On this special edition of Something Else! Reviews’ One Track Mind, we hand the reins over to Steve Smith, who’s had memorable tenures with Journey and Jean-Luc Ponty and now leads the fusion jazz group Vital Information. You May Also Like: When Jean Luc Ponty Made a Triumphant Return WithRead More

Steve Smith discusses the anniversary of his jazz band Vital Information, and an amazing career that includes stops with Journey, Jean-Luc Ponty, Ronnie Montrose and the Buddy Rich Big Band.

Leonardo La Peruta begins The Emotional Touch with a series of skillful runs on the saxophone, almost like a call to arms. “Desperate in Blue” eventually settles into a lithe rhythm signature, but not before La Peruta has served notice You May Also Like: Matthew Shipp – Invisible Touch AtRead More

Guitarist John McLaughlin, decades after his audacious late 1960s’ stateside debut with Tony Williams and Miles Davis, has lost none of his power, virtuosity and vision You May Also Like: How John McLaughlin’s First 4th Dimension Album Brought Things Back in Focus John McLaughlin’s Shakti – ‘This Moment’ (2023)

Our favorite avant gardist from Japan Satoko Fujii is at it again, releasing at once a new batch of records of distinct character. You May Also Like: Satoko Fujii Orchestra Toyko – Peace (2017) Kaze + Ikue Mori – ‘Crustal Movement’ (2023) Kaze – ‘Unwritten’ (2024)

Rebirth Brass Band comes out hotter than a pistol on “Shrimp and Gumbo,” another in the long line of lip-smacking New Orleans songs about food, yet there remains an underlying theme of musicianship. You May Also Like: Canadian Brass – ‘Canadiana’ (2022)

by Mark Saleski Fans of pianist Bill Evans will probably bristle at the comparison here, but that was the first connection that popped into my head with The Ground. You May Also Like: Noah Haidu – ‘Slowly: Song For Keith Jarrett’ (2021) Why Keith Jarrett’s Reunion With Charlie Haden onRead More

Larry Goldings, the jazz organist and long-time James Taylor sideman, opens his second acoustic piano solo release with this update of “In My Room,” a Beach Boys’ 1963 pop masterpiece You May Also Like: Scary Goldings, feat. John Scofield – ‘IV’ (2021)

Everybody digs Nicole Mitchell. They love her in sweet hometown Chicago and all the critics in New York love her, too. Heck, even we discerning types at SER have taken a shining to her. She’s the consensus top flautist in the jazz world, she’s got a new record out, Awakening,Read More

Guitarist-composer Chris Taylor, at once, brings in familiar fusion influences like Weather Report, Pat Metheny and the Zawinul Syndicate, even while adding these fearless flashes of next-gen electronics — samples, voices, weird keyboard programming, chants, scronks, blips, scratches. It’s jam-packed with aural pokes, the kind of album where Taylor, frontingRead More