End of Year Album Lists: 2001-2008

Albums of the Year are compiled from critics’ individual choices and based on a points system. Ten points for a #1 on that critic’s list, one point for a #10, etc. Many albums in the lower ends of these lists would have received the same number of points and then have been listed alphabetically. Here the lists are numbered 1-50 (only 43 in 2005) regardless of this.

JazzTimes End of Year Album List: 2001

1. Black Dahlia - Bob Belden
2. Black Stars - Jason Moran
3. Ethnic Stew & Brew - Roy Campbell Pyramid Trio
4. Everybody’s Mouth’s a Book - Henry Threadgill & Make a Move
5. Amaryllis - Marilyn Crispell with Gary Peacock & Paul Motian
6. Basel, 1961: Swiss Radio Days Jazz Series Vol 7 - Buck Clayton All Stars
7. O’Neal’s Porch - William Parker Quartet
8. Birds of a Feather - David Friedman & Jasper Van’t Hof
9. Not for Nothin’ - Dave Holland Quintet
10. Up Popped the Two Lips - Henry Threadgill & Zooid
11. Written in the Stars - Bill Charlap Trio with Peter Washington & Kenny Washington
12. Inside Out - Keith Jarrett with Gary Peacock & Jack DeJohnette
13. Paradise - Humberto Ramirez Jazz Orchestra
14. Songs Without Words - Fred Hersch
15. SuperBass 2 - Ray Brown with John Clayton & Christian McBride
16. Symbols of Light (A Solution) - Greg Osby
17. Look of Love - Diana Krall
18. Chicago Underground Quartet - Chicago Underground Quartet
19. Progression: Art of the Trio Vol 5 - Brad Mehldau Trio
20. Witness - Dave Douglas
21. Corridors & Parallels - David S Ware Quartet
22. Neighborhoods - Olu Dara
23. Travesia - David Sanchez
24. In South America: Volume 3 - Dizzy Gillespie
25. Eventually - Charlie Kohlhase Quintet with Roswell Rudd
26. Freefall - Kenny Barron & Regina Carter
27. Girl Talk - Vanessa Rubin
28. Inscape-Tableaux - Barry Guy New Orchestra
29. Like a Kiss That Never Ends - David Murray’s Power Quartet
30. Nocturnal - Four80East
31. Parallels - Lee Konitz
32. Gargalhada - Paulo Sérgio Santos
33. Solo: Live in New York - Chucho Valdés
34. Spirit! Power of Music - Randy Weston’s African Rhythms Quartet & the Gnawa Master Musicians of Morocco
35. Tell the Truth - Lee Roy Parnell
36. Travelling Somewhere - Chris McGregor
37. Vertigo - Jackie McLean
38. Works for Me - John Scofield
39. Battangó - Lewis Trio
40. Berlin Abbozzi - Bill Dixon
41. With Dave Holland & Elvin Jones - Bill Frisell
42. Boom Bop - Jean-Paul Bourelly with Archie Shepp & Henry Threadgill
43. Duets 2001 - Robert Barry & Fred Anderson
44. Flirting with Twilight - Kurt Elling
45. Gotcha! - Ernest Ranglin
46. Hot Swing! - Mark O’Connor with Jon Burr & Frank Vignola
47. Life Changes - Doc Powell
48. Nearness of You: Ballad Book - Michael Brecker
49. Noites do Norte - Caetano Veloso
50. Somethin’ Special - Tardo Hammer Trio

