{"id":5345,"date":"2022-12-14T10:44:57","date_gmt":"2022-12-14T16:44:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/?p=5345"},"modified":"2022-12-21T15:17:53","modified_gmt":"2022-12-21T21:17:53","slug":"postgenres-best-of-2022","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/postgenres-best-of-2022\/","title":{"rendered":"PostGenre\u2019s Best of 2022"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>From the mixes of a beat scientist to a double work with a string quartet, our team&#8217;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 cases, chosen albums do all three. In our selections, you can also witness the diversity of methods in which an artist can express themselves, whether by intimate solo performance, communal &#8220;musical coding,&#8221; or the intense collaboration of a duo. Here are the albums we collectively felt were the best releases of 2022 (or, really, from Thanksgiving 2021 to Thanksgiving 2022 if you want to be a stickler). Ties are ordered alphabetically by the leader\u2019s last name. \u2014 <em>Rob Shepherd<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>10. Makaya McCraven,&nbsp; <em>In These Times <\/em>(International Anthem\/Nonesuch\/XL)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"435\" style=\"position: relative; display: block; width: 560px; height: 435px;\" src=\"\/\/bandcamp.com\/VideoEmbed?track=2623770861&#038;size=venti&#038;bgcol=ffffff&#038;linkcol=0687f5\" allowtransparency=\"true\" frameborder=\"0\" mozallowfullscreen='1' webkitallowfullscreen='1' allowfullscreen='1'><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Makaya McCraven makes vibes. He always has. It&#8217;s almost thematic in his work how much of the atmosphere of what he&#8217;s making is part of the work itself. He is a producer of a specific quality of air. While he may have in the midst of so many other projects of the last five years &#8211; reworking Gil Scott-Heron, finding new life to live sets &#8211; somehow lost focus and intention to make a true follow-up to the landmark 2015 album,&nbsp;<em>In The Moment<\/em>, he found it yet again in order to create&nbsp;<em>In These Times:&nbsp;<\/em>a clear statement of where he is and production, in community, in instrumentation, and the atmosphere that he knows how to craft so well. \u2014 <em>Anthony Dean-Harris <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>In These Times<\/em> is available in our <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3FpamDb\">Amazon affiliate store.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>8 (tie). Billy Mohler, <\/strong><strong><em>Anatomy<\/em><\/strong><strong> (CONTAGIOUS)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"100%\" height=\"120\" style=\"position: relative; display: block; width: 100%; height: 120px;\" src=\"\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/v=2\/track=1874642758\/album=3901558821\/size=large\/bgcol=ffffff\/linkcol=0687f5\/tracklist=false\/artwork=small\/\" allowtransparency=\"true\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There&#8217;s nothing I heard this year that has given me a more visual reaction than Billy Mohler&#8217;s&nbsp;<em>Anatomy<\/em>. What Nate Wood, Chris Speed, and Shane Endsley do alongside Mohler as a quartet is gripping, exciting, and the kind of music that sticks with you for lengthy stretches. It made my list from the moment I first heard it. \u2014 <em>Anthony Dean-Harris <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Anatomy<\/em> is available in our <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3BvDYxT\">Amazon affiliate store.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>8 (tie). Jamaaladeen Tacuma &amp; Mary Halvorson, <em>Strings &amp; Things<\/em> (self-release)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"100%\" height=\"120\" style=\"position: relative; display: block; width: 100%; height: 120px;\" src=\"\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/v=2\/track=3908291389\/album=1617269678\/size=large\/bgcol=ffffff\/linkcol=0687f5\/tracklist=false\/artwork=small\/\" allowtransparency=\"true\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Only barely into her forties, Mary Halvorson has already established herself among the most compelling voices in Twenty-first Century creative music. Often her brightest musical moments come in the smallest of groups, as they reveal her prowess as a spontaneous composer in its starkest light. Stripping away the large collective often exposes her ideas at their rawest and provides a deeper insight into her mind. Her lone solo record thus far, <em>Meltframe<\/em> (Firehouse 12, 2015), and pairings with Bill Frisell, Sylvie Courvoisier, and John Dieterich all add credence to this perspective. <em>Strings &amp; Things <\/em>builds upon this to provide her most revealing duo album yet. In no small part, its power comes from her choice of collaborative partner.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Not long ago, Guitar Player stated that Jamaaladeen Tacuma was becoming \u201cregarded as one of the most distinctive forces on bass guitar to emerge in the past decade.\u201d While any recognition of the underappreciated bassist is welcome, they are also several years too late. Since the late 1970s- across his Harmolodic funk work with Ornette, his Grammavision recordings, and the Free Form Funky Freqs- Tacuma has become, arguably, the most consequential bassist since Jaco.