Once again, the time has come for JazzTimes’ Year in Review section, in which our critics choose their favorite new and historical jazz releases of the past year or so (that “or so” will prove important in a moment). This year, 22 writers—including yours truly—joined the fun.
Actually, I shouldn’t. Similarly, Mary Halvorson released two albums simultaneously, and , which clearly referenced one another and were also later repackaged as a single two-disc set. So what should our critics do: vote for the full package as one “album” or for the separate discs? In the end, after much agonizing, we opted for separate discs, figuring that at least some people would prefer one over the other(s), which was indeed how it turned out.