Whatever obscure music forms Alabaster DePlume encounters, he is able to take something old and make it sound fresh on ‘To Cy & Lee: Instrumentals Vol. 1.’

Cobbling together something new from things old is not a Jeff Parker invention. But his unique take on this approach makes ‘Suite For Max Brown’ so much more accessible.

Makaya McCraven’s ‘Universal Beings’ is a handmade mishmash of sounds that isn’t alien, but is never completely familiar, either.

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.

Few are in a better position than Jeff Parker to bring jazz into the 21st century by combining it with 21st century music forms with all the finesse of jazz intact, and he does just that with ‘The New Breed.’

The jazz/hip-hop hybrid ‘In The Moment’ from drummer Makaya McCraven retains the energy and impulsiveness of the live performances within hypnotic looped and sampled grooves.