The 20th Annual
Francis Davis Jazz Critics Poll:
2025

Ballots 2025 [5]

George Kanzler (Hot House, New York City Jazz Record)

NEW JAZZ ALBUMS

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Note: Dropped excess Vocal votes: Champian Fulton & Klas Lindquist, At Home (Turtle Bay); Allan Harris, The Poetry of Jazz (Blue Llama); Latin votes: The Afro-Caribbean Jazz Collective, Cortadito (JGB Music); Eddie Daniels, To Milton With Love (Resonance)

Fred Kaplan (Slate, Tracking Angle)

NEW JAZZ ALBUMS

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Note: See also The 10 Best Jazz Albums of 2025

Yoshi Kato (DownBeat, San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Classical Voice)

NEW JAZZ ALBUMS

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Glenn Kenny (Some Came Running, RogerEbert.com, New York Times)

NEW JAZZ ALBUMS

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

James Koblin (The Necessary Blues, WVKR 91.3FM [Vassar College])

NEW JAZZ ALBUMS

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Note: See also TNB 2025 Top 50 New Jazz and Experimental Albums of the Year

Elzy Kolb (freelance)

NEW JAZZ ALBUMS

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Stuart Kremsky (Mr. Stu's Record Room)

NEW JAZZ ALBUMS (unranked)

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL) (unranked)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

David Kunian (Offbeat, WWOZ-FM [New Orleans], New Orleans Jazz Museum, New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival)

NEW JAZZ ALBUMS (unranked)

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL) (unranked)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Art Lange (freelance)

NEW JAZZ ALBUMS (unranked)

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Tim Larsen (Jazz Views)

NEW JAZZ ALBUMS

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Will Layman (PopMatters, Big Butter & Egg Man)

NEW JAZZ ALBUMS

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Note: See also The Best Jazz of 2025

Devin Leonard (Bloomberg Businessweek)

NEW JAZZ ALBUMS

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Lance Liddle (Bebop Spoken Here)

NEW JAZZ ALBUMS

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Note: Extra Vocal vote dropped for Tessa Souter, Treasures and Silence: The Erik Satie Project (Noanara Music)

Mark Lomanno (JazzTimes, The Rhythm of Study, University of Miami)

NEW JAZZ ALBUMS

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Suzanne Lorge (DownBeat, New York City Jazz Record)

NEW JAZZ ALBUMS

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Brad Luen (Semipop Life)

NEW JAZZ ALBUMS

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Note: Also see 45 favorite albums of my 2025

Phillip Lutz (DownBeat)

NEW JAZZ ALBUMS (unranked)

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL) (unranked)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Kevin Lynch (The Shepherd Express, Culture Currents (Vernaculars Speak))

NEW JAZZ ALBUMS

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Jim Macnie (DownBeat, Lament for a Straight Line)

NEW JAZZ ALBUMS (unranked)

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Peter Margasak (Nowhere Street, The Wire, Bandcamp Daily, DownBeat, Chamber Music)

NEW JAZZ ALBUMS

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT