# 2023 in jazz

This is a timeline documenting events of jazz in the year 2023.

## Events
### February

* February 5 – At the 65th Annual Grammy Awards, winners include Wayne Shorter, Samara Joy, and Arturo O'Farrill. Snarky Puppy wins best contemporary instrumental album for their 2022 album Empire Central, Samara Joy wins best Vocal Jazz album for her 2022 album Linger Awhile. Terri Lyne Carrington, Kris Davis, Linda May Han Oh, Nicholas Payton & Matthew Stevens win Best Jazz Instrumental Album for their album New Standards Volume 1.

### April

* April 14 – First day of Coachella 2023, a two weekend event, occurs. Jazz musicians in attendance are The Comet is Coming and Domi and JD Beck
* April 15 – After 8 years, British band GoGo Penguin's contract with Blue Note Records ends, and the band switches to XXIM Records, a record label more typically associated with neoclassical music and progressive electronic music.

### May

* May 17 – The Jazz Journalists Association Jazz Awards are presented. Charles Lloyd wins Lifetime Achievement in Jazz award. Drummer Terri Lyne Carrington wins Musician of The Year. Singer Samara Joy wins Up & Coming Musician of the Year and Female Vocalist of the Year. Ashley Kahn wins Lifetime Achievement in Jazz Journalism award.
* May 31 – The tapes for a long lost, unreleased John Coltrane live album with Eric Dolphy are found at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.

### June

* June 7 – The San Francisco Jazz Festival takes place in the United States. Jacob Collier and Samara Joy are in attendance.
* June 13 – The Grammys announce a new award category: Best Alternative Jazz Album
* June 21 – The 37th Annual Syracuse Jazz Fest takes place in the United States. Herbie Hancock and Gladys Knight are in attendance
* June 30 – The 36th annual Saskatchewan Jazz Festival kicked off in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

### July

* July 7 – The 56th Pori Jazz Festival is scheduled to take place in Finland.
* July 28 – The Blue Note Jazz Festival opens in Napa, California, hosted by Dave Chappelle and headlined by Mary Blige, Chance The Rapper and Nas. Robert Glasper is the artist in residence. Notable attendees include George Clinton, Anderson .Paak, Domi and JD Beck

### August

* August 4 – The Newport Jazz Festival opens in the United States. Notable attendees include Kamasi Washington, Domi and JD Beck, Immanuel Wilkins Quartet, Herbie Hancock, Samara Joy, Lakecia Benjamin and Thundercat
* August 25 - A 3 episode Amazon Prime biographical documentary miniseries about the life of Wayne Shorter through several decades releases, titled Wayne Shorter: Zero Gravity

### September

* September 22 – The 65th Monterey Jazz Festival is scheduled to take place in the United States, with Lakecia Benjamin as the artist in residence. Notable attendees include Herbie Hancock, Snarky Puppy, Samara Joy, and Thundercat

### October

* October 13 – Stockholm Jazz Festival took place in Sweden.

### December

* December 5 - NPR Music ranks Meshell Ndegeocello's The Omnichord Real Book and Yussef Dayes's Black Classical Music among the 50 best albums of 2023.
* December 7 - The New York Times ranks Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah's Bark Out Thunder Roar Out Lightning as the best jazz album of 2023, followed by Jaimie Branch's Fly or Die Fly or Die Fly or Die ((World War)) in #2
* December 13 - Stereogum ranks Matana Roberts' Coin Coin Chapter 5: In The Garden as the best jazz album of 2023, followed by Jaimie Branch's Fly or Die Fly or Die Fly or Die ((World War)) in #2
* December 19 - NPR Music ranks Meshell Ndegeocello's The Omnichord Real Book as the best jazz album of 2023
* December 26 - The Guardian ranks Tyshawn Sorey's Continuing as the best jazz album of 2023
* December 31 - Ed Cherry's Are We There Yet? ends off the year with the most radio airplay as documented by JazzWeek

