Ken Hohman's Iconoclastic List of the Top 9 Jazz Recordings for 2025

I feel like a few of my favorite jazz records over the past year were overlooked or didn't fare well with many jazz critics. But I filter through a heck of a lot of jazz each year in advance of my radio shows, so I feel justified in being quixotic or even setting the record straight when it's called for. Thus, here are my favorite records of 2025. Does that mean they're the best? I'll let you be the judge. Dig!

River Paths
Medler Sextet
OA2 Records

A captivating debut from this Portland, Oregon sextet that recalls George Russell's modernist compositions but with a more fluid, muscular approach. Partners Michelle and Ben Medler veer from natural impressionism to blues in a delightful journey, introducing electric piano, trombone and trumpet at judicious points along the way.


Chapter One
Caelan Cardello
Jazz Bird Records

NYC-based pianist Caelan Cardello blows it out of the water on his virtuosic debut. A mentee of Bill Charlap and the late, great Harold Mabern, Cardello's playing is elegant, imaginative and melodic whether he's soft pedaling or charging hard through post-boppers. Bassist Jonathon Muir-Cotton and drummer Dominick "Domo" Branch are sympatico throughout. The song "Gone Fishin'" is an instant classic.


Incandescence
Sarah Wilson
Brass Tonic

A singularly unique release from San Francisco Bay area trumpeter, Sarah Wilson, who did a long residence in Austria where she was inspired by both art and architecture. Theatrical and even chamber jazz-ish at times, the songs still swing with wicked abandon. Wilson's band features an all-woman front line of horns is given an extra cutting edge by John Schott on guitar. Stylistic boundaries mean nothing to this gifted performer.


One Hour Mama: The Blues of Victoria Spivey
Maria Muldaur
Nola Blue Records

She was the voice that propelled the magical single "Midnight at the Oasis" to the top of the charts in the 70s, but Maria Muldaur has always been a first-class blues interpreter. Her voice is huskier these days, but she still sounds terrific. This salute to early blues queen Victoria Spivey has her revisiting risqué, double entendre blues with cheeky gusto and her backing band is true to the spirit of tent show blues.


The Crisis Knows No Borders
Gustavo Cortiñas
Desafio Candente Records

Different even by drummer Gustavo Cortinas's standards, this is a deep and profound musical meditation on global warming and its impacts. An experimental record in the best way, the compositions vacillate between impressionistic sonic landscapes and near-rock freakouts led by violin and electric guitar. Can a non-verbal art form communicate urgent environmental issues? You bet! Brilliant and courageous stuff from an extraordinary musician.


Bird Feathers
Jim Snidero
Savant Records

Accomplished alto saxophonist Jim Snidero marks his 40th anniversary in the jazz world by paying tribute to Charlie Parker. Snidero's rich, pure tone and fluid improvisation is on full display as he embraces the Bird catalog with unbridled joy. Rhythm masters Joe Farnsworth and Peter Washington demonstrate patience, enabling the freedom of expression a proper Bird tribute deserves.


The Big Room
Joe Farnsworth
Smoke Sessions Records

Mainstream jazz's Rock of Gibraltar for the past 30 years, drummer Farnsworth sounds fresh and rejuvenated thanks to a confluence of rising stars Sarah Hanahan alto sax and Joel Ross on vibes and ace veterans Jeremy Pelt on trumpet and Emmet Cohen piano. The balance between sax, vibes and trumpet is exquisite while the old school ballad "I Fall In Love Too Easily" is beautifully rendered by Pelt.


After the Fire
Kevin Brunkhorst
Calligram Records

A contemplation on healing beyond tragedy, guitarist Kevin Brunkhorst brings together a quintet of excellent Nova Scotia-based jazz veterans, most notably the superb trumpeter/composer Paul Tynan whose presence is felt strongly in these sonic landscapes that are both beautiful, melodic and exciting.


The Dark Forest
Chris Byars Sextet
SteepleChase Records

Another year, another outstanding recording from the great saxophonist, composer and bandleader. His vision of modernist mainstream bebop and precise mid-size ensemble arrangements continues to delight. Not nearly as dark as the title implies, Byars's streamlined bebop still drives the agenda, yet these compositions convey Eastern European and Japanese folk flavors through intricate combinations of woodwinds and trombone.

 

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