I used to call this the “whack jazz” (or is that “wack” jazz?) list, but I found that term to be too restrictive for what’s being presented below. You May Also Like: Harrison Bankhead and Paul de Jong – ‘Freedom’ (2020) Bobby Kapp + Matthew Shipp – Cactus (2016) DavidRead More

Xiu Xiu vocalist Jamie Stewart enlists Ches Smith and These Arches to record a Nina Simone tribute record. The resulting NINA is one of the weirdest records of 2013. You May Also Like: The Sunny Four [David Torn, Aurora Nealand, Ches Smith + Tim Berne] – ‘MYSTIC’ (2023) Tim Berne,Read More

The best jazz musicians have always struck the right balance between composition and improvisation, and Tim Berne is one of the very best of the best at that. On Shadow Man, he’s still refining that skill, getting so close to perfection. You May Also Like: Tim Berne’s Snakeoil – IncidentalsRead More

Edward Ricart and Nick Millevoi are guitarists who have staked their musical careers on the experimental fringes of metal and jazz You May Also Like: Nick Millevoi – Desertion (2016)

In years past, I’ve called this the “whack jazz” list and this time we’re going to call it “avant garde and experimental jazz,” but any music that goes too far outside the bounds of convention gets lumped into its own category. You May Also Like: Marc Ribot’s Ceramic Dog –Read More

It’s hot, it’s humid, it’s…almost July? Well, mid-year has once again snuck up on me. Time to recap the (fantastic) musical half-year that has apparently flown by. You May Also Like: Matthew Shipp Trio – ‘World Construct’ (2022) Matthew Shipp Trio – ‘New Concepts in Piano Trio Jazz’ (2024)

Albums with as many songs as a 45 single are bound to be interesting, and that’s undeniably the case for Mike Pride’s dual epic numbers compiled into his upcoming Drummer’s Corpse album. You May Also Like: Mike Pride – ‘Marimba, July’ and ‘Drums, August’ (2019) Three-Layer Cake [Brandon Seabrook, MikeRead More

An assemblage of musicians the caliber of Marc Ribot, Ches Smith and Shahzad Ismaily usually signals that this is going to be seriously nerdy jazz, but Ceramic Dog is, in many ways, the exact opposite. You May Also Like: Marc Ribot’s Ceramic Dog – ‘Hope’ (2021) Marc Ribot’s Ceramic DogRead More

Curtis Hasselbring heads up a couple of bands and on the spy-themed Number Stations he rubs them together and watches the sparks fly. You May Also Like: Chris Lightcap – Superette (2018) Tomas Fujiwara, Ben Goldberg + Mary Halvorson – The Out Louds (2016) Mary Halvorson – ‘Cloudward’ (2024)

Ches Smith’s These Arches boasts a line-up so powerful I had to check the statute books to see if this grouping was even legal. You May Also Like: The Sunny Four [David Torn, Aurora Nealand, Ches Smith + Tim Berne] – ‘MYSTIC’ (2023) Ches Smith – ‘Laugh Ash’ (2024) SunRead More