Herbie Hancock, who, at 85, is one of the older statesmen and the jazz authorities, says that jazz is a spirit. Although the traditions of the genre remain coherent during the decades, jazz has also historically consecrated gender.
This remains in the case in 2025. In today's jazz and arrivals today, the characteristics of improvisation, musicality, humanity and depth are very present. But they are presented by a new generation with vitality, freshness and innovation. Here are seven new Elite arrivals keeping the spirit of jazz alive at the highest level.
Annahstasia
Annahstasia's first start, “Tether” (June 13) is a trumperously powerful record. Soft, soft, elegant and graceful in a way that recalls a woman Nick Drake, it is actually a daring statement to dare the listeners to think and feel this in these tumultuous times. “With my file, the important messages in it are our empathy, our rest, our kindness, our slowness and our intention, which I think that in the world of today, we must all take moments,” says the artist based in Los Angeles about the magnificent “attachment”. From the magnificent Open-Option, “be nice”, as close as possible, “believing”, this declaration of 11 songs is such a beautiful record that you will hear this year and announces the arrival of a major talent.
Jazz influences: Billie Holiday, Alice Coltrane, John Coltrane, Carlos Nino, Laraaji
Maya Delilah
The 24 -year -old Briton achieves something pretty clever on his beginnings, “The Long Way Round”. The guitar prodigy, who says she grew up playing in a jazz group, actually captured nostalgia for a time for which she was not alive. “When I was making this disc, I was referring to a lot of records on which I grew up such as” Tapestry “, Carole King;” Blue “, Joni Mitchell;” Bryter Layter “, Nick Drake – So for me, this record seems very nostalgic. I really hope it has the essence of nostalgia for others too, “says Delilah. Indeed, a large part of the album has a relaxed atmosphere of the 70s, punctuated by the work of a sparkling guitar of Delilah. But given the age of Delilah, everything comes with a contemporary feeling. Combined, this allows a timeless and magnificent introduction.
Jazz influences: Herbie Hancock, Kamasi Washington, Norah Jones, Keith Jarrett
Ashley Henry
With Henry, a singer / pianist / group leader mainly beating the keys to the piano, this masterful album mainly carries the feeling of a traditional jazz set. But the multiple British artist constantly transcends a genre, as on the song “Take Me Higher”, which has a strong disco / funk atmosphere of the 70s. “Each of these songs holds an attempt to understand and aim for the liberation or the collective possibility”, says Henry about the 14 songs of his 2024 album “Who We Are”, writes to provide a respite. There is a arrow quality in a large part of the album, in particular the aptly named “Fly Away”, with Aja Monet.
Jazz influences: Patrice Rushengen, George Benson, Geri Allen, Jackie Mittoo
Bava wise
The deeply moving beginnings of Bava, “to the Eyes” (produced by the quadruple Grammy, the winner of Grammy, Larry Klein and featuring the appearances of Christian McBride and Braxton Cook of the), is rooted in his jazz education. “I grew up in a farm, listening almost exclusively legends like Ella Fitzgerald, Judy Garland, Billie Holiday, Mel torté and Duke Ellington,” she says. But his musically adventurous and curious spirit merges these classic influences with a curvature decidedly from the 21st century, leading to multiple comparisons of industry with Fiona Apple. Bava, who is at her best when she lets her beautiful voice shine on songs like “Slow” and “Love and Control”, also draws from her strong link with nature. The result is a thoughtful and introspective personal collection.
Jazz influences: Esperanza Spalding, Melody Gardot, Antonio Carlos Jobim and Thelonious Monk
Brandon Woody
Baltimore Woody's trumpeter brings a quiet resolution and elegance to his excellent first beginning “for the love of all this” (May 9). On a track like “Wisdom: terrace on St. Paul St.” This elegance and resolution are underlined by a grain of steel. “I want people to take a feeling of the journey that I and my collective have. “This album is a presentation of us being us, without glamor but in the most raw and natural way possible.” This honesty is felt throughout each note of these six songs.
Jazz influences: Theljon Allen, Craig Alston, Tim Green, Marc Cary, Quincy Phillips, Gary Thomas, Rodney James, Troy Long, Michael Saunders. “My friends are my greatest influences. All my favorite musicians leave the Baltimore region, ”he says.
Milena Married
Like the exceptional beginnings of Annahstasia and Bava, the “reflections from the trumpeter / producer Casado based in New York Casado (the reflections of another Self” (May 16) are a magnificent collection which comes from deeply. Infusing mainly rich ethereal instrumental with the music of its Spanish roots and Brazilian vibrations, Casado, born in Spain, Enforcement to live in and think.
Jazz influences: Wayne Shorter, of which you can really hear examples of voice. Miles Davis, Thelonious monk, Ornette Coleman
HAS!
A few decades earlier and Aron! (Born Aron Stornaiuolo) would have played in the background in a film Woody Allen in the 1940s or in a jazz café. On his EP Oh-So-Injoyable “Cozy You (and other beautiful songs)” (June 6), the young Crooner transports us to a bygone era where love is everywhere. “I would love this EP to be the soundtrack of the simple moments of people's life. Whether you drive, cook, clean, read, study – really any type of – there is beauty in these ordinary moments, because it is a gateway to presence, ”he says. He takes simple beauty and Laufey's elegance Back to her more traditional roots and just as she did, watch her to explode the Z generation.
Jazz: influences: “The songwriters of the great era of Songbook American,” he says. “Writers like Cole Porter, Johnny Mercer, Billy Strayhorn and Matt Dennis – these guys had such a beautiful way to express timeless emotions through melody and words. I have been obsessed with arrangers like Axel Stordahl and Nelson Riddle since I was 10 years old. Jazz (because I consider a lot of Sinatra more pop stuff than jazz), I really entered Bud Powell, the consequences of Duke Ellington and “Birth of the Cool” – I just can't overcome this one. “”