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Strings<\/em> is an entrancing dialogue between two master artists. Neither sacrifice, yet both find common ground. The best moments come when they go completely out in left field, as on \u201cAnesthetic Cloud,\u201d where a deep P-Funkish groove meets plinky and skitterish guitar, or on \u201cAnother Day (Night),\u201d where a comforting folkish anthem turns quickly disorienting.\u2014 <em>Rob Shepherd<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Strings &amp; Things is available <a href=\"https:\/\/jamaaladeentacuma.bandcamp.com\/album\/jamaaladeen-tacuma-mary-halvorson-strings-things\">on Bandcamp.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>7. C\u00e9cile McLorin Salvant, <em>Ghost Song<\/em> (Nonesuch)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"100%\" height=\"120\" style=\"position: relative; display: block; width: 100%; height: 120px;\" src=\"\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/v=2\/album=2890145462\/size=large\/bgcol=ffffff\/linkcol=0687f5\/tracklist=false\/artwork=small\/\" allowtransparency=\"true\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If there were a category for the bravest recording of 2022, Cecile McLorin Salvant\u2019s <em>Ghost Song<\/em> would win in a landslide. An old-fashioned concept album on the nature of grief, desire, attachment, and obsession, <em>Ghost Song <\/em>is a moonshot that draws on traditional Irish sean-n\u00f3s singing, Weimar-era agitprop, soothing neo-soul balladry, and Tin-Pan-Alley archaeology. The notion that anyone might sink a shot like this is almost laughable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yet she does &#8211; behind the back and blindfolded. Ask me tomorrow, and I\u2019m likely to make this my No. 1 recording of the year. Even more astounding than the concept is the degree of attention to detail and craftsmanship that renders each of the twelve selections into museum-quality objects. From the thick, \u201880s bass sound of the album-opening cover of Kate Bush\u2019s \u201cWuthering Heights&#8221; to the tinny cabaret banjo on the Brecht\/Weill\/Blitzstein \u201cThe World Is Mean,\u201d the production decisions at every turn are both spectacularly daring and perfectly brought off.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But <em>Ghost Songs <\/em>is more than just a collection of covers. The horror-film mad scene of \u201cI Lost My Mind&#8221; is one of seven originals on <em>Ghost Song. <\/em>These originals signal McLorin-Salvant\u2019s increasing maturity and confidence in center-staging her comprehensive and inquisitive compositional voice. The title cut begins as a raw-voiced field holler and ends in a touching chorus of children\u2019s voices. Her \u201cObligation\u201d is a chatty internal monologue on the perils of modern relationship styles, and she even plays wonderfully Monkish stride piano on the instrumental \u201cTrail Mix.\u201d What can\u2019t this woman do?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The plotting of the songs is as nervy as the music. She follows the charming fluff of Herbert Stothart and Harold Arlen\u2019s &#8220;Optimistic Voices&#8221; (the vaudevillian number sung as the four heroes approach the Emerald City of Oz in the 1939 film) with a firmly committed yet consolatory reading of Gregory Porter\u2019s ballad \u201cNo Love Dying.\u201d It\u2019s a drop that the cleverest DJ might envy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Through all of these wildly varied settings, McLorin-Salvant\u2019s voice is pure yet warmly expressive. Her diction is crystalline, even at breakneck speed, and she finds the center of each note as though guided by musical GPS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s fair to ask after an achievement of this magnitude where this endlessly curious and extravagantly gifted artist can go next. Here\u2019s an idea: 2022 brought the premieres of high-profile operas co-created by esperanza spalding and Rhiannon Giddens. Ms. McLorin-Salvant, you\u2019ve got next. \u2014 <em>John Chacona<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Ghost Song<\/em> is available in our <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3BuTQAs\">Amazon affiliate store.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>5 (tie). Jeff Parker, <em>Forfolks<\/em><\/strong> <strong>(International Anthem\/Nonesuch)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"435\" style=\"position: relative; display: block; width: 560px; height: 435px;\" src=\"\/\/bandcamp.com\/VideoEmbed?track=1155358741&#038;size=venti&#038;bgcol=ffffff&#038;linkcol=0687f5\" allowtransparency=\"true\" frameborder=\"0\" mozallowfullscreen='1' webkitallowfullscreen='1' allowfullscreen='1'><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jeff Parker has that kind of quality and works so consistently that he can conceivably pop up in all kinds of folks&#8217; year-end lists. He&#8217;s a brilliant guitarist whose approach to the instrument has a signature sound that always seems to perfectly fit. At the very end of 2021, Parker gave us a solo meditation that could sustain all the next year through. \u2014 <em>Anthony Dean-Harris <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Forfolks<\/em> is available in our <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3uJdsNt\">Amazon affiliate store.