Music by Branford Marsalis Quartet, and Feist and Mastodon Eric Ryan Anderson Branford Marsalis, seated, with, from far left, Joey Calderazzo, Eric Revis and Justin Faulkner. Branford Marsalis Quartet Contrarianism suits the saxophonist Branford Marsalis, though probably not as much as he likes to think. The title of his new album, "Four ___ Playin" Tunes," hurls a rejoinder to the rarefactions he sees elsewhere in jazz. He's overstating the point, but maybe that's the motivation he needed. Anyway, the album is a knockout: hard nosed and hyperacute, tradition minded but modern, defined by the high-wire grace of his working band. The tunes - mostly by Mr. Marsalis and two of his band mates, the pianist Joey Calderazzo and the bassist Eric Revis - fall in line with the group's longstanding house style, either ruminative and shadowy ("Maestra") or intrepid and swinging ("Whiplash"). And the evident commitment in the playing, including that of the fearless young drummer Justin Faulkner, gives the material a strong sense of lift. For now the album is available only on Marsalis Music as a deluxe double LP: released last week for Record Store Day, it will be available on CD and digital formats on Aug. 7. Feist and Mastodon Another Record Store Day item, with a flair specific to the occasion, is "Feistodon" (Cherrytree/Interscope/Reprise), a seven-inch single by Feist, the blissfully coolheaded singer-songwriter, and Mastodon, the strenuously proggish metal band. Extensively blogged about before and after its arrival, and streaming free at soundcloud.com/feistodon, it's a boutique oddball collision that makes total sense. Feist and Mastodon share an aesthetic of literate obduracy (and, no coincidence, some overlap in the indie commentariat), and each sounds natural covering the other's song. Mastodon pummels through "A Commotion," the obvious choice from Feist's most recent album, "Metals." It's a faithful appropriation, with clear vocals and sly guitar filigree; I prefer it to the original. On the flip side Feist translates "Black Tongue," the overture from Mastodon's 2011 album, "The Hunter," into a humid junkyard stomp, flattening its triple meter but keeping its riffs, and spookily multitracking its chorus. Lyrically both songs involve a self-inflicted trauma, which each new version accentuates in its own way. Steve Kuhn, Steve Swallow And Joey Baron There's a soft glow of erudition to "Wisteria," a piano trio album due out on ECM on Tuesday. It comes from all three members of the group - the pianist Steve Kuhn, the bassist Steve Swallow and the drummer Joey Baron - but especially from Mr. Kuhn, who at 74 is one of jazz's most careful rhapsodists. His touch is reflective and supple, but crisp when he wants it to be, as on "A Likely Story," this album's liveliest original. Among the other inspired choices are "Permanent Wave," a circuitous stroll by Carla Bley; and "Dark Glasses," a near-bossa by Mr. Swallow that he propels with the dark, wormy sound of his acoustic bass guitar. The title track is a theme by the trumpeter Art Farmer that Mr. Kuhn and Mr. Swallow presumably played during their joint tenure in Farmer's band in the mid-1960s. The trio gives it the sort of processional ballad tempo that doesn't come easily to a young man; if they did play it then, they're surely playing it better now. Tomas Fujiwara & the Hook Up The drummer Tomas Fujiwara brings a perceptive and agile intensity to the Hook Up, his version of a postbop quintet. "The Air is Different" (482), his second album with the band, reflects his searching instinct as a composer. The album has a concept: it's dedicated to Mr. Fujiwara's grandparents, and especially the memory of his grandfather, a Zen Buddhist priest whose dignified visage appears on the cover. "Lineage," the opening track, was inspired by the overtones of a singing bowl from his temple in Japan. The flexibility built into Mr. Fujiwara's writing is a boon for his band mates, the tenor saxophonist Brian Settles, the trumpeter Jonathan Finlayson, the guitarist Mary Halvorson and the bassist Trevor Dunn. Their work on a piece called "Smoke-Breathing Lights" nails the productive tension of free improvisation against a sturdy frame. Congs for Brums Ches Smith has a few things in common with Mr. Fujiwara, including his choice of instrument and his bonds with Mr. Dunn and Ms. Halvorson. And there's a hint of meditative calm on "Psycho Predictions" (88), his third solo-percussion album under the name Congs for Brums. "Birth Chart," the second of three tracks here, articulates an East Asian scale, first on vibraphone and electronics and then on tuned toms. Mr. Smith, who has done strong recent work with the avant-garde saxophonist Tim Berne and the indie-rock band Xiu Xiu, recorded the album live with no overdubs, and its manic clarity feels like a punk gesture even when the music suggests something airier or more methodical.