None of the great talent assembled here gets stretched near their limits for this Desertion Trio excursion, but this diversion is for an altogether different mood.

It was easy to find jazz records that deserved a year-end salute; maybe ‘too’ easy. The heavy lifting came from figuring out which stood above the rest for this Best of 2017 list.

‘Organ Monk Blue’ sustains Gregory Lewis’ intriguing concept of a Thelonious Monk on the organ. It didn’t hurt that this time Lewis revitalizes the blues along the way, too.

As a protege of Connie Crothers, Jeff Pearring learned the importance of finding his own voice. ‘True Story’ is what happens when that inner voice comes pouring out.

Richard Lloyd Giddens Jr.’s ‘Mimosas’ brings in disparate colleagues and disparate composing pens, and molds them into a united musical statement that one can sense portrays the complexion of its singular leader.

Albert Ayler’s violent alchemy of Africa and Europe imbues ‘Copenhagen Live 1964’ with historical importance because more than fifty years hence, these ideas put into practice sound as radical today as they did back then.

Full of vigor and moxie from start to finish, ‘Sing Me Some Cry’ harnesses the savvy of its participants, but that vast potential is reached only because Eric Revis has the insight to get so much out of them, and they in turn get the most out of Revis’ compositions.

Varied, inviting, unpredictable but never jarring, the Mark Zaleski Band’s ‘Days, Months, Years’ is anything but boring.

Preston Frazier’s Best Jazz of 2017 list touches on Lara Bello, Nick Finzer and Chris Greene, as well as other favorites from Joe Jackson sideman Vinnie Zummo and Lucas Pino.

Ron Miles deconstructs through his accomplished art the complex emotions of protracted strife both within society and within a person, and makes compelling music from it. The added sense of purpose propels ‘I Am A Man’ to the upper echelon of his discography.