With Ches Smith’s recently-earned reputation comes higher expectations, and his upcoming ‘Laugh Ash’ lives up to it with another ambitious project that’s not a mere repeat of what he’s done before.

Here is a hard rockin’ new single from Adam Hopkins’ ‘Crickets’ band, “Grounded,” a standalone single and extra track from the fifth anniversary vinyl reissue of ‘Crickets.’

With ‘Letters to George’ by his exciting new combo GEORGE, John Hollenbeck once again takes a somewhat odd assortment of musicians and shaped them into the something truly fresh and compelling.

Getting it right instead of getting it sooner paid off handsomely for Trevor Dunn and his Trio-Convulsant on ‘Séances.’

Anna Webber builds a talented band around an idea from years earlier, and her deeper dive into that idea is well justified, judging from this galvanized performance.

Here is the premiere of György Ligeti’s “Fanfares,” as performed by Brian Krock’s Big Heart Machine jazz orchestra.

Adam Hopkins is one of the few talents with the vision to make jazz directed at the current and future generations, not the past ones.

S. Victor Aaron picks the best of 2014’s modern and mainstream jazz albums, including Keith Jarrett, Brian Blade, Fred Hersch and others.

Webber laid bare her compositions, leaving it in a few, capable hands and in doing so, made them flourish.