In greatly expanding the possibilities for vibraphone and marimba, Patricia Brennan’s ‘More Touch’ takes us to exciting new sonic territory fueled by exceptional musicianship and a lot of gumption.

With ‘Recoil,’ Brad Henkel, Dustin Carlson and Samuel Hall set out and succeeded in making a freeform record that’s not just uncommon, but uncommonly good.

British experimental band Szun Waves scours dark sonic corners for melodic human hope on ‘Earth Patterns’ – and that’s a tough thing to do.

The only thing ‘old’ about Bob James is his willingness to step outside his comfort zone, as evidenced by ‘2080’ with the young electronic whiz Sam Franz.

The ambient, computer-generated drones of ‘New Primes’ produced by Greg Davis is a deep harmonic bath that uses your ears to transport your mind.

Dave Seidel’s ‘Involution’ adds color and texture to minimalism in such an inventive way.

On ‘Telepathy,’ long-established veterans Denny Zeitlin and George Marsh act like young upstarts, showing the jazz world a fresh new approach.