Published: 13 May 2026 / Last Update: 10 June 2026

Here’s a simple guide for anyone interested in nu jazz / jazztronica, from essential albums and tracks to deeper releases, mapped across the genre’s different sides and strains.

Getting into any genre isn’t always as straightforward as it seems, and nu jazz is no exception. Genre lines are naturally loose, and not everyone is going to agree on exactly what qualifies. But debating those technicalities isn’t really what our “Getting Into” posts are about. Some of the releases below sit right at the center of the movement, while others simply pull from specific elements of its sonic palette. Either way, we think they’re all connected in some way, whether through texture, rhythm, atmosphere, or attitude.

To make things easier to navigate, we’ve broken the guide down into a few broad categories based loosely on mood and style. Plenty of artists move between them, and these groupings constantly bleed into one another, so treat them less like rigid rules and more like a loose map to explore.

This is also a highly subjective selection, of course. Narrowing down an entire genre into a list like this is never easy, but our main goal is simply to help you find something new that resonates with you. And if there’s something you love that we missed, feel free to share it in the comments below or on our socials.

Finally, most of the releases mentioned here, along with plenty more, can also be found in our Nu Jazz, Jazztronica playlist on Spotify, which we update regularly.

Now, let’s dig in.

COSMIC / FUTURISTIC / PSYCH-PROG

Must-Hear Albums (in no particular order)

• Jaga Jazzist – Starfire (2015)
• Jaga Jazzist – One-Armed Bandit (2o1o)
• The Comet Is Coming – Trust In The Lifeforce Of The Deep Mystery (2o19)
• The Comet Is Coming – Hyper-Dimensional Expansion Beam (2o22)
• Xploding Plastix – Amateur Girlfriends Go Proskirt Agents (2o01)
• Donny McCaslin – Lullaby For The Lost (2o25)
• James Holden & The Animal Spirits – The Animal Spirits (2017)
• Lua Trilogy! & Mayfly Priestess – You Are Peace! You Are Love! (2024)
• Red Snapper – Making Bones (1998)
• Nana Rizinni – Epiblast (2026)
• Nick Walters – Singularity (2022)
• Nate Mercereau – Joy Techniques (2019)

10 Representative Tracks for a Quick Taste (in no particular order)

• Jaga Jazzist – Starfire
• The Comet Is Coming – Summon The Fire
• Donny McCaslin – Wasteland
• Nils Petter Molvær – Recoil
• Xploding Plastix – Funnybones & Lazylegs
• James Holden & The Animal Spirits – Thunder Moon Gathering
• Red Snapper & MC Det – The Sleepless
• Sungazer – Lunar
• Nana Rizinni – Epiblast
• Ishmael Ensemble – Siren!

ATMOSPHERIC / CINEMATIC / DOWNTEMPO

Must-Hear Albums (in no particular order)

• Jaga Jazzist – What We Must (2005)
• Portico Quartet – Monument (2021)
• Portico Quartet – Memory Streams (2019)
• Portico Quartet – Art In The Age Of Automation (2017)
• Hidden Orchestra – Archipelago (2012)
• Hidden Orchestra – Night Walks (2010)
• Floex – Zorya (2012)
• Nils Petter Molvær – Khmer (1998)
• Nils Petter Molvær – Buoyancy (2016)
• Nils Petter Molvær – Stitches (2021)
• Eivind Aarset – Électronique Noire (1998)
• Eivind Aarset – Sonic Codex (2007)
• Svaneborg Kardyb – Over Tage (2022)
• Submotion Orchestra – Finest Hour (2011)
• Ishmael Ensemble – Visions Of Light (2021)
• Notilus – Notilus (2017)

10 Representative Tracks for a Quick Taste (in no particular order)

• Jaga Jazzist – All I Know Is Tonight
• Portico Quartet – Endless
• Hidden Orchestra – Overture
• Floex – Forget-Me-Not
• Nils Petter Molvær – Song Of Sand II
• Eivind Aarset – Dark Moisture
• The Cinematic Orchestra – Man With The Movie Camera
• Submotion Orchestra – Finest Hour
• Ishmael Ensemble – The Gift
• Kinkajous – It Blooms/Then Nothing

RHYTHMIC / PLAYFUL / JAZZ HOUSE & ACID JAZZ

Must-Hear Albums (in no particular order)

• Llorca – Newcomer (2001)
• St Germain – Boulevard: The Complete Series (1995)
• Kyoto Jazz Massive – Spirit Of The Sun (2002)
• Kyoto Jazz Massive – Message From A New Dawn (2021)
• Moses Boyd – Dark Matter (2020)
• Neue Grafik Ensemble – Foulden Road Part II (2022)
• Atjazz – Labfunk (2009)
• NuHussel Orchestra – Kids (2022)
• Yarni – Pigna (2022)
• Tour-Maubourg – Paradis Artificiels (2020)

