On a personal note, this is unlike any "best of the year" summaries I've written during my more than twenty-five years as a reviewer for All About Jazz. The reason is that I fell in late April and broke my left femur. As a result, I completed no reviews from that time until early September, a span of more than four months. Even though 2024 was a fairly solid year for jazz albums in general and big bands in particular, I submitted only two five-star reviews, the first in January, the second in November—each of which was well-deserved, especially Volume 7 by the Terry Gibbs Dream Band, consisting of tapes from 1959 that were considered "lost" until a year ago and released to mark the celebrated bop vibraphonist's one hundredth birthday in October.

The other five-star review saluted a spectacular album by the Florida-based Flying Horse Big Band, which delivered its smart and swinging "Message"—a tribute to drummer Art Blakey and the peerless Jazz Messengers—loud and clear. A short step or so behind those touchstones were splendid albums by the U.S. Air Force Airmen of Note, the West Coast-based Danny Jonukochi and Geoff Stradling Big Bands, Canada's Bernie Senensky and the well-named "Keep Swingin'" by pianist Garry Dial and drummer Rich DeRosa. And to ice the cake, an impressive reissue, Roots, from the Stan Kenton Orchestra.

The complete "best of" list for 2024 follows, as I look forward to a productive and injury-free year ahead.

Claire Daly
VuVu for Frances
Daly Bread






UCF Flying Horse Big Band
A Message From The Flying Horse Big Band
Flying Horse Records






Cory Weeds
Home Cookin'
Cellar Music Group






Marshall Gilkes
Life Songs
Alternate Side Records






Nikos Chatzitsakos
Tiny Big Band 2
Self Produced






Garry Dial
Keep Swingin'
Outside in Music






Tommy Poole
Angular Tuesday
Self Produced






Mercer Hassy
Duke's Place
Self Produced






Leigh Pilzer
Beatin' the Odds
Self Produced






Geoff Stradling
Nimble Digits
Origin Records






Rob Parton
Relentless
Calligram Records






Eyal Vilner
Swingin' Uptown
Self Produced






Ben Patterson
Groove Junkies
Origin Records






Fernando Huergo
Relentless
Whaling City Sound






Dave Liebman
If a White Horse from Jerusalem...
Self Produced






Tom Johnson
Time Takes Odd Turns
Self Produced






Jihye Lee
Infinite Connections
Mot��ma Music






Danny Jonokuchi
A Decade
Bandstand Presents






Terry Gibbs
Dream Band, Vol. 7: The Lost Tapes, 1959
Whaling City Sound






Hyeseon Hong
Things Will Pass
Self Produced






The Airmen of Note
Aim High/The 2024 Jazz Heritage Series
Self Produced






John Fedchock
Justifiably J.J.
Summit Records






Pony Boy All-Star Big Band
This Is Now
Pony Boy Records






Jeff Rupert
It Gets Better
Self Produced






Jon C. Gardner
Vinyl Brews
Self Produced

Comments