Year in Review
Glenn Astarita's Best Jazz Albums Of 2025
by Glenn Astarita
Another year, another reminder that jazz refuses to stay in its lane. The ten albums that grabbed me most in 2025 don't follow any neat narrative or trend-- they're just the records I kept coming back to, the ones that made me hit repeat or sit up and pay closer attention. Some are from veterans who still have plenty to say, others from artists I'm just discovering. A few feel like natural progressions, while others surprised me in ways I'm ...
Continue ReadingDavid Bruggink's Best Jazz Albums of 2025
by David Bruggink
In a tumultuous year, these albums provided a shelter in the storm, with no shortage of intriguing stylistic directions and cross-pollinations. New directions in post-minimalism mingled with reimaginings of folk songs; chamber music crossed paths with modern classical and cool jazz. Stories Of life Triosence Sony Music Ce Qui Tourne Dans L'Air Sébastien Sauvageau Ronin Rhythm Records
Continue ReadingKen Hohman's Iconoclastic List of the Top 9 Jazz Recordings for 2025
by Ken Hohman
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. ...
Continue ReadingAdam Beaudoin's 15 Favorite Albums of 2025
by Adam Beaudoin
Year-end lists are a strange creature, as conceptually absurd as they are genuinely useful. They contend to distill a year's worth of recorded music into “the very best," a laughably conceited claim for any one listener or editorial board, no matter how erudite and steeped in the music, to make. For jazz, the situation is even more ridiculous, as this art form we call a genre has developed so laterally in recent decades that it encompasses musics so stylistically varied ...
Continue ReadingGeoff Anderson's Best Blues Albums of 2025
by Geoff Anderson
The blues just kept on coming in 2025. It's been a big year for new blues albums. 92-year-old Bobby Rush and 89-year-old Buddy Guy both released masterful albums this year. Newcomer D.K. Harrell burst onto the scene with a compelling album. Young blues masters Kingfish and Southern Avenue released albums that shouldn't be missed and several blues veterans joined the fun. Family Southern Avenue Alligator Records
Continue ReadingMark Sullivan's Favorite Jazz Albums of 2025
by Mark Sullivan
There must be an echo in here: like just about everyone else, I observe that there was a lot of great music released in what was otherwise an unsettling year. They ranged from hard bop (Words Fall Short, Belonging) to fusion (Hard Believer, Live at Berlin) to experimental (Trio of Bloom). Experimental guitarist Nels Cline appears on two of my picks. The supply of historical material (both previously unknown recordings and reissues) again seems inexhaustible. Somehow, newly discovered tapes keep ...
Continue ReadingMarco Iacoboni's Best Jazz Albums Of 2025
by Marco Iacoboni
2025 has gifted me with deep and rich listening experiences, diverse inspiration, and fulfilling encounters. From the American scene, I will especially remember Johnathan Blake 's concert with his quintet project My Life Matters and the Paul Cornish in trio, two remarkable projects and artists, both heard in the small italian city of Siena at Untubo, a small club always at the forefront of avant-garde programming. Regarding international European music, I'll cherish the wonderful interviews with Yazz Ahmed ...
Continue ReadingCheryl K's Best Jazz Albums Of 2025
by Cheryl K.
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 ...
Continue ReadingMost Viewed In Pictures articles: 2025
by Michael Ricci
Photographers report on jazz happenings from around the world, and we present them on All About Jazz as In Pictures articles. We also track the frequency these articles are viewed, and the articles listed below represent our most popular in .2025. SFJAZZ Spring Concerts In Pictures August 28, 2025 Views: 26,671 Laufey and the Virginia Symphony at the Chartway Arena In Pictures August 17, 2025
Continue ReadingPaolo Peviani's Favorite Jazz Albums of 2025
by Paolo Peviani
When looking at today's jazz recording industry, it is hard not to feel that something essential has gone missing: real selection at the source--producers willing to take responsibility, to filter, to choose. This is not a new phenomenon, but one that now seems to be reaching a breaking point. In the overwhelming flood of releases, identifying recordings of genuine artistic value has become increasingly difficult. Fortunately, at least for now, AI has yet to make inroads into the ...
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