The Best of 2012

I am the host of Jazz Notes on CFBX-FM in Kamloops, BC. The show will have its 11th anniversary in May, 2013. The station playlist is emphasized along with music that complements it. Specials include The International Women’s Day Show and The Mardi Gras Show, annually. Last year Peter Appleyard and Brandi Disterheft were interviewed on Jazz Notes. I attend many concerts and music shows in a variety of genres. I keep forgetting it’s radio and sometimes do shows in appropriate costumes.

My favourite radio moment of 2012 was interviewing octogenarian Peter Appleyard and hearing about how he started out in music in wartime England.

Following are the lists I compiled. To qualify the CD has to be received by CFBX or me in 2012 (so some of these may have been released in late 2011). As a western Canadian station we are getting less and less music from the eastern parts of the country. Your CD can’t be considered if I didn’t hear it. Re-releases do not qualify, unless it’s a recent 1st Canadian release and if other material has been added, as is the case of vocalist Halie Loren. I have included comments for my top 5 instrumental and the top 3 vocal choices.

Jazz Instrumental

1. Peter Appleyard – Peter Appleyard and the Jazz Giants (Linus)            
www.peterappleyardvibes.com
When I’m 84 years old I expect to be a burden on society. Peter Appleyard, at 84, has put out 2 of the best CDs I’ve heard this year. This one is a gem of a live studio performance from the 1970s that was put on the shelf for years and finally got released.  As it was not released until 2012 it meets the criteria of this list.  The main version of no nonsense standards highlights the playing abilities of Appleyard and his colleagues that toured with Benny Goodman. As an added bonus Linushas included the conversations of the musicians during the recording. A cool piece of music history!

2. Kevin Dean/PJ Perry Quintet -- Ubiquitous (Cellar Live)
Cellar Live Webpage
Famed bopper, PJ Perry does not put out bad recordings and this may be one of the very best of his 71 years on this planet. He’s been known to have great musical relationships with trumpet players, as on Tempus Fugit. This CD follows that tradition with Kevin Dean.  Add the world class players like bassist Neil Swainson and Mark Eisenman on piano and you can’t go wrong. This is a CD of originals by the band members, that I play over and over again.

3. Kenny Werner – Me, Myself and I (Justin Time)
kennywerner.com
It was recorded at a club during the Montreal Jazz Festival to a lucky and admiring audience and thankfully released by Justin Time. Solo performance CDs can be tedious, but not this one. A talented pianist doing great arrangements of popular standards does it for me.

4. Rob Mazurek's Pulsar Quartet – Stellar Pulsations (Delmark) 
 Yes I also listen to and appreciate non-Canadians, playing contemporary jazz. Any group associated with the Delmark label and the Chicago scene usually grabs my attention, too. Mazurek’s cornet and Angelica Sanchez’s piano definitely does that.  But don’t take my word check out

5. Brad Mehldau Trio – Where Do You Start (Nonesuch)               
Mehldau puts out two albums annually and the most recent may be his best in years. It is an album of cover songs ranging from “Hey Joe”, which was popularized by Jimi Henderix to Sonny Rollins’ “Airegin,” with some Elvis Costello thrown in for good measure. There is less of a classical feel to this album and the trio is tight.
www.bradmehldau.com

6. Peggy Lee Band – Invitation (Drip Audio)
7. Roberto Lopez and the Afro-Colombian Jazz Orchestra - Azul (Curura)
8. James Danderfer Trio – Swingin' at the Patricia
9. Bill Anschell/Brent Jensen/Chris Symer - Blueprints (Origin)
10. Brandi Disterheft - Gratitude (Justin Time)
Also noted: 11-20 in no particular order
Mike Allen Quartet – Faculty Jazz Collective (Almus)
Jim Holman – Explosion! (Delmark)
Francois Houle 5+1 – Genera (Songlines)
Pat Metheny – Unity Band (Nonesuch)
Lewis Nash Quintet – The Highest Mountain (Cellar Live)
Tyson Nash Trio – Kosmonauten (Songlines)
Outer Bridge Ensemble - Determined (Independent)
Bria Skonberg - So is the Day (Random Act)
Souljazz Orchestra - Solidarity (Strut)
Cory Weeds – Up a Step (Cellar Live)

Jazz Vocal

1. Jennifer Scott and Brasileira – Sonho Meu (Cellar Live)            
www.jenniferscott.ca
This project includes an all-star lineup of musicians from Vancouver.  Scott has long been on the Latiin/jazz scenes in Canada and the U.S. and has put together wonderful arrangements of popular and lesser known Latin jazz songs. The fact that she can sing in a number of languages and keep her exquisite phrasing is a feat in itself.

2. Halie Loren – Heart First (Justin Time)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halie_Loren
Oregon has discovered CFBX and we have received many fine jazz CDs from that state recently. Oregon native Halie Loren has a sultry voice that could probably add life to the most banal compositions. This time around she has chosen a variety of pop (eg. Neil Young’s “Lotta Love”) and jazz standards and added her own flair to them. Heart First is a very enjoyable music trip down relationship lane.

3. Connie Evingson - Sweet Happy Life (Minnehana)      
Minnesota’s Connie Evingson often has themes to her albums and this one continues that tradition. Here she is championing the music of Norman Gimbel, who composed much of his music for television shows and provided English lyrics to many bossa nova and similar Latin songs from South America in the 1960s. The arrangements are tasteful and she has toned down the schmaltz that was often in the original versions of these songs. I really enjoy her version of “Killing Me Softly With His Song” which was a huge hit for Roberta Flack and “Bluesette”.

4. Cassandra Wilson – Another Country (E1)
5. Peter Appleyard – Sophisticated Ladies (Linus)
Also noted: 6-10 in no particular order
Susie Arioli – All the Way (Spectra)
Ranee Lee – Deep Song (Justin Time)
Sophie Milman – In the Moonlight (E1)
Elizabeth Shepherd – Rewind (Pinwheel)
Carol Welsman – Journey (Justin Time)