Best and Notable Releases of 2017

Nota bene: All of my choices are in alphabetical order by artist and are to be equally rated.

10 BEST NEW RELEASES OF 2017

Jane Ira Bloom, Wild Lines: Improvising Emily Dickinson (Outline)

Anat Cohen, Happy Song (Anzic Records)

Echoes Of Swing (Chris Hopkins, Bernd Lhotzky, Colin T. Dawson, Shannon Barnett, and others), Bix: A Tribute to Bix Beiderbecke (ACT Music)

Howard Johnson & Gravity, Testimony (Tuscarora Records)

Rudresh Mahanthappa, Agrima (Rudreshm.com) LP

Roscoe Mitchell, Bells For The South Side (ECM)

Courtney Pine, Black Notes From The Deep (Freestyle Records)

Wadada Leo Smith, Solo-Reflections And Meditations On Monk (Tum Records)

Tyshawn Sorey, Verisimilitude (PI Recordings)

Deanna Witkowski, Makes the Heart to Sing: Jazz Hymns (Tilapia Records)

3 BEST REISSUE OR HISTORICAL OF 2017

Kenny Dorham, K.D. Is Here: New York City 1962 & 1966 (Uptown Jazz)

Oscar Pettiford Nonet/Big Band/Sextet: New York City 1955-1958 (Uptown Jazz)

Flip Phillips, Your Place Or Mine? (Jump/Delmark Records)

BEST VOCAL RELEASE OF 2017

Gabriele Tranchina, Of Sailing Ships and the Stars in Your Eyes (Rainchant Eclectic Records)

BEST DEBUT RELEASE OF 2017

The Brett Gold New York Jazz Orchestra, Dreaming Big (Goldfox Records)

BEST LATIN JAZZ RELEASE OF 2017

Gabriel Alegría Afro-Peruvian Sextet, Diablo en Brooklyn (Saponegro Records)

