Whoops! I’m late. I wrote this back in January but I forgot to post this. My best jazz albums from the past year was pretty straightforward for me. Some could easily cross-over into other categories that was a challenge. All of my best’s are available on iTunes and Amazon. Some of the artists and/or the song to sample may be well-known while others may not be. Post your favorite jazz albums or songs in comments. Enjoy! Without further adieu, my top five jazz albums of 2012.
Robert Glasper – Black Radio and Black Recovered: The Remix ~ These two discs transcended genres and will become classics. Both discs are fusions of jazz, r&b, and hip-hop with collaborations from some of the most popular artists in the genre. The music is refreshing and creative.
Esperanza Spalding – Radio Music Society ~ Esperanza’s fourth disc is an astoundingly relevant cacophony of beautiful sounds. To appreciate the full effect of this disc you must also listen to the companion disc 2010’s Chamber Music Society. If you follow this blog you will notice that I posted her newest video from Radio Music Society earlier this week. This is great music and I assure you, that you will never tire of listening to this disc.
Marcus Miller – Renaissance ~ Quintessential music for 2012. Marcus Miller’s eighth disc is arguably his best. Its artistic with broad brush stokes of vibrant color contained by detailed, technical perfection.
Nenah Cherry & The Thing – Cherry Thing ~ What a collaboration! Listening to this puts you in a smoky, cool, jazz club. Improvisational, different, and inventive this disc definitely sets a mood. It’s great to hear Nenah Cherry again after sixteen long years. Her vocals are effusive throughout the disc.
EUGE Groove – House of Groove ~ Two words describe this disk: smooth and sexy. It’s like a fine, full-bodied wine.
Honorable mentions go to Fourplay’s Espirit De Four and Jackiem Joyner’s Church Boy. Fourplay carries on the blueprint pioneered by Davis, Coltrane, Evans, Cobb, and Chambers of how to bring together great musicians to make great music. Jackiem Joyner returns to his roots in a true labor of love.
soulbrotherspeaks.com 
Random Thoughts
Happy International Women’s Day to all my sisters! Your contributions to the world are appreciated and needed.
A minimum wage increase is long overdue. Don’t succumb to the fear mongering of the have’s. The have nots outnumber the have’s and that is a power the have’s must respect.
Pocket knives, hockey sticks, and bats are now allowed on planes yet my Fiji water isn’t. That’s ridiculous! Has the administrators at the TSA lost their minds?
RIP Biggie Smalls!!! You are missed. Your music will live forever!
The population of the United States is approximately 313, 914, 000. There’s roughly 283, 000, 000 guns in the United States. There’s something wrong with that picture.
Are you tired of snow and cold yet?
When someone truly cares about someone why does that person becomes suspicious? Have we become that paranoid and suspicious as a society?
I am the first person in line to see NAS at the Kennedy Center’s,” One Mic: Hip-Hop Culture Worldwide” next year. NAS with the National Symphony Orchestra will be a site to see.
Don’t limit yourself to the block, town, city, county, or state you live in. There’s an entire world to explore, learn from and see. Don’t become comfortable within the limits of your current existence!
LOL is not a suitable response when texted a serious issue.
I don’t agree with Sen. Paul Ryan’s (R-KY) politics. I do however salute and respect him for his old school filibuster of CIA director appointee John Brennan. Sen. Ryan’s filibuster brought up viable questions and placed them on the record regarding unmanned drone use within US borders on US citizens.
Not reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) would have been an immoral act. How could government ignore and become indirect accomplices by not reauthorizing VAWA? Well, 138 of our elected officials did. Most notably Michelle Bachmann (R-MN), Diane Black (R-TN), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Eric Cantor (R-VA), Renée Ellmers (R-NC), Virginia Foxx (R-NC), Sam Graves (R-MO), Vicky Hartzler (R-MO), Cynthia M. Lummis (R-WY), Martha Roby (R-AL), Pete Sessions (R-TX), F. James Sensenbrenner (R-WY), and Ann Wagner (R-MO). I have two questions: to the male representatives, how would you feel if it was your daughter, mother, or sister that was being abused or was even killed by their abuser? Would that affect your vote? To the female representatives: how could you vote against the best interests of yourselves, your daughters, and your sisters? You betrayed all women by your vote, luckily sanity and compassion prevailed. This time. “All women deserve the right to live free from fear.” – President Obama
The Republican party is the party of scared white people attempting to bring apartheid to the United States.
They say some banks are too big to fail. Now, it’s said they are too big to prosecute. No one person or entity should be allowed to become above the law. If that’s truly the case, government has failed us all.
Love puts the human in humanity.
Failed relationships can hurt, but don’t underestimate that a new one can be a healing and fulfilling one-with the right person.
Love is your worst enemy if you don’t know what it really means.
Lasting love for another is not based on looks or cosmetic appeal but is based on what is in the other person’s heart and soul.
Wealth is determined by more than just money.
Mariano Rivera is retiring from baseball on his own terms at the end of the 2013 baseball season. Next stop Cooperstown!