Troy Dostert's Best Jazz Albums of 2025

We were treated to another superb year of creative jazz and improvised music in 2025, with a broad range of projects seeking to extend the boundaries of jazz into and beyond other idioms. Chamber-adjacent outfits such as the Hemphill Stringtet and Patricia Brennan's latest ensemble blurred the border between jazz and contemporary classical music, while Miguel Zenon once again envisioned new ways of advancing the Latin jazz tradition. Nels Cline drew on his extensive experience in merging free jazz and hard-hitting rock, and trombonist Michael Dease released a dynamic double album which brought a playfully adventurous spirit to mainstream jazz. Not to be left out were veteran experimentalists like Mary Halvorson, Jon Irabagon, Steve Lehman, Myra Melford and Amina Claudine Myers, all of whom produced absorbing and idiosyncratic artistic statements.

Steve Lehman Trio and Mark Turner
The Music of Anthony Braxton
Pi Recordings

Although Anthony Braxton's oeuvre is typically viewed as inaccessible and esoteric, saxophonists Lehman and Mark Turner emphatically challenge that notion with supremely engaging interpretations of the legendary composer's work. Bassist Matt Brewer and drummer Damion Reid are crucial in providing the flexible rhythmic foundation which pushes the music forward, while Lehman's acerbic alto and Turner's lithe tenor merge beautifully from start to finish. An album with boundless energy and a vivid reminder of Braxton's enduring legacy in inspiring generations of pathbreaking artists.

Patricia Brennan
Of the Near and Far
Pyroclastic Records

Following up on 2024's outstanding Breaking Stretch (Pyroclastic), vibraphonist Brennan shows no signs of slowing down on Of the Near and Far, an enigmatic and gripping release which highlights Brennan's willingness to take chances—in this case, by utilizing a generous helping of electronics and a robust string section, both of which add enticing layers to Brennan's music.  The album begins with the churning groove of "Antlia," one of the most irresistible tunes of 2025 from any genre. From there it becomes progressively more mysterious and otherworldly, entirely in keeping with its conceptual conceit, which draws inspiration from the surprising logic behind constellational patterns. In Brennan's hands even this recondite topic becomes fodder for an alluring listening experience.

Mary Halvorson
About Ghosts
Nonesuch Records

The iconoclastic guitarist Halvorson continues her fruitful partnership with Nonesuch Records which began in 2022 with the tandem release of Amaryllis and Belladonna, followed by Cloudward in 2024.  About Ghosts adds two saxophonists, Immanuel Wilkins and Brian Settles, to her core lineup, and it allows Halvorson to extend her compositions with harmonic complexity and riveting ensemble passages. Drummer Tomas Fujiwara, bassist Nick Dunston, trombonist Jacob Garchik, trumpeter Adam O’Farrill and vibraphonist Patricia Brennan, all on board since Amaryllis, furnish all the rhythmic dynamism and lyrical depth needed to support Halvorson's distinctive vision.

Jon Irabagon's PlainsPeak
Someone to Someone
Irrabagast Records

One never knows what to expect with saxophonist Irabagon, whose other 2025 release, Server Farm (Irrabagast Records), was a concept album devoted to pondering the dystopian propensities of artificial intelligence. Someone to Someone is a more conventional effort, relatively speaking, although as always, it possesses Irabagon's trademark improvisational dexterity and unpredictable exchanges with his partners. Here he is accompanied by fellow Chicagoans Russ Johnson on trumpet, Clark Sommers on bass and Dana Hall on drums, and together they make Irabagon's richly melodic compositions come to life with more than a little exuberant mischief-making along the way.

Miguel Zenón
Vanguardia Subterránea: Live at the Village Vanguard
Miel Music

Exemplifying the rewards of sticking with a long-term working band, alto saxophonist Zenón's 18th release as a leader sees him once again teaming with pianist Luis Perdomo, bassist Hans Glawischnig and drummer Henry Cole.  This time they are documented in an intoxicating live performance at the Village Vanguard, and the group proves itself more than capable of justifying its appearance at the hallowed venue with its airtight rapport and phenomenal chops. Whether on his own pieces or his arrangements of other Afro-Cuban classics, Zenón deftly fuses Latin-based rhythms with his post-bop impulses, and the music carries an irrepressible urgency that is consistently stimulating.

Hemphill Stringtet
Plays the Music of Julius Hemphill
Out of Your Head Records

Honoring Julius Hemphill's unique contributions to the jazz world, the four musicians in the Hemphill Stringtet offer a distinctive combination of grace and vigor to their tribute to the avant-garde maverick. Whether on Hemphill classics like "Revue" or lesser-known works such as "Touchic," cellist Tomeka Reid, violist Stephanie Griffin, and violinists Curtis Stewart and Sam Bardfeld invoke Hemphill's spirit powerfully without resorting to pastiche. Their treatment of Hemphill's Mingus Gold suite includes Charles Mingus' "Better Get Hit in Your Soul," and the quartet's stunning rendition proves that chamber jazz can be as boisterous and daring as any other branch of the music.

Amina Claudine Myers
Solace of the Mind
Red Hook Records

AACM veteran Myers has rarely received her proper accolades as a keyboardist, frequently working in support of more heralded musicians of the jazz avant-garde, but with her 2024 duo release with Wadada Leo Smith, Central Park's Mosaic of Reservoir, Lake, Paths and Gardens (Red Hook Records) and this gorgeous solo effort, Myers is gaining the visibility she amply deserves. Emphasizing quiet contemplation rather than pianistic pyrotechnics, this is not an album intended to dazzle with astonishing technique; listeners who desire that from Myers have a long list of recordings to choose from. But the lyrical depth and stately elegance found here are undeniable, and Myers also gets an opportunity to acknowledge her profound debt to the gospel tradition which has always informed her musicianship.

Nels Cline
Consentrik Quartet
Blue Note Records

One of the more intriguing lineups of 2025, guitarist Cline takes a break from his work with Wilco to form his Consentrik Quartet with saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock, bassist Chris Lightcap and drummer Tom Rainey. Together they create over an hour's worth of heady jazz animated by a decidedly rock-inflected spirit. Laubrock, Lightcap and Rainey are all veterans of the jazz avant-garde, as is Cline, but here they produce some of their most accessible and tuneful music, and that's all to the good, as this is a highly enjoyable and satisfying release, with grooves galore and juicy guitar licks aplenty.

Myra Melford
Splash
Intakt Records

Although pianist Melford has often made astonishing music with her larger ensembles, she periodically returns to the trio format with which she first established herself on records like her debut, Jump (Enemy Records, 1990) or the iconic Alive in the House of Saints (HatART, 1993). Joined by bassist Michael Formanek and drummer Ches Smith, Melford has the perfect associates for her distinctive compositions, always informed by the jazz tradition but with wide enough parameters to reach well beyond it. By turns playful, cerebral and intense, the trio crafts one of the more memorable entries in Melford's impressive discography.

Michael Dease
City Life: Music of Gregg Hill
Origin Records

Of today's enterprising trombone talents, Dease stands out for his prolific output (with seven albums released since 2023) and the ambitious creativity he brings to his recordings. In this case, it's a double-disc effort devoted to the work of composer Gregg Hill—territory Dease began exploring with 2023's The Other Shoe (Origin). Here he's joined by bassist Linda May Han Oh and drummer Jeff Tain Watts on the first disc, and it's a clinic in three-way dialogue, while saxophonist Nicole Glover and pianist Geoffrey Keezer are added to the mix for disc two. Both lineups offer an abundance of music to savor and enjoy.

 

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