Thursday, December 28, 2017

Rounding up the "Best Jazz of 2017" 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 eleventh consecutive year, St. Louis Jazz Notes eschews the compilation of such a list, instead offering a meta-list with links to all of the other "Best Jazz of 2017" lists we can locate.

As in the past, 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, with the writers' names noted if available. 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, SomethingElseReviews.com - Best of 2017 (Modern and Mainstream Jazz): Chris Potter, Vijay Iyer, Linda May Han Oh; (Avant Garde + Experimental): Sexmob, Mary Halvorson, Brandon Seabrook
* ABCMusic.com.au - Jazz Calls: Best of Australian Jazz 2017
* Karl Ackermann, AllAboutJazz.com - Best Releases of 2017
* ACloserListen.com - ACL 2017 ~ Top Ten Ambient; Top Ten Experimental
* Judy Adams, DirtyDogJazz.com - Jazz Notes Celebrates Outstanding Albums of 2017
* Michael J. Agovino, Village Voice - 2017: The Year in Jazz
* AJazzNoise.com - The Best Jazz & Noise of 2017…?
* AlbumOfTheYear.org - The Best Jazz Albums of 2017
* AllAboutJazz.com - 12 Most Read Album Reviews: 2017; 10 Most Downloaded Tracks: 2017; 10 Most Read Articles: 2017; 2017: The Year in Jazz; Best of 2017: The All About Jazz Mixtape, Volume 1; Volume 2; Volume 3
* AllMusic.com - 2017 Favorite Jazz Albums
* Amoeba Music - Twelve Great Post-Rock / Psychedelic / Jazz / Avant-Garde / Experimental Albums That Are Perfect For Thinking About Life & Other Important Stuff
* Aquarium Drunkard - 2017 Year In Review
* ArchaicPop.com - Best Jazz Albums 2017
* Audiophile Audition - Best of the year Discs for 2017 — Jazz Selections
* Jung Bae, HelloKpop.com - 2017 In Review: Day 8 – Jazz and Blues
* Jakob Baekgaard, AllAboutJazz.com - Best Releases of 2017
* C. Michael Bailey, AllAboutJazz.com - Best Recordings of 2017
* Chris Barton, Los Angeles Times - Best of 2017 | Jazz: Vijay Iyer, Ron Miles and Nicole Mitchell look ahead
* Abe Beeson, KNKX - The New Cool: Favorites of 2017
* Dan Bilawsky, AllAboutJazz.com - Best Releases Of 2017 
* Mike Borella, Avant Music News - Top 10 Reviews of 2017; Best of 2017: Part I – Honorable Mentions
* Cisco Bradley, JazzRightNow.com - Best Records of 2017
* Richard Brody, The New Yorker - The Best Jazz Reissues and Rediscoveries of 2017
* Bill Brownlee, Plastic Sax - Favorite Albums and Performances of 2017; The Top Jazz-Related Stories and Trends of 2017; John Scott: The Plastic Sax Person of the Year
* Alain Brunet, La Presse - Le top 10 classique et jazz de 2017
* Steve Bryant, AllAboutJazz.com - Best Releases Of 2017
* Christopher Burnett, Musings in Cb/JazzArtistryNow.com - Top Jazz of 2017
* Burning Ambulance - The Year In Jazz: 2017
* Robert Bush, SanDiegoTroubadour.com - Top Ten San Diego Jazz Concerts in 2017
* Nate Chinen, NPR/WBGO - Top 10 (Actually 21) Albums Of 2017; The Year in Gigs: Nate Chinen's Top 10 Jazz Performances Of 2017
* Jason Church, The Jazz Collective (Radio Arts Foundation - St. Louis) - The Top-25 Countdown from 2017
* CKUT - Favourite Sounds of 2017
* Troy Collins, AllAboutJazz.com - Best Releases Of 2017
* Consequence of Sound - Top 50 Albums of 2017
* ContemporaryJazzClub.com - The best Jazz Albums 2017
* James Cooper, Red Moon Cafe - Jazz Albums that Captured my Attention in 2017
* Mark Corroto, AllAboutJazz.com - Best Releases of 2017
* Tyler Cowen, Marginal Revolution - Favorite jazz from 2017
* Curtis Davenport, Curt's Jazz Cafe - Best Jazz Albums of 2017 (So Far); Best Jazz Albums of 2017 (Second Half)
* Francis Davis, NPR - The 2017 NPR Music Jazz Critics Poll; The Jazz Albums Of 2017 And The Power Of Gatekeepers
* Pierre de Chocqueuse, blog de Choc - CHOCS 2017 : 13 disques très observés
* Anthony Dean-Harris, Nextbop.com - Favorite Jazz Albums of 2017
