21st century jazz (after Nate Chinen)

At the end of his 2018 book Playing Changes: Jazz for the New Century, Nate Chinen lists 129 albums that he deems "essential." Of necessity (because I'm not on as many mailing lists as Nate), this will be shorter, and I have adhered to his practice of only one listing per leader. Not surprisingly, my list skews toward performers I've seen live, which I suppose means that it's influenced by where I live. (If I lived in Brooklyn, say, my head would probably explode from all the choices.) And yes, I skipped a few years. Will fill them in if something occurs to me later.

2001

Jason Moran  -- Black Stars (Blue Note). The venerable multi-instrumentalist Sam Rivers returns to Blue Note in the company of a fiery trio led by a pianist who came out of Houston Arts Magnet High School and learned from the stride-to-Cecil master, Jaki Byard. The revered elder and the young firebrands mesh well together.

Peter Brotzmann -- Never Too Late But Always Too Early (Eremite). The German saxophonist had a rep as a flamethrower from his 1968 classic Machine Gun to the unremitting high energy of '80s Lower Manhattan supergroup Last Exit. He sounds earthier in the company of NYC bassist William Parker and Chicago drummer Hamid Drake; although he breathes some fire here, all kinds of expression are explored in the course of this concert double CD.

The Thing with Joe McPhee -- She Knows (Crazy Wisdom, reissued on Hat Hut). The power trio of Swedish tenorman Mats Gustafsson and the Norwegian engine room of Ingebrigt Haker Flaten on bass and Paal Nilssen-Love on bass meets the estimable American trumpeter-tenorist McPhee and bonds over their mutual affinity for Ayler, Ornette, and Cherry. An easy way into his and their large discographies.

Wayne Shorter -- Footprints Live! (Verve). The most cerebral of composing tenorists had a late career resurgence with the quartet of pianist Danilo Perez, bassist John Patitucci, and drummer Brian Blade. It seemed to me like Wayne was trying to push these musicians to create on the stand, the way Miles Davis had with the quintet Wayne was part of.

2002

I got fired from my soul destroying corporate gig a couple of days after witnessing the rock show that would serve as the energy model for every show Stoogeaphilia ever played. The rest of the year was consumed by playing pickup blues gigs and attempting to find my feet writing about local music for the alt-weekly.

2003

Sam Rivers -- Celebration (Posi-Tone) After the NYC loft scene he'd championed died out, the master improviser toured with Dizzy Gillespie and landed in Florida. In the late '90s, he cut three sterling big band records -- two for RCA with all-star ensembles, one for his own label with the band he formed of moonlighting theme park musos. The core of that band was a pair of multi-instrumentalists: Doug Mathews on basses and bass clarinet and Anthony Cole on drums, tenor, and piano. As a trio with the leader's tenor, soprano, flute, and piano, they surpassed the flexibility of his great '70s bands.

Science Friction -- The Sublime And (Thirsty Ear, reissued on Screwgun). Altoist Tim Berne is a composer who specializes in lengthy compositions that wend their way through multiple themes, with lots of room for improvisation. Here he's joined by three of his most creative accomplices: Marc Ducret on guitar, Craig Taborn on keys, and Tom Rainey on drums.

2004

Charlie Haden -- Not in Our Name (Verve). In the wake of the US invasion of Iraq, the bassist-composer reconvened his Liberation Music Orchestra, this time to play a selection of skewed patriotic themes and the Bowie-Metheny-Mays composition "This Is Not America," with Bill Frisell's " Throughout" for momentarily relief and Barber's "Adagio" for all the dead yet to come. Now, with our democracy under threat, this music remains topical, goddammit.

Don Byron -- Ivey-Divey (Blue Note). Once the clarinet of choice for the Lower Manhattan weirdos, noted for his propensity to play klezmer music, Byron plays it relatively straight-ahead here on a set of Tin Pan Alley standards, originals, and a couple of Miles Davis tunes (you never heard "In a Silent Way" like this), in the company of Jason Moran and Jack DeJohnette.

Hard Cell -- Feign (Screwgun). Another Tim Berne project, basically Science Friction minus guitar. Craig Taborn owns this record.

2005-2006

I'd quit the paper and was working for an ad agency (big mistake), also holding down a Wednesday night house band gig at the Wreck Room, my favorite rawk dump of all ti-i-ime. So no time for writing reviews. (During this period I was asked to interview Dewey Redman for the public library's oral history project. I begged off. The next time I heard from the person who'd asked was when they sent me Dewey's NYT obituary.)

2007

Dennis Gonzalez/João Paulo -- Scapegrace (Clean Feed). First meeting of the deeply spiritual Dallas trumpeter and a Portuguese pianist. A record of lyrical beauty. There's a YouTube video of these two playing in the square of a Portuguese village that reminds me of a scene from Cinema Paradiso.

Fieldwork  -- Door (Pi Recordings). Third album by a co-op trio formed by pianist Vijay Iyer and saxophonist Steve Lehman, first with drummer Tyshawn Sorey -- who wrote six of 11 compositions and clearly dominated the proceedings. Even then, you could tell he was going places.

2008

Nels Cline -- Coward (Cryptogramophone). This is one where the "only one per leader" rule really hurts. As much as I love the orchestrated easy listening homage Lovers and the duo record Room with Julian Lage (some the best guitaring I ever witnessed live), this overdubbed solo record was the one that really pulled me in (after first hearing Cline on the first two Mike Watt solo albums). "Rod Poole's Gradual Ascent to Heaven" is worth the price of admission by itself.

Linda Oh -- Entry (No label). Debut from the Malaysian-Australian bassist, playing her originals and covering the Red Hot Chili Peppers (sorry!) with a trio including trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire. Oh would go on to work with Dave Douglas, Pat Metheny, Terri Lyne Carrington, Vijay Iyer, and her own bands.

2009

Paradoxical Frog -- S/T (Clean Feed). The trio of Tyshawn Sorey (drums), Kris Davis (piano), and Ingrid Laubrock (saxophone) plays experimental compositions and free improv. The Canadian pianist Davis impressed early on with her ability to play with both Cecil Taylor-like intensity and classical delicacy. Later, she'd show her fluency and facility with jazz tradition. 

2010

Sonny Rollins -- Road Shows, Vol. 2 (Doxy). Trane changed the world, Sonny lived long enough to fulfill his potential (although he'd undoubtedly disagree). Once Rollins had control of his recording scene, he quit studios for good and began releasing a series of high quality concert recordings. This one, drawn mostly from his 80th birthday concert, is particularly noteworthy for a version of "Sonnymoon for Two" that includes a guest appearance by Ornette Coleman. Both men solo, then Sonny takes one in Ornette's style. Almost as good as the "Oleo" from Our Man In Jazz that featured Ornette's familiars Cherry and Higgins.

2011

Wadada Leo Smith -- Ten Freedom Summers (Cuneiform) -- Towards the end of a long spell in academia (at Cal Arts), Anthony Braxton's one time trumpet foil began a surge of creativity that continued unabated through the decade and beyond. This mammoth (four CDs) tribute to the Civil Rights movement includes pieces for Smith's Golden Quartet (or Quintet, with a second drummer) and a chamber music ensemble, both separately and, on a handful of tracks, together. Smith's accomplishment here is stunning, and earned him a Pulitzer Prize.

2012

Craig Taborn Trio -- Chants (ECM). Taborn has fewer records as a leader than any pianist of comparable stature, but he does loads of notable work as a side musician (I bent the "one per leader" rules to include Hard Cell's Feign). This trio, with bassist Thomas Morgan and drummer Gerald Cleaver, sounds a lot different than Taborn and Cleaver do with William Parker as the more rough-and-tumble Farmers By Nature. Goes to show how much one ingredient can change a recipe. Taborn's compositions and the group dynamic here are spellbinding.

Neneh Cherry & The Thing -- The Cherry Thing (Smalltown Supersound). Dance music diva Cherry cut this album with the Scandinavian punk-jazz juggernaut, performing material that included covers of songs by MF Doom, Suicide, the Stooges (CD only), her stepfather Don Cherry, and Ornette's "What Reason Could I Give."

2014

Yells At Eels -- In Quiet Waters (For Tune). In 1999, punk rock siblings Aaron and Stefan Gonzalez coaxed their father, Dennis, out of musical retirement to form this family trio. From 2002 on, every time I saw them, they were fiercer and more astonishing, so it makes sense that this, their last recording, released on a Polish label ("where the most Dennis Gonzalez fans are," Stefan says) is probably their best (although French label Ayler released several fine ones). The iconic themes "Hymn for Julius Hemphill" and "Document for Walt Dickerson" get definitive readings here.

Zooid -- In for a Penny, In for a Pound (Pi). Henry Threadgill won a 2016 Pulitzer Prize for this scintillating chamber jazz suite, and a decade later I'm still striving to parse all its threads. Following very specific guidelines for improvisation, the musicians in Zooid sound less celebratory than those in Threadgill's precisely scored Sextett (one of the great bands of the '80s). But they (and the composer) keep me returning to this.

Max Johnson -- In the West (Clean Feed). NYC bassist Johnson shines at the helm of a quarter with Kris Davis on piano, Mike Pride on drums, and pedal steel innovator Susan Alcorn, playing three Johnson originals and an Ennio Morricone medley/homage.

Roscoe Mitchell, Sandy Ewen, Damon Smith, Weasel Walter -- A Railroad Spike Forms the Voice (Balance Point Acoustics). Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians eminence Mitchell is the biggest name here, but the real news is Ewen, a prepared guitar specialist from Houston via Brooklyn who's gone head to head with Keith Rowe and used to lead an all-woman large ensemble back in H-Town. Her trio with prolific bassist Smith and ex-Flying Luttenbacher percussionist Walter has several records out, all equally amazing. Her solo work is equally worthwhile; she approaches her instrument in a way that's unsurprising coming from a visual artist and architect, both of which she is.

2016

Jeff Parker -- The New Breed (International Anthem). A hip-hop/R&B/jazz hybrid from the Chicago Underground/Tortoise guitarist. One could easily be forgiven for thinking they were hearing a Soulquarians outtake. In a good way.

Tyshawn Sorey -- Verisimilitude (Pi). My pick for the artist of the Teens and the composer of his generation makes the piano trio sing symphonically, with Cory Smythe on piano and Chris Tordini on bass.

2018

Kris Davis, Craig Taborn -- Octopus (Pyroclastic). After duetting for a couple of tracks on Davis' 2016 album Duopoly, the two pianists recorded this album live on tour. They play together with remarkable sympathy and communication that can only come from deep listening. Hearing them play together on two successive nights (at the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas and Fort Worth's Museum of Modern Art) was the highlight of my listening year in 2022.

Wendy Eisenberg -- The Machinic Unconscious (Tzadik). A singular musical intelligence, my favorite guitarist of the moment can do a lot of things well. While I dig her several vocal albums of Gilberto-esque songcraft the most, she's also an uncommonly elegant noise improviser, as demonstrated by this trio recording with bassist Trevor Dunn (Mr. Bungle) and drummer Ches Smith.

2019

Mary Halvorson's Code Girl -- Artlessly Falling (Firehouse 12). My favorite record by the new guitar voice of the Teens, on which producer David Breskin assigned her different poetic forms to use for the lyrics to each song. Best of all, Amirtha Kidambi is joined on vocals by Brit art rocker Robert Wyatt, who returned from retirement after five years to participate.

Thumbscrew -- Never Is Enough (Cuneiform). Halvorson-as-guitarist shines on this, the sixth outing with a cooperative trio that also serves as the core of her Code Girl Band: bassist Michael Formanek and drummer Thomas Fujiwara. Here they perform a set of compositions -- six by Formanek, three each by the others -- that were galvanized in the studio by concurrent work on an Anthony Braxton project. Limited edition vinyl includes a bonus side of live tracks.

The Young Mothers -- Morose (Self Sabotage). A mostly Texan sextet, led by bassist Ingebrigt Haker Flaten (The Thing) and fronted by trumpeter-rapper Jawwaad Taylor, these guys mash up free jazz, hip-hop, and death metal and the result is pure fire. For proof, check the intense opener "Attica Black," or "Black Tar Caviar," where saxophonist Jason Jackson comes across like Archie Shepp channeling Coleman Hawkins before a black metal apocalypse sweeps away all in its path.

2020

Jaimie Branch -- Fly Or Die Live (International Anthem). A concert document of the complete suite from trumpeter-vocalist Branch's first two albums, this captures her quartet (cellist Lester St. Louis, bassist Jason Ajemian, Chicago Underground drummer Chad Taylor) in full flight. It also serves as a memorial since the leader's tragic death by drug overdose in 2022. "prayer for amerikkka pt. 1&2" and "love song" serve to remind us how much was lost.