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>5 (tie). Columbia Icefield [Nate Wooley],&nbsp; <em>Ancient Songs of Burlap Heroes<\/em> (Pyroclastic)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"lyte-wrapper fourthree\" style=\"width:420px;max-width:100%;margin:5px;\"><div class=\"lyMe\" id=\"WYL_9FQCKQdHGZs\"><div id=\"lyte_9FQCKQdHGZs\" data-src=\"\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/9FQCKQdHGZs\/hqdefault.jpg\" class=\"pL\"><div class=\"tC\"><div class=\"tT\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"play\"><\/div><div class=\"ctrl\"><div class=\"Lctrl\"><\/div><div class=\"Rctrl\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><noscript><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/9FQCKQdHGZs\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/9FQCKQdHGZs\/0.jpg?resize=420%2C295&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"YouTube video thumbnail\" width=\"420\" height=\"295\" \/><br \/>Watch this video on YouTube<\/a><\/noscript><\/div><\/div><div class=\"lL\" style=\"max-width:100%;width:420px;margin:5px;\"><\/div><figcaption><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<p>Trumpeter Nate Wooley is a decorated general in the battle to change the misconception that experimental music is somehow unlistenable. His publication, <em>Sound American, <\/em>uses words as its weapon of choice to attack the concept that the abandonment of strictures renders music utterly unapproachable. Columbia Icefield\u2019s sophomore release capably uses an arsenal of sounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Ancient Songs <\/em>transports the listener to frozen tundras and ragged desolate shores. Dizzying winds and crashing waves. In the distance, a small crew of voyagers tries to make their way through the rugged terrain. The brave crew&#8217;s calls reflect a fight for survival and an enthrallment by the, though vicious, beauty surrounding them. These are things listeners can pick up on and appreciate from the album, partly because of that persevering struggle inherent in the album\u2019s folk roots. Even if the language is a little foreign, a listener can understand Wooley\u2019s intent without fully appreciating the works of \u00c9liane Radigue or Anthony Braxton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But permitting better audience understanding does not equate to a diminishment of <em>Ancient Songs\u2019<\/em> artistic significance. Beneath the surface, meaningful commentary on humanity\u2019s relationship with nature and the interaction between silence and sound emerge. As to the latter, distorted waves dissolve into nothingness on the final interlude, \u201c(\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026),\u201d to allow for the power of space to enter the room. At times haunting, melancholic, and triumphant, <em>Ancient Songs <\/em>is consistently beautiful as much for what it explicitly states as that which it does not.\u2014 <em>Rob Shepherd<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Check out Rob Shepherd&#8217;s two-part interview with Nate Wooley on this album<a href=\"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/human-nature-wooley-i\/\"> here<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/human-nature-wooley-ii\/\">here<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Ancient Songs of Burlap Heroes is available <a href=\"https:\/\/natewooleypyroclastic.bandcamp.com\/album\/ancient-songs-of-burlap-heroes\">on Bandcamp.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>4 . Myra Melford\u2019s Fire and Water Quintet, <em>For The Love Of Fire And Water<\/em><\/strong><em> <\/em><strong>(RogueArt)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"lyte-wrapper fourthree\" style=\"width:420px;max-width:100%;margin:5px;\"><div class=\"lyMe\" id=\"WYL_hjPQIXmcgmg\"><div id=\"lyte_hjPQIXmcgmg\" data-src=\"\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/hjPQIXmcgmg\/hqdefault.jpg\" class=\"pL\"><div class=\"tC\"><div class=\"tT\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"play\"><\/div><div class=\"ctrl\"><div class=\"Lctrl\"><\/div><div class=\"Rctrl\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><noscript><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/hjPQIXmcgmg\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/hjPQIXmcgmg\/0.jpg?resize=420%2C295&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"YouTube video thumbnail\" width=\"420\" height=\"295\" \/><br \/>Watch this video on YouTube<\/a><\/noscript><\/div><\/div><div class=\"lL\" style=\"max-width:100%;width:420px;margin:5px;\"><\/div><figcaption><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<p>Maybe it\u2019s just coincidental that Myra Melford grew up in a house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, who made harmony with nature a guiding principle of his art. Still, <em>For The Love Of Fire And Water<\/em>, which was inspired by the collection of drawings that artist Cy Twombly called <em>Gaeta Set (for the Love of Fire &amp; Water),<\/em> is a recording that combines Wright\u2019s sense of balance and proportion with the quicksilver inspiration of Twombly\u2019s drawings of light and water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is no \u201cPictures At An Exhibition,\u201d though. In Natalie Weiner\u2019s illuminating liner notes for this Rogue Art release, Melford asserts, \u201c[f]or me, it\u2019s all about the gesture and the energy. Of course, there\u2019s a sound to it, but it\u2019s almost as if the sound is the information I get after the impulse to make a gesture.