This time last year, I was busy reading through and analyzing the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement. This year, I went for something completely different: I looked at Best Jazz Album 2021 compilations put out by different publications. I started with the NYT and Guardian lists and was surprised that there was no overlap at all between these two lists This made me to look further, but the key finding remains. There are relatively few albums that appear on more that one list – jazz critics appear to embrace diversity. I ended up compiling and comparing five lists with a total of 78 entries in one table, while listening to a very wide range of music. Continue reading →