The Now

The album art shows Goldberg sitting at the Village Vanguard’s piano, and there\'s a certain amount of Bill Evans (who famously recorded in that venue) to be heard here, even if *The Now* was recorded in a proper studio. Goldberg’s free-flowing music is filled (like Evans’) with left-turn surprises, fragile melodies, and surging dynamics. Backed by drummer Eric Harland and bassist Reuben Rogers, the pianist sounds like he’s finding his way through the jungle on thoughtful originals and jabs and parries on Charlie Parker’s “Perhaps.” He sounds almost Radiohead-like on Chico Buarque’s “Trocando Em Miudos.”

The best jazz albums of 2015 includes picks from jazz critic Ivan Hewett and culture editor Martin Chilton.