Note: The usual procedure is to send this "longer" invite out in a customized "mail merge" at the opening of the poll, then use the shorter form as a reminder as the deadline is approaching. Both verions have minimal links, as more links increase spam scores, making the mail less likely to be delivered. We keep copies of the invites on the website so that voters can refer to them. We are not running a "reader poll," but if you weren't invited and can make a case why you should have been invited, please contact us and make that case.
Dear Colleague,
Founded by Francis Davis in 2006, this is the 20th annual Jazz Critics Poll. Results will be published by ArtsFuse shortly after January 1, 2026, with complete totals and ballots on this website. Please consult the website for additional information, including more precise definitions of what's eligible where. (Or just guess, as you'll probably be right, and if not we'll talk about it.)
Let's make this as simple as possible: Reply, or copy this form into an email message, fill it out and send it to Tom Hull, the sooner the better, with Sunday, December 21 as the official deadline.
You may omit any categories you do not have choices for. You may include late 2024 releases if they are new to you. Use your judgment as to what qualifies for Vocal and Latin. A debut album is the first by an individual (leader or first-named of a joint credit list). Groups are almost never eligible.
Your name and primary affiliation(s)
Your choices for up to 10 New Jazz Albums of 2025
(in descending order, 1-to-10, or unranked and alphabetized
by artist).
Your choices for up to 5 Rara Avis (reissues and/or music
recorded in 2015 or earlier) of 2025 (in descending order, 1-to-5,
or unranked and alphabetized by artist).
We also have three categories: Vocal, Latin, and Debut. Please repeat any albums on your New Jazz Albums (or Rara Avis) list that you wish to be counted under those categories. In addition, you may also list:
Your choices for up to 3 additional Vocal albums:
Your choices for up to 3 additional Latin albums:
Your choices for up to 3 additional Debut albums:
Once you send your ballot in, I will check and count it, and return to you a formatted copy of your ballot, as it will appear on the website. The formatting includes adjustments so that all ballots that refer to an album do so consistently. Please check this, and make sure I didn't mess anything up.
Send your ballot in as soon as you can. If you discover something new, or just change your mind, just let me know (up to the deadline), and I'll reply with another formatted ballot.
Don't sweat the details. If you have fewer than the maximum number of choices, send in what you have. Vocal and Latin are pretty much whatever you think they mean. Debut has a stricter definition (which almost never allows groups to be eligible), but if it feels right, the worst that can happen is the album is ruled ineligible, and you'll have the chance to come up with something else, or leave it blank. If you can't come up with a maximum list (or don't think it's worth the trouble), just leave it short or blank.
The point isn't to judge everything. You're just making your recommendations, and in doing so, we will all benefit from your knowledge and taste. We don't give out plaques or ribbons. All we are really doing is helping our readers to better understand the great bounty of jazz released each year.
Unranked lists should be alphabetized by artist (last name). If you don't alphabetize, and don't explicitly say "unranked," the list will be counted as ranked. If you say "unranked" but do not alphabetize, I'll probably preserve your order, but the list will be counted as unranked. All unranked entries are counted as 1 point each.
Entries in ranked lists will be given extra weighting, ranging from 3-to-1 for New, 2-to-1 for Rara Avis. Ranking provides extra information, and possibly some incentive, but has only a slight effect on the totals. This is because, following the 2025 mid-year poll, we are now sorting totals first by the number of votes, and only using points to break ties.
The recommended divide between New Releases and Rara Avis is a recording date of Jan. 1, 2016 — so any album that contains any significant amount of music recorded in or before 2015 belongs in Rara Avis, and any album where all of the music was recorded in or after 2016 belongs in New Jazz Releases.
You may include any 2024 releases that are new to you. Nobody gets to listen to everything within the calendar year, so we're all catching up. You should not go back earlier for New Releases, and you should not include anything that won't be released until 2026.
The website (link above) has information of interest to voters, including news, more precise definitions of categories, details on album eligibility, and answers to other questions. (Not done yet, but the intention is to be as clear and complete as possible. If not, please ask.) Once ArtsFuse publishes the results, the website will include complete ballots and totals, as well as a nice way to explore by hopping from album to ballot to album again.
Please respond with any questions you may have. A notice that you receive this and intend to vote is not necessary, but would be appreciated. There is no good way to automatically verify receipt, let alone opening or reading, of email, so if we don't hear back from you, we're left wondering whether your address is still valid, or whether the message has been caught in a spam filter.
I use an email list (jazzpoll [at] hullworks.net) to send occasional messages to voters, including news, reminders, and notice when it is published. Most of you are signed up to that list, but if you are not -- I may have dropped the ball last year or two -- please let me know, and I will add you. It is a low-volume list, but you should have received at least one message before the invites were sent out. If you haven't, please check your spam directory, as several big email providers don't seem to like my little domain. Your best recourse there is to complain to their customer service, to do whatever it takes to allow the email messages through.
Please to not reply to the email list. If you do so, your message will be trapped and discarded.
You may contact me through my contact form, or by email: 25votes [at] hullworks.net.
Your colleague,
Tom Hull