{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Podcast 461: A Few of My Favorite Things 2014","description":"The newspapers and internet are swarming with critics “Best of 2014” lists right about now, but here at Straight No Chaser we take a slightly different approach. I am grateful to get the chance to listen to a great number of jazz-related releases during the course of the year, and rather than attempt to say what is “best”, I prefer to lay out a list of recordings that I found particularly moving, or those that I found myself returning to over and over again. \r\nTo do this in a fair way, I have created five different categories, ranging from “Great New Things from Old Friends” to “Reunions and Collaborations of Note”. I do this on the theory that it is simply wrong to compare an archival release of John Coltrane (Offering: Live at Temple University) with genre bending CDs like Arturo O’Farrill’s The Offense of the Drum or Mehliana: Taming the Dragon. Is a first release form a young talent like James Brandon Lewis comparable to a vocal album from the seasoned Stacey Kent? I think not.\r\nSo, here are releases that are a few of my favorite things from 2014:\r\nGreat New Things from Old Friends\r\nPat Metheny Unity Group – Kin\r\nStacey Kent – The Changing Lights\r\nFred Hersch Trio – Floating\r\nBrian Blade & the Fellowship Band - Landmarks\r\nArturo O’Farrill & the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra – The Offense of the Drum. \r\nNew Artists and Those Hitting Their Stride\r\nOtis Brown III – The Thought of You\r\nJames Brandon Lewis – Divine Travels\r\nEli Degibri – Twelve\r\nTheo Croker – AfroPhysicist\r\nMark Turner Quartet – Lathe of Heaven\r\nMemorable Reissues, Compilations, and Posthumous or Archival Albums\r\nJohn Coltrane – Offering: Live at Temple University\r\nMiles Davis – Miles At the Fillmore – Miles 1970 – The Bootleg Series Vol. 3\r\nCharlie Haden - Jim Hall – Live at Montreal International Jazz Festival 1990\r\nMarshall Allen Presents Sun Ra and His Arkestra-  In the Orbit of Ra\r\nJimmy Giuffre 3 & 4 - New York Concerts\r\nTribute Albums of Note\r\nConrad Herwig – The Latin Side of Joe Henderson\r\nDr. John – Ske-Dat-De-Dat – The Spirit of Satch\r\nJason Moran – All Rises: A Joyful Elegy for Fats Waller\r\nBilly Childs – Map to the Treasure: Reimagining Laura Nyro\r\nDave Douglas\/Chet Doxas\/Steve Swallow\/Jim Doxas – Riverside (Legacy of Jimmy Guiffre)\r\nReunions and Collaborations of Note\r\nKeith Jarrett & Charlie Haden – Last Dance\r\nBrad Mehldau and MarkGuiliana - Mehliana: Taming the Dragon\r\nTrio 3 & Vijay Iyer - Wiring\r\nKenny Barron and Dave Holland – The Art of Conversation\r\nChris Elderidge & Julian Lage - Close to Picture and Avalon; and Nels Cline and Julian Lage\r\nA few years ago I began naming a “Player of the Year”, honoring those who appear as sidemen on multiple top CDs, as well as leaders of their own groups. For 2012, it was drummer Joey Baron, and for 2013, it was vibes player Warren Wolf. For this year, it has to be saxophonist Mark Turner, who had starring roles on CDs released by his own quartet, as well as CDs from Billy Hart, Enrico Rava, Stefano Bollani and Yelena Echemoff.  A runner-up would be the avant-garde sax player Ivo Perelman who released a staggering six CDs in 2013 and four more in 2014. \r\nOther items of Special Note in the world of Jazz in 2014 were:\r\n-          Blue Note Records’ 75th Anniversary Vinyl Initiative, giving another generation a chance to experience jazz on the turntable, with readable liner notes; \r\n-          Pianist Fred Hersch’s release of the DVD of his Jazz and Theater Piece, "My Coma Dreams", the type of multimedia piece that wins awards;\r\n-          Highly enjoyable and readable biographies from Herbie Hancock (Possibilities) and George Benson (Benson: The Autobiography); \r\n-          The film Whiplash, one of the few successful cinematic attempts to show the physical and mental price that is paid for musical greatness, in this case by a young jazz drummer; and\r\n-          The release on Blu-Ray DVD of perhaps the finest fictional story in the jazz film canon, Pete Kelly’s Blues, directed and starring Jack Webb, with top performances by Janet Leigh, Edmond O'Brien, and in an Academy Award nominated-role, Peggy Lee.\r\nPodcast 462 features the following musical selections:\r\nFred Hersch – “You & the Night & the Music” from Floating\r\nMark Turner Quartet – “Brother Sister” from Lathe of Heaven\r\nCharlie Haden - Jim Hall – “Turnaround” from Live at Montreal International Jazz Festival 1990\r\nBilly Childs – “And When I Die” from Map to the Treasure: Reimagining Laura Nyro\r\nJulian Lage & Chris Eldridge – “Butter and Eggs” from Close to Picture","author_name":"Straight No Chaser - A Jazz Show","author_url":"http:\/\/straightnochaserjazz.libsyn.com","html":"