The 17th Annual Francis Davis Jazz Poll: A Profusion of Geniuses

By Tom Hull

Discovering music that touches you is a really haphazard course of, the place intermediaries just like the 151 voters on this Ballot play a useful position. There’s a huge wealth of little-heard jazz on the market. We’re serving to you discover it.

That is the seventeenth annual version of the Francis Davis Jazz Ballot, lastly named for its founder and guiding mild. The Ballot collates top-10 lists from 151 jazz critics and journalists, and as such gives a wealth of perception into and information about this previous yr in jazz. From its founding in 2006 by way of 2021, Davis wrote an introduction and abstract for every ballot. This yr Davis requested me to run the Ballot, leaving some very large footwear for me to attempt to fill. I don’t have any nice cosmic insights into the evolution of the music or the way it matches into our altering world. Once I requested voters for feedback, they principally affirmed that jazz stays a vigorous artwork kind that makes our lives higher. True that’s, even when it appears too mundane to say.

I can provide a set of notes on issues I discovered attention-grabbing on this yr’s top results, with occasional reference to the whole outcomes and particular person ballots, which can be found in archive. In doing so, I’ve usually discovered myself referring again to previous years. That can assist you higher perceive the current, I’ve written a brief memoir of the Ballot’s founding and evolution (and my modest position in that historical past), and a information to poll winners over that historical past. And eventually, following Davis’s observe from early on, I’ve compiled an inventory of jazz notables who have passed in 2022.

If you wish to learn a complete essay on 2022: The Year in Jazz, Ken Franckling has written one I couldn’t hope to enhance on. It contains an “in memoriam” listing that I’ve cribbed from, however haven’t come near exhausting.

Additionally see:

My Poll Without Me by Francis Davis

Looking Back at the Francis Davis Poll and Memoir of a Pollwatcher

Jazz Notables We Lost in 2022

Mary Halvorson’s Amaryllis gained the seventeenth Annual Francis Davis Jazz Ballot moderately handily, overcoming a division in her votes, with competitor Tyshawn Sorey’s votes additionally break up between two albums, coming in fourth and fifth. Add Sorey’s two albums collectively and also you get extra factors (389) than Amaryllis (349.5), however add in Belladonna (75.5) — a second Halvorson album launched on the identical day, a pairing that many citizens thought ought to have been handled as one — and Halvorson once more comes out forward. She was additionally the prime mover within the trio Thumbscrew (with Michael Formanek and Tomas Fujiwara), which completed 42, and she or he performed on a number of different albums that completed within the prime 50: Myra Melford’s For the Love of Hearth and Water (7), Tomas Fujiwara’s March (32), Nate Wooley’s Historical Songs of Burlap Heroes (35), and Trevor Dunn’s Séances (39), in addition to a pair extra that didn’t make the highest 50.

Halvorson is the third lady (after Maria Schneider and Kris Davis) to prime the ballot; additionally the primary guitarist. However she’s contended many occasions earlier than: together with her work with Thumbscrew, she now has 17 albums within the prime 50, together with three earlier top-five showings: Saturn Sings (3 in 2010), Away With You (4 in 2016), and Artlessly Falling (4 in 2020). No different guitarist has come near her document: Nels Cline scored fourth in 2006 and seventh in 2016; Invoice Frisell has two ninth locations (one a duet with Jim Corridor); Jeff Parker has a tenth in 2020. What separates her from the group has much less to do with virtuosity, though she actually has her moments, than along with her shocking compositions and preparations, the place her guitar is only one component amongst many she retains in fixed movement. I believe Amaryllis obtained most critics’ nod this time as a result of extra colourful mixture of horns, in comparison with Belladonna‘s a lot starker guitar-plus-string-quartet, however some critics most popular the latter’s format (citing extra distinguished guitar).

Tyshawn Sorey is one other sensible musician — each he and Halvorson are latest recipients of MacArthur “genius” grants — who usually leads along with his compositions: he’s principally a drummer, however his first charting album (That/Not, 32 in 2007) had lengthy stretches of him enjoying piano. He has positioned 11 albums within the prime 50, plus two extra on credit score strains headed by Kris Davis and Vijay Iyer. However his information this yr featured jazz requirements, with Aaron Diehl on piano and Matt Brewer on bass, plus Greg Osby (alto sax) on the latter. I seen a time break up there, with early voters favoring Mesmerism — at one level early within the counting tied with Amaryllis — and The Off-Off Broadway Information to Synergism closing quick over the ultimate weekend: a distinction presumably attributable to July 8 vs. October 28 launch dates. The latter was simply my favourite album of the yr, however I had it lower than every week earlier than I voted. The deadline for ballots this yr was December 12, which places quite a lot of stress on voters to hurry judgments on late albums, and strains them to recollect early ones. (For instance, Fred Hersch, who has positioned information as excessive as 11 and 12, launched a superb album in January that solely garnered three votes this yr, touchdown at 97.)

Between Halvorson and Sorey, two youthful performers slipped in: Immanuel Wilkins’s The seventh Hand, and Cécile McLorin Salvant’s Ghost Music. Wilkins had gained the Debut class in 2020, whereas ending 11 general. Salvant has dominated the Vocal class ever since her WomanChild appeared in 2013 (putting 4 general — the best New Releases placement for a Vocal album till this yr, the one shut competitors being Cassandra Wilson at 6 in 2008). Salvant additionally simply gained the Vocal class, for the fifth time.

The highest 10 was rounded out with new information from JD Allen (his eighth, and highest, top-50 end), Myra Melford (her sixth), Terri Lyne Carrington (her fourth), Ches Smith (down a pair slots from his 2021 Path of Seven Colours), and Wadada Leo Smith (a five-CD field, whereas his seven-CD String Quartets Nos. 1-12 tied at 58, and he obtained votes for 3 extra albums means down the listing; he has 16 top-50 finishes, together with a 5 in 2008, a 3 in 2012, a 2 in 2014, one other 2 in 2016, and a 5 in 2021).

Additional down the listing, be aware that:

• Matthew Shipp positioned 11 this yr. He has 13 top-50 finishes, the best at 6 for 2011’s The Artwork of the Improviser.
• Makaya McCraven’s In These Occasions got here in at 13. Most up-to-date years have a pair albums that do nicely right here and in addition present up in comparatively experimental non-jazz lists, suggesting crossover with out compromise. Jeff Parker (28), Moor Mom (30), and presumably Janel Leppin (46) comply with this sample, every in its personal means. Word that Moor Mom (Camae Ayewa), who began out as a poet/rapper, obtained 10 votes general, however solely two in Vocal.
• Charles Lloyd, who has eight top-10 finishes (greatest 3 in 2013), break up this yr’s effort into three separate trio albums, the highest one ending 14. Add them collectively — as one voter argued we should always, citing a field set reissue that got here out later — and he might have slipped into eighth place.
• Final yr’s top-2 Debuts produced sophomore albums, with Patricia Brennan at 16, and Samara Pleasure at 15.
• This yr’s Latin winner, Miguel Zenón’s Música de las Américas, was at 20, though the runner up in Latin, David Virelles’s Nuna, positioned increased general, at 17. We determine “Latin” is a subjective class, so variances like this aren’t uncommon. Zenón had two albums in 2021. His Ornette Coleman tribute did higher in New Releases, however his El Arte Del Bolero gained the Latin class. That is Zenón’s sixth win in Latin, and tenth top-50 end (highest 4 in 2011).
• At 19, Marta Sanchez was the best ranked European (Spanish) on a European (British) label, however she’s lengthy been primarily based in New York. Norwegian guitarist Jakob Bro, on German label ECM, got here in at 33, however he shared prime billing with Joe Lovano, and ECM has lengthy been distributed within the US by Common, making it virtually a significant label. In any other case, European labels solely cracked the highest 50 with American artists: Wadada Leo Smith (10, TUM); Andrew Cyrille (12, TUM); David Murray (24, Intakt); Keith Jarrett (26, ECM); James Brandon Lewis (37, Intakt); Avram Fefer (38, Clear Feed). Partly this may be attributed to the US-centric voting bloc (nonetheless lower than 10 p.c European), and partly as a result of hovering postage prices have in the reduction of on European labels selling within the US. Over the course of the ballot, Intakt has positioned 19 information within the prime 50; Clear Feed and TUM 15 every; and ECM a whopping 75.
• At 22, South African pianist Ndudzo Makhathini wasn’t the best positioned African artist ever — that was Nigerian guitarist Lionel Loueke (12 in 2008). Each have been on Blue Word.
• At 31, Japanese pianist Satoko Fujii tied her highest earlier rank (in 2018, for Solo). She is likely one of the world’s most formidable pianists, and Hyaku was meant to focus on her profession strengths on the event of her a hundredth album. That she was acknowledged in any respect might be resulting from her American publicist. I’ve usually been astonished by latest reissues of Japanese avant-jazz albums courting again to the early Seventies (notably on NoBusiness and BBE).
• At 39, Trevor Dunn’s Séances is a main instance of what looks like a pattern: using string quartets. I’ve already talked about Halvorson and Smith, and I’m positive there are one other half-dozen examples down the listing and out past. Jazz has entered academia and included, reinvigorated and/or supplanted classical music there, which has led to a deal with composing and arranging for beforehand classical teams. The outcomes are rather more subtle than the clumsy “third stream” efforts of the Fifties. As one who grew up phobic to classical music within the Fifties — it was maybe the primary typical knowledge I rebelled towards — I are typically cautious, however even I’m typically dazzled.
• Main labels did sometimes nicely this yr (even perhaps higher than traditional), with Blue Word putting seven information within the prime 50, and Nonesuch (Warners) 5. Common (Verve/Impulse/Decca), nonetheless, was down to 1 (or three if you happen to depend ECM).
• Pi Information positioned 4 of its 5 releases this yr within the prime 50, at 5 (Sorey), 17 (Virelles), 27 (Steve Lehman), and 43 (Miles Okazaki). Pyroclastic is one other small label with a really excessive batting common: 9 (Ches Smith), 16 (Patricia Brennan), 35 (Nate Wooley), and 39 (Trevor Dunn).
• As a rule of thumb, any time you see an obscure label on the listing, there’s a reasonably main impartial publicist working the album. (For instance, Tyshawn Sorey’s 4th place Mesmerism, on Yeros7 Music, was publicized by Totally Altered Media.) In any other case, it’s almost inconceivable for any crucial mass of reviewers to listen to of, a lot much less hear. I’m plugged in sufficient to acknowledge most of those (one thing I wrote about last year), however two information stand out this yr as a result of I’m not conscious of their labels doing any publicity: at 28, Jeff Parker’s Mondays on the Enfield Tennis Academy (Eremite), and at 54, Zoh Amba’s Debut-winning O, Solar (Tzadik). I’m most likely lacking one thing there, however no matter it’s missed me.
• In case you care to depend, 4 of the highest 10 locations (and 9 of 21) have been led by girls. Not fairly gender equality, however routine sufficient that Carrington’s New Requirements by all-women composers appeared virtually too straightforward. You may also discover that 10 of the highest 13 albums have been led by African People. The shares skinny out a bit additional down the listing, partly resulting from a block of Latin People at 17-18-20 (David Virelles from Cuba, Melissa Aldana from Chile, and Miguel Zenón from Puerto Rico; I’m not counting 19 Marta Sanchez from Spain). It’s at all times silly to generalize, besides I’ll be aware that racism has at all times been inimical to the spirit and lore of jazz, and that jazz is an antidote to the epidemic of bigotry and stupidity throughout us.