## Albums

| Month | Day | Album | Artist | Label | Notes |
| January | 6 | Alive at the Village Vanguard | Fred Hersch and Esperanza Spalding | Palmetto Records | Live album |
| January | 27 | Portrait Of A Dog | Jonah Yano | Innovative Leisure | |
| January | 27 | Letters to George | George | Out of Your Head | |
| January | 27 | Where You Wish You Were | Bill Laurance and Michael League | ACT | |
| January | 27 | Phoenix | Lakecia Benjamin | Whirlwind Recordings | |
| February | 3 | Dance Kobina | Joe Chambers | Blue Note Records | |
| February | 3 | Carmen Rhapsody | Aki Takase | BMC | |
| February | 17 | Transmissions From Total Refreshment Centre | Total Refreshment Centre | Blue Note Records | |
| February | 17 | Guilty Pleasures | Kurt Elling, Charlie Hunter, Nate Smith | Edition Records | EP |
| February | 17 | Zurich Concert | Joëlle Léandre | Intakt Records | Live album |
| February | 17 | By The Way | Theo Croker, Ego Ella May, D'LEAU | Sony Masterworks | EP |
| February | 24 | Travel | The Necks | Northern Spy Records | |
| February | 24 | Prime | Christian McBride's New Jawn | Mack Avenue | |
| March | 3 | London Brew | London Brew | Concord Jazz | |
| March | 3 | Therapy | Brendan Eder Ensemble | No label | |
| March | 10 | Moving On Skiffle | Van Morrison | Virgin Music | |
| March | 10 | Jasmine on a Night in July | Scree | Ruination | |
| March | 17 | The Layers | Julian Lage | Blue Note Records | EP |
| March | 24 | Requiem For Jazz | Angel Bat Dawid | International Anthem Recording Company | |
| March | 24 | Mélusine | Cécile McLorin Salvant | Nonesuch Records | |
| March | 31 | Lightning Dreamers | Rob Mazurek and the Exploding Star Orchestra | International Anthem Recording Company | |
| March | 31 | Fire Illuminations | Wadada Leo Smith | Kabell Records | |
| April | 7 | return to casual | Walter Smith III | Blue Note Records | |
| April | 7 | KAL (Real World) | Sarathy Korwar | The Leaf Label | |
| April | 14 | Echoes | The Fire! Orchestra | Rune Grammofon | |
| April | 14 | Variables | Alfa Mist | Anti- Records | |
| April | 14 | Everything Is Going To Be Okay | GoGo Penguin | XXIM Records | |
| April | 14 | Enigmatic Society | Dinner Party | Sounds of Crenshaw, Empire Records | |
| April | 14 | Brand New Life | Brandee Younger | Impulse! Records | |
| April | 21 | All One | Ben Wendel | Edition Records | |
| April | 21 | Loyal Returns | David Cook | Sunnyside Records | |
| April | 21 | Stage & Screen | John Pizzarelli | Palmetto Records | |
| April | 28 | Always on my Mind | Rebekka Bakken | Sony Music | |
| April | 28 | Pieces of Treasure | Rickie Lee Jones | BMG | |
| April | 28 | Savoy | Taj Mahal | Stony Plain Records | |
| May | 7 | In Real Time | ARTEMIS | Blue Note Records | |
| May | 12 | Routes | Samuel Blaser | Enja Records/Yellowbird Records | |
| May | 12 | In Search Of A Better Tomorrow | Eabs Meets Jaubi | Astigmatic Records | |
| May | 16 | Oedipe Redux | Lucian Ban and Mat Maneri | Sunnyside Records | |
| May | 19 | Lean In | Gretchen Parlato and Lionel Loueke | Edition Records | |
| May | 26 | Animals | Kassa Overall | Warp Records | |
| May | 26 | The New Standard (Reissue) | Herbie Hancock | | |
| May | 26 | Dance of the Mystic Bliss | Michael Blake and Chroma Nova | P&M | |
| May | 26 | The Sport Of Love | Asma Maroof, Patrick Belaga, Tapiwa Svosve | PAN Records | |
| June | 2 | Beloved! Paradise! Jazz?! | McKinley Dixon | City Slang | Jazz-rap |
| June | 9 | When the Poems Do What They Do | Aja Monet | Drink Sum Wtr | |
| June | 9 | Rituals + Routines | Marquis Hill | Edition Records | |
| June | 16 | The Omnichord Real Book | Meshell Ndegeocello | Blue Note Records | |
| June | 16 | Dream Box | Pat Metheny | Modern Recordings | |
| June | 16 | Dolphin | Greg Foat / Gigi Masin | Strut Records | |
| June | 16 | A Time to Remember | Elina Duni | ECM Records | |
| June | 16 | I Want More | Donny McCaslin | Edition Records | |
| June | 23 | Sun Arcs | Blue Lake | Tonal Union | |
| June | 30 | Blowout | John Carroll Kirby | Stones Throw Records | |
| July | 14 | Connection | Ceramic Dog, Marc Ribot | Knockwurst Records | |
| July | 28 | Joni Mitchell At Newport | Joni Mitchell | Rhino Records | |
| August | 25 | Fly or Die Fly or Die Fly or Die | Jaimie Branch | International Anthem Recording Company | |
| September | 1 | Diatom Ribbons Live at the Village Vanguard | Kris Davis | Pyroclastic Records | |
| September | 7 | Talàn | Raphael Rogiński | Instant Classic | |
| September | 8 | Come with Fierce Grace | Alabaster DePlume | International Anthem Recording Company | |
| September | 8 | Black Classical Music | Yussef Dayes | Brownswood Recordings / Nonesuch Records | |
| September | 8 | For Mahalia With Love | James Brandon Lewis Red Lily Quintet | Tao Forms | |
| September | 15 | Ex Machina | Steve Lehman and Orchestre National De Jazz | ONJ Records | |
| September | 15 | Where Are We | Joshua Redman | Blue Note Records | |
| September | 15 | The Intrinsic Nature of Shipp | Matthew Shipp | Mahakala | |
| September | 22 | Afro Futuristic Dreams | Idris Ackamoor & The Pyramids | Strut Records | |
| September | 29 | Coin Coin Chapter Five: In the Garden | Matana Roberts | Constellation Records | |
| September | 29 | FluXkit Vancouver (its suite but sacred) | Darius Jones | Saltern/Universal | |
| October | 6 | Next Door | Leo Takami | Unseen Worlds | |
| October | 20 | Shimmer Wince | Anna Webber | Intakt | |
| October | 20 | Vol. 1 | Chris Botti | Blue Note Records, UMG | |
| November | 17 | New Blue Sun | André 3000 | Epic Records, Sony Music | |
| November | 17 | The Near North Side | Calvin Keys & Terrace Martin | Sounds of Crenshaw, BMG | |

