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Geno Thackara's Favorites of 2023

By Geno Thackara
December 14, 2023
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It's been another year of surprises around every corner—faces old and new, material fresh or freshly remade, and full of endless imagination in every case. As always, this is just my selection of most-played favorites in no particular order.

Matthew Halsall

trumpet

" data-original-title="" title="">Matthew Halsall
An Ever Changing View
Gondwana Records

It's almost like a musical set of vacation photos (or whatever the equivalent is for an extended working retreat rather than an actual vacation). Matthew Halsall beautifully evokes the English and Welsh coastlines in a kaleidoscopic stream of shimmering tones and calming colors.

Rob Luft

guitar
b.1993

" data-original-title="" title="">Rob Luft
Dahab Days
Edition Records

Guitar jazz gets some subtle Eastern spices here in a way that's exotic and distinct and still familiar. A buoyant sun-and-sand travelogue from a rising star whose playing skill is terrific, but whose composing voice if anything is even more impressive.

Tinariwen

band / ensemble / orchestra

" data-original-title="" title="">Tinariwen
Amatssou
Self produced

The blues don't come any more raw or gritty than the desert kind, especially when it all comes from the hardest of hard-lived experience.

Yosef Gutman Levitt

bass, acoustic
b.1979

" data-original-title="" title="">Yosef Gutman Levitt (with

Lionel Loueke

guitar
b.1973

" data-original-title="" title="">Lionel Loueke)
Soul Song
Self produced

Coming from deep roots in old traditions, Yosef Gutman Levitt nonetheless doesn't let those patterns keep his own soul from coming out. This is a reflection of his own personality at heart, blended with that of equally inventive longtime friend Lionel Loueke, honoring both their globe-crossing musical heritages with pieces clever and joyful.

Shakti

band / ensemble / orchestra
b.1974

" data-original-title="" title="">Shakti
This Moment
Abstract Logix

It was a return nobody expected in yet another different form from those past, yet the underlying spirit is ageless.

GoGo Penguin

band / ensemble / orchestra
b.2010

" data-original-title="" title="">GoGo Penguin
Everything Is Going to Be OK
Sony/XXIM

For all their smarts and eclectic sensibilities, the acoustic/electronic/not-jazz trio has never had the emotional side of the music come out quite so much before. This outing was shaped by some personal hard times but comes out thoroughly warm and uplifting.

Henry Spencer

trumpet

" data-original-title="" title="">Henry Spencer
The Defector
AMP

If this title sounds fit for a spy thriller, the music has enough action and drama to back it up. Henry Spencer honors the spirit of true-to-yourself rebellion with a cinematic work punchy and brassy (in more ways than one).

Jazzrausch Bigband

band / ensemble / orchestra

" data-original-title="" title="">Jazzrausch Bigband
Mahler's Breakdown
ACT Music

If there's anyone who could make Gustav Mahler's "cursed" Fifth Symphony sound not just pleasant but downright infectious, this gang would be it. You don't have to be familiar with the famously difficult original work—heck, it probably helps not to know it at all—but either way, this techno-brass treatment is one to blow the mind and the ears.

Slowly Rolling Camera

band / ensemble / orchestra
b.2013

" data-original-title="" title="">Slowly Rolling Camera
Flow
Edition Records

The most sweepingly picturesque of electronic-jazz outfits tones down the drama for a quieter figurative meander (or kayak ride, as it happens). Another turn that's unexpected and couldn't be more natural.

Mammal Hands

band / ensemble / orchestra

" data-original-title="" title="">Mammal Hands
Gift from the Trees
Gondwana Records

The trio's evocative pastoral-chamber-jazz elegance is intact, and still somehow more organic and inviting than ever.

Rudy Royston

drums

" data-original-title="" title="">Rudy Royston & Flatbed Buggy
DAY
Greenleaf Records

19th-century folk-grass meets the present day with freeform charm, swing and maybe even a tinge of funk. Flatbed Buggy's variety of not-really-old-west Americana is delightfully out of time and innately charming.

Floris Kappeyne

piano
b.1995

" data-original-title="" title="">Floris Kappeyne Trio
Closer
Self produced

Plenty of piano-trio sessions are quiet and dreamlike, but not many have the genuine atmosphere of being recorded on retreat in an old castle by a fireplace. This is a mood that seeps in and soothingly pulls you out of the noisy world if you let it.

Lorenzo De Finti

piano
b.1975

" data-original-title="" title="">Lorenzo De Finti
Lullabies from an Ancient Time
Losen Records

As fascinating as his normal quartet can be, this piano/trumpet duo is a much nicer fit for a series of quiet-time tunes. If they're not all strictly lullabies, the late-night mood is still just as soothing as it should be.

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