Miles Davis

All Life Long: The Top Albums, EPs and Reissues of 2024

I listened to nothing but tinny opera recordings from the 1950s during several glorious days in the past twelve months. Inspired by a few of the reissues listed below, I also went on extended vintage gypsy jazz jags, took deep dives into 1960s free jazz and wallowed in 1970s funk. While I prize each of the 2024 releases ranked here, little of the new music affected me as much as the sounds of the distant past I hadn’t previously encountered. What now? My interests continue to change with such rapidity that I can’t foresee what will capture my attention in 2025.

The Top Fifty New Albums of 2024

1. Kali Malone- All Life Long

2. Jlin- Akoma

3. JPEGMAFIA- I Lay Down My Life for You

4. Pygmalion- Mozart: Requiem

5. Zach Bryan- The Great American Bar Scene

6. Sunny Five- Candid

7. Future and Metro Boomin- We Don’t Trust You and 

We Still Don’t Trust You

8. Grupo Frontera- Jugando a Que No Pasa Nada

9. Caroline Shaw- Leonardo da Vinci: Original Score

10. Bilal- Live at Glasshaus and Adjust Brightness

11. Nduduzo Makhathini- uNomkhubulwane

12. Willie Nelson- Last Leaf on the Tree and The Border

13. Sarah Davachi- The Head as Form’d in the Crier’s Choir

14. Sault- Acts of Faith

15. Philip Glass- Solo

16. Anja Lechner- Bach Abel Hume

17. Brad Mehldau- After Bach II and Après Fauré

18. Fred Hersch- Silent, Listening

19. Oren Ambarchi- Ghosted II

20. Denzel Curry- King of the Mischievous South, Vol. 2


21. Vince Staples- Dark Times

22. Kaitlin Butts- Roadrunner!

23. Borderlands Trio- Rewilder

24. Jack White- No Name

25. Willi Carlisle- Critterland

26. Linda Thompson- Proxy Music

27. Tord Gustavsen Trio- Seeing

28. Moor Mother- The Great Bailout

29. Tomeka Reid, Isidora Edwards and Elisabeth Coudoux- 

Reid/Edwards/Coudoux

30. Blackstarkids- Saturn Dayz and Heaven On Urf

31. Rogê- Curyman II

32. Nala Sinephro- Endlessness

33. Samara Joy- Portrait

34. John Adams- Girls of the Golden West

35. Common and Pete Rock- The Auditorium Vol. 1

36. Betty Bryant- Lotta Livin’

37. The Smile- Wall of Eyes and Cutouts

38. Barbara Hannigan and Bertrand Chamayou- Messiaen

39. Véronique Gens- Paysage

40. Ahmed- Wood Blues

41. Jessica Pratt- Here in the Pitch

42. SML- Small Medium Large

43. Kevin Puts- The Hours

44. Tarbaby- You Think This America

45. SleazyWorld Go- More Than a Shooter

46. Andrew Cyrille, Kit Downes and Bill Frisell- Breaking the Shell

47. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds- Wild God

48. Ryuichi Sakamoto- Opus

49. Kendrick Lamar- GNX

50. The Wiener Philharmoniker with Lise Davidsen- Sommernachtskonzert at the Schönbrunn Palace


The Top 25 EPs of 2024

1. Drug Church- Prude

2. Mike and Tony Seltzer- Pinball

3. Laura Cannell- Firelore

4. Little Simz- Drop

5. Shabaka- Possession

6. Peter Schlamb- Pliable Consciousness

7. Regional Justice Center- Freedom Sweet Freedom

8. Shredders- Serious Dudes

9. Benoît Delbecq- Triple Fever

10. Krystle Warren & The Academy- Extended Play


11. Wilco- Hot Sun Cool Shroud

12. Khatia Buniatishvili- Labyrinth: Ephemera

13. Knocked Loose- You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To

14. Anysia Kym- Truest

15. Leonhard Baumgartner, Svenja Dose, Margarita Pochebut, Oscar Jockel- Mozart: Serenade in C Major, K. 648 “A Very Little Night Music”

