The Best Jazz Albums of 2023
Featuring Brandee Younger, Meshell Ndegeocello, Matana Roberts, and Irreversible Entanglements, here are the fifteen best jazz albums of 2023.

The jazz landscape of 2023 presents a vibrant tableau marked by a stimulating blend of tradition and innovation. This year, artists have deftly navigated the rich history of the genre while infusing their work with contemporary sensibilities, resulting in music that respects its roots yet eagerly embraces modernity. A resurgence of live performances has breathed new life into the scene, with musicians and audiences alike reveling in the communal experience of spontaneous creation and interpretation. During this renaissance, several albums emerged as defining works, capturing the essence of current trends, such as the fusion of electronic elements with acoustic instrumentation and the cross-pollination with other genres. These recordings not only reflect the dynamic state of jazz but also signal exciting directions for its future evolution.
Alive at the Village Vanguard — Fred Hersch & Esperanza Spalding
An unlikely pairing on paper, pianistic lion Fred Hersch and boundary-pushing bass phenom/vocalist Esperanza Spalding converge as an intimately attuned duo on the new release Alive at the Village Vanguard. Captured live in 2018 at the fabled Greenwich Village club, this meeting of generations and stylistic sensibilities reveals inspired common ground between two artists long committed to drawing outside the lines of convention. While Hersch built his reputation as a lyrical specialist in the standards repertoire, his Walt Whitman-inspired song cycle Leaves of Grass proved his maverick streak. And though she first touched on jazz and bossa nova fundamentals, Spalding’s recent efforts have veered into realms closer to art rock and avant-garde singer/songwriter terrain—concept albums like Emily’s D+Evolution, Twelve Little Spells and Songwrights Apothecary Lab.
Yet on this Village Vanguard set, the elder statesman and boundary-pushing rising star organically meld their shared passion for infusing time-honored jazz with elements of poetry, literature, and modern art. Forgoing her trademark bass, Spalding instead plums her vocal ability to radically reimagine each standard, spinning out wholly original lyrics and melodies that make these classics her own. At once a communing of kindred creative spirits and a bridge between generations, Alive captures two intrepid innovators rebirthing the tradition in their iconoclastic image. — Phil
On & On — José James
José James is so enamored with the distinctive Erykah Badu and her spellbinding artistry that he initially hesitated to sculpt an album in her honor. The concept was proposed by Brett Sanders of James’ own wildly eclectic Rainbow Blonde label. Ultimately surrendering to the alluring inspiration, James convened a crew of today’s trailblazing jazz luminaries: bassist Ben Williams, drummer Jharis Yokley, keys man BIGYUKI, and the ascending alto saxophonists Ebban Dorsey alongside Diana Dzhabbar with her eloquent flute intonations. Captured urgently in a single take, the ensemble organically rendered the Badu classics before James artfully altered and integrated new elements into the mixes—fusing improvisation with production ingenuity. The outcome undeniably classifies On & On as a contemporary jazz record, yet one that proudly showcases the next generation while paying homage to an iconic inspiration. — Phil
Phoenix — Lakecia Benjamin
Phoenix marks Lakecia Benjamin’s fourth studio effort after releasing Pursuance: The Colltranes and experiencing a severe car accident that resulted in her vehicle overturning into a drainage ditch in a secluded area, damaging her neurological system and a fractured jaw. For this project, she collaborated with co-producer Terri Lyne Carrington and expanded her regular ensemble—featuring Victor Gould on piano, organ, and Fender Rhodes; E.J. Strickland on drums; and Ivan Taylor on basses—to include an impressive roster of guest artists. This list encompasses a string trio, several trumpeters, pianist Patrice Rushen, vocalists, poets, and social commentators.
The album opens with “Amerikkan Skin,” which sets the tone with the alarming sounds of sirens and gunfire. Angela Davis, an activist and writer, provides a powerful spoken word introduction about revolutionary hope residing among women overlooked by history. A deep bassline paired with piano and a soft kick drum pave the way for Benjamin’s alto saxophone. Her performance starts with a bluesy feel and quickly transitions into a dynamic exchange with trumpeter Josh Evans and the rest of the musicians in a modernist, modal jazz framework. Benjamin demonstrates her ambition, focus, energy, and keen insight with Phoenix. The album is an adventurous undertaking that showcases her musical abilities and encourages her bandmates, special guests, and those who hear it to engage with its dynamic qualities. — Harry Brown
Mélusine — Cécile McLorin Salvant
Mélusine is a work of art that resonates with the theme of a shape-shifting woman from European legend. This album draws inspiration from the mythological figure of Mélusine, a creature described by Jean d’Arras in the 14th century as a being of dual nature, both serpent and woman. Her narrative of righteous indignation is given new depth and complexity through Salvant’s sophisticated musical interpretations. The album showcases Salvant’s expansion into a more exploratory and intimate facet of her musical expression.
