A lot of jazz records are about compositions and chops. Michael Bisio and Matthew Shipp’s ‘Flow of Everything’ is more about the connectedness between two very creative musicians.

Giuseppe Doronzo and Pino Basile’s ‘Aterraterr’ has contemporary relevance, yet also feels as if the music has come from centuries of time.

The soulful guitar/organ jazz thing is perfectly suited for a saxophone pedigree like Nick Hempton, and with ‘Slick’ featuring guitar great Peter Bernstein, he keeps those good vibes going.

Simon Phillips, Poco and Oz Noy are part of the latest edition of Five for the Road, an occasional look at music that’s been in my car lately.

Steven Bernstein’s MTO and Catherine Russell convert Allen Toussaint’s R&B classic “Yes We Can” into a joyful, New Orleans jazz funeral parade.

Gregg Belisle-Chi has mastered Berne’s idiosyncratic language and on ‘Mars’ he helps to place some of those brilliant puzzle pieces together alongside the creator.

‘Inimitable’ is an intimate solo acoustic bass recording where Michael Bisio seemed to have plowed ahead and played with a lot of heart and instinct with not too much forethought.

The deeply underrated Nancy Wilson nails the sense of hopeful anxiety that surrounds Dec. 31 every year.

‘Smoke Sessions’ is one of Nicholas Payton’s standouts because in paying homage to some of his idols, Payton does so in an offhand manner that reveals his own inimitable musical personality.

Every Burnt Sugar the Arkestra Chamber project was treated as a major work by the late Greg Tate, and with ‘Angels Over Oakanda,’ he leaves intact his legacy of leading a band of boundless imagination and chops.