Read the full review here IH  Preservation Hall Jazz Band: That’s It! (Sony Legacy)  A vibrant treat from the legendary New Orleans Preservation Hall Jazz Band, celebrating its 50th anniversary with its first album devoted entirely to original material, co-produced by My Morning Jacket’s Jim James.  Read the full review here MC  Norma Winstone is Britain’s very own jazz star, and this album with Italian pianist Glauco Venier and German reeds player Klaus Gesing is full of delights. There are interesting cover versions of Tom Waits's San Diego Serenade and the Muppets' anthem Bein' Green, a song previously recorded by Ray Charles and Van Morrison. MC  Jerry Léonide: The Key (Act Music)  Touchingly simple melodies at the heart of Jerry Léonide’s own improvisations, which have an authenticity belied by the smooth production.  Read the full review here IH  George Cables: Icons And Influences (HighNote Records)  Great songs such as Come Sunday and The Very Thought of You in the hands of veteran piano master George Cables. MC  The extraordinary soft sound of Arve Henriksen’s flugelhorn seizes your attention but little ever takes on any real rhythmic life, or rises above a murmur.  Read the full review here IH  Django À La Creole: Live! (LeJazzetal)  You feel like you are in New Orleans when you hear the wonderful clarinet playing of Evan Christopher. This live album shows Django À La Creole at their best, with bassist Sébastien Girardot, rhythm guitarist Dave Kelbie and string specialist Don Vappie on fine form.  Ambrose Akinmusire: The Imagined Savior Is Far Easier To Paint (Blue Note Records)  Akinmusire is one of the most talented young trumpeters around and this inovative album also includes contributions from Osso, a string quartet. MC  Brian Blade & the Fellowship Band: Landmarks (Blue Note Records)  Brian Blade, a fine drummer known for his work with the Wayne Shorter Quartet, enlists guitarist Jeff Parker and Marvin Sewell for his Fellowship Band and they are on top form with the 10 tracks here, ranging from the 11-minute Ark.La.Tex to a version of the folk song, classic Shenandoah. MC  Dr John: Ske-Dat-De-Dat . . . Spirit of Satch (Proper Records)  Dr John's exuberant tribute album to jazz great Louis Armstrong features trumpeters Terence Blanchard, Nicholas Payton, Arturo Sandoval, Wendell Brunious and James Andrews.  Read the full review here MC  Trio 3 & Vijay Iyer: Wiring (Intakt Records)  Trio 3 – Olive Lake, Reggie Workman and Andrew Cyrille – are joined by Vijay Iyer, that intellectually self-aware pianist.  Read the full review here IH  Zara McFarlane: If You Knew Her (Brownswood)  McFarlane's version of Plain Gold Ring (written by George Stone and made famous by Nina Simone) encapsulates the striking power of the London-based singer's voice.  Pat Unity Group Metheny: Kin (Nonesuch Records)  Pat Metheny turned 60 in August and Kin, new compositions for his excellent Unity Group featuring Chris Potter and vocalist Giulio Carmassi is full of soulful jazz. Highlights include the R&B-infused We Go On. MC  See Pat Metheny feature MC  Bobby Wellins: Culloden Moor Suite (Spartacus Records)  After 60 years in the game, Bobby Wellins' tenor saxophone playing has a wisdom that is hard to match, as shown here in this album to mark the battle of Culloden.  Read the full review here IH  Jamie Cullum: Interlude (Island Records)  This record finally captures the warmth, passion and sponteneity of Cullum's live gigs  Read the full review here Helen Brown  Tina May: My Kinda Love (Hep Records)  My Kinda Love shows off Gloucester-born Tina May's considerable vocal skills, under the care of tenor saxophonist and arranger Frank Griffiths. Look out for a neat trumpet solo by Janusz Carmello on S'posin.  Read the full review here MC  Microscopic Septet: Manhattan Moonrise (Cuneiform Records)  instantly evokes the unique Micros ambience. Lazy swing beats wrap themselves around distinctly odd harmonic side-slips, punctuated with sudden switchbacks and changes of tempo.  