16. Thirdface- Ministerial Cafeteria

17. Melt-Banana- 3+5

18. Badbadnotgood- Mid Spiral: Chaos

19. Joan Shelley- Mood Ring

20. Doris- The Saver


21. Carminho- At Electrical Audio

22. Herbert Blomstedt and Gewandhausorchester- Mozart: Serenade in C Major, K. 648 “A Very Little Night Music”

23. Ramona and the Holy Smokes- Til It’s Over

24. Meth Math- Chupetones

25. Snorri Hallgrimsson- Longer Shadows, Softer Stones


The Top 25 Reissues and Reimaginings of 2024

1. Alice Coltrane- The Carnegie Hall Concert

2. funk.BR: São Paulo

3. Paul McCartney- One Hand Clapping

4. Miles Davis- Miles in France 1963 & 1964: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 8

5. Charles Gayle, William Parker and Milford Graves- WEBO

6. Emahoy Tsegué Maryam Guèbrou- Souvenirs

7. Robyn Hitchcock- 1967: Vacations in the Past

8. McCoy Tyner, Joe Henderson, Henry Grimes and Jack DeJohnette- Forces of Nature: Live at Slugs

9. Rail Band- Rail Band

10. Sonic Youth- Walls Have Ears

11. Flatland Cavalry- Flatland Forever

12. Jakob Bro- Taking Turns

13. Mal Waldron and Steve Lacy- The Mighty Warriors Live in Antwerp

14. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan- Chain of Light

15. Alejandro Escovedo- Echo Dancing

16. The Ohio Players- Observations In Time: The Johnny Brantley/Vidalia Productions

17. Ron Miles- Old Main Chapel

18. Jack Bruce- Smiles & Grins, Broadcast Sessions 1970-2001

19. William Baskinski- September 23rd

20. Gastr Del Sol- We Have Dozens of Titles


21. Art Tatum- Jewels in the Treasure Box: The 1953 Chicago Blue Note Jazz Club Recordings

22. DJ-Kicks: Honey Dijon

23. Bryan Ferry- Retrospective: Selected Recordings 1973-2023

24. Dolly Parton and Family- Smoky Mountain DNA: Family, Faith and Fables

25. Charlie Parker- Bird in Kansas City


My fifty favorite performances of 2024 are ranked here. My fifty favorite songs of 2024 are listed here. And my top albums and songs of 2023 are here.

Album Review: Ava Mendoza- Echolocation

Conventional wisdom would have people believe that jazz and punk are diametrically opposed forms of music. The transgressive spirit of the two forms are actually the same. As a teenager swept up in the initial punk revolution, Television’s Marquee Moon and Miles Davis’ Dark Magus seemed like two sides of the same coin when the albums were released in 1977. Both recordings sound like precursors to Echolocation, the new album by guitarist Ava Mendoza, saxophonist James Brandon Lewis, bassist Devin Hoff and drummer Ches Smith. The quartet fuses raw metallic power with free improvisation on the crunchy Echolocation.

Feelin’ U: The Top Albums and Songs of 2022

The Top 50 Albums of 2022

1. Moor Mother- Jazz Codes

Review.

2. Mary Halvorson- Belladonna

Review.

3. Natalia Lafourcade- De Todas las Flores

4. Oren Ambarchi- Ghosted

Review.

5. Joyce DiDonato- Eden

6. Rosalía- Motomami

7. Nate Wooley- Ancient Songs of Burlap Heroes

Review.

8. Pusha T- It’s Almost Dry

9. The Weeknd- Dawn FM

Podcast discussion.

10. Dave Douglas- Songs of Ascent: Book 1- Degrees

11. Sarah Davachi- Two Sisters

Review.

12. Billy Woods- Aethiopes

13. Bad Bunny- Un Verano Sin Ti

14. Tim Bernardes- Mil Coisas Invisíveis

15. Brad Mehldau- Jacob’s Ladder

Review.

16. Bobby Watson- Back Home in Kansas City

Review.

17. Anat Cohen- Quartetinho

18. Caroline Shaw and Attacca Quartet- Evergreen

19. Miranda Lambert- Palomino

20. François-Xavier Roth and Les Siècles- Claude Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande

21. Vince Staples- Ramona Park Broke My Heart

22. Sault- (God)

23. Matthew Shipp Trio- World Construct

24. Mitsuko Uchida- Beethoven: Diabelli Variations

Review.

