# 2016 in jazz

This is a timeline documenting jazz events in the year 2016.

## Events
### March

* Blue Note Entertainment Group expands into China, opening a location in Beijing

### April

* April 15-April 24 - The 2016 Coachella event occurs. Jazz musicians in attendance include Kamasi Washington, and GoGo Penguin

### September

* 24-26 - The Joy of Jazz Festival, one of the premiere Jazz festivals in South Africa, occurs

### December
## Albums

| Month | Day | Album | Artist | Label | Notes |
| January | 8 | Blackstar | David Bowie | ISO, Columbia, RCA, Sony Music | Produced by David Bowie, Tony Visconti |
| January | 8 | Kindred Spirits Live at Chan's | Greg Abate and Phil Woods | Whaling City Sound | |
| January | 15 | Amorphae | Ben Monder, Pete Rende, Andrew Cyrille, Paul Motian | ECM | Produced by Sun Chung |
| January | 15 | I Long To See You | Charles Lloyd & The Marvels | Blue Note | |
| January | 19 | Quiver | Ralph Alessi, Gary Versace, Drew Gress, Nasheet Waits | ECM | Produced by Manfred Eicher |
| January | 21 | The Boop-A-Doo | Cherry Poppin' Daddies | Space Age Bachelor Pad Records | Produced by Steve Perry |
| January | 22 | Klangkammer 2 | Stian Omenås | NorCD | Executive producer Karl Seglem |
| January | 29 | Groove Travels | Gerard Presencer | Edition | |
| January | 29 | Into The Silence | Avishai Cohen | ECM | Produced by Manfred Eicher |
| January | 29 | What Was Said | Tord Gustavsen, Simin Tander, Jarle Vespestad | ECM | Produced by Manfred Eicher |
| January | 29 | Momento | Ayumi Tanaka Trio | AMP Records | |
| January | 29 | When You Wish Upon a Star | Bill Frisell | Okeh | Produced by Lee Townsend |
| February | 1 | Forms & Poses | Christian Meaas Svendsen | Nakama | Produced by Christian Meaas Svendsen |
| February | 1 | Lars Danielsson Songbook | Lars Danielsson | ACT | |
| February | 5 | Kuria Suite | Knut Kristiansen and Bergen Big Band | Grappa | |
| February | 11 | District Six | Andreas Loven | Losen | |
| February | 12 | The Distance | Michael Formanek and Ensemble Kolossus | ECM | |
| February | 12 | Warp | Jon Balke | ECM | Produced by Jon Balke and Manfred Eicher |
| February | 12 | Dream Keeper | André Fernandes | Edition | |
| February | 12 | The Theory Of Joy | Ian Shaw | Jazz Village | |
| February | 14 | Story Of I | Myrna | Tomtom & Braza | |
| February | 16 | Mare Nostrum II | Jan Lundgren | ACT | Produced by René Hess / HR Music, executive producer Siggi Loch |
| February | 19 | Birdwatching | Anat Fort Trio with Gianluigi Trovesi | ECM | |
| February | 19 | Quiver | Ralph Alessi | ECM | Produced by Manfred Eicher |
| February | 26 | Eastern Smiles | Hanna Paulsberg Concept | Odin | |
| February | 26 | In The End His Voice Will Be The Sound Of Paper | Trondheim Jazz Orchestra with Kim Myhr and Jenny Hval | Hubro | Produced by Kim Myhr |
| February | 26 | Klangspuren | Michael Wollny Trio | ACT | Executive producer Siggi Loch (CD) |
| March | 3 | Kanestrøm | Frode Alnæs | Øra Fonogram | |
| March | 4 | Continuum | Nik Bärtsch's Mobile | ECM | Produced by Manfred Eicher |
| March | 4 | Emily's D+Evolution | Esperanza Spalding | Concord | Produced by Esperanza Spalding and Tony Visconti |
| March | 11 | Arclight | Julian Lage | Mack Avenue | Produced by Jesse Harris |
| March | 11 | A Cosmic Rhythm with Each Stroke | Vijay Iyer / Wadada Leo Smith | ECM | Produced by Manfred Eicher |
| March | 11 | Ferenc Snétberger in Concert | Ferenc Snétberger | ECM | Produced by Manfred Eicher |
