Downbeat Magazine continues to mis-represent me as a
“critic” and invites me to take part in their annual Critics Poll. I do get a
free t-shirt out of the deal, and hopefully can shed some light on musicians
that mean a lot to me. So, the ballot allows you to assign 5 “points” across
musicians for a given instrument or genre. You could vote for their nominees or
write in your own. These are the musicians I chose for the categories I felt
comfortable writing in, others I just left blank out of my own ignorance.
Hall of Fame: Sam Rivers, John Zorn, Thomas Chapin
Jazz Artist: Matthew Shipp, Ken Vandermark
Rising Star Jazz Artist: Jason Adasiewicz, Mary Halvorson,
Jon Irabagon
Album of the Year: John Zorn – Valentine’s Day, Marc Ribot –
Live at the Village Vanguard
Re-issue of the Year: John Coltrane – Offering: Live at
Temple University, Junior Wells – Southside Blues Jam
Jazz Group: John Zorn’s Masada, Henry Threadgill’s Zooid,
The Bad Plus
Rising Star Group: Mary Halvorson Trio, The Thing, Tomas
Fujiwara & The Hook-Up
Big Band: Rob Mazurek’s Exploding Star Orchestra, William
Parker’s Little Huey Orchestra
Rising Star Big Band: (blank)
Trumpet: Wadada Leo Smith, Dave Douglas, Jonathan Finlayson
Rising Star Trumpet: Peter Evans, Matt Lavelle, Nate Wooley
Trombone: Steve Swell
Rising Star Trombone: (blank)
Soprano Saxophone: Sam Newsome, Wayne Shorter
Rising Star Soprano Saxophone: (blank)
Alto Saxophone: Steve Coleman, Rudresh Mahanthappa, John
Zorn
Rising Star Alto Saxophone: Steve Lehman, Andrew D’Angelo
Tenor Saxophone: Branford Marsalis, Chris Potter, Jon
Irabagon
Rising Star Tenor Saxophone: Brian Patneaude
Baritone Saxophone: Mats Gustafssaon
Rising Star Baritone Saxophone: Dave Rempis, Gebhard Ullman
Clarinet: Anat Cohen, Ben Goldberg
Rising Star Clarinet: Russ Johnson, Oscar Noriega
Flute: Charles Lloyd, Henry Threadgill
Rising Star Flute: Anat Cohen
Piano: Vijay Iyer, Matthew Shipp, Kris Davis
Rising Star Piano: Kris Davis, Matt Mitchell
Electric Keyboard: Craig Taborn, John Medeski
Rising Star Electric Keyboard: Jason Linder, David Virelles
Organ: Jared Gold, John Medeski
Rising Star Organ: Brian Charette, John Zorn
Violin: Mark Feldman, Jeff Gauthier
Rising Star Violin: Jenny Scheinman, Mat Maneri
Guitar: Nels Cline, Mary Halvorson, Marc Ribot
Rising Star Guitar: Raoul Bjorkenheim, Jon Lundbom, Brandon
Seabrook
Bass: William Parker, Linda Oh, Ben Allison
Rising Star Bass: Moppa Elliott, Adam Lane
Electric Bass: Jamaaladeen Tacuma, Tony Levin
Rising Star Electric Bass: (blank)
Drums: Hamid Drake, Gerald Cleaver, Matt Wilson
Rising Star Drums: Ches Smith, Tyshawn Sorey
Vibes: Jason Adasiewicz
Rising Star Vibes: Chris Dingman, Matt Morgan
Misc. Instrument: David Murray, Chris Potter, Ken Vandermark
(bass clarinet for all)
Rising Star Misc. Instrument: Colin Stetson (bass
saxophone), Brandon Seabrook (banjo)
Male Vocalist: Mose Allison, Theo Bleckman
Rising Star Male Vocalist: (blank)
Female Vocalist: Cassandra Wilson
Rising Star Female Vocalist: Jen Shyu
Composer: John Zorn, Henry Threadgill
Rising Star Composer: Brian Patneaude
Arranger: Ryan Truesdell, Ken Vandermark
Rising Star Arranger: Ben Allison
Record Label: AUM Fidelity, Clean Feed, Cuneiform
Producer: David Binney
Rising Star Producer: (blank)
Blues Artist: Gary Clark Jr., Joe Louis Walker
Blues Album: Gary Clark Jr. – Live
Beyond Artist: The Black Keys, Dr. John, Tom Waits
Beyond Album: Sleater-Kinney – No Cities to Love
Send comments to Tim.
