Some great music came out this year, and while I allowed myself to be a little less prolific in my listening, I still plowed through more than an album per day on average. “Plowed through” makes it sound like a chore, which is unfair (even if not always 100% inaccurate) given how much genuine nourishment I got from so much of that music, well beyond what I can represent in this list. So here are some personal favorites, some of which got plenty of props (even if not necessarily enough, given that highly artistic music almost never gets the attention it deserves) and some of which fell unjustly under the radar.

There was some music that I omitted from a conflict of interest standpoint. I debated including Jen Allen’s great new record, but I am credited as a producer on that one. Likewise I didn’t write a note of the music on “Collective Conscience,” a Bandcamp-only benefit album by my students in the Wesleyan course Creating and Presenting Socially Conscious Music, but I can’t claim non-involvement, much less objectivity. And then there are the four albums of my own that came out as Right Now: Vol. 1-4 (respectively, Songs of Conflict and Comfort, Songs of Solidarity, Our Search for Peace, and Visions of Steveland). But things I left fingerprints on represent a small minority, so here are some of my personal favorites of the year in no particular order:

1 ) Jimmy Greene: As We Are Now

The first four albums on this list are particularly potent examples of musical vulnerability, none more so than saxophonist/composer Jimmy Greene’s exploration of his and his family’s trajectory of healing, coping, adjusting, and grieving in the decade-plus after the murder of his daughter Ana Grace. This suite (supported by a Chamber Music America grant) showcases his fabulous quintet, with fellow Hartford area natives Dezron Douglas and Jonathan Barber holding it down, but most of all it showcases his inimitable combination of fire, soul, and technical mastery both with the saxophone and the pen.

2 ) Johnathan Blake: My Life Matters

Speaking of mastery, soul, and fire, drummer/composer Jonathan Blake outdoes himself on this eagerly-awaited recording of his My Life Matters suite. I hear complaints sometimes about how musicians should stick to notes and stay away from politics. Those who say that should stick to listening to whatever they personally enjoy and stay away from telling artists what to do. The political and the personal are indeed inseparable here as you can feel the depth of personal connection that underpins Johnathan’s explorations, which in the hands of him and this quintet lead to chilling yet inspiring results. And if you ignore all that and just listen without awareness of the content, it’s still extraordinary music. My friend Richard Kamins suggested in his Substack that Johnathan should be considered as MVP of the year, given also his contributions to the albums listed below (#6 and 7 to be exact), and it’s hard to argue against that.

3 ) Curtis Nowosad: I Am Doing My Best

If a really good self-help book (in this case Self-Compassion by Kristin Neff) could be the backbone of a jazz album, would you listen to it? If the answer is no, then I’d recommend you check your preconceptions and give this powerful, uplifting record a listen. Drummer/composer Curtis Nowosad has written some truly moving songs and instrumental compositions here, and his playing, the gnarly guitar work of Andrew Renfroe, and guest vocal cameos from Joey Landreth and Joanna Majoko elevate them all the more.

4 ) Kelly Green: Corner of My Dreams

There was a significant amount of music released this year that served to amplify and shine a light on the grieving process, from isolated songs like Nneena Freelon’s devastating “Widow Song” to Ben Kweller’s album length meditation on his son’s passing (never mind item 1 on this list). Pianist, vocalist, and composer Kelly Green’s tribute to her late mother is another example of a work of art that is moving on its own terms, with gorgeous songs interpreted her quartet augmented by strings, and reaches another level of potency through its emotional honesty. 

5 ) Cardume: Cardume

There were a lot of trio albums I particularly enjoyed this year. Some of them were in the standard piano, bass, and drums format, like the new albums by Myra Melford, Sullivan Fortner, Julian Shore, Dawn Clement, and Sunna Gunnlaugs. Two of my favorites (Nicole Glover and Carl Allen) had the saxophone, bass, drums format, and then there were a couple with even less conventional formats, like the quirkily-named BeaTrio (drums, banjo, and harp, which sounds weird until you look at the personnel). My favorite of these was the debut album by the all-percussion trio Cardume, featuring Keita Ogawa, Rogério Boccato, and Cleber Almeida. What a mix of fire and subtlety, with groove and interplay as constants throughout.  

6 ) Sumi Tonooka with Alchemy Sound Project: Under the Surface

There were a number of compositionally-intensive jazz records that particularly knocked me out this year, including those from the Hemphill Stringtet, Sanah Kadoura, Ambrose Akinmusire, and Kerry Politzer. The brilliant and criminally underrated pianist/composer Sumi Tonooka has put out numerous records of her own music and has contributed to several records as a member of the cooperative group Alchemy Sound Project. This brings the two together, with that ensemble brilliantly realizing a new suite of hers, yet another body of music resulting from a CMA New Jazz Works grant. 