| March | 11 | Culturen | Skadedyr | Hubro | International release in May 2016 |
| March | 18 | Beauty & Truth | Joachim Kühn | ACT | Produced by Joachim Kühn, executive producer Siggi Loch |
| March | 18 | Crystal Rain | Céline Bonacina Crystal Quartet | Cristal Records | |
| March | 25 | Full Circle | Brian Bromberg | Artistry Music | |
| March | 25 | Let's Dance | Per Oddvar Johansen | Edition | |
| March | 30 | The Dance Upon My Grave | COKKO (Marte Eberson, Natalie Sandtorv, Ole Mofjell) | Playdate Records | |
| April | 1 | Alba | Markus Stockhausen / Florian Weber | ECM | Produced by Manfred Eicher |
| April | 1 | Black Ice | Wolfert Brederode Trio | ECM | Produced by Manfred Eicher |
| April | 1 | Black Orpheus | Masabumi Kikuchi | ECM | Produced by Manfred Eicher |
| April | 3 | Tocororo | Alfredo Rodriguez | Mack Avenue | |
| April | 7 | Debonaire | Ike Moriz | Mosquito Records London Pty Ltd. | Recorded at Paris Studios, Cape Town |
| April | 8 | Parallax | Phronesis | Edition Records | Produced by Phronesis |
| April | 15 | Live at Montreux 1993 | Al Jarreau | Eagle Rock Records | |
| April | 15 | Thick as Thieves | Mongrel – Thomas Litleskare, Ayumi Tanaka, Stian Andersen, Tore Flatjord | Losen Records | |
| April | 22 | Cohearence | Yellowjackets | Mack Avenue | Produced by Bob Mintzer, Dane Alderson, Maria Ehrenreich, Russell Ferrante, William Kennedy, Yellowjackets |
| April | 22 | Triangle | Susanna | SusannaSonata | |
| April | 29 | Amputation | Stian Westerhus | House of Mythology | |
| April | 29 | Culcha Vulcha | Snarky Puppy | Ropeadope Records | |
| April | 29 | Held | Jason Rebello | Edition Records | Produced by Dave Stapleton & Jason Rebello |
| April | 29 | Sun Blowing | Danielsson Neset Lund | ACT Music | Produced by Morten Lund & Lars Danielsson, executive producer Siggi Loch |
| April | 29 | The Ystad Concert - A Tribute To Jan Johansson | Jan Lundgren | ACT Music | Produced by Jan Lundgren, executive producer Siggi Loch |
| May | 6 | Andando el Tiempo | Carla Bley / Andy Sheppard / Steve Swallow | ECM | Produced by Manfred Eicher |
| May | 6 | In Movement | Jack DeJohnette / Ravi Coltrane / Matthew Garrison | ECM | Produced by Manfred Eicher |
| May | 6 | Cuong Vu Trio Meets Pat Metheny | Cuong Vu Trio meets Pat Metheny | Nonesuch Records | Produced by Cuong Vu |
| May | 6 | One | Tim Garland | Edition Records | Produced by Tim Garland |
| May | 6 | The Unity Sessions | Pat Metheny | Nonesuch Records | Produced by Pat Metheny |
| May | 20 | La Mascarade | Rolf Lislevand | ECM Records | Produced by Manfred Eicher |
| May | 26 | Vyamanikal | Kit Downes & Tom Challenger | Slip Records | |
| May | 27 | Everything's Beautiful | Miles Davis & Robert Glasper | Columbia, Blue Note | Produced Robert Glasper, associate producer Rashad Ringo Smith |
| May | 27 | Invisible Man | Jukka Perko Avara | ACT Music | Produced by Siggi Loch |
| May | 27 | Logos | Gerardo Nunez, Ulf Wakenius & Cepillo | ACT Music | Produced by Gerardo Núñez, executive producer Siggi Loch |
| May | 27 | Solitary Moon | Liv Stoveland | Ponca Jazz Records | |
| May | 27 | Stranger Things Have Happened | Clare Maguire | Virgin Records | Produced by Clare Maguire |
| June | 3 | Blues and Ballads | Brad Mehldau Trio | Nonesuch Records | Produced by Brad Mehldau |
| June | 3 | Upward Spiral | Branford Marsalis Quartet & Kurt Elling | Sony Music Entertainment | Nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards |
