10. Taylor McFerrin | Early Riser | Brainfeeder
McFerrin’s debut album has been cooking and simmering for years, apparently, until it was just right for release. If in that time of making such rich soulful electronic music he had time to gather Hiatus Kaiyote’s Nai Palm, Robert Glasper, Thundercat and Marcus Gilmore, it was time well spent.
9. The Bad Plus | Inevitable Western | Okeh
One of the best piano/bass/drum jazz trios in existence keeps on doing their thing and continually proves through their latest album (and their take on Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring also released this year) why their mashed up take on jazz has been beloved all this time.
8. Flying Lotus | You’re Dead! | Warp
Flying Lotus has finally made the closest he could possibly make to a jazz album—he even corralled Herbie Hancock, Kamasi Washington, Gene Coye, Thundercat and others to do so. But FlyLo, in his disparate interests, also crammed in electronic, hip-hop and ambient influences for what might be his best album yet.
7. The War on Drugs | Lost in the Dream | Secretly Canadian
There’s something tangible in the guitars throughout this album, something that grabs on and doesn’t let go. It lingers throughout the day like the soundtrack for your life. It’s clear Adam Granduciel and co. made, in composition and execution, songs that were intended for that with just that right amount of relish.
6. Teebs | E S T A R A | Brainfeeder
As an artist, California-based Mtendere Mandowa’s work either sounds like swirling colors or colors on swirling sounds. On his second album, producer Teebs adds a chill essence to his mixed media body of work in what is a clear progression of his musical inclinations for this most cohesive collection of songs.
5. Real Estate | Atlas | Domino
New Jersey quartet Real Estate is just so damn pleasant, like road trips on Texas highways and breezy sunny days. In their latest album, the group bottled this evocation into their tightest songs yet.
4. Mndsgn | Yawn Zen | Stones Throw
It’s hard not to fall for every note and beat Ringgo Ancheta makes. In his Stones Throw debut, Mndsgn makes an aural velvet blanket that has all the gravitas of a modern-day Barry White wielding Reason.
3. Parquet Courts | Sunbathing Animal + Content Nausea | What’s Your Rupture? / Mom + Pop
There was always something jazzy in Sunbathing Animal—in its craft, its lingering solos and subtle sophistication. Taking things further, Content Nausea cements Parquet Courts as a band truly putting out some of the best, most explosive and most intelligently raucous music of this year.
2. Steve Lehman Octet | Mise en Abîme | Pi Recordings
Saxophonist Steve Lehman uses a modern classical compositional method called spectral harmony and electronics with jazz music, including a complete flipping of three Bud Powell songs, to make a truly innovative work. But forget that—this octet makes real bangers and their take on Camp Lo’s “Luchini” (remember that one?) is insane.
Steve Lehman Octet “Mise en Abime” EPK from Joey alvarado on Vimeo.
1. Phronesis | Life to Everything | Edition Records
For two nights in London, everything clicked for pianist Ivo Neame, bassist Jasper Høiby and drummer Anton Eger in this live acoustic jazz set where every song feels electric. Even the ballads bang. Phronesis has never sounded better.
This article appears in The Year in Review.