I might develop this bullet listing many occasions over by going farther down the listing, particularly selecting out information that deserve consideration. The tendency to view the highest 50 (or prime 10) as a horse race or magnificence contest misses that a lot of the worth of the Ballot resides in its depth and breadth: the total New Releases desk runs to 510 albums, a little bit greater than three distinctive albums per voter. As an illustration, my ballot comprises 4 albums that didn’t make the highest 50: Dave Rempis’s Bennu (Aerophonic), Omri Ziegele’s That Hat (Intakt), Rodrigo Amado’s Refraction Solo, and Dave Sewelson’s Easy Free Jazz (Mahakala Music). Of those, solely Amado — who by my accounting has extra A-list albums than every other saxophonist within the twenty first century, however being Portuguese has by no means made the Ballot’s prime 50 — obtained a single different vote (in addition to votes for 2 extra albums, each A- in my e-book).

Davis normally ends his essay with a rundown of his personal poll, and an additional listing of honorable mentions, as a result of he realizes as a lot as anybody that 10 isn’t sufficient. I gained’t trouble unpacking my poll right here, as a result of I’ve a separate file that goes means past my prime 10, together with my full “A-list” (73 albums and more likely to develop), plus all the opposite new jazz albums I’ve listened to previously yr (870 albums in all).

However we should always transfer on to the opposite classes, chief amongst which is the one Francis Davis named Rara Avis. The rule is that albums which comprise any music greater than 10 years outdated must be thought-about right here, as an alternative of below New Releases. However the impact is to group collectively a number of various things:

• Straight reissues of outdated (and infrequently basic) albums: principally nowadays that refers to “luxurious vinyl” reissues from Blue Word or Common, though the revival of the Candid label netted votes for six titles.
• Compilations of both well-known (together with the large Mosaic containers, or Craft’s Ornette Coleman field) or obscure recordings (just like the Pyramids’ AOMAWA).
• Repackaged bootlegs, some with extra materials (just like the successful Cecil Taylor City Corridor live performance), some extra official (just like the Miles Davis Bootleg Sequence), some simply higher organized (like Albert Ayler’s Fondation Maeght Recordings).
• Beforehand unreleased vault materials, extra sometimes from legendary artists (Charles Mingus’s The Misplaced Album was this yr’s main instance, adopted by two two-CD units of Ahmad Jamal, and Elvin Jones’s Revival), however presumably additionally from a more recent artist’s backlog (like William Parker’s Common Tonality).

In most up-to-date years, the class has been gained by a vault discover, particularly if it got here from John Coltrane or Thelonious Monk. Mingus had the within monitor this yr, and truly obtained essentially the most votes, however was outpointed by Cecil Taylor’s The Full, Legendary, Stay Return Live performance, along with his 1973 group at full blast. Some voters needed to mix the Jamal units, not least as a result of there may be little purpose to choose one over the opposite, however even if you happen to add the 2 votes collectively, they’d have are available third.

Past the highest 9, which every have 12 or extra votes (8 p.c of the voters), the listing scatters fairly broadly, ending up with 109 separate albums. That is the place the voters divide into camps favoring one or one other of the 4 divisions above. Definitely, that John Coltrane’s Crescent solely obtained two votes isn’t any reflection on the music. It has rather more to do with whether or not audiophile vinyl of a basic issues extra to you than, nicely, to select beforehand unreleased examples with the identical variety of votes: a Pepper Adams reside tape from 1972, a shelved Joyce Moreno album from 1977, or a Brian Blade bootleg from 2000.

I’ve referred to the particular classes in passing above, however to recap briefly:

• In Debut, we at the very least have a strict definition of what’s eligible and what isn’t, though as soon as once more it was sorely tried. Zoh Amba, an avant tenor saxophonist from Tennessee who out of the blue confirmed up in all places, gained a squeaker over Argentine (however New York–primarily based) saxophonist Julieta Eugenio and Wabanaki (Canadian) bassist Mali Obomsawin. All three examined the principles: Obomsawin had beforehand appeared on a gaggle album, however I dismissed that. Eugenio had beforehand launched a download-only solo album, however I figured it was brief sufficient to be an EP. And whereas O, Solar was Amba’s correct debut, I figured that as she was clearly a Debut artist, I ought to permit votes for her different albums — particularly given how poorly distributed and promoted her labels have been (Tzadik, 577, and Mahakala Music — I nonetheless haven’t heard the one on 577). Add them collectively and her margin would have been 19-11-11, so not such a squeaker in any case. Whereas many citizens struggled to determine Debut albums (36 left the class clean), the listing nonetheless runs to 57 albums.
• In Latin, Miguel Zenón additionally gained in a landslide, 41-8 over David Virelles’s Nuna, with Danilo Pérez and Dafnis Prieto tied for third. Once more, the alternatives listed here are subjective, and the underside of the listing exhibits proof of each scatter and confusion (39 albums complete).
• In Vocal, Cécile McLorin Salvant gained even greater, 53-12, over Samara Pleasure, a margin that appears extra crushing than their respective finishes in New Releases (third to fifteenth). Catherine Russell got here in a distant third, adopted by two Latinas: Roxana Amed and Claudia Acuña. Past that, you get scatter, but additionally unease amongst many citizens at feeling the necessity to fill in a poll line for one thing that didn’t significantly curiosity them (51 albums complete). I’m one instance: I wound up voting for Gerry Hemingway’s poignant Afterlife, despite the fact that it’s barely jazz.

I pay little or no consideration the commerce facet of jazz (or any music), so it could be that the pandemic has price musicians some huge cash, but it surely’s arduous to say the artwork has suffered in any respect. Early on it stimulated a bout of introspection, then the innovation of long-distance collaboration. And it has, if something, accelerated product launch schedules — I’ve seen information seem a month after recording as an alternative of the standard yr, and on-line can occur even quicker. So no matter else could go improper with the world, we will be positive we gained’t run wanting music.

Discovering music that touches you is a really haphazard course of, the place intermediaries just like the 151 voters on this Ballot play a useful position. There’s a huge wealth of little-heard jazz on the market. We’re serving to you discover it.

The next are the highest outcomes for this yr’s Ballot. The outcomes have been compiled from 151 ballots. The deadline for the ballots was December 12, 2022.

New Albums

Eligible albums comprise beforehand unreleased music recorded not more than 10 years in the past. Voters picked 10 information, given 10 factors for 1st place, 9 for 2nd, and so on., all the way down to 1 for tenth, or 5.5 factors every for unranked lists.

