For the live document ‘Viscera,’ Brian Krock lays out tall orders for his band and they always produce. His liddle quartet is indeed little in size but the ambitions are ‘orchestra big.’

Over in Barcelona, Spain, David Philips found his own sunny angle, a silver lining to all this despair: Mother Nature is getting a much-needed break.

Being around William Parker has left a deep impression on drummer Jeff Cosgrove, and some of Parker’s creative flair has apparently rubbed off on him, too.

The people around Jake Reed knew that there isn’t much as a drummer and composer he couldn’t do and do well. With his solid debut ‘Reed Between The Lines,’ now the rest of the world knows this, too.

Get good music, help a cause and celebrate the union of two powerful improvising forces, Deerhoof and Wadada Leo Smith. May there be many more such unions.

Music that relaxes doesn’t necessarily have to be devoid of subtlety and rich complexities. Gato Libre has proven that time and again, and ‘Koneko’ makes it an open-and-shut case.

What happens when you lay a “Babylon Sisters” groove underneath an ancient, American patriotic chant? Christian Fabian, Ron Oswanski and Bernard Purdie came up with the answer.

The revelation of ‘(Congratulations to You)’ is how Sun of Goldfinger mixes rare unmatched sonorities with impromptu creativity and advanced improvisation.

There might not be a better vehicle for the genius of Anthony Braxton than Anthony Braxton himself, but in tackling a few choice selections of his material, Thumbscrew revealed further facets of his ingenuity just in how they use those compositions to take his vision to new places.

Joe Fiedler’s Big Sackbut’s ‘Live In Graz’ is performed so sublimely, it’s easy to forget that this engaging, low-brass engagement is a live record.