Journalists from the Europe Jazz Media group pick their best five album releases from 2025:
Bega Villalobos, In&OutJazz (Spain)
- AMBROSE AKINMUSIRE: Honey From a Winter Stone (Nonesuch Records)
- PERICO SAMBEAT & ORQUESTRA: Jazz de Matosinhos (Boreal)
- THE BRIDGE: Further Beyond (Trost Records)
- ARUÁN ORTIZ: Créole Renaissance (Intakt Records)
- SAVINA YANNATOU / JULIUS GABRIEL / AGUSTÍ FERNÁNDEZ / BARRY GUY / RAMÓN LÓPEZ: In The Light of the Current Myth (Fundacja Sluchaj)
Kateryna Ziabliuk, Meloport (Ukraine)
- HYPHEN DASH: Late (No Time For Swing)
- ANCIENT INFINITY ORCHESTRA: It’s All About Love (Gondwana Records, UK)
- LIUN + THE SCIENCE FICTION BAND: Does It Make You Love Your Life? (Heartcore Records)
- DZ’OB: The Playground (Self Release)
- BEN LAMAR GAY: Yowzers (International Anthem)
Paweł Brodowski, Jazz Forum (Poland)
- CHARLES LLOYD: Figure in Blue (Blue Note Records)
- ARUAN ORTIZ: Creole Renaissance (Inatkt)
- JOHN SCOFIELD / DAVE HOLLAND: Memories of Home (ECM)
- SCANDINAVIAN ART ENSEMBLE WITH TOMASZ STAŃKO: The Copenhagen Session vol. 2 (April Records)
- VIJAY IYER & WADADA LEO SMITH: Defiant Life (ECM)
- TOMASZ STAŃKO: Polish Radio Sessions 1970 – 1991 (Polskie Radio)
Mike Flynn, Jazzwise (UK)
- GONZALO RUBALCABA, CHRIS POTTER, LARRY GRENADIER, ERIC HARLAND: First Meeting (5Passion)
- TERRI LYNE CARRINGTON & CHRISTIE DASHIELL: We Insist 2025! (Candid)
- GOULDIAN FINCH: Schizo (All Ape)
- TYREEK MCDOLE: Open Up Your Senses (Artwork Records)
- EMMA RAWICZ: Inkyra (ACT Music)
Krzysztof Komorek, Donos kulturalny (Poland)
- MICHAEL WOLLNY TRIO: Living Ghosts (ACT Music)
- TOMASZ STAŃKO: Polish Radio Sessions 1970-91 (Polskie Radio)
- SCANDINAVIAN ART ENSEMBLE WITH TOMASZ STAŃKO: The Copenhagen Session vol.1 (April Records)
- KENNY BARRON: Songbook (Artwork Records)
- LUISE VOLKMANN & ETE LARGE: The Stories we Tell (Boomslang Records)
Jan Granlie, Salt-peanuts.eu (Norway)
- BENEDICTE MAURSETH: Mirra (HUBRO RECORDS)
- SCHWEIZER / CARL / DYANI / BENNINK: Irene’s Hot Four (INTAKT RECORDS)
- COSMIC EAR: Traces (WE JAZZ RECORDS)
- JAMES BRANDON LEWIS QUARTET: Abstraction Is Deliverable (INTAKT RECORDS)
- MATTIAS RISBERG MINING XL: Mining at Fasching … and Elsewhere (KULLEN REKO)
Dick Hovenga, Written in Music (Netherlands)
- MIDORI TAKADA & JAKOB BRO: あなたに出会うまで/Until I Met You (Loveland Music)
- JOE ARMON JONES: All The Quiet (part 1 and 2) (Aquarii)
- BRAD MEHLDAU: Ride into The Sun (Nonesuch)
- CHIP WICKHAM: The Eternal Now (Gondwana Records)
- SML: How You Been (International Anthem)
Viktor Bensusan, Jazzdergisi.com (Turkey)
- SASHA BERLINER: Fantôme (Outside In Music)
- GIOVANNI MIRABASSI TRIO: The NYC Sessions Vol.1 (Jazz Eleven)
- EIVIND AUSTAD TRIO: Explore (Losen Records)
- JAN GUNNAR HOFF GROUP: Voyage (Losen Records)
- EMMA SMITH: Bitter Orange (LA Reserve Records)
Nuno Catarino, Jazz.pt (Portugal)
- ARUÁN ORTIZ: Créole Renaissance (Intakt)
- SYLVIE COURVOISIER / MARY HALVORSON: Bone Bells (Pyroclastic)
- FIELDWORK: Thereupon (Pi Recordings)
- RODRIGO AMADO THE BRIDGE: Further Beyond (Trost)
- MYRA MELFORD: Splash (Intakt)
