Truffle) →

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

NEW RELEASES

  1. Kamasi Washington, Fearless Movement (Young) →
  2. Nduduzo Makhathini, Unomkhubulwane (Blue Note) →
  3. Joel Ross, Nublues (Blue Note) →
  4. Arooj Aftab, Night Reign (Verve) →
  5. Melissa Aldana, Echoes of the Inner Prophet (Blue Note) →
  6. Abdullah Ibrahim, 3 (Gearbox) →
  7. Mary Halvorson, Cloudward (Nonesuch) →
  8. Jasmine Myra, Rising (Gondwana) →
  9. Charles Lloyd, The Sky Will Still Be There Tomorrow (Blue Note) →
  10. Bill Frisell, Orchestras (Blue Note) →

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

  1. Alice Coltrane, The Carnegie Hall Concert (1971, Impulse!) →
  2. Sun Ra & His Arkestra, Pink Elephants on Parade (1985-90, Modern Harmonic) →
  3. Louis Armstrong, Louis in London (1968, Verve) →
  4. Ron Miles, Old Main Chapel (2011, Blue Note) →

Sergio Piccirilli (El Intruso)

NEW RELEASES (unranked)

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL) (unranked)

Derk Richardson (The Absolute Sound, KPFA 94.1 FM [Berkeley])

NEW RELEASES

  1. Zen Widow, IV (From One Dark Age to Another) (Objet-a '23) →
  2. Kaze, Unwritten (Circum/Libra) →
  3. Ches Smith, Laugh Ash (Pyroclastic) →
  4. Robin Holcomb, One Way or Another, Vol. 2 (Westerlies) →
  5. The London Experimental Ensemble With Richard Thompson, Wesley Stace, Sivert Hayem, Marissa Nadler and Gina Fergione, Child Ballads: The Final Six (Don Giovanni '23) →
  6. Modney, Ascending Primes (Pyroclastic) →
  7. Adam Rudolph & Tyshawn Sorey, Archaisms II (Meta) →
  8. Anthony Pirog, The Nepenthe Series Vol. 1 (Otherly Love '23) →
  9. Ryan Truesdell, Synthesis: The String Quartet Sessions (ArtistShare) →
  10. Michael Shrieve, Drums of Compassion (7D Media) →

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. Sonny Rollins, Freedom Weaver: The 1959 European Tour Recordings (Resonance) →
  4. Art Tatum, Jewels in the Treasure Box: The 1953 Chicago Blue Note Jazz Club Recordings (Resonance) →
  5. Sun Ra, At the Showcase: Live in Chicago 1976-1977 (Jazz Detective) →

Britt Robson (Bandcamp, Minnpost)

NEW RELEASES

  1. David Murray Quartet, Francesca (Intakt) →
  2. Tomeka Reid Quartet, 3+3 (Cuneiform) →
  3. Mary Halvorson, Cloudward (Nonesuch) →
  4. Vijay Iyer, Compassion (ECM) →
  5. Reggie Quinerly, The Thousandth Scholar (Redefinition) →
  6. Chris Potter-Brad Mehldau-John Patitucci-Brian Blade, Eagle's Point (Edition) →
  7. Dave Douglas, Gifts (Greenleaf Music) →
  8. Sunny Five [Tim Berne-David Torn-Ches Smith-Devin Hoff-Marc Ducret], Candid (Intakt) →
  9. Dan Weiss, Even Odds (Cygnus) →
  10. Gregory Groover Jr., Lovabye (Criss Cross) →

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

Gene Seymour (The Nation, CNN.com)

NEW RELEASES

  1. David Murray Quartet, Francesca (Intakt) →
  2. Charles Lloyd, The Sky Will Still Be There Tomorrow (Blue Note) →
  3. Kenny Barron, Beyond This Place (Artwork) →
  4. Marta Sanchez Trio, Perpetual Void (Intakt) →
  5. Etienne Charles, Creole Orchestra (Culture Shock) →
  6. Vijay Iyer, Compassion (ECM) →
  7. Abdullah Ibrahim, 3 (Gearbox) →
  8. Ryan Truesdell, Synthesis: The String Quartet Sessions (ArtistShare) →

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL) (unranked)

Rob Shepherd (PostGenre Media)

NEW RELEASES

  1. Wadada Leo Smith & Amina Claudine Myers, Central Park's Mosaics of Reservoir, Lake, Paths and Gardens (Red Hook) →
  2. Brandon Ross Phantom Station, Off the End (Sunnyside) →
  3. Amaro Freitas, Y'Y (Psychic Hotline) →
  4. David Leon, Bird's Eye (Pyroclastic) →
  5. The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis (Impulse!) →
  6. Mary Halvorson, Cloudward (Nonesuch) →
  7. Isaiah Collier & the Chosen Few, The Almighty (Division 81) →
  8. Kenny Garrett & Svoy, Who Killed AI? (Mack Avenue) →
  9. Alan Braufman, Infinite Love Infinite Tears (Valley of Search) →
  10. Julian Lage, Speak to Me (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. Sun Ra, At the Showcase: Live in Chicago 1976-1977 (Jazz Detective) →
  4. Sonny Rollins, Freedom Weaver: The 1959 European Tour Recordings (Resonance) →
  5. Yusef Lateef, Atlantis Lullaby: The Concert From Avignon (1972, Elemental Music) →

Stewart Smith (The Wire, We Jazz, Bandcamp Daily, The Quietus)

