Conceived as it was played, ‘Vessel In Orbit’ is unpredictable, melodic and has form built around emotion not formal structures. When it’s done by such elastic artists like Dickey, Shipp and Maneri, it all comes together beautifully.

Chicago-based finger-style guitarist Adam Steffeck’s ‘Aviator’ is cinematic in scale, bold in concept and brilliant in execution.

If you want your jazz to soothe even when the tempos aren’t slow, Peter Erskine New Trio’s ‘In Praise Of Shadows’ will do the trick very well.

‘Overseas V’ is part of the wild, woolly world of Eivind Opsvik that fans of the unconventional will want to partake.

Five for the Road is a look at the compact discs and / or downloads that have been in my car recently – some new, some old.

German trumpet/piano brother act Julian & Roman Wasserfuhr rise to the high level of their much-ballyhooed supporting cast.

“N.T. Bag” isn’t played by a trio where one player dominates over the others. With the AMP Trio, everyone dominates.

In understanding the vital, father-son sax-drums core of Rich Halley’s ensembles, ‘The Wild’ is revelatory.

Victor Assis Brasil left behind several quality works to explore but his Jobim tribute ‘Toca Antonio Carlos Jobim’ now reissued is a fine place to start on that journey.

Al Jarreau’s distinctive singing style crossed boundaries, encompassing jazz, pop, R&B, funk, gospel, and even world music.