2023 has been a great year for my tastes so far!
I see people only listing 1 album, but for me, in the genres and subgenres I listen to, there have been many more than just 1 release that I'd consider the best of 2023.
This will be all new music, no reissues
Jazz:
Dominic Miller - Vagabond / Great acoustic guitar lead quartet on the ECM label,
Amoeba Split - Quiet Euphoria / This is killer modern jazz-fusion, with some Canterbury prog mixed.in
Bob Mazurek & Exploding Star Orchestra - Lightning Dreamers / A bit of Sun Ra, The Art Ensemble of Chicago, electric Miles, add up to some pretty original sounding progressive jazz.
Wadada Leo Smith - Fire Illuminations / At times this sounds a bit like Bitches Brew, at least in spirit.
Organic Pulse Ensemble - A Thousand Hands / Swedish band, with a modern take on 'spiritual' jazz. Some really world class musicianship on this.
The Heavy Hitters - S/T / Some of the best of the current NY scene, team up for this straight ahead post-bop recording. Recorded in Rudy Van Gelders studio.
Janel Leppin / Ensemble Volcanic Ash / Great chamber-jazz ensemble. Very creative.
Prog:
Eyeless Owl - Murmurations / Complex prog and math-rock. Sometimes it crosses into chamber-prog territory.
Zopp - Dominion / Very good Canterbury style prog from England (Soft Machine, National Health, etc)
Manna/Mirage - Autobiographie / Another Canterbury style band, this time from the US. Not quite as good as their 2021 release, Man Out of Time, but that's not a huge knock on them, since this is still killer.
Free Human Zoo - The Mysterious Island / Extremely good Zeuhl style prog (Magma influenced) from France. Amazing musicianship by all members.
Billie Bottle's Temple of Shibboleth - S/T / Hard to classify. Jazz, prog, avant-garde, with some pop sensibilities. Quite unique.