Favorite Jazz Albums | AllMusic 2020 in Review

Ambrose Akinmusire

On the Tender Spot of Every Calloused Moment

The trumpeter and his quartet reinforce the sometimes gauzy but always inseparable union of jazz and blues in the Black experience.

Artemis

The all women jazz collective's debut showcases their improvisational virtuosity and deeply textured sound.

Avishai Cohen / Big Vicious

Big Vicious

Four albums into a deal with ECM, the trumpeter melts genre boundaries with the band he formed on returning to Israel in 2013.

Brian Blade / Christian McBride / Brad Mehldau / Joshua Redman

RoundAgain

Ebullient interplay and a relaxed intensity mark the reunion of Redman's original '90s acoustic quartet.

Brian Blade / Scott Colley / Wolfgang Muthspiel

Angular Blues

The guitarist resumes his trio explorations for ECM with a diverse, beautifully played program of originals and standards on acoustic and electric guitars.

Butcher Brown

#KingButch

The seasoned Richmond, Virginia jazz-funk quintet consolidate their known powers and reveal new ones on their major-label debut.

Cat Toren

Scintillating Beauty

Hypnotic second album from the Brooklyn-based pianist's group showcasing their spiritual jazz-influenced sound.

Christian McBride

The Movement Revisited: A Musical Portrait of Four Icons

The bassist movingly frames the words of four iconic Civil Rights leaders with harmonically sophisticated jazz and choral arrangements.

Christian Sands

Be Water

The jazz pianist draws inspiration from the philosophy and skill of martial arts legend Bruce Lee.

Christopher Hollyday / Telepathy

Dialogue

The altoist's second album with his Telepathy ensemble continues his resurgence after a 26-year absence.

Damu the Fudgemunk / Raw Poetic / Archie Shepp

Ocean Bridges

The saxophonist, his nephew Raw Poetic, Damu the Fudgemunk, and a band deliver a seamless, creative, and completely improvised jazz/hip-hop fusion.

Derrick Hodge

Color of Noize

The veteran bassist and producer assembles a new band to record unheard material in the studio, blurring genre boundaries to explore the uncharted.

Diego Urcola Quartet / Diego Urcola

El Duelo

A vibrantly cross-pollinated quartet session spotlighting the longtime creative partnership between Urcola and D'Rivera.

Endless Field

Alive in the Wilderness

The duo's transcendent, ASMR-inducing second album, recorded outdoors at various remote locations in Southern Utah.

Gary Bartz / Maisha

Night Dreamer Direct-to-Disc Sessions

A deep, joyous set between the legendary American alto saxophonist and London's premier jazz-funk ensemble cut live to disc.

Gilfema

Three

The Lionel Loueke-led trio coalesce their global jazz, Afro-beat, and fusion influences on their inventive third album.

Gregg August

Dialogues On Race, Vol. 1

A sprawling, poignant, and cannily timed modern big band meditation on America's racial tensions that includes vocalists and strings.

Gregory Porter

All Rise

The Grammy-winning singer returns to his original, crossover soul and jazz sound on his romantic, richly produced sixth album.

Hedvig Mollestad Thomassen

Ekhidna

Commissioned by the Vossajazz Festival and re-created in the studio, this sextet outing is the fiery guitarist's first outside her longstanding trio.

Irreversible Entanglements

Who Sent You?

Poet supreme Camae Ayewa and her supporting quartet kick out a second stunning set of furious and grooving free jazz.

Jason Miles / Kind of New

Black Magic

On this groove-drenched set of contemporary jazz and funky fusion the band pulls out all the stops.

Jimmy Greene

While Looking Up

The saxophonist offers a buoyant, harmonically nuanced album as an antidote to our divisive and troubled times.

Jimmy Heath

Love Letter

A romantic, gorgeously understated final album from the esteemed jazz saxophonist.

Joel Harrison

America at War

On his second large-ensemble recording, the New York guitarist and composer offers a meditation on America's obsession with armed conflict.

Joel Ross

Who Are You?

The vibraphonist's sophomore album of expansive, harmonically and tonally colorful jazz.

John Scofield / Bill Stewart / Steve Swallow

Swallow Tales

An intimate and textured trio date from the guitarist, spotlighting bassist Steve Swallow's compositions.

Jyoti

Mama, You Can Bet!

Georgia Anne Muldrow's third jazz-rooted album (under the name given to her by Alice Coltrane) is just as distinctive as the first two.

Kandace Springs

The Women Who Raised Me

Pivotal vocalists spanning genres and generations are honored in fine style on the Blue Note singer and pianist's third album.

Kassa Overall

I Think I'm Good

The New York-based drummer and backpack producer takes on the subject of mental illness while further dissolving boundaries between jazz and hip-hop.

Keith Jarrett

Budapest Concert

An improvised concert from perhaps his final European tour finds the pianist keenly exploring the musical spirits that have informed his career.

Kurt Elling

Secrets Are the Best Stories

Teaming with pianist Danilo Pérez and others, the singer examines poignant topics on a beautiful but uncharacteristically melancholy set.

Kurt Rosenwinkel

Angels Around

The guitarist's second album on his own Heartcore Records is an intimate, endlessly inventive trio session.

Lara Driscoll

Woven Dreams

A delicately layered, sophisticated debut from the Chicago jazz pianist and her trio.

Makaya McCraven

Universal Beings E&F Sides

A set of 14 unreleased pieces for the soundtrack to the 2018 Universal Beings tour documentary add up to much, much more than a set of extras.

Marcin Wasilewski / Joe Lovano / Marcin Wasilewski Trio

Arctic Riff

Evocative and harmonically nuanced meeting between the sax heavyweight and the Polish pianist.

Maria Schneider Orchestra / Maria Schneider

Data Lords

The composer and her 18-piece orchestra offer a double-length meditation on humans as the battlefield between natural and digital worlds.

Mary Halvorson / Mary Halvorson's Code Girl

Artlessly Falling

The second provocative offering from the guitarist's vocal group features new members and three cameos from Robert Wyatt.

Moses Boyd

Dark Matter

A debut that represents everything great about jazz eclecticism. Cool, relevant, and vital in combining the strands of disparate musical communities.

Nubya Garcia

Source

After two acclaimed EPs, the London-based saxophonist's debut album weds striking modern jazz to Afro-Caribbean musical traditions.

Oded Tzur

Here Be Dragons

On his ECM debut, the composer and saxophonist leads his quartet through a series of intimate, resonant, and elegant musical conversations.

Pat Metheny

From This Place

The jazz composer and guitarist assembles a new quartet and orchestra on his first recording of new studio material in six years.

Romain Collin / Bill Frisell / Grégoire Maret

Americana

A love letter to the culture and music of the U.S. from two top-notch European-born jazz talents and an iconic American guitarist.

Ron Miles

Rainbow Sign

Composed as his father was dying, the trumpeter and his all-star quintet provide an intimate dialogue of emotional and spiritual resonance.

Sam Gendel

Satin Doll

A futuristic jazz standards album from the saxophonist and electronic musician that pushes the songs into ever-more-cosmic galaxies.

Shabaka & the Ancestors

We Are Sent Here by History

On their Impulse! debut, Shabaka Hutchings' South African band delve deeply into spiritual and Township music to prepare humanity for extinction.

Sunny Jain

Wild Wild East

The drummer explodes the American cowboy and immigrant archetypes with his kaleidoscopic mix of Bollywood and Spaghetti Western-inspired themes, surf rock, Indian classical, and jazz.