I thought it would be interesting to list Downbeat magazine's 2019 Readers Poll, which presents an alternative to the Jazzwise list I posted a couple of weeks ago. I should point out that many of these albums were released in the second half of 2018, with Downbeat not running the polling exactly on the calendar year, meaning that albums like Wayne Shorter's excellent EMANON get included in the list.
The poll demonstrates what a broad-minded bunch the Downbeat readers are, mixing in the fusion of Snarky Puppy and spiritual jazz of Kamasi Washington alongside Diana Krall and Tony Bennett's irresistible Love is Here to Stay, or Joey DeFrancesco's In The Key of the Universe alongside albums by both Marsalis brothers. I must confess that I am not yet familiar with some of the albums in this poll, such as Cécile McLorin Salvant's The Window, or The Basie Orchestra's All About That Basie, so I will be enjoying catching up on these over the Christmas holidays.
Tony and Diana continue their 20 + year collaboration to release their first album together celebrating the songbook of the Gershwin brothers, the greatest songwriters of the 20th Century. This intimate record has Tony and Diana accompanied by the Bill Charlap Trio, enabling the essence of each song to be fully realized.
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
All About That Basie brings together legendary artists from across jazz and pop (including Kurt Elling and Stevie Wonder) to join and celebrate the iconic Count Basie Orchestra under the direction of Scotty Barnhart. It's a collection of classic material, plus a twist on a few modern hits (Adele, Leonard Cohen, Stevie Wonder, and others).
Available Format: CD
The Window, an album of duets between Cécile McLorin Salvant and pianist Sullivan Fortner, explores and extends the tradition of the piano-vocal duo and its expressive possibilities. With just Fortner's deft accompaniment to support McLorin Salvant, the two are free to improvise and rhapsodise, to play freely with time, harmony, melody and phrasing.
Available Format: CD
For the original soundtrack of Bolden, nine-time GRAMMY Award winner Wynton Marsalis faced a nearly impossible task: to bring fellow trumpeter and New Orleanian Buddy Bolden, widely considered one of the fathers of jazz, back from the dead. But on this album, Marsalis enthusiastically resurrects the bawdy, brassy sound of Bolden as no one else can, throwing a Big Easy party that romps through some of Bolden’s most beloved material.
Available Formats: Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
This Branford Marsalis Quartet album has won many an accolade this year, and is about as state-of-the-art as modern bop gets, with the whole band firing on all cylinders. There are also some gorgeous ballads on here, making this an extremely satisfying listen throughout.
Available Formats: Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
On his adventurous album, In the Key of the Universe, the master organist Joey DeFrancesco turns his musical attentions to his spiritual side, tapping into a strain of metaphysical jazz that’s fuelled sonic searchers for more than half a century. Joining him on this path to musical enlightenment is the legendary saxophonist Pharoah Sanders.
Available Format: CD
