The electric-jazz foray ‘Fire Illuminations,’ like most Wadada Leo Smith albums, is not just another record. It’s another chapter in his fascinating, ongoing story.

Satoko Fujii’s genius can be difficult to encapsulate on a single record. We may finally have a good starting point with ‘Hyaku: One Hundred Dreams.’

Wadada Leo Smith’s ‘Sacred Ceremonies’ is a divine communion among legends, but it’s also yet another ambitious statement from an artist who produces lofty works with so many different accomplices on a regular basis.

Get good music, help a cause and celebrate the union of two powerful improvising forces, Deerhoof and Wadada Leo Smith. May there be many more such unions.

Here is S. Victor Aaron’s Best of 2018 list for modern and mainstream jazz releases.

The freewheeling ‘Lebroba’ is a solid entry in Andrew Cyrille’s lengthy catalog, and could be considered a solid entry in the catalogs of Wadada Leo Smith and Bill Frisell, too.

The baker’s dozen in this Best of 2017 list reveals that fusion jazz has expanded and diversified way past its ‘Bitches Brew’-era beginnings.

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

Teeming with guitars, Wadada Leo Smith’s ‘Najwa’ is one of those particularly bright moments in a catalog full of them.

Four masterfully intuitive musicians who regularly aspire for greater heights with each venture reach the summit together on Satoko Fujii’s ‘Aspiration.’