Part 2: My Favorite "Jazz" albums of 2023 that push the boundary of the genre

Ok, let's dive into 10 gems from 2023 that pushes the boundaries of "Jazz"

Yesterday I posted my top 10 “straight ahead” Jazz albums of 2023. But my personal taste it actually a lil more adventurous. So I don’t naturally gravitate towards “straight ahead” jazz (although Yusseff Dayes’s Black Classical Music and Lakecia Benjamin’s Phoenix from that list we’re definitely two of my favorite records of the year). But now I’m going to give you my 2023 “Best Of” list of “Jazz” albums that really push the boundaries of “jazz” as a genre. Where Jazz meets Soul, Neo-Soul, Funk, Poetry, Boom Bap beats, & Spirituality. These are actually some of my all time favorite albums of the year. I’m really excited to share this list.

Without further ado…

Side note: Click on the album title to be linked directly to the album on Spotify.

My Top 10 “Jazz” albums of 2023 that push the boundary of the genre:

1. Lonnie Holley - Oh Me, Oh My

   Originally I had this on my “indie” list. But there’s definitely hints of “spiritual jazz” on this record. I’d consider Lonnie Holley an “outsider-artist/musician” (via Daniel Johnston, Wesley Willis, The Shaggs, Michael Hurley, Arthur Russell, etc). I actually first heard Lonnie, at a Cat Power concert. His 2012 album “Just Before Music” was playing in its entirety before Cat Power took the stage (I saw her twice that year, and the second time; again this album was playing before she took the stage. So Cat Power is a fan). At that first Cat Power concert, I had shazamed it; and bought the vinyl on the spot (on my phone). This new record is a lot more accessible than that 2012 album. And I was pleasantly surprised to see some of the albums features (Sharon Van Etten, Bon Iver, and fuckin Michael Stipe of REM). Anyways, fantastic record. Otherworldly, outsider, spiritual jazz-folk/spoken-word blues. Read the full Pitchfork review HERE

2. Meshell Ndegecocello - The Omnichord Real Book

   Fantastic record. Soulful, and joyous. Really enjoyed this one. Read the full PopMatters review HERE 

3. Arooj Aftab, Shahzad Ismaily, and Vijay Iyer - Love in Exile

   Ok, this one is actually a spiritual experience. Read the full Pitchfork Review HERE

4. Jaimie Branch - Fly or Die Fly or Die Fly or Die ((world war))

   Jamie passed from an accidental overdose summer 2022, before this album was released. We’re so lucky to have this piece of her in the world after her passing. In 2021, I just so happened to have been in NYC during the same time as a free-jazz/avant-garde jazz festival in Red Hook Brooklyn called Vision Fest. I was not familiar with Jamie prior. She performed that day and blew me away! She had such a presence. She was the highlight of that festival. This album really is a gem. I’ve read critics call it punk-jazz. After this list, i’ll be doing a list of my Top 10 free-jazz/avant-garde super adventurous/challenging jazz. Normally I would put Jamie on that list. But I actually thought this album was a lil more approachable Give it a listen. Read the full Pitchfork review HERE

5. Alabaster DePlume - Come With Fierce Grace

   I saw Alabaster perform last year at Leaving Record’s Listen to Music Outside in the Daylight Under a Tree. He did an improvised set; with some of LA’s improvised spiritual jazz heroes (Carlos Niño, Surya Botofasina, etc). I really enjoyed the set. It was a lot of fun and very joyous. I really enjoyed it live, but it wasn’t typically the kind of “jazz” I would listen to at home. So, when I saw DePlume’s Come With Fierce Grace getting critical acclaim, I didn’t enter with the highest expectation. What a pleasant surprise though. This album was really refreshing. It was also a lot less chaotic, and much more sparse than I had assumed it would be; which I actually really enjoyed about it. Read the full Pitchfork review HERE

6. Isaiah Collier - Parallel Universe

   I saw Isaiah play earlier this year at a Jazz is Dead show they did at The Stowaway in Downtown LA. I wasn’t familiar with Isaiah, so I went in blind and was blown away! But again, the kind of jazz that I enjoy live isn’t always the same kind of jazz I enjoy listening to have home. And I thought that would be the case with Collier. But this album has a whole other dimension to it. This album seamlessly was able to fuse jazz with funk, soul, and even a hint of gospel. Read the full AllAboutJazz review HERE

