Terence Blanchard says ‘Live’ is an album “for these troubled times – yet it’s also an album filled with hope.” He’s right.

Satoko Fujii is issuing an album in every month of 2018, and if there’s one musician with enough ensembles, projects and ideas to pull it off, it’s her.

It’s always refreshing to see a long-established rock star simply follow his muse. Ten years ago, Steve Winwood did just that with ‘Nine Lives.’

David Ake puts decades of experience behind ‘Humanities,’ creating what will certainly be one of the best mainstream jazz releases of the year.

Returning to Mudcrutch a decade ago, Tom Petty put his notorious studio perfectionism aside to recapture the feel of a hungry American rock band.

Johannes Wallmann joins Preston Frazier to discuss ‘Love Wins,’ his journey to American shores and the on-going fight for marriage equality.

For ‘Hunters and Scavengers,’ Jeff Cosgrove, Scott Robinson and Ken Filiano arrive at their destination together, but the journey is where all that goodness is found.

‘Symbol Systems’ opened a new chapter into the bountiful art of Matthew Shipp, a chapter he has continuously amended to this day.

The supergroup GIG evolved organically with Bruce Gaitsch and Dave Innis providing most of the music and Randy Goodrum the lyrical heft.

Kiss’ ‘Rock and Roll Over’ appeared only months after ‘Destroyer.’ History shows, however, that the best rock music thrives on spontaneity.