As per tradition, this year we examine the opinions of critics and authoritative media outlets pointing us toward the “Best Jazz Albums of 2025”. Here are the aggregate results where, it is worth noting, AI has begun to participate in various ways for the first time in this endeavor:
(See and download the full, editable file here)
These are, of course, today’s top-tier names from well-known labels. It is the official version of contemporary avant-garde jazz that every systematic listener or musician would want to be aware of. We observe that the top three positions are held by female creators: a) the critics’ favorite, guitarist Mary Halvorson, with her unique microtonal approach, b) the tireless bassist Linda May Han Oh, who has been a protagonist on the international scene for 15 years, and c) the rising vibraphonist Patricia Brennan, who has been highly appreciated recently for her compositional skills. Tied for third place is the now-established trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire.
Furthermore, samples of current aesthetics have begun to appear in the catalog, either on their own or as parts of a colorful musical picture, with an emphasis on modern rhythmology from R&B, rap, and hip-hop. (see Kassa Overall, Theo Croker, Alfa Mist, GoGo Penguin, Destin Conrad, Nate Smith, The Necks, Kokoroko, ..)
MOUSICIANS AND ALBUMS
Following is a presentation of the 19 most prominent albums,
including detailed musical characterizations (Genres & Styles) for each,
as provided by Gemini (Google’s AI)
————
Mary Halvorson – About Ghosts (Nonesuch)
Avant-garde Jazz, Modern Creative, Experimental Chamber Jazz
Info: Gemini
Linda May Han Oh – Strange Heavens (Biophilia)
Lyricism-Driven Modern Jazz, Complex Meter Composition
Info: Gemini
Patricia Brennan – Of the Near and Far (Pyroclastic)
Avant-garde Jazz, Contemporary Chamber Music
Info: Gemini
Ambrose Akinmusire – Honey From A Winter Stone (Nonesuch)
Avant-Garde, Experimental Hip-Hop Fusion, Spoken Word, Chamber Jazz, Noir Aesthetic
Info: Gemini
Fieldwork, Steve Lehman, Vijay Iyer, Tyshawn Sorey – Thereupon (Pi)
M-Base, Highly Structured Collective Improvisation, Polyrhythmic Modern Jazz, Math-Jazz
Info: Gemini
Craig Taborn, Nels Cline, Marcus Gilmore – Trio of Bloom (Pyroclastic)
Free Improvisation, Electro-Acoustic Jazz, Experimental Fusion, Soundscape Exploration
Info: Gemini
James Brandon Lewis – Abstraction Is Deliverance (Intakt)
Spiritual Jazz, Free Funk, Gospel-Inflected Improvisation, Raw Expressionism
Info: Gemini
Nels Cline – Consentrik Quartet (Blue Note)
Jazz-Rock Fusion, Avant-Garde Guitar, Progressive Improvisation, Psychedelic Jazz
Info: Gemini
Sylvie Courvoisier & Mary Halvorson – Bone Bells (Pyroclastic)
Avant-Garde Piano-Guitar Duo, Contemporary Classical-Jazz Hybrid, Pointillistic Improv
Info: Gemini
Webber/Morris Big Band – Unseparate (Out of Your Head)
Progressive Big Band, Third Stream, Avant-Garde Orchestration, Through-composed Jazz
Info: Gemini
Yazz Ahmed – A Paradise In The Hold (Night Time Stories)
Psychedelic Arabic Jazz, Ethno-Jazz, Electronic Soundscapes, Modal Jazz, Nu-Jazz
Info: Gemini
Brad Mehldau – Ride Into The Sun (Nonesuch)
Contemporary Jazz, Singer-Songwriter Aesthetic, Lyrical Impressionism, Folk-Jazz Fusion
Info: Gemini
Branford Marsalis Quartet – Belonging (Blue Note)
Modern Post-Bop, Virtuosic Acoustic Jazz, Contemporary Mainstream, Modal Jazz
Info: Gemini
Cécile McLorin Salvant – Oh Snap (Nonesuch)
Vocal Jazz, Vaudeville-Inflected Jazz, Soul-Jazz Fusion, Storytelling Performance
Info: Gemini
Charles Lloyd Trio – Figure In Blue (Blue Note)
Spiritual Jazz, Americana-Jazz Fusion, Meditative Post-Bop, Blues-Inflected Improv
Info: Gemini
Jaleel Shaw – Painter of the Invisible (Changu)
Modern Post-Bop, High-Energy Alto Saxophone Improvisation, Contemporary Mainstream
Info: Gemini
Joshua Redman – Words Fall Short (Blue Note)
Modern Post-Bop, Contemporary Jazz, Melodic Improvisation, Acoustic Trio/Quartet Style
Info: Gemini
Terri Lyne Carrington & Christie Dashiell – We Insist! 2025 (Candid)
Socially Conscious Jazz, Modern Vocal Jazz, Protest Music, Contemporary R&B Fusion
Info: Gemini
Vijay Iyer & Wadada Leo Smith – Defiant Life (ECM)
Avant-Garde Duo, Creative Music, Meditative Abstraction, Spontaneous Composition
Info: Gemini
Amina Claudine Myers – Solace of the Mind (Red Hook)
Spiritual Jazz, Gospel-Blues, Avant-Garde Soul, Black Classical Music Tradition
Info: Gemini
Myra Melford – Splash (Intakt)
Avant-Garde Jazz, Blues-Based Free Improvisation, Percussive Piano Style, Free Funk
Info: Gemini
THE PLAYLIST
Finally, we have here a handcrafted playlist that strives to offer us the safest possible immersion into the depths of High Musical Art. It contains tracks from albums high in the rankings, as well as tracks from modernjazz.gr’s selections appearing in the four collections of 2025 so far, and coming from albums included at least one more time in the aggregate catalog.
(Regarding the original DEEZER list, the albums “Webber/Morris Big Band – Unseparate” and “Denny Zeitlin – With a Song In My Heart: Exploring The Music of Richard Rodgers” are not available on SPOTIFY, while on YOUTUBE “James Brandon Lewis – Abstraction Is Deliverance” plays as a full album, so it was placed at the end)
Happy listening!