New York Times: Best Jazz Albums of 2025
December 5, 2025
Originally posted at New York Times
The most compelling releases of the year reimagined hip-hop tracks, deep-rooted collaborations and longstanding inspirations.
8. Chicago Underground Duo, ‘Hyperglyph’
Much of the borderless spirit emanating from the vital Chicago label International Anthem was already evident a quarter century back in the early work of this tandem, which has expanded into various larger groups while always orbiting around the multi-instrumentalists Rob Mazurek and Chad Taylor. On their first album as a two-piece in 11 years — and, aptly, their International Anthem debut — they reassert their folk-rooted futurism, setting free-form trumpet-drums duets alongside pulsing electroacoustic grooves and blissful thumb-piano interludes, imbuing it all with surreal wonder.
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