| June | 10 | Convergence | Warren Wolf | Mack Avenue Records | |
| June | 10 | Short Stories | Dominick Farinacci | Mack Avenue Records | |
| June | 10 | Wolf Valley | Eyolf Dale | Edition Records | |
| June | 24 | Arclight | Julian Lage | Mack Avenue | Produced by Jesse Harris |
| June | 24 | The Way We Play | Marquis Hill | Concord Jazz | |
| July | 1 | Freetown Sound | Blood Orange | Domino | Produced by Dev Hynes |
| July | 9 | Sounds of 3 | Per Mathisen Trio (including Frode Alnæs and Gergő Borlai) | Losen Records | |
| July | 22 | Everybody Has A Plan Until They Get Punched in the Mouth | Charlie Hunter | GroundUP | |
| July | 29 | Rubicon | Mats Eilertsen | ECM | Produced by Manfred Eicher |
| July | 29 | Unstatic | Manu Katche | Anteprima Productions | |
| August | 5 | Apokaluptein | Live Maria Roggen | Kirkelig Kulturverksted | Produced by Live Maria Roggen |
| August | 19 | Femte | Isglem | NorCD | Produced by Karl Seglem |
| August | 19 | Norwegian Caravan | Come Shine - Kringkastingsorkesteret | Lawo Classics | Produced by Erlend Skomsvoll, Vegard Landaas |
| August | 19 | Presents MONK'estra, Volume 1 | John Beasley | Mack Avenue Records | |
| August | 26 | How Long Is Now? | Rantala Danielsson Erskine | ACT Music | Produced by Siggi Loch |
| August | 26 | Into The Mystic | David Helbock | ACT Music | Produced by Siggi Loch |
| August | 26 | Snowmelt | Marius Neset | ACT Music | Produces by Marius Neset with Anton Eger |
| August | 26 | It's Hard | The Bad Plus | Okeh Records | |
| August | 26 | Air | Frode Haltli with the Trondheim Soloists and Arditti Quartet | ECM Records | |
| August | 26 | Rumi Songs | Trygve Seim | ECM Records | Produced by Manfred Eicher |
| September | 2 | Buoyancy | Nils Petter Molvær | Okeh Records | Produced by Jo Berger Myhre, Nils Petter Molvær |
| September | 2 | Ida Lupino | Giovanni Guidi / Gianluca Petrella / Louis Sclavis / Gerald Cleaver | ECM | Produced by Manfred Eicher |
| September | 2 | Jazz, Fritt Etter Hukommelsen | Bushman's Revenge | Rune Grammofon | |
| September | 2 | Salmeklang | Gjermund Larsen Trio | Heilo | Recipient of the composer Spellemannprisen |
| September | 2 | The Good Life | Till Brönner | Sony Masterworks | |
| September | 9 | Atmosphères | Tigran Hamasyan, Arve Henriksen, Eivind Aarset, and Jan Bang | ECM Records | |
| September | 9 | Changing Tides | Lukas Zabulionis | Curling Legs | |
| September | 9 | Cosmic Adventure | Scott Tixier | Sunnyside Records | Produced by Corelli Savarez, Donald Brown, François Zalacain, Schertler Group |
| September | 9 | Grand White Silk | Torun Eriksen | Jazzland Recordings | Produced by Kjetil Dalland, Torun Eriksen |
| September | 9 | Nearness | Joshua Redman and Brad Mehldau | Nonesuch Records | |
| September | 9 | The Deer’s Cry | Vox Clamantis – compositions by Arvo Pärt | ECM Records | |
| September | 16 | Sunrain | Haakon Graf Trio, including Erik Smith and Per Mathisen | Losen Records | Produces by Graf, Smith, and Mathisen |
| September | 16 | Together, As One | Dinosaur | Edition Records | |
| September | 20 | Diwan Of Beauty And Odd | Dhafer Youssef | Okeh Records | |
| September | 23 | Bloom | Kim Myhr | Hubro | |
| September | 23 | Country For Old Men | John Scofield | Impulse Records | Produced by John Scofield |
| September | 23 | Streams | Jakob Bro | ECM | Produced by Manfred Eicher |
