Here’s the part of the annual Best of 2017 lists that’s the most fun to pull together.

With eCsTaSy now six years running, Raoul Björkenheim decided to fully harness the trust built up with eCsTaSy over that time and ‘Doors Of Perception’ is the triumphant result.

feature photo: Roberto Masotti/ECM Records No, Terje Rypdal is still thankfully among us, but with a rich discography stretching back more than fifty years, the Norwegian guitar legend’s 70th birthday is as good occasion as any to You May Also Like: Terje Rypdal – ‘Conspiracy’ (2020) The Dream, featuring TerjeRead More

Bill Laswell and the cast of characters assembled for this 57-minute jam aren’t the ordinary type.

Visceral, vivid and uncompromising, ‘Out of the Blue’ picks up where Raoul Björkenheim and eCsTaSy’s first album left off.

S. Victor Aaron picks the best of 2014’s avant-garde and experimental jazz, including Roscoe Mitchell, Jimmy Giuffre, Wadada Leo Smith and others.

My first encounter with the dazzling whack jazz guitar wizardry of Raoul Björkenheim came via one of his many projects, the Norwegian-Finnish alliance power combo Scorch Trio (Luggumt, 2004). You May Also Like: Raoul Björkenheim / eCsTaSy – Out of the Blue (2015) Raoul Björkenheim / eCsTaSy – Doors OfRead More

The Official™ SomethingElse! year-ending Top 10 list requires two or more of us to be in agreement as we gathered around the watercooler. It’s no easy task.