Home » Jazz Articles » Year in Review » John Chacona's Best Releases Of 2020

John Chacona's Best Releases Of 2020

By John Chacona
December 17, 2020
View read count

It's tempting to say that this was the year the music died, and for clubs, concert and festival stages, that might generally be true. Yet, in this most confounding and contrary of years it's thoroughly fitting that as live music grew silent, recordings roared with eloquence, fury and, yes, beauty. Here are the releases that most captivated, moved, consoled and inspired me.

Tyshawn Sorey

drums
b.1980

" data-original-title="" title="">Tyshawn Sorey
Unfiltered
Self Produced

Mary Halvorson

guitar

" data-original-title="" title="">Mary Halvorson's Code Girl
Artlessly Falling
Firehouse 12

Irreversible Entanglements

band / ensemble / orchestra
b.2015

" data-original-title="" title="">Irreversible Entanglements
Who Sent You?
International Anthem

Ingrid Laubrock

saxophone
b.1970

" data-original-title="" title="">Ingrid Laubrock+

Kris Davis

piano
b.1980

" data-original-title="" title="">Kris Davis
Blood Moon
Intakt Records

Manuel Valera

piano
b.1980

" data-original-title="" title="">Manuel Valera New Cuban Express Big Band
Jos�� Mart�� En Nueva York
Greenleaf Music

Dayna Stephens

saxophone, tenor

" data-original-title="" title="">Dayna Stephens Quartet
Right Now! Live at the Village Vanguard
Contagious Music

Eric Revis

bass
b.1967

" data-original-title="" title="">Eric Revis
Slipknots Through A Looking Glass
Pyroclastic Records

Thumbscrew

band / ensemble / orchestra

" data-original-title="" title="">Thumbscrew
The Anthony Braxton Project
Cuneiform

Matthew Shipp

piano
b.1960

" data-original-title="" title="">Matthew Shipp
The Piano Equation
Tao Forms

Ambrose Akinmusire

trumpet
b.1982

" data-original-title="" title="">Ambrose Akinmusire
On the tender spot of every calloused moment
Blue Note

Shabaka And The Ancestors
We Are Sent Here By History
Impulse!

Steph Richards

trumpet

" data-original-title="" title="">Steph Richards
Supersense
Northern Spy

Ingrid Laubrock

saxophone
b.1970

" data-original-title="" title="">Ingrid Laubrock
Dreamt Twice, Twice Dreamt
Intakt Records

Camila Nebbia

saxophone, tenor

" data-original-title="" title="">Camila Nebbia
Aura
ears & eyes Records

Maria Schneider

composer / conductor

" data-original-title="" title="">Maria Schneider
Data Lords
ArtistShare

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Nick Hempton Band Live & Loud
< Previous

MONK'estra Plays John Beasley
Next >

Tyshawn Sorey Concerts

Dec 6 Sat

Peter Evans Being & Becoming

Solar Myth
Philadelphia, PA

Dec 7 Sun

Peter Evans Being & Becoming

Solar Myth
Philadelphia, PA

Dec 12 Fri

Tyshawn Sorey Trio

Firehouse 12
New Haven, CT

Feb 6 Fri

Tyshawn Sorey: Members, Don't Git Weary

Zellerbach Theatre
Philadelphia, PA

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.