6. Ches Smith and We All Break Path of Seven Colors (Pyroclastic)

Leave it to consummate drummer and ace collaborator Ches Smith. Famed for work with John Zorn, Tim Berne, Craig Taborn, and Marc Ribot, Smith shares a leader album with his longtime teachers (percussionists Daniel Brevil and Markus Schwartz), then reaches into the holy rolling complexity and abandon of traditional Haitian Vodou music, all while adorning the ancient ritual process with modern improvisation and way more than seven colors. A.D. AMOROSI

Learn more about Path of Seven Colors at Amazon and Bandcamp.

Ches Smith Explores Haitian Vodou Music with We All Break