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It would be hard to think of artists more sympathetic to, or better equipped for the fast-twitch demands of such gestural music that the supergroup Melford has assembled for this recording. Guitarist Mary Halvorson, cellist Tomeka Reid, Ingrid Laubrock, who plays both soprano and tenor saxophones, and percussionist Susie Ibarra are all formidable composers and leaders in their own right. Yet all subordinate ego in the service of this supremely collective effort. But I want to single out Ibarra who has not been heard often enough in recent years. Her unerring ear for accent and color is one of the highlights of <em>For The Love Of Fire And Water<\/em>. We need to hear a lot more from her in the near future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There\u2019s a painterly aspect to this music, but not in a meticulous, Old-Master way. Melford deploys her instruments with Twombly\u2019s sense of light and space. Different instrumental combinations between and even within the ten numbered but untitled movements keep the music airborne and endlessly fresh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the wake of the strong reception <em>For The Love Of Fire And Water <\/em>received, this band, with Lesley Mok taking Ibarra\u2019s place, has toured the project. Myra Melford isn\u2019t an artist who stays in any one place for too long, but one gets the feeling that this sympathetic and selfless supergroup has a lot more to say. \u2014 <em>John Chacona<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>For the Love <\/em>is available in our <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3iXwk8Z\">Amazon affiliate store.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>2 (tie). The Philadelphia Experiment <strong>[Christian McBride-Questlove-Uri Caine-DJ Logic]<\/strong>, <em>Live at Newport Jazz 2017<\/em> (Newport Jazz)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"lyte-wrapper fourthree\" style=\"width:420px;max-width:100%;margin:5px;\"><div class=\"lyMe\" id=\"WYL_oMPqQLJZ_vo\"><div id=\"lyte_oMPqQLJZ_vo\" data-src=\"\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/oMPqQLJZ_vo\/hqdefault.jpg\" class=\"pL\"><div class=\"tC\"><div class=\"tT\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"play\"><\/div><div class=\"ctrl\"><div class=\"Lctrl\"><\/div><div class=\"Rctrl\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><noscript><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/oMPqQLJZ_vo\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/oMPqQLJZ_vo\/0.jpg?resize=420%2C295&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"YouTube video thumbnail\" width=\"420\" height=\"295\" \/><br \/>Watch this video on YouTube<\/a><\/noscript><\/div><\/div><div class=\"lL\" style=\"max-width:100%;width:420px;margin:5px;\"><\/div><figcaption><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<p>Over its almost seven-decade history, many significant records have been captured at the Newport Jazz Festival. Some &#8211; cough cough&nbsp;<em>Ellington at Newport&nbsp;<\/em>(Columbia, 1956) &#8211; are even iconic.&nbsp;<em>Live at Newport Jazz 2017<\/em>&nbsp;isn\u2019t your father\u2019s or grandfather\u2019s Newport jazz recording. Its historical context makes this clear.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The 2017 Newport Jazz was a bit of an artistic turning point. Since 1954, Festival founder, George Wein, served as the primary decision-maker for stacking the legendary event\u2019s annual lineups. Wein\u2019s choices resulted in some of the finest moments in musical history, from Miles Davis\u2019 \u201c\u2018Round Midnight&#8221; solo spurring a thirty-year relationship with Columbia Records to Duke Ellington\u2019s career \u201crebirth.\u201d While Wein announced Christian McBride as his successor Artistic Director in 2016, the bassist did not take full artistic reign until the following year. With this backdrop, a recording from the 2017 Newport Jazz Festival featuring McBride inevitably reflects a generational shift. In many ways, this recording demarcates the beginning of a new era.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But mere historical significance does not a great record make. Instead,&nbsp;<em>Live at Newport<\/em>&nbsp;must stand on its own, and it does handily. The core trio of McBride, Questlove (Ahmir Thompson), and Uri Caine recorded the original&nbsp;<em>Philadelphia Experiment<\/em>&nbsp;(Ropeadope, 2001) album a decade and a half prior. But due to their busy schedules, the three had not reunited much on the bandstand in the ensuing years. Newport marks only their fifth live set as a trio. The passage of time and limited preparation could spell a disaster even for the most skilled artists. But instead, the lessened preparation provides fluidity and looseness to the affair. The artists permit themselves to relax and rely upon what they refer to on the record as \u201cmusical coding\u201d; their knowledge of one another and spontaneously respond to one another. In some cases, these \u201ccodes\u201d go back far as McBride and Thompson&#8217;s high school days.