But don’t wait for music historians to hand out the accolades. (Hersch survived a life-threatening coma in 2008.) I think posterity will enshrine this body of work among the classics of 21st century jazz. But he has somehow leapt to a higher plateau during the last few years-all the more amazing given his precarious health. For the last three decades, he has garnered justifiable praise as one of best pianists in jazz. (Also check out the previous year’s Pulitzer winner Caroline Shaw’s "Partita for 8 Voices" for another example of the new populist movement in the classical world.)ĢFred Hersch FloatingJazzI’ve long admired Hersch’s work. John Luther Adams lives up to the title of his composition, capturing an oceanic torrent of sound in an awe-inspiring performance. But contemporary classical music has changed, and the field is now spawning many appealing and genre-bending works. For as long as I can remember, the Pulitzer judges focused on pleasing a niche group of academics who care more about “compositional strategies” than how music actually sounds. But each of the recordings listed below deserves yours closest attention.ġJohn Luther Adams Become OceanContemporary Classical MusicI never thought I would pick a Pulitzer Prize-winning composition for the top spot on my end-of-year list. I check out the heavily promoted releases from the major entertainment conglomerates, but only a few of these live up to the marketing copy. But I’ve found that most of the good music nowadays is coming from small indie labels, and self-produced albums. I could save myself a lot of time and aggravation if I just limited my listening to megastars and their hyped hits. (For a longer list of 200 outstanding releases, click here.)įriends tell me I’m looking for music in all the wrong places, especially given all the lesser-known titles on my end-of-year rankings. Below are my choices for the best of the best: the top 20 albums of 2014. But before they cut me off, I want to share my favorite picks with you. My family is ready to mount an intervention, and cancel my streaming accounts. I listened to more than 900 new releases during 2014-all styles, all genres.
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