James Brandon Lewis

On the Turntable — The “Best Of the ‘Best Of’” in 2024 jazz recordings

Our annual year-end compilation of jazz albums oft mentioned by a wide range of critics as being the best of 2024

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January 5th, 2025

On the Turntable — The “Best Of the ‘Best Of’” in 2023 jazz recordings

A year-end compilation of jazz albums oft mentioned by a wide range of critics as being the best of 2023

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January 8th, 2024

On the Turntable — The “Best Of the ‘Best Of’” in 2021 jazz recordings

December has once again produced a large number of year-end “Best Of” lists, and the goal of this post is to present those albums oft mentioned by the critics. While these 21 albums hardly constitute a comprehensive assessment of the “Best Of the ‘Best Of’” lists, it does provide some guidance about 2021 recordings critics seemed to agree about, and suggest we check out more thoroughly.

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January 5th, 2022

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A Letter from the Publisher

The gate at Buchenwald. Photo by Rhonda R Dorsett
War. Remembrance. Walls.
The High Price of Authoritarianism– by editor/publisher Joe Maita...An essay inspired by my recent experiences witnessing the ceremonies commemorating the 80th anniversary of liberation of several World War II concentration camps in Germany.

In This Issue

Monk, as seen by Gottlieb, Dorsett and 16 poets – an ekphrastic poetry collection...Poets write about Thelonious Monk – inspired by William Gottlieb’s photograph and Rhonda R. Dorsett’s artistic impression of it.

Poetry

21 jazz poems on the 21st of August, 2025...A monthly series designed to share the quality of jazz poetry continuously submitted to Jerry Jazz Musician. This edition features several poems on John Coltrane and Billie Holiday, as well as nods to Bill Evans, Chet Baker, Archie Shepp and others…

Short Fiction

Short Fiction Contest-winning story #69 – “My Vertical Landscape,” by Felicia A. Rivers...Touched by the stories of the Philadelphia jazz clubs of the 1960s, a graffiti artist transforms an ugly wall into something beautiful – meaningful, even.

The Sunday Poem

photo by Brian McMillen

”A Poem in Search of a Title” by Terrance Underwood

The Sunday Poem is published weekly, and strives to include the poet reading their work.... Terrance Underwood reads his poem at its conclusion


Click here to read previous editions of The Sunday Poem

Feature

“Two Jazz Survivors” – a true jazz story by Bob Hecht...A remembrance of a personal friendship with the late Sheila Jordan, one of the most unique vocalists in jazz history.

Poetry

photo by Brian McMillen
“Portrait of Sheila Jordan” – a poem by George Kalamaras

Poetry

OhWeh, CC BY-SA 2.5 , via Wikimedia Commons
“Jazz Child” – a poem and a personal remembrance of Sheila Jordan, by Namaya

Essay

“Escalator Over the Hill – Then and Now” – by Joel Lewis...Remembering the essential 1971 album by Carla Bley/Paul Haines, inspired by the writer’s experience attending the New School’s recent performance of it

Poetry

“Still Wild” – a collection of poems by Connie Johnson...Connie Johnson’s unique and warm vernacular is the framework in which she reminds readers of the foremost contributors of jazz music, while peeling back the layers on the lesser known and of those who find themselves engaged by it, and affected by it. I have proudly published Connie’s poems for over two years and felt the consistency and excellence of her work deserved this 15 poem showcase.

Short Fiction

photo by William Gottlieb/Library of Congress
“Strange Fruit” – a short story by Stephen Jackson...The story – a short-listed entry in the 69th Short Fiction Contest – explores the transformative power of authentic art through the eyes of a young white busboy from Mississippi who witnesses Billie Holiday’s historic first performance of “Strange Fruit” at Café Society in 1939.

Interview

Interview with Sascha Feinstein, author of Writing Jazz: Conversations with Critics and Biographers...The collection of 14 interviews is an impressive and determined effort, one that contributes mightily to the deepening of our understanding for the music’s past impact, and fans optimism for more.

Short Fiction

“Trucks and Tanks” – a short story by Howard Mandel...The story – a short-listed entry in the recently concluded 69th Jerry Jazz Musician Short Fiction Contest – is about the incursion of military units into a placid residential American neighborhood.

Essay

“J.A. Rogers’ ‘Jazz at Home’: A Centennial Reflection on Jazz Representation Through the Lens of Stormy Weather and Everyday Life – an essay by Jasmine M. Taylor...The writer opines that jazz continues to survive – 100 years after J.A. Rogers’ own essay that highlighted the artistic freedom of jazz – and has “become a fundamental core in American culture and modern Americanism; not solely because of its artistic craftsmanship, but because of the spirit that jazz music embodies.”

Publisher’s Notes

Creatives – “This is our time!“…A Letter from the Publisher...A call to action to take on political turmoil through the use of our creativity as a way to help our fellow citizens “pierce the mundane to find the marvelous.”

Community

photo of Dwike Mitchell/Willie Ruff via Bandcamp
“Tell a Story: Mitchell and Ruff’s Army Service” – an essay by Dale Davis</B....The author writes about how Dwike Mitchell and Willie Ruff’s U.S. Army service helped them learn to understand the fusion of different musical influences that tell the story of jazz.

Interview

photo by Francis Wolff/couresy Mosaic Images
From the Interview Archive: Ornette Coleman biographer Maria Golia...In this April, 2020 interview, Ms. Golia discusses her book and the artist whose philosophy and the astounding, adventurous music he created served to continually challenge the skeptical status quo, and made him a guiding light of the artistic avant-garde throughout a career spanning seven decades.