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While those familiar with the original album will find songs from it here, they are more general guidelines than rigid structures. McBride\u2019s funky bass lines seemingly alternate between the influences of Bootsy, Marcus Miller, and Larry Graham, while Questlove\u2019s renowned tight snare hits provide the aesthetic of a hip hop beat with breathing room. DJ Logic, who is not on the 2001 release, brings the party atmosphere to a new level. Caine weaves between ideas, citing various works along the way, everything from James Brown (\u201cAin\u2019t it Funky Now\u201d and \u201cLiving in America\u201d) to Nelly (\u201cHot in Herre\u201d). The result is a fascinating organic fusing of jazz, funk, R&amp;B, and hip-hop destined to make the listener groove. In this author\u2019s estimation, <em>Live at Newport<\/em> is the best record from the storied event in a long time. Given the Festival\u2019s history, that\u2019s saying something. \u2014 <em>Rob Shepherd<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Read Rob Shepherd&#8217;s unofficial history of the Newport Jazz Festival <a href=\"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/newport-jazz-history\/\">here. <\/a>The series includes a two part interview with Christian McBride <a href=\"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/newport-jawn-christian-mcbride-i\/\">from 2021<\/a>, as well as an interview <a href=\"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/mcbride-2022-newport-preview\/\">from 2022.<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Live at Newport Jazz 2017 <\/em>is available on vinyl from the <a href=\"https:\/\/shop.newportfestivals.org\/collections\/all\/products\/newport-jazz-the-philadelphia-experiment\">Newport Jazz Festival&#8217;s online store.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>2 (tie). Aaron Parks \/ Matt Brewer \/ Eric Harland, <em>Volume 1 <\/em>and <em>Volume 2<\/em> (self-release)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"100%\" height=\"120\" style=\"position: relative; display: block; width: 100%; height: 120px;\" src=\"\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/v=2\/album=446753268\/size=large\/bgcol=ffffff\/linkcol=0687f5\/tracklist=false\/artwork=small\/\" allowtransparency=\"true\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Like a bolt from the blue, these three released two of the finest piano\/bass\/drums trio albums this year, full of new concepts and vitality as well as classic conventions. These are the kinds of works one releases without the worry of how they&#8217;ll play at large or if there&#8217;s enough press around them. They&#8217;re the kind of art these three just had to make when things were safe enough to make it in this different world of ours, pandemic albums without being pandemic albums. They&#8217;re like their own pockets of fresh air. \u2014 <em>Anthony Dean-Harris <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em><a href=\"http:\/\/Ancient Songs of Burlap Heroes is available on Bandcamp.\">Volume 1<\/a><\/em> and <em><a href=\"https:\/\/aaronparks.bandcamp.com\/album\/volume-two\">Volume 2<\/a><\/em> are both available on Bandcamp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>1. Mary Halvorson, <em>Amaryllis<\/em> and <em>Belladonna<\/em> (Nonesuch)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"100%\" height=\"120\" style=\"position: relative; display: block; width: 100%; height: 120px;\" src=\"\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/v=2\/track=1016318617\/album=3770906755\/size=large\/bgcol=ffffff\/linkcol=0687f5\/tracklist=false\/artwork=small\/\" allowtransparency=\"true\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The notion that Mary Halvorson is one of the preeminent instrumentalists in creative music is, by now, settled law. She can be found in the credits of four of my ten favorite releases of the past year. Expand that list to fifteen, and she shows up twice more. Yet it\u2019s not her masterful playing that put her at the top of my list of favorite records of 2022 (though it didn\u2019t hurt). <em>Amaryllis<\/em> and <em>Belladonna<\/em> astound by Halvorson\u2019s command as a bandleader and composer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As if to underscore the point, Halvorson is content to direct things from deep within the ensemble on <em>Amaryllis<\/em>, the more jazz-oriented of the paired releases. And why not, when that ensemble includes vibraphonist Patricia Brennan, bassist Nick Dunston, longtime collaborator Tomas Fujiwara on drums, and a brassy frontline of trumpeter Adam O\u2019Farrill and trombonist Jacob Garchik. It\u2019s a flexible band, one willing to explore Halvorson\u2019s idiosyncratically brilliant compositions, from the woozy, horror-movie semiconsciousness of \u201cAnesthesia\u201d to the caffeinated forward motion of \u201cNightshift.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is highly planned and meticulously executed music\u2014almost classical in its attention to detail. There are Easter eggs galore in these compositions, like the way Halvorson smuggles conventional head\/solo\/head architecture into music of dazzling originality. Yet it never comes off as nerdy or overdetermined. The band attacks this music with fearlessness and fire, joyfully rising to every challenge the composer throws at them. It\u2019s exhilarating music, boldly conceived and thrillingly played, and it should establish Halvorson in the first rank of improvising composers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Or should that be \u201ccomposing improvisors?