The Tim Berne/Mark Helias partnership might be just a blip on their expansive careers, but it showcased their vast abilities as musicians and composers.

‘Flashing Spirits’ by Cecil Taylor & Tony Oxley gives us another glimpse into this special musical alliance between two masters of improvised music during a time when the two were just getting to know each other.

The availability of these 40 year old recordings from a living, historic jazz figure leading one of his best ensembles is great way to mark Anthony Braxton’s 80th birthday.

Emily Remler’s string of records during her short lifetime revealed an astonishing, groundbreaking guitar talent but didn’t reveal how that talent translated to the stage. ‘Cookin’ At The Queens, Live In Las Vegas 1984 & 1988′ at long last rectifies that.

‘Live in Someplace Nice’ is a welcome addition to the thin catalog of the short-lived endlessly inventive duo of Tim Berne and Bill Frisell.

David Sanborn’s anthemic ballad “A Tear For Crystal” goes slow, but it also goes hard.

Not much crossover jazz from the 80s holds up well today soundwise but David Sanborn’s “It’s You” from ‘Voyeur’ is timeless.

If you just want to hear Chick Corea and his mates shred like rock stars, 1987’s ‘Light Years’ by his Elektric Band is a good place for that.

There’s no one like Carl Weingarten and his new retrospective ‘The Simian River Collection’ will make you like his music, like no one else’s.

Tony Williams’ new remaster of the barely released 1980 record ‘Play or Die’ is much more than a curiosity. It’s a legit statement on fusion jazz.