Preston Frazier’s Best Jazz of 2016 list crosses a striking number of musical boundaries from straight-ahead jazz to vocalists to fusion.

‘Unstatic’ remains very much in keeping with the style of French rock-jazz drumming extraordinaire Manu Katché, a style that continues to discreetly evolve and stay very much engaging.

Studio or live, ECM or ACT record label, it’s that same, damned good Manu Katché music.

A long-awaited artifact, Live in Athens 1987 corrects the period-piece wrongs of Peter Gabriel’s original film from the So tour — eliminating the edited-in backstage footage that slowed 1990’s P.O.V. You May Also Like: Peter Gabriel, “Why Don’t You Show Yourself” from Words With Gods (2014): One Track Mind WhenRead More

<<< Part Three, Whack Jazz In the final piece of these exhaustive, four-part salutes to the top releases of 2012, the fusion jazz records are surveyed. You May Also Like: S. Victor Aaron’s Best of 2015 (Part 4 of 4, Fusion Jazz): John McLaughlin, Chris Potter, Donny McCaslin, Jeff LorberRead More

The man better known as drummer to Peter Gabriel, Joni Mitchell, Robbie Robertson, and Simple Minds, Manu Katché leads a double life as a restless, serious jazz musician and composer. “Restless” comes to mind on the eve of his fourth record for ECM, simply titled Manu Katché You May AlsoRead More

by Mark Saleski Ever stumble into one of those snotty Internet arguments tugging back & forth about the capabilities of musicians? Specifically, the old “Is it possible for player X (an expert in genre A) to cross over to the land of genre B?” “Well, of course he can.” “He’sRead More

“The Soul Cages,” a Sting album about boyhood grief, remains this strangely powerful if demanding narrative, one with textured song structures and densely emotional themes. Its triumph comes right away, though, on the opener “Island of Souls” — a compellingly dark, perfectly conceived tale of a riveter’s son whose dreamRead More

by S. Victor Aaron World class drummer Manu Katché continues to pursue a second musical career as a bandleader with his third ECM release (and fourth overall) on Third Round. His second ECM Playground was warmly greeted here when it first appeared three years ago, and his label debut wasRead More

by S. Victor Aaron The French drummer Manu Katché has carved out a real nice career touring and recording behind names like Peter Gabriel, Sting, Joni Mitchell, Dire Straits, Michael McDonald and Joan Armatrading. So what kind of record would you expect from an A-list pop percussionist? If you saidRead More