This time of year, there are many "best of" lists for music on the Interwebs. Reading them, the lists have a lot of overlap and tend to focus on more pop-oriented albums. I look at the year and select nine albums that expanded my musical horizons and were great to listen to. I don't focus on one genre. My picks tend to be more jazz, rock, or acoustic-oriented, with a few wild cards thrown in. So here's the list, in no particular order. Go get a couple of pizzas and a bottle of wine from Knead Wine, sit back, and give a listen. You can get a taste of all of these albums on my Spotify playlist Steve's Picks for 2020, available here https://tinyurl.com/y6csj75b.

1) RoundAgain—Redman, Mehldau, McBride, Blade It has been 26 years since these extraordinary musicians played together on the fine 1994 release MoodSwing. Since then, all four have led their bands and collaborated with great musicians on various must-hear music. RoundAgain pulls together those two and a half decades of experience to produce some remarkable post-bop, 21st century Jazz. The set is new, fresh, and all original. Each composition shows us how close these four have become over the years and how they can build on each other's prowess to produce one of the best Jazz albums of 2020.

2) Murder Most Foul--Bob Dylan Nobel laureate Dylan gives, for our consideration, this poignant epic, his first tune in eight years. It's a ballad that links the Kennedy assassination to our troubled times of 2020. The instrumentation is simple, putting the spotlight on Dylan's familiar, aged voice and great lyrics. I don't usually focus on single songs, but this one is a monster, almost 17 minutes long, that will keep you hooked. Music can affect us physiologically. This is one of those songs that resonates beyond my mind to my body. It's that good.

3) Virus—Haken Progressive metal fans have been listening to Haken for a decade now. Virus, their sixth record, takes an audio journey through music that gives us flowing energy, strong melody, powerful rhythms, strong and normal vocals, and the technical sound that puts the band at the top of its genre. Unfortunately, the title reminds us of the pandemic we are living through, so put that aside and focus on the music, which is some of the best this band has produced.

4) Budapest Concert--Keith Jarrett The New York Times recently published an interview with pianist Keith Jarrett, who revealed that he had suffered two strokes, leaving his left arm unable to play the piano. This effectively ends Jarrett's performing, which is a musical catastrophe the size of an asteroid hit. This concert, recorded in 2016, is a musical kaleidoscope that brings together short quotes from 150 years of music history, from Bartok to the Beatles, that is used to connect Jarrett's brilliant spontaneous playing. The album starts dark, but by the end, the clouds have parted, and there are hope and joy in the concert hall. This album is a challenging listen, but it's a fitting coda to his early recordings like Koln and a strong testament to a brilliant pianist's legacy.

5) All the Good Times--Gillian Welch, the husband-wife team of Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings, is a formidable outfit. They stand atop the world of progressive American folk music, each release receiving critical acclaim and full music halls. On All the Good Times, the pair offers a powerful set of covers, recorded at their home as they hunkered down due to the pandemic. They play Dylan, Prine, and a mean Norman Blake, filling you with musical joy on each and every note and phrase. I saw them once in Telluride, and the tunes still playback in my head. A few good things have been hatched in the pandemic, and this album is one of them.

6) Americana--Maret, Collin, Frisell With Toots Thielmans gone, the heir apparent master of harmonica has got to be Gregoire Maret. On Americana, he joins with French pianist Romain Collin and guitar wizard Bill Frisell for a cinematic journey across America. Maret provides the melodic lines and stories to Collins chordal and lyrical foundation, and Frissell's strumming gives us the Americana character that only Bill Frisell can do. While the music may seem melancholy at times, it is a meditation of what is good in America, and we need that kind of encouragement right now.

7) The Call Within--Tigram Hamasyan I had never heard of Armenian pianist Hamasyan until this year. As with some of the other musicians in this list, his music shrugs off genre labels, but Hamasyan proudly calling his music "electro-acoustic Armenian rock." The set is a fusion-fest of composition, bringing jazz piano, electric guitar, vocals, and strong percussion together in a way that sometimes reminds me of ECM jazz, the great fusion band U.K., Canterbury Rock, and the Pat Metheny Group, to name a few. This brew of influences produces new, super accessible music that I have missed discovering for a couple of decades.

8) The John Hartford Fiddle Tune Project, Vol.1--Various Artists The bluegrass world is full of colorful characters who happened to be great songwriters and amazing instrumentalists. John Hartford was one of the greats, and his legacy lives strong in the hearts of many of today's bluegrass musicians. He wrote standards like Steam Powered Aeroplane and Gentle on My Mind, and there were many, many more. The new Fiddle Tune Project, produced by Hartford's daughter, takes a handful of his unknown tunes and gives them to players from this generation, Sierra Hull, Chris Eldredge, and Dominick Leslie, a few. The result is a solid set of new music that will keep your head bobbing. Don't ever forget John Hartford.

9) From This Place--Pat Metheny Guitarist Metheny is on the road a lot. During the past few years, he toured as a quartet with the brilliant pianist Gwilym Simcock, Bassist Lynda Oh, and drummer Antonio Sanchez. Metheny's method is to play live with band for a year or so and then after the band has matured, head into the studio. From this Place followed that formula, adding the Hollywood Studio Symphony to the mix. The title track was written by Metheny the day after the 2016 election and is a solid kick-off to this complex, heartfelt, and exuberant release. The music is complex, melodic, but dark, compositions that speak for these times. It grows on you, as each listen reveals more from the detailed sonic tapestry that Metheny has created. Simcock was in the Metheny/Mays circle, and while his playing is his own, you can't help but hear some of the late Lyle May's lyricism in his solos. It also is the first Metheny recording with a vocalist singing lyrics. Top-notch music.

Steve Chase is in Unison, always trying to listen to new music.