About Jazz Premier
Jazz Premier exists for one reason: there is too much good music being made for too few people to hear it.
Jazz is alive. It is being made in apartments in Lausanne, in studios in Lagos, in clubs in São Paulo, in living rooms in Tokyo, in lofts in Brooklyn. New voices, new combinations, new ideas. Some of it is going to define the next generation. Most of it will pass without notice unless someone is listening, writing it down, and pointing.
That is what this site is for.
We write about the music that moves us. New releases mostly—the last six months or so. Occasionally we will reach back to highlight an older album that deserves another look, because some music takes time to find its audience and some albums get better with the years. We cover artists from anywhere in the world. Geography is not a filter. Language is not a barrier. If the music speaks, it speaks.
We write about what we recommend. Music criticism has a long tradition of negative reviews, and that tradition has its place—but it is not ours. There is enough discouragement in the world. Our job is to point you toward what is worth your time, not to litigate what is not. If we are not reviewing an album, that is not a verdict. It may mean we have not heard it yet. It may mean we have heard it and are still living with it. It may mean we loved it and someone else will write about it better than we could. Music is artful. It grows on people at different speeds. What does not move us may move you. What moves us may leave you cold. That is part of the conversation.
We write at our own pace. The goal is to publish often. Sometimes we will. Sometimes the music will ask for more time, and we will give it that time. We would rather wait than rush.
We are here for the music. Not for the politics. Not for the controversies. Not for what an artist said on social media last Tuesday. The work is what we cover. The work is what matters.
What you will find here, over time, is more than reviews. Curated playlists. Artist features. Notes on labels worth following. Occasional dispatches from scenes around the world. The shape of the site will grow as we grow. What you will not find here is criticism written by a machine. Every review on this site comes from a human sitting with the music—listening, returning, and writing it down.
If you are an artist or a label, you can send us music via our contact form below. We listen to everything we receive. We write about what genuinely earns it.
If you are a reader, welcome. Stay a while.