Kendo's Top 55 Jazz Tracks for 2013

Songs that did it for me this year, on or off the show, old & new! I figured All Hallow's Eve is as good a day as any to start an annual list. New & recent releases have a red number. Happy reading! - Kendo

Note: The links, when available, are to mp3s of the song on Amazon for purchasing. Whenever possible, get your jazz legally! :)

1 - John Coltrane - "Olé" - one of a kind.
2 - Astrud Gilberto/ Stanley Turrentine - "Brazilian Tapestry" - summer contentment and South American antiquity rolled up in a pair of bell-bottoms.
3 - Stanley Turrentine - "Sister Sanctified" - delicious; so good!
4 - Gary Burton Quartet - "Ballet" - indeed!
5 - Jack McDuff - "With the Wind" - the splendor of a late '60s organ gig; love the arrangement.
6 - Kristin Korb - "Traveling Groove Merchant" - irresistible and excellent!
7 - Louis Armstrong Hot 5 - "Muskrat Ramble" - joyous and timeless!
8 - Jackie McLean - "Five Will Get You Ten" - creative into the future.
9 - Chick Corea - "Friends" - hopelessly optimistic, Chick & co at their best.
10 - LaVerne Butler - "I've Told Ev'ry Little Star" - so much fun & great oldie.
11 - Cal Tjader - "Close Your Eyes" - yow! highly romantic.
12 - Duke Ellington - "Rockin' in Rhythm" - after dinner dessert.
13 - Shelly Manne & his Men - "You And The Night And The Music" - intoxicating west coast.
14 - Stanley Turrentine - "Two for T" - a plunge into refreshing but deep waters.
15 - Jack McDuff - "Moon Rappin'" - the whole album is baaad.
16 - Blossom Dearie - "Lush Life" - you can't take your ears off this one; rarefied and delicate.
17 - Sergio Mendes & Brazil '66 - "Like A Lover" - a soothing elixir.
18 - Hampton Hawes - "Bach" - wow.
19 - Oscar Peterson - "Lulu's Back In Town" - exuberance!
20 - Marlena Shaw - "Out of This World" - Marlena's got it.
21 - Thelonious Monk - "Remember" - fascinating.
22 - Joe Newman - "No Moon At All" - marvelous swing from an era earmarked with thoughtfulness.
23 - Ross Tompkins - "Stranger in Paradise" - magnificent Borodin with 'spang-a-lang'.
24 - Michael Petrovich - "Sunrise In the Land of the Pharaohs" - delightful, a real keeper.
25 - Joe Farrell - "Penny Arcade" - love that line! funky fun and Gadd!
26 - Modern Jazz Quartet - "Concorde" - yippee!!
27 - Clare Fischer Latin Jazz Big Band - "Funquiado" - yes!
28 - Ed Reed - "It Shouldn't Happen to a Dream" - now that's how you tell a story.
29 - Keely Smith - "Lullaby Of The Leaves" - that voice!
30 - Bobby Timmons - "Do You Know the Way to San Jose" - BT really diggin' in on a pop standard.
31 - Mike Stern - "Cameroon" - high enthusiasm & uplifting melodies.
32 - La Lucha - "La Migra" - multifaceted Latin sticks with you.
33 - O Som Do Jazz - "Batucada" - fine beats and gripping new composition.
34 - Zach Bartholomew Trio - "Stop and Go" - essential new jazz, what a debut!
35 - Nedobeck Trio - "A Smo-ooo-th One" - like a smoothie.
36 - Sam River's All-Star Rivbea Orchestra - "Remember the Time" - hard groovin' tuba et al; party time!
37 - Sybil Gage - "Give Me a Pigfoot and a Bottle of Beer" - a performer's performer, love it!
38 - Herbie Hancock - "The Egg" - a grabber from the only Herbie album you really need.
39 - Grant Green - "Cease The Bombing" - yah.
40 - Michael Leasure - "Days of Grace" - exquisite.
41 - Monty Alexander - "You Are My Sunshine" - doin' it right.
42 - Brecker Brothers - "Levitate" - Randy.
43 - Bobby Watson - "Lemoncello" - unique & catchy, like jazz should be.
44 - Al Hirt - "I Love Paris" - good golly!
45 - Marc Johnson - "Summer Running" - on the money.
46 - Dave Holland - "Spirals" - oof! Eubanks & Holland + magnificent sounds :)
47 - Herbie Nichols - "Mine" - Herbie in a whimsical mood, nice!
48 - Chris Higginbottom - "Taters in the Mould" - individualistic and wonderfully modern (goes for whole album)
49 - Art Farmer - "Sandu" - love this arrangement (Dave Matthews) and Art's ideas.
50 - Doug Carn - "Little B's Poem" - have you heard this?
51 - Cal Tjader - "Bludan" - Eddie Cano tune/arrangement - it's just got it.
52 - Abbey Lincoln - "Throw It Away" - wow, right to your heart.
53 - Gary Burton - "Fleurette Africaine" - that palette of sounds + profundity of playing + Duke.
54 - Freddie Hubbard - "Too High" - incessant goodness.
55 - Esperanza Spalding - "Chim Chim Cher-ee" - taste & talent.


 
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