Jazz, born of the creative brilliance of Black American culture and now wonderfully global, is passionately alive in 2022. These are the year’s best jazz albums.
JazzMatters is a new monthly round-up of the best new jazz and creative music. March 2022 features Cécile McLorin Salvant, Melissa Aldana, and Ryan Keberle.
Johnathon Blake’s Blue Note debut, Homeward Bound, takes soulful jazz from the past, adds the complexity of the present with intelligence and adventure.
During the new-year season of best-of-the-year lists, I find myself looking backward—even at a year as difficult as 2020. Time was dilated—I thought I had too much of it but, as usual, there was too little for all the great music.
Joel Ross is a young jazz star on the vibes with a working band in his Blue Note debut—working a vein that is modern but tied certainly back to a tradition that includes his inspiration, Bobby Hutcherson. Cracking good.