Patrik Sandberg, Orkesterjournalen (Sweden)
- MULATU ASTATKE: Mulatu Plays Mulatu (Strut)
- CHARLES LLOYD: Figure In Blue (Blue Note)
- JOHAN LINDSTRÖM: Humankind (Moserobie)
- COSMIC EAR: Traces (We Jazz)
- DANILO PÉREZ & BOHUSLÄN BIG BAND: Lumen (Prophone/Naxos)
Lars Mossefinn, Dag og tid (Norway)
- BENEDICTE MAURSETH: Mirra (Hubro)
- GARD NILSSEN ACOUSTIC UNITY: Great Intentions (Action Jazz)
- EYOLF DALE: When Shadows Dance (Edition Records)
- ANOUAR BRAHEM: After The Last Sky (ECM)
- ARVE HENRIKSEN / TRYGVE SEIM / ANDERS JORMIN / MARKKU OUNASKARI: Arcanum (ECM)
Axel Stinshoff, Jazz thing (Germany)
- BRANFORD MARSALIS QUARTET: Belonging (Blue Note)
- AMINA CLAUDINE MYERS: Solace Of The Mind (Red Hook Records)
- TYREEK MCDOLE: Open Up Your Senses (Artwork)
- WOLFGANG MUTHSPIEL TRIO: Tokyo (ECM)
- KENNY BARRON: Songbook (Artwork)
Luca Vitali, Giornale della Musica (Italy)
- MARIA FAUST SACRUM FACERE: Marches Rewound & Rewritten (Stunt Records)
- THE NECKS: Disquiet (Northern Spy)
- SYLVIE COURVOISIER / WADADA LEO SMITH: Angel Falls (Intakt Records)
- FERDINANDO ROMANO: The Legend of Otranto (GleAM Records)
- THOMAS MORGAN: Around You Is A Forest ( Loveland Music)
Yves Tassin, JazzMania (Belgium)
- TOM BOURGEOIS: Lili (Igloo / BMC)
- MATTHIEU & CAMILLE SAGLIO: Al Alba (ACT Music)
- WISSELS, ROCHA & KUMMERT: Come What May (Autoproduction)
- ANNELEEN BOEHME: Eunoia (W.E.R.F.)
- JOACHIM KÜHN: Echappée (Intakt)
Jos Demol, Jazzhalo.be (Belgium)
- ANNELEEN BOEHME: Eunoia (WERF Records)
- NEW ORIGIN: The Poet’s Walk (Fundacja Słuchaj)
- JEF NEVE & TEUS NOBEL: Esho Funi (Blue Keys Productions)
- RENAUD GARCIA-FONS: Blue Maqam (L’Autre Distribution)
- MANOLO CABRAS’ FUZZY: Fuzzy (Robalo)
Christof Thurnherr, Jazz’n’More (Switzerland)
- IMMANUEL WILKINS: Blues Blood (Blue Note)
- PHIL HAYNES / BEN MONDER: Transition[s] (Corner Store Jazz)
- DANNY MCCASLIN: Lullaby for the Lost (Edition Records)
- THEON CROSS: Affirmations (Live at Blue Note New York) (New Soil / Division 81 Records)
- PATRICIA BRENNAN: Of the Near and Far (Pyroclastic Records)
Kaspars Zavileiskis, Jazzin.lv (Latvia)
- MAKAYA MCCRAVEN: Off the Record (International Anthem)
- THE NECKS: Disquiet (selfreleased)
- BILLY MOHLER: The Eternal (Contagious Music)
- JOHN PATITUCCI: Spirit Fall (selfreleased)
- KĀRLIS AUZIŅŠ DOUBLE TRIO: Equilibrium Suite (Jersika Records)
Sebastian Scotney, Tony Dudley-Evans, Peter Slavid, UK Jazz News (UK)
- ARNIE SOMOGYI / MARK EDWARDS: The Ellington Piano Project- Eastbourne 1973 Reimagined (Rubicon Jazz)
- MUJICIAN: In Concerts (Jazz in Britain)
- JOSEPHINE DAVIES: Weatherwards (Whirlwind)
- JOHNNY RICHARDS & DAVE KING: The New Awkward (False Door)
- JAY DAVIS: Bad Trad (Fresh Sound New Talent)
Henning Bolte, freelance (Netherlands)
- PATRICIA BRENNAN: Of The Near and Far (Pyroclastic Records)
- SYLVIE COURVOISIER / WADADA LEO SMITH: Angel Falls (Intakt Records)
- MARILYN CRISPELL / THOMMY ANDERSSON / MICHALA ØSTERGAARD-NIELSEN: The Cave (ILK Music)
- AMIR ELSAFFAR / OLE MATHISEN / TOMAS FUJIWARA / TANIA GIANNOULI: New Quartet Live at Pierre Boulez Saal (Maqam Records)
