Preston Frazier offers his take on the best albums of 2018 (so far), with tips of the hat to Neal Morse, Parliament, Take 6 and others.

A welcome return as band leader and principal composer, Chris Carver’s ‘Wonderland’ is compelling, excellent listening.

Like Claudio Scolari and Daniele Cavalca’s prior projects, you could call ‘Natural Impulse’ “jazz” for a number of reasons but in the end it just sounds like two (sometimes three) guys following their instincts to make music that’s both unpredictable and inviting. And they have only gotten better at doing that.

The long-forgotten ‘Both Directions at Once, The Lost Album’ is nonetheless as gratifying as many other John Coltrane albums from the Impulse! era; indeed, it holds its own against the entire, history-making discography.

Matthew Lux’s debut ‘Contra/Fact’ contains a good deal of delightful surprises but given his credentials, such surprises are to be expected.

The set mirrored Charlie Ballantine’s new album ‘Life is Brief,’ since both included some unexpected Bob Dylan selections.

Drumming legend Billy Cobham joins Mike Tiano for an in-depth look at the third annual Art of the Rhythm Section Retreat.

Pianist Denny Zeitlin’s ‘Wishing On The Moon’ presents three unique musical personalities in pursuit of the right group dynamic and their performance at Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola confirms they had achieved it.

‘Experiments On Human Subjects’ is artful haymaking from Evil Genius. The tuba is having more fun than is probably legally allowed and if you’re predisposed for adventurous listening, you’ll have illegal fun too.

Solitaire Miles is taking a quick break from her Susie Blue persona to dig back into her jazz roots.