Jazz breaking news: Jazzwise Albums of The Year 2013 Critic’s Poll
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Right from the moment Jazzwise broke the news in June 2012 that Wayne Shorter had signed for the second time to Blue Note records after a brief gap of, oh, 43 years, anticipation was running high as the months ticked by to the release of Without A Net in February 2013, the first new music from his quartet since 2005’s Beyond The Sound Barrier.
A jazz giant had returned to claim his ground and such was the depth of his footprint (no pun intended) few could have ventured close. As Stuart Nicholson said in awarding the title a coveted five stars in Jazzwise March issue: “A remarkable album where Shorter’s maxim of ‘how do you rehearse the unknown?’ with everyone responding to the impulses of the moment, results in some inspired music that represents jazz at its finest, not just in the here and now, but of the past and the future as well.” Clearly many writers agreed. Without A Net hoovered up the most votes by a substantial margin to win the Jazzwise Album of the Year 2013 in our annual critics poll, where 10 points are awarded for first place in each writer’s chart right down to one point for 10th place.
It rounds out a milestone year for Wayne Shorter, who turned 80 in August, played a highly acclaimed concert as part of the EFG London Jazz Festival on Sunday and did rather well in the Jazzwise Reissues of the Year poll too. Congratulations also go to all the other nominated musicians who enriched our lives in 2013, particularly the high scorers, Kenny Garrett, Stan Tracey and Miles, standing beacon-like at the top of the reissues and archives chart once again. A poll that evidently tells its own story. Jon Newey
TOP 20 NEW RELEASES 2013
1 Wayne Shorter Quartet Without A Net Blue Note
2 Kenny Garrett Pushing The World Away Mack Avenue
3 Stan Tracey The Flying Pig ReSteamed
TOP 20 REISSUES AND ARCHIVE 2013
1 Miles Davis Quintet Live In Europe 1969: The Bootleg Series Vol. 2 Columbia Legacy
To find out who's made the FULL Top 20 in both New and Archive/Reissue Albums of the Year and to see all our critic's personal Top Tens buy the special Dec/Jan double issue of Jazzwise in leading branches of WHSmith, HMV, all good newsagents or subscribe here and get a superb 3CD Norwegian Jazz Box Set
– Photo courtesy of Tim Dickeson