20 Albums That Defined The Year
From trumpet-led fusion to spiritual jazz, chamber records and dancefloor Afrobeat — the twenty jazz albums of 2026 the critics wrote about most. Press play on any of them.
Jump straight to any record.
Records 01–05
Flea
Best known as the Red Hot Chili Peppers' bassist, Flea returns to the trumpet — the instrument he started on — for a fusion record that drew more critical attention than any other jazz album this year.
Ezra Collective
The London band that became the first jazz act to win the Mercury Prize returns with seventeen tracks of jazz-funk and Afrobeat built for a packed room and a moving crowd.
Shabaka
Having set the saxophone aside for flutes, Shabaka Hutchings goes deeper into spiritual, electronics-touched territory — and this time on his own label.
Jeff Parker & ETA IVtet
Tortoise guitarist Jeff Parker's Los Angeles quartet stretches out across just two long pieces. Improvisation given all the room it needs — put this on and let it run.
Squarepusher
The Warp Records electronic pioneer — and virtuoso bassist — takes on the chamber concerto, as the title promises, folding orchestral writing into his electronic world.
Records 06–10
Pat Metheny
The latest chapter of Metheny's rotating-cast project, built to put younger players beside him on stage and see what happens. Side-Eye has always been a mentorship model as much as a band.
The Messthetics & James Brandon Lewis
Fugazi's former rhythm section, guitarist Anthony Pirog and tenor saxophonist James Brandon Lewis reconvene for a second round of jazz-rock with post-punk teeth.
Ambrose Akinmusire & Mary Halvorson
Two of the most distinctive voices in improvised music, trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire and guitarist Mary Halvorson, meet in an intimate duo — every phrase exposed.
The Olympians
Daptone's soul-jazz ensemble delivers lush, cinematic arrangements — warm, analogue and immaculately played. The easiest listen on this list, and none the worse for it.
Bill Frisell
Five decades in, Frisell still writes like someone discovering the instrument. Studio takes sit beside live readings of the same material — a lesson in how a tune changes in front of an audience.
Records 11–15
aja monet
Poet aja monet sets her words against spiritual jazz once more, following her Grammy-nominated debut. Listen to it start to finish, like a reading.
Andrew Wasylyk
Scottish composer Andrew Wasylyk makes delicate, pastoral chamber jazz — a quiet record that rewards headphones and full attention.
Julian Lage
Julian Lage widens his usual trio into a quartet with organ, and that singing guitar tone opens onto bigger, warmer landscapes.
Knats
The title tips its hat to the famous "A Great Day in Harlem" photograph. Knats fold spoken word into propulsive jazz-rock with a real sense of place.
DOMi & JD BECK
The keyboard-and-drums duo behind 2022's NOT TiGHT return with more high-velocity fusion — dazzling chops, played with a grin.
Records 16–20
Cécile McLorin Salvant, Metropole Orkest & Jules Buckley
One of the great jazz singers of her generation, in full orchestral flight with the Metropole Orkest under Jules Buckley.
Nubiyan Twist
The UK collective blends jazz-funk, Afrobeat and soul into music made for moving — horns up, groove locked in.
Walter Smith III
Walter Smith III returns to the stripped-back trio of his 2018 Twio: tenor, bass and drums, standards, and nowhere to hide. A masterclass for any horn player.
Joel Ross
Vibraphonist Joel Ross delivers an expansive seventeen-track statement — modern post-bop with deep roots and a generous spirit.
Craig Taborn, Tomeka Reid & Ches Smith
Piano, cello and drums in open, exploratory conversation — three of the most inventive improvisers working today, on ECM.
The twenty are ranked by how many critic reviews each album has gathered on Album of the Year, the review aggregator — a measure of which records the critics actually sat down and wrote about, rather than a chart or an algorithm.
Every album on the list is streaming on Spotify, so you can hear each one right here.
List last reviewed 12 October 2026.
