Michael Mull is a saxophonist and composer of surprising breadth and depth and to say his music is chameleonic is an understatement. On Source Code, the debut album of his flagship ensemble, the Michael Mull Octet, he shows just how cutting and poignant a paradox can be. It’s dark yet uplifting, wrenching yet airy, manic yet precise, crushingly heavy and ineffably light – in a single listen the listener is taken on an epic ride through styles and moods, yet the message never strays far from the source.

Releasing a debut EP is not small task. But releasing two simultaneous albums of entirely original music, with two different lineups, as a debut is basically unheard-of! Yet for guitarist and composer Matthew Yeakley, it's an almost effortlessly bold entrance into the world of recorded jazz.

The Walsh Set Trio’s brand new album, Three, is unlike any trio incarnation I know. The band’s leader, Brian Walsh, has become synonymous with the most creative and boundary-pushing element of modern music in Los Angeles over the last decade. With a tone and virtuosity steeped in contemporary classical music, and an improvisational aesthetic far more adventurous and effortless than most, Brian has raised the bar in the LA scene as an individual, and on Three he puts his unique compositional aesthetic on full display.

Gavin Templeton is the kind of musician who’s singing sound transcends time and space, captures the imagination, and leaves his listeners spellbound. On his latest release, Some Spinning, Some At Rest, his trio captures the essence of what jazz is at its very best: a exploration of musical and improvisational communication, rooted in song, and flowing from the heart.

Jon Armstrong is a musical wizard. I don’t mean this as hyperbole. I mean that in every context in which I’ve witnessed Jon Armstrong make music he elevates himself, his band-mates, and his audience to a state of spiritual expansiveness while keeping his music grounded, earthy, and genuine. There is a simplicity and tunefulness in his voice that cuts straight to the soul and somehow takes the imagination to outer space!