The Roots Music Report's
Top Jazz Album Chart
for the Year of 2025
| Album Title | Band/Artist Name | Label | Sub Genre | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stryker with Strings Goes to the Movies | Dave Stryker | Strikezone | Contemporary Jazz |
| 2 | The Romance Continues | Tony Saunders | Baja/TSR | Smooth Jazz |
| 3 | Mystical | Reza Khan | Painted Media | Contemporary Jazz |
| 4 | Try This | Bill Moio | ITI | Smooth Jazz |
| 5 | Across the Field College Fight Songs Reimagined | Visions Jazz Ensemble | Patios | Contemporary Jazz |
| 6 | So Much to Say | Paul Brown | Shanachie Ent. | Contemporary Jazz |
| 7 | Slang Spirituals | Lady Blackbird | BMG | Crossover Jazz |
| 8 | Louisiana Stories | Don Paul | Irresistible/Revolutionary | Crossover Jazz |
| 9 | Cool Shades | Nils | Baja | Contemporary Jazz |
| 10 | Destiny | Brendan Rothwell | Self-Release | Contemporary Jazz |
| 11 | Feelin' Good | Nils | Baja | Contemporary Jazz |
| 12 | It Hits Different | Norman Brown | Shanachie Ent. | Contemporary Jazz |
| 13 | Soliloquies | Jason Kao Hwang | Self-Release | Avant-Garde Jazz |
| 14 | Love and Rhythm | Blake Aaron | Innervision | Contemporary Jazz |
| 15 | Zebra Stories | Steve Allee | Self-Release | Contemporary Jazz |
| 16 | Never Too Late | Lowell Hopper | Self-Release | Smooth Jazz |
| 17 | JAMB | Dave Erickson Project | Self-Release | Contemporary Jazz |
| 18 | Hidden Gems | Brent Laidler | self-Release | Contemporary Jazz |
| 19 | Groovin Smooth | Ghost Jazz Trio | Guitar One | Swing |
| 20 | Promised Land | Paul Brown | Shanachie | Contemporary Jazz |
| 21 | Hope | Todd Boston | Gita | Jazz |
| 22 | Emerge Dancing (feat. Jeff Pittson) | Suzanne Pittson | Vineland | Contemporary Jazz |
| 23 | Doctor Professor Leonard King in Tribute to Joe Williams | Planet D Nonet | Eastlawn | Big Band |
| 24 | When the Night | Dan Balmer | Self-Release | Jazz |
| 25 | Beyond the Warrior's Eyes | Brian Tarquin | BHP Music-Guitar Trax | Fusion |
| 26 | Beethoven Blues | Jon Batiste | Verve | Jazz |
| 27 | Song | Joanie Pallatto & Bradley Parker-Sparrow | Southport | Jazz |
| 28 | Tributes | Marcus McLaurine | Jade Elephant Productions | Contemporary Jazz |
| 29 | Soul Searchin' | Larry Carlton | Shanachie Ent | Contemporary Jazz |
| 30 | Right Here | Tomas Martin Lopez | Bongotoms | Latin Jazz |
| 31 | Time Takes Odd Turns | Tom Johnson Jazz Orchestra | Self-Release | Contemporary Jazz |
| 32 | Zito's Jump! | James Zito | Self-Release | Modern Jazz |
| 33 | Silver Lining | Andrea Lisa | Self-Release | Contemporary Jazz |
| 34 | As We Think | Chris Standring | Ultimate Vibe | Contemporary Jazz |
| 35 | Let's Get Away | Norman Brown | Shanachie Ent. | Smooth Jazz |
| 36 | Tomorrow (There is a Way) | Eberhard Klunker | Seven Us Media | Fusion |
| 37 | From T(h)ree to Four | Manuel Muzzu | Self-Release | Smooth Jazz |
| 38 | April & Joanie Sing! | April Aloisio & Joanie Pallatto | Southport | Crossover Jazz |