10 Representative Tracks for a Quick Taste (in no particular order)

• St Germain – Rose Rouge
• Llorca – The Novel Sound
• Neue Grafik Ensemble – Queen Assa
• Kyoto Jazz Massive – Substream
• Moses Boyd – Y.O.Y.O
• EABS – UFO
• Bandler Ching – P’tit Île
• NuHussel Orchestra – Cptn Future
• Yarni – Cherub
• Jazzanova – Fedime’s Flight

SPIRITUAL / MELLOW / SOUL

Must-Hear Albums (in no particular order)

• Uyama Hiroto – Freeform Jazz (2017)
• Uyama Hiroto – Freedom Of The Sun (2014)
• Uyama Hiroto – Breath Of Love (2024)
• Erik Truffaz – Bending New Corners (1998)
• The Cinematic Orchestra – Every Day (2002)
• The Cinematic Orchestra – Motion (1999)
• Taylor McFerrin – Early Riser (2014)
• Makaya McCraven – Universal Beings (2018)
• Yussef Kamaal – Black Focus (2016)
• Yussef Dayes – Black Classical Music (2023)
• Alfa Mist – Antiphon (2017)
• BADBADNOTGOOD – IV (2016)
• St Germain – Tourist (2000)
• Resavoir – Resavoir (2019)
• Broadway Project – Compassion (2002)
• Joe Armon-Jones – Starting Today (2018)
• Robert Glasper – Black Radio (2012)
• DOMi & JD Beck – Not Tight (2022)
• Venna – Malik (2025)
• Clutchy Hopkins – The Life Of Clutchy Hopkins (2005)
• Skalpel – Transit (2014)

10 Representative Tracks for a Quick Taste (in no particular order)

• Erik Truffaz – Arroyo
• Uyama Hiroto – Yin And Yang
• The Cinematic Orchestra – All That You Give
• BADBADNOTGOOD – Speaking Gently
• Resavoir & Brandee Younger – Taking Flight
• Robert Glasper & Erykah Badu – Afro Blue
• Venna – Eternal Reflections (feat. Yussef Dayes)
• Alfa Mist – Antiphon
• Yussef Kamaal – Keep On
• Taylor McFerrin – Already There

AVANT-GARDE / EXPERIMENTAL / LEFT-FIELD

Must-Hear Albums (in no particular order)

• Amon Tobin – Permutation (1998)
• Flying Lotus – You’re Dead! (2014)
• Hakushi Hasegawa – Air Ni Ni (2019)
• DJ Spooky – Optometry (2002)
• Squarepusher – Music Is Rotted One Note (1998)
• PAON – Philosophie Du Soi (2026)
• Jon Hassell – Listening To Pictures (Pentimento Volume One) (2018)
• Ben LaMar Gay – Open Arms To Open Us (2021)
• Sungazer – Sungazer, Vol.2 (2019)
• We Used To Cut The Grass – We Used To Cut The Grass #1 (2021)
• Anteloper – Pink Dolphins (2022)

10 Representative Tracks for a Quick Taste (in no particular order)

• Flying Lotus – Cold Dead
• Amon Tobin – Reanimator
• Jaga Jazzist – Animal Chin
• Eivind Aarset – Self Defence
• Hakushi Hasegawa – o(__*)
• Xploding Plastix – Treat Me Mean, I Need The Reputation
• DJ Spooky – Ibid, Desmarches, Ibid
• Jon Hassell – Ndeya
• Ben LaMar Gay – Sometimes I Forget How Summer Looks On You
• Anteloper – Delfin Rosado

RECENT STANDOUT ALBUMS (2023–2026)

(Aside from those already mentioned above. Listed in no particular order)

• Bear Garden – Up (2023)
• Medasin – Always In A Hurry (2023)
• Bandler Ching – Mercurial (2025)
• The Big Tusk – Shrimplet’s Regrets (2026)
• SML – How Have You Been (2025)
• Moses Yoofee Trio – MYT (2025)
• EABS – Reflections Of Purple Sun (2024)
• Cocomofo – Cardinal Rose (2023)
• Daoud – ok (2025)
• Chiminyo – NRG 5 (2026)
• We Used To Cut The Grass – We Used To Cut The Grass #2 (2025)
• Yarni – Anemoia (2025)
• Little Fingers – Snakes & Ladders (2025)
• The Brums – Soleil Noir (2025)

Want more? Our companion playlist features many of these selections and plenty more, with tracks rotating in and out regularly and new music added all the time. Feel free to follow it to stay in the loop.