[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuxpYZDQLnk&w=420&h=315] I like Mostly Other People Do The Killing (heretofore referred to as MOPDTK) because they’re merry musical marksmen, top drawer jazz musicians who shoot down every style they suggest. But I don’t know how many other people can dig this. You May Also Like: Mostly Other People DoRead More

As a member of many an experimental or edgy band (Herculaneum, Cursive, Icy Demons, Michael Columbia), it’s not hard to surmise that when drummer Dylan Ryan got around to leading his own band, it would be out on the margins of music, too. You May Also Like: Producer Don WasRead More

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lcGp6XXHVY&w=420&h=315] The Seattle-based trio Triptet calls themselves “a meeting of minds and spontaneous electrical impulses between Michael Monhart (saxophones and percussion), Tom Baker (fretless guitar and effects), and Greg Campbell (percussion, french horn and cheap electronics).” I call them, simply, a trip. You May Also Like: MMBC (Michael Bisio,Read More

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hB7aWTFGcuI&w=420&h=315] Vancouver native and saxophonist Michael Blake came back to this Canadian city after residing in NYC for a quarter century, and brought home a wealth of ideas with him. You May Also Like: Ryan Blotnick – Kush (2016) Michael Cain – Sola (2015)

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wk7NPU9jF3E&w=420&h=315] Jazz performed by large orchestras make up a big, important part of the history of jazz but the kind of big bands that get me fired up the most are ones who break from convention and behave like a rowdy, small band. You May Also Like: Satoko FujiiRead More

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=di2EmyzCmdw&w=420&h=315] As one of jazz’s more restless saxophonists of his generation, Jeremy Udden has moved from the “melodic jazz-rock” of his Torchsongs ensemble to the country/folk-inflected jazz of Plainville. You May Also Like: Jeremy Udden and Nicolas Moreaux – Belleville Project (2015) Three-Layer Cake [Brandon Seabrook, Mike Pride +Read More

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqHhNayMJ5g&w=420&h=315] When you have three American musicians — two from Greenville, SC — interpreting Russian folk music, you might expect it to get a little wild and full of pastiche. You May Also Like: Jeremy Udden and Nicolas Moreaux – Belleville Project (2015) Ryan A. Miller – ‘Atrophy TorqueRead More

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YI2uN8NBuk&w=420&h=315] Sky Road Songs, Elliott Sharp’s latest record by his outfit Terraplane, is outwardly blues, but there’s enough eccentric, wild stuff going on to make me wonder if blues as rendered here is merely a delivery system for a freak show. You May Also Like: Ivo Perelman + ElliottRead More

When compiling my lists of best jazz records, broken up into 3 distinct areas of jazz, I used three criteria for inclusion on one of these lists: 1. Is it good enough? (duh) 2. Is it jazz? (duh) -and- 3. Have I already reviewed it in some form or another?Read More

<<< 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: S. Victor Aaron’s Best of 2015 (Part 4 of 4, Fusion Jazz): John McLaughlin,Read More