Kevin Whitehead

Despite the poor sound quality, Tristano's newly unearthed Personal Recordings from 1946-1970 are fascinating. Free jazz can be rambunctious, but these musicians step and listen carefully.

Flute player Nicole Mitchell, cellist Tomeka Reid and drummer Mike Reed all came up on Chicago's new jazz scene about 20 years ago. Now they revisit their roots on ... and then there's this.

Earlier this year, Kevin Whitehead noted the passing of Chick Corea and Mario Pavone. Now he remembers a few more players who died in 2021, including Milford Graves, Ralph Peterson and Dave Frishberg.