This is a progression from the previous year’s Ghost Song, where she juxtaposed her evocative compositions with an eclectic mix of covers, including pieces by Kate Bush and Sting. Mélusine represents a culmination of this artistic evolution, with its focal point being the titular track conceived during the Ghost Song sessions, marking it as a meticulously crafted work. Numerous Grammy Awards and acclaim back Salvant’s reputation as a celebrated artist for her crisp and energetic jazz performances and her infusion of French chanson into her albums.
With Mélusine, she reaches beyond these achievements, breathing life into the ancient tale with her dynamic and versatile musicality, allowing the album to stand as a collection of songs and a contemporary retelling of Mélusine’s story. — Brandon O’Sullivan
London Brew — London Brew
In a serendipitous pivot, an all-star assembly of London’s most revered musicians convened in December 2020, shortly after the city’s second lockdown was lifted, to capture the creative spirit of Miles Davis’ watershed 1970 record Bitches Brew. The three-day session was initially meant to comprise a series of European live performances, spearheaded by producer Bruce Lampcov, to commemorate the album’s 50th anniversary. But as the pandemic derailed those plans, the players improvised an inspired studio collaboration instead.
Shepherded by executive producer Lampcov and co-producer Martin Terefe, this A-list collective of jazz trailblazers—saxophonists Nubya Garcia and Shabaka Hutchings, tuba sorcerer Theon Cross, turntablist Benji B, drummers Tom Skinner and Dan See, bassist Tom Herbert, guitarist Dave Okumu, violinist Raven Bush, and keys men Nikolaj Torp Larsen and Nick Ramm—conjured the loose, experimental flair that defined Davis’ archetypal fusion sessions. Taking cues directly from Bitches Brew samples compiled by Benji B and duly credited to the Davis estate, the musicians stumbled at first to find their footing. But by the final take, they locked in as a cohesive whole.
The result is London Brew—an organic genesis story born of pandemic-induced adversity that captured the leading lights of the London scene, fusing their elite talents to toast a monumental inspiration. — Brandon O’Sullivan
Brand New Life — Brandee Younger
With her seventh album, Brand New Life, jazz harpist Brandee Younger continues to explore captivating new textures on her unique instrument. Harp’s rarity in jazz circles evokes comparison to legendary innovators Dorothy Ashby and Alice Coltrane. Younger honors their influence while firmly establishing her contemporary sound across the new release. Younger’s virtuosic technique combines spiraling, melodic lines with lush multi-note swells. Though steeped in sophisticated post-bop, she draws equally from classical, funk, and R&B traditions.
Most overtly, she builds on the groundbreaking fusion of Ashby’s classics like Afro-Harping. Juxtaposing Younger’s crystalline harp tones with skittering drums, velvety bass, strings, marimba, and flute, Brand New Life creates an alluring clash of old and new. While containing traces of classic soul-jazz, Younger’s bold music insistently pushes the genre forward. Her conceptual approach is too progressively singular ever to feel retrospective. Brand New Life highlights the harp’s timeless allure through Brandee Younger’s definitive 21st-century lens. — Reginald Marcel
The Omnichord Real Book — Meshell Ndegeocello
The Omnichord Real Book marks Meshell Ndegeocello’s creative return to composing original music after nearly a decade focused on covers and interpretations. Her first collection of new original songs since 2012’s Comet, Come to Me, this album also inaugurates the innovative musician’s role as a Blue Note bandleader. Ndegeocello’s fruitful association with the legendary jazz label began in supporting parts on albums by Robert Glasper, Jason Moran, and Marcus Strickland. Now at the helm, she integrates her singular style into Blue Note’s continuing evolution.