NOTABLE RELEASES OF 2017

Greg Abate, Road to Forever (Naxos of America, Inc.) James Armstrong, Blues Been Good to Me (Catfood Records) Heather Bambrick, You'll Never Know (Heather Bambrick) Behold the Brave, Behold The Brave (WITHYN Records) Ignacio Berroa Trio, Straight Ahead from Havana (Codes Drum Music) Lena Bloch & Feathery, Heart Knows (Fresh Sound New Talent) Bohemian Trio (Orlando Alonso, Yves Dharamraj, Yosvany Terry), Okonkolo (Innova Records) Boyz II Men, Under the Streetlight (Motown) Jamie Branch, Fly Or Die (International Anthem) Dewa Budjana, Zentuary (Favored Nations) Uri Caine & Lutoslawski Quartet, Space Kiss (816 Music) Richie Cole, Latin Lover (Richie Cole) Michelle Coltrane, Awakening (Blujazz) Eva Cortes, Crossing Borders (Origin Records) Larry Coryell's 11th House, Seven Secrets (Savoy) Adrian Cunningham, Jazz Speak (Arbors Records) Hermine Deurloo, Living Here (Zennes Records) Akua Dixon, Akua's Dance (Akua's Music) Bob Dorough Trio & Special Guests, Live at the Deer Head Inn (Deer Head Records) Laura Dubin Trio, Live at the Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival (Laura Dubin) Sinne Eeg, Dreams (ArtistShare) Tohpati Ethnomission, Mata Hati (Moonjune Records) Bill Evans, Another Time: The Hilversum Concert (Resonance Records) Bob Ferrel, Bob Ferrel's Jazztopian Dream (BFM Productions) George Freeman, 90 Going on Amazing (Blujazz) Eddie Gale, Eddie Gale’s Ghetto Music: The Remake and Beyond 50th Year Anniversary Collector's Edition (MEPCO Recordings) Hilary Gardner, The Late Set (Anzic Records) Brad Garton and Dave Soldier, The Brainwave Music Project (Mulatta Records) Gerry Gibbs & Thrasher People, Weather or Not (Whaling City Sound) Kelly Green, Life Rearranged (kgmusic LLC) The Heliosonic Tone-Tette (Scott Robinson, Marshall Allen et alii), Heliosonic Toneways, Vol. 1 (ScienSonic Recordings) Fred Hersch, Open Book (Palmetto) Cynthia Hilts & Lyric Fury, Lyric Fury (Blond Coyote Records) The Sherman Holmes Project, The Richmond Sessions (M.C. Records) Dick Hyman, Solo At The Sacramento Jazz Festivals 1983-1988 (Arbors Records) Abdullah Ibrahim, Ancient Africa (Sackville/Delmark Records) Ingrid and Christine Jensen, Infinitude (Whirlwind Recordings) Rebecca Kilgore & Bernd Lhotzky, This And That (Arbors Records) Oliver Lake Featuring Flux Quartet, Right Up On (Passin' Thru Records) Janet Lawson Quintet, The Janet Lawson Quintet (BBE) Jihye Lee Orchestra, April (Joun Music) Dave Liebman/ Mike Murley Quartet, Live at U of T (U of T Jazz) Allegra Levy, Cities Between Us (SteepleChase1) Roberto Magris Sextet, Live in Miami (JMood Records) The Marc VW Allstars, Raise the Marc (PM Records) Sherrie Maricle, Jackie Warren, Amy Shook, 3Divas (Diva Records) Ernest McCarty and Jimmy Smith, Reunion Tribute To Erroll Garner (Blujazz Records) Bob Merrill, Tell Me Your Troubles: Songs by Joe Bushkin, Vol. 1 (Accurate Records) Alma Micic, That Old Feeling (Whaling City Sound) The Microscopic Septet, The Micros Play the Blues (Cuneiform Records) Billy Mintz, Ugly Beautiful (Thirteenth Note Records) Roscoe Mitchell Duets with Anthony Braxton (Sackville/Delmark Records) Yoko Miwa Trio, Pathways (Ocean Blue Tear Music) Thelonious Monk, Les Liaisons Dangereuses 1960 (Sam Records) (2LPs or 2CDs) Wes Montgomery, In Paris: The Definitive ORTF Recording (Resonance Records) The Muh Trio (Roberto Magris, Frantisek Uhlir, Jaromir Helesic), Prague After Dark (Jmood Records) Luis Muñoz, The Dead Man (Pelin Music) Roberto Negro, Garibaldi Plop (Trico) New Black Eagle Jazz Band, A Memorial Concert for Chester Zardis, New Orleans Bassist, 1900-90 (Black Eagle Records) (DVD) The New Vision Sax Ensemble, Musical Journey Through Time (Zaki Publishing, Inc.) Arturo O'Farrill & Chucho Valdés, Familia: Tribute to Bebo & Chico (Motema Music, LLC) Miles Okazaki, Trickster (PI Recordings) Sarah Partridge, Bright Lights and Promises: Redefining Janis Ian (Origin Records) Nicki Parrot, Dear Blossom (Arbors Records) Leslie Pintchik, You Eat My Food, You Drink My Wine, You Steal My Girl! (Pintch Hard Records) Plucky Strum (Sheryl Bailey and Harvie S), Departure (Whaling City Sound) Lewis Porter and Phil Scarff, Three Minutes to Four (Whaling City Sound) Sam Post, Dizzy Days: Ragtime Piano by Sam Post, William Bolcom, and Scott Joplin (Sam Post) Stephan Olivia, Susanne Abbuehl, Øyvind Hegg-Lunde, Princess (Vision Fugitive) Tina Raymond, Left Right Left (Orenda) Johnny Rawls, Waiting For The Train (Catfood Records) Duke Robillard, Duke Robillard And His Dames Of Rhythm (M.C. Records) Rock Candy Funk Party, The Groove3 (J&R Adventures) Rova Saxophone Quartet, Steve Lacy’s Saxophone Special Revisited (Clean Feed Records) Charles Rumback, Threes (Ears & Eyes Records) San Francisco String Trio, May I Introduce To You (Ridgeway Records) Saràyah, Feel The Vibe (Basin Street Records) Jen Shyu, Song of Silver Geese (PI Recordings) Matthew Shipp Trio, Piano Song (Thirsty Ear Recordings) Wadada Leo Smith, Najwa (Tum Records) Willie the Lion Smith and Don Ewell, Grand Piano Duets (Sackville/Delmark Records) Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, Sonny & Brownie's Last Train (M.C. Records) Norbert Stein Pata Messengers, We Are (Pata Music) Katie Thiroux, Off Beat (Capri) Nestor Torres, Jazz Flute Traditions (AlFi Records) Papo Vazquez, J.S. Bach, Goldberg Variations: 12 Variations for Jazz Quartet (Picaro Records) Weird Turn Pro, The Repeatedly Answered Question (Weird Turn Pro) Patrice Williamson, Comes Love (River Lily Records) Mark Whitfield, Live and Uncut (Chesky Records) Mark Wingfield, Markus Reuter, Yaron Stavi, Asaf Sirkis, The Stone House (Moonjune Records) Jim Yanda Trio, Regional Cookin (Corner Store Jazz) Dan Zimmerman, Drifting Home (Dizzymusic)