2025 marked a historic milestone for Lithuania’s jazz community – for the first time in the history of the M.A.M.A. Music Awards, a separate “Jazz of the Year” nomination was introduced. Its establishment represents an important recognition of Lithuanian jazz within the country’s broader music industry and gives jazz artists a permanent place among the key categories of Lithuania’s most prominent music awards.

The category was established to recognize the most significant Lithuanian jazz releases and to reflect the creativity, professionalism, continuity, and international relevance of the country’s jazz scene.

The first-ever nominees for the “Jazz of the Year” award in M.A.M.A. history were:

• All Reeds Duo – album „Reeds“
• Donatas Petreikis – album „Northern Dream“
• Jan Maksimowicz ir Dmitrij Golovanov – album „After Čiurlionis“
• Mindaugas Stumbras – album „The Spinner of Yarns“
• Vilnius JJAZZ Ensemble – album „Odd Numbers“

At the 15th anniversary M.A.M.A. Awards ceremony, held on February 20, 2026, another important chapter was written in the history of Lithuanian jazz – the first-ever M.A.M.A. “Jazz of the Year” award went to the Vilnius JJAZZ Ensemble for their album „Odd Numbers“.

This award is significant not only for its recipients. For the first time, jazz was recognized on the M.A.M.A. stage as a category in its own right, alongside other prominent genres in Lithuanian music. This marks an important step towards increasing the visibility of Lithuanian jazz, strengthening its position within the country’s music industry, and introducing Lithuania’s contemporary jazz scene to an even wider audience.

The first “Jazz of the Year” award has now been presented, but it also marks the beginning of a new tradition – from now on, Lithuanian jazz has a place of its own in the history of the country’s most prestigious music awards.