The word ‘Mahobin’ means ‘thermos bottle’ but also ‘magic bottle’ in Japanese, and the magic made for ‘Live at Big Apple in Kobe’ that retained its passion throughout meant that this fledgling group had lived up to both meanings of the name.

‘Experiments On Human Subjects’ is artful haymaking from Evil Genius. The tuba is having more fun than is probably legally allowed and if you’re predisposed for adventurous listening, you’ll have illegal fun too.

Thollem ducks into a studio and jams with a noted, up-and-coming fusion guitarist and the drummer from an established garage-punk band.

It’s that opaque fickleness juiced by prowess on their instruments that makes Spencer Friedman and Paul de Jong’s ‘Functions’ both so different and yet so compelling.

Satoko Fujii is issuing an album in every month of 2018, and if there’s one musician with enough ensembles, projects and ideas to pull it off, it’s her.

It gets harder to be artful in an original way in these days, but Logan Hone and his quirky quartet does it and does it well.

The new album by Roberto Maria Zorzi, Michael Manring and Scott Amendola relentlessly delivers surprises with sounds heretofore unheard.

Quoan’s ‘Fine Dining’ is a feast of so many ways two horns and a rhythm section can generate excitement and keep us guessing what happens next.

None of the great talent assembled here gets stretched near their limits for this Desertion Trio excursion, but this diversion is for an altogether different mood.

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