The contemporary British jazz scene is arguably in its finest-ever shape. You can note that every decade in recent British jazz musical history has been marked by a genre of music that shapes and is shaped by its social background. Since 2015, the emergence of British jazz talent has snowballed, with jazz finally crossing over into the mainstream. At the heart of the contemporary British jazz scene are these artists, some of whom kickstarted the reemergence, and others who are propelling British jazz into dizzying heights. Here, we explore ten standout albums, some of which will be known and others that deserve more attention.

Now that we have passed the first quarter of the 21st century, this "Jazz in Around the World" series of articles aims to highlight key releases from specific countries by artists or groups who did not release albums under their own names during the 20th century. Our goal is to ensure that new talents are not overshadowed by legends and to offer you the opportunity to discover amazing new musicians and albums.

If you wish to contribute to this series for a specific country, feel free to contact us.

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10 Key British Jazz Releases of the 21st Century

Manchester-based DJ, bandleader and trumpeter Matthew Halsall is one of the most underrated, undercelebrated musicians in the UK. His breakthrough album – and his third – On The Go was released the same way as his previous two albums, on his own Gondwana label.

It’s a very spiritual and emotional record. Halsall perfectly blends his own jazz sensibilities and unique sound with his obvious influences, from 60s modal jazz to Miles Davis’s trombone to Art Blakey’s hard bop and Alice Coltrane’s spiritual jazz.

For a man whose music pays so much homage to the past, it’s remarkable how his music retains its own unique essence. Often described as “rain-streaked spiritual jazz from Manchester”, Halsall’s introspective and warm sound feels at once nostalgic and contemporary.

Matthew Halsall: trumpet; Nat Birchall: saxophone; Adam Fairhall: piano; Gavin Barras: bass; Gaz Hughes: drums; Rachael Gladwin: harp

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When Dinosaur released their debut album, it was immediately clear that this wasn’t just another contemporary British jazz record. Led by trumpeter Laura Jurd, the British quartet crafted a sound so eclectic and forward-thinking that BBC Radio 3 dubbed it “punk rock by jazz standards.” It’s an apt description. The album pulled from jazz fusion, electronic and rock music, refusing to settle into one predictable space.

At the time, Jurd was already an award-winning musician with two solo albums to her name. She assembled a formidable lineup to help deliver a collection of tracks that feel both meticulously composed and effortlessly fluid. Pleasingly, the interplay between Jurd’s bright, piercing trumpet and Galvin’s textured keyboard work gives the album a distinctive character.

It’s this fearless blending of styles that earned Together, As One a Mercury Prize nomination in 2017, marking Dinosaur as one of the most exciting forces in modern British jazz.

Laura Jurd: trumpet, synth; Elliot Galvin: keyboard, synth; Conor Chaplin: electric bass; Corrie Dick: drums

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Already a modern British jazz classic, the only album released by Yussef Kamaal before disbanding brings 1970s jazz fusion into the modern era. The British jazz-fusion duo (consisting of drummer Yussef Dayes and keyboardist Kamaal Williams, aka Henry Wu) incorporated elements of UK hip-hop, electronic and broken beat, complete with live improvisation to match their energetic sets.

In doing so, the South East Londoners crafted a jazz album that feels suited to its London origin. For example, ‘Strings of Light’ nods to the capital’s electronic music pioneers 4Hero, whilst ‘Lowrider’ doesn’t feel possible without J Dilla’s ‘Don’t Cry’.

After going their separate ways, the duo would forge unique paths. Namely, Dayes achieving a top 4 record in the UK music charts with Tom Misch and Williams releasing records in his own “Wu Funk” genre. The album born from an improvised Boiler Room gig set the standard for the jazz explosion that was to come.

Yussef Dayes: drums, percussion; Kamaal Williams: Rhodes piano, synth, production; Mansur Brown: guitar; Kareem Dayes, Tom Driessler: bass; Shabaka Hutchings: saxophone; Yelfris Valdes: trumpet; Gordon Weddenburn: spoken word

Discover next: the Best Jazz Fusion Albums

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Few artists have shaped the landscape of modern British jazz quite like Shabaka Hutchings. As a saxophonist and visionary bandleader, his influence extends across multiple projects, including The Comet Is Coming and Shabaka & the Ancestors. However, it was with Sons of Kemet that he carved out one of the most electrifying and politically charged sounds of the past decade.

