Best Jazz Albums of 2026: All-Star Break Edition

As we reach the halfway point of 2026, All About Jazz once again borrows a page from Major League Baseball's All-Star break, replacing home runs with jazz albums. This year, 78 staffers submitted their picks, surpassing 2025's participation by 23 contributors—an incredible turnout.

Our album reviewers and radio & podcast hosts bring big ears and eclectic tastes to the table, which means most selections were unique to each contributor. A handful of recordings, however, appeared on multiple lists, including Members... Don't! by Tyshawn Sorey, Side-Eye III+ by Pat Metheny, Immanuel Wilkins Quartet: Live At The Village Vanguard by Immanuel Wilkins, We Dream by Lakecia Benjamin, and In My Dreams by Bill Frisell.

The list below also includes a few albums released in late 2025 but reviewed in 2026. Check AI's analysis of our picks in the comments section.

Staff picks in order by first name...

Alberto Bazzurro's Picks

Fragments: The Complete 1969 Salle Pleyel Concerts
Cecil Taylor
Elemental Music
2026





Patterns from Nature
Quinsin Nachoff
Whirlwind Recordings
2026





The Code Talkers
Tiziano Tononi
Felmay
2025

Andrea Rotili's Picks

Manifeste
Tigran Hamasyan
Naive
2026





Kind of Lives
Paolo Fresu
Tuk Music
2026





Late Bloomer
Thembinkosi Mavimbela
Unit Records
2026

Andrew Schinder's Picks

The Flame Beneath the Silence
Dave Adewumi
Giant Step Arts
2026





We Dream
Lakecia Benjamin
Artwork Records
2026





Pinnacle
Buster Williams
Time Traveler Records
2026

Andy Crowther's Picks

Honora
Flea
Nonesuch Records
2026





A Portal To Here
Work Money Death
Self Produced
2026





Happy Today
Jeff Parker
International Anthem Recording Company
2026

Angelo Leonardi's Picks

Members... Don't!
Tyshawn Sorey
Pi Recordings
2026





In My Dreams
Bill Frisell
Blue Note Records
2026





BaRcoDe
Ben Wendel
Edition Records
2026

Benjamin Boddie's Picks

Triumvirate
Billy Childs
Mack Avenue Records
2026





Monk Con Clave
Carlos Henriquez
Self Produced
2026





Brass
Bria Skonberg
Cellar Music Group
2026

Bob Osborne's Picks

Liminal
Elsa Nilsson
Adhyâropa Records
2026





Trifecta
Ivo Perelman
Mahakala Music
2026





Four Freedoms
Dave Douglas
Greenleaf Music
2026

C. Andrew Hovan's Picks

Side-Eye III+
Pat Metheny
Uniquity Music
2026





Winter Songs
Steve Swallow
ECM Records
2026





Consonance: Live at the Jazz Showcase
Joe Henderson
Resonance Records
2026

Colin Muirhead's Picks

Portrait In Evans
Noa Levy & Paul Edis Trio
Dot Time Records
2026





Echomyr
Lars Danielsson
ACT Music
2026





Dave Holland / Norma Winstone
Vital Spark
Edition Records
2026

Dan Bilawsky's Picks

Duets
Ron Carter
Jojo Records
2026





Two Worlds
Steve Masakowski Family and Friends
Self Produced
2026





Picc Pocket
Erica von Kleist
Self Produced
2026

Dan McClenaghan's Picks

La Trilogie des Odeurs
Jacques Kuba Seguin
Odd Sound Records
2026





At The Jazz Showcase: Live In Chicago
Ahmad Jamal
Resonance Records
2026





Side-Eye 3 +
Pat Metheny
Green Hill Records
2026

Daniel Mege's Picks

Reconnection
Tuva Halse
Jazzland Recordings
2026





The Aftermath
Ingeborg Gravem Sollid
Fjordgata Records
2026





The Weight of Bloom
When I Return
Jazzland Recordings
2026

David W. Daniels' Picks

Simon Says
Simon Mogul
Self Produced
2026





Ao Vivo
Eliane Elias
Candid Records
2026





Our Community Will Not Be Erased
Jeremy Pelt
HighNote Records
2026

Dean Nardi's Picks

In My Dreams
Bill Frisell
Blue Note Records
2026





Liminal
Elsa Nilsson
Adhyâropa Records
2026





Don't Forget Your Guitar
Joel Harrison
AGS Recordings
2026

