Thursday, December 27, 2018

Rounding up the "Best Jazz of 2018" 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 12th 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 2018" lists we can locate.

As usual, 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 - John Coltrane, Jason Stein, Andrew Cyrille: Best of 2018 (Modern and Mainstream Jazz); Wendy Eisenberg, Brandon Seabrook, David Dominique: Best of 2018 (Avant Garde + Experimental); Chick Corea/Steve Gadd, The Necks, Makaya McCraven: Best of 2018 (Fusion Jazz)
* AcidJazz.co.uk - Merry Christmas, Happy New Year And Here’s To 2019…
* ACloserListen.com ~ Top Ten Rock, Post-Rock, Folk & Jazz
* Afropop.org - All The Music from Our Stocking Stuffers Show
* AlbumOfTheYear.com - The Best Jazz Albums of 2018
* AllMusic.com - Favorite jazz albums of 2018
* Amazon.com - Best Jazz Songs of 2018
* Aquarium Drunkard - 2018 Year In Review
* Avant Scena - Best Avant Garde Jazz Top 10 of 2018
* ArtsFuse.org (Steve Provizer & Michael Ullman) - Best Jazz Recordings (and Live Concerts), 2018
* Jung Bae, HelloKPop.com - 2018 In Review: Day 10 – Jazz and Blues
* C. Michael Bailey, AllAboutJazz.com - Best Releases of 2018
* Brad Barker, Jazz.FM91 - Our Music Director’s Best Albums of 2018
* Chris Barton, Los Angeles Times - Best of 2018: In jazz, powerful voices demand being heard
* Dan Bilawsky, AllAboutJazz.com - Best Releases of 2018
* Mike Borella, Avant Music News - Best of 2018: Part I – Honorable Mentions; Part II – Albums of the Year
* Guillaume Bourgault-Côté, Le Devoir - Palmarès 2018: l’an jazz en 5 temps
* Cisco Bradley, JazzRightNow.com - Best Records of 2018; Best Live Concerts of 2018
* Shaun Brady, Philadelphia Inquirer - The best part about jazz in 2018? It was impossible to characterize
* Richard Brody, The New Yorker - The Best Archival Jazz Releases of 2018
* Bill Brownlee, Plastic Sax - Plastic Sax’s Favorite Albums and Performances of 2018
* Christopher Burnett, Musings in Cb - Best of Jazz 2018
* Capital Bop - The Best D.C. Jazz Albums of 2018
* Paul Cash, Hi-Fi Trends - The Best (Or Basically My Favorite) Jazz Albums of 2018
* Cazkolik.com - Best of 2018
* Nate Chinen, WBGO - Favorite Albums Of 2018
* Doug Collette, AllAboutJazz.com/Glide - Best Releases of 2018; Best of Jazz 2018: Cline, Mehldau, Lage, Scofield & More
* Amanda Cook, I Care If You Listen - 2018 Contemporary Classical Music Albums: Editor’s Picks
* James Cooper, Red Moon Cafe - My Music Selections for 2018
* Simon Cummings, 5against4.com - Best Albums of 2018 Part 1; Part 2
* Curt Davenport, Curt's Jazz Cafe - My Best Jazz Albums of 2018 – The Complete List
* Clive Davis, The Times - Best jazz albums of 2018
* Francis Davis, NPR - The 2018 NPR Music Jazz Critics Poll; Wayne Shorter Travels The Spaceways
* Anthony Dean-Harris, Nextbop.com - Nextbop’s Favorite Jazz Albums of 2018; Favorite Everything Else Albums of 2018
* Stuart Derdeyn, Vancouver Sun - Ten 2018 albums you don't want to miss
* Arnaldo DeSouteiro, Jazz Station - The 40th Annual Jazz Station Awards / The Best Jazz of 2018
* DJpeterDE, "Avenue C" (WVUD) - Jazz in 2018
* DownBeat - 2018: The Year’s Top-Rated Albums ; 2018: Trane, Bootsy, Nubya & Other Top Stories of the Year
* Tony Dudley-Evans - 2018: A Good Year
* Jordannah Elizabeth, Feminist Jazz Review: Five Best Records of 2018
* José Carlos Fernandes, TimeOut.pt - Os melhores discos de jazz de 2018
* John Fordham, The Guardian - The best jazz of 2018: new heights scaled and legends revisited
* Ken Franckling, Jazz Notes/AllAboutJazz.com - 2018's best jazz recordings
* Preston Frazier, SomethingElseReviews.com -  Mark Wade, Chris Carver, Peter Erskine + Others: Best of 2018 (Jazz)
* Free Jazz Blog - 2018 Top 10 Lists; Happy New Ears - 2018 Poll Winners
* Phil Freeman, Stereogum.com - The 10 Best Jazz Albums Of 2018
* Filipe Freitas, Jazz Trail - The Best 30 Jazz Albums of 2018
* Sasha Frere-Jones, SashaFrereJones.com - Music I Enjoyed in Two Thousand Eighteen
* Jon Garelick, Boston Globe - Best jazz albums of 2018
