Jazz Reviews
8 Jazz records in the Certified Archive. Every one of them earned five rainbow thumbs-up, because we only publish reviews of records we think are great — so treat this page as a listening list rather than a ranking. Newest first.
Ezra Collective's 'Here Because of Hope' Is a Triumphant, Generous Masterpiece of Grown-Up Joy
Seventeen tracks on Partisan, structured in three chapters introduced by Letitia Wright, with Pa Salieu, Lila Iké, Leona Lewis and Libianca along for it. Clash gave it 9/10 and called it 'a band at the peak of their powers'; it sits at 85 on Album of the Year.
Crying Laughing's 'Talking' Is a Sweat-Soaked Masterpiece of One-Day Recording
The debut album from a Baltimore quintet built around two alto saxophones, cut live in a single day in a basement studio and released on Hausu Mountain. Eight instrumentals that swing like a band and build like a post-rock record.
Misha Panfilov's 'Where the Birds Fly' Is a Sun-Warmed Masterpiece of Analog Patience
Six instrumentals from the Estonian composer, out on Funk Night Records. He benches his usual Septet, plays piano, lap steel, harmonium and Mellotron himself, and brings in guests including Tomo Katsurada of Kikagaku Moyo.
Julia Holter Reshapes Her Own Songs Into Something Newly Alive on Materia
A seven-track companion piece to 2024's Something in the Room She Moves, Materia reworks and reshapes earlier material into something that sounds entirely new. God Is in the TV called it 'a transformative experience' despite its short runtime — and they're right.
Opus Kink's 'The Sweet Goodbye' is a Riotous Masterpiece of Genre-Scrambling Brass
A Brighton sextet spends its long-awaited debut LP throwing ska, Ethio-jazz brass, Gregorian chant, and sea-shanty call-and-response into the same pot and somehow makes it cohere. Gloriously indulgent.
Cécile McLorin Salvant Makes Every Note Count on With Every Breath I Take
One of jazz's most acclaimed vocalists doing what she does at the highest level: interpretive mastery, jaw-dropping control, and repertoire curated like a museum exhibit you never want to leave.
SML Bottle Lightning to Tape on Spontaneous Music Live
Improvised jazz captured direct to a Nagra tape machine at Zebulon in Los Angeles. Hypnotic, human, and gloriously unquantized — the moments of imperfection are the whole point.
Jeff Parker ETA IVtet Bottle Pure Joy on Happy Today
A live recording that plays like a statement of joy. Guitar melodies rise through open space while the rhythm section builds something quietly transcendent.