1. Mary Halvorson, Amaryllis (Nonesuch) 5 (48)
2. Immanuel Wilkins, The seventh Hand (Blue Word) 220 (29)
3. Cécile McLorin Salvant, Ghost Music (Nonesuch) 5 (30)
4. Tyshawn Sorey Trio, Mesmerism (Yeros7 Music) 209 (34)
5. Tyshawn Sorey Trio + 1 With Greg Osby, The Off-Off Broadway Information to Synergism (Pi) 180 (27)
6. JD Allen, Americana Vol. 2 (Savant) 159 (22)
7. Myra Melford’s Hearth and Water Quintet, For the Love of Hearth and Water (RogueArt) 154 (24)
8. Terri Lyne Carrington, New Requirements Vol. 1 (Candid) 127 (22)
9. Ches Smith, Interpret It Properly (Pyroclastic) 126 (21)
10. Wadada Leo Smith, The Emerald Duets (TUM) 122 (19)
11. Matthew Shipp Trio, World Assemble (ESP-Disk’) 115 (20)
12. Andrew Cyrille-William Parker-Enrico Rava, 2 Blues for Cecil (TUM) 5 (19)
13. Makaya McCraven, In These Occasions (Worldwide Anthem) 109 (17)
14. Charles Lloyd, Trios: Chapel (Blue Word) 5 (18)
15. Samara Pleasure, Linger Awhile (Verve) 98 (21)
16. Patricia Brennan, Extra Contact (Pyroclastic) 5 (19)
17. David Virelles, Nuna (Pi) 5 (15)
18. Melissa Aldana, 12 Stars (Blue Word) 82 (16)
19. Marta Sanchez, SAAM (Spanish American Artwork Museum) (Whirlwind) 5 (14)
20. Miguel Zenón, Música de Las Américas (Miel Music) 77 (13)
21. Mary Halvorson, Belladonna (Nonesuch) 5 (10)
22. Nduduzo Makhathini, Within the Spirit of Ntu (Blue Word) 71 (14)
23. Solar Ra Arkestra Directed by Marshall Allen, Dwelling Sky (Omni Sound) 70 (11)
24. David Murray-Brad Jones-Hamid Drake Courageous New World Trio, Seriana Promethea (Intakt) 67 (13)
25. Invoice Frisell, 4 (Blue Word) 66 (11)
26. Keith Jarrett, Bordeaux Live performance (ECM) 58 (11)
27. Steve Lehman & Sélébéyone, Xaybu: The Unseen (Pi) 58 (10)
28. Jeff Parker ETA IVtet, Mondays on the Enfield Tennis Academy (Eremite) 5 (9)
29. Jacob Garchik, Meeting (Yestereve) 57 (12)
30. Moor Mom, Jazz Codes (Anti-) 56 (10)
31. Satoko Fujii, Hyaku: One Hundred Goals (Libra) 5 (10)
32. Tomas Fujiwara’s Triple Double, March (Firehouse 12) 55 (11)
33. Jakob Bro & Joe Lovano, As soon as Across the Room: A Tribute to Paul Motian (ECM) 55 (8)
34. Jon Irabagon, Rising Solar (Irabbagast) 54 (6)
35. Columbia Icefield [Nate Wooley], Historical Songs of Burlap Heroes (Pyroclastic) 52 (8)
36. Joshua Redman-Brad Mehldau-Christian McBride-Brian Blade, Lengthy Gone (Nonesuch) 5 (10)
37. James Brandon Lewis Quartet, MSM Molecular Systematic Music Stay (Intakt) 50 (8)
38. Avram Fefer Quartet, Juba Lee (Clear Feed) 49 (9)
39. Trevor Dunn Trio-Convulsant Avec Folie à Quatre, Séances (Pyroclastic) 49 (8)
40. Wayne Shorter-Terri Lyne Carrington-Leo Genovese-Esperanza Spalding, Stay on the Detroit Jazz Pageant (Candid) 49 (8)
41. Joel Ross, The Parable of the Poet (Blue Word) 5 (9)
42. Thumbscrew, Multicolored Midnight (Cuneiform) 5 (9)
43. Miles Okazaki, Thisness (Pi) 39 (9)
44. Dafnis Prieto That includes Luciana Souza, Cantar (Dafnison) 38 (7)
45. Billy Drummond and Freedom of Concepts, Valse Sinistre (Cellar) 38 (6)
46. Janel Leppin, Ensemble Volcanic Ash (Cuneiform) 37 (6)
47. Kirk Knuffke Trio, Gravity With out Airs (Tao Kinds) 36 (6)
48. Al Foster, Reflections (Smoke Periods) 5 (7)
49. Marquis Hill, New Gospel Revisited (Version) 35 (7)
50. Julian Lage, View With a Room (Blue Word) 34 (8)

Whole albums receiving votes: 510. Full listing is here.

Rara Avis (Reissues/Archival)

Eligible albums comprise reissued materials and/or beforehand unreleased music that was recorded 10 or extra years in the past. Voters picked three information, given 3 factors for 1st place, 2 for 2nd, 1 for third, or 2 factors every for unranked lists.

1. Cecil Taylor, The Full, Legendary, Stay Return Live performance: The City Corridor, NYC November 4, 1973 (Oblivion) 90 (38)
2. Charles Mingus, The Misplaced Album: From Ronnie Scott’s (1972, Resonance) 86 (44)
3. Albert Ayler, Revelations: The Full ORTF 1970 Fondation Maeght Recordings (Elemental Music) 70 (30)
4. William Parker, Common Tonality (2002, Centering/AUM Constancy) 49 (22)
5. Ahmad Jamal, Emerald Metropolis Nights: Stay on the Penthouse 1963-1964 (Jazz Detective/Elemental) 47 (25)
6. Elvin Jones, Revival: Stay at Pookie’s Pub (1967, Blue Word) 41 (21)
7. Ahmad Jamal, Emerald Metropolis Nights: Stay on the Penthouse 1965-1966 (Jazz Detective/Elemental) 36 (17)
8. Miles Davis, That’s What Occurred [The Bootleg Series, Vol. 7: 1982-1985] (Columbia/Legacy) 27 (12)
9. Mal Waldron, Looking out in Grenoble: The 1978 Solo Piano Live performance (Tompkins Sq.) 25 (13)
10. Lennie Tristano, Private Recordings, 1946-1970 (Mosaic) 18 (8)
11. Peter Brötzmann-Milford Graves-William Parker, Historic Music Previous Tense Future (2002, Black Editions) 13 (8)
12. Invoice Evans, Internal Spirit: The 1979 Live performance on the Teatro Normal San Martín, Buenos Aires (Resonance) 13 (7)
13. Horace Tapscott Quintet, The Quintet (1969, Mr. Bongo) 13 (7)
14. Ornette Coleman, Genesis of Genius: The Modern Albums (1958-59, Craft) 13 (6)
15. Dick Hyman, One Step to Chicago (1992, Rivermont) 12 (5)
16. The Pyramids, AOMAWA: The Seventies Recordings (Strut) 12 (5)
17. Donald Byrd, Stay: Cookin’ With Blue Word at Montreux (1973, Blue Word) 11 (6)
18. Peter Brötzmann-Fred van Hove-Han Bennink, Jazz in Der Kammer Nr. 71: Deutsches Theater/Berlin/GDR/04/11/1974 (Trost) 11 (5)
19. Invoice Evans, Morning Glory: The 1973 Live performance on the Teatro Gran Rex, Buenos Aires (Resonance) 11 (5)
20. Frank Kimbrough, 2003-2006: Lullabluebye/Play (Palmetto) 10 (6)

Whole albums receiving votes: 109. Full listing is here.

Debuts

A Debut is the primary album an artist launched below their title, together with the primary title for albums with a number of credit. Teams are eligible provided that the entire important members are eligible. Voters have been requested to select one album.

1. Zoh Amba, O, Solar (Tzadik) 12
2. Julieta Eugenio, Bounce (Greenleaf Music) 11
3. Mali Obomsawin, Candy Tooth (Out of Your Head) 11
4. Domi & JD Beck, Not Tight (Apeshit/Blue Word) 6
5. Ethan Philion, Meditations on Mingus (Sunnyside) 6
6. Zoh Amba, Bhakti (Mahakala Music) 5 *
7. Timothy Norton, Visions of Phaedrus (Reality Revolution) 4
8. Miha Gantar, Introducing (Clear Feed) 3
9. Julius Rodriguez, Let Sound Inform All (Verve) 3
10. Rick Rosato, Homage (self-released) 3
11. Tom Skinner, Voices of Bishara (Brownswood/Worldwide Anthem/Nonesuch) 3

* As a result of Zoh Amba was eligible as nicely for Debut, we allowed all of her information to obtain votes this yr. O, Solar was her correct debut. Her O Life, O Gentle Vol. 1 (577) additionally obtained two votes, giving her a complete of 19.

Whole albums receiving votes: 57. Full listing is here.

Latin

Voters have been requested to select one album. The class definition is as much as the voter.

1. Miguel Zenón, Música De Las Américas (Miel Music) 41
2. David Virelles, Nuna (Pi) 8
3. Danilo Pérez, Crisálida (Mack Avenue) 4
4. Dafnis Prieto That includes Luciana Souza, Cantar (Dafnison) 4
5. Roxana Amed, Unánime (Sony Music Latin) 3
6. Martin Bejerano, #Cubanamerican (Figgland) 3
7. Conrad Herwig, The Latin Facet of Mingus (Savant) 3
8. Flora Purim, If You Will (Strut) 3
9. Spanish Harlem Orchestra, Imágenes Latinas (Ovation) 3

Whole albums receiving votes: 39. Full listing is here.

