For an ensemble to create a lengthy recording of improvised music worthy of an attentive audience, it takes a unique combination of technique and empathy. Such is the case with Varpai from the German-based trio of vocalist André Pabarciuté, bassist Mark Tokar and percussionist Klaus Kugel. The three like-minded artists perform through ten, seamlessly connected pieces with a strong sense of musical connectedness, impressively void of pretension. With emotional wails and melodious, nasally grunts,

Exploring odd-meters, swirling melodic themes and rhythmically-charged free-form improvisations, the New York-based collective Tarbaby delivers an intriguing set of swing-based jazz with The End of Fear. Along with core members Orrin Evans on piano, bassist Eric Revis and Nasheet Watts on drums, the twelve-track set features the trumpeter Nicholas Payton and saxophonists Oliver Lake and JD Allen. The use of speech sound bites cleverly enhances shorter, open-ended pieces such as "E-Math" and "Hea

Barrett Deems (1914-1998) may not be one of the more familiar names from jazz history, however, the Chicago-based drummer forged a sideman career second to none with length…

Drummer Peppe Merolla recruits an all-star New York cast for Stick With Me, his debut as a leader. The Italian-born Merolla, who began his career as a singer and c…

New York guitarist Paul Meyers uses his nylon string guitar to connect to the spirit of straight ahead, swinging jazz on this quartet date with saxophonist Frank Wess, b…