When it comes to writing about music, lists and picks are the standard of the season. Good thing, too. We spend all year on the new, reviewing releases and calling names. Yet sometimes, it’s best to take a look back.

Kevin Kelly is a technology writer who, refreshingly, loves to talk about old gadgets. While his colleagues are romanced by the very fact that new products are new, Kelly routinely looks back, recommending only those techie tools that have stood the test.

Music journalism needs more Kevin Kellys. I didn’t know it at the time, but the Great Review Trade between Molly Webb and I was an effort to be like Kelly — not to talk about the newest or hottest music, but some of the best.

It is that spirit which has guided my column. Although I’ve focused on modern jazz, much of it is five or 10 years old. These artists did not catch my attention because they were new or because they had a high-profile debut release. They caught my attention because they were doing something different, advancing jazz without forgetting the genre’s roots.

Now, as we conclude for the semester and prepare to celebrate with friends and family, I present a few choice items from the past year — a few that may have slipped through the “Jazz Activist” cracks.

One Quiet Night — Pat Metheny

Metheny is a bona fide jazz master, a legendary guitarist with a long career and diverse discography to show for it. His latest release takes a surprising direction — unsurprisingly. For One Quiet Night, Metheny picked up a baritone guitar and spent months jotting musical ideas into his Powerbook before finalizing the recording for this sublime solo performance. The baritone guitar is a beautiful instrument. Tuned a fifth lower than a standard six-string, it stretches low enough to cover for bass, enabling beautiful, rich self-accompaniments. One Quiet Night is just how it sounds — quiet. But what it lacks in intensity, it makes up for in intimacy. Turn on this album and the sound will creep up and surround you. Masterful production and masterful performance make for a unique Metheny masterpiece.

Sonic Trance — Nicholas Payton

Payton, a world-class trumpet player who built his reputation on modernized New Orleans music like Gumbo Nouveau, goes crazy. This is perhaps the most startling of the Young Lions’ recent departures from traditionalist jazz. Beginning with an effect-laden chant, a dry hip-hop beat drops in before Payton adds the ethereal synth pads and layered trumpet parts. This recording contains a handful of other oddities, including a screwball rendition of “Maple Leaf Rag” played slightly out of key and at times set to funky drums and sub-bass lines straight out of Speakerboxx. Fortunately, this is a real album, not just a collection of songs. Payton ties together adjacent pieces with interludes (one is called “Lewd Interlewd”), and the material never forgets its common threads, which are often implemented as melodic themes returning throughout the album. Although long-winded at times, Sonic Trance is at least a well-conceived piece of musical art.

Equilibrium — Matthew Shipp

The prolific Matthew Shipp has released 22 records since 1990. While an incredible feat for anyone, the pace at which this neo-fusion pianist’s work is made more notable is by the quality of his releases. On Equilibrium, Shipp explores the fringes of electronica, hanging on to his jazz roots. While many electro-jazz efforts have been little more than tasty comping over techno beats, Shipp embraces the quantized, electronic sounds he co-opts. One imagines he thinks a little like ?uestlove, whose drumming emulates the beat box sounds hip-hop was built on. “Cohesion” is track four. Beginning with piano chords that would sound at home in a MIDI sequencer, this track would work perfectly well as an electronic piece. It is with delight that Shipp’s playing begins to unfold and spill over the rhythmic boundaries, freeing the song.

John Zeratsky is in his last days as Senior News Designer for the Badger Herald. “Jazz Activist” may or may not return for another semester — check back with ArtsEtc. in January for the answer. Meanwhile, follow John’s other writing and design work at johnzeratsky.com.