* Arnaldo DeSouteiros, Jazz Station - The 39th Annual Jazz Station Awards / The Best Jazz of 2017
* LeDevoir.com (Guillaume Bourgault-Côté, Philippe Renaud) - Palmarès: les 10 albums jazz de 2017
* Troy Dostert, AllAboutJazz.com - Best Releases of 2017
* Exclaim! - Top 10 Improv and Avant-Garde Albums Best of 2017
* Ken Franckling, Jazz Notes - Looking back at 2017's best jazz recordings
* Preston Frazier, SomethingElseReviews.com - Lara Bello, Nick Finzer, Chris Greene + Others: Best Jazz of 2017
* Free Jazz Blog - 2017 Top 10 Lists
* Phil Freeman, Stereogum.com - The Best Jazz Albums Of 2017
* Edwin Garcia, The Jazz Loop - Best Jazz Albums of The Year
* Nenad Georgievski, AllAboutJazz.com - Best Releases of 2017
* Andrew Gilbert, San Jose Mercury News - Bay Area jazz cats gave us some memorable music in 2017
* Ted Gioia, TedGioia.com - The 100 Best Recordings of 2017
* GiornalDellaMusica.it (Enrico Bettinello, Luca Canini) - I 20 migliori dischi JAZZ del 2017
* Mike Greenblatt, The Aquarian - Rant’n’Roll: One Last Look at My 2017
* George Grella, The Big City - Year’s Best Jazz Albums, 2017 Edition
* David Hadju, The Nation - The Best Albums of 2017
* Chris Heim, Night Train (KMUW) - Best of 2017
* Heavy Blog Is Heavy - Jazz Club 2017 // The Jazziest Offerings of the Year
* Matthew Hooke, AllAboutJazz.com - Best Releases of 2017
* C. Andrew Hovan, AllAboutJazz.com - Best Releases of 2017
* Stephen Hu, Fredricksburg.com - A few of my favorite albums of 2017
* Tom Hull, TomHull.com - The Best Jazz Albums of 2017
* Peter Hum, Ottawa Citizen - The best Canadian jazz albums of 2017
* Tom Ineck, "Night Town" (KZUM) - Top Jazz CDs and Performances of 2017
* El Intruso - Tenth Annual International Critics Poll
* Vijay Iyer (via SFJAZZ.org) - Top 5 Records of 2017
* Jazz In Europe - 2017, The year in review
* Jazz Journalists Association - 2017 'Best of Jazz' Selected by JJA Members
* JazzBluesNews.Space - Top 25 Jazz albums of 2017
* Jazz Times - Year in Review 2017: Critics’ Picks
* JazzWeek.com -  Year End Jazz Chart: 2017
* Jazzwise - Top 20 Jazz Albums of 2017
* David Johnson, "Night Lights" (WFIU) - Best Historical Jazz Releases 2017
* Mikey IQ Jones, FactMag.com - The 25 best reissues and retrospectives of 2017
* Mike Jurkovic, AllAboutJazz.com - Best Releases of 2017: Pianos Lead the Way
* Richard B. Kamins, Step Tempest - 2017 - What a Year, Especially for Music! (Part 1 - Voices)
* Fred Kaplan, Slate/Stereophile - The Best Jazz Albums of 2017 Plus the best historical releases
* John Kelman, AllAboutJazz.com - Best Releases of 2017
* Brian Kiwanuka, Nextbop.com - Favorite Jazz Albums of 2017
* KMHD (Matt Fleeger, Derek Smith & Isabel Zacharias) - Top 10 Jazz Albums Of 2017
* Friedrich Kunzmann, AllAboutJazz.com - Best Releases Of 2017: Ethno-Jazz on the rise
* Will Layman, PopMatters.com - The Best Jazz of 2017
* London Jazz News - Musician/Band of the Year; Live Memory of the Year; Recorded Memory of the Year; Jazz Wishes for 2018
* Peter Margasak, Chicago Reader - Favorite jazz albums of 2017
* Chris Maskell, CBCMusic.ca - 10 outstanding Canadian jazz albums of 2017
* Dan McClenaghan, AllAboutJazz.com - Best Releases of 2017
* Bill Meyer, Magnet - Best Of 2017: Jazz/Improv
* Jay Miller, Quincy Patriot-Ledger - Best Jazz 2017: Yoko Miwa, Laszlo Gardony, NYSQ, Terry Gibbs among the choices
* Ralph A. Miriello, HuffPost/Notes on Jazz - My Best of Jazz for 2017
* NationalSawdust.org - Best of 2017: Noteworthy Recordings; Best of 2017: 10 Memorable Musical Events
* Joseph Neff, TheVinylDistrict.com -  The Best of 2017’s New Releases, Part One; Part Two
* New York Times (Jon Pareles, Jon Caramanica & Giovanni Russonello) - The Best Albums of 2017; The Best Live Jazz Performances of 2017; Is Today’s Jazz Finally Outrunning the Past?
* NewMusicBox - 2017 Staff Picks
