There is no trio like Gordon Grdina’s Nomad Trio, where the vast talents of Grdina, Matt Mitchell and Jim Black are pushed to their limits and the best of each comes forth as a result.

‘Spontaneous folk music’ accurately speaks to the unpretentious nature of the music that Eri Yamamoto, Chad Fowler, William Parker and Steve Hirsh made.

Those favoring something jazzy and a little out of the ordinary will find Tritone Asylum’s ‘The Hideaway Sessions’ a rewarding listen.

Now on its ninth album ‘Sleeping Cat,’ Natsuki Tamura’s Gato Libre has never really been about jazz; it’s folk music with an open mind.

Tim Berne’s Decay quartet was good enough to beg the question of why hadn’t they made a record from their time together. Now, that question needn’t be asked anymore.

Like the cello trailblazers before him, George Crotty shows us the vast potential of his instrument, and he applies that potential globally while making it sound great for his Trio’s second album ‘Chronotope.’

The new and stimulating all-woman collective Esthesis Quartet has quickly established a signature sound that’s as pleasing as it is intrepid.

Kirk Knuffke has long been called a rising-star cornet player but ‘Gravity Without Airs’ is not the work of an ascending artist but a completely developed musician.

Preston Frazier’s Best of 2022 (So Far) includes records from Ben Craven, Mark Wade Trio, Joe Bailey and others.

Whit Dickey’s deep trust in his bandmates and himself was greatly rewarded for his highly improvisational quartet outing ‘Astral Long Form: Staircase in Space.’