CD-Charts Position 1
Average Rating:

Loverly

CD-Charts > Music > Avant Garde and Free Jazz
by: Cassandra Wilson

Release Date June 10, 2008
"Loverly" is the fifth album by Jazz chanteuse Cassandra Wilson that I own. Its name is taken from the song "Wouldn't it be loverly" (from the musical "My fair lady" - an album which coincidentally I got on CD for the first time this week) which she covers here in a big band Jazz style.

"Loverly" is actually an album of covers, the lone original number being the heavily African accented "Arere" (thanks to Nigerian drummer Lekan Babalola, as well as Cassandra singing in Yoruba). The album has a rather loose, spontaneous feel which sounds great. Much like its predecessor "Thunderbird", it displays diverse musical hues in a subtle way.

Songs like the swinging piano sprinkled opening cut "Lover come back to me" (with an ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 2
Average Rating:

River: The Joni Letters (with Bonus Tracks) - Amazon.com Exclusive

CD-Charts > Music > Avant Garde and Free Jazz
by: Herbie Hancock

Release Date September 25, 2007
It was pleasure listening to this CD. The music is wonderful.A must have for all lovers of jazz.

CD-Charts Position 3
Average Rating:

History, Mystery

CD-Charts > Music > Avant Garde and Free Jazz
by: Bill Frisell

Release Date May 13, 2008
That's what my daughter called it, and she's right. I know Frisell makes these sort of discs occasionally, with bizarre horn arrangements, but I don't care for them. Heck, I can't even tell if there's a guitar anywhere in some of these tracks! I shouldn't have bought it before listening closely. My mistake. If you like Nashville, Good Dog Happy Man, Gone Like a Train, Blues Dream, The Willies, East/West, Unspeakable -- this is nothing like any of them.

CD-Charts Position 4
Average Rating:

A Love Supreme

CD-Charts > Music > Avant Garde and Free Jazz
by: John Coltrane

Release Date August 19, 2003
I have the deluxe edition that includes the Antibes performance of A Love Supreme as well as that "lost" recording with Archie Shepp and Art Davis. I don't think this additional material is all that necessary unless you are a student of this man's music.

The actual release "A Love Supreme" is a recording that belongs in every serious music collection. This is wonderful, inspired music. It is the pinnacle of Coltrane's career, no question. Everything about Trane's music changed from this point forward. A Love Supreme is a summation of all his previous work and an introduction to the music to come. It is probably the most sincere, heartfelt work ever release by a "jazz" musician, perhaps any musician.

There are two recordings ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 5
Average Rating:

Live

CD-Charts > Music > Avant Garde and Free Jazz
by: Brad Mehldau Trio

Release Date March 25, 2008
This new Releases of Brads is awesome. It blows you away. Its 1 of the finest live recordings of all time. Awesome musicianship,awesome arrangements & very talented artist. Id go out as quick as you can & buy this Cd its that awesome.

CD-Charts Position 6
Average Rating:

Season of Changes

CD-Charts > Music > Avant Garde and Free Jazz
by: Brian Blade Fellowship

Release Date May 06, 2008
All of Brian Blades Fellowship albums (this is the third) are excellent! The compositions are from the heart and soul of the writer's and the players bring life to them with pieces of their own hearts and souls. This is not the same old bebop variations that you hear from Wynton and his followers. This is new music, that's rather difficult to pigeonhole. It's definitely jazz, though. There is great improvising, there is a great flow within the whole group. They obviously love to play this music, and they obviously love to play together. They have a definite group sound, and the compositions are not just platforms for solos, they are complex conceptual pieces that sound simple. That's a difficult thing to pull off and they do it masterfully. Be sure and listen to it ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 7
Average Rating:

Rabo de Nube

CD-Charts > Music > Avant Garde and Free Jazz
from: Ecm Records

Release Date March 11, 2008
I have been a fan of Charles Lloyd for a long time. I have never heard him sound better. Great Music by one of the all time greats.

Joe Bordelon
Katy, Tx

CD-Charts Position 8
Average Rating:

January

CD-Charts > Music > Avant Garde and Free Jazz
by: Marcin Wasilewski Trio

Release Date May 06, 2008
Heard a selection from January on NPR jazz one night...impressed enough to
buy the album on Amazon...and then i was much more impressed. I like
Mehldau, Jarret, and others, but this album is so sublime and beautiful
that i rate it above my other piano jazz favorites. Piano, bass and
drums are intertwined so skillfully. Watch for more of their albums, and
get this album.

CD-Charts Position 9
Average Rating:

Party Intellectuals

CD-Charts > Music > Avant Garde and Free Jazz
by: Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog

Release Date June 24, 2008
Heard a selection from January on NPR jazz one night...impressed enough to
buy the album on Amazon...and then i was much more impressed. I like
Mehldau, Jarret, and others, but this album is so sublime and beautiful
that i rate it above my other piano jazz favorites. Piano, bass and
drums are intertwined so skillfully. Watch for more of their albums, and
get this album.

CD-Charts Position 10
Average Rating:

Filtros

CD-Charts > Music > Avant Garde and Free Jazz
by: Guillermo Klein, Los Guachos

Release Date June 10, 2008
Guillermo Klein and Los Guachos' "Filtros" is the most original and exciting jazz-related large ensemble music I've heard in quite some time. I say "jazz-related" because calling this just "jazz" would be limiting.
Klein has come up with a sound world all his own. He has a great band full of strong and individual improvisers and players, but utilizes their soloing talents sparingly and only when it makes sense in the context of a particular piece. Several soloists, most notably Miguel Zenon on alto saxophone, get their chance to shine in selected spots. All of the musicians' own voices can be heard featured in Klein's melodies and voicings...he really writes for this particular group of individuals.
In this release, Klein's gift for strong, memorable melodies has ... Read More: