In a year that often felt overwhelming, music remained a place of focus and meaning. This episode of Mondo Jazz brings together the songs from the past six months that helped make sense of the noise—or at least gave us a reason to lean in and listen.

The past six months have delivered more music than anyone could possibly absorb in real time. So this week, instead of trying to keep up, we slow things down and look back—focusing on the songs that earned repeat listens and slowly made a home in our ears.

Rather than looking back at the year as a whole, here we concentrate on the second half. What you’ll hear are the songs that stayed close, long after the initial listen.

Here is another dip into the river of new albums, focusing releases (and re-releases) worth holding on to.

Here's a playlist featuring musicians paying tribute to where they come from, geographically or artistically...

Enjoy an episode that revolves around projects that forge compelling bridges between jazz and African music, from Benin to Madagascar, Mali, Senegal and Tunisia.

Enjoy a selection featuring A-listers who know how to collaborate and set their egos aside, plus an unearthed live gem from Horace Silver.

Mighty albums documenting live performances of ambitious creativity, and artists that turned their interest in different, often faraway cultures are at the heart of this compelling playlist

Here is your weekly antidote to background music, where we lean in, listen close, and find what’s truly worth hearing. And there's plenty of gems worth hearing in here, with a special focus on remarkable singers like Rufus Wainwright, Theo Bleckmann and Terry Callier.

Whether born in the heart of Detroit, captured in the stillness of a London church at night, or inspired by cinematic visions of Norwegian immigration to Minnesota, the music in this playlist invites you into sound worlds that captivate and reward at every turn.

Here is a playlist that gives the drummers some, actually more than some as it focuses exclusively on records released by remarkable modern drummers, and composers/bandleaders like Makaya McCraven, Sam Ospovat, and Jonathan Blake.

Another episode of Mondo Jazz, another constellation of global musical connections — spanning Morocco to India, Basque to Arabic traditions, and the space where classical and world influences meet.

Artists stepping outside their usual terrain, and others that go deep in the one they're familiar with, take center stage in this week’s selection of standout release.

Cultural roots—and our shared roots on this planet—tie together the projects featured in this playlist of recent and soon-to-land treasures.

Welcome back to our weekly dispatch of recent and upcoming releases—where recent and upcoming isn’t a marketing catchphrase but living proof that jazz keeps surpassing expectations, along with our sheer ability to keep up.

Mike Stern-powered debut albums, pastoral projects, and a J.J. Cale-tinged antidote to worry wmake up a playlist well worth your time.

Here is another dispatch of fresh new releases at the intersection of high-octane energy, cinematic vibes and much awaited returns.

Enjoy another playlist where we trade the same-old standards for future ones, which hopefully you’ll be discovering here first.

Here is a playlist highlighting recent releases by some of the most adventurous players of our time, with a special focus on two pillars of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians—as the AACM marks its 60th anniversary—Wadada Leo Smith and Henry Threadgill.

Enjoy a playlist that celebrates the "art of the impromptu" — live performance, spur-of-the-moment recording sessions, concerts released at lightning speed, and the joy of creating in the moment.

Jazz-inflected renditions of pop songs, Hammond B-3 romps, and magmatic textures make up a playlist which proves that great music rarely happens on major labels—or emerges from algorithms.

This time we’ll dive into adventurous large and mid-size ensembles rewriting the rules of how size can matter, then close with a burst of spiritual fire from New Zealand.

Psychedelic boogaloo jams, games of fantasy jazz, progressive funk influences and downtown vibes, are the main ingredients of this fun playlist!

Enjoy another playlist that tries to prove that great music does not usually happen on a major label, or in a Spotify bunker somewhere, especially when it's music as ecletic and creative as this one.

Enjoy another playlist that shines a light on recent and upcoming releases and tries to bridge the gap between mainstream and progressive audiences.