S. Victor Aaron picks the best of 2014’s modern and mainstream jazz albums, including Keith Jarrett, Brian Blade, Fred Hersch and others.

Omer Avital’s ‘New Song’ is a finely crafted synthesis of Middle Eastern, Afro-Cuban and American soul-jazz that’s world music without being self-consciously so.

Far from losing its freshness, this power jazz trio led by its virtuosic trumpet player Avishai Cohen has delivered its best set of recordings yet.

In the jazz world, I’ve found that the long-established artists, especially the ones who play in the well-established styles, get the bulk of the buzz.

For Triveni II, Avishai Cohen (the trumpet player, not the bass dude), the stated intention of this record was to recreate the feeling Cohen got from listening to Billie Holiday: “a feeling that’s pure, simple and honest.” You May Also Like: Avishai Cohen – Into The Silence (2016)