- SUN-MI HONG: Fourth Page: Meaning of a Nest (Edition Records)
Bega Villalobos, In&OutJazz (Spain)
- AMBROSE AKINMUSIRE: Honey From a Winter Stone (Nonesuch Records)
- PERICO SAMBEAT & ORQUESTRA: Jazz de Matosinhos (Boreal)
- THE BRIDGE: Further Beyond (Trost Records)
- ARUÁN ORTIZ: Créole Renaissance (Intakt Records)
- SAVINA YANNATOU / JULIUS GABRIEL / AGUSTÍ FERNÁNDEZ / BARRY GUY / RAMÓN LÓPEZ: In The Light of the Current Myth (Fundacja Sluchaj)
Kateryna Ziabliuk, Meloport (Ukraine)
- HYPHEN DASH: Late (No Time For Swing)
- ANCIENT INFINITY ORCHESTRA: It’s All About Love (Gondwana Records, UK)
- LIUN + THE SCIENCE FICTION BAND: Does It Make You Love Your Life? (Heartcore Records)
- DZ’OB: The Playground (Self Release)
- BEN LAMAR GAY: Yowzers (International Anthem)
Paweł Brodowski, Jazz Forum (Poland)
- CHARLES LLOYD: Figure in Blue (Blue Note Records)
- ARUAN ORTIZ: Creole Renaissance (Inatkt)
- JOHN SCOFIELD / DAVE HOLLAND: Memories of Home (ECM)
- SCANDINAVIAN ART ENSEMBLE WITH TOMASZ STAŃKO: The Copenhagen Session vol. 2 (April Records)
- VIJAY IYER & WADADA LEO SMITH: Defiant Life (ECM)
- TOMASZ STAŃKO: Polish Radio Sessions 1970 – 1991 (Polskie Radio)
Mike Flynn, Jazzwise (UK)
- GONZALO RUBALCABA, CHRIS POTTER, LARRY GRENADIER, ERIC HARLAND: First Meeting (5Passion)
- TERRI LYNE CARRINGTON & CHRISTIE DASHIELL: We Insist 2025! (Candid)
- GOULDIAN FINCH: Schizo (All Ape)
- TYREEK MCDOLE: Open Up Your Senses (Artwork Records)
- EMMA RAWICZ: Inkyra (ACT Music)
Krzysztof Komorek, Donos kulturalny (Poland)
- MICHAEL WOLLNY TRIO: Living Ghosts (ACT Music)
- TOMASZ STAŃKO: Polish Radio Sessions 1970-91 (Polskie Radio)
- SCANDINAVIAN ART ENSEMBLE WITH TOMASZ STAŃKO: The Copenhagen Session vol.1 (April Records)
- KENNY BARRON: Songbook (Artwork Records)
- LUISE VOLKMANN & ETE LARGE: The Stories we Tell (Boomslang Records)
Jan Granlie, Salt-peanuts.eu (Norway)
- BENEDICTE MAURSETH: Mirra (HUBRO RECORDS)
- SCHWEIZER / CARL / DYANI / BENNINK: Irene’s Hot Four (INTAKT RECORDS)
- COSMIC EAR: Traces (WE JAZZ RECORDS)
- JAMES BRANDON LEWIS QUARTET: Abstraction Is Deliverable (INTAKT RECORDS)
- MATTIAS RISBERG MINING XL: Mining at Fasching … and Elsewhere (KULLEN REKO)
Dick Hovenga, Written in Music (Netherlands)
- MIDORI TAKADA & JAKOB BRO: あなたに出会うまで/Until I Met You (Loveland Music)
- JOE ARMON JONES: All The Quiet (part 1 and 2) (Aquarii)
- BRAD MEHLDAU: Ride into The Sun (Nonesuch)
- CHIP WICKHAM: The Eternal Now (Gondwana Records)
- SML: How You Been (International Anthem)
Viktor Bensusan, Jazzdergisi.com (Turkey)
- SASHA BERLINER: Fantôme (Outside In Music)
- GIOVANNI MIRABASSI TRIO: The NYC Sessions Vol.1 (Jazz Eleven)
- EIVIND AUSTAD TRIO: Explore (Losen Records)
- JAN GUNNAR HOFF GROUP: Voyage (Losen Records)
- EMMA SMITH: Bitter Orange (LA Reserve Records)
Nuno Catarino, Jazz.pt (Portugal)
- ARUÁN ORTIZ: Créole Renaissance (Intakt)
- SYLVIE COURVOISIER / MARY HALVORSON: Bone Bells (Pyroclastic)
- FIELDWORK: Thereupon (Pi Recordings)
- RODRIGO AMADO THE BRIDGE: Further Beyond (Trost)
- MYRA MELFORD: Splash (Intakt)
Patrik Sandberg, Orkesterjournalen (Sweden)
