Matthew Lux’s debut ‘Contra/Fact’ contains a good deal of delightful surprises but given his credentials, such surprises are to be expected.

It’s probably a little too hyperbolic to call Mke Reed’s ‘Flesh & Bone’ the most important release of the year. At the same time, it’s impossible to overstate the importance of its message at this critical time.

In thirty-five short minutes, Jaimie Branch said a lot about what she’s offering to the realm of outward-bound jazz. If ‘Fly or Die’ is only her Chapter One, I can hardly wait to hear the rest of this book.

Paying homage to a Charles Mingus masterpiece with inspired original material is just what you’d expect from the ever-curious, ever-expansive alto saxophonist Greg Ward.