<<< 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: Alphonse Mouzon (1948-2016): Tribute to an Endlessly Versatile Fusion Legend Jimmy Haslip, jazz bassist: The Albums That Shaped My Career

<<< Part Two, Mainstream and Modern Jazz ||| Part 4, Fusion Jazz >>> In continuing with a long-held tradition, I’ve parsed out the jazz that goes avant-garde from the more conventional stuff. You May Also Like: Jimmy Haslip, jazz bassist: The Albums That Shaped My Career

In his relentless pursuit of unique sounds with real emotional depth, Wadada Leo Smith has for nearly five decades experimented with so many approaches, both in styles and configurations You May Also Like: Wadada Leo Smith – Najwa (2017) Vijay Iyer and Wadada Leo Smith – a cosmic rhythm withRead More

Daren Burns teaches bass, piano, music theory and composition at Verde Valley School out of Sedona, Arizona. You May Also Like: Wadada Leo Smith – Najwa (2017) Vijay Iyer and Wadada Leo Smith – a cosmic rhythm with each stroke (2016)

Mike Keneally joined us to talk about working with – and working without – XTC’s Andy Partridge on the terrific ‘Wing Beat Fantastic.’

We tend to think of musicians who have been able to keep coming forth with creative, fresh ideas with nearly every attempt in the past tense. Mozart, Ellington, Miles, The Beatles are a few who can fit into that category but they are of long past eras. You May AlsoRead More

Trumpeter, composer and bandleader Wadada Leo Smith, who celebrated his 70th birthday just last month, is as productive as he’s ever been, and I’m getting nearly exhausted just keeping up covering all his new releases. You May Also Like: Wadada Leo Smith – Najwa (2017) Wadada Leo Smith and OrangeRead More

Of all the living trumpet players performing today, few have accomplished as much as Tim Hagans. He acquired valuable experience playing in bands by Stan Kenton, Thad Jones, Woody Herman and currently, Bob Belden. You May Also Like: Tim Berne – ‘inSOMNIA’ (2011): On Second Thought Jaimie Branch – FlyRead More

The music of Wadada Leo Smith, no matter the setting, is spiritual, mesmerizing, purposeful and often dense. We found out back toward the end of ’09 just how dense his music can be You May Also Like: Wadada Leo Smith – Najwa (2017) Wadada Leo Smith and Orange Wave ElectricRead More

by S. Victor Aaron Since very early on we’ve eagerly pounced on records that re-image that dense, impenetrable period of Miles Davis between about 1969 and 1975 when he first defined fusion jazz and then kept redefining it again and again. This is music that doesn’t come easily to mostRead More