| September | 23 | The Art of Elegance | Kristin Chenoweth | Concord Records | Produced by Steve Tyrell |
| September | 23 | The Declaration of Musical Independence | Andrew Cyrille Quartet | ECM Records | Produced by Sun Chung |
| September | 30 | It's Another Wor d | Sigrun Tara Øverland with Picidae | NorCD | |
| September | 30 | Somewhere In Between | Bugge Wesseltoft | Jazzland Recordings | |
| October | 7 | Day Breaks | Norah Jones | Blue Note | Produced by Eli Wolf, Norah Jones, Sarah Oda |
| October | 7 | Kurzsam And Fulger | Christian Wallumrød Ensemble | Hubro Music | |
| October | 7 | The Monash Sessions | Kate Ceberano | Jazzhead, MGM Distribution | Produced by James Mustafa |
| October | 10 | Tandem | Michael Wollny & Vincent Peirani | ACT Music | Produced by Siggi Loch |
| October | 14 | Aziza | Aziza (Dave Holland, Chris Potter, Lionel Loueke, Eric Harland) | Dare2 Records | Produced by Dave Holland, executive producer Louise Holland |
| October | 14 | Beyond Now | Donny McCaslin | Motéma Music | |
| October | 14 | Nine Firmaments | Arne Jansen Trio | Traumton Records | Produced by Arne Jansen |
| October | 14 | Rainbow Session | Harald Lassen | Hagen Recordings | Produced by Harald Lassen |
| October | 21 | Her Bor | Frida Ånnevik | Grappa Music | GRLP4529 |
| October | 21 | On Behalf Of Nature | Meredith Monk Ensemble | ECM Records | Produced by Manfred Eicher |
| October | 28 | Christmas With My Friends V | Nils Landgren | ACT Music | |
| October | 28 | EST Symphony | EST Symphony | ACT Music | |
| October | 28 | Rising Grace | Wolfgang Muthspiel with Ambrose Akinmusire, Brad Mehldau, Larry Grenadier, and Brian Blade | ECM | Produced by Manfred Eicher |
| October | 31 | No Right No Left | Andreas Wildhagen | Nakama Records | Produced by Andreas Wildhagen |
| November | 4 | A Multitude of Angels | Keith Jarrett | ECM Records | 4xCD from solo concerts in Italy in October 1996 |
| November | 4 | Black Focus | Yussef Kamaal | Brownswood Recordings | |
| November | 11 | December Songs | Olga Konkova and Jens Thoresen | Losen Records | |
| November | 11 | StaiStua | Ulvo / Hole / Haltli | NorCD | Produced by Andreas Ulvo, Musikk I Hedmark |
| November | 11 | The Mechanical Fair | Ola Kvernberg | Olsen Records | 2xLP produced by Todd Terje |
| November | 12 | Stories | Jan Gunnar Hoff | 2L | Solo piano |
| November | 14 | XXX | Scorch Trio (Raoul Björkenheim, Ingebrigt Håker Flaten, Frank Rosaly) | Rune Grammofon | 4xLP |
| November | 17 | My Head Is Listening | Motif | Clean Feed | Produced by Motif |
| November | 18 | David | Eleni Karaindrou | ECM Records | Produced Manfred Eicher |
| November | 18 | The Fifth Century | Gavin Bryars | ECM Records | |
| November | 19 | 3 Pianos | Tanaka/Lindvall/Wallumrød | Nakama Records | Produced by Ayumi Tanaka, Johan Lindvall, Christian Wallumrød |
| November | 22 | Midt På Natta | Operasjon Hegge | Particular Recordings | P!8 |
| November | 25 | The Space Between | Stuart McCallum & Mike Walker | Edition Records | Produced by Stuart McCallum |
| December | 2 | Antenna | David Virelles | ECM Records | |
| December | 2 | New Direction | Herlin Riley | Mack Avenue Records | |
| December | 12 | Most Intimate | Nakama | Nakama Records | Produced by Christian Meaas Svendsen |
| December | 16 | New York City Magic | Per Mathisen, Utsi Zimring, and David Kikoski | Alessa Records | |
| December | 16 | Tony Bennett Celebrates 90 | Tony Bennett | Columbia | |

