The Best Jazz Albums of the 2000's

Selected by piero scaruffi | Best albums of all time | Musicians | Back to music

An appendix to my book "A History of Jazz Music"

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
The 1940's The 1950's The 1960's The 1970's The 1980's The 1990's The 2000's The 2010's The 2020's
TM, ®, Copyright © 2002 Piero Scaruffi

2000

  1. See this page

2001

  1. See this page

2002

  1. See this page

2003

  1. See this page

2004

  1. See this page

2005

  1. See this page

2006

  1. See this page

2007

  1. See this page

2008

  1. See this page

2009

  1. See this page

The best of the decade

(very very very tentative - i am sure i forgot many)
  1. Spring Heel Jack: Disappeared
  2. Spring Heel Jack: Amassed
  3. Marty Ehrlich: Malinke's Dance
  4. John Butcher: Fixations
  5. Territory Band: A New Horse for the White House (october 2005)
  6. Jane Ira Bloom: Chasing Paint (2002)
  7. Franz Koglmann: Fear Death By Water (2003)
  8. Denman Maroney: Fluxations (New World)
  9. Kolkhoze Printanium: Kolkhoznitsa Vol 1
  10. Ivo Perelman: Suite for Helen F (2003)
  11. Acoustic Ladyland: Last Chance Disco (Babel)
  12. Brad Mehidau: Largo (Warner)
  13. Dave Douglas: Mountain Passages (Green Leaf)
  14. Marty Ehrlich: The Long View (Enja)
  15. Either/Orchestra: Ethiopiques 20: Live In Addis (Buda Musique)
  16. Keith Rowe: The Room (Earstwhile)
Honorable mention (and some of these may be upgraded to the top 20 at some point):
  • 33.3: Plays Music
  • Abdullah Ibrahim: African Symphony (Enja)
  • Acoustic Alchemy: The Beautiful Game
  • Acoustic Ladyland: Skinny Grinn (Babel)
  • Agusti Martinez: Are Spirits What I Hear (Etude)
  • Alex Von Schlippenbach: Monk's Casino (Intakt)
  • Andrew Hill: A Beautiful Day (Palmetto)
  • Andrew Hill: Passing Ships (Blue Note)
  • Andrew Hill: Time Lines
  • Andrew Hill: Dusk
  • Angelica Sanchez: Mirror Me (Omnitone)
  • Antripodean Collective: Funcall
  • Antripodean Collective: The Massacre of the Egos
  • Bad Plus: These Are The Vistas (Columbia)
  • Benny Greb's Grebfruit (2005)
  • Bill Dixon: Papyrus
  • Bill Frisell: Disfarmer
  • Bill Frisell: Ghost Town
  • Bob Belden: Black Dahlia
  • Bobby Previte: The 23 Constellations of Joan Miro (Tzadik)
  • Bobby Previte: The 23 Constellations (Tzadik)
  • Bobo Stenson: Trio Serenity
  • Brad Mehldau: Art of the Trio: Progression
  • Branford Marsalis: Eternal (Marsalis)
  • Carla Bley: Appearing Nightly (Watt)
  • Charlie Haden Liberation Music Orchestra: Not In Our Name (Verve)
  • Clark Terry: One on One
  • Claudia Quintet: I Claudia (Cuneiform)
  • Claudia Quintet: I
  • Crispell, Peacock, Motian: Amaryllis
  • Darcy James Argue: Infernal Machines
  • Dave Douglas: Freak In (Bluebird)
  • Dave Douglas: Strange Liberation (Bluebird)
  • Dave Douglas: The Infinite (RCA)
  • Dave Douglas: Witness
  • Dave Douglas: El Trilogy
  • Dave Holland: Critical Mass
  • Dave Holland: Extended Play (ECM)
  • Dave Holland: Pass it On (Dare2)
  • Dave Holland: Over Time (Dare2)
  • Dave Hurley: Outer Nebula, Inner Nebula (Porter)
  • David Berkman: Communication Theory
  • David Murray: Octect Plays
  • David Ware: Corridors & Parallels
  • David Ware: Freedom Suite (Aum)
  • David Ware: Threads (Thirsty Ear)
  • Diana Krall: The Girl in the Other Room (Verve)
  • Django Bates: You Live and Learn (Lost Marble)
  • Don Byron: Ivey-Divey (Blue Note)
  • Edmund Welles: Agrippa's 3 Books (Self-Released)
  • Evan Parker: Memory/Vision (2002)
