S. Victor Aaron picks the best of 2014’s avant-garde and experimental jazz, including Roscoe Mitchell, Jimmy Giuffre, Wadada Leo Smith and others.

S. Victor Aaron picks the best of 2014’s modern and mainstream jazz albums, including Keith Jarrett, Brian Blade, Fred Hersch and others.

Leading by example, Wadada Leo Smith inspired Saft, Morris and Pandi to reach even deeper into themselves as well. Group improv like you’ve never heard it before.

The appeal of this music is its unbiased diversity and lack of set rules.

The future of jazz looks blindingly bright.

‘The New Standard’ puts an edge into the oftentimes prosaic jazz trio format.

Out of the box thinkers Jamie Saft and Joe Morris combined forces last year for an update on the guttural, jam-rock aesthetic popular around the turn of the 70s. You May Also Like: The Spanish Donkey [Joe Morris, Jamie Saft, Mike Pride] – Raoul (2015) Chris Lightcap’s Bigmouth, “Epicenter” fromRead More

What if early Soft Machine had a serious blues bent and hired an ace guitarist? Slobber Pup. What if Last Exit had swapped Peter Brötzmann for Larry Young? Slobber Pup. What if the Band of Gypsies had been strictly an instrumental outlet for Jimi Hendrix’s burgeoning fusion leanings? Slobber Pup.Read More