Conceptually, The Omnichord Real Bookk subverts its title. Rather than interpreting jazz standards, these are freshly penned compositions. The name references the ‘80s electronic instrument and her father’s gift of a published tome transcribing genre classics. While rediscovering this volume after her parents’ passing, Ndegeocello felt inspired to create her own “real book” of original music. Merging her avant-garde spirit with Blue Note’s rich legacy, The Omnichord Real Book finds Ndegeocello reimmersed in her creative wellspring. Just as the instrument in the title synthesizes multiple musical lineages, these new songs incorporate diverse influences into a boldly singular blend. The album’s release provides a welcome opportunity to revisit this icon’s ever-evolving artistry. — Phil
Blowout — John Carroll Kirby
Behind the scenes, John Carroll Kirby’s ingenious musicianship has elevated dozens of hits for today’s pop luminaries. But his most compelling sonic wizardry has manifested through his ambitious works. In 2021, Kirby brought his talents to the alluring shores of Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica, to film an episode of his globetrotting web series Kirby’s Gold with the eminent Kawe Calypso Band. Ensconced in alluring nature and jamming with local legends during spectacular sunsets, Kirby penned his latest offering, Blowout, between early morning birdsongs and clandestine forays playing Bob Marley covers in bars.
Back in Los Angeles, Kirby summoned a tight-core ensemble to capture the new compositions with vibrant urgency at 64 Sound Studios. His most adventurous and accessible record to date, Blowout balances Kirby’s intrepid arranging talents with focused musicianship and irresistibly hip arrangements. From the exotic fruits of his Costa Rican sojourn emerged a transportive soundscape fine-tuned for maximum impact. — Phil
Tony Allen JID018 — Tony Allen & Adrian Younge
As an Afrobeat pioneer who carved out a timeless percussive path for countless acolytes, the late Tony Allen fittingly joins the Jazz Is Dead roster for an incendiary final studio document in JID018. Helmed as always by retro-soul conjurer Adrian Younge and A Tribe Called Quest DJ/producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad, the collaborative series exists to link jazz elders with fresh cohorts, combining generations of visionaries. Captured prior to his 2020 passing, this simmering eight-song set finds Allen’s steady polyrhythmic pulse leading the charge through heavy Afrobeat and funk meditations built on perpetual groove repetition.
While bittersweet in retrospect, JID018 nonetheless catches an innovator flawlessly transmitting his life’s work one last time, with upfront drum orchestrations and meticulous pocket placement directing every melody, harmony, and improvisation built atop his bedrock rhythms. Just as Allen spent decades sparking new permutations of jazz-rooted music worldwide, these final recordings reaffirm his incalculable influence through lean displays of consummate craft. JID018 may culminate an essential chapter in music history, but its tireless grooves ensure Allen’s legacy will echo indefinitely. — Nehemiah
Passage — Jonathan Blake
After introducing his elite young ensemble via 2021’s acclaimed Homeward Bound, drummer-composer Johnathan Blake witnesses his band ascend to even greater creative heights together on Passage, his sophomore Blue Note effort. Having tightened their intuitive bonds through extensive touring, the same fivesome of bassist Dezron Douglas, vibraphonist Joel Ross, pianist David Virelles, and alto saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins return to focus on new Blake originals, as well as homages to late mentors John Blake Jr. (the leader’s father) and Ralph Peterson Jr.
Augmented by years of additional camaraderie, Passage finds the band transitioning from precocious potential into empathetic, exacting execution, confidently channeling Blake’s ambitious orchestrations with flair while highlighting the abundant chemistry between them. Compared to its predecessor, the set displays markedly richer communication and understanding between the drummer and his cohorts. United in celebration of departed heroes alongside their growing maturity, Passage captures a band fully coming into their own through adversity and time, led by a guiding vision confidently transferred from mind to hands. — Murffey Zavier
KARPEH — Cautious Clay
In the musical chronicle of Cautious Clay, his evolution has been marked by a sequence of developments that defy easy prediction. His tenure with Blue Note Records is an example of this. His beginnings with the flute and a background in jazz studies only partially foreshadowed this alliance. The self-produced album, which bears his surname, KARPEH, unfolds in three distinct segments, each prefaced by spoken memories and teachings from his kin.
Clay steps into a dynamic leadership role on this album, producing and leading sessions that blend his tenor saxophone with the sounds of Immanuel Wilkins on alto and Ambrose Akinmusire’s trumpet contributions. The opening segment of KARPEH offers a departure into some of the artist’s most spirited and hallucinatory work yet. It explores his formative years, shrouded in lyrical contemplation that stimulates the listener’s imagination.
Despite the heavier themes, the record doesn’t dwell in bitterness. There’s a detectable release and a rounding off of edges as the album, and its closing song, in particular, concludes with Clay’s instrumental vocalizations. This wordless singing adds a layer of raw emotional expression, offering a sense of conclusion and peace as the project ends. — Phil
Black Classical Music — Yussef Dayes
Yussef Dayes has crafted an eclectic and profound approach to music. His drummer, composer, and producer work is marked by integrating various musical genres, incorporating electronic vibes, the groove of funk, the depth of soul, the rhythm of Afrobeat, and the relaxed pace of reggae. Dayes has shaped a rich musical foundation through his work with notable talents such as Yussef Kamaal, Ruby Rushton, Emanative, and Alfa Mist.
This diverse foundation is the cornerstone upon which his first studio album, Black Classical Music, is built. The album unfolds over 19 tracks, marking the apex of Dayes’ creative output. He aims to offer an audibly coherent experience, skillfully guiding the listener through various musical environments. It’s ambitious in its imaginative scope, yet it achieves a narrative that is meticulously detailed and richly faceted, reflecting personal, cultural, and societal layers.
The transitions are seamless throughout the record, moving from one mood to another and showcasing a broad palette of stylistic nuances and auditory landscapes. What makes the album particularly noteworthy is its combination of complexity and approachability. It steers clear of any pretension, remaining grounded and relatable despite its elaborate artfulness. It embodies Dayes’ artistic expression that captures a universal and intimate narrative. — Brandon O’Sullivan
Protect Your Light — Irreversible Entanglements
With their fourth collective opus, Protect Your Light, marking a momentous label shift to the iconic Impulse!, the visionary Irreversible Entanglements usher their singular avant-jazz alchemy into a new creative realm. Augmenting the long-running synthesis of freeform instrumentation and piercing topical poetry that’s become the band’s calling card, their studio craftsmanship enters an elevated dimension through dexterous sonic layering and engineering finesse. Anchored as always by the incendiary creative coupling of saxophonist/clarinetist Keir Neuringer and wordsmith Moor Mother, the ensemble, rounded out by trumpeter Aquiles Navarro, bassist Luke Stewart, and drummer Tcheser Holmes, with all members doubling on instruments, ventures into unprecedented territories.
By utilizing studio technology as an additional instrument itself, Irreversible Entanglements foster greater depth in texture and space while extracting peak dynamism through mixed ingenuity. While still retaining their signature exploratory DNA, these enhancements in palette and production value amount to an expansion that long-time fans will relish while offering newcomers ample rewards in razor-sharp group interplay and captivatingly penetrating lyrical themes. With an already prodigious body of work behind them, Protect Your Light finds Irreversible Entanglements glowing brighter still. — Brandon O’Sullivan
Coin Coin Chapter Five: In the Garden — Matana Roberts
Over a dozen years into her sprawling Coin Coin epic, saxophonist/storyteller Matana Roberts continues ushering listeners through revelatory portraits of African American lineage with Chapter Five: In the Garden, the latest installation honoring her ancestral inspiration Marie Thérèse Coincoin. True to multi-genre form, Roberts’ expressionistic tenet kaleidoscopically chronicles the tragic aftermath of an ancestor’s terminated pregnancy, its painful reverberations echoing from past to present in the wake of Roe v. Wade’s reversal. Beyond the commanding core ensemble of altoist Darius Jones, clarinetist Stuart Bogie, drummers Mike Pride and Ryan Sawyer, and more, Chapter Five welcomes back vocalist Gitanjali Jain from the series’ inception.
Meanwhile, producer Kyp Malone lends additional sonic splendor as with previous movements in Coin Coin’s interrogation of history; the collective voices collide in jarring yet electrifying fashion, interweaving folk traditional and avant-jazz digression, post-bop and free improvisation into a singular mosaic. Sustained through its restless shape-shifting evolution, Coin Coin’s colliding genres and distinct musical identities amount to essential dialogue in Matana’s layered narrative, one that celebrates difference while underscoring the cultural resonance and lived import of this vision over a decade in the making. — Jamila W.
Solar Music — Butcher Brown
Butcher Brown unveiled their latest work, Solar Music. This expansive 17-track collection arrives as a successor to their previous year’s exuberant project, Butcher Brown Presents Triple Trey, which saw collaborations with Tennishu and R4ND4ZZO BIGB4ND. Solar Music distinguishes itself by delving into various genres, including jazz, funk, hip-hop, dance, and neo-soul. Their latest production also incorporates a host of guest artists, enriching the project’s diversity. Solar Music shines as Butcher Brown’s most holistic creation to date, attributed possibly to its significant musical accomplishments. It’s a thoughtfully curated assortment of tracks, delivering atmospherically pleasing tunes across intricately arranged musical landscapes. These songs showcase the band’s evolving compositional skills and dynamic execution, reflecting an upward trajectory in their musical development. — Phil