## Deaths
### January

* 3 – Paul Bley, Canadian pianist (born 1932).
* 4 – Long John Hunter, American guitarist and singer-songwriter (born 1931).
* 6 – Alfredo "Chocolate" Armenteros, Cuban trumpeter(born 1928).
* 7 – Alan Haven, English organist (born 1935).
* 16 – Hubert Giraud, French composer and lyricist (born 1920).
* 31 – Janusz Muniak, Polish saxophonist, flautist, arranger, and composer (born 1941).

### February

* 4 – Maurice White, American singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, and bandleader, Earth, Wind & Fire (born 1941).
* 19 – Harald Devold, Norwegian saxophonist (cancer) (born 1964).
* 25 – John Chilton, British trumpeter and writer (born 1932).

### March

* 9 – Naná Vasconcelos, Brazilian percussionist (born 1944).
* 10
** Ernestine Anderson, American jazz and blues singer (born 1928).
** Keith Emerson, English pianist and keyboardist (suicide), Emerson, Lake & Palmer (born 1944).
* 11 – Joe Ascione, American drummer (born 1961).
* 15 – Ryo Fukui, Japanese pianist (born 1948).
* 16 – Frank Sinatra Jr., American singer, songwriter, and conductor (born 1944).
* 22 – Selçuk Sun, Turkish upright bassist and composer (born 1934).
* 24 – Roger Cicero, German singer and songwriter (born 1970).
* 26 – David Baker, American symphonic jazz composer (born 1931).

### April

* 2 – Gato Barbieri, Argentine saxophonist (born 1932).
* 3
** Bill Henderson, American singer and actor (born 1926).
** Don Francks, Canadian singer and actor (born 1932).
* 4 – Getatchew Mekurya, Ethiopian saxophonist (born 1935).
* 5 – Zena Latto, American clarinetist and saxophonist (born 1925).
* 6 – Dennis Davis, American drummer (cancer) (born 1949).
* 13
** Jeremy Steig, American flautist (born 1942).
** Mariano Mores, Argentine tango composer and pianist (born 1918).
** Pete Yellin, American saxophonist and educator (born 1941).
* 21 – Prince Rogers Nelson, American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer (born 1958).
* 24
** Billy Paul, Congolese singer and musician (born 1934).
** Papa Wemba, American soul singer (born 1949).

### May

* 1 – Doug Raney, American guitarist (born 1956).
* 6
** Candye Kane, American singer and entertainer (pancreatic cancer) (born 1961).
** Johannes Bauer, German trombonist (born 1954).
* 11 – Joe Temperley, Scottish saxophonist (born 1929).
* 13 – Buster Cooper, American trombonist (born 1929).
* 16 – Fredrik Norén, Swedish drummer and band leader (born 1941).

### June

* 8 – Terje Fjærn, orchestra conductor ("La det swinge") (born 1942).
* 16 – Charles Thompson, American swing and bebop pianist, and organist, composer (born 1918).
* 17 – Willy Andresen, Norwegian pianist and band leader (born 1921).
* 21 – Pat Friday, American singer (born 1921).
* 23 – Shelley Moore, English-born American singer (born 1932).
* 24 – Bernie Worrell, American keyboarder and composer, Parliament-Funkadelic (born 1944).
* 26 – Mike Pedicin, American saxophonist and bandleader (born 1917).
* 30 – Don Friedman, American pianist (born 1935).

