My favorite musical discoveries of 2025

I've long been a fan of the explosive brass from Balkan wedding bands, and Fanfare Ciocărlia are a prime example of the style. This is energetic blowing from a tight band that gets the adrenaline flowing. On this album they combine with Canadian jazz-rock guitarist Adrian Raso, who complements their energy perfectly.

Back in the late 80's I was entranced by the fresh sound of an acoustic pop group playing moving songs with elegant arrangements - a perfect setting for Eddi Reader's soaring vocals. Sadly they broke up soon after “The First of a Million Kisses” and although I've followed Reader since, I've always missed her first band. It's impossible for this reunion album to quite match one of my favorite albums of all time, but after all these years they are still a remarkable band.

Mulatu Astatke is a vibraphone player from Ethiopia, who is well-known for developing a style of jazz based on Ethiopian musical roots, a style often known as Ethio-Jazz. Here he partners with an Israeli band founded on a love of Afro-Beat. The album's mix of vibes, sharp horns and distinctive rhythms demonstrate how well these artists work together.

I first ran into Gaby Moreno when she was supporting Calexico, and I'm delighted with whoever came up with that match-up. Not just was her style an exemplary complement to Calexico's border sound, it introduced us to a delightful singer whose music we've followed ever since. This album takes several songs from her earlier albums and rearranges them in a simple acoustic format - which reveals how strong they are, and how well she can fill an album with just her voice and guitar playing.

It was many years ago when I was first transfixed by Shakti, a band that fused John McLaughlin's jazz-rock guitar with Zakir Hussain and other Indian classical musicians. They created a few albums in the 70s, that proved hard to get later on, but reformed for a new album a couple of years ago. Mind Explosion is a live album taken from their 50th anniversary tour done just before Zakir Hussain's death.

Andreas Schaerer has a unique voice, sounding like no other vocalist I've run across. He also has a singular way of integrating this remarkable instrument with that of his band, in particular Luciano Biondini's striking accordion play. His music is often wordless, sometimes with invented words, chosen for their sound rather than any meaning. While rooted in the best of European jazz, there's more than a dash of prog-rock in there too.