The 20th Annual
Francis Davis Jazz Critics Poll:
2025
Past Polls Index
New Albums Rara Avis Vocal Latin Debut
Critics
Abreu - BrownleeBuskirk - DrouotDryden - GrossHale - KaminsKanzler - MargasakMedrano - ParnellPerkins - SilvaSlim - WeissWest - Yokoi

Ballots 2025 [8]

Prev[Abreu - Brownlee] · [Buskirk - Drouot] · [Dryden - Gross] · [Hale - Kamins] · [Kanzler - Margasak] · [Medrano - Parnell] · [Perkins - Silva] · [Slim - Weiss] · [West - Yokoi]Next

Slim (WRCU)

NEW JAZZ ALBUMS (unranked)

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL) (unranked)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Stewart Smith (The Wire, We Jazz, Bandcamp Daily, The Quietus)

NEW JAZZ ALBUMS

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Note: Rejected Debut votes: Ishmael Ali, Burn the Plastic, Sell the Copper (Amalgam '26): 2026 release; X Ray Hextet (Reading Group '24): group includes Pat Thomas and Seymour Wright (among others).

Thomas Staudter (The (Croton) Gazette, The New York City Jazz Record, DownBeat)

NEW JAZZ ALBUMS

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Jeffrey St. Clair (Counterpunch: Sound Grammar)

NEW JAZZ ALBUMS

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Ariella Stok (New York City Jazz Record)

NEW JAZZ ALBUMS

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Mark Stryker (The Best of the Best: Jazz From Detroit [Magic Circle Productions], Jazz From Detroit [University of Michigan Press])

NEW JAZZ ALBUMS (unranked)

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL) (unranked)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Mark Sullivan (All About Jazz)

NEW JAZZ ALBUMS

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Dave Sumner (Bandcamp, Bird Is the Worm)

NEW JAZZ ALBUMS

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

John Szwed (Gagosian Quarterly, Wire)

NEW JAZZ ALBUMS

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Derek Taylor (Dusted)

NEW JAZZ ALBUMS

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Neil Tesser (KSDS-FM, Jazziz)

NEW JAZZ ALBUMS

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Michael Toland (The Big Takeover, The Austin Chronicle)

NEW JAZZ ALBUMS

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Michael Ullman (Fanfare, Arts Fuse)

NEW JAZZ ALBUMS

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Note: Rejected votes out of eligibility band: New Jazz vote for Kris Dais and the Lutoslawski Quartet, The Solastalgia Suite (Pyroclastic '26); Vocal vote Gretchen Parlato & Lionel Loueke, Lean In (Edition '23).

George Varga (San Diego Union-Tribune and Tribune News Service, JazzTimes)

NEW JAZZ ALBUMS

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Fabricio Vieira (FreeForm, FreeJazz)

NEW JAZZ ALBUMS

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Note: Also see TOP 10: Álbuns Imperdíveis de 2025

Philip Watson (Irish Times, Irish Examiner, Journal of Music)

NEW JAZZ ALBUMS

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Ken Waxman (JazzWord)

NEW JAZZ ALBUMS (unranked)

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL) (unranked)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Bob Weinberg (Jazziz)

NEW JAZZ ALBUMS

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Jason Weiss (The Wire, Le Ventre et l'Oreille)

NEW JAZZ ALBUMS

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Ken Weiss (Cadence)

NEW JAZZ ALBUMS

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

 

Prev[Abreu - Brownlee] · [Buskirk - Drouot] · [Dryden - Gross] · [Hale - Kamins] · [Kanzler - Margasak] · [Medrano - Parnell] · [Perkins - Silva] · [Slim - Weiss] · [West - Yokoi]Next