William Parker -- Painter's Winter (AUM Fidelity). I missed out on most of NYC bassist Parker's work with Cecil Taylor and David S. Ware, and his solo discography is too dauntingly large for me to take on at this point. But of the albums I've heard, I like this trio date with trumpeter/multi-reedist Daniel Carter and drummer Hamid Drake best. The three musicians' multi-instrumental fluency gives their work here a textural variety that belies the size of their group. This barely edged out Mayan Space Station, which teams Parker with guitarist Eva Mendoza and drummer Gerald Cleaver for some Lifetime-y fusion fun. 

2021

Ingebrigt Haker Flaten -- Exit (Knarr) (Odin). Again, I've cheated on the "one entry per leader" thing, but what the hell. Haker Flaten's best known as an improviser, but his composing chops come to the fore on this episodic autobiographical suite, revisiting some of the places he's called home through the course of a peripatetic life. The octet includes altoist Mette Rasmussen, and the record has the feel of a masterpiece.

Zoh Amba -- O, Sun (Tzadik). Since she hit the Apple in late 2021, the Tennessean saxophone prodigy (24 this year) has made quite a stir, playing with and winning plaudits from veterans like William Parker, Tyshawn Sorey, Joe McPhee, Ra Kalam Bob Moses, and on this album, John Zorn. Of the several recordings that have emerged so far, this is my favorite. While less representative of what she does live, it works better as an album for me. And she's just getting started.

2022

Terri Lyne Carrington -- New Standards Vol. 1 (Candid). Carrington founded and leads the Berklee Institute for Jazz and Gender Justice, and won a Grammy for this album, released in conjunction with a sort of alternate Real Book featuring 101 lead sheets by women composers. An all-star lineup anchored by Kris Davis, Linda May Han Oh, and the leader plays selections composed by Abbey Lincoln, Carla Bley, and Marilyn Crispell, among others.

Patricia Brennan -- More Touch (Pyroclastic). Mallet percussion specialist Brennan leads a percussion heavy quartet -- trap set, hand drums, and bass, fronted by the leader's vibraphone and marimba -- through originals that blend jazz and classical influences with rhythms from the Afro-Cuban diaspora and her own native Veracruz, Mexico.

2023

Diatom Ribbons -- Live at the Village Vanguard (Pyroclastic). Pianist Kris Davis followed up the debut by this innovative group with drummer Terri Lyne Carrington, turntablist Val Jeanty, and bassist Trevor Dunn with a live tour de force that features no repeats from the first album. Instead, there are new Davis compositions (including the three part "Bird Suite"), two different takes of Wayne Shorter's "Dolores," and a cover of Ronald Shannon Jackson's "Alice in the Congo" (which she played with Craig Taborn at the Modern Art Museum in Fort Worth). Julian Lage brings a different feel to the guitar chair Nels Cline and Marc Ribot filled on the previous album. Since this was recorded, Davis been touring with Dave Holland's quartet and has a new trio of her own (a first since 2013's hideously rare Waiting for You to Grow). 

Susan Alcorn Septeto del Sur -- Canto (Relative Pitch). Alcorn's a pedal steel virtuoso who took up free improvisation after encountering Pauline Oliveros and Dave Dove in Houston during the '90s. On this album, she's joined by Chilean folkloric and experimental musicians to perform a suite dedicated to the victims of that country's brutal Pinochet dictatorship. Music with an important message for a moment when authoritarianism is on the rise globally.

2024

Ches Smith -- Laugh Ash (Pyroclastic). Drummer extraordinaire for John Zorn, Tim Berne, and Marc Ribot reaches a new level with a set of compositions that boldly synthesize influences as disparate as minimalism, Haitian Vodou, Euro classicism, electronica, and hip-hop into a sound that has the shock of something really new.

A-a-and that's as much time as I'm going to give this. It's notable to me that this list, covering 24 years, contains fewer entries than the previous one covering only 17. I blame Chinen and his "one entry per leader rule," and my early affinity for certain artists, whom I listened to in extremis while trying to figure out what all this stuff meant. (I'm still doing so in some cases -- I'm looking at you, Mr. Threadgill.) Not all of it's blues-based, not all of it swings; I'm hoping the Marsalis/Crouch/Murray conservative impulse goes the way of the Whiplash bebop-as-competitive-athletic-event school of didacticism. These days, it seems the lines between jazz, pop (meaning rock and hip-hop, to me), and experimental music (composed or improvised) are being erased, and the trend is for musicians to follow Oliver Lake's injunction to "put all my food on the same plate." I can't wait to hear what comes next.