Rounding up the "Best Jazz of 2012" lists

It's that time of year again, as jazz journalists, DJs, critics and bloggers are publishing their annual "Best Of" lists. And once again, for the sixth consecutive year, St. Louis Jazz Notes offers you, dear reader, our state-of-the-art meta-list with links to all of the "Best Jazz of 2012" lists we can locate.

Just to review: The meta-list is alphabetized by writers' names. When a list was collaborative or presented as a staff-written project, the name of the publication or media outlet is used instead. This post will be updated multiple times over the next several weeks as more lists become available. Here's what's out there so far:

* S. Victor Aaron, Something Else! - Top Albums for 2012: Mainstream & Modern Jazz, Whack Jazz, Fusion Jazz, Top Unreviewed Jazz Records
* AllMusic.com - AllMusic’s Favorite Jazz Albums of 2012
* Michael Anderson, Gear Diary - Top 10 Jazz Albums of 2012 and More – a Music Diary Feature
* Avant Music News - Best of 2012
* The Awl's Difficult Listening Hour 50 Favorite Albums of 2012
* Peter Bacon, The Jazz Breakfast - Festive Fifty
* C. Michael Bailey, AllAboutJazz.com - Best Releases of 2012
* Werner Barth, BRF's Jazztime - Best of 2012
* Chris Barton, Los Angeles Times - Best jazz albums of 2012
* Angelika Beener, Alternate Takes - Before the Ball Drops: My ‘Takes’ on 2012
* Nick Bewsey, Jazz in Space - Most Impressive Jazz CDs of 2012
* Dan Bilawsky, AllAboutJazz.com - Best Releases of 2012
* Billboard - Best of 2012 Jazz Albums
* Brent Black, Critical Jazz - New Releases/Best of 2012
* Bluefat - Best Music of 2012: The List
* Larry Blumenfeld, Artinfo.com - The Best Jazz of 2012
* Chip Boaz, The Latin Jazz Corner - Great Latin Jazz Albums From 2012
* Philip Booth, Between the Grooves/Jazz Times - Favorite Jazz of 2012: My Top 10 Plus 25 Others
* Shaun Brady, Philadelphia City Paper - Best of 2012: Top 10 Jazz
* Bill Brownlee, Plastic Sax - Top Albums and Concerts of 2012; The Top Jazz-Related Stories and Trends of 2012
* Joseph Burnett, Dusted Magazine - 2012
* Robert Bush, San Diego Reader - Best jazz concerts for 2012; Standout jazz releases from 2012
* Fritz Byers, WGTE - Jazz Spectrum Best of 2012
* CapitalBop.com (Giovanni Russonello and Luke Stewart) - D.C.’s best records of 2012: The Top 5, Honorable Mention
* John Chacona, Erie Times-News - 2012 Musical Memories: Jazz, classical, Best jazz CDs
* Adrian Chapman, White Noise of Everyday Life - Albums of the year 2012
* Nate Chinen, New York Times/The Gig - Top 10 Albums of 2012
* Jack Chuter, ATTN - Review Of 2012: ATTN looks back at a year of sonic experience
* CKTK - All That Jazz!, or Top Ten Jazz Albums of 2012, by SK, or Shane
* CKUT - Top Jazz Picks of 2012
* Doug Collette, AllAboutJazz.com - Best Releases of 2012
* Troy Collins, AllAboutJazz.com - Best Releases of 2012
* James Cooper, Red Moon Cafe - Favorite Jazz Recordings for 2012
* Mark Corroto, AllAboutJazz.com - Best Releases of 2012
* Jason Crane, PopDose.com - 2012: The Jazz (By Women) Year In Review
* Thomas Cunniffe, Jazz History Online - "2012: The Summation"
* Raul da Gama, Latin Jazz Network - Best of 2012 – Recommended Recordings; Best of 2012 List – Beyond Category
* Curtis Davenport, CurtJazz - Best Jazz Albums of 2012 – Part I, Part 2, A Few More Good Things…
* Francis Davis, Rhapsody.com - Rhapsody Jazz Poll 2012: Vijay Iyer Prevails
* R.J. DeLuke, AllAboutJazz.com - Best recordings of 2012
* Nick DeRiso, Something Else - Top Albums for 2012: Blues and Jazz
* Arnaldo DeSouteiro, Jazz Station - The Best Jazz of 2012
* Destination: Out - 2012: Five + Five Overlooked Gems
* Adam Dobrzyński, Polish Radio RDC - Jazz concert events of the year and the summary in the background
* Tony Dudley-Evans, Jazzlines (Birmingham, UK) - 10 best gigs of 2012
* Rick Erben, KIOS - Jazz Junction Best Of 2012
* Matt Fleeger, KMHD - Top 10 Jazz Albums of 2012
* John Fordham, The Guardian - Best jazz albums of 2012; Take Five 2012: John Fordham's year in jazz
