Second Wave

Even in a tough year, Seattle musicians continued putting out exceptional music. Here are 15 of the best albums (so far) During the pandemic, this crew of hotshot young jazz players retreated to Alaska to crush salmon and record one of the year's most well-received Seattle jazz records in an airplane hangar. From the dulcet guitar-and-sax-led opening on "NT" to the coolly skittering title track, the quintet — which includes frequent musical accomplices Xavier Lecouturier (drums) and Dylan Hayes (keys) — deftly switches gears, flashing a variety of compelling looks along the modern jazz continuum.