- MULATU ASTATKE: Mulatu Plays Mulatu (Strut)
- CHARLES LLOYD: Figure In Blue (Blue Note)
- JOHAN LINDSTRÖM: Humankind (Moserobie)
- COSMIC EAR: Traces (We Jazz)
- DANILO PÉREZ & BOHUSLÄN BIG BAND: Lumen (Prophone/Naxos)
Lars Mossefinn, Dag og tid (Norway)
- BENEDICTE MAURSETH: Mirra (Hubro)
- GARD NILSSEN ACOUSTIC UNITY: Great Intentions (Action Jazz)
- EYOLF DALE: When Shadows Dance (Edition Records)
- ANOUAR BRAHEM: After The Last Sky (ECM)
- ARVE HENRIKSEN / TRYGVE SEIM / ANDERS JORMIN / MARKKU OUNASKARI: Arcanum (ECM)
Axel Stinshoff, Jazz thing (Germany)
- BRANFORD MARSALIS QUARTET: Belonging (Blue Note)
- AMINA CLAUDINE MYERS: Solace Of The Mind (Red Hook Records)
- TYREEK MCDOLE: Open Up Your Senses (Artwork)
- WOLFGANG MUTHSPIEL TRIO: Tokyo (ECM)
- KENNY BARRON: Songbook (Artwork)
Luca Vitali, Giornale della Musica (Italy)
- MARIA FAUST SACRUM FACERE: Marches Rewound & Rewritten (Stunt Records)
- THE NECKS: Disquiet (Northern Spy)
- SYLVIE COURVOISIER / WADADA LEO SMITH: Angel Falls (Intakt Records)
- FERDINANDO ROMANO: The Legend of Otranto (GleAM Records)
- THOMAS MORGAN: Around You Is A Forest ( Loveland Music)
Yves Tassin, JazzMania (Belgium)
- TOM BOURGEOIS: Lili (Igloo / BMC)
- MATTHIEU & CAMILLE SAGLIO: Al Alba (ACT Music)
- WISSELS, ROCHA & KUMMERT: Come What May (Autoproduction)
- ANNELEEN BOEHME: Eunoia (W.E.R.F.)
- JOACHIM KÜHN: Echappée (Intakt)
Jos Demol, Jazzhalo.be (Belgium)
- ANNELEEN BOEHME: Eunoia (WERF Records)
- NEW ORIGIN: The Poet’s Walk (Fundacja Słuchaj)
- JEF NEVE & TEUS NOBEL: Esho Funi (Blue Keys Productions)
- RENAUD GARCIA-FONS: Blue Maqam (L’Autre Distribution)
- MANOLO CABRAS’ FUZZY: Fuzzy (Robalo)
Christof Thurnherr, Jazz’n’More (Switzerland)
- IMMANUEL WILKINS: Blues Blood (Blue Note)
- PHIL HAYNES / BEN MONDER: Transition[s] (Corner Store Jazz)
- DANNY MCCASLIN: Lullaby for the Lost (Edition Records)
- THEON CROSS: Affirmations (Live at Blue Note New York) (New Soil / Division 81 Records)
- PATRICIA BRENNAN: Of the Near and Far (Pyroclastic Records)
Kaspars Zavileiskis, Jazzin.lv (Latvia)
- MAKAYA MCCRAVEN: Off the Record (International Anthem)
- THE NECKS: Disquiet (selfreleased)
- BILLY MOHLER: The Eternal (Contagious Music)
- JOHN PATITUCCI: Spirit Fall (selfreleased)
- KĀRLIS AUZIŅŠ DOUBLE TRIO: Equilibrium Suite (Jersika Records)
Sebastian Scotney, Tony Dudley-Evans, Peter Slavid, UK Jazz News (UK)
- ARNIE SOMOGYI / MARK EDWARDS: The Ellington Piano Project- Eastbourne 1973 Reimagined (Rubicon Jazz)
- MUJICIAN: In Concerts (Jazz in Britain)
- JOSEPHINE DAVIES: Weatherwards (Whirlwind)
- JOHNNY RICHARDS & DAVE KING: The New Awkward (False Door)
- JAY DAVIS: Bad Trad (Fresh Sound New Talent)
Henning Bolte, freelance (Netherlands)
- PATRICIA BRENNAN: Of The Near and Far (Pyroclastic Records)
- SYLVIE COURVOISIER / WADADA LEO SMITH: Angel Falls (Intakt Records)
- MARILYN CRISPELL / THOMMY ANDERSSON / MICHALA ØSTERGAARD-NIELSEN: The Cave (ILK Music)
- AMIR ELSAFFAR / OLE MATHISEN / TOMAS FUJIWARA / TANIA GIANNOULI: New Quartet Live at Pierre Boulez Saal (Maqam Records)
- SUN-MI HONG: Fourth Page: Meaning of a Nest (Edition Records)
