Varied, inviting, unpredictable but never jarring, the Mark Zaleski Band’s ‘Days, Months, Years’ is anything but boring.

Preston Frazier’s Best Jazz of 2017 list touches on Lara Bello, Nick Finzer and Chris Greene, as well as other favorites from Joe Jackson sideman Vinnie Zummo and Lucas Pino.

Kelly Moran’s ‘Bloodroot’ is not your common minimalist record, and even those who hadn’t embraced that style of music could be drawn to the strange peacefulness wrung from a prepared piano.

Ron Miles deconstructs through his accomplished art the complex emotions of protracted strife both within society and within a person, and makes compelling music from it. The added sense of purpose propels ‘I Am A Man’ to the upper echelon of his discography.

One thing that’s immediately clear about ‘Sometimes Y’ by the Lina Allemano Four is that there is no less zest here for taking chances and playing in the moment.

With eCsTaSy now six years running, Raoul Björkenheim decided to fully harness the trust built up with eCsTaSy over that time and ‘Doors Of Perception’ is the triumphant result.

With “50 from 50, Canadiana 1967-2017,” JC Mosquito collects 50 songs released by Canadian artists over the last 50 years.

The late New Orleans soul-blues great Rockie Charles stashed a dandy little Christmas treat deep within his terrific 1996 ‘Born For You’ LP.

Mumpbeak’s ‘Tooth,’ now out via Rare Noise Records, not only continues ideas Roy Powell first put forth on the self-titled debut, but also makes it plain that there’s plenty of room to expand on those ideas.

Preston Frazier counts down his list of Best Live / Reissues of 2017, touching on favorites from Bob Dylan, Yes and Richard Thompson, among others.