Vocals

Voters have been requested to select one album. The class definition is as much as the voter.

1. Cécile McLorin Salvant, Ghost Music (Nonesuch) 53
2. Samara Pleasure, Linger Awhile (Verve) 12
3. Catherine Russell, Ship for Me (Dot Time) 5
4. Roxana Amed, Unánime (Sony Music Latin) 4
5. Claudia Acuña, Duo (Ropeadope) 3

Whole albums receiving votes: 51. Full listing is here.

Voters
We’d prefer to thank the 151 critics and journalists who voted: Paul Acquaro, David R. Adler, Scott Albin, Shannon Ali, Larry Appelbaum, Mirian Arbalejo, Hrayr Attarian, Chris Barton, Andy Beta, Dan Bilawsky, Larry Birnbaum, Larry Blumenfeld, Philip Sales space, Mike Borella, Shaun Brady, Stuart Broomer, Invoice Brownlee, Robert Bush, Dan Buskirk, Dave Cantor, John Chacona, Nate Chinen, Brad Cohan, Troy Collins, Thomas Conrad, J.D. Considine, Mark Corroto, Michael Coyle, Raul da Gama, Francis Davis, Anthony Dean-Harris, Steve Greenback, Laurence Donohue-Greene, Troy Dostert, Alain Drouot, Ken Dryden, John Ephland, Lee Rice Epstein, Steve Feeney, Ken Franckling, Phil Freeman, Filipe Freitas, Pat Frisco, Jon Garelick, Ana Gavrilovska, Richard Gehr, Andrew Gilbert, Kurt Gottschalk, David A. Graham, Steve Greenlee, George Grella, Scott Gutterman, James Hale, Eyal Hareuveni, Chris Heim, Tad Hendrickson, Andrey Henkin, Geoffrey Himes, Rob Hoff, Eugene Holley Jr., Larry Hollis, Mark Holston, Tom Hull, Peter Hum, Jim Hynes, Robert Iannapollo, Willard Jenkins, David Brent Johnson, Martin Johnson, T.R. Johnson, Sanford Josephson, Ammar Kalia, Richard B. Kamins, George Kanzler, Fred Kaplan, Yoshi Kato, Brian Kiwanuka, Elzy Kolb, Stuart Kremsky, David Kunian, Artwork Lange, Josh Langhoff, Will Layman, Devin Leonard, Suzanne Lorge, Phillip Lutz, Kevin Lynch, Jim Macnie, Howard Mandel, Peter Margasak, Dan McClenaghan, Paul Medrano, Ken Micallef, Allen Michie, Milo Miles, Roz Milner, Ralph A. Miriello, Rick Mitchell, Chris Monsen, John Frederick Moore, Allen Morrison, Brian Morton, Russ Musto, Stuart Nicholson, Tim Niland, Ysi Ortega, Dan Ouellette, Phil Overeem, Annie Parnell, Terry Perkins, Sergio Piccirilli, John Pietaro, Dan Polletta, Peter Quinn, Derk Richardson, Britt Robson, Lloyd Sachs, Bret Saunders, Wealthy Scheinin, Ronald Schepper, Sarah Schmidt, Gene Seymour, Mike Shanley, John Sharpe, Adam Shatz, Rob Shepherd, Hank Shteamer, Jackson Sinnenberg, Slim, Stewart Smith, Mark Stryker, Mark Sullivan, Dave Sumner, John Szwed, Jeff Tamarkin, Derek Taylor, Neil Tesser, Michael Toland, Michael Ullman, Ludwig vanTrikt, Seth Colter Partitions, Ken Waxman, Bob Weinberg, Jason Weiss, Ken Weiss, Michael J. West, Richard Williams, Jerome Wilson, Josef Woodard, Ron Wynn, Scott Yanow.

You’ll be able to see their ballots in teams of 20 beginning here, or you’ll be able to lookup particular person voters by way of this index. Word that some ballots additionally comprise hyperlinks to longer end-of-year items by the voter.