This is what consensus in jazz looks like now: In winning the vote for 2017's best new recording in NPR's Fifth Annual Jazz Critics Poll, Vijay Iyer's Far from Over was named on 53 of 137 ballots — almost twice as many as either Steve Coleman's Morphogenesis or Tyshawn Sorey's Verisimilitude, which finished second and third, respectively. (Thelonious Monk's music for the 1960 French film Les Liaisons Dangereuses, unused by the director Roger Vadim and released only this year, made a whopping 66 ballots to finish first in Rara Avis, a category reserved for reissues and vault discoveries. Then, Monk is settled law.)
Iyer was one of three musicians to notch a third victory in this year's poll (his Historicity won in 2009, the poll's 4th year, when I was conducting it for the Village Voice, and Accelerando won in 2012, when the poll's sponsor was the music-streaming service Rhapsody). Cecile McLorin Salvant again won in Vocal, as she did in 2013 and '15, and Miguel Zenón won in Latin, as he did in 2009 and '11. The winner in Debut, where there can be no repeaters, was Jaimie Branch, a fiery trumpeter recently transplanted from Chicago to Brooklyn. (And that the top three finishers in this category are women is cause for cheer.)
Musicians of an intellectual bent dominated this year's Top 10, and connections among them abound. Iyer made some of his first recordings as a sideman with Coleman, and has also recorded with Roscoe Mitchell, whose No. 7 Bells For The South Side features both No. 3 artist Tyshawn Sorey and No. 4 artist Craig Taborn. Sorey, a newly-minted MacArthur fellow, is the drummer on both Far From Over and Bells For The South, where he also plays credible trombone. (For that matter, he conducts on No. 17, Matt Mitchell's A Pouting Grimace). Notice a pattern? Nearly 60 years after Ornette Coleman's The Shape Of Jazz To Come and exactly 50 since Roscoe Mitchell's Sound introduced the rest of the world to the Chicago AACM, the avant-garde can claim its own intelligentsia. Iyer, Sorey, Taborn, Nicole Mitchell and Matt Mitchell are among its leaders, and Roscoe Mitchell (now 77) and even Steve Coleman (at 61) among its revered elders.
This year's poll was largely a tale of two labels, one German (ECM) and the other domestic (Pi Recordings), who between them monopolize the top four finishers. Full results are available via Tom Hull.
The Rest
11. Rudresh Mahanthappa & the Indo-Pak Coalition, Agrima (Mahanthappa) 108.5 points (18 ballots)
12. Jaimie Branch, Fly Or Die (International Anthem) 103 (19)
13. William Parker Quartets, Meditation/Resurrection (AUM Fidelity) 99.5 (15)
14. Hudson, Hudson (Motéma) 93.5 (16)
15. Ron Miles, I Am A Man (Yellowbird) 86.5 (17)
16. Miguel Zenón, Típico (Miel) 86.5 (15)
17. Matt Mitchell, A Pouting Grimace (Pi) 82 (16)
18. Ahmad Jamal, Marseille (Jazz Village/PIAS) 80.5 (10)
19. Bill Frisell & Thomas Morgan, Small Town (ECM) 78 (13)
20. Wadada Leo Smith, Solo: Reflections And Meditations On Monk (TUM) 77.5 (15)
21. Jane Ira Bloom, Wild Lines: Improvising Emily Dickinson (Outline) 77.5 (14)
22. Wadada Leo Smith, Najwa (TUM) 77 (13)
22. Linda Oh, Walk Against Wind (Biophilia) 75.5 (15)
24. Mike Reed, Flesh & Bone (482 Music) 64 (10)
25. Fred Hersch, Open Book (Palmetto) 60.5 (12)
26. Ornette Coleman & Various Artist, Celebrate Ornette (Song X) 60 (8)*
