Top 10 Historical Albums of the Year

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(Photo: Courtesy Jazz Detective)

Ahmad Jamal’s Emerald City Nights took top honors in the Historical Album category, as it did in the 2023 Critics Poll, too!

Ahmad Jamal, Emerald City Nights: Live At The Penthouse (JAZZ DETECTIVE) … 2,376
Winner of the DownBeat Critics Poll also gets the nod from the Readers!

Bill Evans, Treasures: Solo, Trio & Orchestra Recordings From Denmark (1965–1969) (ELEMENTAL)2,167
A collection of previously unissued performances demonstrate the genius of Bill Evans.

Miles Davis, What Happened 1982–1985: The Bootleg Series Vol. 7 (LEGACY)1,738
Unreleased material from Star People, Decoy and You’re Under Arrest.

Keith Jarrett, Bordeaux Concert (ECM) … 1,441
The final Jarrett live performance with elegance, angst, taste and storytelling.

Sonny Rollins, Go West! (CRAFT) … 1,397
Rollins’ classic West Coast adventure.

Oscar Peterson Trio, On A Clear Day: The Oscar Peterson Trio–Live In Zurich, 1971 (TWO LIONS/MACK AVENUE) … 1,232
Captures the stunning musicality of Peterson.

Charles Mingus, Changes: The Complete 1970s Atlantic Recordings (RHINO) … 1,221
Captures Mingus at the end of his musical run between 1973 and his passing in 1979.

Charle Mingus, The Lost Album From Ronnie Scott’s (RESONANCE) … 1,045
Two Mingus historical records in one poll truly divided the votes, but this is a beauty, too. The project was shelved when the label literally dropped its entire jazz roster except for Miles Davis.

Chet Baker, Blue Room, The 1979 Vara Studio Sessions In Holland (JAZZ DETECTIVE/ELEMENTAL)968
Beautifully recorded, lovingly packaged, capturing the chill nuance of Baker’s art.

Jimi Hendrix Experience, Los Angeles Forum, April 26, 1969 (SONY LEGACY) … 858
Sony/Legacy has been releasing a host of great, live Jimi Hendrix recordings. DB



  • 0c3c86_2fd4930d4a61477c8516238ae334ebb5~mv2_d_2000_1335_s_2_copy.jpeg

    Jim Rotondi was acclaimed for his wide, round trumpet tone, remarkable virtuosity and assured swing.

  • DB24_Charles_Lloyd_by_Douglas_Mason_at_New_Orleans_Jazz_Fest.jpg

    Charles Lloyd, seen here at the 2024 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, makes DownBeat Poll history!

  • DonWas_A1100547_byMyriamSantos_copy.jpg

    “Being president of Blue Note has been one of the coolest things that ever happened to me,” Was said. “It’s a gas to serve as one of the caretakers of that legacy.”

  • Cecile_McLorin_Salvant_Ashley_Kahn_bu_David_Morresi_copy.jpg

    ​“She reminds me of my childhood and makes we want to cry,” Cécile McLorin Salvant, pictured here with writer Ashley Kahn, said of Dianne Reeves.

  • 2019_Spread_Maria_Schneider_Data_Lords_by_Briene_Lermitte.jpg

    Maria Schneider said of Decades, her new compilation release: ​“I just wanted to create something, put it in a beautiful box and say, ‘Look at what we did.‘”


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August 2024
72nd Annual Critics Poll
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