What should you expect from jazz this month? Welcome to our May 2025 selection of albums, featuring those already released or set to drop later this month in our “What to Wait For” section. These albums have captured our full attention and are definitely worth your time. They are listed in order of their release dates.

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May 2025 Selection

The band gives the impression that they are experimenting and having fun, proposing ideas throughout, playful snapshots of scenes where madness and craziness are everywhere. The album taps into a bit of nostalgia, but it is really about creating something new from a mix of unique voices. It reminds you of the Mothers of Invention, maybe, but with today’s sonic possibilities, delivering a completely exhilarating listen.

In its messy chaos, it could very well be the soundtrack to the wild jazz festival we all wish we could attend. Or even better:

“Expect the unexpected. Let this be the soundtrack to your beautifully unraveling mental health.”
–More Is More Records’ Bandcamp

Petter Eldh: synths, electric bass; Peter Evans: flugelhorn; Dave Liebman: saxophone; Alice Teyssier: flute; Immanuel Wilkins: saxophone; Joel Ross: vibraphone; Andy Berman: guitar; Nick Joz: dj; Michael Shekwoaga Ode: drums; Ryan Muncy: saxophone; Mazz Swift: violon
Releases May 2, 2025

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40 Springs in Paris is a magnificent solo album. There is a sense of total sincerity in the playing, with Ramon Lopez finding that precious space where his performance reveals its depth, precision, and experience, yet always simply and gently. Through the rhythms and sounds Lopez explores, he engages us passionately across these 10 pieces.

Ramon Lopez: drums
Releases May 5, 2025

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The third album by Satoko Fujii’s This Is It! trio (piano, trumpet, drums) Message, is as excellent as you would imagine. It is dense, intricate, intelligent, and entertaining. The trio’s chemistry is palpable, with each note feeling purposeful as much as full of spontaneity. Every track unfolds with a sense of exploration, yet, strangely enough, also with a sense of relaxation, almost as if their cohesion is so natural that it puts us in a state of listening well-being. Yes, another Satoko Fujii must-have.

Sakoto Fuji: piano; Natsuki Tamura: trumpet; Takashi Itani: percussion
Releases May 9, 2025

Discover next: Satoko Fujii, Natsuki Tamura – Aloft

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This is the unexpected surprise, endearing, different, and completely accessible. Jazz drummer and composer Tarun Balani explores his Sindhi heritage in this release. The music takes us on a delightful and brilliant journey, quietly leading us to far-off lands that surprise, and remain jazzy enough to connect us throughout.

Sindhi folk music is the traditional music of the Sindhi people, originating from the Sindh region of Pakistan and India. The phrase “Kadahin Milandaasin” translates to “When will we meet?”.

Tarun Balani: drums, vocals, synthesizer; Adam O’Farrill: trumpet; Olli Hirvonen: guitar; Sharik Hasan: piano, synthesizer
Releases May 16, 2025

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Perhaps what is so touching, or so vitally appealing, about Lao Dan’s music is his unique way of combining poetry and brutality. Or is it delicacy and chaos? In any case, it is a voice that is whole, singular, demanding, and yet so necessary.

Lao Dan: tenor saxophone, suona, effects
Releases May 23, 2025

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There is something about listening to the first piece that feels familiar, as though it is already been heard or experienced, and yet it remains good, very good. In fact, it is simply the group’s grounding in the footsteps of Don Cherry that finds its mark in this opening. From there, the inspiration takes on a life of its own, and even though it stays rooted in those TRACES, it soars, takes form, and does so magnificently.

“[…] the Cherry path is a balm that restores essential moisture to the lips that blow life back into the megacosm”
–John Corbett, liner notes

Christer Bothén: donso n’goni, bass clarinet, contra bass clarinet, piano; Mats Gustafsson: tenor sax, flute, slide flute, Ab clarinet, live electronics, organ, harmonica; Goran Kajfeš: trumpet, pocket trumpet, synth, electronics, percussion; Juan Romero: congas, berimbau, percussion; Kansan Zetterberg: bass, donso n’goni | Special guest: Marianne N´Lemwo: karignan
Releases May 23, 2025

Discover next: Swedish jazz in the 21st Century

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The Sound of Raspberry is firmly on the noise side (as the title warns), but somehow it remains catchy and never exhausting. Maybe it is because Tatsuya Yoshida has the perfect intensity to sustain and shape the laser-sharp sounds (think Chris Corsano) blown by Martín Escalante? Or perhaps it is the constant explosion of fully improvised music, which feels strangely controlled? Either way, give it a try, especially the acoustic side (tracks 1 to 9), within the first 5 seconds, you will either be running away or falling right into it.

Tatsuya Yoshida: drums, voice, electronics; Martín Escalante: saxophone, voice
Releases May 23, 2025

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This one is a gripping testament to the creativity of a jazz legend. The album captures live the energy and cosmic spirit of Allen’s ensemble, it pulses with life and styles, from krautrock grooves to cosmic improvisation, exploring territories with an unmatched range.

“A series of live recordings of the 100-year-old Sun Ra Arkestra leader Marshall Allen, these sessions were co-organized by Ars Nova Workshop and Arkestra guitarist DM Hotep at Philadelphia’s Solar Myth venue over two years. […] this collection captures the spirit of interstellar jazz at its most urgent.”
–Otherly Love

Releases May 23, 2025

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“James Brandon Lewis is at the top of the international jazz world,” writes Intakt Records. It is a bold statement, yet one that feels true. This new release (the fifth by his quartet) confirms it, delivering the ballad album we did not know we were missing so much.

James Brandon Lewis: tenor saxophone; Aruán Ortiz: piano; Brad Jones: bass; Chad Taylor: drums
Releases May 30, 2025

Discover the Best Jazz Albums of 2025 (so far)

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May 2025 – New Releases Selection

• Peter Evans & Petter Eldh – Jazz Fest (More Is More Records)
• Ramon Lopez – 40 Springs in Paris (RogueArt)
• Satoko Fujii’s This is It! – Message (Libra Records)
• Tarun Balani – Kadahin Milandaasin (Berthold Records)
• Lao Dan – To Hit a Pressure Point (Relative Pitch Records)
• Cosmic Ear – TRACES (We Jazz Records)
• Tatsuya Yoshida, Martín Escalante – The Sound of Raspberry (Wash and Wear Records)
• Marshall Allen’s Ghost Horizons – Live in Philadelphia (Otherly Love)
• James Brandon Lewis Quartet – Abstraction Is Deliverance (Intakt Records)

Playlist

Listen to these tracks on our Spotify playlist.

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That wraps up our May 2025 jazz selection! What do you think of these albums? Feel free to leave a comment and let us know your favorites or any releases you think we should check out. We love hearing from you and discovering new music together!