This Year Was a Decade

On the Best Music of 2025: Part 1

Some nota bene comments down below¹ for anybody who may be wondering why so quiet for so long (it’s not meaningful, but the more personal, blog-like format of a newsletter implies some accountability). Anyhow, set that aside (read: below), and let’s talk music. More importantly, let’s talk about The Best Music of the Year 2025™. Most anyone who reads my normal, run-of-the-mill writing is likely already aware I legitimately enjoy this season of who’s the most correct and which artist(s) beats(s) which other artist(s) in a battle royale to be crowned Champion of All Music.² Just imagine some of these players smacking each other over the head with their instruments. These violent delights have violent ends, no? Or, at the very least, what I enjoy about list making and poll voting is that inevitably there are picks on someone else’s list I absolutely would have added to my own, if only I knew about the album. For example, I just learned about a brilliant Griot Galaxy archival release. I’ve been listening and digging it thoroughly, but its arrival in my personal library arrived just after submission deadlines.

2025 more or less broke down into a few compelling categories for me. I decided to break these out into separate posts on: albums, large-scale projects that span the year and beyond, and archival releases. The first, below, is oriented around why I keep saying 2025 was the year of vocals, trumpets, guitars, percussion/drums, and et cetera. Of course, yes, yes, of course, there are superb albums from saxophonists, pianists, trombonists (yes, that one), bassists, and harpists (this one, not that other one). But the albums that really took me somewhere seemed to consistently come from players in that first chunk. Let’s break it down.

Vocals

Lena Bloch Marina (Fresh Sound Records) I don’t know if it reflects where I’m at this year, but a number of vocal albums just hit me exactly right. For Bloch’s tribute to the poet Marina Tsvetaeva, she writes of taking a non-linear approach, instead of merely translating Tsvetaeva’s poetry and composing around it. The way I would describe this one, her ensemble—master vocalist Kyoko Kitamura in one of her best performances, pianist Jacob Sacks, bassist Ken Filiano, and drummer Michael Sarin—plays like they are processing Tsvetaeva’s poetry, with imagistic solos and a translation that provides listeners with a keen understanding of the feeling of the material. It’s a masterful album, Bloch’s to be very loudly celebrated for one of the best of the year.

Sara Serpa & Matt Mitchell End of Something (Obliquity Records) Serpa is right there next to Kitamura for me. If Fay Victor is possibly my number one vocalist right now, Kitamura and Serpa would likely be numbers two and three. (I’m probably forgetting someone important, but I don’t think so?) (Also, more on Victor below.) (Also also, of course I’m ranking, it’s ranking season!) This one only truly edges out the next because of its slightly more recent recording date. Coming a year after Serpa and Mitchell’s performance on Laubrock’s album and combining each of their compositions, alongside a Messiaen interpretation that begs to be expanded to a full album, End of Something might be one of those albums that truly surprises any casual listeners of some of Mitchell’s other albums. The tenderness and warmth of the music puts it right up there with the best albums of the year, and a double bill with Alexander Hawkins and Sofia Jernberg would be a dazzling night.

Ingrid Laubrock Purposing the Air (Pyroclastic Records) Two hours of gorgeous performances from an all-star lineup: Fay Victor with Mariel Roberts, Serpa and Mitchell, Theo Bleckmann and Ben Monder, and Rachel Calloway and Ari Streisfeld. Here’s the thing, and I mean this in the nicest possible way I can think of, Laubrock has no chill. Her infectious enthusiasm for Erica Hunt’s poetry in the liner notes carries through the compositions, and the exemplary performances by each duo.

Trumpets

Taylor Ho Bynum and Alexander Hawkins - A Near Permanent State of Wonder (RogueArt) Unless I’m misremembering, we haven’t heard these two in dialogue since the last Convergence Quartet album 10 years ago. Personally, my excitement and expectations for this album were very high, both are among my favorite players on their respective instruments, and the results show their connection remains deep as ever. One of the most exciting aspects of A Near Permanent State of Wonder is the inclusion of two Bill Dixon compositions from Index, much of which has never been performed (or recorded).

Talk Show - Miss America (We Jazz) After a series of incredible small-group albums, Steph Richards dropped this incredible duo with Qasim Naqvi late in the year, and it quickly went into my daily rotation. I’m a longtime dedicated Richards fan, and I’ve been following Naqvi where possible since I first heard the trio Dawn of Midi. Miss America is otherworldly, spacious, and superb. I would love to catch them live, I can imagine it’d be an amazing show.

