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19th December 2023

Awards, Jazzwise Albums of the Year 2023

by Barney Whittaker

"With the world still recovering from the traumas of the pandemic – now overshadowed by two bloody wars, not to mention the ever-worsening climate crisis – it’s little wonder there’s a deep sense of catharsis, reflection and experimentation running through Jazzwise's 2023 Albums of the Year.

Topping the New Releases chart, Joshua Redman’s collaborative album spotlights the beguiling vocals of Gabrielle Cavassa and provides a necessary and bewitching balm in troubled times. It struck a chord with many writers – as did the daring creativity of three extraordinary women musicians: Cécile McLorin Salvant, Lakecia Benjamin and the sadly-departed Jaimie Branch. Shakti’s swansong too, is a memorable example of their transcendent, unique take on Indo-jazz fusion.

It is perhaps inevitable that the newlydiscovered live recordings of Coltrane and Dolphy came out on top in our writers' Reissues/Archive chart, but the Stan Tracey Quartet’s timeless take on Dylan Thomas’ play Under Milk Wood is a deserved runner-up, while longawaited reissue sets from Sonny Clark, Woody Shaw and Dorothy Ashby are all worthy top five finishers." — Jon Newey and Mike Flynn

where are we

where are we

Joshau Redman

Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC

Available Formats: 2 Vinyl Records, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC

Read our full review of 'where we are' here...

Mélusine

Mélusine

Cécile McLorin Salvant

Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC

Available Format: Vinyl Record

Phoenix

Phoenix

Lakecia Benjamin

Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC

Read our full review of 'Phoenix' here...

Fly Or Die Fly Or Die Fly Or Die ((world War))

Fly Or Die Fly Or Die Fly Or Die ((world War))

Jaimie Branch

Available Format: CD

This Moment

This Moment

Shakti

Available Format: 2 Vinyl Records

Continuing

Continuing

Tyshawn Sorey Trio

Available Format: CD

As Good As It Gets

As Good As It Gets

Espen Eriksen Trio with Andy Sheppard

Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC

Available Format: Vinyl Record

Read our full review of 'As Good As It Gets' here...

Your Mother Should Know: Brad Mehldau Plays The Beatles

Your Mother Should Know: Brad Mehldau Plays The Beatles

Brad Mehldau

Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC

Available Format: Vinyl Record

Weejuns

Weejuns

Hedvig Mollestad Weejuns

Available Formats: 2 Vinyl Records, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC

Sphere

Sphere

Bobo Stenson Trio

Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC

Available Format: Vinyl Record

Read our full review of 'Sphere' here...

Passage

Passage

Johnathan Blake

Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC

Read our full review of 'Passage' here...

Drifting

Drifting

Mette Henriette

Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC

Refract

Refract

Blank For.ms/Jason Moran/Marcus Gilmore

Available Format: CD

Refracted

Refracted

Available Format: 2 Vinyl Records

Dahab Days

Dahab Days

Rob Luft

Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC

Available Format: Vinyl Record

Billy Valentine and the Universal Truth

Billy Valentine and the Universal Truth

Billy Valentine and the Universal Truth

Available Format: CD

Available Format: Vinyl Record

Dream Box

Dream Box

Pat Metheny

Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC

Dream Box

Dream Box

Available Format: 2 Vinyl Records

For Mahalia, With Love

For Mahalia, With Love

James Brandon Lewis / Red Lily Quintet

Available Format: 2 CDs

For Mahalia, With Love

For Mahalia, With Love

Available Format: 2 Vinyl Records

Read an in-depth interview with James Brandon Lewis here...

An Ever Changing View

An Ever Changing View

Matthew Halsall

Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC

An Ever Changing View

An Ever Changing View

Available Format: 2 Vinyl Records

An Ever Changing View

An Ever Changing View

Available Format: 2 Vinyl Records

Read our full review of 'An Ever Changing View' here...

Dream Band: Live in London

Dream Band: Live in London

Alex Hitchcock

Available Format: CD

Dream Band: Live in London

Dream Band: Live in London

Available Format: 3 Vinyl Records

Read our full review of 'Dream Band: Live in London' here...

Archive/Reissue

Evenings at The Village Gate

Evenings at The Village Gate

John Coltrane Quartet with Eric Dolphy

Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC

Available Format: 2 Vinyl Records

Read our full review of 'Evenings at the Village Gate' here...

Jazz Suite Inspired By Dylan Thomas' Under Milk Wood

Jazz Suite Inspired By Dylan Thomas' Under Milk Wood

Stan Tracey Quartet

Available Format: Vinyl Record

Read our full review of 'Under Milk Wood' here...

Blackstone Legacy

Blackstone Legacy

Woody Shaw

Available Formats: MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC

You've Got To Learn

You've Got To Learn

Nina Simone

Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC

You've Got To Learn

You've Got To Learn

Available Format: Vinyl Record

Read our full review of 'You've Got To Learn' here...

Members Don't Git Weary

Members Don't Git Weary

Max Roach

Placeholder description

Available Format: Vinyl Record

Thelonious Monk With John Coltrane

Thelonious Monk With John Coltrane

Thelonious Monk With John Coltrane

Available Format: Vinyl Record

All The Hits And More 1927-54

All The Hits And More 1927-54

Duke Ellington

Placeholder description

Available Format: 4 CDs

Largo

Largo

Brad Mehldau

Available Format: 2 Vinyl Records

Gnu High

Gnu High

Kenny Wheeler

Available Format: Vinyl Record

Pharoah

Pharoah

Pharoah Sanders

Placeholder description

Available Format: 2 CDs

Pharoah

Pharoah

Available Format: 2 Vinyl Records

Live at Fabrik Hamburg 1980

Live at Fabrik Hamburg 1980

Pharoah Sanders

Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC

Available Format: 2 Vinyl Records

Lemuria-Seascape

Lemuria-Seascape

Kenny Barron

Available Format: CD

Lemuria-Seascape (Remastered)

Lemuria-Seascape (Remastered)

Available Format: 2 Vinyl Records

Go West!: The Contemporary Records Albums

Go West!: The Contemporary Records Albums

Sonny Rollins

Available Formats: 3 CDs, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC

Available Format: 3 Vinyl Records

Barney Whittaker

Hailing from Warwickshire, Barney is a twenty-something musician with a burning passion for sounds that entice as well as grooves that swing. He undertook a BA English Language & Linguistics at King's College London, graduating in 2022. Having promoted jazz and folk artists and performers throughout the West Midlands and the Greater Manchester area, he now sings on Sundays in a church choir, plays double bass to anyone that’ll listen, and occasionally might bring out an Irish reel on the mandolin - but not without warning. He can also speak some French, if you ask nicely. Performing has dragged him from his humble beginnings in cosy local pubs to the prodigious stage of the Royal Albert Hall, and all the way back again. This is his first editorial role and he looks forward, with the help of everyone at Presto Music, to discovering the perfect beat.

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