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John Kelman's Best Releases of 2013
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2013 was a challenging year: more travel than usual, and some family health issues at home slowing things down when it came to reviewing the seemingly endless flow of music coming in each and every day. With hopes that 2014 will be better on that front, here are just a few of the top recorded events in jazz and beyondand this is by no means all-inclusive; there were plenty of terrific albums for which there simply was insufficient time to cover and, as a result, cannot be included:
Jazz New Releases
Jazz Reissues & Historical Releases
Progressive/Fusion/Funk New Releases
Progressive/Fusion/Funk Reissues & Historical Releases
New Discoveries (including new groups)
Beyond: Is it jazz? Is it not? Does it really matter?
Jazz New Releases
Quest Circular Dreaming (Enja) | Carla Bley Trio (ECM) | Pat Metheny Tap (Nonesuch/Tzadik) |
Aaron Parks Arborescence (ECM) | Joe Locke Lay Down My Heart (Motéma) | Drew Gress The Sky Inside (Pirouet) |
The Impossible Gentlemen Int'l Unrecognisable Aliens (Basho) | Edward Simon Live at the Jazz Standard (Sunnyside) | John Abercrombie 39 Steps (ECM) |
Tim Berne Snakeoil Shadow Man (ECM) | John Hollenbeck Songs I Like a Lot (Sunnyside) | Antonio Sanchez New Life (Cam Jazz) |
Peacock/Crispell Azure (ECM) | Wayne Shorter Without a Net (Blue Note) | Chris Potter The Sirens (ECM) |
Jazz Reissues & Historical Releases
Woody Shaw Complete Muse Sessions (Mosaic) | Manfred Eicher Selected Signss (ECM) | Miles Davis Live in Europe 1969 (Legacy) |
Keith Jarrett Concerts (ECM) | S.O.S. Looking for the Next One (Cuneiform) | Bill Frisell Live Download Series (Songline/Tonefield) |
Progressive/Fusion/Funk New Releases
Grand General Grand General (Rune Grammofon) | Steven Wilson The Raven (Kscope) | Jaga Jazzist Live w/ Britten Sinfonia (Ninja Tune) |
Prism Prism (Dare2) | Levin Minnemann Rudess Levin Minnemann Rudess (Lazy Bones) | Asaf Sirkis Trio Shepherd's Stories (Stonebird) |
Progressive/Fusion/Funk Reissues & Historical Releases
King Crimson Road to Red (DGM Live) | Herbie Hancock Complete Columbia Albums (Legacy) | Peter Gabriel Live in Athens (Real World/Eagle Eye) |
New Discoveries (including new groups)
Masson/Pianca/Maniscolco Third Reel (ECM) | Møster! Edvard Lygre Møster (Hubro) | Bill Frisell Big Sur (Okeh) |
The Swallow Quintet Into the Woodwork (XtraWATT/ECM) | Pierluigi Balducci Blue from Heaven (Dodicilune) | Moskus Salmesykkel (Hubro) |
Fire! Orchestra Exit! (Rune Grammofon) | Tomas Stańko New York Quartet Wislawa (ECM) | David Binney Lifted Land (Criss Cross) |
Beyond: Is it jazz? Is it not? Does it really matter?
John Scofield Überjam Deux (EmArcy) | Arve Henriksen Places of Worship (Rune Grammofon) | Tabor/Ballamy/Warren Quercus (ECM) |
Jan Bang Narrative From the Subtropics (Jazzland) | Richard Thompson Electric (Newwest) | Eyes of a Blue Dog Rise (Babel Label) |