### July

* 15
** Charles Davis, American saxophonist and composer (born 1933).
** Roland Prince, Antiguan guitarist (born 1946).
* 16 – Claude Williamson, American pianist (born 1926).
* 167 – Peter Appleyard, British–Canadian vibraphonist, percussionist, and composer (born 1928).
* 22 – Dominic Duval, American free jazz bassist (born 1944).
* 31 – Jon Klette, Norwegian saxophonist (born 1962).

### August

* 5 – David Attwooll, British drummer, poet, and publisher, Henry Cow (born 1949).
* 6 – Pete Fountain, American clarinetist (born 1930).
* 13 – Connie Crothers, American pianist (cancer) (born 1941).
* 15 – Bobby Hutcherson, American vibraphone and marimba player (born 1941).
* 17 – John Fischer, American pianist, composer, and visual artist (born 1930).
* 18 – Fred Nøddelund, Norwegian flugelhornist and band leader (born 1947).
* 19
** Derek Smith, British pianist (born 1931).
** Horacio Salgán, Argentine tango pianist (born 1916).
* 20
** Irving Fields, American pianist and lounge music artist (born 1915).
** Louis Stewart, American guitarist (born 1944).
* 22 – Toots Thielemans, Belgian and American harmonica player and guitarist (born 1922).
* 25 – Rudy Van Gelder, American recording engineer (born 1924).
* 29 – Michael Di Pasqua, American drummer and percussionist (cancer) (born 1953).

### September

* 24 – Buckwheat Zydeco, American accordionist and zydeco musician (lung cancer) (born 1947).
* 26 – Karel Růžička, Czech jazz pianist, composer, and music teacher (born 1940).

### October

* 2 – Steve Byrd, English guitarist, Gillan and Kim Wilde (heart attack) (born 1955).
* 13 – Bhumibol Adulyadej, Thai monarch and saxophonist (born 1927).
* 18 – Mike Daniels, British trumpeter and bandleader (born 1928).
* 24 – Shirley Bunnie Foy, American singer, songwriter, and percussionist (born 1936).
* 27 – Bobby Wellins, Scottish tenor saxophonist (born 1936).

### November

* 1 – Pocho La Pantera, Argentine cumbia singer (born 1950).
* 2 – Bob Cranshaw, American bassist (born 1932).
* 3 – Kay Starr, American singer (complications of Alzheimer's disease) (born 1922).
* 9 – Al Caiola, American guitarist, composer, and arranger (born 1920).
* 11 – Victor Bailey, American bass guitarist (born 1960).
* 12 – Guilherme Franco, Brazilian percussionist (born 1946).
* 13 – Leon Russell, American musician and songwriter (born 1942).
* 15 – Mose Allison, American pianist and singer (born 1927).
* 20 – Hod O'Brien, American pianist (born 1936).
* 24 – Chuck Flores, American drummer (born 1935).
* 28 – Carlton Kitto, Indian guitarist (born 1942).
* 30 – Ivar Thomassen, Norwegian folk singer, songwriter, and jazz pianist (born 1954).

### December

* 6
** Alonzo Levister, American composer, arranger, music producer, and pianist (born 1925).
** Michael White, American violinist (born 1933).
* 7 – Greg Lake, English guitarist, bassist, singer, songwriter, and music producer (born 1947).
* 15 – Dave Shepherd, English clarinetist (born 1929).
* 18 – Léo Marjane, French singer (born 1912).
* 21 – Betty Loo Taylor, Hawaii-American pianist (born 1929).
* 23 – Carlos Averhoff, Cuban tenor saxophonist (born 1947).
* 26 – Alphonse Mouzon, American drummer and the owner of Tenacious Records (born 1948).
* 28 – Knut Kiesewetter, German trombonist, singer, songwriter, and producer (born 1941).