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Saturday, December 29, 2007

Top 10 Free Jazz Albums of 2007

It's very hard to compare CDs with each other. What I like or don't like very often depends on external circumstances, such as the time of the day, my mood, etc. Nevertheless, here is a list of the records which I enjoyed most this year. I listened to most of them again, and for the MacDonald/Sommer album I changed my opinion in their favor. This album is truly great. At the very last minute I also added Tony Malaby's Tamarindo. For some albums you may argue whether or not it's free jazz (or free fusion, or avant-garde, or modern creative, ...) ...

Top 10 in random order (and as said before, I am not good at maths)
Special mentions
Best re-issues (or first issues of archives)
  • Norman Howard - Burn, Baby, Burn : a must for all free jazz fans
  • Dewey Redman - The Struggle Continues
  • Bennie Maupin - The Jewel In The Lotus
  • The Art Ensemble Of Chicago - Fundamental Destiny
  • Alan Skidmore, Tony Oxley, Ali Haurand - S.O.H. Live In London
  • Bitter Funeral Beer Band - Live In Nurnberg 84
  • Bitter Funeral Beer Band - Live In Frankfurt 82
  • Ornette Coleman - To Whom Keeps A Record

There is of course a lot I haven't listened to. CDs for which I have high expectations, but are not yet in my possession are : Tim Berne's "Seconds", Phil Gibbs's "Blown Away", François Carrier's "Kathmandu", Joe McPhee's "Soprano", Adam Lane's "Buffalo", Satoko Fujii's "Bacchus", ... so I may add them to this or next year's list.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Always great to see lists like this. Thanks for turning me onto some of those.

Jazz and Blues Festivals said...

Free is always good when it comes to albums. Many of the free jazz festivals and blues festivals add new and mainstream musicians to their lineups.

Music Reviews said...

Great list. Some of these are ones that I never thought of before.