Terri Lyne Carrington: "The Mosaic Project"
This album is a necessary way to address the fact that women in music do value solos, despite the claims that they don't. The jazz improv collection is a masterpiece, and while each player came to the studio with a few licks in mind, they gave them all up when it came time to just jam.
Meredith Monk: "Dolmen Music"
Monk's "Dolmen Music" cultivates a new sound and then strips it bare. She integrates only essential, purposeful, natural tones, and the result is like something unheard of. Slides, holds, drones - everything about this sound is both mysterious and bold.