7 ) Kenny Barron: Songbook

Is there a greater living master of vocal accompaniment than Kenny Barron? (Spoiler alert: no) As such, is him and his longtime trio revisiting classic original compositions from his catalogue with evocative lyrics by (in all but one case) Janice Jarrett and a slew of powerful guest vocalists a formula too perfect to fail? I don’t know in the abstract, but in the concrete world of actual works of art, this is an absolute gem. There were quite a few jazz vocal records that were among my favorite recordings of 2025, including those by Camila Meza, Marianne Solivan, and Kurt Elling with Christian Sands, as well as the next item on this list, and this one stands tall among them.

8 ) Dee Dee Bridgewater & Bill Charlap: Elemental

There were some really nice duet records this year, including the duo For Living Lovers, Mary Halvorson paired with Slyvie Courvoisier, and the meeting of John Scofield and Dave Holland. Particularly stunning is this borderline-unhinged (in the best way) standards record with vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater and pianist Bill Charlap. The latter is as playful and interactive as I have ever heard him (which is saying something) and the former finds the often-elusive balance of rendering these well-worn tunes in a manner that is dynamic and alive while still faithful.

9 ) David Byrne: Who Is the Sky?

The realm of “singer-songwriter” covers a lot of stylistic ground, with Daniel Caesar, the Bros. Landreth, I’m With Her, Curtis Harding, and Samora Pinderhughes among those who produced eclectic work this year that I loved and that could fall under this umbrella. I’ve been a fan of David Byrne for most of my life, which paradoxically makes me skeptical that any new work will earn a rightful place on the proverbial shelf. Well, this one sure did. Some of his most musically satisfying and clever songs are interpreted here by the fun and brilliant Ghost Train Orchestra. I had the pleasure of seeing him perform a bunch of these on tour this year with his own band and they were wonderful in that context too – I highly recommend being on the lookout for a tour stop near you in the year ahead.

10 ) Salif Keita: So Kono

Songhoy Blues, the still-cooking Mahotella Queens, Youssou N’Dour, and the Kasambwe Brothers are among the African artists who put out records I particularly enjoyed, and that doesn’t even include the new contribution of Russ Gershon’s Either/Orchestra to the venerated Ethiopiques series, thanks to their great interpretations of the music of Nerses Nalbandian. I was especially floored by this new record by Salif Keita, who is both literally and symbolically royalty in Mali. I have been a fan since I was a teenager and an older friend (thanks Mikey!) turned me on to his then-new album, Amen. Miraculously, his potency is entirely undiminished on this gorgeously intimate record.

11 ) Conrad Herwig, Eddie Palmieri, Luques Curtis: Reflections – Facing South

A number of legendary elder statespeople in various genres put out potent music this year, including Charlie Musselwhite, Rory Block, Mulatu Astatke, Billy Hart, Irma Thomas (alongside the younger funk band Galactic), and Charles Lloyd. This year we said goodbye to the 86 year old pianist Eddie Palmieri, but a modicum of solace was offered when trombonist Conrad Herwig released this drum-less trio album. I couldn’t stop listening to it (and indeed wound up arranging Eddie’s “Bianco’s Waltz” for the Wesleyan Jazz Ensemble, inspired in particular by this version) and if you ever thought that Eddie’s rhythmic potency relied upon percussion, think again.

12 ) Caili O’Doherty: Bluer Than Blue

There were some compelling musical tribute records this year, from single-artist dedications by Steve Lehman and Branford Marsalis and tributes to multiple artists by the likes of Carmen Staaf and Nicole Zuraitis (the Siren Songs project that came between her higher-profile records). Not entirely unlike Bill Charlap and Dee Dee Bridgewater above (though with a different approach) Caili O’Doherty and her band skillfully walk the line between fealty to the music of Lil Hardin Armstrong and using its timelessness to make it sound contemporary. Even without that context this is a great record, and all the more compelling in that it shines a light on this important but underappreciated figure.  

13 ) Harold López-Nussa: Nueva Timba

There were some really nice live records put out this year under the broad umbrella of jazz, including highlights by Joe Alterman (with Houston Person), Miguel Zenon, Eric McPherson, and Shakti (documenting their 50^th anniversary tour, all the more poignant with the subsequent passing of the legendary Zakir Hussain). Harold López-Nussa only came onto my radar when the participation of his bassist, Luques Curtis, turned me on to his prior record. This live record is stunning, with groove and sensitivity sharing space with without-a-net pyrotechnics.

