The Critics

The following critics have voted in this poll this year. More have been invited, and when they submit ballots they will be added here.

• Paul Acquaro: Free Jazz Collective
• Scott Albin: Amazon.com
• Ali Alizadeh [Sir Ali]: Frequence K [Nantes, France], Jazzophone
• Rick Anderson: CD Hotlist: New Releases for Libraries
• Bridget Arnwine: Beets & Bebop Media, All About Jazz
• Hrayr Attarian: All About Jazz, Jazziz, Free Jazz Collective
• Angela Ballhorn: Jazzthetik, Jazz'N'More, Jazz-Fun.de, Jazz in Europe
• Chris Barton: Los Angeles Times
• Joe Bebco: The Syncopated Times
• Larry Birnbaum: Stereophile
• Jason Bivins: Dusted, Point of Departure
• Larry Blood: Out Front, Outback on KZSC-FM
• Richard Blute: Free Jazz Collective
• Philip Booth: JazzTimes, Culture Pop: Sound & Screen
• Mike Borella: Avant Music News
• Stuart Broomer: Free Jazz Collective, Musicworks, New York City Jazz Record, Point of Departure, The Whole Note
• Bill Brownlee: Plastic Sax
• Dan Buskirk: WPRB [Princeton], Fun2Know Podcast
• Pete Butchers: Jazz Today . . . . .
• Nuno Catarino: jazz.pt
• Jeff Cebulski: New York City Jazz Record, Chicago Jazz
• John Chacona: All About Jazz, Postgenre Media, Let's Call This
• Robert Christgau: And It Don't Stop
• Brad Cohan: New York City Jazz Record, Treble, Bandcamp Daily
• Troy Collins: Point of Departure
• J.D. Considine: DownBeat
• Mark Corroto: All About Jazz
• Michael Coyle: WRCU [Colgate University]
• David Cristol: Free Jazz Collective, New York City Jazz Record
• Matthew Crook: Dismal Niche Arts, Extended Play Festival and the Left Field Series
• Steve Dollar: Flamingo
• Laurence Donohue-Greene: The New York City Jazz Record
• Ken Dryden: Hot House, New York City Jazz Record, Timeless Jazz [WUTC-FM]
• Chuck Eddy: Poplar Mucilage, Eliminated for Reasons of Space
• John Ephland: DownBeat, All About Jazz
• Lee Rice Epstein: Free Jazz Collective, But Does It Swing?
• Steve Erickson: ArtsFuse, Slant, Gay City News
• Gonçalo Falcao: jazz.pt
• Steve Feeney: ArtsFuse, Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram
• Gary Finney: WQLN NPR [Erie, PA], Jazz Buffalo
• Phil Freeman: Stereogum, The Wire, DownBeat, Burning Ambulance
• Filipe Freitas: JazzTrail
• Pat Frisco: WHFR-FM [Dearborn, MI]
• Matteo Gabutti: 4'33" Association
• Jon Garelick: Arts Fuse, Boston Globe, Jazziz
• Ana Gavrilovska: Uncut, Maggot Brain, Aquarium Drunkard
• Richard Gehr: Relix
• Brooks Geiken: Arts Fuse, LatinJazzNet, Substack
• Kurt Gottschalk: New York City Jazz Record, JazzTimes, The Wire, WKCR
• David A. Graham: The Atlantic
• Ludovico Granvassu: All About Jazz/All About Jazz Italia, Radio Free Brooklyn: Mondo Jazz
• Mike Greenblatt: , The Aquarian, Goldmine
• James Hale: DownBeat, SoundStageNetwork.com
• Andrew Hamlin: The Tone Arm, JazzTimes
• Eyal Hareuveni: Free Jazz Collective, Salt Peanuts, Percorsi Musicali
• George Harris: Jazz Weekly
• Ron Hart: Rock and Roll Globe, Spin, Billboard, DownBeat
• Andrey Henkin: JazzTimes, Stereophile, WeJazz, Jazz Passings
• Geoffrey Himes: JazzTimes, Chamber Music, Hard Rain & Pink Cadillacs
• Rob Hoff: WQLN [Erie, PA], WETF [South Bend, IN], JazzErie
• C. Andrew Hovan: All About Jazz, DownBeat
• Tom Hull: Tom Hull - On the Web, Notes on Everyday Life
• Jim Hynes: Glide, PostGenre
• Martin Johnson: NPR Fresh Air, Wall Street Journal
• Sanford Josephson: Jersey Jazz Magazine
• Matthieu Jouan: Citizen Jazz
• Richard B. Kamins: Step Tempest Steps Out
• George Kanzler: Hot House, New York City Jazz Record
• Glenn Kenny: RogerEbert.com, New York Times
• James Koblin: The Necessary Blues, WVKR 91.3FM [Vassar College]
• Elzy Kolb: freelance
• David Kunian: New Orleans Jazz Museum, Louisana State Museum, WWOZ-FM [New Orleans]
• Josh Langhoff: Wrigley Field organist
• Tim Larsen: Jazz Views
• Will Layman: PopMatters, Big Butter & Egg Man
• Devin Leonard: Bloomberg Businessweek
• Lance Liddle: Bebop Spoken Here
• Mark Lomanno: The Rhythm of Study
• Suzanne Lorge: DownBeat, New York City Jazz Record
• Marcello Lorrai: Radio Popolare, Il Manifesto
• Brad Luen: Semipop Life
• Phillip Lutz: DownBeat
• Ferruccio Martinotti: La Stampa, Free Jazz Collective
• Paul Medrano: Best of Jazz
• Allen Michie: The Arts Fuse
• Bill Milkowski: DownBeat, Absolute Sound, JazzTimes, Jazzthing [Germany], Jazzwise [UK], Musings on Music by The Milkman [also on Substack]
• Ralph A. Miriello: Notes on Jazz
• Rick Mitchell: Jazz in the New Millennium [book/radio program]
• Chris Monsen: Musikkmagasinet [Klassekampen], Jazznytt, Chris Monsen's Listening Booth
• John Frederick Moore: Jazziz
• Greg Morton: Substack, GMOrt On RecOrd
• Ivana Ng: DownBeat
• Fotis Nikolakopoulos: Free Jazz Collective
• Tim Niland: Bluesky
• Phil Overeem: Living to Listen, Good to My Earhole, The Phil Overeem (Failed) Farewell to Teaching Tour
• Ted Panken: DownBeat, JazzTimes, Today Is the Question, Round 2
• Annie Parnell: Nashville Scene, FLOOD
• Russell Perry: Jazz at 100 Now!, WTJU [Charlottesville, VA]
• Lawrence Peryer: The Tonearm
• Sergio Piccirilli: El Intruso
• Steve Pick: Steve Pick's Writing Place
• Derk Richardson: The Absolute Sound
• Britt Robson: Minnpost, Bandcamp
• Akira Saito: JazzTokyo, Jaz.in, Music Magazine, Jazz Right Now
• Bret Saunders: Denver Post
• Martin Schray: Free Jazz Collective
• Gene Seymour: The Nation, BookForum
• Adam Shatz: London Review of Books
• Rob Shepherd: PostGenre Media
• João Esteves da Silva: jazz.pt, Free Jazz Collective, Bandcamp Daily
• Steve Smith: Night After Night
• Stewart Smith: The Wire, We Jazz, Bandcamp Daily, The Quietus
• Jeffrey St. Clair: Counterpunch: Sound Grammar
• Michael Steinman: Jazz Lives
• Ariella Stok: New York City Jazz Record
• Mimmo Stolfi: Off Topic, Roma Report, Succede Oggi
• Mark Sullivan: All About Jazz
• Dave Sumner: Bandcamp
• Derek Taylor: Dusted
• George Varga: San Diego Union-Tribune, Tribune News Service, JazzTimes
• Philip Watson: Irish Times, Irish Examiner, Journal of Music
• Ken Waxman: JazzWord
• Jason Weiss: The Wire, Tinta Regada
• Michael J. West: DownBeat, Washington City Paper
• Richard Williams: The Blue Moment
• Jerome Wilson: All About Jazz, Radio Fairfax
• Kazue Yokoi: JazzTokyo

