BEST OF 2007: MUSIC: JAZZ
In age of downloads, CD still reigns
By Howard Reich | Tribune arts critic
December 16, 2007

Somehow, in the age of downloads, iPods, file sharing and what-not, great jazz keeps turning up on compact disc.

The proof lies in this year's best recordings, which range from the vastness of trumpeter Terence Blanchard's "A Tale of God's Will (A Requiem for Katrina)" to the intimacy of saxophonist Jerry Bergonzi's free-ranging "Tenorist" to the muscular virtuosity of pianist Joey Calderazzo's "Amanecer."

The systems for distributing music may be in flux, but the sounds themselves still thrill:


1. Terence Blanchard: "A Tale of God's Will (A Requiem for Katrina)"
(Blue Note Records)

2. Joey Calderazzo: "Amanecer"
(Marsalis Music/Rounder)

3. Chris Potter 10: "Song for Anyone"
(Sunnyside Records)

4. Dee Dee Bridgewater: "Red Earth: A Malian Journey"
(EmArcy)

5. Ari Brown: "Live at the Green Mill"
(Delmark Records)

6. Wynton Marsalis: "From the Plantation to the Penitentiary"
(Blue Note Records)
7. Jerry Bergonzi: "Tenorist"
(Savant)
8. McCoy Tyner: "Quartet"
(McCoy Tyner/Half Note Records)
9. Buselli/Wallarab Jazz Orchestra: "Basically Baker"
(GM Recordings)


10. Ryan Cohan: "One Sky"
(Motema Music)
Until the recent release of "One Sky," listeners knew Cohan as a fine pianist and adept composer-arranger. But "One Sky" establishes him as much more than that: a potentially distinctive voice in jazz. Certainly his exquisitely delicate writing in the recording's centerpiece, the five-movement "One Sky: Tone Poems for Humanity," shows the creativity of his pen, as well as the alacrity of his pianism. The translucence of his compositions for sextet, as well as the high polish of the playing he inspires, makes "One Sky" a significant achievement for a composer on the verge of greater things.

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