ILM Best Jazz Albums of the '90s

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Here we go, the results of the littlest poll that could. There were a lot of ties of course, so I'll just list those in alphabetical order. Please feel free to add comments on anything you voted or didn't vote for.

One decade, 34 albums that ILM digs:

34) Brotzmann/Kondo Parker, Die Like a Dog (5 pts)
33) Cecil Taylor Feel Trio, Celebrated Blazons (5)
32) Cecil Taylor/Dewey Redman/Elvin Jones, Momentum Space (5)
31) Don Byron, Tuskegee Experiments (5)
30) Bill Frisell, This Land (10)
29) Cassandra Wilson, New Moon Daughter (10)
28) Cecil Taylor, Nailed (10)
27) Charles Gayle, Touchin' on Trane (10)
26) Derek Shezbie, Spodie's Back (10)
25) Eight Bold Souls, Sideshow (10)
24) Ellery Eskelin, Kulak 29 & 30 (10)
23) Gary Burton (w/Pat Metheny, Dave Holland, Chick Corea, and Roy Haynes), Like Minds (10)
22) Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Inner Voyage (10)
21) Guru, Jazamatazz vol. 1 (10)
20) Lester Bowie's Brass Fantasy, The Odyssey of Funk & Popular Music vol. 1 (10)
19) Matt Wilson, As Wave Follows Wave
18) Naked City, Torture Garden (10)
17) Other Dimensions in Music, Time is of the Essence Is Beyond Time (10)
16) Patricia Barber, Modern Cool (10)
15) Randy Weston, The Spirits of Our Ancestors (10)
14) Spike Jones, Spiked!: The Music of Spike Jones (10)
13) Sun Ra, Destination Unknown (10)
12) Tim Berne's Bloodcount, Unwound (10)
11) Henry Threadgill & Make a Move, Where's Your Cup (15)
10) John Lewis, Evolution (15)
9) John Zorn, Bar Kokhba (15)
8) Sonny Sharrock, Highlife (15)
7) David S. Ware, Go See the World (20)
6) Kenny Garrett, Songbook (20)
5) Masada, 3: Gimel (20)

Top four coming up!

― Jordan (Jordan), Wednesday, 14 September 2005 13:28 (twenty years ago)

Guesses:
4. Kanye West, Late Registration
3. Anoushka Shankar, Lick My Love Pump
2. Louis Armstrong, Remixed: The Radiohead Sessions
1. Pearl Jam, Vitalogy

― The Obligatory Sourpuss (Begs2Differ), Wednesday, 14 September 2005 13:37 (twenty years ago)

Mike Jones, Miked!: The Music of Mike Jones

― Jordan (Jordan), Wednesday, 14 September 2005 13:40 (twenty years ago)

Who?

― The Obligatory Sourpuss (Begs2Differ), Wednesday, 14 September 2005 13:43 (twenty years ago)

http://media.wmg-is.com/media/portal/media/image/200503/stilltippin-01_16924199.jpg

― Jordan (Jordan), Wednesday, 14 September 2005 13:44 (twenty years ago)

Uh, just kidding. Bad play on the record #14 up there, which I never heard of before.

― Jordan (Jordan), Wednesday, 14 September 2005 13:45 (twenty years ago)

4) Ornette Coleman & Prime Time, Tone Dialing (25 pts)

ihttp://fusionanomaly.net/ornettecolemanprimetimetonedialing.jpg

― Jordan (Jordan), Wednesday, 14 September 2005 13:47 (twenty years ago)

http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drf300/f386/f38655r08dw.jpg

― Jordan (Jordan), Wednesday, 14 September 2005 13:49 (twenty years ago)

3) David Murray, Shakill's Warrior (35 pts)

http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drc400/c445/c44576ha99j.jpg

― Jordan (Jordan), Wednesday, 14 September 2005 13:52 (twenty years ago)

'cmon Ask the Ages! (not that I voted or anything)

― Zack Richardson (teenagequiet), Wednesday, 14 September 2005 13:54 (twenty years ago)

too much sugar will be #1 oh I feel it

― The Obligatory Sourpuss (Begs2Differ), Wednesday, 14 September 2005 14:04 (twenty years ago)

1. Bark Psychosis - Hex

― DJ Martian (djmartian), Wednesday, 14 September 2005 14:07 (twenty years ago)

The big moment:

2) Henry Threadgill, Too Much Sugar for a Dime (53 pts)

ihttp://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drf700/f750/f75030pz4r9.jpg

― Jordan (Jordan), Wednesday, 14 September 2005 14:45 (twenty years ago)

http://www.silent-watcher.net/billlaswell/discography/tawz/toomuchsugar.jpg

― Jordan (Jordan), Wednesday, 14 September 2005 14:46 (twenty years ago)

dammit

― The Obligatory Sourpuss (Begs2Differ), Wednesday, 14 September 2005 14:49 (twenty years ago)

The album that everybody loves, yet I haven't heard! That WILL change soon, even though it looks like it's not exactly in print.

― Jordan (Jordan), Wednesday, 14 September 2005 14:49 (twenty years ago)

And of course, the jazz album that even the rockers love:

1) Sonny Sharrock, Ask the Ages (57 pts)

http://music.hyperreal.org/labels/axiom/pics/sonny1.gif

― Jordan (Jordan), Wednesday, 14 September 2005 14:50 (twenty years ago)

And oddly enough, I haven't heard three out of the top five. I'm especially interested in Shakill's Warrior because of the ORGAN.