| 39 | Songs for a Perigee Moon | Carl Weingarten | Multiphase | Fusion |
| 40 | Circles in a Yellow Room | Mike Freeman ZonaVibe | VOF | Latin Jazz |
| 41 | Let Your Heart Lead the Way | Marilyn Kleinberg | Waking Up Music | Crossover Jazz |
| 42 | What Is? | Russ Anixter's Hippie Big Band | Self-Release | Big Band |
| 43 | Under the Covers | The Steve Luciano Quartet | Self-Relase | Mainstream Jazz |
| 44 | Spheres | Scott Emmerman | Self-Release | Fusion |
| 45 | Ones Upon a Time | Paul Brown | Woodward Avenue | Contemporary Jazz |
| 46 | The Lonely Coyote | Marc van Vugt | Baixim | Jazz |
| 47 | Tranquility | Les Sabler | New Vista | Contemporary Jazz |
| 48 | Up from the Outside | Steve Langemo | Guitar One | Fusion |
| 49 | Safe Travels | Jerry Kalaf | Self-Release | Modern Jazz |
| 50 | Edible Flowers | Jessica Jones Quartet | New Artists | Avant-Garde Jazz |
| 51 | A Celebration of Maurice Hines - Tappin' Thru Life | The DIVA Jazz Orchestra | Self-Release | Big Band |
| 52 | The River | Silvano Monasterios | Self-Release | Latin Jazz |
| 53 | For Dinah | Ledisi | Candid | Contemporary Jazz |
| 54 | Pete's Pandemic Playlist | Peter Curtis | Self-Release | Jazz |
| 55 | Convertible | Kingsley Durant | Zen Diagram | Fusion |
| 56 | Into You | Incognito | Shanachie | Contemporary Jazz |
| 57 | Storybook: the Music of Mark Miller | Birdland Big Band | Birdland | Big Band |
| 58 | Unstoppable | Adam Hawley | MBF Ent. | Contemporary Jazz |
| 59 | Refuge | Mitch Towne | Cross Towne | Contemporary Jazz |
| 60 | Soft Light | Mark Scott III | Miller Three Publishing | Mainstream Jazz |
| 61 | Lightkeeper | Juan Perea | Zoho | Latin Jazz |
| 62 | Small Things | Jackson Potter | Shifting Paradigm | Mainstream Jazz |
| 63 | A Soul in Time | Morgan-Husband-Feraud | Guitar One | Fusion |
| 64 | Brazilia Live at the Pump House: Celebrating Wayne Shorter | Dan Moretti | Roots Grooves | Latin Jazz |
| 65 | Finger Painting | Nick Colionne | Trippin N Rhythm | Contemporary Jazz |
| 66 | Acts of Faith | Sault | Forever Living Originals | Crossover Jazz |
| 67 | Meadowlark | Will Sumner | Guitar One | Smooth Jazz |
| 68 | Muagsician | Kristen R. Bromley | Self-Release | Traditional Jazz |
| 69 | Mosaic: the Music of Gregg Hill | Rodney Whitaker | Origin | Modern Jazz |
| 70 | Nature of Things | New Latitude | Self-Release | Smooth Jazz |
| 71 | De Pavel a Pavel | De Pavel A Pavel | From the 317 | Latin Jazz |
| 72 | My Universe | Maria Puga Lareo | My Keter | Latin Jazz |
| 73 | Waking Dream | Randy Napoleon | Self-Release | Mainstream Jazz |
| 74 | Prog Vs. Fusion: a War of the Ages | Ed Palermo Big Band | Sky Cat | Big Band |
| 75 | Precious Moments | Lowell Hopper | Self-Release | Smooth Jazz |
| 76 | Under a Lavender Sky | Ermelinda Cuellar | Self-Release | Latin Jazz |
| 77 | Tribute: the Music of Gregg Hill | Rick Roe | Cold Plunge | Mainstream Jazz |
| 78 | First Dance | Freedom Art Quartet | Freedom Art | Avant-Garde Jazz |
| 79 | Heartwood | Lawson Rollins | Infinita | Smooth Jazz |
