Top 10 jazz albums of 2010

The most memorable jazz albums of 2010 ranged from the African folk of Regina Carter to the avant-garde of Matthew Shipp and Henry Threadgill.

Greg Ward's Fitted Shards, "South Side Story" (19/8 Records): Ward's autobiographical "South Side Story" teems with the spirit of Chicago's jazz avant-garde, though he has since moved to New York. It also bursts with a creativity that transcends mere geography. Ward is emerging as an unusually imaginative composer.

Regina Carter, "Reverse Thread" (E1 Entertainment): Carter pushes far beyond conventional definitions of jazz with the most ebullient recording of her career, an illuminating exploration of African folkloric music.

Kenny Werner, "No Beginning No End" (Half Note Records): Even if you didn't know that the great pianist had composed this vast suite in memory of his daughter, who was killed in an auto accident, "No Beginning No End" would unfold as a haunting, sublimely lyrical work.

Jason Adasiewicz, "Sun Rooms"' (Delmark Records): The translucency of the ensemble sound, the delicacy of the instrumental interplay and the sweet tintinnabulation of Adasiewicz's vibes-playing seduce the ear. Yet there's nothing sweet or lightweight about the music Adasiewicz has created with bassist Nate McBride and drummer Mike Reed.

Vijay Iyer, "Solo" (ACT): In the aptly named "Solo," pianist Iyer finds new harmonic and rhythmic possibilities in jazz classics and unveils characteristically daring originals.

Kurt Rosenwinkel and OJM, "Our Secret World" (Word of Mouth Music): Rosenwinkel ranks among the freshest voices in jazz guitar, thanks in part to the uniqueness of his compositions. Here those bracing works are reconceived on an epic, orchestral canvas.

Matthew Shipp, "4D" (Thirsty Ear): Shipp addresses the piano like no one else in jazz — or classical or any other genre. In this solo acoustic session, Shipp digs deeply into the keys and into the overlapping vocabularies of 20th- and 21st-century piano music.

Cassandra Wilson, "Silver Pony" (Blue Note): Wilson's amber-toned voice continues to startle the ear, thanks to her tonal imagination and fearlessness in remaking American jazz classics.

Henry Threadgill Zooid, "This Brings Us To, Volume II" (Pi Recordings): Dealing in a musical syntax of his own making, Threadgill and this wide-open quintet produce a spacious, texturally transparent music that's rich in instrumental color and harmonic invention.

Danilo Perez, "Providencia" (Mack Avenue): By turns simple and complex, tuneful and rhythmic, tautly composed and boldly improvised, "Providencia" reaffirms the breadth of pianist-bandleader Perez's gifts.