* Ken Franckling, Ken Franckling's Jazz Notes - The best of 2012 - my take; 2012: The Year in Jazz
* The Free Jazz Collective - End-of-year Lists Galore
* Jeff Friesen, Dadrock - My Favorite Things: Jazz 2012
* Jon Garelick, Boston Phoenix - Head turners: Jazz acts of 2012
* Jack Garner, Rochester Democrat And Chronicle - Top 10 jazz albums of 2012
* Lois Gilbert, JazzCorner.com - Favorite CDs of 2012
* Ted Gioia, TedGioia.com - Best 100 Albums of 2012
* Mike Greenblatt, The Aquarian - Rant ‘N’ Roll: Jazz Alive And Well In 2012
* George Grell, The Big City - Jazz of the Year 2012
* James Hale, Jazz Chronicles/Down Beat - 2012 Top 10
* Eyal Hareuveni, AllAboutJazz.com - Best Releases of 2012
* Roald Helgheim, Dagsavisen - Young jazz must still be
* Otis Hart, Dusted - 2012
* Ivan Hewett, The Telegraph - Jazz 2012: review of the year
* Eugene Holley, Jr, Philadelphia Weekly - Music for Your Mama: The Best in 2012 "Grown Folks” Albums
* Steve Holtje, CultureCatch - Best New Jazz Albums of 2012
* Tom Hull, Hullworks/Rhapsody.com - Extended Year-End Jazz List (2012)
* Peter Hum, Ottawa Citizen - My best-jazz-of-2012 lists
* J Hunter, Nippertown - Best of 2012; Part II
* Kodi Hutchinson, Alberta Music Industry Association - Best of Alberta Jazz in 2012
* Patrick Jarenwattenon, NPR's A Blog Supreme - Top 10 Jazz Albums of 2012; The black arts: Making jazz in the mainstream
* Jazz Journalists Association - Members' Best of 2012 Lists (Spotify playlist)
* Jazz Times - 2012 Readers Poll Results; Top 50 CDs: Individual Ballots - Our contributors' lists of the best releases of 2012; Highs & Lows 2012; The Top 50 Releases of 2012
* Jazz.FM91 - The Best of 2012 (As Chosen By Us)
* Jazzwise Albums of the Year 2012 – The Complete List
* Willard Jenkins, Open Sky Jazz - The Independent Ear: 30 for 2012
* David Brent Johnson, WFIU - Best Historical Releases Of 2012
* Rob Johnson, Examiner.com (Denver) - The top 40 jazz albums of 2012: part one; Part Two; Part Three; Part Four
* Lawrence Joseph, Cult MTL - The Best Albums of 2012
* Richard Kamins, Step Tempest - Favorites From a Great Year! Gentlemen Now!
* Fred Kaplan, Slate/Stereophile - The Best Jazz Albums of 2012
* John Kelman, AllAboutJazz.com - Best Releases of 2012; Best Live Shows of 2012
* Jacob Klopfenstein, Blog Name Pending - Top Five Jazz (?) Songs of 2012
* Joe Klopus, Kansas City Star/KansasCity.com - A mixed year for KC jazz scene
* Kevin Kniestedt, Groove Notes/KPLU - 10 Best Jazz Albums of 2012
* Charles L. Latimer, I Dig Jazz/Detroit MetroTimes - Top 10 Jazz Albums of 2012; 10 Killer Concerts of 2012 in Detroit
* Will Layman, PopMatters - My Annual List: The Best Jazz of 2012
* Bo Leibowitz, KCRW - Top 10 Albums of 2012
* Bruce Lindsay, AllAboutJazz.com - Best Releases of 2012
* Mark Loehrke, Chicago magazine - Best of Jazz 2012: The Albums and Shows Worth Remembering
* London Jazz - Other Contributors' Top Albums of 2012
* Dan Lothringer, Austinist - Jazz 2012: A Year in Review
* Lucid Culture - The 20 Best Jazz Albums of 2012
* Kevin Lynch, Culture Currents (Vernaculars Speak) - My Best Jazz Experiences of 2012 (in memory of James Hazard)
* Magnet Magazine - Best of 2012: Jazz/Improv
* Howard Mandel, Jazz Beyond Jazz - 2012 Top Jazz Beyond Jazz recordings
* Peter Margasak, Chicago Reader - My favorite jazz albums of 2012
* Chris May, AllAboutJazz.com - Best Releases of 2012; Best Jazz Books of 2012
* Jon McCaslin, Four on The Floor - The Best of 2012
* Dan McClenaghan, AllAboutJazz.com - Best Releases of 2012
* Colin McEnroe, WNPR - The Best Jazz Of 2012
* Gabe Meline, City Sound Inertia - Gabe’s Top 25 Jazz Discoveries of 2012
* Jay Miller, Quincy Patriot Ledger - 2012 Best Jazz Albums
* Ralph A. Miriello, Notes on Jazz - My Best of Jazz 2012
* Siddhartha Mitter, Boston Globe - Best Albums 2012
* Chris Monsen, Perfect Sounds - Favorite Jazz of 2012
* Stephan Moore, JazzWrap - Best Albums Of 2012
