'Tis the time of year when everyone under the sun releases their picks for the best jazz albums of the past year. I've read numerous lists over the last few days, many of which share common releases: Michael Brecker, Maria Schneider, McCoy Tyner and Joe Lovano/Hank Jones to name a few.

However, no list I've seen yet lists any titles from St. Louis based MAXJAZZ records. How is this possible? Three of the best records in recent memory came from MAXJAZZ this year:

Terell Stafford - Taking Chances: Live at the Dakota

Mulgrew Miller - Live at the Kennedy Center, Volume 2

Russell Malone - Live at Jazz Standard, Volume 2

How anyone can put together a supposed "Best Of" list without including one, if not all three of those titles is beyond me. Furthermore, no Grammy nominations for any of them is also ridiculous.

Putting aside personal friendships with those musicians, the music they released this year was absolutely stellar. The three leaders on those records, to me, are the best on their instrument in the world today. And I know I'm not alone in that assessment, as several people have expressed those thoughts to me on numerous occasions. Catch any of them live and you'll walk away from the performance with the same feeling, I guarantee it.

In the last decade, I've been able to hear most jazz music that's been released because of my prior job with WSIE and my current position with Jazz St. Louis. Literally thousands of records have come across my desk during that time. Some are good, most aren't. Of the good ones, only a handful (and I literally mean about 10 records) have stayed in a constant rotation with me over the years, always finding their way into my car, my office or my home CD player.

Those three albums are and always will be in that handful.