From the moment they emerged, Sons of Kemet were a force of nature. Driven by an unorthodox lineup (Hutchings on tenor sax, a rotating cast of drummers, and Theon Cross wielding the tuba like a second bass) the band redefined jazz with a sound that was raw, urgent, and deeply rooted in Afro-Caribbean traditions.

Each track on the album pulses with relentless energy. Accordingly, it fuses elements of jazz, hip-hop, dub, and funk into something entirely its own. At the heart of this rhythmic onslaught is a powerhouse of percussionists, including Seb Rochford, widely regarded as one of the most innovative drummers in contemporary jazz.

Their third album, released amid political upheaval in the UK, became more than just a collection of songs. Memorably, it was a defiant call to arms, a testament to Black resilience and resistance. Sons of Kemet didn’t just make music; they created a movement.

Theon Cross: tuba; Shabaka Hutchings: saxophone; Seb Rochford: drums; Tom Skinner: drums | Additional musicians: Moses Boyd, Maxwell Hallett, Eddie Hick, Nubya Garcia, Pete Wareham, Josh Idehen, Congo Natty

Discover next Sons of Kemet – Black to the Future

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For those discovering London’s thriving jazz scene, the 2018 Brownswood compilation We Out Here (curated by Shabaka Hutchings) is the perfect gateway. The album spotlighted a new generation of talented London musicians blending traditional jazz with every genre from Afrobeat to electronica. Among them, tenor saxophonist Nubya Garcia stood out, featuring on five of the collection’s nine tracks.

Already an award-winning musician (she won the 2018 Jazz FM Breakthrough Act of the Year Award and the Jazz FM UK Jazz Act of the Year Award the following year), Nubya Garcia’s debut album was hotly anticipated. Source progresses the multidimensional jazz sounds honed with her other bands, Maisha and Nérija, placing Garcia front and centre of the contemporary jazz explosion.

Nubya Garcia: tenor saxophone; Daniel Casimir: double bass; Joe Armon-Jones: keyboards, piano; Sam Jones: drums | Additional musicians: Cassie Kinoshi, Ritchie Seivwright, Sheila Maurice Grey, La perla, Diana Sammiguel, Giovanna Mogollon, Karen Forero, Akenya

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Moses Boyd’s Dark Matter isn’t just a jazz album. Notably, it’s a seismic shift in sound, rhythm and atmosphere. Released in 2020, it finds the London-born drummer, producer, and composer blurring the lines between jazz, grime, electronica, and Afrobeat, crafting a sound that feels equally at home in a club, a concert hall, or a backroom jam session.

Ditching Binker & Moses’s raw sax-and-drums setup was a huge step. Furthermore, Boyd fully embraces synth-driven textures, pulsating basslines, and intricate drum patterns, shaping an album that’s as much about mood as it is about movement. Echoes of Fela Kuti’s Afrobeat, Roni Size’s jungle, and Thelonious Monk’s rhythmic complexity swirl through the mix. However, the result is uniquely his own.

Recognised with a Mercury Prize nomination, Dark Matter isn’t a traditional jazz record. It’s a bold, cinematic journey through London’s evolving soundscape, led by one of its most innovative musicians.

Moses Boyd: drums, drum programming; Nathaniel Cross: trombone; Joe Armon-Jones: keyboards, synthesizer, Rhodes; Michael Underwood: tenor saxophone, flute; Ife Ogunjobe: trumpet; Theon Cross: tuba; Artie Zaitz: guitar; Nubya Garcia: tenor saxophone; Phillip Harper: percussion; Binker Golding: tenor saxophone; Arnaud Gichaud: alto saxophone; Chelsea Carmichael: baritone saxophone; Poppy Ajudha, Steven Umoh, Nonku Phiri, Klein, Gary Crosby: vocals

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Xhosa Cole’s debut is an album deeply rooted in jazz’s rich legacy. Namely, it draws inspiration from a memorable quote by Dizzy Gillespie about Louis Armstrong: “no him, no me.” The album’s tracklist offers a fresh take on jazz standards and iconic pieces from the Great American Songbook, with no original compositions by Cole himself.

