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



  • Al_Foster_Marketing.jpg

    Foster was truly a drummer to the stars, including Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins and Joe Henderson.

  • Branford_Marsalis_by_Mark_Sheldon_copy.jpg

    “Branford’s playing has steadily improved,” says younger brother Wynton Marsalis. “He’s just gotten more and more serious.”

  • Sasha_Berliner_by_Gulnara_Khamatova_copy.jpeg

    “What did I want more of when I was this age?” Sasha Berliner asks when she’s in her teaching mode.

  • unnamed.jpg

    Roscoe Mitchell will receive a Lifetime Achievement award at this year’s Vision Festival.

  • kZYVcIag_copy.jpg

    Benny Benack III and his quartet took the Midwest Jazz Collective’s route for a test run this spring.


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