ONCE AGAIN, in 2014, the standard of British and international jazz has been engaging, astonishing and truly enjoyable – and it’s by no means an easy task to compile and order a ‘Top 20’.

The following is, of course, a very personal selection. Musically and emotionally, these albums have caught my attention and warmed my heart. There are many fine releases that I would have wished to include from those I have heard and reviewed – and there must be countless others that, as yet, remain undiscovered. But, in the end, this listing is based purely on the recordings that have ‘stayed with me’ the most (ask me another day, and ‘the twenty’ may have altered or the sequence shifted… isn’t that the wonder of world-class music and its changeable effect on our emotions?!). It’s my seasonal wish that you, too, might find (or already have found) something here to surprise and delight.

Ladies and gentlemen… my Top 20 of 2014:

 

20.
21st Century Acid Trad
Pigfoot
My review

 

19.
The MJQ Celebration
Jim Hart, Barry Green, Matt Ridley, Steve Brown with Dave O’Higgins
My review for LondonJazz News

 

18.
Celebrating The Dark Side Of The Moon
Nguyên Lê with Michael Gibbs & NDR Bigband
My review

 

17.
China Lane
Alice Zawadzki
My review

 

16.
Dreamland
Elliot Galvin Trio
My review for LondonJazz News

 

15.
Lifecycles
Engines Orchestra + Phil Meadows Group
My review

 

14.
Ana
Emilia Mårtensson
My review

 

13.
Under the Moon
Blue-Eyed Hawk
My review

 

12.
Extended Circle
Tord Gustavsen Quartet
My review for LondonJazz News

 

11.
Grigio
Francesco Turrisi
My review

 

10.
Come To Me
The Sirkis/Bialas International Quartet
My review

 

9.
Lion
Marius Neset, Trondheim Jazz Orchestra
My review

 

8.
Lunaris
Frank Harrison Trio
My review

 

7.
Pocket Compass
Trish Clowes
My review

 

6.
Weltentraum
Michael Wollny Trio
My review

 

5.
Songs to the North Sky
Tim Garland
My review

 

4.
v2.0
GoGo Penguin
My review

 

3.
First Light
Andrew McCormack
My review

 

2.
Life to Everything
Phronesis
My review

 

1.
Devotion
Marko Churnchetz
My review

 

 

All that remains is to sincerely thank the panoply of wonderful musicians – whether included above or not – whose labours have been a privilege to appraise and review, and who so deeply enrich our lives.

FESTIVE GREETINGS TO ALL!

Adrian.