The story of jazz in 2022: A year-end listening party
Jazz was all over the place in 2022. I mean that as a compliment, and with an intended double meaning: we saw some great examples of improvisers flowing through the culture, and we also heard compelling sounds across the broadest spectrum of styles. Which is one reason to balk at any list purporting to capture the definitive Best Jazz of 2022 – instead of doing that here, we asked a handful of keen listeners for their advocacy picks: one album and one song worth shouting about. —Nate Chinen
Nate Chinen
Song
Cécile McLorin Salvant, "Moon Song"
When people talk about , they often hail her interpretive daring — a natural focus, in light of the extravagant insight she keeps bringing to other invites us to do just that, with its healthy balance of original gems. "Moon Song" isn't the most attention-grabbing of them, but it centers so many of her favorite themes: impossible yearning, obsessive craft, the illusion of control. "If you should love me / Don't ever tell me," she begins, over a harmonic progression that feels instantly familiar. What to make of this vulnerable yet guarded instruction? Like the song's key metaphor, it's warm and welcoming, but with a faraway glow.