  • Evan Parker: The Eleventh Hour (2004)
  • Fred Hersch: Songs Without Words
  • Free Music Ensemble: Cuts (Okkadisk)
  • George Lewis: Endless Shout
  • Geri Allen: The Life of a Song (Telarc)
  • Gilad Atzmon: Exile (Justin Time)
  • Greg Osby: The Invisible Hand
  • Guillermo Gregorio: Faktura
  • Hamiet Bluiett: Blueback (Justin Time)
  • Henry Threadgill: Everybody's Mouth's A Book
  • Henry Threadgill: This Brings to Us
  • Hilmar Jensson: Meg Nem Sa (Skirl)
  • Hiromi: Another Mind (Telarc)
  • Jan Garbarek: In Praise of Dreams (ECM)
  • Jane Ira Bloom: Like Silver Like Song (2004)
  • Jason Moran: Black Stars
  • Jason Moran: Modernistic (Blue Note)
  • Jason Moran: The Bandwagon (Blue Note)
  • Jetemy Pelt: Close to My Heart (Maxjazz)
  • Joe Lovano/ Us Five: Folk Art (Blue Note)
  • Joe Maneri: Going To Church
  • Joe Morris: Colorfield
  • Joe Zawinul: Faces and Places (ESC)
  • Joshua Redman: Elastic (Warner)
  • Joshua Redman: Passage of Time
  • Keith Jarrett: Always Let Me Go (ECM)
  • Keith Jarrett: Whisper Not
  • Ken Vandermark Territory Band: Atlas (2001)
  • Ken Vandermark Territory Band: Map Theory (2002)
  • Ken Vandermark: Alchemia (Not Two)
  • Kenny Garrett: Beyond the Wall
  • Leo Smith: Tabligh (Cuneiform)
  • Leo Smith: The Year of the Elephant (Pi)
  • Leo Smith: Golden Quartet
  • Marco Minneman: Broken Orange (2003)
  • Mats Gustafsson: Catapult (Doubt)
  • Matthew Shipp: New Orbit (2001)
  • Michael Attias: Renku (Playscape)
  • Michael Brecker: Wide Angles (2003)
  • Myra Melford: Dance Beyond the Color
  • Nels Cline: Instrumentals (Cryptogramophone)
  • Nels Cline: Destroy All Nels Cline
  • New Orchestra: Entropy (2004)
  • New Orchestra: Inscape
  • Nicholas Payton: Sonic Trance (Warner)
  • Okkyung Lee: I Saw The Ghost Of An Unknown Soul And It Said (Ecstatic Peace)
  • Outward Sound Ensemble: Cloudburst
  • Paul Dunmall: The Great Divide (Cuneiform)
  • Paul Dunmall: I Wish You Peace (Cuneiform)
  • Paul Motian: Garden of Eden
  • Paul Motian: Holiday for Strings (Winter)
  • Paul Rucker: History of an Apology (Jackson Street)
  • Peter Broetzmann: Fuck DeBoere
  • Randy Sandke: Inside Out (Nagel)
  • Randy Weston: Ancient Future (Mutablemusic)
  • Repeat: Select Dialect
  • Rez Abbasi: Things To Come (Sunnyside)
  • Robert Glasper: In My Element
  • Robert Glasper: Mood (Fresh Sound)
  • Roscoe Mitchell: Song For my Sister (Pi)
  • Roy Campbell: Ethnic Stew
  • Scott Rosenberg: Creative Orchestra Music (New World)
  • Sonny Rollins: This Is What I Do
  • Splattercell: OAH
  • Spring Heel Jack: Live (Thirsty Ear)
  • Steve Lehman: Travil Transformation and Flow
  • Steve Turre: In The Spur of the Moment
  • Supersilent: 5 (Rune Grammofon)
  • Sven Ake Johansson: Six Little Pieces for Quintet
  • Terence Blanchard: Flow (Blue Note)
  • Thomas Buckner: Alone Together Apart (Mutablemusic)
  • Tim Berne: Science Friction (Screwgun)
  • Tom Harrell: Paradise
  • Tomasz Stanko: Lontano
  • Tomasz Stanko: Soul of Things (ECM)
  • Tord Gustavsen: Changing Places (ECM)
  • Triangles: Triangles
  • Triosk: Moment Returns (Leaf)
  • Vijay Iver: Historicity
  • Vijay Iyer: Blood Sutra (Artists House)
  • Vijay Iyer: Reimagining (Savoy)
  • Wayne Shorter: Alegria (Verve)
  • Wayne Shorter: Beyond The Sound Barrier (Verve)
  • William Parker: O'Neal's Porch
  • William Parker: Painter's Spring
  • Wynton Marsalis: All Rise
  • Yeah No: Swell Henry (Squealer)
  • Zeena Parkins: Necklace
TM, ®, Copyright © 2002 Piero Scaruffi