* The New York City Jazz Record - Best of 2012 (.pdf file - list is on pg. 26)
* Nextbop.com - The Best Jazz Albums of 2012 25-11, 10-1
* Tim Niland, Music and More - Top Ten New Releases of 2012
* NPR Music - 50 Favorite Albums Of 2012
* Sean J. O'Connell, LA Weekly - The Best Los Angeles Jazz Concerts of 2012
* O's Place Jazz Newsletter - 2012 Traditional Jazz Golden Selections; 2012 Contemporary Jazz Golden Selections
* Tony Ozuna, The Prague Post - 2012 in the arts: Jazz
* Chris Parker, London Jazz - Annual CD Roundup
* Ian Patterson, AllAboutJazz.com - Best Live Shows of 2012; Best Releases of 2012
* Denis Poole, Smooth Jazz Therapy - Top Twenty Tracks Of 2012; Top Ten Covers Of 2012
* PopJazzRadio.com - Best of PopJazz 2012
* PopMatters.com - The 75 Best Albums of 2012
* The Quietus - Apollo's Bounteous Harvest: The Quietus Albums Of The Year 2012
* Ben Ratliff, New York Times - Asking Questions and Raising Stakes: Ben Ratliff’s Top 10 Albums of 2012
* Howard Reich, Chicago Tribune - Best jazz music albums of 2012, The best jazz concerts of 2012
* Rhapsody.com - Jazz Critics Poll 2012: The Results; Top 20 Jazz Albums of 2012
* Jim Rich, JimRich.info - Some of the Best Jazz of 2012
* Jordan Richardson, Something Else! - Top Albums for 2012: Jazz
* Li Robbins, CBC Music - Top 5 jazz albums of 2012
* Chris Robinson, Outside Inside Out - Top 10 Jazz Albums of 2012
* Travis Rogers, Jr, Music Life and Times - Looking Back at 2012... the Best Albums and Performances
* Michael Rosenstein, Dusted - 2012
* Mark Saleski, Something Else! - Top Albums for 2012: Jazz and Improvised Music
* Bret Saunders, Denver Post - Top ten jazz albums of 2012
* Richard Scheinin, San Jose Mercury News - Best of 2012: Jazz CDs, from Louis Armstrong to Christian Scott
* The Selected Ballads - Best Live Music Seen in 2012
* Gene Seymour, GeneSeymour.com - Gene Seymour’s Top Ten Jazz Discs for 2012
* John Sharpe, AllAboutJazz.com - Best Releases of 2012
* Tom Shearer, Byas'd Opinion - Jazz albums of the year 2012: preamble and runners-up; Jazz albums of the year 2012: my top five
* Hank Shteamer, Dark Forces Swing Blind Punches - Best Jazz of 2012 Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
* Chris Smith, Winnipeg Free Press - It was a good year for city's jazz fans
* Sean Smith, Japan Times/Tokyo Jazz Notes - For jazz fans in Japan, 2012 marked the arrival of a few new divas and some great gigs; Pick Of 2012 ~ Albums Of The Year
* David Steinberg, Albuquerque Journal - Some of the best, from jazz to classical
* STRmusic.com - Cycling through the Best Jazz Albums of 2012
* Mike Stratton, MikeStratton.com/WLNZ - Top Ten Jazz Discs of 2012
* Dave Sumner, Bird is the Worm - Best of 2012: Album of the Year: Adam Fairhall – “The Imaginary Delta”; Albums 2-5; Albums 6-10; Albums 11-15; Albums 16-20; Albums 21-25; Albums 26-30
* Derek Taylor, Dusted Magazine - Best of 2012
* Neal Tesser, Examiner.com (Chicago) - Your last best list of the year's jazz recordings; The rest of the best in 2012 jazz
* Larry Reni Thomas, WCOM/JazzCorner.com - Top 10 Jazz Albums 2012
* Mark F. Turner, AllAboutJazz.com - Best Releases of 2012
* George Varga, North County Times - Jazz: 2012 in review & top concerts, albums
* Seth Colter Walls, Rhapsody.com - Top 20 Jazz Albums of 2012
* WBGO - Top 10 CD's of 2012 - Bob Putignano, Bob Porter, Richard Ludmerer
* WBGO (Michael Bourne and Gary Walker) - Best Jazz of 2012
* Michael J. West, Washington City Paper - The Jazzies: D.C.’s Best Jazz in 2012
* JJ Wheeler, The Jazz Breakfast - Festive Five
* The Whole Music Experience - Top 7 Jazz CDs of 2012
* Roland Williams, KWMV - Top 10 Jazz Albums of 2012
* Jim Wilke, KPLU - Favorite Northwest jazz CDs of 2012
* Calvin Wilson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch/STLtoday.com - Best of jazz and dance
* Barry Winograd, WXRT - Best of 2012
* Yair Yona, Small Town Romance - My Favorite Albums of 2012
* Paul J. Youngman, Latin Jazz Network - Favorites of 2012, not listed in any particular order

