Stephen Godsall’s fun, experimental ‘Tingling Skin, Buzzing Wires’ proves the banjo fits just fine into an ensemble. Along the way, he elevates this humble instrument to new heights.

Harriet Tubman’s ‘Electrical Field of Love’ is a welcome enough return on its own but their willingness to keep shaking things up by bringing on board Georgia Anne Muldrow signals that they haven’t lost any aversion to standing pat.

‘Fallows’ is different because the perspective is different. It’s up to us to find the beauty that transcends the chaos; Caroline Davis found it in the American Rockies and shares it with us through these recordings.

Bluegrass, I like. Styx’s Tommy Shaw, I like. But together? You couldn’t help but wonder, 15 years ago, if ‘The Great Divide’ would even work – but it did.

It’s time to re-embrace all the energy and funky fun of Mullet Jazz. You don’t need a mullet or a time machine to take this trip; Finely Tuned Elephant’s ‘No Goats’ is here to re-create that feeling in the present.

Sophisticated without being stiff, the Mark Wade Trio’s ‘New Stages’ rewards both curious jazz listeners and classical fans alike.

Bassist Michael Formanek who has a reputation for consistently coming up with novel creative approaches to jazz just put his imagination into overdrive for ‘New Digs.’

Mike Keneally’s chief idiom is progressive rock, but his restless creativity leads to guitar solos that shape shift. That’s why I can listen to him all day long.

‘ELEPHANT’ shows Adam O’Farrill’s daring to innovate new jazz with disparate non-jazz components comes from the acumen to conceive it and execute it with confidence.

Peter Somuah knows how to push jazz forward to present-day vibes without losing any of jazz’s vintage vitality, and he does it his own way.