## All critically reviewed albums ranked
### Metacritic

| Number | Artist | Album | Average score | Number of reviews |
| 1 | Jaimie Branch | Fly or Die Fly or Die Fly or Die (world war) | 96 | 8 reviews |
| 2 | The Necks | Travel | 91 | 5 reviews |
| 3 | Joni Mitchell | Joni Mitchell Archives, Vol. 3: The Asylum Years 1972-1975 | 90 | 11 reviews |
| 4 | Cécile McLorin Salvant | Melusine | 89 | 4 reviews |
| 5 | James Brandon Lewis | For Mahalia With Love | 87 | 5 reviews |
| 6 | Matana Roberts | Coin Coin: Chapter Five in The Garden | 86 | 7 reviews |
| 7 | Yussef Dayes | Black Classical Music | 86 | 5 reviews |
| 8 | Brad Mehldau | Your Mother Should Know: Brad Mehldau Plays the Beatles | 86 | 4 reviews |
| 9 | Arooj Aftab, Vijay Iyer, and Shahzad Ismaily | Love in Exile | 85 | 5 reviews |
| 10 | London Brew | London Brew | 84 | 6 reviews |
| 11 | Alfa Mist | Variables | 84 | 6 reviews |
| 12 | Rob Mazurek | Lightning Dreamers | 84 | 4 reviews |
| 13 | Natural Information Society | Since Time Is Gravity | 84 | 5 reviews |
| 14 | Idris Ackamoor | Afro Futuristic Dreams | 84 | 5 reviews |
| 15 | Taj Mahal | Savoy | 83 | 6 reviews |
| 16 | Alabaster DePlume | Come with Fierce Grace | 83 | 5 reviews |
| 17 | Irreversible Entanglements | Protect Your Light | 81 | 7 reviews |
| 18 | Thandi Ntuli | Rainbow Revisited | 81 | 6 reviews |
| 19 | John Carroll Kirby | Blowout | 81 | 5 reviews |
| 20 | Joni Mitchell | Joni Mitchell at Newport | 80 | 11 reviews |
| 21 | Kassa | Animals | 80 | 5 reviews |
| 22 | Rickie Lee Jones | Pieces of Treasure | 79 | 6 reviews |
| 23 | High Pulp | Days in the Desert | 79 | 4 reviews |
| 24 | James Brandon Lewis | Eye of I | 78 | 7 reviews |
| 25 | Damon Locks | New Future City Radio | 78 | 4 reviews |
| 26 | Sam Gendel | COOKUP | 78 | 4 reviews |
| 27 | Jonah Yano | Portrait of a Dog | 78 | 4 reviews |
| 28 | Joe Chambers | Dance Kobina | 77 | 4 reviews |
| 29 | Adrian Younge | Tony Allen JID018 | 77 | 4 reviews |
| 20 | Pat Metheny | Dream Box | 76 | 5 reviews |
| 31 | Sissoko Segal Parisien Peirani | Les Égarés | 76 | 4 reviews |
| 32 | André 3000 | New Blue Sun | 75 | 12 reviews |
| 33 | Angel Bat Dawid | Requiem for Jazz | 74 | 5 reviews |
| 34 | Dinner Party | Enigmatic Society | 70 | 5 reviews |

