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Cheryl K's Best Jazz Albums Of 2025

By Cheryl K.
January 5, 2026
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Being asked to list my "Best Of" releases of 2025 for AAJ was more torturous to my soul than cleaning the grout of my bathtub walls. I'm one of those folks who only needs a few dishes listed on a restaurant menu or I begin to get light-headed. And just like last year, I struggled with which recordings stuck with me and which ones were but brief dalliances—but remembering that all are part of the tight-knit fabric of jazz and improvised music that keeps us all engaged and together and swingin.'

So, without further ado...

Griot Songs
Omar Thomas
Omar Thomas Music

Black Thunder
Brittany Davis
Loosegroove

For Dinah
Ledisi
Listen Back Entertainment

Through The Storm
Carole Nelson
Livia Records

Of the Near and Far
Patricia Brennan
Pyroclastic Records

Solace of the Mind
Amina Claudine Myers
Red Hook Records

Elemental
Dee Dee Bridgewater
Mack Avenue Records

Créole Renaissance
Aruán Ortiz
Intakt Records

Ebb And Flow
Michael Buckley
Livia Records

Murmurations
Kate Wyatt
Self Produced

Speaking In Tongues
Rachel Eckroth
Adhyâropa Records

Painter Of The Invisible
Jaleel Shaw
Changu Records

Trio!
Dabin Ryu
Self Produced

Damage Control
Gary Bartz
OYO Records

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