14 ) Nat Adderley Jr. : Took So Long

There were some really nice debut albums in 2025, including those by Gianni Gardner, Althea SullyCole, Tyreek McDole, Empress (featuring the four-saxophone front line of Pureum Jin, Erena Terakubo, Chelsea Baratz, and Lauren Sevian), Varun Das, Caelan Cardello, and Christopher Brown. Some of these folks are new to the scene, while some have been around for years and just haven’t yet had their names on top of the album cover, so to speak. A somewhat extreme version of the latter phenomenon is the aptly-titled new trio record by the compelling pianist Nat Adderley Jr., who some know for his great work in straight-ahead jazz and others know for his important role in the music of Luther Vandross among others. This swinging acoustic album touches on all of this, thanks to his clever arrangements of both jazz and R&B classics.

15 ) Brian Felix: Level Up

A number of former and current students of mine put out music this year that I would have richly enjoyed even if not for the personal connection. These include mssv (featuring Mike Baggetta), Max Wareham, Phoenix Libsch (under the name Calico), Tate Jensen, and Jess Best are among those, not to mention a few other folks mentioned elsewhere on this list). Ostensibly, my teaching “career” began a bit over 30 years ago when this young pianist named Brian Felix came to one of my gigs and asked me afterwards if I could show him some stuff. I take no credit for anything that he did with the few seeds I may have planted, but it has been thrilling to see him ascend, first to a high level as a touring jam band musician, then eventually to a doctorate-holding college professor. And he plays better than ever, including now on the instrument featured on this delightful and eclectic double-album of original music, the Hammond organ.

16 ) Mark Turner: We Raise Them to Lift Their Heads

If you had told me in January that Denny Zeitlin, Amina Claudine Myers, and Freddie Bryant would all put out solo records in the same year, I would have been very excited, and indeed none of these records disappointed. What I was not expecting was quite possibly the baddest solo saxophone record since Sonny Rollins in the 1980s. Mark Turner got more attention for other projects this year (and those also deserved it) but wow this is a masterclass in economy of virtuosity. Is that a thing or did I just make that up? In other words he plays stunningly but not at all gratuitously and fills in just the right amount of space.

17 ) Yusef Lateef: Golden Flower (Live in Sweden)

It seems that every year there’s an entry in the “historical album” category that blows my mind, and while I quite enjoyed newly unearthed music from Doc Pomus, Kenny Dorham, Horace Silver, and Dr. John, among others, nothing quite blew my mind until this month when this pair of early-70s performances by Yusef Lateef was released and . . . wow. The whole thing is utterly burning, and the second half, documenting his important quartet assemblage with Kenny Barron (who contributed several of these tunes), Bob Cunningham, and Tootie Heath, is some of the most incendiary Yusef I have ever heard, and that is saying something.

18 ) Coleman Mellett: Sing You A Brand New Song

Meanwhile, there were a few particularly compelling albums in what I’m semi-arbitrarily dubbing the “recent historical” category, which is to say things recorded prior to this decade that took a while to come to the public’s ears. In another year I could easily have picked the “new” (to us) music by Frank Kimbrough, Amanda Monaco, and/or George Colligan’s trio with Linda May Han Oh and Jack DeJohnette for this list. It was through Amanda and a couple other friends, though, that I met the delightful guitarist Coleman Mellett. I only got to play or hang with him a few times, but it left a mark, and I assumed there would be more opportunities until he and saxophonist Gerry Niewood went down with Colgan Air Flight 3407 en route to their performance with Chuck Mangione (ironically, another 2025 casualty, though at the ripe age of 84). I had no idea Coleman could sing or write songs like this, much less that he had left behind recordings that would be so lovingly fleshed out by this amazing crew of musicians including Mangione, James Taylor, Larry Goldings, and Coleman’s wife Jeanie Bryson.

10 more fabulous singles and/or tracks from albums not cited above:

Buddy Guy “I Don’t Forget”

Vladimir Kostadinovic (feat. Joe Locke, vibes/composer) “Is There A Heart In This House”

Mavis Staples “We Got to Have Peace” (Curtis Mayfield cover)

Madeline Edwards “Seat at the Table”

Rosemary Minkler “Number One”

Erica Tracy (and others) “The Light” (from the ”Hartford Unwrapped” compilation)

Tony Davis “Trinkets from Mars”

Dar Williams “Put the Coins On His Eyes” (featuring Rani Arbo Daisy Mayhem)

De la Soul (w. Q-Tip, Yummy Bingham) “Day in the Sun”

Peter Stampfel “Beer Jingle”