Don Ball's Picks

REX
Christopher Hoffman
Out Of Your Head Records
2026





Dance! Skip! Hop!
Tomeka Reid
Out of Your Heads Records
2026





Ensemble Volcanic Ash: Pluto In Aquarius
Janel Leppin
Cuneiform Records
2026

Doug Collette's Picks

ResoNation Trio/Ultra Resonance
Steven Bernstein
Royal Potato Family
Year: 2026





Loon & Thrush
Club d'Elf
Face Pelt Records
2026





Katarahi
Satoko Fujii-Myra Melford
Rogue Art
2026

Francesca Bellino's Picks

Quelques Notes Sur La Liberté
Michel Portal
Mélisande Films
2026





Of The Earth
Shabaka Hutchings
Self Produced
2026





Live in Amman
Faraj Suleiman
Self Produced
2026

Francesco Varriale's Picks

In My Dreams
Bill Frisell
Blue Note Records
2026





Winter Songs
Steve Swallow
ECM Records
2026





Elpida
Enten Eller
Dodicilune Records
2026

Frank Housh's Picks

Spark
Aaron Irwin
Adhyâropa Records
2026





For Billie
Stella Heath
Self Produced
2026





La plus belle saison
Emilie-Claire Barlow
Empress Music Group
2026

Gaetano Fiore's Picks

Universal Truth
Emmet Cohen
Verve Records
2026





American Crow
Maria Schneider
ArtistShare
2026





Omni
James Brandon Lewis
Intakt Records
2026

Geno Thackara's Picks

Circadia
Mammal Hands
ACT Music
2026





Transara
Robinson Khoury
ACT Music
2026





Conversations of Hope
Jasper Høiby 2
Edition Records
2026

Geoff Anderson's Picks

We Dream
Lakecia Benjamin
Artwork Records
2026





Invisible Piano
John Beasley
o-tone music
2026





Side-Eye III+
Pat Metheny
Uniquity Music
2026

George Graham's Picks

Alkebulan
Javier Nero
Outside in Music
2026





Forever Yours: The Final Performance (Live)
Chick Corea
Candid Records
2025





The Lively Air
Aubrey Johnson
Self Produced
2026

Giuseppe Segala's Picks

Members... Don't!
Tyshawn Sorey
Pi Recordings
2026





Elephant
Adam O'Farrill
Out Of Your Head Records
2026





Live
Franco D'Andrea
Parco Della Musica
2025

Glenn Astarita's Picks

Things Of This Nature
Caylie Davis
Mahakala Music






Sounds Have Dreams
Asteroid Ekosystem
Self Produced






Prove You're Not a Robot
Alex Skolnick
Flatiron Recordings
2025

Hrayr Attarian's Picks

Live at Moldejazz
Amalie Dahl's Dafnie EXTENDED
Sonic Transmissions Records
2026





Duologues 5
Ivo Perelman
Ibeji
2026





Filin
Melissa Aldana
Blue Note Records
2026

Hobart Taylor's Picks

Reflections
Jesse Davis
Cellar Music Group
2026





Indigo Garden
Black Nile
Hen House Records
2026





There Is No End To Anything Round
Alicia Lázaro
Self Produced
2026

Ian Patterson's Picks

Honey Sparks In The Dark
Kristijan Krajnčan
Celinka Records
2026





Landscapes of Eternity
Naïssam Jalal
Autre Distribution
2026





Blossom
Airelle Besson
Bretelles Prod
2026

Jack Bowers' Picks

Shifty Paradigms
Dave Slonaker
Origin Records
2026





Tuesday Morning Feeling
Ben Markley
OA2 Records
2026





Plans & Drawers
Florian Ross
Toy Piano Records
2025

Jack Kenny's Picks

In Pas(s)ing
Mick Goodrick
ECM Records
1979





Bern
Roy Hargrove
Time Traveler Recordings
2026





Twio Vol. 2
Walter Smith III
Blue Note Records
2026

Jerome Wilson's Picks

A Silence Opens
Columbia Icefield
Out Of Your Head Records
2026





Patternmaster
Mark Turner
ECM Records
2026





New Digs
Michael Formanek
Intakt Records
2026

Joe Dimino's Picks

In Rotation
Chris Hazelton
Cellar Music Group
2026





Universal Truth
Emmet Cohen
Verve Records
2026





Somethin' To Relax With
Brian Haas
Royal Potato Family
2026

John Chacona's Picks

Patternmaster
Mark Turner
ECM Records
2026





The Solastalgia Suite
Kris Davis
Pyroclastic Records
2026





Blues in Blueprint: 12 Variations on the Blues
Clovis Nicolas
Sunnyside Records
2026