Read the full review here IH  Oh No! Not Jazz!: Ed Palmero (Cuneiform Records)  New Jersey-based saxophonist, arranger and composer has made an album that is hectic and driven and madly inventive.  Read the full review here IH  Ideal Bread: Beating the Teens (Cuneiform Records)  I especially enjoyed the three-part counterpoint of Lesson, full of unexpected corners, and Spell, which conjures something interesting out of a plain chromatic scale.  Read the full review here IH  Guitarist Mary Halvorsen, bassist Michael Formanek and drummer Tomas Fujiwara rarely raise their voices, musically speaking, but the interplay fairly crackles with energy.  Read the full review here IH  Pianist Frank Kimbrough is a vastly experienced player, a founder-member of the Jazz Composers Collective, and his compositions have a nice way of teasing much from little, as in the first number The Call.  Read the full review here IH  Ryan Keberle: Into the Zone (Greenleaf Records)  Keberle is an agile player too, and in Ballad of the Sad Young Man it’s his interjections which add spice to the sad melody – sung by the Chilean guest singer Camila Meza – and stop it becoming too sweet. Altogether it’s a delight.  Read the full review here IH  Aki Takase and Alexander von Schlippenbach: So Long, Eric! (Intakt Records)  These new arrangements of Eric Dolphy's work contain just the kind of compositional jazz ingenuity he would have admired.  Read the full review here IH  Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga: Cheek to Cheek (Interscope Records)  Lady Gaga is clearly enjoying herself here and if you take this album in the spirit of throwaway fun in which it seems to have been concocted, it is harmlessly engaging.  Read the full review here Neil McCormick  Al Jarreau: My Old Friend: Celebrating George Duke (Concord)  The late pianist, composer and producer George Duke is done proud in a tribute album by Al Jarreau, featuring Dianne Reeves and saxophonists Gerald Albright and Boney James.  Read the full review here MC  Nguyên Lê with Michael Gibbs & NDR Bigband: Celebrating The Dark Side Of The Moon (ACT Music)  Nguyên Lê's reinterpretation of Pink Floyd succeeds more often than you might expect.  Read the full review here IH  Tommy Smith and Brian Kellock: Whispering of the Stars (Spartacus)  Tommy Smith and Brian Kellock’s third duo recording in the past decade and these fine instrumentalists work through 11 more great tunes, including Duke Ellington.  Read the full review here MC  James Farm Quartet: City Folk (Nonesuch Records)  Saxophonist Joshua Redman gels exceptionally with pianist Aaron Parks, bassist Matt Penman and drummer Eric Harland.  Jimmy Greene: Beautiful Life (MackAvenue Records)  A wonderfully moving tribute from jazz saxophonist Jimmy Greene to his daughter Ana, who died at the age of six in the Sandy Hook School killings. The album features Pat Metheny.  Read a full feature on Beautiful Life  Eric Harland: V ipassana (GSI Records)  If you like modern jazz and drumming then Eric Harland's Vipassana will hit the spot. There is a fine version of Mo' Better Blues and clever interlinked work from Walter Smith (tenor saxophone), Taylor Eigsti (piano) and Julian Lage (guitar)  Helen Sung: Anthem for a New Day (Concord Jazz)  Pianist Helen Sung (of Mingus Big Band acclaim), tenor saxophonist Seamus Blake and trumpeter Ingrid Jensen are on fine form, especially on Chick Corea’s Armando’s Rhumba, with guest Paquito D’Rivera on clarinet.  Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga: Cheek to Cheek (Columbia Records)  Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga duet on an album concocted in the spirit of throwaway fun.  Count Basie: Count Basie Original Album Series (Warner Jazz)  The way Count Basie and all the jazz players swing as one, tight and yet totally relaxed, is a marvel.
CDs from Herbie Hancock, Jamie Cullum and Dr John are among the best jazz   albums of 2014. Updated weekly