Cobbling together something new from things old is not a Jeff Parker invention. But his unique take on this approach makes ‘Suite For Max Brown’ so much more accessible.

Here is the streaming premiere of “Peaceable” by Quin Kirchner, Daniel Van Duerm, Matthew Lux w/guest Jaimie Branch.

With ‘Alula,’ the ever-thirsty Caroline Davis thrust herself into the company of vital artists at the frontier of jazz.

Joanna Duda’s inventively experimental ‘Keen’ does pretty well at disinfecting your brain of preconceived notions of music.

The supremely creative ‘Sun of Goldfinger’ is unlike anything else out there – apart from other David Torn records.

With the unusual structure of the electro-acoustic trio Hearts & MInds come opportunities to implement ideas you couldn’t really pull off in a ‘normal’ trio setting. ‘Electroradiance’ adroitly exploits those opportunities.

The word ‘Mahobin’ means ‘thermos bottle’ but also ‘magic bottle’ in Japanese, and the magic made for ‘Live at Big Apple in Kobe’ that retained its passion throughout meant that this fledgling group had lived up to both meanings of the name.

Matthew Lux’s debut ‘Contra/Fact’ contains a good deal of delightful surprises but given his credentials, such surprises are to be expected.

It’s always a good indication that the music is working the way the artists intend for it to work when you struggle to pigeonhole it but can easily get a firm grasp of its emotional impact. Syrinx Effect ‘s ‘A Sky You Could Strike A Match On’ does just that.

Satoko Fujii is issuing an album in every month of 2018, and if there’s one musician with enough ensembles, projects and ideas to pull it off, it’s her.