John Ephland's Picks

Triological
Ben Allison
Sunnyside Records
2026





Love in Motion
Paulo Almeida
Dox Records
2026





Open Space
Fie Schouten
Relative Pitch Records
2026

John Sharpe's Picks

Eclats -Live in Europe
Sylvie Courvoisier
Intakt Records
2026





Play Monk
Pat Thomas
Otoroku
2026





A Near Permanent State Of Wonder
Alexander Hawkins
Rogue Art
2026

Jon Greenbaum's Picks

Burn The Plastic, Sell The Copper
Ishmael Ali
Self Produced
2026





Fallows
Caroline Davis
Ropeadope
2026





Colour Fields
Trish Clowes
Self Produced
2026

Joshua Weiner's Picks

Consonance: Live at the Jazz Showcase
Joe Henderson
Resonance Records
2026





Collage
Alex Wintz
Outside in Music
2026





Live In Paris 1967 Volume One
Thelonious Monk
Rhythm-A-Ning Enterprises
2026

Jua Howard's Picks

The Sistering
Lenora Zenzalai Helm
Zenzalai Music
2026





In the Brass Palace
Kurt Elling
Big Shoulders
2026





Waves
Moonchild
Self Produced
2026

Katchie Cartwright's Picks

Jackson Plays Dylan
Javon Jackson
Solid Jackson Records
2026





Ladeiras de Santa Teresa
Neves e Silva
Far Out Recordings
2026





Fallows
Caroline Davis
Ropeadope
2026

Kevin Poindexter's Picks

Deface the Currency
The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis
Impulse! Records
2026