JazzTimes End of Year Album List: 2002

1. Footprints… Live - Wayne Shorter
2. What Goes Around - Dave Holland Big Band
3. A Beautiful Day - Andrew Hill
4. Faces & Places - Joe Zawinul
5. Always Let Me Go: Live in Tokyo - Keith Jarrett with Gary Peacock & Jack DeJohnette
6. Largo - Brad Mehldau
7. Modernistic - Jason Moran
8. Soul of Things - Tomasz Stańko
9. Live at the Village Vanguard - Wessell ‘Warmdaddy’ Anderson
10. Raining on the Moon - William Parker Quartet
11. Speaking of Now - Pat Metheny Group
12. Live & Unreleased - Weather Report
13. Inside Out - Keith Jarrett with Gary Peacock & Jack DeJohnette
14. Vietnam: The Aftermath - Billy Bang
15. Footsteps of Our Fathers - Branford Marsalis
16. This is New - Dee Dee Bridgewater
17. Heaven - Jimmy Scott
18. Nu Bop - Matthew Shipp
19. Complete Miles Davis at Montreux: 1973-1991 - Miles Davis
20. Directions in Music: Live at Massey Hall - Herbie Hancock
21. Freedom Suite - David S Ware
22. Live in Paris - Pierre Bensusan & Didier Malherbe
23. Live: Vol Two - Woody Shaw
24. Infinite - Dave Douglas
25. Spacetime - Mujician
26. Year of the Elephant - Wadada Leo Smith’s Golden Quartet
27. Lift Every Voice - Andrew Hill
28. Science Friction - Tim Berne
29. Things to Come - University of North Florida Jazz Ensemble 1 directed by Keith Javors
30. Triangulo - Michel Camilo
31. Mint Jam - Yellowjackets
32. Secret Heart - Curtis Stigers
33. Sentir - Omar Sosa
34. 8 Standards (Wesleyan) 2001 - Anthony Braxton Quartet
35. Come Away with Me - Norah Jones
36. Inner Circle - Greg Osby
37. Invisible Nature - John Surman & Jack DeJohnette
38. La Perfecta II - Eddie Palmieri
39. Song for My Sister - Roscoe Mitchell & the Note Factory
40. Tonight at Noon - Mingus Big Band
41. Elastic - Joshua Redman
42. Rhythm of Life - Claudia Acuña
43. Joined at the Hip - Buster Williams Quartet
44. Traveling Mercies - Chris Potter
45. Belly of the Sun - Cassandra Wilson
46. Can I Persuade You? - Vanguard Jazz Orchestra
47. Happy People - Kenny Garrett
48. Jazz at the College of the Pacific: Vol 2 - Dave Brubeck Quartet
49. Plays John Coltrane - McCoy Tyner
50. Mean What You Say - Cecil Bridgewater

JazzTimes End of Year Album List: 2003

1. Alegría - Wayne Shorter
2. Extended Play: Live at Birdland - Dave Holland Quintet
3. Bandwagon - Jason Moran
4. Passing Ships - Andrew Hill
5. Tribute to Lester Bowie - Art Ensemble of Chicago
6. These Are the Vistas - Bad Plus
7. A Little Moonlight - Dianne Reeves
8. Up for It: Live in Juan-les-Pins - Keith Jarrett with Gary Peacock & Jack DeJohnette
9. Romare Bearden Revealed - Branford Marsalis Quartet
10. Equilibrium - Matthew Shipp
11. In Paris: Live at the Olympia - Thelonious Monk
12. Blood Sutra - Vijay Iyer
13. Hiroshima: Rising from the Abyss - Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra
14. But Beautiful - Wild Bill Davison
15. Cry - Scott Amendola Band
16. Laughing Barrell - Ron Miles Quartet
17. Seven Days of Falling - EST
18. Changing Places - Tord Gustavsen Trio
19. Live at the Village Vanguard - Wessell ‘Warmdaddy’ Anderson
20. Love Letters - Gerald Veasley
21. On the Rising of the 64 Paths - Steve Coleman
22. Cardinal Points - Jean-Michel Pilc
23. Land of Giants - McCoy Tyner with Bobby Hutcherson, Charnett Moffett & Eric Harland
24. Looking for America - Carla Bley Big Band
25. Paganini: After a Dream - Regina Carter
26. Norte e Sul (North & South) - Luciana Souza
27. Purple: Celebrating Jimi Hendrix - Nguyên Lê
28. Sublime And - Tim Berne Science Friction Band
29. Humidity - Matt Wilson Quartet
30. Man in the Air - Kurt Elling
31. Freak In - Dave Douglas
32. Free Country - Joel Harrison
33. Glamoured - Cassandra Wilson
34. Incantations/Encantaciones - Elio Villafranca
35. Now is Another Time - David Murray’s Latin Big Band
36. On This Day - Dave Ballou
37. One Quiet Night - Pat Metheny
38. Chasing Paint - Jane Ira Bloom
39. In What Language? - Vijay Iyer & Mike Ladd
40. Line on Love - Marty Ehrlich
41. Airports for Light - Vandermark 5
42. Camp Songs - Ben Perowsky
43. Exile - Pharoah’s Daughter
44. Friendship - Clark Terry & Max Roach
45. Heartcore - Kurt Rosenwinkel
46. North - Collective
47. Grand Unification Theory - Stefon Harris
48. Word of Mouth Revisited - Jaco Pastorius Big Band
49. Blue Gardenia - Libby York
50. Luminescence - Daniel Carter & Reuben Radding

