This invitation was written on June 13, 2025, and sent out to 206 critics via the jazzpoll [at] hullworks.net email list. On June 23, this was edited to provide more detail, and a shorter version was crafted for use in a second round of invitations and reminders. This file remains on the website as the official reference version of the standard invitation.
If you expected to receive an invitation but did not, please look first in your spam directory to see if it got caught there, and/or contact Tom Hull (see below). Anyone can read this file, but we do have some expectations as to who qualifies as a critic. At some point we should formalize the description, although it's unlikely to ever be hard and fast. If you read this and think you should be qualified, feel free to contact Tom Hull, with documentation to back up your assertion. Please bear in mind the deadline below.
Dear Colleague,
Since our founder, Francis Davis, passed away in April, 2025, I have agreed to continue running his annual jazz critics poll, now in its 20th year. In 2024, we felt that jazz was neglected in the dozens of mid-year best-of (so far) lists, so I ran our first mid-year straw poll. This is our second, a chance for our broad and diverse community of experts to take stock and share their favorites.
So let's make this as simple as possible: Please fill this out and send it in to me, with Tuesday, July 1, as the official deadline:
Your name and primary affiliation(s)
Your choices for up to 10 New Jazz Albums of 2025 (so far)
Your choices for up to 5 Rara Avis of 2025 (so far) --
reissues or any music recorded 10+ years ago
You don't need to spend a lot of time on this. Just try to come up with a list of records that you'd like to recommend to your friends and colleagues. While it's natural to focus on who wins, the Poll is at least as valuable as a prospecting tool.
If you prefer to submit an unranked list, please state so and/or alphabetize your list by artist (last name).
Unranked lists will receive one point per album. Albums in ranked lists will receive extra points, ranging from 3-to-1 for New, 2-to-1 for Rara Avis. Thus you have some incentive to rank, but not a lot.
The totals lists will be sorted by votes, with points used to break ties. (This is a change from past polls, which sorted by points, with votes used as a tiebreaker. This seems more fair to people who submit unranked lists, while still recognizing the extra value of ranking.)
You may submit short lists, or skip a category where you have no picks. If you change your mind before the deadline, just let me know and I'll update your ballot. It is better to send something imperfect early than to wait to the last minute and risk not contributing.
The recording date dividing line between Rara Avis and New Albums is January 1, 2015. Anything recorded earlier than that should be considered under Rara Avis.
Don't consider combining two albums for one vote. We may allow a rare exception, which will be noted on the website. If in doubt, ask.
You may vote for albums from the previous year (2024), but should only do so if they are new to you and/or were not widely recognized in the 2024 Poll. The carryover votes rule we use for the year-end polls is not applied here.
Please refrain from voting for any album you actually worked on. You may request a note mentioning a favorite album that you cannot vote for.
When I receive your ballot, I will tabulate it and mail you back a formatted copy. Please check this to make sure I haven't screwed anything up. There is an optional line on the ballot where I can add a note. If you publish your own mid-year list, please let me know, as I would be happy to link to your piece from your ballot. I will consider including any other appropriate comments, but we're not actively soliciting them.
I have a mailman list set up to send notices, starting with this invite, to voters. I will send several notices over the course of the poll, including one when ArtsFuse publishes it. This saves me a lot of work, but it can be confusing and isn't fool proof -- in particular, there is a real risk that mail sent to the list will get trapped by your spam filter. If for any reason you do not wish to receive mail about the poll, including the invite, please let me know and I will drop you from the list. Please do not reply to this list: your replies will be trapped, but I'll still have to clean them up. You can, of course, always reply to me directly.
I also have a mailman list for poll administration, which was set up for several people who volunteered to help out with the poll. Most of the work is in vetting possible voters, nagging late voters, and proofreading, but I also use this group as a sounding board for my ideas about poll and website design. If you would like to participate in this, just let me know.
I've set up a website to manage this poll. It is at:
This currently has some information of interest to voters, including a copy of this invitation, as well as more specific information on voting rules and other questions (e.g., about how they are applied to troublesome albums). During the voting period, it is possible to look up who has already voted, and which albums have received a vote -- but not total votes and individual ballots, which will be available on publication. The website is updated every several days, so expect some lag between when you submit a ballot and when it is reflected on the website.
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. (I worry about deliverability, which has been a problem in the past.) I will post further news in my Music Week blog, and (more cryptically) on X and/or Bluesky.
You may contact me by replying to this email or by using the contact form.
Your colleague,
Tom Hull