The top 5 D.C. jazz albums of 2025
This past spring, in one of his last acts as artistic director for jazz at the Kennedy Center, Jason Moran gathered some of the great practitioners of this music for a summit of listening, improvisation and spontaneous composition. It was a night about making.
This has felt all the more radical in light of the Trump administration’s continued undoing of the federal workforce and Kennedy Center’s staff, and in view of what the center’s jazz program has since become.
That radical spirit of making continues in D.C., though — even as the city struggles through these strange times — and it suffuses the albums that emerged from our city’s jazz and creative music scene this year.
The list of D.C. jazz albums CapitalBop’s voters had to contend with to make this annual “best of” list was an extremely strong one, making the task of voting all the more difficult. The more than 30 full-length albums and EPs that made up this year’s nominees showcase not only the usual breadth of stylistic choices that typify the D.C. jazz scene, but also how its musicians have continued to grow in recent years. Albums like pianist Alfred Yun’s Voice and Phenomenon — mixing gorgeous contemporary bop pianism with spoken word, heavy metal, Buddhist chant, video game soundtracks and more — and Luke Stewart’s** The Mythstory School (with Blacks’ Myths and Pat Thomas) and The Order (with the Silt Remembrance Ensemble) all felt like they matched the urgent moment with sounds for unprecedented times. Those were among the ear- and mind-expanding records that just barely didn’t make the Top 5; for those reasons and many more, you should check out CapitalBop’s full list of D.C. jazz albums that came out this year (each with its own editorial description and streaming link).
The group of 10 voters — made up of journalists, scholars, DJs, broadcasters and promoters on the scene — was our largest yet. Understandings of what constitutes “jazz” continue to expand, as well: from the funky, cosmic neo-soul of Black Folks Don’t Swim? to the pastoral creative soundscapes of Skullcap (cellist Janel Leppin, guitarist Anthony Pirog and drummer Mike Kuhl). Scroll on to see what stood out to our team, and what we felt represented D.C. best this year. Don’t forget to check out the honorable mentions at the bottom of this article, and the full list of albums at the link above. There’s also information about how we conducted the voting process at the end of this post.
Happy reading, listening and engaging!
5. Reginald Cyntje, ‘Mosaic’
The concept of trombonist Reginald Cyntje’s Mosaic alone is stunningly beautiful. It’s an album about how things precious to us—like glass, or our entire world—can, when broken, be made even more precious. Lord knows it’s a message we need.
Yet it wouldn’t have half the potency if it wasn’t rendered so exquisitely. Mosaic offers some of Cyntje’s finest composing, from the intoxicating melody of “Broken Glass” to the opalescent harmonies of “Reflection of Simplicity” to the tight, irresistible groove of “Shattered Structures.” They’re better still in the hands of the trombonist’s flawless ensemble. The rhythm section of pianist Allyn Johnson, bassist Herman Burney and drummer Lenny Robinson is as solid and empathetic as you’d expect from such masters, while Cyntje’s bottomless lyricism and tenor saxophonist Brian Settles’ part-tough, part-tender cookery — dig his solo on “Echoes of the Soul” — give a seasoned, knowing voice to the proceedings.
Speaking of voice, though, Imani-Grace Cooper’s mostly wordless vocals are Mosaic’s secret weapon. She serves as an ensemble instrument, too, yet somehow her dark-toned sighs and scat syllables pierce the sharpest. The poetic lyrics she unfurls on the penultimate “Renewal of Love” are just the icing on the cake.
3 (tie). Ben Williams, ‘Between Church and State’
Between Church & State, Ben Williams’ fourth album as a leader, is a work that feels both deeply personal and sharply attuned to the national moment. Williams transforms his family’s intertwined legacies of civil rights activism and spirituality into a resonant musical statement, with a powerful roster of guests like Kamasi Washington, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Chief Adjuah, Keyon Harrold, and fellow Washingtonians Sy Smith, Muhsinah, and Wes Felton.
The album moves with a sense of purpose, tracing echoes between the battles of the past and the turbulence of today. Jazz, soul and hip-hop merge into a seamless, living landscape, with each track serving as a chapter drawn from collective memory, protest and praise. Williams’ use of his voice deepens the emotional layers of the project, offering testimony that is both intimate and communal.What emerges is an album that feels like both chronicle and prayer. Between Church & State is Williams stepping fully into the tension that has shaped him, from the political and spiritual, to the ancestral and contemporary, turning those dualities into something defiantly whole. It’s a declaration of identity, and one of his most compelling artistic messages to date.
3 (tie). José Luiz Martins, ‘Odyssey Mixtape’
Brazilian-born pianist and composer José Luiz Martins’ Odyssey Mixtape is a triumphant offering that explores the myriad emotions experienced throughout life’s obstacles. physical challenges and healing one’s mind and body while forging uncharted, creative pathways. (In the liner notes, Martins ascribes inspiration for the work to his journey in overcoming the neurological condition known as focal dystonia. Alongside a well-balanced ensemble of gifted musicians, Martins utilizes 1970s-inspired funk and jazz fusion influences,, as well as poetry and electronic elements to deliver his message of reflection, compassion and evolution..