JazzTimes End of Year Album List: 2004

1. Ivey-Divey - Don Byron
2. American Song - Andy Bey
3. Out of Towners - Keith Jarrett with Gary Peacock & Jack DeJohnette
4. Eternal - Branford Marsalis
5. Strange Liberation - Dave Douglas
6. Life of a Song - Geri Allen
7. A Gathering of Spirits - Saxophone Summit [Michael Brecker, Dave Liebman & Joe Lovano]
8. Great Divide - Von Freeman
9. Unspeakable - Bill Frisell
10. Concert in the Garden - Maria Schneider Orchestra
11. Give - Bad Plus
12. Live: A Fortnight in France - Patricia Barber
13. I’m All for You - Joe Lovano
14. Holy Ghost - Albert Ayler
15. Lift: Live at the Village Vanguard - Chris Potter Quartet
16. Translinear Light - Alice Coltrane
17. Heavy Juice - Scott Hamilton & Harry Allen
18. Suspended Night - Tomasz Stańko Quartet
19. Harmony & Abyss - Matthew Shipp
20. Live in Tokyo - Brad Mehldau
21. Girl in the Other Room - Diana Krall
22. Expansion - Dave Burrell’s Full-Blown Trio
23. Mean Ameen - Ernest Dawkins’ New Horizons Ensemble
24. Neruda - Luciana Souza
25. Someday My Prince Will Come - Great Jazz Trio
26. Anything Goes - Brad Mehldau
27. Evolution - Stefon Harris & Blackout
28. Land of the Sun - Charlie Haden
29. Ouro Negro - Moacir Santos
30. #1 - Ed Thigpen’s Scantet
31. Somewhere: Songs of Leonard Bernstein - Bill Charlap Trio
32. Storyteller - Marilyn Crispell Trio
33. Day the World Stood Still - Andrew Hill Jazzpar Octet +1
34. EnRoute - John Scofield Trio
35. Junk Magic - Craig Taborn
36. Adobe - Tony Malaby
37. Buzz - Ben Allison
38. Class Trip - John Abercrombie Quartet
39. End of the World Party (Just in Case) - Medeski, Martin & Wood
40. Gwotet - David Murray & the Gwo-Ka Masters featuring Pharoah Sanders
41. Morton’s Foot - Rabih Abou-Khalil
42. Shed Grace - Sticks & Stones
43. Giant Pin - Nels Cline Singers
44. Get Well Soon - Bob Brookmeyer’s New Art Orchestra
45. Mulatos - Omar Sosa
46. Napoli’s Walls - Louis Sclavis
47. Soul Shadows - Joe Sample
48. Lost Chords - Carla Bley with Andy Sheppard & Steve Swallow & Billy Drummond
49. Solo 3 - Roscoe Mitchell
50. 52nd & Broadway: Songs of the Bebop Era - Terry Gibbs

JazzTimes End of Year Album List: 2005

1. With John Coltrane at Carnegie Hall - Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane
2. Town Hall, New York City June 22 1945 - Dizzy Gillespie & Charlie Parker
3. One Down, One Up: Live at the Half Note - John Coltrane
4. Without a Song: 9/11 Concert - Sonny Rollins
5. Flow - Terence Blanchard
6. Reimagining - Vijay Iyer
7. I Have the Room Above Her - Paul Motian
8. Beyond the Sound Barrier - Wayne Shorter Quartet
9. Day is Done - Brad Mehldau Trio
10. This Was the Pace of My Heartbeat - In the Country
11. East/West - Bill Frisell
12. Jumping the Creek - Charles Lloyd
13. Bebo de Cuba: Suite Cubana/Solar de Bebo - Bebo Valdés
14. Channel Three - Greg Osby
15. It’s Mostly Residual - Cuong Vu
16. Not in Our Name - Charlie Haden Liberation Music Orchestra
17. Goodbye - Bobo Stenson with Anders Jormin & Paul Motian
18. Live in the World - David S Ware Quartets
19. Ground - Tord Gustavsen Trio
20. Trio - Marcin Wasilewski, Slawomir Kurkiewicz & Michal Miskiewicz
21. Joyous Encounter - Joe Lovano
22. Keystone - Dave Douglas
23. Listen Here! - Eddie Palmieri
24. Spiritual Unity - Roy Campbell, Henry Grimes, Marc Ribot & Chad Taylor
25. Vietnam: Reflections - Billy Bang
26. I’m with the Band - Tierney Sutton
27. Pixiedust - Solveig Slettahjell & the Slow Motion Orchestra
28. Way Up - Pat Metheny Group
29. Love is Here to Stay - Bill Charlap & Sandy Stewart
30. Suspicious Activity? - Bad Plus
31. Mandarin Movie - Mandarin Movie
32. Radiance - Keith Jarrett
33. Deep Song - Kurt Rosenwinkel
34. Overtime - Dave Holland Big Band
35. Live in Addis (Éthiopiques 20) - Either/Orchestra
36. InnerPlay - Jim Self
37. It’s Magnificent, But it Isn’t War - Cold Bleak Heat
38. It’s on Tonight - Brian Culbertson
39. Menza Lines - Don Menza Big Band
40. Neighborhoods - Olu Dara
41. Neighbourhood - Manu Katché
42. News on the Rail - Marty Ehrlich
43. Once to Every Heart - Mark Murphy

The extent of the list this year.

JazzTimes End of Year Album List: 2006

1. Sound Grammar - Ornette Coleman
2. Time Lines - Andrew Hill
3. Sonny, Please - Sonny Rollins
4. Critical Mass - Dave Holland Quintet
5. Garden of Eden - Paul Motian Band
6. Beyond the Wall - Kenny Garrett
7. Carnegie Hall Concert - Keith Jarrett
8. Lontano - Tomasz Stańko Quartet
9. Saudades - Trio Beyond
10. Non-Cognitive Aspects of the City: Live at Iridium - Art Ensemble of Chicago
11. House on Hill - Brad Mehldau
12. New Monastery - Nels Cline
13. With Ron Carter & Paul Motian - Bill Frisell
14. African Tarantula - Stefon Harris
15. Mythologies - Patricia Barber
16. Zep Tepi - Randy Weston
17. Locked & Loaded: Live at the Blue Note - Odean Pope
18. Artist in Residence - Jason Moran
19. From This Moment On - Diana Krall
20. Nothing Serious - Roy Hargrove
21. Easy to Love - Roberta Gambarini
22. Live at Jazz Standard with Fred Hersch - Nancy King
23. Penumbra - Bennie Maupin Ensemble
24. Phat Pack - Gordon Goodwin & the Big Phat Band
25. Do the Boomerang - Don Byron
26. Image of Your Body - Myra Melford & Be Bread
27. Up From the Skies: Music of Jim McNeely - Vanguard Jazz Orchestra
28. Good Forever - Von Freeman
29. Momentum - Dave Burrell
30. Raw Materials - Vijay Iyer & Rudresh Mahanthappa
31. Thunderbird - Cassandra Wilson
32. Meaning & Mystery - Dave Douglas
33. New Nonet - Lee Konitz
34. Sangam - Trygve Seim
35. Stoa - Nik Bärtsch’s Ronin
36. Streaming - Muhal Richard Abrams with George Lewis & Roscoe Mitchell
37. Underground - Chris Potter
38. Timeless Portraits & Dreams - Geri Allen
39. Big M: A Tribute to Malachi Favors - Khalil El’Zabar ’s Ritual Trio featuring Billy Bang
40. Hey, Look Me Over - Harry Allen/Joe Cohn Quartet
41. In the Loop - Ted Nash & Still Evolved
42. Quartet - Pat Metheny & Brad Mehldau
43. Relax - Buck Hill
44. Simpatico - Brian Lynch & Eddie Palmieri
45. Streams of Expression - Joe Lovano
46. Twenty Five - Yellowjackets
47. Believe - Chico Hamilton
48. Broken Heart - Sylvia Versini
49. Brotherman in the Fatherland - Rahsaan Roland Kirk
50. Half the Perfect World - Madeleine Peyroux


