A confession: I hate lists. I just don’t think music is a competition. Nor is writing about it, for me, a ratings game. (I prefer telling stories and reviewing each recording in its own context.) Still, I see the point, know the drill and have my choices, which honor worthy recordings and form a guide to satisfying listening. A caveat: I’ve filed lists elsewhere, on request, honestly but also not staked to this full calendar year. Here’s my official take on the best jazz CDs of 2012, based on fresh stocktaking and diligent listening sessions. A hedge: Ask me tomorrow, things could shift. This list wasn’t designed to form a narrative arc, yet themes emerge: The Afro-Latin influence, there from jazz’s start, is flowering anew; elder genius composer-musicians (Henry Threadgill, Wadada Leo Smith) remain vital and hard to beat; the 1970s to ’90s carries a powerful and still-unfolding legacy (see posthumous releases from Sam Rivers and Thomas Chapin); and the best new stuff, like Ravi Coltrane’s latest, is marked by subtle innovation and sly rhythmic shifts.

To see which jazz CDs made ARTINFO's top 10 of 2012, click on the slideshow.