The genius of Steve Lacy isn’t that easy to articulate but Phil Sudderberg, Charlie Kirchen and Jason Stein take great care of the soprano saxophone legacy when they play his ‘Clinkers’ solo masterpiece with all the invention and attitude of the original.

OM have been at the forefront of improvised music for almost 50 years, and ‘It’s About Time’ shows they’re still doing it as well as ever.

Singing and playing like a boss is an under-appreciated talent, and Wendy Eisenberg shows she can handle this demanding dual chore with “Centreville.”

Merzbow, Mats Gustafsson and Balazs Pandi know how to manipulate calmness to make it as impactful as the ceaseless noise that they also create.

Hervé Perez’s ‘PLGD’ is made for ears thirsty for completely new sounds, even for those ears who think they’ve heard it all.

The revelation of ‘(Congratulations to You)’ is how Sun of Goldfinger mixes rare unmatched sonorities with impromptu creativity and advanced improvisation.

For this festival set performed in Italy ‘Live In Florence,’ Otomo Yoshihide, his guitar and his turntables match wits with Chris Pitsiokos with his alto saxophone and his electronics.

Threadbare finds Jason Stein expanding the bass clarinet into more areas previously thought off limits to the instrument.

Across five tracks of varying length is a showcase not just for the finesse of Sabir Mateen, Patrick Holmes and Federico Ughi but also the ingenuity and diverse talents of Mateen himself.

Some current notables from Chicago’s progressive music scene got together and formed 85bears, named after the town’s the most celebrated football team.