| 80 | Time Shift | Tim Jago | Bespoke Jazz | Modern Jazz |
| 81 | Smooth Jazz in Calabria | Frank Marino Bass | VSM | Smooth Jazz |
| 82 | NolasiA | NolasiA | H Flat | Crossover Jazz |
| 83 | Calliope | Paul Hanson and Raze the Maze | Manzanita Ranch | Fusion |
| 84 | Rise | Bonnie J Jensen | Self-Release | Contemporary Jazz |
| 85 | Late Night Groove | Lowell Hopper | Self-Release | Smooth Jazz |
| 86 | Myths of Origin | Jason Kao Hwang | True Sound | Avant-Garde Jazz |
| 87 | For the Record | Pete Mills | Mighty Ernie | Mainstream Jazz |
| 88 | Dreams Realized | Rose Mallett | Self-Release | Contemporary Jazz |
| 89 | Looper Colony II | Sam Riney, Barry Coates and Jerry Kalaf | Outside In | Avant-Garde Jazz |
| 90 | Midnight Groove | Brian Simpson | Shanachie | Contemporary Jazz |
| 91 | Dark Matter | Ali Bey Mad Katz Society | Unknown | Fusion |
| 92 | Vagabond | Royce Campbell & Vosbein Magee Big Band | Max Frank Music | Big Band |
| 93 | Songs from the Deep | Eric Essix | Essential | Contemporary Jazz |
| 94 | Looking for the Light | Shiri Zorn & George Muscatello | Self-Release | Latin Jazz |
| 95 | The Curious Badger | Marc van Vugt | Self-Release | Jazz |
| 96 | Seriously | BPM | Shanachie | Contemporary Jazz |
| 97 | History of the Vibraphone | Warren Wolf | Cellar Live | Jazz |
| 98 | Cambio (Change) | Neff Irizarry | Blue Canoe | Latin Jazz |
| 99 | Alice Blue | Ravita Jazz | Self-Release | Mainstream Jazz |
| 100 | Wes 101 | Kristen R. Bromley | Self-Release | Mainstream Jazz |
| 101 | Ese Momento | Daniel Pardo | Self-Release | Latin Jazz |
| 102 | Mosaic | Reginald Cyntje | Self-Release | Modern Jazz |
| 103 | Without Further Ado, Vol 1 | Christian McBride | Mack Avenue | Big Band |
| 104 | Dr. Jaz | Jazmin Ghent | Self-Release | Contemporary Jazz |
| 105 | Alegre Menina | Masha Campagne | Impetus | Latin Jazz |
| 106 | Overlook | Ben Clifton | Self-Release | Mainstream Jazz |
| 107 | Conceivable Directions | Enrique Haneine | Elegant Walk | Modern Jazz |
| 108 | Life Got in the Way | Heather McKay | Self-Release | Latin Jazz |
| 109 | Reimagine (feat. Brent Edstrom) | Jennifer Madsen | Self-Release | Mainstream Jazz |
| 110 | Mind over Matter | Skinny Hightower | Trippin 'n Rhythm | Contemporary Jazz |
| 111 | Lumen | Danilo Perez & Bohuslän Big Band | Prophone | Big Band |
| 112 | Joe Elefante’s Wheel of Dharma | Joe Elefante | Self-Release | Mainstream Jazz |
| 113 | A New Light | Steve Oliver | Self-Release | Contemporary Jazz |
| 114 | Rivers | Will Sumner | Guitar One | Smooth Jazz |
| 115 | Heart, Mind and Soul | Randy Bernsen | Jerico Jams | Fusion |
| 116 | THE LITTERAL TRUTH | The Paul Litteral Band | Outrageous 8 | Crossover Jazz |
| 117 | We Got This | Pieces of a Dream | Shanachie | Contemporary Jazz |
| 118 | Playing Favorites | Chris Rottmayer | Pilars | Mainstream Jazz |
| 119 | 24 Little Hours, the Timeless Songs of Dinah Washington | Donna Singer | Self-Release | Crossover Jazz |
| 120 | Hello! How Are You? | Caity Gyorgy | La Reserve | Jazz |
