“Rock Lobster” arrived 45 years ago today on the B-52’s debut, with a zany approach that softened the defenses of even the most stubborn music snob.

As an advanced bassist and composer, Kim Cass with his star colleagues meet his challenges head-on, making ‘Levs’ such a breathtaking ride.

Soft Machine’s peak roster playing at peak performance is reason enough to plunk down for ‘Høvikodden 1971’ if this boundary-pushing style of jazz-rock is your thing.

‘Live at the 188 Club’ from Aurora Nealand, Mark Helias and Tim Berne underscore the three-way interplay between sax, accordion and bass, and proves the concept works nicely when the right musicians are executing it.

‘Old Main Chapel’ is a fitting epilogue in the rich, under-heralded output from the gently poignant brilliance of Ron Miles.

Chick Corea’s rejiggering the fusion jazz formula toward the jazz direction with generally sharper songwriting has made his Elektric Band II’s ‘Paint The World’ hold up well over the years.

‘To the Point’ introduces drummer/composer/bandleader Devin Gray’s new quartet, full of talented Belgians who know how to carry out his engaging compositions to the fullest.

‘Panoply’ is a quality sampler of Denny Zeitlin’s fertile (and still ongoing) Sunnyside era, with the added benefit of adding to his canon.

Here is the streaming premiere of “Doomknocker,” the second single from Alfredo Colón’s debut album ‘Blood Burden.’

Here we are well into the 21st century and Sun Ra’s music from these mid-70s performances is in some ways, still ahead of the present time.