\u201d Ironically perhaps, Halvorson, the soloist, inches into the spotlight in the five compositions for guitar and the Mivos string quartet on <em>Belladonna<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cFlying Song\u201d is almost a concerto for guitar and strings, with Halvorson soaring beyond the Kuiper Belt on a pedals-heavy unaccompanied rubato voyage. \u201cMoonburn\u201d begins with a slow, chorale-like half-note line that gives way to a sort of chaconne for multiple Marys. The effect is dizzying. Worlds away is the spooky Americana vibe of \u201cHaunted Head\u201d that resolves into something elegiac and gravely beautiful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On both releases, Nonesuch\u2019s production has the clarity and high gloss the label has brought to projects with composer John Adams and the Kronos Quartet, both game-changing American artists. With <em>Amaryllis<\/em> and <em>Belladonna<\/em>, Mary Halvorson announces her arrival in that exclusive company.\u2014 <em>John Chacona<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Check out Rob Shepherd&#8217;s two-part interview with Mary Halvorson on these albums <a href=\"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/belladonna-amaryllis-halvorson-i\/\">here<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/belladonna-amaryllis-halvorson-ii\/\">here.<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Amaryllis &amp; Belladonna <\/em>is available in our <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3FMP18h\">Amazon affiliate store.<\/a><br \/><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Honorable Mentions- The following are albums on the lists (10 choices) or extended lists (25 choices) of two or more writers, sorted alphabetically by the artist\u2019s last name. Given the wide range of opinions this year, it seemed these were worth honoring as well:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>JD Allen, <em>Americana, Vol. 2<\/em> (Savant)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Trevor Dunns Trio-Convulsant avec Folie \u00e0 Quatre, S\u00e9ances (Pyroclastic). You can read Rob Shepherd&#8217;s interview with Trevor Dunn on this album <a href=\"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/seances-dunn\/\">here. <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tomas Fujiwara&#8217;s Triple Double, <em>March<\/em> (Firehouse 12). Check out <a href=\"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/fujiwara-march\/\">Brian Kiwanuka&#8217;s review of <em>March<\/em>.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Wayne Shorter, Terri Lyne Carrington, Leo Genovese, and esperanza spalding,  <em>Live at the Detroit Jazz Festival<\/em> (Candid)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Stay tuned as we will be sharing a few writers\u2019 individual lists as well. Feel like our list missed one of your favorites? Agree or disagree with the choices above? Please comment below.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>From the mixes of a beat scientist to a double work with a string quartet, our team&#8217;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 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":5346,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"iawp_total_views":100,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1201,17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5345","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lists-2","category-lists"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/BeFunky-collage20.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/peRkRR-1od","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":9879,"url":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/best-2024\/","url_meta":{"origin":5345,"position":0},"title":"PostGenre\u2019s Best of 2024","author":"PostGenre Writing Staff","date":"December 9, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"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\u2019t think any of us consciously chose our albums based on identifiers like race, gender, or nationality. The fact it is replete with musicians from\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Best of Lists&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Best of Lists","link":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/category\/lists-2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/img_0340-1.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/img_0340-1.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/img_0340-1.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/img_0340-1.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4897,"url":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/2022-newport-preview-friday\/","url_meta":{"origin":5345,"position":1},"title":"What to See at the 2022 Newport Jazz Festival &#8211; Friday","author":"Rob Shepherd","date":"July 25, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Especially after attending for nearly two decades, this author has a deep admiration and respect for the Newport Jazz Festival. Our site extensively covers the history of the legendary festival from before its formation to the present. Under normal circumstances, our site would feature coverage from Fort Adams of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Newport Jazz Festival History&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Newport Jazz Festival History","link":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/category\/special-series\/newport-jazz-history\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/P80108471.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/P80108471.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/P80108471.