Paying homage to a Charles Mingus masterpiece with inspired original material is just what you’d expect from the ever-curious, ever-expansive alto saxophonist Greg Ward.

Bob Dylan is revealed as something of a touchstone in ‘Sound Bites: A Lifetime of Listening,’ the fascinating new book by Something Else! contributor Tom Wilmeth.

Bob Seger’s ‘The Distance’ has a musical power which exceeds the lyrical heft of the far-more-popular ‘Night Moves,’ as heard on stand-out cuts like “Boomtown Blues.”