Your Best of 2004

WNUR-FM "Jazz Show" These are the top 50 releases ranked by actual total airplay by our 20+ jazz DJ's for the entire year 2004: 1) Ted Sirota's Rebel Souls - Breeding Resistance - Delmark 2) Dave Rempis Quartet - Out of Season - 482 Music 3) Dave Douglas - Strange Liberation - Bluebird 4) Triage - American Mythology - Okkadisk 5) Matthew Shipp - Harmony and Abyss - Thirsty Ear 6) Chris McGregor's Brotherhood of Breath - Bremen to Bridgewater - Cuneiform 7) Hugh Ragin - Revelation - Justin Time 8) Sticks and Stones - Shed Grace - Thrill Jockey 9) Tomato Box - Any Road - Rattle Tick Buzz 10) Fred Anderson / Hamid Drake - Back Together Again - Thrill Jockey 11) Marilyn Crispell trio - Storyteller - ECM 12) Conference Call - Spirals: The Berlin Concert - 482 Music 13) Anthony Braxton - 23 Standards (Quartet) - Leo 14) Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey - Walking with Giants - Hyena 15) Who Trio - The Current Underneath - Leo 16) El-P - High Water - Thirsty Ear 17) Boykin / Seigfried / Reed - s/t - Imaginary Records 18) Von Freeman - The Great Divide - Premonition 19) Yoshida Tatsuya/Satoko Fujii - Erans - Tzadik 20) Claudia Quintet - I, Claudia - Cuneiform 21) The Blueprint Project - The Blueprint Project - Creative Nation Music 22) Paul Bley - Nothing to Declare - Justin Time 23) Kalaparush and the Light - Morning Song - Delmark 24) Atomic / School Days - Nuclear Assembly Hall - Okkadisk 25) Jean-Jacques Avenel - Waraba - Songlines 26) Jon Balke & Magnetic North Orchestra - Diverted Travels - ECM 27) Erik Friedlander - Maldoror - Brassland 28) Ken Vandermark - Furniture Music - Okkadisk 29) Across 7th Street - Made In New York - Smalls 30) Craig Taborn - Junk Magic - Thirsty Ear 31) Babardah - Babardah - Abzu 32) John Zorn - The Unknown Masada - Tzadik 33) The Vandermark Five - Elements of Style, Excercises in Surprise - Atavistic 34) The Exciting Trio - In Chicago There Is Willy - 482 Music 35) Dave Burrell Full-Blown Trio - Expansion - High Two 36) Julius Hemphill - One Atmosphere - Tzadik 37) John Scofield Trio - En Route - Verve 38) Fly - s/t - Savoy Jazz 39) Louis Sclavis - Napoli's Walls - ECM 40) Bud Powell - Bebop - Pablo 41) Chris Potter Quartet - Lift: Live at the Village Vanguard - Sunnyside 42) Liebig / Vatcher / Golia - On the Cusp of Fire and Water - Red Toucan 43) World Saxophone Quartet - Experience - Justin Time 44) Big Satan (Berne/Rainey/Ducret) - Souls Saved Hear - Thirsty Ear 45) Steve Swallow/Ohad Talmor Sextet - L'Histoire du Clochard (The Bum's Tale) - Palmetto 46) Jarrett/Peacock/DeJohnette - The Out-of-Towners - ECM 47) Dragons 1976 - On Cortez - Locust 48) Stan Tracey / Evan Parker - Suspensions and Anticipations - Psi 49) Myra Melford - The Tent - Arabesque 50) Tanya Kalmanovitch - Hut Five - Perspicacity ---------------- J. Niimi - "Radio Zero" host, WHPK-FM Best Albums 1. The Walkmen - Bows + Arrows - Record Collection 2. John Vanderslice - Cellar Door - Barsuk 3. Pinback - Summer in Abaddon - Touch & Go 4. M83 - Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts - Mute 5. The Organ - Grab That Gun - Mint 6. The Hold Steady - Almost Killed Me - Frenchkiss 7. Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand - Domino 8. Food for Animals - Scavengers - Muckamuck Produce/Upper Class 9. The Thermals - Fuckin A - Sub Pop 10. Bloc Party - Bloc Party EP - Dim Mak RUNNERS-UP (in no particular order) -The Ponys – Laced with Romance (In the Red) -The Magnetic Fields – i (Nonesuch) -Madvillain – Madvillainy (Stones Throw) -Blonde Redhead – Misery is a Butterfly (4AD) -Xex – Group: Xex (The Smack Shire) -Human Television – Orange EP (Soft Abuse); All Songs Written By: Human Television (Gigantic Music) -Mare – s/t EP (Hydra Head) -The Conet Project: Recordings of Shortwave Numbers Stations (Irdial) -Lansing-Dreiden – The Incomplete Triangle (Kemado); A Sectioned Beam (Kemado) -The Necks – Drive By (Recommended) -Chin Up Chin Up – We Should Have Never Lived Like We Were Skyscrapers(Flameshovel) -The Owls – Our Hopes and Dreams (Magic Marker) -The Mountain Goats – We Shall All Be Healed (4AD) -Floor – Dove (No Idea) -Mclusky – The Difference Between Me and You Is That I’m Not on Fire (Too Pure) -Drive-By Truckers – The Dirty South (New West) -Interpol – Antics (Matador) Best Singles 1. M.I.A. - "Galang" - XL 2. Team America: World Police - "America, Fuck Yeah" - Atlantic 3. Franz Ferdinand - "Take Me Out" - Domino 4. The Walkmen - "The Rat" - Record Collection 5. Morrissey - "First of the Gang" - Attack 6. The Concretes - "Warm Night" - Astralwerks 7. Big & Rich - "Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)" - Warner Bros. 8. Johnny Boy - "You Are The Generation That Bought More Shoes And You Get What You Deserve" - Vertigo 9. Mclusky - "That Man Will Not Hang" - Too Pure 10. Interpol - "Slow Hands" - Matador Best shows of 2004 1. Pixies / Urge Overkill – Aragon Ballroom – 11/17 2. The Russian Futurists – Empty Bottle – 2/16 3. Sunno))) – Empty Bottle – 7/3 4. British Sea Power – Empty Bottle – 3/5 5. Metric – Double Door – 2/10 6. The Thermals / The Hold Steady – Fireside Bowl – 5/23 7. Dove – Bottom Lounge – 6/1 8. The Ponys – Empty Bottle – 8/14 9. John Vanderslice – Schubas – 3/13 10. The New Year – Schubas – 7/15 Other memorable shows Rufus Wainwright – Ravinia – 6/18 The Fall – Metro – 4/24 Chicago Symphony Orchestra – 1812 Overture (w/ cannons!) – Ravinia – 9/6