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

‘Unfamiliar Ceilings’ by violinist Lina Tullgren and koto player Alec Toku Whiting is an excursion into unfamiliar territory alright, but it’s territory where the ceilings look open like blue skies.

Structured to mirror his live concerts from the 1975-80 period, ‘Sheik Yerbouti’ is actually one of the classics from Frank Zappa’s “rock” canon.

Here is the streaming premiere of “Spider Season,” the dauntless title track from bassist Nick Dunston’s upcoming second album of the same name.

Mind-altering music is usually about textures; Jaimie Branch and Jason Nazary do that part well while also bringing their improvising gifts to the table.

Sun of Goldfinger’s ‘OZMIR’ is strangely enchanting even as it challenges you, and the only thing more astonishing is that such fully developed pieces of depth, mystery and just damned fine playing can be cooked up so quickly.

Roberto Zorzi, Scott Amendola, Jason Hoopes and Elliott Sharp are capable of anything, making for an unpredictable mix of textures, technology and prowess.

Extraordinary music usually results when extraordinary musicians like Nels Cline and Ben Monder step out of their comfort zones and put themselves in challenging situations that gives them no other out but to lean on their innate sense of creativity.

When left entirely to his own devices (literally), Natsuki Tamura’s imagination runs wild. With ‘Summer Tree,’ he gave himself more places for his imagination to run, thanks to multi-tracking.

Every Burnt Sugar the Arkestra Chamber project was treated as a major work by the late Greg Tate, and with ‘Angels Over Oakanda,’ he leaves intact his legacy of leading a band of boundless imagination and chops.