NEW RELEASES

  1. أحمد [Ahmed], Giant Beauty (Fönstret) →
  2. Wadada Leo Smith & Amina Claudine Myers, Central Park's Mosaics of Reservoir, Lake, Paths and Gardens (Red Hook) →
  3. Jennifer Walshe & Tony Conrad, In the Merry Month of May (Blue Chopsticks) →
  4. Kavain Wayne Space & XT, Yesyespeakersyes (Feedback Moves) →
  5. Lisa Ullén, Heirloom (Fönstret) →
  6. Fay Victor, Herbie Nichols SUNG: Life Is Funny That Way (Tao Forms) →
  7. Tomeka Reid Quartet, 3+3 (Cuneiform) →
  8. James Brandon Lewis Quartet, Transfiguration (Intakt) →
  9. Adam Rudolph & Tyshawn Sorey, Archaisms II (Meta) →
  10. Adam Goldfarb, Fire Lapping at the Creek (Infrequent Seams) →

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

  1. Charles Gayle-Milford Graves-William Parker, WEBO (1991, Black Editions Archive) →
  2. Tony Oxley, Angular Apron (1992, Corbett vs. Dempsey) →
  3. Christer Bothén Featuring Bolon Bata, Trancedance [40th Anniversary Edition] (1984, Black Truffle) →
  4. Alan Tomlinson Trio, Loft 1993 (Scatter Archive) →
  5. Louis Moholo-Moholo's Viva-La-Black (1988, Ogun) →

Jeffrey St. Clair (Counterpunch: Sound Grammar)

NEW RELEASES

  1. Vijay Iyer, Compassion (ECM) →
  2. Julian Lage, Speak to Me (Blue Note) →
  3. Wadada Leo Smith & Amina Claudine Myers, Central Park's Mosaics of Reservoir, Lake, Paths and Gardens (Red Hook) →
  4. Mary Halvorson, Cloudward (Nonesuch) →
  5. Matthew Shipp Trio, New Concepts in Piano Trio Jazz (ESP-Disk) →
  6. Ethan Iverson, Technically Acceptable (Blue Note) →
  7. The New Mastersounds, Old School (One Note) →
  8. Abdullah Ibrahim, 3 (Gearbox) →
  9. Marta Sanchez Trio, Perpetual Void (Intakt) →
  10. Charles Lloyd, The Sky Will Still Be There Tomorrow (Blue Note) →

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

  1. Sonny Rollins, Freedom Weaver: The 1959 European Tour Recordings (Resonance) →
  2. Sun Ra, At the Showcase: Live in Chicago 1976-1977 (Jazz Detective) →
  3. Cannonball Adderley, Burnin' in Bordeaux: Live in France 1969 (Elemental Music) →
  4. Chet Baker & Jack Sheldon, In Perfect Harmony: The Lost Album (1972, Jazz Detective) →
  5. Yusef Lateef, Atlantis Lullaby: The Concert From Avignon (1972, Elemental Music) →

Mark Sullivan (All About Jazz)

NEW RELEASES

  1. Charles Lloyd, The Sky Will Still Be There Tomorrow (Blue Note) →
  2. Ches Smith, Laugh Ash (Pyroclastic) →
  3. Melissa Aldana, Echoes of the Inner Prophet (Blue Note) →
  4. Julian Lage, Speak to Me (Blue Note) →
  5. Magnus Öström & Dan Berglund, e.s.t. 30 (ACT Music) →
  6. Charlie Ballantine, Love Letters & Graffiti (Green Mind) →
  7. Tomasz Stanko Quartet, September Night (2004, ECM) →
  8. Lakecia Benjamin, Phoenix Reimagined (Live) (Ropeadope) →
  9. Nubya Garcia, Odyssey (Concord Jazz) →
  10. Ben Monder, Planetarium (Sunnyside) →

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

  1. Soft Machine, Høvikkoden 1971 (Cuneiform) →
  2. Art Tatum, Jewels in the Treasure Box: The 1953 Chicago Blue Note Jazz Club Recordings (Resonance) →
  3. Cannonball Adderley, Burnin' in Bordeaux: Live in France 1969 (Elemental Music) →
  4. Cannonball Adderley, Poppin' in Paris: Live at L'Olympia 1972 (Elemental Music) →
  5. Kurt Rosenwinkel, The Next Step Band: Live at Smalls 1996 (Heartcore) →

Dave Sumner (Bandcamp, Bird Is the Worm)

NEW RELEASES

  1. Cassie Kinoshi, Gratitude (International Anthem) →
  2. Goran Kajfeš Tropiques, Tell Us (We Jazz) →
  3. Tomeka Reid Quartet, 3+3 (Cuneiform) →
  4. Carlos Bica, 11:11 (Clean Feed) →
  5. Kenny Warren, Sweet World (Out of Your Head) →
  6. Mary Halvorson, Cloudward (Nonesuch) →
  7. Rebecca Trescher Tentet, Character Pieces (self-released) →
  8. FUR [Hélène Duret-Benjamin Sauzereau-Maxime Rouayroux], Bond (BMC) →
  9. Emilio Reyna, Los Niños Perdidos (Ropeadope Sur) →
  10. Lawrence Fields, To the Surface (Rhythm 'N' Flow) →

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

Derek Taylor (Dusted)

NEW RELEASES (unranked)

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL) (unranked)

 

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