CD-Charts Position 1
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Displaced

by: Neil Cowley Trio

Release Date May 29, 2006
This is a wonderful album, and really deserving of the BBC Jazz Album award this year. Just buy it.

CD-Charts Position 2
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e.s.t. Leucocyte (Esbjorn Svensson Trio)

by: e s t

Release Date September 01, 2008
Just magnificent! A wonderful tribute to the work of a trio who pushed the boundaries of jazz. A wall of sound for the 21st century.

CD-Charts Position 3
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Polar Bear

by: Polar Bear

Release Date July 28, 2008
Apparently recorded in late 2006 but not released until now, Mercury-nominated Polar Bear's third album is also their longest, and sees them making increasing use of electronics to add texture to their music. Songs like Goodbye dissolve from the kind of tuneful, genre-hopping upbeat cool jazz we recognise as Polar Bear's signature sound into a cloud of low-key electronic droning before transforming seamlessly into the following track, while Voices is out-and-out ambient jazz, and good with it. All the while Polar Bear weave through bop, fusion, free and any other kind of jazz they fancy with scant regard for conservative classicism, proving themselves yet again to be about the best band in the world in any musical field. Awesome.

CD-Charts Position 4
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Third

by: Portishead

Release Date April 28, 2008
Much of the time bands who have gone into hibernation return with albums which are mere shadows of their previous work. This album is the complete opposite and successfully captures the eerie tones which occupy many of their best songs. I simply cannot pick a favourite from an album which oozes style.

CD-Charts Position 5
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Holon

by: Nik Bartsch

Release Date February 25, 2008
I was so pleased to see Lanky Geordie's review... What he has managed to sum up in his review is an honest appreciation for what is a staggeringly good album. You don't need to be a Jazz intellectual to understand/appreciate/dig (man) what's going on here... you just need to open your ears and your mind. Someone a whole lot smarter than I am once said, "I don't know much about art, but I know what I like." Hmmmm... If there was a bit more of that, there would be a far wider acceptance for this type of music. Some people fear Jazz because of the elitist tag that goes with it. This album, like many other great albums on ECM and similar labels (like ACT), speaks a universal language that doesn't necessarily need translation: just the sharing of the pleasure ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 6
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Empirical

by: Empirical

Release Date July 16, 2007
Empirical

London based quintet Empirical release their self-titled debut CD produced by UK jazz legend Courtney Pine.

Although this is their first album this group have been playing together for a while and it shows. This is a compact & mature jazz sound of nine songs from five talented individual musicians.

Tracks like "Blessings", "Tulumba", "A Tyrants Tale", "The Deep" and "Fat Cat" have the hallmarks of the standard contemporary jazz sound yet make it a CD that sits comfortably in the 21st century.

Influenced by jazz heavyweights such as John Coltrane, Wayne Shorter, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins & Ornette Coleman this CD is played & performed with fine amount of youthful zest and ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 7
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The Seldom Seen Kid

by: Elbow

Release Date March 17, 2008
Sorry to say I had never even heard of Elbow until I caught them on TV at this years Glastonbury.

Liked what I heard and bought the album (before they won the Mercury prize I hasten to add)

Was completely blown away by it. Have since invested in their back catalogue which have been equally impressive. All are highly recommended

It has certainly restored my interest in music .

CD-Charts Position 8
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Knee Deep in the North Sea

by: Portico Quartet

Release Date November 05, 2007
Heard one of the tunes from this album on the radio (it probably got the airplay courtesy of the Mercury Music Prize nomination) and was immediately hooked.
The truth is, the word 'jazz' is normally enough to send a shiver of terror down my spine - but 'Knee Deep In The North Sea' is about as accessible an album as you will buy this year.
Indeed, the Portico Quartet appear to have more in common with the likes of Penguin Cafe Orchestra and Ellis Island Sound than the traditional self-indulgent trillings that most will associate with the genre.
This is a joyous, uplifting record that makes me want to skip about in smiley abandon, and there really aren't enough of those about. Great melodies, sunshine vibes and a 'hidden' track at the end that is ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 9
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Fleet Foxes

by: Fleet Foxes

Release Date June 16, 2008
HELLO? HI, THIS IS A GOOD ALBUM, THE SONGS ARE GOOD, IT MAKES YOU FEEL GOOD, IT MAKES YOU THINK.

CD-Charts Position 10
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Brad Mehldau Trio Live

by: Brad Mehldau Trio, Jeff Ballard, Larry Grenadier

Release Date March 24, 2008
There is no denying that Brad Mehldau is one of the most instantly recognisable jazz performers out there. Just a handful of notes - that sharp touch, the detached articulation in the right, the jabbed clusters in the left, the two-handed play and the moments his left wants to detach from his right - and you just know it is him at the piano.

Mehldau's playing has some real strengths. His ability to take a melody apart and put it back together again is in ample evidence on this live set from the celebrated Village Vanguard. It can be heard on standards such as 'The Very Thought of You' or 'More Than You Know': the themes will be familiar but chances are you will not have heard theme quite like this. And Brad deconstructs his own themes (the infectious ... Read More: