Whose Sound Is Whose? The Collective Method of SML
The LA quintet's second album, 'How You Been', unfolds through the distillation of live improvisations into moments where individual voices dissolve into collective sound.
Jazz
Astronomy Harmonie — Patricia Brennan's Celestial Chamber Jazz
The vibraphonist's 'Of The Near And Far' superimposes constellations over the circle of fifths to generate pitch collections for a ten-piece ensemble while signaling her background in orchestral percussion, alternative rock, and the chamber works of Glass and Xenakis.
Jeremy Rose and the Open Sound of Australian Improvisation
The Sydney saxophonist's album 'Infinity II' emerges from fully improvised sessions with no charts, no discussion, and no overdubs—what Rose describes as humanist minimalism, where four musicians function like a living system.
OK Bloomers — Nels Cline Finds His Happy Place
The prolific guitarist talks about 'Trio of Bloom' with Craig Taborn and Marcus Gilmore, maintaining experimental outlets alongside two decades in Wilco, and the productive anxiety of working with wizard-level musicians.
Jordan McLean's JMMR Turns Intentional Chaos into Avant-Rave
The Antibalas trumpeter discusses how he built the album 'Resistance is Fertile' from beatbox demos, synchronized click tracks, and improvised layers, resulting in sounds that sit somewhere between Ornette Coleman and Death Grips.
Friction Into Diamonds — Eugene Holley Jr. on the Bill Evans Trio
From his first encounter with 'Explorations' to writing liner notes for 'Haunted Heart: The Legendary Riverside Studio Recordings,' the jazz historian discusses how Evans, LaFaro, and Motian transformed friction into a circular, evolutionary approach to the jazz trio format.
Ned Rothenberg and the Indigenous Sound of Nowhere
The saxophonist and woodwind specialist discusses his first solo album in over a decade, 'Looms & Legends,' which alternates between pieces that create sonic fabrics through extended techniques and those that tell linear stories through melodic narrative.
Makaya McCraven in the Present Tense
With 'Off the Record', McCraven transforms fully improvised concerts from underground Chicago venues and New York jazz clubs into a four-EP meditation on what it means to share space, take risks, and participate in the unrepeatable.
From San Juan to Seventh Avenue — Miguel Zenón's Vanguard Moment
After two decades together, Miguel Zenón's quartet documents their chemistry on 'Vanguardia Subterránea,' a live recording from the Village Vanguard that brings together family tributes, geographical coordinates, and the deep musical connection between New York and Puerto Rico.
The Complete Musician — Three Voices on Gunther Schuller's Centennial
As New England Conservatory celebrates what would have been Gunther Schuller's 100th birthday, three musicians who knew him discuss the work ethic, institutional courage, and polyglot vision that made teaching ragtime next to European harmony seem natural rather than radical.
Surfin' Bass — Linda May Han Oh Rides an Uncertain Wave
The bassist discusses her album 'Strange Heavens,' a chordless trio recording with Ambrose Akinmusire and Tyshawn Sorey that explores anxiety, release, and the human tendency to choose familiar comfort over unknown possibility.
Geoff Mann Reimagines His Father's Memphis
The Antibalas and Here Lies Man drummer spent decades avoiding his father Herbie Mann's music, but a 50th anniversary and a new arrangement of 'Memphis Underground' gave him an unexpected way to reconnect with a relationship that ended 22 years ago.