* New York Music Daily - The 20 Best Jazz Albums of 2017
* Nextbop - Favorite Jazz Albums of 2017
* NPR - The 50 Best Albums Of 2017
* Offbeat - Simply the Best: The 50 Best Albums of 2017
* Vince Outlaw, "Jazz In The Night" (KSDS) - Best Jazz In 2017 and Beyond; Best Jazz In 2017 and Beyond, part 2
* Ian Patterson, AllAboutJazz.com - Best Releases of 2017
* Gilles Peterson, BBC - My 50 Essential Jazz and beyond Records of 2017
* PlaylistResearch.com - Top Jazz Albums of 2017
* Adriane Pontecorvo, PopMatters.com - The Best World Music of 2017
* ProperMusic.com - Best Jazz Of 2017
* Radyo Cazkolik - Best of 2017
* Howard Reich, Chicago Tribune - Jazz recordings swing in the holidays; Nicole Mitchell, Cassandra Wilson top best jazz concerts of 2017
* Dave Rogers, WTJU - Professor Bebop’s Top Twelve Jazz Releases of 2017 (in alphabetical order)
* Giovanni Russonello, GiovanniRussonello.com - The ‘best’ of 2017
* Tom Schnabel, "Rhythm Planet" (KCRW) - Favorite Jazz Releases of 2017
* SFJAZZ.org -  Playlist Staff Picks 2017
* John Sharpe, AllAboutJazz.com - Best Releases Of 2017
* Hank Shteamer, Dark Forces Swing Blind Punches - Best of 2017: Jazz
* Jeffrey Siegel, Straight No Chaser - A Few of My Favorite Things 2017
* Stewart Smith, TheQuietus.com - Complete Communion: The Best Jazz Of 2017
* South China Morning Post - The nine best jazz albums released in 2017, from ‘new jazz’ to more ethnic beats
* SputnikMusic.com - Best Jazz Albums of 2017
* W. Royal Stokes, WRoyalStokes.com - Best and Notable Releases of 2017
* Gary Suarez, VinylMePlease.com - The 10 Best Jazz Albums Of 2017
* Mark Sullivan, AllAboutJazz.com - Best Releases of 2017
* Dave Sumner, Bandcamp.com - The Best Jazz Albums of 2017; Bird Is The Worm - Best of 2017
* Jeff Terich, TrebleZine.com - The 10 Best Jazz Albums of 2017
* Mark F. Turner, AllAboutJazz.com - Best Releases Of 2017
* Geno Thackara, AllAboutJazz.com - Best Releases of 2017
* George Varga, San Diego Union Tribune - Jazz rose to new heights in 2017 — plus year's best albums and concerts
* Alexander Varty, Straight.com - Top albums of 2017
* TheVinylFactory.com - Our 30 favourite reissues of 2017; Best albums of 2017
* WBGO - The Year in Jazz: Highlights From Our Critics' Panel at the National Jazz Museum in Harlem; Best of 2017: The Checkout and WBGO's Director of Programming Discuss Four Favorites; Best of 2017: Our Announcers Share Some Personal Favorites
* Christopher R. Weingarten, Rolling Stone - 20 Best Avant Albums of 2017
* Michael J. West, TheDistrictNow.com - Jazzies 2017
* Richard Williams, The Blue Moment - 2017: the best bits
* Jerome Wilson, AllAboutJazz.com - Best of 2017
* Jim Worsley, AllAboutJazz.com - Best Releases of 2017
* WTJU - Best of 2017 Releases

Active scouting for more lists will continue for at least a couple more weeks, but your input is welcome, too. If you've seen any other 2017 year-end jazz lists available online 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 2017.

Finally, if you'd like 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, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016.

Updated 12/29/17 with five more lists. Updated 12/30/17 with five more lists. Updated 12/31/17 with 14 more lists. Updated 1/1/18 with two more lists. Updated 1/2/18 with five more lists. Updated 1/3/18 with six more lists. Updated 1/5/18 with four more lists. Updated 1/6/18 with two more lists. Updated 1/7/18 with six more lists. Updated 1/10/18 with two more lists. Updated 1/11/18 with two more lists. Updated 1/15/18 with two more lists. Updated 1/16/18 with one more list. Updated 1/17/18 with three more lists. Updated 1/18/18 with one more list. Updated 1/22/18 with two more lists. Updated 1/25/18 with two more lists.

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