Lina Allemano Four - The Diptychs (Lumo Records) While some days it feels like we’re lucky to hear a lineup once, maybe twice, Allemano and her quartet—with Brodie West, Andrew Downing, and Nick Fraser—have been happily cruising along, releasing winner after winner, for twenty years. What’s changed dramatically over time is the breadth of each player’s creativity and Allemano’s compositional range. What’s also undeniable is just how catchy a lot of these tunes are, almost earworm-y addictive, noddin’ ya head and all that.

Dan Rosenboom - Coordinates (Orenda Records) I said it all right here. To repeat myself, “if your jaw doesn’t drop multiple times listening to this, I don’t know how to help you.”

Guitars

Henry Threadgill - Listen Ship (Pi Recordings) I won’t apologize for my bad opinions, when we talk about what is or isn’t jazz, I think we need to have big enough ears to hear what’s contained beyond our expectations or limits. I don’t even think it matters if Threadgill says his music is or is not jazz; I don’t think it’s his adherence to strict genre boundaries we need to defer to. And so, as I mentioned in a note elsewhere on Substack, I’m surprised and deeply interested in the number of critics who are now saying, this is not jazz, as if Threadgill’s music ever truly conformed to an institutional definition. On the other hand, do we even need genre definitions? Okay, well, sort of, because there are larger institutions that rely on these sorts of things. And, generally speaking, for 50 years, we’ve collectively determined Threadgill fits most neatly within the jazz space, more or less, and sometimes more than less. Listen Ship is lesser in the same way Dirt… And More Dirt or The Other One or Double Up Plays Double Up Plus were lesser. The scope is extremely broad, with an ingenious sonic palette that combines six guitars with two pianos.³ It’s a stunning work, brilliant acoustic guitar playing all around from Brandon Ross, Bill Frisell, Gregg Belisle-Chi, and Miles Okazaki and from Jerome Harris and Stomu Takeishi on acoustic bass guitar.

Han-earl Park, Lara Jones, Pat Thomas - Juno 3: Proxemics (Buster and Friends) The trio of Park, Jones, and Thomas released their first album under the name Juno 3 two years ago, and thankfully it wasn’t long before we got the second album. Park’s one of the most compelling, noisy, and simultaneously humorous and challenging guitarists around—all of that meant as the highest compliment. Jones and Thomas are wonderfully simpatico; I recall meeting Jones online in the halcyon days of social media, when she was sharing some of her earlier sound experiments and showing vast imagination and creativity. And I would hope most if not all people reading here are onboard with Pat Thomas, a giant of both piano and electronics. I mean, look, this is just a radically exciting album, that’s the best I can put it. And with a recommendation like that, why wouldn’t you immediately check it out?

Karl Evangelista Quintet - Solace Angles (Asian Improv Records) Among the many tragedies of 2025, the wildfires in Los Angeles hit the arts community very hard. In addition to a number of crowdsource efforts to help musicians recover, Oakland guitarist Karl Evangelista released this fantastic session, featuring Bobby Bradford and William Roper. Evangelista had a couple albums out this year, but Solace Angles is the one that jumped right to the top of the list, for me. As with much of his output, this combines generations, styles, and visions through a democratic, egalitarian lens that shows each player supporting and building a collective project. If that sounds overly intellectualized then you haven’t spent enough time around me yet (I promise I’m not boring, and I sincerely believe the album bears the analysis).

The Monkius - No Straight With Chaser (JACC Records) Just at the end of the year, Marcelo dos Reis dropped a new album with his trio Flora (recommended, as well), but The Monkious debut album is a gorgeously rendered tribute. Outlining a framework using compositions as suggestions or prompts, dos Reis, Gonçalo Almeida, and Philipp Ernsting improvise beautifully, teasing Monk’s melodies within an improvisatory setting full of warmth and love for the maestro.

Percussion/Drums

Will Mason Quartet - Hemlocks, Peacocks (New Focus Recordings) By far, one of the most creative and exciting albums of the year. Is it jazz? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ But does it swing? Heck yeah, both mellow and hard. Mason took a radically contemporary approach to the compositions (if you were already onboard with his music, you’ve heard some of the bold tunings and lineups he recorded with on Happy Place’s northfield and tendrils), drawing influence from La Monte Young, but that’s merely a jumping off point for an epically rewarding album.

