by Francis Davis, NPR The 2020 NPR Music Jazz Critics Poll ranked Lakecia Benjamin’s Pursuance: The Coltranes among their list. Read the full article here.
BEST OF 2020: Lakecia Benjamin’s ‘Pursuance: The Coltranes’ On NPR’s Critics Poll
Best of 2020
LLP Artists Awarded in The 42nd Annual Jazz Station Awards / The Best Jazz of 2020 – Jazz Station
By Arnaldo DeSouteiro, Jazz Station Acoustic Piano Gonzalo Rubalcaba (“Viento Y Tiempo – Live At Blue Note Tokyo” w/ Aymée Nuviola –Top Stop Music/Sony Music Latin Fima Chupakhin (“Water” – self release) Sam Hirsh (“Quite Frankly – Introducing Sam Hirsh” – Umadas Music) Mike Bond (“The Honorable Ones” – Bounce Castle) Electric Piano Shedrick Mitchell … Read More
BEST LATIN JAZZ OF 2020: The Spanish Harlem Orchestra, Papo Vázquez & The Pacific Mambo Orchestra on Con Sabor
By Luis Medina, Con Sabor The following are the recordings in Salsa, Musica Cubana and Latin Jazz that impressed me during this challenging year of 2020. I included the Top Singles category for the first time since that was a dominant trend in artists putting out singles rather than full length recordings in music this … Read More
BEST OF 2020: Thana Alexa, Regina Carter, Trio Grande Make List – 33third
by Michael Ambrosino, 33third Trio Grande, Trio Grande If Sonny Rollins perfected the Jazz trio, then drummer Antonio Sanchez has perfected its distant electronic cousin. Trio Grande morphs Sanchez’s mastery with the talents of guitar savant Gilad Hekselman and fiery saxophonist Will Vinson, shaping an album that sounds much larger than just a trio. Propelled by this … Read More
5 Powerful Protest Songs Released by Womxn in 2020: Thana Alexa “The Resistance” on Audio Femme
By Alexa Peters, Audio Femme Music has always served as a battle cry and a balm during particularly tumultuous times, and in 2020—when injustices like the disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on BIPOC, the slaying of George Floyd by police, the assault on immigrant, women’s, and LGBTQIA rights by the Trump Administration became apparent—music … Read More
BEST OF 2020: Lakecia Benjamin, Thana Alexa, Champian Fulton Ranked – Jazz Buffalo
by Tony Zambito, Jazz Buffalo Lakecia Benjamin’s Pursuance: The Coltranes, Champian Fulton’s Birdsong, and Thana Alexa’s Ona all ranked among Jazz Buffalo’s Top 25 Jazz Albums of 2020. Read the full article here.
BEST OF 2020: Brandi Disterheft Returns with “Surfboard”, Featuring George Coleman – NO TREBLE
By Corey Brown, No Treble Surf’s up! Brandi Disterheft has just released a new album called “Surfboard”, which marks her fifth as a leader. Songs on the album range from blues to pop to the Great Brazilian and American songbooks. Read more here.
BEST CANADIAN JAZZ OF 2020: Laila Biali & Derrick Gardner on Ottawa Citizen
By Peter Hum, Ottawa Citizen While many jazz lovers will think poorly of 2020 because the global pandemic killed festivals, tours and gigs, the year also nonetheless saw the release of some exceptional music, and from Canada, no less. Read more here.
BEST OF 2020: Lakecia Benjamin “Pursuance: The Coltranes” – PostGenre
By Rob Shepherd, PostGenre Alice Coltrane’s blurring of historically Black American music, classical Indian concepts, atonal orchestration, and (sometimes) synthesizer has significantly guided the following generations, often subtly, including in jazz, New Age, and experimental electronic music. And yet, in most circles, she remains criminally underrated. Read more here.
BEST 2020: Thana Alexa ONA – PopMatters
By Will Layman, PopMatters This is the second recording from the Croatian-American singer, and it sits in a dazzling space—not-really-jazz but unclassifiable music that uses jazz players and gorgeous jazz harmonies and melodic style to communicate something beyond boundaries. The band includes the fabulous keyboardist Carmen Staaf, Matt Brewer on bass, Alexa’s husband the expert … Read More
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