Entrance
Nicolas Leirtrø's Action Now!
Sauajazz
2026





Omni
James Brandon Lewis Quartet
Intakt Records
2026

Konstantin N. Rega

A Time For Love
Stacey Kent
Naive
2026





Live At Jazz At Lincoln Center
Catherine Russell
Dot Time Records
2026





Along the Low Road
Gustaf Ljunggren
April Records
2026

Kyle Simpler

France 1965: The Complete Concerts
John Coltrane
Charly Records
2026





Blue Fire -The Van Gelder Session
Dave Stryker
Strikezone Records
2026





Focus
Bobby Wiens
Self Produced
2026

La-Faithia White

Morning Calls
Darryl Alexander Sr.
Self Produced
2026





Civil Disobedience
David Ambrosio
Blue Frog records
2026





light / beyond
Cícero Lee
Parallax Records
2026

Larry Slater's Picks

Reconnection
Tuva Halse
Jazzland Recordings
2026





Echomyr
Lars Danielsson
ACT Music
2026





Eclats -Live in Europe
Sylvie Courvoisier
Intakt Records
2026

Lawrence Peryer's Picks

Tragic Magic
Mary Lattimore
InFiné
2026





Fallows
Caroline Davis
Ropeadope
2026





BaRcoDe
Ben Wendel
Edition Records
2026

Len Davis' Picks

Quube
Chad Wackerman
Self Produced
2026





Beyond the Veil
Jason Kruk
Sun Goose Records
2026





Manifeste
Tigran Hamasyan
Naive
2026

Libero Farnè's Picks

In The Unknown (I Will Find You)
Willy Rodriguez
Sunnyside Records
2026





Members... Don't!
Tyshawn Sorey
Pi Recordings
2026





The Brightest Sun
Ilaria Capalbo
Bluenord Records
2026

Luciano Rossetti's Picks

A Decent Run
Giancarlo Nino Locatelli
We Insist! Records
2026





Tomorrow Is Today
The Phoenix Trio
Giant Step Arts
2026





Omni
James Brandon Lewis
Intakt Records
2026

Ludovico Granvassu's Picks

Members... Don't!
Tyshawn Sorey
Pi Recordings
2026





The Other Side
Seu Jorge
Amor in Sound
2026





Live in Europe
Billy Mohler
Dox Records
2026

Marco Iacoboni's Picks

Lumithia
Eleonora Strino
CAM Jazz
2026





EMEM
EMEM
Auand Records
2026





¡GRACIA!
Luca Falomi
Artesuono
2026

Marek J. Śmietański's Picks

Gospel Music
Joel Ross
Blue Note Records
2026





Frames
Miho Hazama
Edition Records
2026





Dignity
Isabelle Bodenseh
GLM Music
2026

Mario Calvitti's Picks

Minutiae
Fabio Anile
Self Produced
2026





Fractal Guitar 4
Stephan Thelen
MoonJune Records
2026





Side-Eye 3 +
Pat Metheny
Green Hill Records
2026

Mark Corroto's Picks

Katarahi
Satoko Fujii-Myra Melford
Rogue Art
2026





Chicago Tapes
Angelika Niescier
Intakt Records
2026





HIKMAH
Pat Thomas
Tao Forms
2026

Mark McKergow's Picks

Glorious Assembly
David Mitcham
Manor Barn Records
2025





Immanuel Wilkins Quartet: Live At The Village Vanguard
Immanuel Wilkins
Blue Note Records
2026





Sing Seven Seas
Callum Au
Chairman Music in association with ECN Music
2026

Mark Sampson's Picks

Just When You Think You Know
Brian Landrus
Palmetto Records
2026





Monk Con Clave
Carlos Henriquez
Self Produced
2026





So Many Lovely Things: Live in Brecon
Kenny Barron
Elemental Music
2026

Mark Sullivan's Picks

Transcend
Dave Douglas
Greenleaf Music
2026





Kind of Now -The Pulse of Miles Davis
Gregory Hutchinson
Warner Music Group
2026





Alive With Ghosts Today
Chris Potter
Edition Records
2026

Mary Foster Conklin's Picks

We Dream
Lakecia Benjamin
Artwork Records
2026





Spring
Tierney Sutton
BFM Jazz
2026





Oracles
Helen Sung Big Band
Sunnyside Records
2026

Maurice Hogue's Picks

Still Life with Lemons
Marta Warelis
Relative Pitch Records
2026





Hypomaniac
Sylvain Darrifourcq
Defkaz
2025





Chicago Tapes
Angelika Niescier
Intakt Records
2026

Maurizio Zerbo's Picks

Members... Don't!
Tyshawn Sorey
Pi Recordings
2026





Frames
Miho Hazama
Edition Records
2026





Suite for Miles
Giovanni Falzone
Tuk Music
2026

Max Kutner's Picks

Cybersyn: Live From the Stray Cat Film Center
Seth Andrew Davis
Mother Brain Records
2025





Uzmic Ro'Samg (Live Solo Tuba)
Ben Stapp
577 Records
2025





Omni
James Brandon Lewis
Intakt Records
2026

Michael Ricci's Picks

Alive With Ghosts Today
Chris Potter
Edition Records
2026





Loon & Thrush
Club d'Elf
Face Pelt Records
2026





Halfway to Mellowtown
Cento Threeo
SecondBridge Records
2026

Mike Jurkovic's Picks

Immanuel Wilkins Quartet: Live At The Village Vanguard
Immanuel Wilkins
Blue Note Records
2026





We Dream
Lakecia Benjamin
Artwork Records
2026





Joyful Noise: Live In Hamburg 1984
Carla Bley
MIG Music
2026

Neil Duggan's Picks

Triumvirate
Billy Childs
Mack Avenue Records
2026





Dave Holland / Norma Winstone
Vital Spark
Edition Records
2026





Echomyr
Lars Danielsson
ACT Music
2026

Neri Pollastri's Picks

Life on Art
Federica Michisanti
Musica Jazz
2026





Birds
Tommaso Iacoviello
GleAM Records
2025





Tides In The Mirror
Francesca Gemmo
Ezz-thetics
2025

Paolo Peviani's Picks

The Flame Beneath the Silence
Dave Adewumi
Giant Step Arts
2026





Members... Don't!
Tyshawn Sorey
Pi Recordings
2027





Elephant
Adam O'Farrill
Out Of Your Head Records
2026

Patrick Burnette's Picks

For All Your Flowers
Skúli Sverrisson with Bill Frisell
Newvelle Records
2026





El Arte del Bolero, Vol. 3
Miguel Zenon
Miel Music
2026





Dynasty (vol.2)
Tia Fuller
Cellar Music Group
2026

Paul Rauch's Picks

American Crow
Maria Schneider
ArtistShare
2026





Immanuel Wilkins Quartet: Live At The Village Vanguard
Immanuel Wilkins
Blue Note Records
2026





