By Tom Hull

While the intent of this category was to prod critics into exploring Latin Jazz, it has been dominated by a small number of artists.

Miguel Zenon Quartet: Vanguardia Subterránea: Live at the Village Vanguard. Photo: courtesy of the artist

Francis Davis added the Latin Jazz category in 2007, in the 2nd Annual Poll. He felt that Latin Jazz had been neglected in the initial poll, especially given the poll’s home in New York City. While the intent was to prod critics into exploring Latin Jazz, the category has been dominated by a small number of artists. This feels even smaller this year, as Puerto Rican alto saxophonist Miguel Zenón won for the fifth straight year, giving him nine wins overall. His runner up this year was Arturo O’Farrill, with three previous wins. Third place went to Cuban pianist Aruán Ortiz.

While the 2024 category was very competitive, with the top six albums receiving 18-16-16-15-14-13 votes, this year the top two were much more dominant (38-28): the ratio of top-three votes to voters rose from 49.5% to 70.5%. This could mean that competition was weaker this year, but more likely is that this year’s albums had much more appeal beyond Latin Jazz fans: while both albums had strong streaks of “Latin tinge,” Zenón’s was a conventional sax-piano-bass-drums quartet, and O’Farrill fashioned a tribute to Carla Bley.

Voters were asked to list up to three Latin Jazz albums in addition to any top-ten albums they regarded as Latin Jazz. They were given no guidelines as to what qualified in this category, or how it should be evaluated. Some albums were designated as Latin Jazz by some voters but not by others. Many didn’t pick any albums at all (72 voters, or 43.1% of the total).

There is no point system, so all votes are counted equally. The top 13, down to a 7-way tie with 4 votes, are:

1. Miguel Zenón Quartet, Vanguardia Subterranea: Live at the Village Vanguard (Miel Music) 38
2. Arturo O’Farrill & the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, Mundoagua: Celebrating Carla Bley (Zoho) 27
3. Aruán Ortiz, Créole Renaissance (Intakt) 11
4. Conrad Herwig, Reflections – Facing South (Savant) 8
5. Harold López-Nussa, Nueva Timba (Blue Note) 7
6. Paquito D’Rivera & Madrid-New York Connection Band, La Fleur De Cayenne (Sunnyside) 6
7. Roxana Amed, Todos Los Fuegos (Sony) 4
   Patricia Brennan, Of the Near and Far (Pyroclastic) 4
   Eddie Daniels, To Milton With Love (Resonance) 4
   Irving Flores Afro-Cuban Sextet, Armando Mi Conga (Amor De Flores Productions) 4
   Roger Glenn, My Latin Heart (Patois) 4
   Arturo O’Farrill & the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, The Original Influencers: Dizzy, Chano & Chico [Live at Town Hall] (Tiger Turn) 4
   Salsa de la Bahia Vol. 3: A Collection of SF Bay Area Salsa and Latin Jazz: Renegade Queens (1991-2025, Patois) 4

A total of 76 albums received votes: 10 got 3, 11 got 2, and 41 only got 1 vote (53.9%). The full list is here.

Two albums received Latin Jazz votes, but significantly more top-10 votes: Patricia Brennan (50-4), and Adam O’Farrill (7-1). Aside from Brennan, of the Latin Jazz albums listed above, only the following got more than 1 top-10 vote: Miguel Zenón (16); Arturo O’Farrill, Mundoagua (8); Conrad Herwig (4). None of the top-13 albums above received Debut votes.

Notes

Larry Blumenfeld: There was the time early in my career when I called up trumpeter Mario Bauzá and asked him something about Latin jazz. After a long silence, he kindly but firmly told me: “I don’t know what this is, this ‘Latin jazz,’ of which you speak. I am not Latin. I don’t speak Latin. My ancestors did not speak Latin. I play Afro-Cuban music.” And with that, he corrected my course, steering me toward a path of exploration I’m still on.

I’m ambivalent at best about doing year-end Top 10 lists to begin with: The idea of a separate list selecting the best Latin jazz releases gives me yet greater pause. Is this a ghetto within a ghetto? What are the borders for this category; who earns citizenship, and who gets deported? What jazz is “Latin” enough? What “Latin” music is jazz enough? You see where I’m going . . .

Yet in the end, as I always do, I make these lists. In the process, I learn and find meaning. This year, the four releases I listed — pianist Arturo O’Farrill’s orchestra; saxophonist Miguel Zenón’s quartet; pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba’s collaboration with saxophonists Yainer Horta and Joey Calveiro; and percussionist Pedrito Martinez’s group — formed merely the tip of a large iceberg that floated freely between and yet connected various countries, traditions, eras and musical approaches.

I can’t imagine any year’s Top 10 list that didn’t contain some of what people might call “Latin jazz.” And I can’t imagine any year’s Top 10 list of so-called Latin music that wasn’t partly shaped or contributory to the stuff we call “jazz.”