2025 was a year of great growth for our site. In addition to Brian Kiwanuka and John Chacona’s reviews, friend turned staff writer Jim Hynes, joined us in a big way. That includes his review of the Big Ears Festival, an event I have long wanted to attend, but for which the timing never seems […]
Deeming any album the “best” of a given year is inherently fraught with problems. First, there are the logistical issues. Generally, thousands of recordings are released annually. Given that a year has only 8,760 hours, it is logistically impossible to listen to everything. Often, classifications can help limit the scope. Focusing on only the “best […]
[Editor’s Note: We are excited to have Anthony Dean-Harris join us again for our year-end lists. Anthony is a longtime friend to the site, a Downbeat contributor, and the former Editor-in-Chief of Nextbop back when that site was both enjoyable and relevant. He’s also a great broadcaster. After many years at KTRU in San Antonio, […]
In pieces reviewing a year past, writers often try to find a few narratives and blanketly apply them. The problem with this approach, however. While providing some coherence, such simplification completely overlooks much of what happened that year. One can posit how, through albums like Mary Halvorson’s ‘Cloudward’ or David Murray’s ‘Francesca’, avant-garde music was […]
The albums we collectively felt were the best of 2024 (technically from Thanksgiving 2023 to Thanksgiving 2024) show a beautiful range of diverse voices. I don’t think any of us consciously chose our albums based on identifiers like race, gender, or nationality. The fact it is replete with musicians from around the globe – from […]
Below are the albums we collectively felt were the best of 2023 (technically from Thanksgiving 2022 to Thanksgiving 2023). Ties are ordered alphabetically by the leader’s last name. Following the list are honorable mentions; recordings multiple members of our small group thought worthy of merit but did not make the top ten. One trend that […]
In terms of my music writing, 2023 started off frustratingly with a few interviews that fell through and one that took place but ultimately exploded in my face. However, the year ended very strongly. During 2023, I produced several album reviews and released thirty-two interviews, with many more done but yet to be released. Many […]
My annual list is the only time each year I try to get more personal with my writing, speaking in the first person and laying out my thoughts on the year passed. While at the outset of 2022, I decided to feature more interviews on the site, I never intended to focus so overwhelmingly on […]
From the mixes of a beat scientist to a double work with a string quartet, our team’s selections for the best albums of 2022 reflect the vibrancy of the contemporary improvised music scene. Some works pull your heartstrings, others are incredibly cerebral, yet others are super funky and make you want to groove. In many […]
In some ways, 2021 can be seen as a return of music. In reality, through live-stream and various recordings, music continued to be created the year before. But 2021 felt like- to steal a subtitle of one of the albums on my top ten list- a freeing out of our constrictions. Certainly, live music returned. […]
