‘What Happened There?’ has much unpredictable, provocative and instinctual playing from the first encounter between Keiji Haino and Natsuki Tamura, two of Japan’s foremost musical firebrands.

There’s too much artful turmoil here to contain on one disc, and that’s why Tim Berne’s ‘Yikes Too’ is a double-disc delight.

Microtonal jazz has been explored for a while, but with ‘Hemlocks, Peacocks,’ Will Mason finds innovative ways to scale its limitless potential.

Roscoe Mitchell leads a new trio/quartet using his decades-old ideas with a new freshness and proving with ‘One Head Four People’ that his approach still stands in the vanguard of jazz.

Cheer-Accident’s ‘Vacate’ is an “easy listening” record from an art rock band that deserves close listening.

The moments are long on ‘Chrononaux’ but there aren’t any dull ones. Camila Nebbia, Dietrich Eichmann, John Hughes and Jeff Arnal are just too dialed into each other for that to happen.

Jazz is supposed to be the music of discovery, and ‘Wood Blues’ captures the free jazz quartet [ahmed] in the very act of discovery.

‘Shorter Notes’ from the Luca Gelli Organ Trio puts a greasy, soul-jazz spin on Wayne Shorter’s incomparable set of songs that work well in this kind of layout.

‘Eyes On The Horizon’ celebrates the pupil as much as former mentor Wadada Leo Smith, as Joe Fonda since set on a path that’s led him to the company of the best in highly creative, highly improvised jazz.

By distilling from ambitious artists like the Coltranes, Anthony Braxton, Sun Ra, Cecil Taylor and others, Ingebrigt Håker Flaten was able to achieve his own, far-flung ambitions with ‘Breezy.’