* Andrew Gilbert, San Jose Mercury-News - Here are the best albums jazz artists released in 2018
* Ted Gioia, TedGioia.com - The 100 Best Albums of 2018
* Giorna Della Musica (Enrico Bettinello & Luca Canini)- I 20 migliori dischi JAZZ del 2018
* TJ Gorton, BeatCaffeine.com - Favorite Albums of 2018; Favorite Reissues of 2018
* The Guardian - Life, death and cosmic jazz: 2018's best contemporary albums
* Guitar Moderne - Top 10 Records of 2018
* Ron Hart, Billboard - The 10 Best Jazz Albums of 2018: Critic's Picks
* Jamison “DJ Prestige” Harvey, Flea Market Funk - Best of 2018: The Jazz 45s And More
* HeavyBlogIsHeavy.com - The Jazz Club – 2018 In Review
* Chris Heim, Night Train (KMUW) - Best of 2018
* Ivan Hewitt, The Telegraph - A return to the glory days of jazz with Jean Toussaint, plus the best jazz and folk gigs of 2018
* Steve Holtje, CultureCatch.com - Favorite Jazz of 2018
* Tom Hull, TomHull.com - The Best Jazz Albums of 2018
* Peter Hum, Ottawa Citizen - A long list of 2018's best Canadian* jazz; 2018's jazz list bliss
* J Hunter, Nippertown.com - Top Women in Jazz Albums
* IciMusique.ca - Palmarès 2018: les 50 meilleurs albums de l’année
* El Intruso - Undécima Encuesta Anual a Periodistas Internacionales (Eleventh Annual International Critics Poll)
* Jędrzej Janicki, Polish Jazz - Top Ten 2018
* Jazz90.1 - Top 100 CD’s of 2018
* JazzBluesNews.Space - In our opinion: Top 31 Jazz albums of 2018: Videos, CD covers
* Jazz Journalists Association - 2018 'Best of Jazz' Selected by JJA Members
* Jazz.pt - Melhores de 2018
* Jazz Times - The Year in Review: Top 50 Albums of 2018
* JazzWeek.com - Year End Jazz Chart: 2018
* Jazzwise - Top 20 Jazz Albums of 2018
* David Brent Johnson, Night Lights (WFIU) - Best Historical Jazz Releases 2018
* Mike Jurkovic, AllAboutJazz.com - Best Releases Of 2018
* Richard B. Kamins, Step Tempest - These are a Lot of My Favorite Recordings of 2018
* Fred Kaplan, Slate - The best jazz albums of 2018, plus the best reissues
* John Kelman, AllAboutJazz.com - Best Releases of 2018
* Bill King, The Bill King Show (CIUT) - Canada Jazz 2018 - short takes on the best of the year!
* Brian Kiwanuka, Nextbop.com - Favorite Jazz Albums of 2018
* KMHD - Top 10 Jazz Albums Of 2018
* Maciej Krawiec, Polish Jazz - Top Ten 2018
* Joel Krutt, Pushing the Envelope (WHUS) - PTE Picks of 2018, Part 1; Part 2
* KSDS (Jazz88.3) - Sounds of the Season and Top Ten Discs!
* Cody Lee, KDNK - Spins Best of 2018 Jazz
* Sam Liddicott, MusicMusingsAndSuch.com - Horns, Improvisations and Wonderful Glitches: The Best Jazz and Experimental Albums of 2018
* London Jazz News - Musician/Band of the Year 2018; Live Memory of the Year 2018; Recorded Memory of the Year 2018; That Was 2018: Favourite and most-read articles as we approach our 10th anniversary
* Kevin Lynch, No Depression - The Best Jazz Albums of 2018
* Tim Mah, Jazz Today (CJSW) - Top Canadian Jazz Albums of 2018
* Peter Margasak, Nowhere Street - My favorite jazz albums of 2018
* Chris May, AllAboutJazz.com - Best Releases of 2018
* Dan McClenaghan, AllAboutJazz.com - Best Releases Of 2018
* Colin McEnroe, The Colin McEnroe Show (WNPR) - Celebrate The Best Jazz Of 2018!
* Bill Meyer, Magnet - Best Of 2018: Jazz/Improv
* Bill Milkowski, Paste - The 10 Best Jazz Albums of 2018
* Jay N. Miller, Quincy Patriot-Ledger - Year in review: The best jazz albums of 2018
* MusicIsMySanctuary.com - Jazz – The Best Tracks of 2018
* MusicManiaRecords.be - The Best Of 2018 - Jazz & Beyond
* New Music Box - 2018 Staff Picks
* NPR Music - Staff Picks: The Best Of 2018
* Offbeat - The Best Music of the Year: The 50 best albums of 2018
* Pitchfork.com - The Best Experimental Albums of 2018
* PointCulture.be (Bertrand Backeland & Jérôme Henry) - Best of jazz 2018
* Denis Poole, Smooth Jazz Therapy - Top Twenty Tracks Of 2018; Top 10 Covers Of 2018
* PopMatters.com (Justin Cober-Lake & Will Layman) - The Best Jazz of 2018
* ProperMusic.com - Best Jazz Of 2018
* Qwest.tv - Top albums 2018; Readers’ Poll – Top 5 Albums 2018
