responding late to posts: my top CDs for 2002 (some are old albums which i just bought in CD format)
1) caecilie norby - first conversation (a danish jazz singer who reminds you of the exquisite phrasing of nancy wilson [not of "heart" fame] and the musical insouciance of an anita o'day. 2) 8 mile soundtrack (a direct result of watching curtis hanson's "8 mile" starring eminem where rap and hip hop were placed in its rightful context, and how i love the album with performances from eminem to macy gray; thanks vince for the encouragement) 3) dave brubeck - young lions and old tigers (a collaboration project with the piano impressionism of brubeck as framed in the dynamism of guest artists from christian mcbride to george shearing to gerry mulligan to jon hendricks) 4) dizzy gillespie - bird songs (his final live performance in the blue note with the horn players he was with for the last 4-5 decades of his prolific life; the master of afro-cuban music played mostly charlie parker songs and a very ingenious "tunisian fantasy" that had bobby mcferrin's pliant vocals channelling clark terry's trumpet) 5) julia fordham - concrete love (the lowest contralto in contemporary pop music this side of alison limerick, cleo laine and patti cathcart; beautiful ballads in sparse musical setting that showcased the depth of this woman's voice; with larry klein's arrangement) 6) eva cassidy - time after time (sweet rendition of songs that does not betray their integrity; a classic display of good singing and a great album no serious collector should be without) 7) pat metheny - speaking of now (creative, inventive, superlative; thanks to fred simon's early reviews that led me to get this) 8) ann sally - voyage (an engaging voice that is so immersed in the bossa nova idiom; very unaffected just like most singers singing in portuguese; reminds you of astrud, elis regina and gal costa even if she is korean; her version of "all i want" is beautiful in its simplicity) 9) shirley horn - you're my thrill (slow-burning ballads in an impossibly slow pace; haunting vibrato-less voice of someone who seems to have lived through the songs she is singing about; done with little drama but when listened at 2-3AM could be a heady experience) 10) kings of convenience - quiet is the new loud (guitar-driven musical outing from two danish talents; almost sombre; at times heartbreakingly direct; a type of singing that you usually heard people do when they are alone and doing something manual; no-frills)
