Best of Jazz for 2011

My selections for best jazz albums of 2011 appear below but in no particular order.

Helge Lien Trio, Natsukashii, Ozella Music

Sunna Gunnlaugs, Long Pair Bond, Sunny Sky

Nat Birchall, Sacred Dimension, Gondwana

Matthew Halsall, On the Go, Gondwana

Wolfert Brederode, Post Scriptum, ECM

Sebastian Liedke Trio, Zeitenwende, self produced

Julia Hulsmann Trio, Imprint, ECM

Meadow, Blissful Ignorance, Edition

Colin Vallon Trio, Rruga, ECM

European Union Quartet, The Dark Peak, OAP Records

My artist to watch award goes to the Claire James Trio, a piano trio headed by Claire James, a former student of the Royal Academy of Music in Manchester, England. The trio’s EP, Lines (Efpi Records), was released last summer and contains four tracks, all of which can be heard at SoundCloud.