| 121 | Murrina | Margherita Fava | Self-Release | Modern Jazz |
| 122 | What About the Butterfly | Jackie Myers | 577 | Crossover Jazz |
| 123 | Lost in Centralia | Project Alcazar | Guitar One | Fusion |
| 124 | Alta Vista | David Correa | Zocalo | Latin Jazz |
| 125 | A Collective Cy: Jeff Harnar Sings Cy Coleman | Jeff Harnar | PS Classics | Jazz |
| 126 | Rise | Lawson Rollins | Infinita | Fusion |
| 127 | Bowmanville | Bowmanville | Stoneagle | Contemporary Jazz |
| 128 | Desserts | Juan Carlos Quintero | Moondo | Latin Jazz |
| 129 | Blue House | Marc Ciprut | White Label | Modern Jazz |
| 130 | Simply 'S Wonderful: the Magic of Gershwin | Juliet Ewing | Honey Diva | Traditional Jazz |
| 131 | Risin' Up | Adam Hawley | MBF Ent. | Contemporary Jazz |
| 132 | Some Poor Soul Has a Fire | Stan Harrison | Adhyâropa | Modern Jazz |
| 133 | Timeless | David Benoit | SRG Jazz | Contemporary Jazz |
| 134 | Cortadito | The Afro-Caribbean Jazz Collective | Self-Release | Latin Jazz |
| 135 | The 1968 Tapes | Jazz Sabbath | Blacklake | Jazz |
| 136 | Opposite Direction | Lowell Hopper | Self-Release | Smooth Jazz |
| 137 | Escape with Me | Vincent Ingala | Shanachie | Contemporary Jazz |
| 138 | Boundless | Lemek | Trippin N Rhythm | Contemporary Jazz |
| 139 | Unbridled the Flying Horse Big Band Meets George Garzone | Flying Horse Big Band | Flying Horse | Big Band |
| 140 | Oasis | Randy Scott | Trippin 'n Rhythm | Contemporary Jazz |
| 141 | Impulse | Lowell Hopper | Self-Release | Smooth Jazz |
| 142 | Portrait | Samara Joy | Verve | Contemporary Jazz |
| 143 | The Latin Side of McCoy Tyner | Conrad Herwig | Savant | Jazz |
| 144 | It's About Time | Adrian Cunningham | Arbors | Mainstream Jazz |
| 145 | Straight Up Down | Richard Elliot | Shanachie | Contemporary Jazz |
| 146 | Return of the Light (feat. Freddie Hendrix, Erena Terakubo, Sameer Shankar & David Heilman) | Joe Elefante | Self-Release | Crossover Jazz |
| 147 | Tomorrowsville | Randy Hoexter | Blue Canoe | Modern Jazz |
| 148 | Just Doing Me | Marion Meadows | Shanachie | Contemporary Jazz |
| 149 | Owl Dreams | Dharma Down | Self-Release | Modern Jazz |
| 150 | I Hear Echoes | George Cables | HighNote | Modern Jazz |
| 151 | Cali Mambo | Dred Scott Trio | Ropeadope | Contemporary Jazz |
| 152 | 400 | Acute Inflections | Self-Release | Crossover Jazz |
| 153 | In Real Life | Oli Silk | Trippin N' Rhythm | Contemporary Jazz |
| 154 | Let's Walk | Madeleine Peyroux | Just One | Swing |
| 155 | Grove's Groove | Michael Dease | Le Coq | Jazz |
| 156 | Dream Dancing: Celebrating Zoot Sims at 100 | The Scott Silbert Quartet | Self-Release | Traditional Jazz |
| 157 | A Little Taste: a Tribute to Dave Frishberg | Rebecca Kilgore | Cherry Pie | Mainstream Jazz |
| 158 | The Jazzcup Café Blues (Live in Germany) | Alvin Queen | Cellar Live | Classic Jazz |
| 159 | My Latin Heart | Roger Glenn | Patois | Latin Jazz |
| 160 | Riofonic | Mafalda Minnozzi | Self-Release | Latin Jazz |
