Like the rest of the performing arts, 2020 was a tough year for jazz. With venues shuttered because of the pandemic, musicians were robbed of their audiences. Clubs struggled in the face of lost revenue. Some venues tried livestreaming performances, but that was a poor substitute for a live club gig with an energetic audience of listeners. Near the end of the year, New York City’s famous Jazz Standard closed its doors. At the dawn of 2021, the future of normal re-openings remains unknown. Musicians and club owners continue to fear the long-term repercussions of the coronavirus pandemic.
When it came to recorded music in 2020, however, the jazz scene was just as thrilling as ever. There was a wealth of great music released, most of it composed and produced before the pandemic changed everything. During the final months of the year, several interesting quarantine projects came out.
There is no way to hear all of the great jazz released each year. Even as the host of a nightly jazz program, only a fraction of the year’s new albums cross my desk. I know there was plenty of good stuff I never heard. But here are a few of the 2020 jazz albums that caught my ear and helped brighten an otherwise troubled and uncertain year.
Kenny Barron/Dave Holland Trio featuring Johnathan Blake Without Deception
Six years ago, pianist Kenny Barron and bassist Dave Holland released an album of sparkling duo performances, The Art of Conversation. For this album, the two jazz masters invited drummer Johnathan Blake to join the discussion. The three share a strong, infectious rapport that is a delight to hear as they play through originals and works by Ellington, Monk and others. The approach is often subdued and understated, but it doesn’t lack for groove and swing.
Nduduzo Makhathini Modes of Communication Letters: from the Underworld
South African pianist Nduduzo Makhathini came to jazz relatively late, but it was through hearing John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme that he found his voice in the music. Coltrane’s classic is an album of prayer and meditation and that aligns with Makhathini’s approach to music as a source of motivation and healing. Makhathini’s ninth album and Blue Note Records debut is a spiritual endeavor with compositions that slowly unfold, creating comfort and strength through transcendent sound. This album came out at a time when it was critically needed.
Delfeayo Marsalis/Uptown Jazz Orchestra Jazz Party
I was first attracted to jazz because of its joyfulness and fun. Those qualities are too often overlooked these days as jazz has become something to study and overanalyze. Trombonist Marsalis and his New Orleans big band dispense with all of that pretentiousness and let loose with a nostop musical party filled with body-shaking grooves, exuberant horns and shouting vocals. This is a most joyous noise.
Ron Miles Rainbow Sign
Music inspired by grief and loss doesn’t have to be mournful. Denver cornetist Ron Miles wrote the compositions on Rainbow Sign while caring for his ailing father, yet there’s a sense hopefulness, beauty and positivity throughout the album. Although the album is centered around Miles’ elusive melodies, it’s very much a collaborative effort with guitarist Bill Frisell, pianist Jason Moran, bassist Thomas Morgan and drummer Brian Blade playing together as one voice. The music can be challenging and tricky, but it feels natural and easy even as it's hard to pin down.
Redman Mehldau McBride Blade Round Again
The last time these four musicians made a record together they were billed as the Joshua Redman Quartet. Then they were young lions in their twenties and twenty-six years later they’re still too young to be elder statesmen. Over the past quarter-century, Saxophonist Johsua Redman, pianist Brad Mehldau, bassist Christian McBride and drummer Brian Blade have each developed their own individual voice and they continue to set the standard for jazz in the new century. Round Again is filled with original compositions that are appealing, no matter how complex, and provide a solid foundation for some exploratory solos.
Maria Schneider Orchestra Data Lords
Minnesota-born composer Maria Schneider’s music often captures the expansive landscape of the prairie. But her new double-length album Data Lords finds her more pastoral expressions set against the dark menace of big tech. Split into two parts, “The Digital World” and “Our Natural World,” Data Lords finds Schneider’s all-star orchestra of New York musicians fulfilling the composer’s musical portraits of two polarized worlds. I know which of the worlds I prefer to live in.
Adam Shulman Septet West Meets East
While I don’t think it’s helpful for jazz to be too beholden to its glorious past, there are so many great styles found throughout jazz history that it’s also important not to let them become forgotten musical relics. San Francisco pianist Adam Shulman evokes the sounds of mid-century jazz with this engaging release that’s reminiscent of the Miles Davis Birth of the Cool sessions and records by Shorty Rogers and his Giants. Schulman’s original compositions are impeccably crafted and his voicings for a quartet of horns are spellbinding. And everything is swingin’.
Bobby Watson & New Horizon Keepin’ it Real
Bobby Watson was music director of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers from 1977 to 1981 and the Kansas City alto saxophonist’s Keepin’ it Real is steeped with the earthy, hard-bop spirit of the Messengers. This isn’t groundbreaking music, but it’s filled an infectious exuberance that’s always welcome. The album is filled with bluesy, soulful and catchy tunes grounded in a solid, swinging rhythm. The highlight is the gospel-fueled, toe-tapping title track that grabs you by the ears and won’t let go. And you’re glad it doesn't.
Thelonious Monk Palo Alto
Every year sees the release of previously unknown recordings by jazz legends. There were several notable historical releases in 2020, but at the top of the list is this unlikely 1968 live show from the Thelonious Monk Quartet at Palo Alto High School. The recording by an anonymous custodian isn’t ideal, but it’s balanced and clear and captures an inspired Monk at his most playful and inventive.