Top 10 Jazz Albums of the Year

  I  
Image
(Photo: Courtesy of Verve)

Samara Joy’s Linger Awhile topped a daunting list of amazing music.

Samara Joy, Linger Awhile (VERVE) … 1,910
With this beautiful recording, a silky-voiced star is born.

Terri Lyne Carrington, New Standards Vol. 1 (CANDID) … 1,350
Putting her music where her mouth is, Carrington brings much-needed attention to the composing voices of women in jazz.

Redman/Mehldau/McBride/Blade, Long Gone (NONESUCH) … 1,190
A breathtaking reunion of four of the brightest stars in jazz.

Kenny Barron, The Source (ARTWORK) … 1,110
The master at 80, alone at the piano ... perfection!

Charles Lloyd, Trio Of Trios (BLUE NOTE) … 1,080
Three different trios, three full albums, one work of beauty, poise, joy and ambition.

Brad Mehldau, Your Mother Should Know (NONESUCH) … 810
The music of The Beatles channeled through the mind of one of our greatest living pianists.

Shorter/Carrington/Genovese/Spalding, Live At The Detroit Jazz Festival (CANDID) … 730
A beautiful moment captured not long before Wayne Shorter left the planet. Thank you, Detroit and Candid.

Fred Hersch & esperanza spalding, Alive At The Village Vanguard (PALMETTO) … 620
Two masters, one magical evening — Hersch at piano, spalding with just her lovely voice.

Julian Lage, View With A Room (BLUE NOTE) … 580
The amazing guitarist continues to thrill with another recording full of heart and soul.

Cécile McLorin Salvant, Mélusine (NONESUCH) … 500
The leading lady of jazz vocals creates a masterpiece of thoughtful, adventurous music. DB



  • Jack_DeJohnette_by_Steve_Sussman.jpg

    ​Jack DeJohnette boasted a musical resume that was as long as it was fearsome.

  • KurtElling_6.2.25_by_ElliotMandel-REV-6.jpg

    “Think of all the creative people I’m going to meet and a whole other way of thinking about music and a challenge of singing completely different material than I would have sung otherwise to my highest level in dedication to the moment,” Elling says about his Broadway run.

  • Pat_Metheny_Side-Eye_III_Jimmy_Katz.jpg

    Pat Metheny will perform with his Side-Eye III ensemble at ​Big Ears 2026 in Knoxville, Tennessee, next March.

  • Courtesy_Bobby_Bradford_GoFundMe_page.jpg

    “[That’s] the thing of the beboppers,” Bradford said. “These guys were important for not only playing that wonderful music, but they knew a sort of social stance, you see?”

    Bobby Bradford: Phoenix Rising

    It was a calm, balmy, near-perfect evening in Westwood, California, not far from UCLA, in the expansive courtyard at…

  • Esperanza_Spalding_3825_5x7.jpeg

    ​Esperanza Spalding closed an audacious Chicago Jazz Festival set with “Endangered Species.”


On Sale Now
November 2025
Gary Bartz
Look Inside
Subscribe
Print | Digital | iPad