As an aside within my review of Steve Raegele’s mind blowing debut album Last Century I went into the bands Raegele had participated in and noted “I can’t say I’ve heard of these names previously You May Also Like: Thom Yorke – Spitting Feathers (2006): On Second Thought John SurmanRead More

Machine Mass Trio has constructed a mesmerizing, moving carpet of boisterous sax, knifing guitars and boiling rhythms on the electronics-laden As Real As Thinking. There is always, always something happening here, as MMT skitters with determined focus between the melodic, the moody and (to great effect) the outside. Much ofRead More

An astonishing thing to witness when viewing Fred Anderson’s live performance on DVD, 21st Century Chase, was the sight of a guy celebrating his 80th birthday splaying notes from his saxophone with abandon, power and purpose. And then, when he finished his solo, witnessing a dude only six years hisRead More

That Sidony Box, a French trio, has chosen to explore jazz rock is anachronistically interesting enough. But they’re doing it without the musical GPS of a bass — something that allows guitarist Manuel Adnot, drummer Arthur Nancy and saxophonist Elie Dalibert to wander around these wide open spaces. What theyRead More

About a year ago saxophonist Greg Ward was leading a quartet that was preparing to do a recording session for a jazz radio station when the pianist was unable to make it. You May Also Like: Greg Ward – Touch My Beloved’s Thought (2016)

There’s a trance-like euphoria surrounding this emotional, at times indescribably spiritual endeavor. Rez Abbasi, leading a group that also includes Rudresh Mahanthappa and Vijay Iyer, found inspiration for Suno Suno from Pakistani Qawwali, a devotional Sufi music You May Also Like: Rez Abbasi – Unfiltered Universe (2017) Rez Abbasi &Read More

When taking in Julian Lage’s uniquely poetic Gladwell earlier this year, I sensed something uncommonly creative about Lage’s saxophone player, Dan Blake, and his ability to blend in flawlessly with a cello and play music that reconciled jazz and folk and classical music. He even contributed music that fit perfectlyRead More

Members of Baltimore improv music combo Turn Around Norman have been around a lot of jazz greatness: Tim Berne, Michael Formanek, Craig Taborn, Gerald Cleaver, Dave Douglas and Darcy James Argue are but a few of the big shots members in this ensemble have performed and recorded with. You MayRead More

Billy Bang left us six months ago, but we’re not quite done with new additions to his catalog. You May Also Like: Satoko Fujii and Joe Fonda – Mizu (2018) Barry Altschul & The 3Dom Factor – Live In Kraków (2015)

I know of at least two things people from Finland excel in: cell phones and forward-thinking jazz. You May Also Like: Andrew Barker + Jon Irabagon Duo – ‘Anemone’ (2020) Sound Etiquette – Sound Etiquette (2016) Pearring Sound – ‘Nothing But Time’ (2019)