27. Rez Abbasi, Unfiltered Universe (Whirlwind) 58 (11)
28. Tim Berne's Snakeoil, Incidentals (ECM) 57 (8)
29. Chris Potter, The Dreamer Is The Dream (ECM) 54.5 (9)
30. Christian Scott, The Centennial Trilogy (Ropeadope) 54 (10)**
31. Eddie Palmieri, Sabiduria (Ropeadope) 49 (7)
32. Matthew Shipp Trio, Piano Song (Thirsty Ear) 48.5 (9)
33. Tomas Fujiwara, Triple Double (Firehouse 12) 46 (12)
34. Harriet Tubman Araminta (Sunnyside) 46 (9)
35. Fabian Almazan & Rhizome, Alcanza (Biophilia) 45 (6)
36. Noah Preminger, Meditations On Freedom (Dry Bridge) 44 (8)
37. Aruán Ortiz, Cub(an)ism (Intakt) 44 (7)
38. JD Allen, Radio Flyer (Savant) 43.5 (9)
39. Barry Altschul 3dom Factor, Live In Krakow (Not Two) 43 (8)
40. Eric Revis, Sing Me Some Cry (Clean Feed) 42 (8)
41. Nicholas Payton, Afro-Caribbean Mixtape (Paytone) 41 (6)
42. Kirk Knuffke, Cherryco (SteepleChase) 40 (7)
43. Tom Rainey Obbligato, Float Upstream (Clean Feed) 40 (6)
44. Christian McBride Big Band, Bringin' It (Mack Avenue) 36.5 (7)
45. Jason Moran & the Bandwagon, Thanksgiving At The Vanguard (Yes) 36 (5)
46. John Beasley, MONK'estra Volume 2 (Mack Avenue) 35 (7)
47. Brian Landrus Orchestra, Generations (BlueLand) 35 (5)
48. Billy Childs, Rebirth (Mack Avenue) 33 (6)
49. Jazzmeia Horn, A Social Call (Prestige) 33 (5)
50. Kate Gentile, Mannequins (Skirl) 32 (7)
* Includes 6 (2) from Rara Avis
** Includes 20.5 (5) for Rebel Ruler and 5.5 (1) for Diaspora.
Rara Avis
1. Thelonious Monk, Les Liaisons Dangereuses 1960 (Sam/Saga) 147 points (66 ballots)
2. Bill Evans, Another Time: The Hilversum Concert (Resonance) 59 (28)
3. Jaco Pastorius, Truth, Liberty & Soul (Resonance) 47 (22)
4. Alice Coltrane, World Spirituality Classics 1: The Ecstatic Music Of Alice Coltrane Turiyasangitananda (Luaka Bop) 38 (17)
5. Wes Montgomery/Wynton Kelly Trio, Smokin' In Seattle: Live At The Penthouse (1966) (Resonance) 22 (12)
6. Albert Ayler, Copenhagen Live 1964 (Hatology) 20 (10)
7. Various Artists, Classic Savoy Be-Bop Sessions 1945-49 (Mosaic) 18 (8)
8. Spontaneous Music Ensemble, Karyobin (Emanem) 16 (7)
9. Sonny Clark Trio, The 1960 Sessions (Tompkins Square) 13 (9)
10. Oscar Pettiford Nonet/Big Band/Sextet, New York City 1955-1958 (Uptown Jazz) 11 (6)
Vocal
1. Cécile McLorin Salvant, Dreams And Daggers (Mack Avenue) 35 votes
2. Dominique Eade & Ran Blake, Town And Country (Sunnyside) 16
3. Jen Shyu, Song Of Silver Geese (Pi) 10
4. Jazzmeia Horn, A Social Call (Prestige) 8
5. (tie) Roswell Rudd/Fay Victor/Lafayette Harris/Ken Filiano, Embrace (RareNoise) 6
5. (tie) Dee Dee Bridgewater Memphis ... Yes I'm Ready (OKeh) 6
Debut
1. Jaimie Branch, Fly Or Die (International Anthem) 29 votes
2. Jazzmeia Horn, A Social Call (Prestige) 17
3. Kate Gentile, Mannequins (Skirl) 13
4. Nate Smith, Kinfolk: Postcards From Everywhere (Ropeadope) 4
Latin
1. Miguel Zenón, Típico (Miel) 21 votes
2. (tie) Eddie Palmieri, Sabiduria (Ropeadope) 11
2. (tie) Aruán Ortiz, Cub(an)ism (Intakt) 11
4. Arturo O'Farrill & Chucho Valdes, Familia: Tribute To Bebo & Chico (Motéma) 9
5. David Virelles, Gnosis (ECM) 8
6. Fabian Almazan & Rhizome, Alcanza (Biophilia) 6
7. Anat Cohen & Marcello Gonçalves, Outra Coisa: The Music Of Moacir Santos (Anzic) 5
9(MDAxODcyMTgzMDEyMTgxMTY5NjYxN2I4OQ004))
300x250 Ad
300x250 Ad