| 161 | What It Means | Bria Skonberg | Cellar Live | Contemporary Jazz |
| 162 | Heart to Heart | Dave Damiani & the No Vacancy Orchestra | Hard Knocks | Big Band |
| 163 | Radiance | Lonnie Plaxico | Self-Release | Contemporary Jazz |
| 164 | Found in Space: the Music of Gregg Hill | Michael Dease | Origin | Big Band |
| 165 | Side Hustle | Thom Rotella | HighNote | Contemporary Jazz |
| 166 | Time to Love Again (feat. Pete Wallace, Eric England & David Chiverton) | Nicole Henry | Banister | Crossover Jazz |
| 167 | It's a Brand New Day | Paul Taylor | Shanachie | Contemporary Jazz |
| 168 | Upbeat Mood | Music Soup | Chicken Coup | Jazz |
| 169 | The Answer | Ilya Osachuk | Self-Release | Jazz |
| 170 | Lady in Satin | Kandace Springs | SRP | Contemporary Jazz |
| 171 | The Light & the Fury | The Outernet | Self-Release | Fusion |
| 172 | United | Lionel Loueke & Dave Holland | Edition | Crossover Jazz |
| 173 | Good Trouble | Matt Wilson | Palmetto | Jazz |
| 174 | Happy Faces | The Dave Robbins Big Band | Cellar Live | Big Band |
| 175 | Just Like That | Nick Colionne | Trippin N Rhythm | Contemporary Jazz |
| 176 | Here's the Thing | The Smooth Jazz Alley | Self-Release | Smooth Jazz |
| 177 | Dead Funk Summit | Joe Marcinek Band | Vintage League | Jazz |
| 178 | Voice in the Wilderness | Rob Clearfield | Jazz & People | Crossover Jazz |
| 179 | My Heartbeat | Eric Essix | Self-Release | Contemporary Jazz |
| 180 | And then Some | Steve Houghton Group | Watercourse | Contemporary Jazz |
| 181 | Among Giants | Sarah Hanahan | Blue Engine | Jazz |
| 182 | Prime (feat. Jared Gold & McClenty Hunter Jr.) | Dave Stryker | Strikezone | Contemporary Jazz |
| 183 | Fly | Michael Mayo | Mack Ave | Jazz |
| 184 | It’s Always Been You | Rich Siegel | Self-Release | Contemporary Jazz |
| 185 | We Insist 2025! | Terri Lyne Carrington & Christie Dashiell | Candid | Jazz |
| 186 | Light of Day | Peter White | Lobster | Smooth Jazz |
| 187 | The Chill | Lin Rountree | Trippin N Rhythm | Contemporary Jazz |
| 188 | Echoes of Harlem: a Tribute to Duke Ellington, Vol. 2 | Planet D Nonet | Eastlawn | Big Band |
| 189 | Cookin' in the Couve | Ben Paterson | Cellar Live | Jazz |
| 190 | Jimi | 2B3 | Self-Release | Fusion |
| 191 | Dark Moon | Holly Cole | Rumpus Room | Jazz |
| 192 | The Road to Trantor | Carl Schultz | Origin | Modern Jazz |
| 193 | Naptown Sound | Steve Allee Big Band | Jazzville | Big Band |
| 194 | Better Angels | Peter Bernstein | Smoke Sessions | Modern Jazz |
| 195 | Nascentia (Birth) | Steve Slagle | Panorama | Contemporary Jazz |
| 196 | Kickin' It | Josie Falbo | Self-Release | Contemporary Jazz |
| 197 | Love Makes the Changes | Maria Corsaro | Self-Release | Traditional Jazz |
| 198 | The Sage | Jacob Chung | Cellar Live | Contemporary Jazz |
| 199 | Sun Prints | Matt Booth | Jellyfish Size Enormous | Jazz |
| 200 | Cannon & Sparrow | Emily Braden | Self-Release | Jazz |
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