Boston Globe: Faculty and Alumni Picked for Jazz Albums of the Year

Efforts from Berklee alumni dominated the Boston Globe's list of the best jazz albums of 2014, taking seven out of the ten spots.

December 22, 2014

It’s been a chart-topping year for Berklee alumni in the jazz community. Boston Globe writer Jon Garelick recently released his list of the best jazz albums of 2014, and efforts from Berklee alumni dominated the list, taking seven out of the ten spots, with four of those seven alumni in the top five.

Pianist and composer Danilo Pérez ’88 took the No. 1 spot with Panama 500, a record that pays tribute to Panama’s rich history through various musical genres and fits well within the work Pérez oversees as artistic director of the Berklee Global Jazz Institute. Julian Lage ’08 also showcased his versatility on the pared down Room (No. 4), an all-acoustic experiment with guitar legend and Wilco collaborator Nels Cline.

Within the list, brass players with a pioneering flare made a strong showing, including Macarthur Fellow Miguel Zenón ’98’s Identities Are Changeable (No. 6) and Melissa Aldana ’09’s Melissa Aldana & Crash Trio (No. 3), winner of—and first female to claim—the 2013 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition. Saxophonist and 1990 alumnus Mark Turner’s Lathe of Heaven, came in at No. 2, with Avishai Cohen ’99 taking trumpet duties on the record as well as claiming the No. 10 spot with his own record, Dark Nights. Tenor saxophonist Jerome Sabbagh '95 and his quartet came in at No. 7 with their latest effort, The Turn.

See the Boston Globe's full list of albums.