### AnyDecentMusic

| Number | Artist | Album | Average score | Number of reviews | Reference |
| 1 | Van Morrison | Moving on Skiffle | 7.5 | 7 reviews | |
| 2 | Alfa Mist | Variables | 7.5 | 6 reviews | |

## Deaths
### January

* January 10 – Dennis Budimir, 84, American jazz and rock guitarist (The Wrecking Crew)
* January 17 – Richard Oesterreicher, 90, Austrian jazz guitarist and conductor
* January 18 – Marcel Zanini, 99, Turkish-born French jazz clarinetist
* January 23 – Carol Sloane, 85, American jazz singer

### February

* February 2 – Butch Miles, 78, American drummer
* February 13
** Guido Basso, 85, Canadian trumpeter.
** Alain Goraguer, 91, French pianist, arranger and film composer
* February 17 – Jerry Dodgion, 90, American saxophonist and flautist
* February 25 – Carl Saunders, 80, American trumpeter, composer and educator

### March

* March 1 – Wally Fawkes, 98, Canadian-British clarinettist and satirical cartoonist
* March 2 – Wayne Shorter, 89, tenor saxophonist
* March 3 – Carlos Garnett, 84, Panamanian-born jazz saxophonist
* March 9 – Robin Lumley, 74, British jazz keyboardist (Brand X)
* March 13 – Simon Emmerson, 67, English jazz and worldbeat guitarist (Weekend, Working Week, Afro Celt Sound System)
* March 14 – Gloria Bosman, 50, South African jazz singer
* March 15 – Théo de Barros, 80, Brazilian jazz multi-instrumentalist and composer (Quarteto Novo)
* March 16 – Tony Coe, 88, English jazz clarinetist and saxophonist

### April

* April 5 – Duško Gojković, 91, Serbian jazz trumpeter, composer, and arranger
* April 7 – Kidd Jordan, 87, American saxophonist
* April 9 – Karl Berger, 88, German jazz pianist, composer, and educator
* April 16 - Ahmad Jamal, 92, American jazz pianist, composer, and bandleader

### May

* May 14 – Bernt Rosengren, 85, Swedish jazz tenor saxophonist
* May 24 – Bill Lee, 94, American bassist
* May 28 - George Cassidy, 86, Northern Irish tenor saxophonist and music teacher to Van Morrison

### June

* June 5 – Astrud Gilberto, 83, Brazilian vocalist
* June 16 – Peter Dickinson, 88, English experimental pianist and composer
* June 20 – Peter Brötzmann, 82, German free jazz saxophonist
* June 29 – Lilian Terry, 92, Italian jazz singer and composer.

### July

* July 17 – Barry Martyn, 82, English jazz drummer
* July 21 – Tony Bennett, 96, American jazz and traditional pop singer
* July 22 – Knut Riisnæs, 77, Norwegian jazz musician

### October

* October 17 – Carla Bley, 87, American jazz composer and pianist

### November

* November 4 – Michel Pilz, 78, German jazz clarinetist
* November 8 – Dino Piana, 93, Italian jazz musician
* November 20 – Mars Williams, 68, American jazz and rock saxophonist (The Psychedelic Furs, The Waitresses)
* November 21 – Horacio Malvicino, 94, Argentine jazz and tango guitarist and composer

### December

* December 6 – Michel Sardaby, 88, French jazz pianist
* December 26 – Tony Oxley, 85, English jazz drummer
* December 29 – Les McCann, 88, American jazz pianist and singer