Poetry

“With Ease in Mind” – poems by Terrance Underwood...It’s no secret that I’m a fan of Terrance Underwood’s poetry. I am also quite jealous of his ease with words, and of his graceful way of living, which shows up in this collection of 12 poems.

Feature

“Blind Willie Johnson Leaves the Solar System,” by Henry Blanke...An appreciation for Blind Willie Johnson, whose landmark 1927 – 1930 recordings influenced generations of musicians, and whose song, “Dark is the Night, Cold is the Ground,” was included on the album sent into space a generation ago as a way for extraterrestrial beings to glean something important about human culture and life on Earth.

Interview

photo Louis Armstrong House Museum
Interview with Ricky Riccardi, author of Stomp Off, Let’s Go: The Early Years of Louis Armstrong...The author discusses the third volume of his trilogy, which includes the formation of the Armstrong-led ensembles known as the Hot Five and Hot Seven that modernized music, the way artists play it, and how audiences interact with it and respond to it.

Poetry

photo via pixabay
“Sensual Autumn” – a poem (for September) by Jerrice J. Baptiste...Jerrice J. Baptiste’s 12-month 2025 calendar of jazz poetry winds through the year with her poetic grace while inviting us to wander through music by the likes of Charlie Parker, Hoagy Carmichael, Frank Sinatra, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Sarah Vaughan, Melody Gardot and Nina Simone. She welcomes September with a poem of love that brings to mind the music of Joe Pass.

Essay

“Is Jazz God?” – an essay by Allison Songbird...A personal journey leads to the discovery of the importance of jazz music, and finding love for it later in life.

Poetry

What is This Path – a collection of poems by Michael L. Newell...A contributor of significance to Jerry Jazz Musician, the poet Michael L. Newell shares poems he has written since being diagnosed with a concerning illness.

Feature

Jimmy Baikovicius from Montevideo, Uruguay, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Trading Fours, with Douglas Cole, No. 25: “How I Hear Music: ‘Feel the Sway,’ A Song in Three Movements”...In this edition, due to a current and ongoing obsession with drummer Matt Wilson’s 2006 album The Scenic Route, Douglas Cole writes another poem in response to his experience listening to the track “Feel the Sway.”

Feature

ntoper, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
Jazz History Quiz #183...Long admired by the likes of Tom Waits (pictured), John Mayall, and the Rolling Stones, and having had his songs recorded by Bonnie Raitt, Leon Russell, and The Who, this pianist/vocalist has long suffered from a “category” problem, once even saying; “There’s a lot of places I don’t work because they’re confused about what I do.” Who is he?

Feature

Excerpts from David Rife’s Jazz Fiction: Take Two – Vol. 15: High Spirits-Dark Laughter-Absurdity...A substantial number of novels and stories with jazz music as a component of the story have been published over the years, and the scholar David J. Rife has written short essay/reviews of them. In this 14th edition featuring excerpts from his outstanding literary resource, Rife writes about stories whose themes include High Spirits, Dark Laughter, and Absurdity

Playlist

“Eight is Great!” – a playlist by Bob Hecht...The cover of the 1959 album The Greatest Trumpet of Them All by the Dizzy Gillespie Octet. A song from the album, “Just by Myself,” is featured on Bob Hecht’s new 28-song playlist – this one devoted to octets.

Art

photo by Giovanni Piesco
The Photographs of Giovanni Piesco: Art Farmer and Benny Golson...Beginning in 1990, the noted photographer Giovanni Piesco began taking backstage photographs of many of the great musicians who played in Amsterdam’s Bimhuis, that city’s main jazz venue which is considered one of the finest in the world. Jerry Jazz Musician will occasionally publish portraits of jazz musicians that Giovanni has taken over the years. This edition features the May 10, 1996 photos of the tenor saxophonist, composer and arranger Benny Golson, and the February 13, 1997 photos of trumpet and flugelhorn player Art Farmer.

Community

Stewart Butterfield, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Community Bookshelf #4...“Community Bookshelf” is a twice-yearly space where writers who have been published on Jerry Jazz Musician can share news about their recently authored books and/or recordings. This edition includes information about books published within the last six months or so (September, 2024 – March, 2025)

Contributing Writers

Click the image to view the writers, poets and artists whose work has been published on Jerry Jazz Musician, and find links to their work

Coming Soon

An interview with Tad Richards, author of Listening to Prestige:  Chronicling Its Classic Jazz Recordings, 1949 - 1972...  Also, a new Jazz History Quiz, and lots of short fiction; poetry; photography; interviews; playlists; and much more in the works...

Interview Archive

Ella Fitzgerald/IISG, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
Click to view the complete 25-year archive of Jerry Jazz Musician interviews, including those recently published with Judith Tick on Ella Fitzgerald (pictured),; Laura Flam and Emily Sieu Liebowitz on the Girl Groups of the 60's; Tad Richards on Small Group Swing; Stephanie Stein Crease on Chick Webb; Brent Hayes Edwards on Henry Threadgill; Richard Koloda on Albert Ayler; Glenn Mott on Stanley Crouch; Richard Carlin and Ken Bloom on Eubie Blake; Richard Brent Turner on jazz and Islam; Alyn Shipton on the art of jazz; Shawn Levy on the original queens of standup comedy; Travis Atria on the expatriate trumpeter Arthur Briggs; Kitt Shapiro on her life with her mother, Eartha Kitt; Will Friedwald on Nat King Cole; Wayne Enstice on the drummer Dottie Dodgion; the drummer Joe La Barbera on Bill Evans; Philip Clark on Dave Brubeck; Nicholas Buccola on James Baldwin and William F. Buckley; Ricky Riccardi on Louis Armstrong; Dan Morgenstern and Christian Sands on Erroll Garner; Maria Golia on Ornette Coleman.