The 10 best jazz albums of 2023

https://www.npr.org/2023/12/19/ [login to see] /the-10-best-jazz-albums-of-2023
Wayne Shorter, one of a few musical sages who left our earthly plane this year, had a standard take on the subject of finality. "To me, there's no such thing as a finished anything," Shorter, the august saxophonist and composer, liked to say. By his estimation, there was also no such thing as a beginning or an ending. It's a mindset I've struggled to embrace since reckoning with Shorter's departure in early spring, and making the cross-country pilgrimage to an all-star memorial concert in late summer.

Like many of us, I had a year of listening defined by season and circumstance. I communed extensively with Shorter's music, not only as a way of processing my emotions but also because it kept surrendering new truths — partly as a matter of course, but also because of the many enticing details in Wayne Shorter: Zero Gravity, an immersive three-part documentary that arrived on Amazon Prime in August. Considering the many splendors of Shorter's musical life was a welcome reminder of how much space there is to move within this art form, how many layers and levels are still waiting to be found.