Music that relaxes doesn’t necessarily have to be devoid of subtlety and rich complexities. Gato Libre has proven that time and again, and ‘Koneko’ makes it an open-and-shut case.

What happens when you lay a “Babylon Sisters” groove underneath an ancient, American patriotic chant? Christian Fabian, Ron Oswanski and Bernard Purdie came up with the answer.

There might not be a better vehicle for the genius of Anthony Braxton than Anthony Braxton himself, but in tackling a few choice selections of his material, Thumbscrew revealed further facets of his ingenuity just in how they use those compositions to take his vision to new places.

Joe Fiedler’s Big Sackbut’s ‘Live In Graz’ is performed so sublimely, it’s easy to forget that this engaging, low-brass engagement is a live record.

Thiago Nassif’s progressive assault on Brazilian pop won’t appeal to everybody, but they say that about all artists ahead of their time *during* their time.

Jorge Roeder brings a lot of virtuosity to the double bass, but the most striking thing about ‘El Suelo Mío’ is how he is able to get such lovely sounds and captivating rhythms out of it.

On ‘Arctic Riff,’ this temporary quartet of the Marcin Wasilewski Trio + Joe Lovano never lose their footing through challenging compositions.

Even when Bluey makes you think, he never loses sight of music’s main mission to make you feel good and make you move on his latest solo groover ‘Tinted Sky.’

Hypnotic as background music that becomes compelling with deep listening, ‘Tranceportation (Volume 2)’ continues a match made in heaven between Sonar and David Torn.

From serene moments to uninhibited flashes, Denny Zeitlin’s trio with Buster Williams and Matt Wilson found themselves in particularly good form that spring night at the Mezzrow Jazz Club.