Summertime presents a number of obstacles to listening, so I’m going to try to catch up on a few previous releases while also checking out some newer ones by posting some briefer reviews. This week, we feature five releases from five very different jazz neighborhoods: cellist Janel Leppin’s Ensemble Volcanic Ash; clarinetist Anat Cohen’s Quartetinho; guitarist and bassist, respectively, Rich Peare and Don Messina; drummer Matt Wilson’s Good Trouble quintet; and flautist Jamie Baum’s Septet +. Something for just about every jazz fan.

Recent and satisfyingly edgy releases have come my way from Cowhause and Lux Quartet, featuring some stellar musicians.

A number of paying projects have siphoned away much of the free time that is devoted to Musically Speaking, but here are a couple of fine and quite different releases, from Yosef Gutman Levitt and Mike Holober, that I managed to dive into despite the distraction of work.

Guitarist Dimi DiSanti could play with anyone anywhere, and he has, working with Bernard Purdie, James Newton, the Temptations, the Drifters, the Coasters, Sparx, and Lorenzo Antonio, among others. Lucky for us in New Mexico, he chooses to live and play here, and he will celebrate the release of his excellent new album, Our Big Backyard, at the Outpost on August 15, fronting a band that comprises a who’s who of New Mexican musicians.