My listening habits are fairly diverse, and fairly heavily rooted in revisiting music I love. That said, there are plenty of things I discovered this year – either new or new to me. Here are some that I loved.
Thirsty Ghost (Sara Gazarek)
Sara Gazarek is a wonderful jazz singer based in L.A., and her new album Thirsty Ghost is a tour-de-force and a step forward for the art form, with innovative arrangements and passionate, deep singing. She’s received two well-deserved Grammy nominations for the album – one for Best Jazz Vocal Album and one for Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals (for the sublime Jolene arrangement by Geoff Keezer).
Reminiscing In Tempo (New York Voices)
A killer thirtieth anniversary album of new material from the New York Voices?! Yes, please. It covers the gamut of their diverse interests, from wordless tango to Dave Brubeck to swing standards. It’s a great record from one of the best groups ever to make vocal harmony.
Hadestown (Original Broadway Cast)
Jazz and American Roots music meets Greek mythology? That’s pretty far up my alley, and this album delivers. Our family was following along as they dropped this cast album a little bit at a time over the summer, and obsessed over each new chunk. You can now listen to the whole thing and get the whole story of Orpheus and Eurydice along with Hades and Persephone. It’s transfixing.
The Subject Tonight Is Love (Kate McGarry)
I have Jennifer Barnes to thank for pushing me to listen more to the remarkable Kate McGarry, who I’ve loved as part of MOSS and on Jeremy Fox’s orchestral album, but hadn’t deeply listened to before this January. Her 2018 album The Subject Tonight Is Love is remarkable and gets regular play in my house. I especially love Climb Down/Whiskey You’re the Devil.
A Thousand Nights (UNT Jazz Singers)
Speaking of Jennifer Barnes, the most recent album of her group, UNT Jazz Singers, is tremendous. Great solos, great musicianship, great example of what a collegiate vocal group can achieve. It features several great guests including Sara Gazarek and Johnaye Kendrick.
Djesse Vol. 2 (Jacob Collier)
2019 was the year I dug deep into Jacob Collier – thanks to my ten-year-old son, who became obsessed. He’s a remarkably skilled musician, and Djesse Vol. 2 was particularly compelling to me in its use of more intimate instrumentation and recording. It’s still musically wild, but it’s also more approachable.
Flying (Johnaye Kendrick)
Johnaye and I weren’t at Western Michigan at the same time, so the first time we crossed paths was when she was a guest performer at the WMU Vocal Jazz Festival this spring. Her most recent album, from 2018, is a mix of great originals and standards.
I’m looking forward to another year of new releases and new discoveries in 2020.
What was the best new music you heard this year?