Discover the Best of Jazz selection for 1995 with our ten best jazz albums released that year. Once again, the albums are listed in no particular order: all are amazing in their own ways. At the end of the article, you will also find a playlist with a track to represent each of those ten albums, plus ten extra, for nearly two and half hours of breath-taking music.

The 10 Best Jazz Albums of 1995

“Something grandly intimate is taking place here, for while there may not be much to hold on to in this sound-world of fleeting statements, we are left with an overwhelming amount to mull over. The title of this album is, therefore, an appropriate one, for only time will tell whether or not its sounds will find a secure place in your listening.”
— ECM Reviews

Paul Bley: piano; Evan Parker: tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone; Barre Phillips: bass
Released 1995
Free Jazz, Free Improvisation

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“It’s a sharp lesson for anyone who thinks free jazz is just a euphemism for no discipline”.
—David Fricke, Rolling Stone Magazine

David S. Ware: tenor sax; Matthew Shipp: piano; William Parker: bass; Whit Dickey: drums
Released 1995
Free Jazz

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“In June 1994 over three extraordinary nights at the celebrated Blue Note in New York City, Keith Jarrett’s Standards Trio took American jazz to new heights. Keith Jarrett At The Blue Note – The Complete Recordings (six CDs) captures every tune from every set from every night – a unique documentation of one of this decade’s greatest performances.”
— ECM Reviews

Keith Jarrett: piano; Gary Peacock: double-bass; Jack DeJohnette: drums
Released October 1, 1995
Contemporary Jazz

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“We’re here to bring beauty to the world and make a difference in this planet. That’s what art forms are about.”
— Charlie Haden

Hank Jones: piano; Charlie Haden: bass
Released 1995
Post Bop

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“Twenty years after Balladyna Tomasz Stanko returned with Matka Joanna, featuring his quartet with a Polish-Swedish-English configuration of world-class musicians. [The album] takes its title from the 1961 film Matka Joanna od Aniolow (Mother Joan of the Angels) by Jerzy Kawalerowicz and is dedicated to this important Polish director, the album’s track titles limning an appropriately “cloistral” frame of reference.”
— ECM Reviews

Tomasz Stańko: trumpet; Bobo Stenson: piano; Anders Jormin: bass; Tony Oxley: drums
Released 1995
Contemporary Jazz

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“My own feelings about the direction in which jazz should go are that there should be much less stress on technical exhibitionism and much more on emotional content, on what might be termed humanity in music and the freedom to say all that you want.”
—Booker Little (1938-1961); trumpeter and composer, ground inspiration for this In Our Lifetime.

Dave Douglas: trumpet; Uri Caine: piano; Chris Speed: clarinet, tenor sax; Josh Roseman: trombone; Joey Baron: drums; James Genus: bass; Marty Ehrlich: bass clarinet.
Released 1995
Contemporary Jazz

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An album like a memory, as much musical as visual (the last member of the quartet is a photographer) of a magnificent and beautiful Africa, truly experienced during several trips by the group, in search for a path slightly aside from free jazz and more in communion with African music.

Louis Sclavis: clarinet, soprano saxophone; Henri Texier: double bass; Aldo Romano: drums; Guy Le Querrec: photos
Released November 2, 1995
Contemporary Jazz, Free Improvisation

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This is the first solo recording by Matthew Shipp at the same time as No More Records first release (re-edited by hatOLOGY in 1998)

Matthew Shipp: piano
Released 1995
Free Jazz, Contemporary Jazz

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“This music needs to be heard by all who love a good joust from improvising musicians who fully understand shadings, nuance, power and glory. Highly recommended, and a high point in Ehrlich’s substantial discography.”
— Allmusic.com

Marty Ehrlich: alto saxophone, clarinet, flute; Mark Helias: bass; Don Elias: percussion; Erik Friedlander: cello; Vincent Chancey: French horn.
Released 1995
Free Jazz, Contemporary Jazz

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“This trio’s first recording, the wonderful Azurety, met with acclaim by critics and music fans alike for its gleeful abandon, musically astute terrorism, and tunes that were stop-on-a-dime tight. The trio, which was initially together just for a tour, is now a working unit and this second recording proves it. … This date is killer — a blast to listen to. Guaranteed to cheer you up, even if you don’t need it”.
—Thom Jurek, Allmusic.com

Ray Anderson: trombone, tuba; Han Bennink: drums; Christy Doran: guitars
Released 1995
Post Bop, Avant-garde Jazz

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Best Jazz 1993 – Albums List

• Paul Bley, Evan Parker, Barre Phillips – Time Will Tell (ECM Records)
• David S. Ware Quartet – Cryptology (Homestead Records)
• Keith Jarrett – Keith Jarrett At The Blue Note (ECM Records)
• Charlie Haden & Hank Jones – Steal Away (Spirituals, Hymns And Folk Songs) (Verve Records)
• Tomasz Stanko Quartet – Matka Joanna (ECM Records)
• Dave Douglas – In Our Lifetime (New World Records)
• Romano, Sclavis, Texier, Le Querrec – Carnet De Routes (Label Bleu)
• Matthew Shipp – Symbol Systems (No More Records)
• Marty Ehrlich’s Dark Woods Ensemble – Just Before The Dawn (New World Records)
• Ray Anderson, Han Bennink, Christy Doran – Cheer Up (hat ART)

The 1990s

Discover all the other 1990s jazz selections: 1990 – 1991 – 1992 – 1993 – 1994 – 1996 – 1997 – 1998 – 1999

Playlist “Best Jazz 1995”

Here is a link to the Spotify playlist Best Jazz 1995, with a track for each album listed above plus 10 tracks from 10 other amazing 1995 jazz albums, including Brad Mehldau, John Surnam, St Germain, Henry Threadgill, and more.

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