Total: 127 voters.

Notes

New voters this Mid-Year: Rick Anderson, Jason Bivins, Larry Blood, Pete Butchers, Gonçalo Falcao, Matteo Gabutti, Andrew Hamlin, George Harris, Ron Hart, Marcello Lorrai, Ferruccio Martinotti, Russell Perry, Steve Smith, Mimmo Stolfi.

Previous voters who returned after not voting in the 2025 Mid-Year: Bridget Arnwine, Larry Birnbaum, Richard Blute, Robert Christgau, Brad Cohan, Matthew Crook, Steve Dollar, Steve Erickson, Ludovico Granvassu, Sanford Josephson, Josh Langhoff, Tim Larsen, Ivana Ng, Fotis Nikolakopoulos, Annie Parnell, João Esteves da Silva, Michael Steinman, Ariella Stok, George Varga, Richard Williams.

Voters from 2025 Mid-Year absent this time: Glenn Astarita, Bill Beuttler, Marcela Breton, Gary Chapin, Raul da Gama*, Jos Demol, George Grella, Jason Gross, Larry Hollis, Yoshi Kato, Martin Laurentius, Piotr Orlov, Terry Perkins, Fiona Ross, John Sharpe, Sammy Stein, Michael Ullman, Ludwig vanTrikt*, Fabricio Vieira, Ron Wynn.

* Voter passed away. Other previous voters who died since the 2025 Mid-Year: Mark Holston, Doug Ramsey.