Fully completed Steely Dan studio recordings not officially released are rare. Steely Dan covers are rare. Their newly uncovered take on Joni Mitchell’s “Carey intersects both kinds of rarities.

The new and stimulating all-woman collective Esthesis Quartet has quickly established a signature sound that’s as pleasing as it is intrepid.

Tony Williams’ new remaster of the barely released 1980 record ‘Play or Die’ is much more than a curiosity. It’s a legit statement on fusion jazz.

Kirk Knuffke has long been called a rising-star cornet player but ‘Gravity Without Airs’ is not the work of an ascending artist but a completely developed musician.

Nick Millevoi and Rob Stabinsky are plenty capable of making serious music but Grassy Sound is about them having fun.

‘Don’t Know’ is the Claudio Scolari Project’s third album in as many years, as the improvisational, familial quartet continues a roll that they don’t seem to want to slow down.

Whit Dickey’s deep trust in his bandmates and himself was greatly rewarded for his highly improvisational quartet outing ‘Astral Long Form: Staircase in Space.’

‘Shine Thru’ presents Dan Schnelle as not just a fine drummer but a complete artist who already has it all figured out.

E3 by Alex Lakusta’s ‘Transmit Slow’ offers something for those looking for musicianship and for those who crave electrified sonics and interesting chord progressions.

The triumph of Anthony Fung’s ‘What Does It Mean to Be Free’ comes from distilling all of his bountiful ideas into an articulate and unified set of works.