25. Beyoncé- Renaissance

Review.

26. Hermon Mehari- Asmara

Review.

27. Samantha Ege- Black Renaissance Women

28. Danger Mouse and Black Thought- Cheat Codes

29. Tyshawn Sorey- The Off-Off Broadway Guide to Synergism

30. Nduduzo Makhathini- In The Spirit of Ntu

31. Silvana Estrada- Marchita

32. Carolin Widmann- L’Aurore

33. Robert Levin- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: The Piano Sonatas

34. Megan Thee Stallion- Traumazine

35. Gerald Clayton- Bells on Sand

Review.

36. iLe- Nacarile

37. Jóhann Jóhannsson- Drone Mass

38. Lucrecia Dalt- ¡Ay!

39. Lise Davidsen and Leif Ove Andsnes- Edvard Grieg

Review.

40. Daniel Villarreal- Panamá 77

41. Wilco- Cruel Country

Review.

42. Sault- 11

43. Tedeschi Trucks Band- I Am the Moon III: The Fall

Review.

44. Cyrille Dubois and Tristan Rais- Fauré: Complete Songs

45. Clarice Jensen- Esthesis

46. Caroline Shaw and I Giardini- The Wheel

47. Tony Malaby’s Sabino- The Cave of Winds

Review.

48. Benny the Butcher- Tana Talk 4

49. Sault- Air

Review.

50. 2 Chainz- Dope Don’t Sell Itself

The Top 50 Songs of 2022 (Spotify playlist)

1. Porridge Radio- “End of Last Year”

2. Kae Tempest featuring Lianne La Havas- “No Prizes”

3. Celeste- "To Love a Man"

4. Anna Butterss- "Doo Wop"

5. Ice Spice- “Munch (Feelin’ U)”

6. Jana Rush featuring DJ Paypal- “Lonely”

7. Jimetta Rose & The Voices of Creation- "How Good It Is"

8. Lee Fields- "Forever"

9. Rod Wave- "Cold December"

10. More Eaze featuring Claire Rousay- "floor Pr. 2"

11. DJ Snake- “Disco Maghreb”

12. Anitta featuring Chencho Corleone- "Gata"

13. Horace Andy- "Watch Over Them"

14. Kaitlin Butts- “She’s Using”

15. Soul Glo- “Gold Chain Punk (whogonbeatmya–)”

16. Drake- "Down Hill"

17. Leikeli47- “LL Cool J”

18. Babehoven- “Fugazi”

19. Sunny Sweeney featuring Vince Gill- “Married Alone”

20. Cécile McLorin Salvant- “Ghost Song”

21. Steve Lacy- "Bad Habit"

22. Aldous Harding- “Fever”

23. Ibibio Sound Machine- “17 18 19”

24. Blackstarkids- “Sex Appeal”

25. Camilo and Nicki Nicole- "Naturaleza"

26. Hailey Whitters- “Everything She Ain’t”

27. Plains- “Hurricane”

28. Big Joanie- “In My Arms”

29. Horse Lords- “Rundling”

30. SleazyWorld Go featuring Offset- “Step 1”

31. Rauw Alejandro featuring Baby Rasta- “Punto 40”

32. Cole Swindell- “She Had Me at Heads Carolina”

33. Willie Nelson- “I’ll Love You Till the Day I Die”

34. Tank and The Bangas featuring Lalah Hathaway and Jacob Collier- “Where Do We All Go”

35. Drake and 21 Savage- “Major Distribution”

36. SZA- “Kill Bill”

37. Big K.R.I.T.- “So Cool”

38. Emily Nenni- “On the Ranch”

39. Ohma- “Seeing Beyond What Is Here”

40. Thotcrime- “You’re Like a Black Hole, The Way You Expect My Life to Revolve Around You”

41. The Smile- “Opposite”

42. Jon Pardi- “Mr. Saturday Night”

43. Lyle Lovett- “12th of June”

44. Animal Collective- “Cherokee”

45. Hiatus Kaiyote- "Get Sun (Georgia Anne Muldrow remix)"

46. Coi Leray- "Players"

47. Leland Whitty- "Awake"

48. Regina Spektor- “Becoming All Alone”

49. Craig Finn- “Messing With the Settings”

50. Peter Lehndorff- “Nothing Can Change”

The Top 25 EPs of 2022

1. Earl Sweatshirt- Sick!

Review.

