We saw our share of standout instrumentalists, from Julian Lage to Rudresh Mahanthappa to Pat Martino. But, as this lists attests, 2011 might rightly be called the Year of the Big Band. You May Also Like: Julian Lage – ‘Squint’ (2021)

One of the more interesting moments on the new collection Cameo Parkway: Holiday Hits comes at the very end, as an impossibly young Bob Seger and an early band called the Last Heard scurry through this original Christmas romp. You May Also Like: Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band,Read More

Clarinetist Eddie Daniels, appearing last February at the Library of Congress’ Coolidge Auditorium, displays an almost telepathic symbiosis alongside pianist Roger Kellaway. You May Also Like: Robert Walter’s 20th Congress – ‘Spacesuit’ (2018) Here’s Chippy – Things We Left Behind (2018): Something Else! Sneak Peek TV Tunes by Tame Impala,Read More

This year’s rock and pop list is a heady mix of the old (Paul Simon, Lindsey Buckingham) and the new (the Black Keys, Death Cab for Cutie). You May Also Like: ‘Journey: Worlds Apart,’ by Nick DeRiso (2023): Books

There are records that are frankly too loud to be jazz, and swing too much to be rock. This is the slot for those things — a place where you’ll find everyone from Tony Levin and Derek Sherinian from Black Country Communion to Nels Cline and Bill Frisell. Click throughRead More

This plays like Vince Guaraldi for a new generation, as Harry Connick Jr. performs an all-original, Christmas-themed set that recalls the spirit of the season without falling into the cliches that often follow better known Yuletide classics. You May Also Like: The Jerry Granelli Trio – ‘Plays Vince Guaraldi &Read More

Frank Sinatra would have been 97 last Monday. His mystery still lingers with me, as does the memory of a concert — one of Sinatra’s last — when he recaptured all of that complexity. You May Also Like: Frank Sinatra’s ‘Lite-Up Time’ Shows Were the Last of Their Kind

Anyone expecting the cosmic prog-rock journeys of Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman’s work as members of Yes must have been a little disappointed.

Whereas Geri Allen’s solo piano debut for Motema, 2010’s Flying Toward the Sound, focused on musical inspirations Herbie Hancock, McCoy Tyner and Cecil Taylor, the follow up travels in more personal circles. You May Also Like: John Blum Quartet feat. Marshall Allen – ‘Deep Space’ (2024)

2011 brought its share of comebacks (Gregg Allman, the Meters’ Zigaboo Modeliste, the Time) Stax-related joys (both Booker T. Jones and Steve Cropper issued solo sides) and out-of-nowhere delights (Big Head Todd does the blues?). But how did they rank on my list? Read on, as I count down myRead More