‘Protocol 4’ is another example of how Simon Phillips never rests on his laurels.

Always putting spirituality above improvisation, Brian Blade and The Fellowship Band connects to listeners in a way uncommon for jazz musicians, and ‘Body And Shadow’ continues a remarkable consistency of mission and quality spanning two decades.

For ‘Masonic Lawn,’ Hammond uses Resonator guitars to hold an extemporaneous musical dialogue with Bafus.

Rudresh Mahanthappa’s Indo-Pak Coalition’s the original mission of melding modern group-level stream-of-consciousness with contemporary raga remains intact, ‘Agrima’ builds on those original ideas, too.

Chris Comb’s ‘Combsy’ is strongly recommended for those who like the Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey, but this fuller impression of Combs’ offbeat musical personality is a treat all unto itself.

Hiromi and Edmar Castaneda’s ‘Live in Montreal’ is a revelation about the enchantment that can come from combining world-class piano with an unconventionally inventive harp.

Philipp Gerschlauer and David Fiuczynski getting together for ‘Mikrojazz: Neue Expressionistische Musik’ took microtonal music to new places, and there’s never a dull moment.

feature photo: Roberto Masotti/ECM Records No, Terje Rypdal is still thankfully among us, but with a rich discography stretching back more than fifty years, the Norwegian guitar legend’s 70th birthday is as good occasion as any to You May Also Like: Terje Rypdal – ‘Conspiracy’ (2020) The Dream, featuring TerjeRead More

While ‘For Those About to Jazz/Rock, We Salute You’ really has nothing to do with AC/DC, Vector Families has that kind of intensity level and spunk. Only with way more improvised gumption.

Though tim Berne’s Snakeoil band lives and thrives dangerously, ‘Incidentals’ never goes off the rails; there’s a constant sense of surprise but coupled with a sense of purpose.