I spent a lot of time on the Alt.Latino podcast this year talking about how jazz musicians from Latin America are coming into their own. The list below reflects that. My favorites — from Chile, Argentina and Mexico — were either playing damn good straight-ahead jazz or combining jazz with folk traditions from throughout Latin America. This has been going on for a while, but it seems to be reaching critical mass lately.
In that spirit of sonic and genre-defying adventure, I also included vocalists Mon Laferte, Lido Pimienta, Silvia Perez Cruz and Salvador Sobral and the young Milo j. While not technically "jazz singers," they are all challenging and expanding the styles they come from and creating uncharted music in the process.
Felix Contreras' Top 10 Albums of 2025
- Rosalía, LUX
- Milo j, La Vida Era Más Corta
- Lido Pimienta, La Belleza
- Roxana Amed, Todos los Fuegos
- Dianna Lopez, Echo
- Camila Meza, Portal
- Mon Laferte, FEMME FATALE
- Natalia Bernal, En Diablada
- Ines Velasco, A Flash Of Cobalt Blue
- Salvador Sobral and Sílvia Pérez Cruz, Sílvia & Salvador
Read about more of NPR Music's favorite albums of 2025 and our list of the 125 best songs of 2025.
Graphic illustration by David Mascha for NPR.
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