Best jazz and world music of 2008

If one judges the health of a musical genre by CD sales, jazz is in dire shape. But listening to the latest crop of releases, it's difficult not to feel that the music is thriving.

Here are my favorite 2008 releases by artists in jazz and beyond, in no particular order.

Charles Lloyd, "Rabo de Nube" (ECM)

Accompanied by the superlative rhythm section tandem of bassist Reuben Rogers and drummer Eric Harland, saxophonist Charles Lloyd, 70, has never sounded more lyrical. The surprise here is pianist Jason Moran, whose typically bumptious attack turns lithe and caressing in Lloyd's company.

Kurt Rosenwinkel Group, "The Remedy" (ArtistShare)

With his limpid tone and expansive harmonic vocabulary, 38-year-old guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel is one of the most elegant composers of his generation. He's joined on this double album by a cast of equally gifted peers, most important tenor saxophonist Mark Turner, a player whose even attack and cool, dry sound is a perfect match for Rosenwinkel's long, spiraling melodic lines.

Omara Portuondo, "Gracias" (World Village)

A graceful, glowing valedictory statement by the great Cuban singer Omara Portuondo, "Gracias" features guest appearances by Brazil's Chico Buarque, Uruguay's Jorge Drexler and fellow Cuban Pablo Milanes. Portuondo serves up each song wrapped in her beautifully worn velvet contralto, caressing the melodies with tenderness and love.

Rudresh Mahanthappa, "Kinsmen" (Pi Records)

The steely altoist Rudresh Mahanthappa takes another long step on a thrilling journey bridging the world of jazz and classical Indian music with this project, featuring fellow Indian-American Rez Abbasi on guitar and South Indian masters Kadri Golpalnath (alto sax) and A. Kanyakumari (violin) backed by bassist Carlo de Rosa and drummer Royal Hartigan.

James Moody and Hank Jones, "Our Delight" (IPO)

Two veteran sparring partners who started playing together back in the late 1940s, 83-year-old tenor saxophone and flute master James Moody and the supremely tasteful pianist Hank Jones, 90, explore a program of jazz tunes and standards with unfailing wit and improvisational panache. While Jones is often self-effacing, offering tart, telegraphic solos, Moody is expansive as his questing, effusive personality spills out through his horn.

Jovino Santos Neto, "Alma do Nordeste" (Adventure Music)

Inspired by a 600-mile road trip through the backlands of Brazil's northeastern states of Alagoas, Pernambuco and Paraiba, the brilliant Rio-born pianist/composer Jovino Santos Neto assembled an enviable cast of Brazilian musicians for a program of his original material set to the sprightly, intricately terpsichorean rhythms of the region. The results are consistently enthralling.

Rupa and the April Fishes, "Extraordinary Rendition" (Cumbancha)

Whether she's singing in French, Spanish, Hindi or even English, the Indian-American singer-songwriter Rupa Marya sets her deeply humane, poetic lyrics to churning rhythms inspired by jazz, tango, klezmer, cumbia and Gypsy swing. Holding it all together is her clear, lustrous voice, full of wit, sorrow and embracing compassion.

Rob Schneiderman, "Glass Enclosure" (Reservoir Music)

A commanding bop-based pianist and professor of mathematics, Rob Schneiderman displays the breakneck fluency, harmonic wit and luxuriant touch that made him a favored sideman to jazz greats like Chet Baker, J.J. Johnson and Eddie Harris. On his first new album in four years, he explores a bracing mix of originals and bebop classics with veteran alto sax master Charles McPherson, bassist Todd Coolman and underappreciated drummer Leroy Williams.

Carla Bley Big Band, "Appearing Nightly" (WATT)

With a talent-laden 16-piece ensemble featuring mostly European musicians, the ingenious composer, arranger and pianist Carla Bley tips her hat to the great jazz orchestra leaders of the past with a program of richly detailed and irrepressibly swinging charts. Like Duke Ellington, Bley always seems to coax the finest work out of her musicians.

Andrew Gilbert: jazzscribe@aol.com