* Howard Reich, Chicago Tribune - Best jazz recordings of 2018: Virelles, Harris and Owens make charismatic sounds; The 10 best jazz concerts of 2018
* Dave Rogers, Professor Bebop (WTJU) - Top Jazz Releases of 2018
* Rokas, The Stingray Blog - Jazz Albums of 2018 | Top 10
* Brandon Roos, KQED - 2018 Proved Jazz Is Still Relevant—Here's Why
* Roots Music Report - Top Jazz Album Chart for the Year of 2018
* Giovanni Russonello, New York Times - The Best Jazz of 2018
* João Santos, Expresso - Melhores do Ano [Best Classical, Jazz and World Music releases of 2018]
* Bret Saunders, Denver Post - Top 10 jazz releases of 2018
* Tom Schnabel, Rhythm Planet (KCRW) - Best of 2018
* SFJAZZ.org - 2018 Staff Picks
* John Sharpe, AllAboutJazz.com - Best Releases Of 2018
* Hank Shteamer, Rolling Stone/Dark Forces Swing Blind Punches - 20 Best Jazz Albums of 2018; Best of 2018: Jazz
* Steve Smith, National Sawdust LOG - Best of 2018: Noteworthy Recordings
* SonicBoomRecords.com - 2018 Best-Sellers: Jazz
* Soundohm.com - Best of 2018
* Sputnik Music - Best Jazz Albums of 2018
* W. Royal Stokes, WRoyalStokes.com - Notable Releases of 2018; Best Releases of 2018; A Roundup of 125 Or So Jazz, Blues, Beyond and Other Books Published In The Last Year Or So
* Gary Suarez, VinylMePlease.com - The 10 Best Jazz Albums Of 2018
* Mark Sullivan, AllAboutJazz.com - Best Releases of 2018
* Dave Sumner, Bandcamp.com/Bird Is The Worm - The Best Jazz Albums of 2018; Recap: Best of 2018
* SupremeStandards.com - Top 10 Jazz and Jazz-ish albums of 2018; Podcast Ep5: Best Jazz albums of 2018
* Jeff Terich, TrebleZine.com - The 10 Best Jazz Albums of 2018
* Geno Thackaras, AllAboutJazz.com - Best Releases of 2018
* Larry Reni Thomas, JazzCorner.com - Top Ten Jazz 2018
* Tracce di jazz - Il Best(i)one di TDJ 2018
* Dæv Tremblay, CanThisEvenbeCalledMusic.com - Best Jazz of 2018
* UK Vibe - Best jazz albums of 2018
* George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune - Best San Diego jazz concerts of 2018: From Luciana Souza and Chano Dominguez to Pat Metheny and Dee Dee Bridgewater; Best jazz albums of 2018, from Wayne Shorter and Henry Threadgill to Myra Melford and Miguel Zenón
* TheVinylFactory.com - A guide to UK jazz in 2018
* WBGO - Reflecting on the Year in Jazz with Our Own Nate Chinen, the Author of 'Playing Changes'; WBGO's Daytime Hosts Share Their Favorite Jazz Albums of 2018; Playing Favorites: WBGO Evening Hosts Discuss Their Top Albums of 2018
* Christopher R. Weingarten, Rolling Stone - 10 Best Avant Albums of 2018
* Mark Werlin, AllAboutJazz.com - Notable Hi-Res Releases in 2018
* Jim Wilke, Jazz Northwest (KNKX) - My favorite jazz records from 2018
* Richard Williams, The Blue Moment - 2018: the best bits
* Jerome Wilson, AllAboutJazz.com - Best Releases Of 2018
* Brian Zimmerman, Jazziz - Year in Review: The Best Jazz Albums of 2018

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 2018 year-end jazz lists available online that aren't mentioned here, please use the comments (or send StLJN 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 2018.

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, 2016, and 2017.

Updated 12/28/18 with four more lists. Updated 12/29/18 with eight more lists. Updated 12/30/18 with five more lists. Updated 12/31/18 with nine more lists. Updated 1/1/19 with five more lists. Updated 1/2/19 with six more lists. Updated 1/3/19 with six more lists. Updated 1/4/19 with 10 more lists. Updated 1/5/19 with six more lists. Updated 1/6/19 with five more lists. Updated 1/7/19 with four more lists. Updated 1/8/19 with four more lists. Updated 1/9/19 with seven more lists. Updated 1/10/19 with one more list. Updated 1/11/19 with one more list. Updated 1/15/19 with three more lists. Updated 1/16/19 with four more lists. Updated 1/17/19 with two more lists. Updated 1/18/19 with one more list. Updated 1/21/19 with two more lists.

1 comment:

Michael said...

https://jazztrail.net/best-jazz-albums-2018

https://www.birdistheworm.com/welcome-to-the-best-of-2018/