Heat On - Heat On (Cunieform) Yes, this album is technically filed under the band name, but it’s a Lily Finnegan production through and through. Finnegan’s compositions, direction, and of course leadership with a blazing (pun intended) quartet that includes Edward Wilkerson Jr. and Fred Jackson Jr. on saxophones.

Sifters - Sifters (Obliquity) Even less of a drummer-led album than Heat On’s, the debut album from Sifters is released on Kate Gentile and Matt Mitchell’s label Obliquity, and features Gentile in a trio with Marc Ducret and Jeremy Viner. It’s a rocking album, with contributions from all three players. Sifters recorded in mid-January, between dates of a brief European tour, and the energy from playing live seems to granted a looseness that gives the music a lived-in feel, despite its relative youth.

Et Ceteras

Gabriele Mitelli, Mette Rasmussen, Mariam Rezaei, Lukas Koenig - The Sleep of Reason Products Monsters (Corbett vs. Dempsey) Around this time last year, many of us were psyched up to post lists with ØKSE at or near the top. This year, Rasmussen is part of another brilliant quartet on the bleeding edge. First of all, the music’s brilliant, full stop. Every player involved is top notch, natch, though it’s how they fold together into an ensemble that really captivates.

@xcrswx - MOODBOARD (Feedback Moves) Forgive me for dragging my broken chair out to the lawn for a moment, but every year there is some album hyped by mainstream jazz press for breaking boundaries, and, when that happens, I always have one ready at the top of my queue to say, oh but have you heard this? MOODBOARD is that album. The duo of Crystabel Efemena Riley and Seymour Wright released their much (not just by me) anticipated long player (the same year Riley released a crackling solo album), and it destroyed my expectations. Like Miss America, MOODBOARD has not left my daily queue since I first received it. If you’re out there looking for what’s coming next in jazz and improvised music, 2025 was a super exciting year.

The Necks - Disquiet (Northern Spy Records) A slight cheat, because of course The Necks is a classic piano trio, from a certain perspective. At the same time, as literally anyone who has ever written about The Necks has noted, Chris Abrahams, Tony Buck, and Lloyd Swanton are far from classic or traditional. I’d only be repeating what any/every-one has written elsewhere, maybe the important thing is I absolutely love this album. It’s got every aspect of the best Necks albums spread across the three discs. Unexpectedly, I likely would argue Disquiet is a perfect onramp for anybody interested in hearing The Necks for the first time.

1. This year has been a very difficult and intense, trying year for me emotionally. Many things I took for granted, stable relationships in my life, were completely upended by a series of revelations. In the end, as much to my surprise as anybody else’s, what I was left with was immense sadness; not depression, which I do suffer from clinically, just deep sadness. At the same time, my wife and sons are excelling in ways that have my heart singing joyfully. These high to low swings are actually harder for me to manage than simply being happy or depressed—I tend to exist in a steady state for vaguely-defined and unpredictable stretches of time. As the year started to wind down, and I started to find my way through it, the biggest hit of the year came, leaving me now with a mix of sadness, anger, and yet still more joy at the ongoing successes of my sons (while my youngest is still juggling his acting, sports, music and freshman academics like a boss, my oldest did an arrangement of a Laufey cover of a Frank Sinatra song for his orchestra’s winter concert; it debuts next week and is his first complete arrangement—he started and finished in a couple of days, his first project in a newly-purchased Dorico 6 install. My pride has no bounds!) and my wife. Maybe because this is a web post, more like a blog than a professional publication, it feels worth writing out some personal notes here and there. Or maybe because it helps me feel accountable, I want to explain my relative absence. Whatever is the reason, we’re in the home stretch of the season. Let’s make it count.

2. If we’re telling the tale by artwork alone, Talk Show’s Miss America would have to be crowned the best album of the year. See what I did there? Also, I love the album (see above, which is also below, from a certain perspective).

3. One reason I’ve suspected it being taken as less of a quote-unquote jazz album than some of his others is the lack of a percussive center, although it does boast a strong rhythmic center. I would love to dig in this more and hope to have some time next year to do so, though I doubt I’ll have as much as it would need.