Articles by: S. Victor Aaron

Wadada Leo Smith, with Bill Laswell + Milford Graves - 'Sacred Ceremonies' (2021)

Wadada Leo Smith, with Bill Laswell + Milford Graves – ‘Sacred Ceremonies’ (2021)

Wadada Leo Smith’s ‘Sacred Ceremonies’ is a divine communion among legends, but it’s also yet another ambitious statement from an artist who produces lofty works with so many different accomplices on a regular basis.

Tim Berne, Chris Speed, Reid Anderson + Dave King - 'Broken Shadows' (2021)

Tim Berne, Chris Speed, Reid Anderson + Dave King – ‘Broken Shadows’ (2021)

There’s a lot of appealing melodicism built into harmolodics, and the ‘Broken Shadows’ quartet of Tim Berne, Chris Speed, Reid Anderson and Dave King succeed in driving that point home.

Satoko Fujii Tokyo Trio - 'Moon On the Lake' (2021)

Satoko Fujii Tokyo Trio – ‘Moon On the Lake’ (2021)

Satoko Fujii’s Tokyo Trio as heard on ‘Moon On the Lake’ is not a conventional jazz trio but a Fujii ensemble in every sense, with the grace, sophistication, surprise and ingenuity found in her other groups.

Butcher Brown, "For My Love" from 'Encore' EP (2021): Something Else! sneak peek

Butcher Brown, “For My Love” from ‘Encore’ EP (2021): Something Else! sneak peek

Check out the crushed velvet-smooth slow jam “For My Love” advance single from Butcher Brown’s upcoming ‘Encore’ EP.

BLOAR [Sam Weinberg, Andrew Smiley, Henry Fraser + Jason Nazary] - 'Another Candy Bar From G.I. Joe' (2021)

BLOAR [Sam Weinberg, Andrew Smiley, Henry Fraser + Jason Nazary] – ‘Another Candy Bar From G.I. Joe’ (2021)

Reborn as a quartet, Sam Weinberg’s BLOAR is still making stimulating experimental jazz-rock that’s wild, acerbic and sometimes mathematical.

Three-Layer Cake [Brandon Seabrook, Mike Pride + Mike Watt] - 'Stove Top' (2021)

Three-Layer Cake [Brandon Seabrook, Mike Pride + Mike Watt] – ‘Stove Top’ (2021)

Never being in the same place at the same time, Three-Layer Cake’s Brandon Seabrook, Mike Pride, Mike Watt were somehow able to mold strongly peculiar music that fits together to form a weirdly cohesive whole ‘Stove Top.’

Chris Potter Circuits Trio - 'Sunrise Reprise' (2021)

Chris Potter Circuits Trio – ‘Sunrise Reprise’ (2021)

As we experience the hopeful signs of society coming out of a dark winter of plague, Chris Potter and his Circuits Trio are giving us music of rejuvenation with ‘Sunrise Reprise.’

Flow Trio with Joe McPhee - 'Winter Garden' (2021)

Flow Trio with Joe McPhee – ‘Winter Garden’ (2021)

There’s never been a 21st century ESP-Disc that’s sounded so much like a mid-’60s ESP-Disk record than ‘Winter Garden’ by the Flow Trio with Joe McPhee.

Noah Haidu - 'Slowly: Song For Keith Jarrett' (2021)

Noah Haidu – ‘Slowly: Song For Keith Jarrett’ (2021)

Noah Haidu’s attention to all of the facets that made Keith Jarrett such a major jazz figure pays off with an album worthy of its incomparable subject.

James Brandon Lewis + Red Lily Quintet  - 'Jesup Wagon' (2021)

James Brandon Lewis + Red Lily Quintet – ‘Jesup Wagon’ (2021)

James Brandon Lewis’ ‘Jesup Wagon’ feels just like the musical embodiment of George Washington Carver.