2. Tom Skinner- Voices of Bishara

3. Drug Church- Hygiene

4. DJ Premier- Hip Hop 50, Vol. 1

5. The Adam Larson Trio- With Love, From Kansas City

Review.

6. Sault- Aiir

7. Iceboy Violet- The Vanity Project 

Review.

8. Shabaka- Afrikan Culture

9. Your Old Droog- Yod Stewart

10. Christian Nodal- EP #1 Forajido

11. Christina Aguilera- La Fuerza

12. Flee Lord- Pray for the Evil 3 

13. Duckwrth- Chrome Bull

14. Ryley Walker- So Certain

15. Your Old Droog and Tha God Fahim- The Wolf On Wall St. 2

16. WiFiGawd- Chain of Command

17. Chubby and the Gang- Labour of Love

18. Brain Tourniquet- Brain Tourniquet II

19. Lil Uzi Vert- Red & White

20. Khruangbin and Leon Bridges- Texas Moon

21. Otoboke Beaver- Super Champon

22. Portico Quartet- Next Stop

23. Elvis Costello- The Resurrection of Rust

24. Flatland Cavalry- Songs to Keep You Warm

25. Lil Ugly Mane- I Believe the World Would Be a Better Place Without You

The Top 25 Reissues, Compilations and Reimaginings of 2022

1. Charles Stepney- Step on Step

2. Saturno 2000: La Rebajada de Los Sonideros 1962-1983

Review.

3. Miles Davis- That’s What Happened 1982-1985: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 7

Review.

4. Brian Harnetty- Words and Silences

Review.

5. Prince and the Revolution- Live

6. Son House- Forever On My Mind

Review.

7. The Beatles- Revolver: Super Deluxe

8. Ray Charles- Live in Stockholm 1972

9. Pastor Champion- I Just Want to be a Good Man

10. Bert Jansch- Bert at the BBC

11. The Pyramids- Aomawa: The 1970s Recordings

Review.

12. Quattro Modigliani- Schubert: The String Quartets

13. Elton John- Madman Across the Water: Deluxe Edition

14. África Negra- Antologia Vol.1

15. Andrew Cyrille, Elliott Sharp and Richard Teitelbaum- Evocation

16. Pavement- Terror Twilight: Farewell Horizontal

Review.

17. Biluka y Los Canibales- Leaf-Playing in Quito, 1960-1965

18. Geri Allen, Charlie Haden and Paul Motian- Live at the Village Vanguard: Unissued Tracks

19. Cecil Taylor- The Complete, Legendary, Live Return Concert at the Town Hall N.Y.C. November 4, 1973

20. Charles Mingus- The Lost Album from Ronnie Scott’s

21. Norah Jones- Come Away With Me: Super Deluxe Edition

22. Nancy Mounir- Nozhet El Nofous

Review.

23. Marius Constant- Xenakis: Syrmos, Polytope de Montréal, Medea, Kraanerg & Oresteia

24. Staples Jr. Singers- When Do We Get Paid

25. Pauline Oliveros and James Ilgenfritz- Altamirage

Album Review: Miles Davis- That’s What Happened 1982-1985: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 7

I purchased Miles Davis’ Decoy as a new release in 1984. In my world- then as now- all genres are on equal footing. Decoy had to compete for my attention with Prince’s Purple Rain, Run-D.M.C.’s self-titled debut and Talking Heads’ Stop Making Sense. Decoy held its own. My bond with Davis’ unfairly maligned 1980s work is indelible. Consequently, the new 211-minute set That’s What Happened 1982-1985: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 7 resembles musical manna from heaven. The essential outtakes and live recordings aren’t merely further affirmation of the icon’s genius. Davis’ forty-year-old discards are more vital than a disheartening share of the jazz being made today.