The notion of blurring the boundaries of jazz is almost laughable, since the umbrella already covers so many variations. From the Dixieland of King Oliver to the swing of big-bands like Tommy Dorsey’s, Gypsy jazz of Django Reinhardt, bebop of Charlie Parker, cool school of Chet Baker, soul jazz of Jack McDuff, free jazz of Ornette Coleman, and smooth jazz of David Sanborn, one wonders what Dorsey would think about it all today.

A handful of new releases color outside the lines, while some blur the accepted boundaries in other respects. But, as one of the great composers and bandleaders of the 20th century, Duke Ellington, said, “If jazz means anything, it is freedom of expression.” Then again, he compared the word itself to the flushing of a toilet.

On her previous album, Left Right Left, drummer, composer, and educator Tina Raymond mixed originals with jazz treatments of folk and gospel. For the brand-new Divinations, her trio features Andrew Renfroe on guitar and Karl McComas-Reichl on upright bass. The pieces were inspired by tarot cards, but each stands on its own and bears repeated listenings.

You’d think with such instrumentation, guitar would typically provide the melody – the voice of the composition, as it were. But in the opening “Swainson’s Hawk,” guitar and bass double a riff while Raymond plays around their rhythm. Renfroe eventually solos, as does McComas-Reichl, both stunningly, with Raymond taking brief turns.

“Eight Of Wands” has a more-contemporary jazz feel with quasi-Indian touches by Renfroe, while “The Emperor” swells with power chords and angular lines reminiscent of John Scofield’s rockier side. “The Lovers” is a beautiful ballad with guitar and bass both displaying lyrical sensibilities. Raymond’s chops are top-notch, but her interplay and mastery of dynamics and texture are so keen that she’s essentially a melodic instrument herself. When she solos, she’s another band member stepping forward, and it’s always interesting, never gratuitous.

“The Power Of Many In The Soul Of One,” covering wide shifts of emotion across almost 14 minutes, opens Book Of Stories by Critical Response. It begins with the cry of composer Jason Kao Hwang’s uncannily vocal-like electric violin. Guitarist Anders Nilsson gets his aggressions out, as drummer Michael T.A. Thompson sets off mini explosions.

“Upside Circle Down” starts with the cooing-bird vibrato sounds of the violin, with guitar through an Electro-Harmonix Nano POG. Adding an octave below and above the note, it achieves an organ sound. Jason’s violin through a DigiTech Whammy (also octaves below and above) gets a reverse-attack effect, while Anders adopts a clean tone. Eventually, things sound like deconstructed bebop – albeit with lots of liberties taken.

The duo known as After Ours definitely begs the question, “What is or isn’t jazz?” On their second full-length, Music For Cats, Arthur Schroeder plays drums and Eli Kahn is on hybrid seven-string (covering guitar and bass ranges) and loops. They list modern jazz, grunge, instrumental hip-hop, and experimental music as influences. It’s as much rock as jazz or anything else, but from the funky “Cattitude” to stellar guitar tones in “Nice Boys,” it’s a ride worth taking.

Rose Sinclair calls her niche “cocktail steel,” and while it would be at home in a tiki bar, it’s not mere kitsch. As her term implies, she plays steel guitar (the non-pedal variety) and, on Corcovado, demonstrates that she can hang on just about any jazz bandstand.

Jazz played on steel is nothing new, but it’s far from widespread. In ’63, Buddy Emmons’ Steel Guitar Jazz was groundbreaking, although prior to that, Western swing steelers like Joaquin Murphey (with Spade Cooley and Tex Williams) and Vance Terry (with Billy Jack Wills and Jimmie Rivers & the Cherokees) displayed outstanding jazz chops, and Tom Morrell & the Time-Warp Tophands continued the tradition. More recently Paul Franklin has tackled Sonny Rollins bop, and Greg Leisz has been featured in Charles Lloyd’s ensemble.

A multi-instrumentalist with banjo, accordion, upright bass, and uke just part of her arsenal, Sinclair immersed herself in steel guitar and moved to Austin in 2012, where she spent five years playing honky-tonk behind Wayne “The Train” Hancock.

Fronting a sextet featuring Mike McGurk’s vibraphone, Sinclair mixes bossa-nova favorites by Antonio Carlos Jobim with Wes Montgomery on her ’61 Fender Stringmaster D-8 (its two eight-string necks tuned A6 and E13). Her intonation is impeccable, and most of all she swings. Even “Misty” gets new life; when she slides into the familiar three-chord intro, the effect is like a warm audio embrace. The good news is there’s a vast reservoir to channel for future projects.

When it’s all said and done, I defer again to the Duke. “It is becoming increasingly difficult to decide where jazz starts or where it stops, where Tin Pan Alley begins and jazz ends, or even where the border lies between classical music and jazz. I feel there is no boundary line.”

© 2023 Dan Forte; all rights reserved by the author.

This article originally appeared in VG’s December 2023 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.