Some Good Albums From 2008

Since I am not a professional reviewer, and since I have not listened to nearly as much new music as I would have liked to, I will not be making a year-end "Best Of" list. Instead, here are a few recordings from 2008 that I liked. The list may not be exhaustive, but there are plenty of places for those kinds of lists on the internet. If you're looking for a year-end list with more depth, go here, here, here, or here. In the meantime, my three favorites of 2008, in no particular order...

1. Charles Lloyd, Rabo de Nube
2. Medeski Martin & Wood, Radiolarians 1
3. Pat Metheny, Tokyo Day Trip

Also, here are five albums I missed in 2008 (because I am a busy man), but still want to check out:

1. Kenny Garrett, Sketches of MD: Live at The Iridium
   
2. Brad Meldau, Brad Mehldau Trio: Live
3. Eric Dolphy, At The Five Spot, Vol. 1 (Re-release)
4. Dave Holland Sextet, Pass It On
5. James Carter, Present Tense

And a fond farewell to Johnny Griffin, Arthur C. Clarke, Bo Diddley, Albert Hofmann, Paul Newman, Studs Terkel, Mitch Mitchell, and anyone else I may have forgotten...

Happy New Year.