We are excited to celebrate today’s release of Keith Jarrett’s New Vienna, but we also want to shine a spotlight on other standout solo piano releases of 2025. By doing so, we hope to help you discover albums you may have missed or even challenge your ideas of what a solo piano recording can sound like and how it can make you feel.

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Sophie Agnel is a French pianist and improviser born in Paris in 1964. Classically trained, she transitioned from jazz to free improvisation in the early 1990s, inspired by avant-garde musicians like Keith Tippett, Fred Van Hove, and Christine Wodrascka . Agnel is renowned for her innovative approach to the piano, often employing extended and prepared techniques that transform the instrument into a dynamic, resonant sound source. She utilizes various objects—such as paper cups, rubber balls, and strings—to manipulate the piano's strings and soundboard, creating a rich tapestry of textures that defy traditional classifications .

https://www.sophieagnel.net/

Poetic, dark, experimental yet accessible and comforting.

Sophie Agnel: piano
Released March 28, 2025

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Stephen Grew is a British pianist and electronic keyboardist renowned for his fully improvised music, which he has been creating for over 40 years. His performances are characterized by spontaneous compositions that explore a wide range of sonic textures, rhythmic patterns, and dynamic contrasts. Based in Lancaster, UK, Grew has toured extensively across Europe and Canada, collaborating with prominent figures in the free improvisation scene, such as Evan Parker, Keith Tippett, Pat Thomas, and Trevor Watts.

https://stepgrew.wixsite.com/stephengrewpianist

Intense but somehow classical, raw, and explosive.

Stephen Grew: piano
Released March 28, 2025

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Alexander Hawkins is a British pianist, organist, composer, and bandleader born in Oxford in 1981. A largely self-taught musician, Hawkins began his musical journey with classical training on the organ before transitioning to jazz piano in his late teens. His approach to music is characterized by a profound fascination with composition and structure, alongside a love for chance and open forms.

https://alexanderhawkinsmusic.com/

Expansive, intricate, and emotionally charged, this one balances free expression with profound depth.

Alexander Hawkins: Piano
Released May 16, 2025

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Born on July 19, 1975, in Exton, Pennsylvania, Matt Mitchell is an American jazz pianist and composer. He began playing the piano at age six and composing at ten. Mitchell is known for his innovative fusion of jazz, classical, and electronic music, often blending composed and improvised elements. He has released several critically acclaimed albums, including A Pouting Grimace (2017) and Zealous Angles (2024), and has collaborated with artists like Tim Berne and Rudresh Mahanthappa. Mitchell is also a faculty member at the Center for Improvisational Music in New York.

https://www.mattmitchell.us/

Intense, cerebral, and a powerful improvised exploration of sound and structure.

Matt Mitchell: piano
Released May 23, 2025

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Pat Thomas is a pioneering British jazz pianist and composer. Born in Oxford, England, in 1960, Thomas’s career spans a range of styles, blending jazz with elements of reggae, funk, classical, and electronic music. His deep engagement with free improvisation has earned him a respected place in the avant-garde and free jazz scenes. Throughout his career, Thomas has collaborated with notable musicians like Derek Bailey, Tony Oxley, and Matana Roberts.

https://www.cafeoto.co.uk/artists/pat-thomas/

Unheard, primal, abstract, for a unique experience.

Read our full review: The Bliss Of Bliss

Pat Thomas: piano
Released May 29, 2025

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Keith Jarrett (born May 8, 1945, in Allentown, Pennsylvania) is an American pianist and composer acclaimed for his profound influence on both jazz and classical music. A child prodigy, Jarrett began playing the piano at age three and gave his first solo recital by the age of seven. He later studied at the Berklee College of Music before moving to New York City in 1964, where he joined Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers and subsequently played with Charles Lloyd and Miles Davis.

https://www.keithjarrett.org/

Elegant, introspective, and reflective, this one feels timeless, and nearly like an instant classic.

You can listen to it here.

Keith Jarrett: piano
Released May 30, 2025

Discover Next: Keith Jarrett – Piano Solos (1998-2017)

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Amina Claudine Myers is an American jazz pianist, organist, vocalist, composer, and educator, celebrated for her innovative contributions to jazz, gospel, and avant-garde music. Born on March 21, 1942, in Blackwell, Arkansas, she was raised by her great-aunt and uncle, both of whom were musically inclined. Myers began her formal music education at the age of six and later studied concert music at Philander Smith College in Little Rock, Arkansas. In the 1960s, she moved to Chicago, where she became an active member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), a pivotal collective in the development of avant-garde jazz.

https://www.aminaclaudinemyers.com/

Poignant, soulful, and introspective. The piece balances moments of tranquil beauty with emotional exploration.

Amina Claudine Myers: piano, Hammond B3 organ, voice
Releases June 20, 2025

Discover next: New Releases June 2025

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Eduardo Elia is an Argentine jazz pianist, composer, and educator based in Córdoba, Argentina. Since 2008, he has released nine albums, primarily under the BlueArt Records label, including Callado (2008), El yang y el yang (2011), We See (2012), Figuras de un solo trazo (2015), Solo (2016), Cuando sea necesario (2019), Lejos del torbellino (2020), Una pregunta, tres respuestas (2023), and his upcoming solo piano album Desvíos, set for release on June 20, 2025, via 577 Records.

https://www.allaboutjazz.com/musicians/eduardo-elia

Unfiltered passion, playful spontaneity, a sense of profound mystery and expressive freedom.

Eduardo Elia: piano
Releases June 20, 2025

Discover next: the Best Jazz Albums 2025 (so far)

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Piano Solos from 2025 You Need to Hear:

• Sophie Agnel – Song (Relative Pitch Records)
• Stephen Grew – Fire (Discus Music)
• Alexander Hawkins – Song Unconditional (Intakt Records)
• Matt Mitchell – Sacrosanctity (Obliquity Records)
• Pat Thomas – The Bliss Of Bliss (Konnekt)
• Keith Jarrett – New Vienna (ECM)
• Amina Claudine Myers – Solace of the Mind (Red Hook Records)
• Eduardo Elia – Desvíos (577 Records)

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The beauty of jazz lies in its ability to surprise, challenge, and inspire, and these albums do just that. Make sure to explore them, and let the music take you on a journey of discovery.

Which of these albums resonated with you the most? Let us know in the comments and share your thoughts on what makes a great solo piano album.