The Jason Scheff co-written “Caroline” seems to be making the same old mistakes, until a key figure from Chicago’s modern era arrives to save the day.

Ethan Chilton’s “Caldera” a funky little fusion number that’s an alluring outlier track from ‘The Planets,’ an album full of alluring outlier tracks.

Henry Threadgill’s creative light burns as bright as it ever did, and ‘Poof’ from his long-running Zooid ensemble is proof of why he is still earning accolades.

It’s easy to use electronic wizardry these days but that’s not the same as handmade music. Will Ackerman, Jeff Oster and Tom Eaton drive the point home on ‘Brothers.’

Leave it to Toto to conclude what may be their final studio album with “We’ll Keep On Running,” a total head-scratcher.

These new albums by Dr. Mike Bogle and Charged Particles prove jazz labels are trivial at best, and ultimately irrelevant.

Sluka’s latest single “Happy In Your World” is about humanity and historic events which have happened on this “pale blue dot.”

“King of Might Have Been” really wants to go somewhere, and Chicago once again tries with painful obviousness to get it there.

Chillingsworth Surfingham is actually a pseudonym for John Ashfield, who is the leader of the internationally known San Francisco band the Bobbleheads.

Tony Kaye, Madeleine Peyroux, David Garfield and others are part of the latest edition of Five for the Road, an occasional look at music that’s been in my car lately.