Ritual
Caleb Wheeler Curtis
Chill Tone Records
2026

Pierre Giroux's Picks

So Many Lovely Things: Live in Brecon
Kenny Barron
Elemental Music
2026





The Oscar Peterson Trio at Baker's Keyboard Lounge
Oscar Peterson
Verve Records
2026





Dear Mr. Bennett
John Pizzarelli
Green Hill
2026

Richard J Salvucci's Picks

I Get Ideas
Dawn Lambeth
Self Produced
2025





Jazz Dreams
Kathy Ingraham
Peirdon Records
2026





Poems
Dominik Schürmann
Self Produced
2026

Rob Garratt's Picks

Dance! Skip! Hop!
Tomeka Reid
Out of Your Heads Records
2026





Immanuel Wilkins Quartet: Live At The Village Vanguard
Immanuel Wilkins
Blue Note Records
2026





Deface the Currency
The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis
Impulse! Records
2026

Robert Middleton's Picks

We Are Surging Waters
Rosa Brunello
Domanda Music
2026





Shapeshifter
Mark Lockheart
Self Produced
2026





Where Rivers Meet
Your Brother's Keeper & Gary Bartz and Gary Bartz
Brownswood Recordings
2026

Ron Kalb's Picks

Feeling Alright: The Complete 1975 Nancy Jazz Pulsation Concerts
Freddie King
Elemental Music
2026





Not Holding Back!
Kyle Rowland
The Little Village Foundation
2026





Heartbreak City
Larry McCray
Keeping the Blues Alive Records
2025

Scott Lichtman's Picks

A Name I Knew
Pedro Molina
Carimbo Porta-jazz
2026





Patternmaster
Mark Turner
ECM Records
2026





Immanuel Wilkins Quartet: Live At The Village Vanguard
Immanuel Wilkins
Blue Note Records
2026

Silvia Papa's Picks

Gildaa
Gildaa
Self Produced
2026





Criolo, Amaro & Dino
Criolo, Amaro Freitas, Dino D'Santiago,
Três Selos
2026





Landscapes of Eternity
Naïssam Jalal
Autre Distribution
2026

Stefano Merighi's Picks

Members... Don't!
Tyshawn Sorey
Pi Recordings
2026





Elephant
Adam O'Farrill
Out Of Your Head Records
2026





Dance! Skip! Hop!
Tomeka Reid
Out of Your Heads Records
2026

Stephen Braunginn's Picks

Kind of Now -The Pulse of Miles Davis
Gregory Hutchinson
Warner Music Group
2026





Universal Truth
Emmet Cohen
Verve Records
2026





Our Community Will Not Be Erased
Jeremy Pelt
HighNote Records
2026

Sue Yang's Picks

Unreal City
Kevin Kastning
Greydisc Records
2026





This Is Not a Blues
Serge Rogalski
Silsey Publishing
2026





Patternmaster
Mark Turner
ECM Records
2026

Troy Dostert's Picks

Members... Don't!
Tyshawn Sorey
Pi Recordings
2026





Chicago Tapes
Angelika Niescier
Intakt Records
2026





The Button Jar
Yvonne Rogers
Pyroclastic Records
2026

Vincenzo Roggero's Picks

Focus Out
Jon Irabagon
Irabbagast
2026





Gargantua
Simon Hanes
Pyroclastic Records
2026





The Button Jar
Yvonne Rogers
Pyroclastic Records
2026

Vic Albani's Picks

Miles '56: The Prestige Recordings
Miles Davis
Craft Recordings
2026





Good Evening, Hippies (Frippertronics, Collaborations And Rarities)
Robert Fripp
Uncut
2026





In My Dreams
Bill Frisell
Blue Note Records
2026