It's been a good year for jazz, diverse in every way—styles, influences, tastes, and demographics too. I didn't aim the list to turn out this way, but four of the albums' leaders are women, and five ...

Only Slate Plus members can gift Slate stories. Become a member to share 10 free articles a month. It may be coincidence, or just a reflection of my own state of mind, that this dreadful year’s list ...

Get more of a good thing! Our weekly newsletters highlight our top stories, top album reviews, website news, free songs, radio & podcast shows, news, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Jazz can sound confusing at first, especially when every album feels completely different. But the best jazz albums for beginners make the genre easier to enjoy with smooth melodies, memorable rhythms ...

Happy Jazz Appreciation Month, a fitting time for music critics to name their pick for the greatest jazz song of all time. Music publisher Primary Wave is sharing its take on the genre’s greatest song ...

I always wanted to write how Miles Davis talked: abrupt, profane, contemptuous, in a stiletto rhythm that jabbed and stung and threw off unexpected sparks of enlightenment and tenderness. Of course, ...

Get more of a good thing! Our weekly newsletters highlight our top stories, top album reviews, website news, free songs, radio & podcast shows, news, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Discover the best jazz and blues music venues in Nashville, plus the details of upcoming jazz concerts.

Here are my entries (and a taste of their music) for the 19th Annual Francis Davis Jazz Critics Poll for the best jazz recordings and archival/reissues of 2024. The full results from all 177 writers ...

Jazz trumpet players have shaped the sound of jazz for more than a century, and their influence still echoes in modern music. From the raw brilliance of Louis Armstrong to the cool calm of Miles Davis ...

If you think about it a certain way, one of the defining qualities of jazz is earnestness. This is one of the reasons why jazz and metal have so much in common, and so often appeal to the same ...

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... After much consternation, I’ve managed to pare down a long list of fine jazz-improv recordings from 2025 to a top 10. So, apologies to Marshall Allen, The ...