A classic, with spicy and frenetic solos one moment, comic overtones and clever melodies and rhythms the next. The Art Ensemble at this point were becoming stars overseas, and finding the going increasingly tougher in America. It's outside or avant-garde jazz with soul, heart, and funk.

The sophomore effort by Akira Sakata's quartet Bonjintan, which translates into "ordinary person" might actually be better interpreted as "egalitarian." Notice that neither the quartet's name nor the album cover mention the saxophonist's name. Like the initial, self-titled 2017 release on Sakata's Daphnia Records, Dental Kafka focuses on a quartet sound and four equal musicians improvising.

Bassist Eric Revis typically has so many ideas in play that it's virtually impossible for him to limit himself to one ensemble at a time. This is one of the reasons why he's used a variety of groups over the years to deliver his music. His trio with pianist Kris Davis and drummer Andrew Cyrille released City of Asylum (Clean Feed) in 2013, and then another iteration of the trio, Crowded Solitudes (Clean Feed) in 2016, with Gerald Cleaver taking over the drum chair.

Powerful saxophone textures from Luca T. Mai of the mighty ZU. On this debut album he is placing his probing and powerful saxophone artistry from energetic sound scapes to celestial layered drones. A stunning solo piece of work, immersive and deep.

Japanese 24-bit remastered reissue of 1962 live album, packaged in a miniature LP sleeve. Features 3 tracks recorded in Graz, Austria on November 28th 1962. Musicians include McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison, Elvin Jones & Mr. Coltrane himself. AMJ. 2003.

French drummer Florian Chaigne is behind the 2016 album Blooming. This was released by the Aut label on 24 October, 2016.

Unreleased material from Joe McPhee's archives, three live settings of the saxophonist and pocket trumpeter in upstate NY: a quartet with vibraphonist Ernie Bostic and the rhythm section of Tyrone Crabb and Bruce Thompson live at Vassar College; live in New Windsor with saxophonist Reggie Marks; and an outdoor concert at Poughkeepsie's Lincoln Centre.

KRAKKATOWIAK is the 2007 EP by Zanzibar Snails. Released on the Mayyrh label, this came out as a 3 inch CD, or what is also known as a CD3.

Local Lingo is the 2006 CD by violinist Jason Kao Hwang and kayagym genius/ajeng wunderkind Sang Won Park. Released by Euonymus, these are the only two involved in creating the music, along with recordist Sascha Von Oertzen

"Jon Irabagon releases the latest installment of his I Don't Hear Nothin' but the Blues series, adding rising star Ava Mendoza to his no-frills, brutal ensemble.

Acclaimed Tenor Saxophonist and Composer Dustin Laurenzi Presents A Time and A Place, his Evocative New Work With Ensemble Natural Language, Out October 6th On Woolgathering Records. Celebrated tenor saxophonist Dustin Laurenzi presents his latest release, A Time and a Place, the impassioned follow-up to his 2016 self-titled album with his quartet of esteemed Chicago-based musicians, Natural Language. The release, out October 6th on Woolgathering Records, embodies the unbridled invention and cohesiveness that are such large components of this quartet’s sound. Alongside Laurenzi, Jeff Swanson provides harmonic accompaniment and support on guitar, while bassist Mike Harmon and drummer Charles Rumback make up the groups steadfast rhythm section.

This 1989 recording, once available through the now-defunct, France-based Owl record label, has been brought back from the proverbial ashes by Sunnyside. Venerable modern jazz drummer Aldo Romano and highly regarded saxophonist Joe Lovano go for the gusto throughout these generally upbeat duets. Essentially, it's what many fans of these two important jazz musicians would come to expect. On this release, Lovano perpetuates a surfeit of soul-stirring lines amid plenty of dynamics atop Romano's swarming swing grooves. With pieces such as "Dragons Are" and elsewhere throughout the program, the duo seemingly emulates the hustle and bustle ordinarily heard when artists venture into the free zone. The duo also displays a soft touch in spots, but the bulk of these works primarily consist of high-octane improvisational sequences.

Sometimes written off as an also-ran to her more famous husband, Alice Coltrane's work of the late '60s and early '70s shows that she was a strong composer and performer in her own right, with a unique ability to impregnate her music with spirituality and gentleness without losing its edges or depth. Ptah, The El Daoud is a truly great album, and listeners who surrender themselves to it emerge on the other side of its 46 minutes transformed. From the purifying catharsis of the first moments of the title track to the last moments of "Mantra," with its disjointed piano dance and passionate ribbons of tenor cast out into the universe, the album resonates with beauty, clarity, and emotion. Coltrane's piano solo on "Turiya and Ramakrishna" is a lush, melancholy, soothing blues, punctuated only by hushed bells and the sandy whisper of Ben Riley's drums and later exchanged for an equally emotive solo by bassist Ron Carter.

Cosmic Suite is an album by American jazz pianist Matthew Shipp recorded in 2008 and released on the Polish Not Two label. He leads a quartet with Daniel Carter on reeds, Joe Morris on bass and Whit Dickey on drums. This particular lineup has not recorded before, although all of the members have played together in other combinations.
Starting with "Cosmic Suite - Part One," Daniel is playing some lovely, laid-back, muted trumpet while the rest of the quartet swirls calmly around him. This has to be some of the most calm and enchanting music we've heard from Matt and his cohorts in recent memory. When Daniel switches to tenor sax, the quartet starts swirling more intensely, the waves building higher and higher…

Luminescence is the seventh album by Heinz Geisser's Ensemble 5 with Leo Records. It captures the band live in Tokyo during the final performance of their second tour to Japan in the fall of 2019. The seasoned swarm intelligence of the four musicians meets the genuine musical artistry of Japanese violin player and guest musician Naoki Kita. As US-American writer Stuart Kremsky remarked on the Ensemble 5 2019 releases, The Collective Mind Vol.1 & Vol.2: "the musicians proceed to unheard musical territory coalescing in a sound world of continuing fascination."