With Ches Smith’s recently-earned reputation comes higher expectations, and his upcoming ‘Laugh Ash’ lives up to it with another ambitious project that’s not a mere repeat of what he’s done before.

Dave Stryker’s mighty trio got mightier with Bob Mintzer in the mix, justifying picking up ‘Groove Street’ even if you have the group’s other records.

Ahleuchatistas long ago proved to be a ferocious live act, so ‘The Summer We Went West [and East] – Live 2006’ is a release that needed to happen.

Here is the video premiere of “Not a Real Place” from Montreal drummer Will Regnier’s debut album ‘Traces.’

‘Live’ proves that adding Ed Kuepper to a very good acoustic jazz piano trio transforms Asteroid Ekosystem into an experimental, improvisation-heavy rock outfit.

Ivo Perelman and cohorts prove that sax, trumpet, vibes and stringed instruments can coalesce around spontaneous ideas, if you get the right guys together.

By erasing lines of distinction between immediate and contemplated, natural and processed, Joseph Branciforte and Theo Bleckmann crafted something that’s truly novel, yet truly inviting with ‘LP2.’

Drummer extraordinaire Jeff Cosgrove joins Noah Preminger and Kim Cass for an inspired sax/bass/drums performance, ‘Confusing Motion for Progress.’

André 3000 didn’t enter the studio intending to make an ‘Alice Coltrane’ or ‘Jon Hassell’ album, he simply followed his muse. If only more high profile artists did this.

The seriously advanced improvising of ‘Fire Within’ is borne out of the fun that Rich Halley clearly had joining forces again with the like-minded Matthew Shipp Trio.