― Jordan (Jordan), Wednesday, 14 September 2005 14:53 (twenty years ago)

And of course, the jazz album that even the rockers love:

Maybe I should say that ESPECIALLY the rockers love (judging from personal experience, anyway).

― Jordan (Jordan), Wednesday, 14 September 2005 14:56 (twenty years ago)

Also, "SINGLES":

--Kurt Elling, Tanya Jean

--Kurt Elling, Night Dream

--Billy Drummond, Dubai.

― Jordan (Jordan), Wednesday, 14 September 2005 15:02 (twenty years ago)

Shakill's Warrior is great (one of the two Murray albums I can stand, the other being a recent-ish gospel disc featuring Fontella Bass on Justin Time, but I can't remember the name). Stay away from the sequel, Shakill's II, though.

― pdf (Phil Freeman), Wednesday, 14 September 2005 15:19 (twenty years ago)

jazzmatazz is awful. Cool list though.

― polyphonic (polyphonic), Wednesday, 14 September 2005 15:35 (twenty years ago)

Did Sam Rivers' Inspiration come out in the 1990's? I'm surprised it's not on the list.

― Joel (aquabahn), Wednesday, 14 September 2005 16:01 (twenty years ago)

AMG says '99. It wasn't even nominated, but it looks cool.

― Jordan (Jordan), Wednesday, 14 September 2005 16:09 (twenty years ago)

i can't believe there wasn't a single Marsalis in that list. it's the end of an era. they were like the jazz Wayans, only funnier.

oh man, i know fuck all about jazz. good work on the poll, anyhow.

― Lee F# (fsharp), Wednesday, 14 September 2005 20:26 (twenty years ago)

Ha, thanks dude.

I almost voted for Branford Marsalis' Requiem. Then I put those points into Kenny Garrett's Songbook, because it's the same rhythm section (Kenny Kirkland, "Tain" Watts, and I think Eric Revis) but with a more unique sax player, way better tunes, and more fire and funk.

― Jordan (Jordan), Wednesday, 14 September 2005 20:31 (twenty years ago)

compare and contrast

Piero Scaruffi - Best jazz albums 90s list:

http://www.scaruffi.com/jazz/90.html

The best of the decade

1. Guillermo Gregorio: Ellipsis (1997)
2. Charlie Haden: Dream Keeper (1990)
3. Butch Morris: Testament (1995)
4. Toshiko Akiyoshi: Desert Lady (1994)
5. Myra Melford: Even the Sounds Shine (1994)
6. Matthew Shipp: Circular Temple (1990)
7. Michael Formanek: Wide Open Spaces (1990)
8. Maria Schneider: Evanescence (1992)
9. Butch Morris: Dust To Dust (1990)
10. Don Byron: Tuskegee Experiments (1991)
11. Sonny Sharrock: Ask the Ages (1991)
12. Franz Koglmann: Cantos I-IV (1993)

― DJ Martian (djmartian), Wednesday, 14 September 2005 22:22 (twenty years ago)

And what of the Brian Blade Fellowship? I love that guy. Great drummer.

― Josh in Chicago (Josh in Chicago), Thursday, 15 September 2005 04:29 (twenty years ago)

How did I miss Unwound on the noms list?! I would have voted for it. Thanks for doing this Jordan.

― Sundar (sundar), Thursday, 15 September 2005 12:36 (twenty years ago)

I love Brian Blade and the Fellowship too, he's one of my favorites. The first BBF album was on the nomination list, but I think I didn't vote for it because I like Perceptual more (and that came out in 2000).

― Jordan (Jordan), Thursday, 15 September 2005 13:03 (twenty years ago)

Btw, another one of my votes - Derrick Shezbie, Spodie's Back - may be out of print, but I highly recommend picking up one of the many 55 CENT COPIES (!) available through amazon.

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000002MKF.01._SCMZZZZZZZ_.gif

He's the current trumpet player for the R3birth Brass Band and pretty much my favorite musician ever, but back then he was about 15 and poised to be the next Wynton/Nicholas Payton/Terrence Blanchard etc. (i.e., New Orleans-born trumpet player cum modern jazz star). Things didn't work out like that, but this record is the perfect mix between funky-ass "modern trad" New Orleans jazz and rough & tumble swing. Mark Turner & Herlin Riley (as well as some drummers who I've never heard from again) sound like Branford & Tain on some cuts, and they themselves show up for some ballads. Oh, and Quincy Jones is on production!

― Jordan (Jordan), Thursday, 15 September 2005 14:37 (twenty years ago)

Is "Ask the Ages" out of print?

― M. V. (M.V.), Thursday, 15 September 2005 18:10 (twenty years ago)

Shit, I think so.

Wait a sec...are the TOP FOUR records in this poll out of print?? That's horrible.

― Jordan (Jordan), Thursday, 15 September 2005 18:15 (twenty years ago)

(I'm just going off of Amazon, mind you)

― Jordan (Jordan), Thursday, 15 September 2005 18:16 (twenty years ago)

I think most of Sharrock's later material is out of print. I'm pretty sure everything on Enemy is. It's odd that Monkey Pockie Boo and Black Woman are now among the easier Sharrock titles to track down.

― Joel (aquabahn), Friday, 16 September 2005 01:01 (twenty years ago)

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ILM Best Jazz Albums of the '90s - RESULTS thread!