Following up Fine Tune from 2023, Terrace Martin offers Curly, named affectionately for his father. The second in a planned six-album series, it is all instrumental, unstinting in groove and harder-edged swing. Martin is a tartly melodic and soulful improviser on alto sax, communing with an impressive cast of jazz heavyweights: Larry Goldings and Cory Henry alternate in the Hammond organ spot, while guitarist Nir Felder, tenor star Kamasi Washington, and drummer Robert Searight deliver on a high level across the board. The psychedelic soul of “Valdez Off Crenshaw,” the fusion-leaning modernism of “Untitled 5,” and the extended jam on “How Much a Dollar Cost” (from Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly) make Curly an immersive listen.