Miles Okazaki, Camila Nebbia/Chris Corsano & Dan Phillips

My last memory of Wyoming was 50-some years ago when I arrived at the bus depot in Cheyenne. I needed to eat so headed for the cafeteria where I asked the grizzled old ex-cowboy behind the serving counter what was good. He said try the chili, whereupon he waved a ladle over the chili tureen and a humongous cloud of black flies flew up and away. As did I—to the vending machines. Guitarist Miles Okazaki hopefully avoided such a culinary experience in the process of being inspired for his new album Boomtown. A road trip across Wyoming stirred his creative juices. Eventually Okazaki's thoughts moved onto a much larger plane of contemplation about music, his country and all its beauty and warts, and those polarities of America. With a cast of the finest musicians around, Okazaki has crafted one of the best albums of the year. Other new albums sampled in this edition of OMJ come from the duo of free jazz saxophonist Camila Nebbia and powerful drummer Chris Corsano, Chicago guitarist Dan Phillips and his trio, Poland's Artento Divini featuring the blazing guitarist Krzysztof Hadrych, the second Pendulum monthly release, and others. Plus a memorial set for Sonny Rollins, James Blood Ulmer and Vancouver guitarist Tony Wilson. No flies on this episode!