I listen to a fair amount of rock music (as well as some country, folk, pop, electronica), but the majority of the time I listen to classical and jazz. I rarely buy new classical albums, as I have my favorites and very little modern classical appeals to me.

But I am constantly listening to new jazz releases, sometimes several a day. Yet, despite that, it seems as if I barely scratched the surface, as 2023 saw numerous exceptional releases. Here are my favorites.’But I am constantly listening to new jazz releases, sometimes several a day.

Yet, despite that, it seems as if I barely scratched the surface, as 2023 saw numerous exceptional releases. Here are my favorites.

• Shuteen Erendenbaater—Rising Sun. Born in Mongolia, this 25-year-old composer, pianist and arranger has quietly (or so it appears to me) produced one of the finest debut albums in jazz in recent years. It is, in a word, impeccable. If that sounds too clinical, add lyrical, melodic, captivating, brilliant, and really, really great.

Erendenbaater certainly has “chops,” but what’s most impressive here is the songwriting and ensemble playing; she is obviously a mature and confident band leader. Anton Mangold, who plays soprano and alto saxophones and flute, is very much a co-star; his playing is perfectly suited to the songs and provides an edge and rawness that mixes sublimely with Erendenbaater’s elegant, beautiful lines. Yes, impeccable and impressive. The opening song, “In a Time Warp,” is a great place to start; here it is being performed live for Bavarian National Radio.

• Veronica Swift—Veronica Swift. It’s a real shame that the other Swift gets all the attention and fame, because this Swift has all the talent, versatility, and real swagger. Her 2019 album Confessions was top-notch and her 2021 Bitter Earth was brilliant and stunning. This self-titled album is eclectic, sophisticated, cocky, wild, and often startling; while not as poignant or emotionally wrenching as the edgy Bitter Earth, this is a chance for Swift to have some fun and to show that she can sing—well, let’s see—jazz (of course), rock, hard rock, pop, punk, R&B, Broadway, opera, and whatever else.

In fact, the idea behind the album is to rework songs in a style far removed from their original character. So, for example, the raw (okay, vulgar) Nine Inch Nails song “Closer” gets turned into a (PG-rated) face-melting funk/R&B tune with a scorching section of scatting (Swift is the finest scat singer around today and I think she rivals the great, including Ella and Mel Tormé). The Broadway tune “I Am What I Am” is reworked into a swinging jazz song that also features scatting—including a minutes of so of Swift scatting Bach. A favorite of mine is “Don’t Rain on My Parade”, from the 1964 musical Funny Girl and famously performed by a young Barbra Streisand, which Swift morphs into a Green Day-ish punk tune that is both smirky and joyous.

The presence of Freddie Mercury can be felt throughout, as two songs are Queen hits—”The Show Must Go On” and “Keep Yourself Alive”—reimagined, respectively, as a bossa nova-meets-Tin Alley tune and a bombastic blues number. Mercury would amused, I think, and impressed. I know that I am.

• Espen Ericksen Trio and Andy Shepperd—As Good As It Gets. The 2018 collaboration of the stellar Norwegian jazz trio and UK sax giant Andy Sheppard, titled Perfectly Unhappy, was a gorgeous, haunting work. This new release continues the Scandinavian-meets-Britain brilliance, with a strong fire underneath the inherent melancholy. In many ways, this reminds me of the great Keith Jarrett European group with Jan Garbarek: the shimmering piano work undergirds the longing saxophone journeys, everything propelled by a certain leisurely restlessness that is distinctly Nordic in tone and British in character.

• Benjamin Lackner—Last Decade. The legendary label ECM is both quite eclectic and yet almost immediately identifiable in terms of sound and aesthetic. The Germain-American pianist Lackner, joined by the fine Norwegian trumpet player Mathias Eick, has created a quintessential ECM album: slightly dark and pensive, perfectly played and with lots of space, featuring melodies that unfold with calm sureness. Lackner and Eick converse with attentive respect, like old friends discussing the mysteries of life, the songs expanding like sunlight slowing breaking through clouds, with moments of thoughtful intensity. One of the most beautiful albums of the year.

• Joe Locke—Makram. The vibraphonist Locke has long established himself as one of the finest players around. I’ve enjoyed many of his albums, but this is surely my favorite. The compositions are consistently great, the playing is the same, and the production is 10/10; the detail in each tune is impressive and captures the richness of the playing. A reader on Locke’s Bandcamp page says that the album “is almost overwhelming in its multitude of colors, moods and sheer energy. The joy of playing music on a very high level with virtuosic musical excursions by all musicians of this coherent band is exciting and just infectious.” Perfectly stated. A underrated jazz gem for 2023.

• Mohini Dey—Mohini Day. The Indian bass virtuoso, now in her late twenties, has been performing professionally since the age of 10. Little wonder: her technique, feel, playing, and musicality are simply stunning. She has played with a wide range of jazz, fusion, rock, funk, and world music groups, and seems to absorb and produce ideas and music like most people breathe air. Her debut album is, well, quite stunning. There is (of course) jazz, fusion, rock, funk, and world music. There is lots of energy (this is not background music); there are really good songs—this isn’t just a jam album. And the guest artists are of the highest order with, for example, Simon Phillips on drums and Guthrie Govan on guitar. There isn’t a dull or ordinary moment to be found.

Also recommended:

• Kurt Rosenwinkel—Undercover (Live at the Village Vanguard)

• Tingvall Trio—Birds

• Emil Brandqvist Trio—Layers of Life

• Joey Alexander—Continuance

• Yussef Dayes—Black Classical Music

• Jeremy Pelt—The Art of Intimacy, Vol 2: His Muse

• Walter Smith III—return to casual

• Kurt Elling and Charlie Hunter—SuperBlue: The Iridescent Spree

• Pat Metheny—Dream Box

• Affinity Trio—Hindsight

• Eric Alexander—A New Beginning: Alto Saxophone with Strings