This invitation was written on June 23, and sent out using MailMerge to a list of previous voters and invitees who had not responded to the original invite mailing. (This list includes approximately 100 people not on the original list.) The original invite was rather long and detailed. This one has been simplified, both to make it less daunting and to avoid spam traps. But it is still sufficient so that respondents could simply return the mail with their votes.
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 [Reissues/Archival]
of 2025 (so far) -- reissues and/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. You do not have to submit full lists: 10 and 5 are maximums.
If you prefer to submit an unranked list, please state so and/or alphabetize your list by artist (last name). Otherwise, your list will be treated as ranked, 1-10, with extra points (used to break ties) for higher-ranked albums.
Rara Avis is for albums that contain any music recorded 10+ years ago (in 2014 or before), or which reissue more recent music. If you are unsure about an album, ask, or guess.
You may list previous year (2024) releases, but should only do so if they are new to you and/or were not widely recognized in the 2024 Poll.
When I receive your ballot, I will tabulate it and mail you back a formatted copy. Please check to make sure I haven't screwed anything up. If there are any problems, we'll hash them out.
I send out occasional notices about the Poll to the jazzpoll email list. If you voted last year and I forgot to sign you up, I will do so shortly after sending this. (You will be notified when I do.) If you have not voted, I will not sign you up until you vote, or request to be signed up. If at any point you wish to stop receiving Poll email, just let me know.
We have a website set up to provide information about the Poll, including a copy of this invite. The results will be published by ArtsFuse in early July, with complete totals and ballots on the website. Please visit:
Please contact me with any questions. Thank you for caring about the music and our work here.
Tom Hull