The people around Jake Reed knew that there isn’t much as a drummer and composer he couldn’t do and do well. With his solid debut ‘Reed Between The Lines,’ now the rest of the world knows this, too.

Will the jazz police appreciate this? Doubtful. But those who choose to actually listen to the Brecker Brothers’ ‘Live and Unreleased’ will be rewarded.

What happens when you lay a “Babylon Sisters” groove underneath an ancient, American patriotic chant? Christian Fabian, Ron Oswanski and Bernard Purdie came up with the answer.

There might not be a better vehicle for the genius of Anthony Braxton than Anthony Braxton himself, but in tackling a few choice selections of his material, Thumbscrew revealed further facets of his ingenuity just in how they use those compositions to take his vision to new places.

Joe Fiedler’s Big Sackbut’s ‘Live In Graz’ is performed so sublimely, it’s easy to forget that this engaging, low-brass engagement is a live record.

Jorge Roeder brings a lot of virtuosity to the double bass, but the most striking thing about ‘El Suelo Mío’ is how he is able to get such lovely sounds and captivating rhythms out of it.

On ‘Arctic Riff,’ this temporary quartet of the Marcin Wasilewski Trio + Joe Lovano never lose their footing through challenging compositions.

It took a while for Jerry Granelli to look back to two of his most famous ex-employers, but once he found the perfect partners, he knew he could do it the right way.

As post-bop dates go, ‘Battle Lines’ a fine example of the form. This is in no small part because Steve Fidyk knows the style and the tradition.

‘Stanley Clarke Band Featuring Hiromi’ reminded us 10 years ago this week that the bassist extraordinaire could still deliver substantial jazz fusion.