The Spanish-language Web publication ElIntruso.com has published the results of both its International Critics’ Poll and its International Musicians’ Poll, and we’re pleased to report that our 2009 clients topped five categories and finished second in four others.

In the critics’ poll, 27 writers selected their favorites in 22 different categories, and the top 5 vote-getters in each category (except for the Album of the Year, which has 6 finalists) were published.

Here’s a listing of how the musicians and labels we represented in 2009 finished by category in the final tally:

Músico del Año
Bill Dixon (#4)

Músico Revelación
Darius Jones (#1)
Darcy James Argue (#2)

Grupo Revelación
Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society (#1)
Darius Jones Trio (#5)

Álbum del Año
Darcy James Argue’s Infernal Machines (#1)

Compositor
Bill Dixon (#5)

Contrabajo/Bajo eléctrico
John Hébert (#5)

Guitarra
Mary Halvorson (#1)
Joe Morris (#4)

Trompeta/Corneta
Taylor Ho Bynum (#3)

Clarinete
James Falzone (#2)

Violín/Viola
Jessica Pavone (#2)

Cantante Femenina
Fay Victor (#1)

Sello Discográfico
Firehouse 12 Records (#2)

In the musicians’ poll, 88 musicians were asked to submit a top 10 list of their favorite releases of 2009, and 13 titles made the final cut (the final seven all tied).

We don’t promote our clients’ records to musicians, of course, but we’re proud their peers chose to recognize their efforts.

#6: John Hébert, Byzantine Monkey (Firehouse 12 Records)
#7 (tie): Bill Dixon, Tapestries for Small Orchestra (Firehouse 12 Records)
#7 (tie): Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society, Infernal Machines (New Amsterdam Records)
#7 (tie): Jessica Pavone, Songs of Synastry and Solitude (Tzadik)
#7 (tie): Mary Halvorson/Reuben Radding/Nate Wooley, Crackleknob (hatOLOGY)

Honorable Mention: Gerald Cleaver/William Parker/Craig Taborn, Farmers by Nature (AUM Fidelity)

Congratulations to all the musicians and labels included in these two polls!

Despite the fact that we’re already in the first week of August (the eighth month on the calendar for those of you scoring at home), the best-of lists for the first half of the year continue to trickle in.

This has been a pretty popular new trend this year, especially with bloggers, and late or no we’re not complaining, especially when our clients are still appearing on them.

And none of our clients has been found quite so list-worthy as Darcy James Argue, whose May debut, Infernal Machines (New Amsterdam), continues to capture the hearts and minds of critics everywhere.

That includes both the Ottawa Citizen‘s Peter Hum and Village Voice and DownBeat contributor Jim Macnie, who also chose John Hébert’s Byzantine Monkey (Firehouse 12), the Taylor Ho Bynum Sextet’s Asphalt Flowers Forking Paths (hatOLOGY) and the Mario Pavone Double Tenor Quintet’s Ancestors (Playscape Recordings) among his favorites, though technically the last two actually came out in 2008.

As always, we thank all our media contacts for their ongoing support of independent creative improvised music.

“Crackleknob’s success stems in large part from the balance of group concept and contrastive individual expression. Each has a strong and colorful personality to channel and the fluency to ensure that nothing is lost in translation. All ten pieces are collectively improvised, showing off a symmetry of execution that immediately conjures the illusion of composition.”

Photo by Scott Friedlander

Cornetist/composer Taylor Ho Bynum‘s sextet, featuring Matt Bauder (tenor saxophone), Mary Halvorson (guitar), Evan O’Reilly (guitar), Nate McBride (bass) and Tomas Fujiwara (drums), will be in Europe this weekend for three dates in three countries.

06/05: Taktlos Festival (Zurich, Switzerland)
06/06: Kerava Jazz Festival (Kerava, Finland)
06/08: Stadtgardten (Cologne, Germany)

The band is celebrating its recently released second CD, Asphalt Flowers Forking Paths (hatOLOGY).

Crackleknob

“A compelling example of evenhanded group improvisation,” writes AllAboutJazz.com’s Troy Collins, “the self-titled debut of the collective trio Crackleknob demonstrates the sort of congenial rapport fueled by longstanding friendships. A first-rate example of spontaneous musical dialog between empathetic peers, Crackleknob combines the timbral adventurousness of European free-improvisation with post-AACM dynamics and contemporary trends in lower-case improv.”

Veteran jazz critic Brian Morton reviews Crackleknob‘s new self-titled debut on hatOLOGY in the June issue of The Wire.

“At first you might think nothing very much is going on,” he writes, “then you realise the most interesting passages are those which have been trimmed down to just a couple of plucked strings, unanchored bass notes and lonely brass breaths and cries. The action’s in the intervals and in the spatial distribution of sound, but there’s a solid architecture to each piece.”

The group, which features trumpeter Nate Wooley, guitarist Mary Halvorson and bassist Reuben Radding, will celebrate its new release with a performance at Brooklyn’s Issue Project Room on May 24th.

This week’s episode of Jazz on 3

The group, which features Matt Bauder (tenor saxophone and bass clarinet), Mary Halvorson (guitar), Evan O’Reilly (guitar), Jessica Pavone (violin and bass guitar) and Tomas Fujiwara (drums), just released its second CD, Asphalt Flowers Forking Paths (hatOLOGY 675).

The show also features an interview with Bynum done in New York by the New York Times‘ Nate Chinen. Streaming audio of the entire program is available through next Monday.