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/P80108471.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":202,"url":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/five-genre-defying-selections-from-newport-jazz-festivals-first-wave-of-2020-performers\/","url_meta":{"origin":5345,"position":2},"title":"Five Genre-Defying Selections from the Newport Jazz Festival\u2019s First Wave of 2020  Performers","author":"Rob Shepherd","date":"February 11, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"The historic Newport Jazz Festival has released a list of 36, out of approximately 60, groups which will appear across its four stages at Fort Adams this summer. As the first modern music festival, one may mistakenly assume that most of the acts reflect a more traditional view of jazz.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Lists&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Lists","link":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/category\/lists\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Newport 2020","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/newportjazz-poster-1.jpg?fit=777%2C894&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/newportjazz-poster-1.jpg?fit=777%2C894&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/newportjazz-poster-1.jpg?fit=777%2C894&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/newportjazz-poster-1.jpg?fit=777%2C894&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4362,"url":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/belladonna-amaryllis-halvorson-i\/","url_meta":{"origin":5345,"position":3},"title":"Poisonous Beauty:  A Conversation with Mary Halvorson (Part One)","author":"Rob Shepherd","date":"May 1, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Sir Jeffrey Tate, the first principal conductor of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, once noted that \"the most perfect expression of human behavior is a string quartet.\" Where a string quartet can sound serene in one moment, it may reflect panic or morosity in the next. As Tate\u2019s original\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Interviews&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Interviews","link":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/category\/interviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/belladonna.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/belladonna.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/belladonna.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/belladonna.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3587,"url":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/anthony-dean-harris-favorite-albums-of-2021\/","url_meta":{"origin":5345,"position":4},"title":"Anthony Dean-Harris\u2019 Favorite Albums of 2021","author":"Anthony Dean-Harris","date":"December 19, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"[Editor\u2019s Note: We are excited to have Anthony Dean-Harris join us again for our year-end lists to share his 25 favorite \"jazz\" albums and 10 \"other\" albums of 2021. Anthony is a skilled writer whose credits include being a contributor to Downbeat and serving as the former Editor-in-Chief of Nextbop.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Best of Lists&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Best of Lists","link":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/category\/lists-2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/BeFunky-collage-8.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/BeFunky-collage-8.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/BeFunky-collage-8.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/BeFunky-collage-8.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5693,"url":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/february-2023-capsule-reviews\/","url_meta":{"origin":5345,"position":5},"title":"February 2023 Capsule Reviews","author":"Rob Shepherd","date":"February 26, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"For February - just under the wire - we provide capsule reviews of recent works with an eye towards avant-garde expressionism. Two of the selections explore the contributions of legends of the music, while the others showcase the voices of younger practitioners of the craft. For this month, only one\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Capsule Reviews&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Capsule Reviews","link":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/category\/reviews\/capsule-reviews-reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/BeFunky-collage-1.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/BeFunky-collage-1.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/BeFunky-collage-1.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/BeFunky-collage-1.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5345","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5345"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5345\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5394,"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5345\/revisions\/5394"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5346"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5345"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5345"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5345"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}