10 Best UK Jazz Albums In 2024

UK jazz is on a roll. A wave of artists, many from the vibrant London scene have pushed this music to new levels of recognition. In 2023, Ezra Collective became the first jazz band to win the Mercury Music prize and this year they headlined Wembly Arena – a previously unimaginable feat for band from the scene. 

The variety, vibrancy and sheer joy of the music has helped UK jazz overcome many of the stereotypes and misconceptions about the music. Its artists range from the accessible to deeply experimental and everything in between. At a time when nostalgia permeates much of popular culture, our home-grown jazz scene is producing music that that is innovative and forward-looking. 

With artists fusing everything from hip-hop, afrobeat and electronica to modern classical with jazz fundamentals, there’s something in it for many listeners. In 2024, the scene showed no sign of slowing down with releases from big names, cult favourites and emerging artists. These are ten of the best. 

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Nubya Garcia – Odyssey

For years, tenor saxophonist Nubya Garcia has been at the forefront of UK jazz. Her debut solo effort ‘Source’ fused everything from Latin and afro-beat influences to dub with contemporary jazz composition. With ‘Odyssey’, Garcia returned with a record that shows how much she has grown as a composer. She weaves in everything from break beats on ‘The Seer’ to soulful guest vocals from the likes of Esperanza Spalding and Richie on the tracks ‘Dawn’ and ‘Set It Free’ respectively. 

Gorgeous string arrangement feature throughout the album adding a deep emotional resonance to the compositions – a first for Garcia. In ‘Odyssey’ she has delivered an uplifting and powerful record that pushes her music into new territory while retaining the elements that made her work so appealing to start with. 

Shabaka – Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace 

Shabaka Hutchings, now simply going by Shabaka has been responsible for some of the most forward looking and impactful music to come of the UK scene in recent years, with bands such as Sons of Kemet and The Commet Is Coming. But at the end of 2023, he put down the saxophone, the instrument that he had established himself with, to focus on playing a range of flutes from around the world, as well as the clarinet. 

With ‘Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace’, Shabaka has opened up a new chapter in his career. Calmer and more introspective than before, the compositions are delicate and highly affecting. The album boasts an amazing line-up of featured artists from pianist Jason Moran to Saul Williams, ELUCID and Moses Sumney and more. An astonishing record. 

Richard Spaven – Sole Subject 

Drummer and band leader Richard Spaven has collaborated with everyone from Loyle Carner to legendary producer Flying Lotus. With Sole Focus, he delivers his sixth solo project, an album that puts his shuffling funky drumming at the centre of a rich sonic brew that seamlessly merges jazz with hip-hop and electronica. 

Intoxicating melodies, varied instrumentation and rich synth tones play out across Spaven’s beats, that despite being live, deliberately trick the ear by sounding programmed or sampled. A real highlight of the record comes in the form of ‘Spaven’s Arc’, a collaboration with the rapper Wild Child, whose verbally dextrous flows combine brilliantly with the musical intent of the track. Spaven deserves significantly greater recognition for the sonic fusions he creates. Don’t miss this one. 

Amanda Whiting – The Liminality of Her

Amanda Whiting is part of a wave of artists exploring the calmer end of the jazz spectrum. She takes influence from the classics of spiritual jazz and fuses thus sound with gently pulsing rhythms soulful instrumentation. As a harpist, Whiting is helping to revive the instrument in the context of jazz alongside other notable players like Brandee Younger. With ‘The Liminality of Her’, she has created a record that is beautiful, absorbing and manages to feel contemporary yet timeless. 

Ezra Collective – Dance, No One’s Watching

On roll since the release of their Mercury Music Prize winning record ‘Where I’m Meant To Be’, Ezra Collective have kept up the momentum with ‘Dance, No One’s Watching’. The album is a joyous ode the life-affirming power of the dance floor. 

The track list moves through multiple moods, seamlessly evoking a night out. The familiar elements are all there, from the synchronised afro-beat inspired brass to the dub basslines, Latin groves and the virtuosic keyboard work of Joe Armon-Jones. It wouldn’t be an Ezra record without features and the crop on this album do not disappoint. Moonchild Sanelly, Yazmin Lacey and Olivia Dean all put in stella turns. Impossible to ignore and positively life affirming. 

Jasmine Myra – Rising

Existing at the other end of the UK jazz spectrum to artists like Ezra Collective or Blue Lab Beats, Jasmine Myra makes gentle intoxicating spiritual jazz, which has found a home on the Manchester based Gondwana label.

With ‘Rising’, Myra picks up where her last album ‘Horizons’ left off – making detailed and emotive jazz compositions with layers of harp, piano, flute, guitar and more – providing a perfect setting for her fluid alto sax lines to soar over. Myra is an example of both the increase in spiritual leaning records and bigger band formats growing in popularity in the UK scene. A simply stunning record. 

Blue Lab Beats – Blue Eclipse 

Blue Lab Beats are an all-conquering, Grammy winning jazz-tronica duo. Combining the keyboard and guitar work of multi-instrumentalist Mr DM with the propulsive beats of producer NK-OK, they skirt contemporary jazz, hip-hop, electronica and soul. 

The duo’s funky and contemporary sound has the ability to reach well beyond the world of jazz aficionados. On ‘Blue Eclipse’ they work with multiple guests from rapper IDK to Poppy Daniels, Camilla George and others. Always collaborating and known for their production work for other artists, Blue Lab need to be heard on their own records. ‘Blue Eclipse’ is a fine representation of what they do and a great example of the UK Jazz scene producing acts that merge multiple genres and influences to fine effect. 

Cassie Kinoshi, Seed – Gratitude

Celebrated saxophonist and band leader Cassie Kinoshi returned with her band Seed in 2024. Bolstered by the string section of the London Contemporary Orchestra and creative turntablist Nik Nak, Kinoshi is another artist reinventing big band formats for the modern era. 

‘Gratitude’ is a single piece in four parts. It pushes Kinsohi’s composition to another level, marrying sparing sax lines with densely layered arrangements that are always engaging. Kinsohi is a true star of the UK scene, whose creativity and scope for invention seem to know no bounds. Not to be missed. 

Daniel Casimir – Balance

Like Cassie Kinoshi’s record, ‘Balance’ features the London Contemporary Orchestra as well as the likes of Nubya Garcia, Binker Golding and others. Bassist Casimir writes compositions with huge almost cinematic arrangements that fuse post-bop jazz elements with break beats, swooping strings and more. It’s a woozy, intoxicating and utterly propulsive blend of sounds. 

Daniel Casimir is well known for his work playing bass for Nubya Garcia and for contributing to a range of other projects. While his albums have been well received, he doesn’t get anywhere as much attention as he deserves for his extraordinary compositions. Don’t sleep on this one!

Nala Sinephro – Endlessness 

London based Belgian harpist, synth player and composer Nala Sinephro has been turning heads in the UK jazz scene for a number of years with her fusions of ambient electronica and contemporary jazz. On ‘Endlessness’, she serves up a single piece called ‘Continuum’, which is broken into parts numbered from one to ten. A cycling synth arpeggio runs throughout as washes of electronic sound, meditative harp playing and brass lines come in and out of the mix. 

It’s an album that is utterly engaging but can equally hang in the background while relaxing. It manages to be both experimental and soothing. Sinephro is one of the most distinctive artists in contemporary music and like Amanda Whiting and others is helping drive the resurgence of the harp as a jazz instrument. 

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