JazzTimes End of Year Album List: 2007

1. Pilgrimage - Michael Brecker
2. Sky Blue - Maria Schneider Orchestra
3. Tale of God’s Will: A Requiem for Katrina - Terence Blanchard
4. River: Joni Letters - Herbie Hancock
5. Back East - Joshua Redman
6. My Foolish Heart - Keith Jarrett with Gary Peacock & Jack DeJohnette
7. Red Earth: A Malian Journey - Dee Dee Bridgewater
8. Time & Time Again - Paul Motian with Bill Frisell & Joe Lovano
9. Kids: Duets Live at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola - Joe Lovano & Hank Jones
10. Quartet - McCoy Tyner
11. With Love - Charles Tolliver
12. Brown Street - Joe Zawinul
13. Third Quartet - John Abercrombie Quartet
14. On the Other Side - Tierney Sutton Band
15. Disorder at the Border - Bennie Wallace
16. Poetica - Anat Cohen
17. Ain’t Necessarily So - Andy Bey
18. Hommage - Andrew Hill
19. Live at the Village Vanguard - Bill Charlap Trio
20. Nightmoves - Kurt Elling
21. This Meets That - John Scofield
22. Dear Miles - Ron Carter
23. Re: Pasolini - Stefano Battaglia
24. You & the Night and the Music - Jackie Ryan
25. Early & Late - Steve Lacy/Roswell Rudd Quartet
26. Latest Outlook - Stryker & Slagle Band
27. Live at the Jazz Gallery - Jason Lindner Big Band
28. Song for Anyone - Chris Potter 10
29. Live 2006: 3rd Annual Concert Tour - SF Jazz Collective
30. Live 2007: 4th Annual Concert Tour - SF Jazz Collective
31. Roses - Bill McHenry
32. Dearest Duke - Carol Sloane
33. In My Element - Robert Glasper
34. Floratone - Matt Chamberlain with Bill Frisell, Tucker Martine & Lee Townsend
35. Homecoming: Live at the Iridium - Eddie Daniels
36. Quartet - Pat Metheny & Brad Mehldau
37. Lawn Chair Society - Kenny Werner
38. Prezens - David Torn
39. Prog - Bad Plus
40. Shock Value - Jeremy Pelt & Wired
41. We Are All From Somewhere Else - Exploding Star Orchestra
42. Abbey Sings Abbey - Abbey Lincoln
43. Between the Lines - Mike Moreno
44. Dialogues - Kenny Davern & Ken Peplowski
45. Draw Breath - Nels Cline Singers
46. En Route - Four80East
47. Hommage - Bill Holman Band
48. Live in Concert: Moment to Moment - Double Image
49. My Museum - Phil Kelly & the SW Santa Ana Winds

The extent of the list this year.


JazzTimes End of Year Album List: 2008

1. Rabo de Nube - Charles Lloyd Quartet
2. Early Reflections - Bennie Maupin Quartet
3. Symphonica - Joe Lovano
4. Day Trip - Pat Metheny with Christian McBride & Antonio Sanchez
5. Pass It On - Dave Holland Sextet
6. History, Mystery - Bill Frisell
7. Appearing Nightly - Carla Bley Big Band
8. Loverly - Cassandra Wilson
9. Miles from India: A Celebration of the Music of Miles Davis - Various Artists
10. Notes from the Village - Anat Cohen
11. Filtros - Guillermo Klein & los Guachos
12. Karibu - Lionel Loueke
13. Silence - David Murray & Mal Waldron
14. Guitars - McCoy Tyner
15. Kinsmen - Rudresh Mahanthappa featuring Kadri Gopalnath & the Dakshina Ensemble
16. Longitude - Martial Solal Trio
17. Our Delight - James Moody & Hank Jones Quartet
18. Present Tense - James Carter
19. New Crystal Silence - Chick Corea & Gary Burton
20. Cantando - Bobo Stenson Trio
21. Earfood - Roy Hargrove Quartet
22. Season of Changes - Brian Blade Fellowship
23. The Dreamer - José James
24. Live - Brad Mehldau Trio
25. Tabligh - Wadada Leo Smith’s Golden Quartet
26. Live 2008: 5th Annual Concert Tour - SF Jazz Collective
27. January - Marcin Wasilewski Trio
28. Bert’s Playground - Ari Hoenig
29. Two Men with the Blues - Willie Nelson & Wynton Marsalis
30. Cultural Survival - David Sanchez
31. Cole Porter Mix - Patricia Barber
32. Speak Low - Boz Scaggs
33. Sticks & Strings - Joe Locke Quartet
34. World Awakes: A Tribute to Eli ‘Lucky’ Thompson - Michael Blake
35. Awake - Miguel Zenón
36. Blue Crescent - Dr Michael White
37. Beyond Standard - Hiromi & Sonicbloom
38. Crossing the Field - Jenny Scheinman
39. Dream Garden - Adam Rudolph’s Moving Pictures
40. Negative Space - David Liebman with Roberto Tarenzi, Paolo Benedettini & Tony Arco
41. Romance - Rosa Passos
42. Moonshine - Dave Douglas & Keystone
43. Dragon’s Head - Mary Halvorson Trio
44. Holon - Nik Bärtsch’s Ronin
45. Live at the Village Vanguard: Vol 2 - Paul Motian Trio 2000 + Two
46. Tiny Resistors - Todd Sickafoose
47. Cirio - Francisco Mela
48. Gently Disturbed - Avishai Cohen Trio
49. The Remedy: Live at the Village Vanguard - Kurt Rosenwinkel
50. You Are There - Roberta Gambarini & Hank Jones