Additionally, the Birmingham-born saxophonist is joined by a powerhouse quartet, each musician adding their flair to the mix. Firstly, Jay Phelps, the versatile Canadian-born trumpeter known for his work with Judi Jackson and Empirical, brings his distinctive touch to the project. Secondly, James Owston adds depth on bass, having collaborated with Cole in the past as part of Splitting the Atom. Lastly, Jim Bashford, an accomplished drummer who’s worked with Rachael Cohen Quartet and Triyeoh, drives the rhythmic backbone.

Released after winning Jazz FM’s Breakthrough Artist of the Year award in 2020, Xhosa Cole’s debut album continues his prodigious musical journey which saw him breakthrough at the BBC Young Jazz Musician 2018 awards.

Xhosa Cole: saxophone; Jay Phelps: trumpet; James Owston: bass; James Bashford: drums | Special guests: Soweto Kinch, Reuben James

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A landmark release, not just for the London-based quintet but for the entire contemporary British jazz scene. Having already established themselves as the gateway band between the jazz scene and the mainstream, their second album marks a significant leap forward in both sophistication and depth.

Known for their joyous and musically brilliant live sets, complete with call-and-response improvisations, Where I’m Meant to Be presents a band that has fully embraced its artistic growth. Equally, they’re at ease with their burgeoning fame too: the record features a host of special guests such as Sampa the Great, Kojey Radical, Emeli Sandé, Nao, and filmmaker Steve McQueen.

A supremely confident record by a contemporary jazz band approaching their peak.

TJ Koleoso: bass guitar; Femi Koleoso: drums; Joe Armon-Jones: keyboards; James Mollison: saxophone; Ife Ogunjobi: trumpet | & Guests

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Another release on Gilles Peterson’s brilliant Brownswood Recordings label, Black Classical Music is a deeply personal and expansive album. What’s more, the record is a sprawling, universal 19-track record which lifts inspiration from Miles Davis and Rahsaan Roland Kirk. Also, the record features special guests such as Tom Misch, Shabaka Hutchings, the Chineke! Orchestra, as well as his mum and daughter.

Seven years after previous band Yussef Kamaal were signed on the spot, Yussef Dayes’ first-ever solo record was one of the most anticipated in the jazz music scene. Not only did the album deliver musically, it also resonated with a global mainstream audience: Dayes won an Ivor Novello – rare for a jazz record – plus a BRIT nomination.

Seamlessly complete, this is a vastly-talented musician pushing himself beyond the stratosphere.

Yussef Dayes, Rocco Palladino, Charlie Stacey, Venna, Alexander Bourt, Chronixx, Masego, Jamilah Barry, Tom Misch, Elijah Fox, Shabaka Hutchings, Miles James, Sheila Maurice Grey, Nathaniel Cross, Theon Cross, Chineke! Orchestra

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After developing a reputation for his work with the now-defunct Sons of Kemet and The Comet Is Coming, Shabaka Hutchings retired his saxophone to experiment with the jazz flute. Embracing the shakuhachi, along with pífanos, svirels and quenas, Hutchings then turned his attention to his self-produced debut record.

Therefore, the record’s sound was a surprise. Hutchings drafted in André 3000, Laraaji, and Floating Points to craft a new age album that sounds like an auditory meditation, with breathwork and stillness at its core. The result is a record that feels expansive yet intimate, balancing devastating emotion with transcendental calm. Lastly, it’s an album designed for reflection. Although at the same time, the record manages to push boundaries and achieve a beautiful complexity that leaves you noticing more with each listen.

Shabaka Hutchings: clarinet, shakuhachi, flute, svirel, tenor saxophone | & Guests

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Jazz in the United Kingdom: The Best Releases of the 21st Century

• Matthew Halsall – On The Go (Gondwana Records)
• Dinosaur – Together, As One (Edition Records)
• Yussef Kamaal – Black Focus (Brownswood Recordings)
• Sons Of Kemet – Your Queen Is A Reptile (Impulse!)
• Nubya Garcia – Source (Concord Jazz)
• Moses Boyd – Dark Matter (Exodus)
• Xhosa Cole Quartet – K​(​no​)​w Them, K​(​no​)​w Us (Stoney Lane Records)
• Ezra Collective – Where I’m Meant To Be (Partisan Records)
• Yussef Dayes – Black Classical Music (Brownswood Recordings)
• Shabaka – Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace (Impulse!)

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Have we missed an album you love? Is there an emerging artist we should know about? Drop us a line in the comments—we would love to keep the conversation going. In the meantime, just immerse yourself in these 10 outstanding jazz releases from the United Kingdom.