Album(s) of the Year

2015 has been a seriously good year for music. As ever, I’m served well by the ECM label who produced seven of the twelve albums in my top ten. Of the rest a few have connections to the great world of King Crimson and one was recommended to me during my brief experience of Apple Music. That album was a French sort-of jazz album influenced by minimalist composers and to be fair to Apple Music, I would never have hear of it if I hadn’t tried the suggest link.

I listened to and enjoyed a lot of music this year. If there was one common factor in most of it that would have to be the drummer Pat Mastelotto. He’s only on two of these recordings but there was a period where I had been listening to seven albums in a row with him drumming. I was even lucky enough to meet him after the amazing King Crimson show in Aylesbury where I also got to hang out with Markus Reuter and Sid Smith (whose listening habits make mine look positively half-arsed).

The most listened to album for me this year isn’t this list (because it came out earlier) and that’s Touch and Flee by the Neil Cowley Trio. Mr Cowley’s tribute to Dudley Moore, which J and I saw at Ronnie Scotts in April, was a hugely entertaining and moving experience.

So, after all this waffle, here is my top ten list. So good I had to include twelve of them. If I had to pick one album that stood out above all the others I would pick KOMARA, but it’s a very close call.

Mette Henriette – Mette Henriette

Komara – KOMARA

Thomas Strønen – Time is a Blind Guide

Markus Reuter – Mundo Nuevo

Sylvain Rifflet – Mechanics

Gary Willis – Larger than Life

Nils Økland Band – Kjølvatn

John Potter – Amores Pasados

Sinikka Langeland – The Half-FinishedHeaven

Chris Potter’s Underground Orchestra – Imaginary Cities

Anouar Brahem – Souvenance

Trey Gunn – The Waters They are Rising