The Microscopic Septet Lobster Leaps In (Cuneiform) The concept of separating music into serious and not-so-serious categories is anathema to the men of the Microscopic Septet. Since the band’s nascent days, circa the early 1980s, the players have fought against the notion that fun and art are mutually exclusive by [...]

Steven Bernstein’s Millennial Territory Orchestra We Are MTO (MOWO) Trumpeter Bernstein’s big band plays post-modern jazz with infectious enthusiasm and unmistakable affection. An entertaining and insightful mix of genre-mashing, high spirits and a healthy dose of humor keeps the album perking along at an effervescent clip. Delivered with a knowing [...]

Jim Hall/Bill Frisell Hemispheres (ArtistShare) The disc of duets between Jim Hall and Bill Frisell, included in a double-album set that finds the distinctive stylists alone together and in a quartet setting, is quite simply a masterpiece, featuring some of the most searching and beautiful music ever made on guitar. [...]

Enrico Rava New York Days (ECM) A true master of space, melody and mood, Italian trumpeter Enrico Rava has been on a roll in recent years, releasing one fascinating album after another. Now comes a quietly dazzling Italo-NYC project on which Rava – who spent a few years in New [...]

Joshua Redman Compass (Nonesuch) Joshua Redman has finally and fully come into his own as an artist. His last album, 2007′s Back East, featured him in trio settings with three different rhythm sections and a few guests (including his father, the late Dewey Redman). This time, he’s building on the [...]

Iraida Noriega Ven Conmigo (Independent) Regarded as one of the great new voices in Mexican jazz, Iraida Noriega deserves  recognition beyond the borders of her country. On Ven Conmigo, recorded live at Mexico City’s Papa Beto Jazz Bistro, the singer’s talent shines through a collection of originals blended with personal [...]