Henry Threadgill Zooid, "Poof" (Pi). Avant sax eminence Threadgill leads his quintet in mourning, meditation and contrapuntal basketball, making us say amen and pass the pepper. Listen/buy here.
Artifacts, "And Then There's This . . ." (Astral Spirits). Old friends Nicole Mitchell (flute), Tomeika Reid (cello) and Mike Reed (drums) take an upbeat jog through twisting mountain trails. Tap your foot and smile? It can still happen! Listen/buy here.
Steph Richards with Joshua White, "Zephyr" (Relative Pitch). An immersive world of abstract sound and intuitive melody envelops us via trumpet, piano and electronic/percussive augmentations. Jostled and keenly aware, we feel what it's like to be not quite born. Listen/buy here.
Randal Fisher, "Everywhere To Be Lost" (The Village). The tradition-minded L.A. saxist guides a deft quartet through his own rhythmically varied, easy-grooving tunes. A warm tone and a confident flow make Fisher one to watch; his community has been feeling him for years. Listen/buy here.
Jamael Dean, "Primordial Waters" (Stones Throw). The first half's jazz; the second half's hip-hop. But L.A. keyboardist Dean, singer Sharada Shashidhar, drummer Mekala Session and friends are fusin' more than those: Enter a harmonic and rhythmic galaxy where African pop, '60s Alice Coltrane spacemanship and compressed Stravinskian harmonies meet tarfooted trip beats. Deserves to be heard alongside Kamasi Washington's "The Epic." Listen/buy here.
Android Trio, "Other Worlds" (Cuneiform). Crazed yet precise heavy fusion from Zappa/Beefheart tributers. Guitarist Max Kutner, bassist Eric Klerks and drummer Andrew Niven composed their own tangles with musicianly fervor, and it slays with the reinforcement of Mike Keneally, Gregg Bendian, Dan Rosenboom and other edgy pros. Great coffee substitute. Listen/buy here.
The Big Band Death Jazz Orchestra, "Witches Brew" (Bulldragon). Ready for eclectic jazz driven by death-metal drums? It's a grabber, especially augmented with a surrealistic animated critter-themed video for each track. Listen/buy here. YouTube vids here.
Jerry Cantrell, "Brighten" (Double J). Though bright is a relative term with the gloomy Alice in Chains axman-singer, he's definitely got melody & elevation on his stove. Country touches of acoustic and even pedal-steel guitars lend lilt; trademark layering and drum thumpitude satisfy heft lust; the choruses make ya wanna yowl along. Dig the title track and "Nobody Breaks You," but there's not a snoozer in the bag.
Cradle of Filth, "Existence Is Futile" (Nuclear Blast). Grandiosity can be grand only when all the parts lock, as they do when these Brit black-metal lords celebrate three decades of defilement. Melodic keyboard riffs, femme wails and dynamic changes assure that Dani Filth's barks/shrieks and Martin Skaroupka's de rigueur doublekick shock waves don't erode yer earholes; these are SONGS.