[JPL] Best of 2007

[MICHAEL P STRATTON]

Vinyl Side of Midnight 2007
   
  This is the playlist for this week’s Vinyl Side of Midnight, which can be heard on 89.7fm WLNZ in the Greater Lansing area, or you can tune in internationally on the web on www.wlnz.org  - hosted by Mike Stratton, Sunday nights, 9- midnight, Eastern Standard Time  
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  12/30/07
   
  Here is my list of my favorite recordings from 2007. I’ve listed my “Top Ten” in jazz, but also mention a few pop releases that caught my ear that are worth mention. 
   
  This week’s playlist:
   
  GET READY – Carl Allen & Rodney Whitaker (Mack Avenue Records)
              Desperate Desire
              A Heart Enflamed, A Soul Enchanted
   
  Allen & Whitaker create a work that travels from Motown to the church. Highly entertaining.
   
  FROM THE PLANTATION TO THE PENITENTIARY – Wynton Marsalis (Blue Note)
              Find Me
              Doin’ (Y)our Thing
   
  Wynton’s deeply felt statement is political and musical. 
   
  A LOVE SUPREME (THE LEGACY OF JOHN COLTRANE) – Turtle Island Quartet (Telarc)
              Moment’s Notice
              Round Midnight
   
  String quartet covers jazz. 
   
  KIDS (LIVE AT DIZZY’S CLUB COCA-COLA) – Joe Lovano and Hank Jones (Blue Note)
              Budo
              Soultrane
              Four In One
   
  Lovano and Jones have made several excellent records in recent years within a quartet format. This is a wonderful musical conversation between masters.
   
  DEAR MILES – Ron Carter (Blue Note)
              Seven Steps To Heaven
              Someday My Prince Will Come
   
  Understated and beautiful, this is Carter’s homage to Miles Davis.
   
  LAWN CHAIR SOCIETY – Kenny Werner (Blue Note)
              The 13th Day
              Uncovered Heart
   
  Werner brings in a bundle of great compositions and a team of ringers, including Dave Douglas, Chris Potter and Brian Blade.
   
  PILGRIMAGE – Michael Brecker (Heads Up)
              Five Months From Midnight
              
  Michael Brecker knew he was dying and this would be his final statement. He invites old friends, Herbie Hancock, Jack DeJohnette, Pat Metheny amongst others, to help him make it. 
   
  SKY BLUE – Maria Schneider Orchestra (Artist Share)
              The Pretty Road
   
  Schneider’s recordings just get better and better. This is her masterpiece.
   
  SONG FOR ANYONE – Chris Potter 10
              Family Tree
              Chief Seattle
   
  This is the year of Potter. After long associations with Dave Douglas and Dave Holland, Chris is ready to do his own thing. Like Wayne Shorter or Thelonious Monk, his organic compositions perfectly suit his improvisational style.
   
  NIGHTMOVES – Kurt Elling
              Undun
              I Like The Sunrise
   
  I got a chance to hear Elling perform at this year’s Detroit Jazz Festival. A terrific performance enhanced my appreciation of his work. This is a great recording.
   
  In between these sets, I’ll play music from the following recordings as a musical ‘bed’; my other favorite CDs of the year:
   
  BACK TO BLACK – Amy Winehouse (Universal Republic)
  INFINITO PARTICULAR – Marisa Monte (Metro Blue)
  RAISING SAND – Robert Plant & Alison Krauss (Rounder)
  VERSION – Mark Ronson (Sony)
  LA RADIOLINA – Manu Chao (Nacional Records)
  KALA – M.I.A. (Interscope Records)
   
  To finish the night I will play a suite of music from some of the artists we lost this year: Joe Zawinul, Alice Coltrane, Frank Morgan, Max Roach, Michael Brecker and Oscar Peterson.