Martins’ expansive range as a pianist, composer and producer delivers powerful results across these seven tracks. “Incerteza” features conversational melodies carried by flutist Alex Hamburger** (who also sings on several tracks) and guitarist John Lee. “Bloom” and “Metamorphosis” feature expressive lyrics from D.C.-based producer and emcee Nakama meditating on cycles of life and learning. Throughout the album, bassist Romeir Mendez and drummer Dana Hawkins deliver consistent support and eloquent, percussive solos that enhance the album’s heartfelt messages.
“Cravo y Canela” is among Mixtape’s gems, showcasing Martins’ luscious piano playing Hamburger’s spirited solo, and Hawkins’ and Mendez’s majestic support. A sense of hope and forward motion weaves throughout the tune and prepares listeners for other remarkable compositions, including the concluding “Tierra Extraña,” which offers a sonic reflection on life renewed.
2. Christie Dashiell and Terri Lyne Carrington, ‘We Insist 2025!’
Steeped in sonic traditions spanning the spectrum of Black American Music, We Insist 2025! is a collaboration between Boston-based drummer Terri Lyne Carrington and D.C.-rooted vocalist Christie Dashiell. Dashiell’s star continues to rise in D.C. — where she now teaches jazz vocals at Howard University, her alma mater — but this release marks the latest entry in an oeuvre that has increasingly garnered renown nationally and beyond.
Her vocal prowess is matched by a band typical of Carrington’s discography to date: at once lush and heavy-hitting, fluid yet locked in, in contact with jazz tradition and pushing toward the future. To sit comfortably between these extremes is a delicate feat, but the ensemble — which features a strong cast of young and rising instrumentalists, including trumpeter Milena Casado and bassist/multi-instrumentalist Morgan Guerin — accomplishes that, while paying tribute to Max Roach’s seminal album of jazz protest from 1961, We Insist! (co-written by Oscar Brown Jr. and featuring the vocals of Abbey Lincoln).
Thematically, We Insist 2025! seeks a similarly delicate balance, with spoken-word performances blending beautifully with Dashiell’s vocals throughout. The lyrics weigh the struggles of Blackness in America; the contradictions between freedom and capital, and between activism and materialism; and the question of what freedom itself means. Freedom is “no walls and no cages and no glass ceilings, either,” as Tamia Elliot says on “Freedom Is…” — a sentiment embodied by the music here.
1. Brandon Woody, ‘For the Love of it All’
There’s something immediately familiar and welcoming about the music Brandon Woody offers on For the Love of It All, his debut album as a bandleader, released on Blue Note Records. Troy Long’s piano melody on the opening track, “Never Gonna Run Away,” rises and falls in a pulse that feels like the rhythm of human breathing. And the music remains in a similar vein throughout the album, easing listeners in on a visceral, human level.
Much has been written in these pages about the vision that shaped Woody’s music here, and how it is driven by community. That drive for the communal informs the shaping of a track like “We, Ota Benga.” Woody often plays horn lines at furious speeds, showcasing his chops and contrasting with the more methodical pulse of the piano and the bass, in an expert weaving of voices. But on the lead melodies of these six original tunes, his trumpet is more easeful, often gliding along like a Brandy or Lalah Hathaway earworm heard on WHUR (or, in Baltimore, WWIN), serving to open up the idea of “jazz” to many more who might naturally engage with different parts of the Black American Music canon. Woody’s is an inclusive impulse.
Woody played many of the tracks from For the Love of It All at a festival in D.C. this past fall. Somewhere in the middle of “Beyond the Reach of Our Eyes” it all came together: A field of DMV residents, laughing, listening and expressing joy, connected by this beautiful music, after weeks of the president of the United States ranting about what a criminal, chaotic mess it is here. At the heart of this album, too, lies a love of community, of music, of all.
Honorable Mentions
- For Malcolm X and Sun Ra, Yahya Abdul-Majid**
- Jazz Journey, Jose Andre
- Horizon Ahead: The Crab Shack Sessions, Vol. 1, Elijah Jamal Balbed (EP)
- The Mythstory School, Blacks’ Myths meets Pat Thomas**
- Dangerous Currents, Black Folks Don’t Swim?
- Free Music: The Illusion of Liberation, a compilation from Distrik Kollective (Michael Bowie)
- Live at FEMA, Gray/Pirog/Ballou
- levitate the heavy part, Abe Mamet Septet**
- Big Sky, Andrew Musselman
- The Order, Silt Remembrance Ensemble**
- Snakes of Albuquerque, Skullcap
- Voice and Phenomenon, Alfred Yun
** Disclosure: Luke Stewart is CapitalBop’s co-founder and artistic director; Alex Hamburger is CapitalBop’s managing director; and Abe Mamet is CapitalBop’s assistant editor. None of them played any part in selecting these albums, nor in writing or editing these reviews.
The list above was compiled using a ranked-choice voting system by a panel of ten CapitalBop contributors and close observers of the D.C. jazz scene, all of whom voted by secret ballot: Charvis Campbell, Keanna Faircloth, Majeedah Johnson, Lyla Maisto, Tait Manning, Joshua Myers, Jackson Sinnenberg, Giovanni Russonello, Paul Vodra and Michael J. West. The ranking is an exact reflection of the tallied vote. Each album in the “honorable mentions” category received at least one vote from at least one panelist. The members of CapitalBop’s core staff who double as working musicians did not participate in the voting process.
Cover image by Giovanni Russonello