7. Kahil El'Zaba’s Ethnic Heritage Ensemble - Spirit Gatherer (Tribute to Don Cherry)

   Kahil El’Zaba the iconic spiritual jazz composer releases a beautiful tribute to the pioneering free-jazz trumpeter Don Cherry; featuring Don Cherry’s son on keys and LA mainstay legendary vocalist Dwight Trible (go see Dwight live. He plays all around LA; often times with the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra); he’s also the musical director for the World Stage in Liemert Park (which is probably LA’s best kept jazz secret. One of the best performance spaces to see live jazz in the entire city). Anyways, Dwight is a gem. Kahil El’Zaba is fantastic. And this album is great! Read the full AllAboutJazz review HERE

8. Brandee Younger - Brand New Life

   A tribute to harp player Dorthy Ashby (the iconic jazz harpist who you have probably heard sampled by the likes of J Dilla, Madlib, Pete Rock, etc). This album also feels like a tribute to that school of golden age Hip Hop and Neo-Soul. Read the full Pitchfork review HERE

9. London Brew - London Brew

   London Brew is a UK-based 12 person jazz collective (including some of the brightest stars from the UK jazz scene; such as Shabaka Hutchings). The name London Brew is a nod to Miles Davis 1969 Jazz-Fusion masterpiece Bitches Brew. And honestly, they do the name justice. GREAT album!! Read the full review HERE

10. André 3000 - New Blue Sun

    Much debate on calling this a “Jazz” album. And I am making a “best of” list of 2023 Ambient albums; and probably could have put this album there. For all intents and purposes this is probably a “New Age” album - leaning into terrorizes of Spiritual Jazz; and recorded with some LA jazz/improvisational mainstays (Carlos Niño, Surya Botofasina, Diego Gaeta, and more). My argument for calling this Jazz is that jazz has a long history of leaning into New Age territory (Pharaoh Sanders, Alice Coltrane, etc). I think this album is more than fantastic! Read the full Pitchfork review HERE

UPDATE!!!!!!!

Ok, since posting this list two more albums came into my orbit which honestly belong on a Top 10 lists. So now my Top 10 is a Top 12 lol

11. B. Cool Aid - Leather Blvd

    Such a cool record! Jazz meets Hip Hop meets Neo Soul.

12. Mark de Clive-Lowe, Melanie Charles, & Shigeto - Hotel San Claudio

    New Zealand composer/pianist/DJ Mark de Clive-Lowe w/ drummer/producer Shigeto and Brooklyn-based singer Melanie Charles make a spiritual jazz/neo-soul tribute to the great Pharaoh Sanders. Really cool album!

Honorable mention: This one didn’t make my top 10, but I feel like if I sat with it a lil longer it may have. Aja Monet’s When the Poems Do What They Do. Aja is a fantastic poet. This is her doing her poetry backed by some great jazz players. Although I will say, then next list I am going to drop later today or tomorrow of my “Best of” 2023 free-jazz/avant-garde jazz records do feature two albums where spoken word poetry take the lead to a jazz backing; that I liked much better than this record. Read the full Pitchfork review HERE

I really want to encourage listening to these albums as full albums from front to back. But I will also do a playlist with these selections. I am going to leave out London Brew (as the songs are 20+ minutes long) and I’m going to leave out Andre 300 (as those songs are 15 min long soundscapes). I am also going to leave out songs from the Love In Exile album (As those really do need to stand on their own. Such a gorgeous listen as a complete album). But I will add Aja Monet + from yesterday’s list I’m going to add some tunes from Yussef Dayes’s Black Classical Music and Lakecia Benjamin’s Phoenix. CHECK THE PLAYLIST HERE

Up next: The conclusion of my “Best of” 2023 Jazz albums is my FAVORITE yet! I’ll be posting my top 10 avant-garde/free-jazz/experimental/full-blown freakout/werid “jazz” albums for the adventurous listener who doesn’t mind a more challenging listen.