Also, the New York Times' Nate Chinen once again used his blog The Gig to host a multi-part conversation with fellow critics about the year in jazz. This year's participants were Peter Hum, Jim Macnie, Giovanni Russonello and Greg Thomas:

Part 1: Endings and Becomings
Part 2: A Kick in the Jewels
Part 3: Inspiration at Home and Abroad
Part 4: Flourishing on the Fringes
Part 5: Anything Can Happen
Part 6: Ghost Worlds
Part 7: Seize This Moment
Part 8: Gentility is Becoming
Part 9: Injecting Adhesive Logic
Part 10: The Head and the Heart (and the Gut)
Part 11: Wrapping it Up

The process of active scouting for more lists will continue for at least a couple more weeks, but your input is most welcome, too. So if you've seen any other 2012 year-end jazz lists that aren't mentioned here, please use the comments (or send me an email) to share the information. And if you like, please feel free also to use the comments to discuss your own favorite jazz releases, shows and moments of 2012.

Finally, if you want to re-visit StLJN's past "best of" list round-ups, here are the meta-lists for 2007 (parts 1 and 2), 2008 (parts 1 and 2), 2009, 2010, and 2011.

Updated 12/28/12 to add six more lists. Updated 12/29/12 to add five more lists. Updated 12/30/12 to add six more lists. Updated 12/31/12 to add six more lists. Updated 1/1/13 to add eight more lists. Updated 1/2/13 to add twelve more lists. Updated 1/3/13 to add seven more lists. Updated 1/4/13 to add five more lists. Edited 1/5/13 to add eight more lists. Edited 1/6/13 to add three more lists. Edited 1/7/13 to add three more lists. Edited 1/8/12 to add nine more lists. Edited 1/10/13 to add three more lists. Edited 2/4/13 to add six more lists.