Since the late ‘70s, alto saxophonist Steve Coleman has been refining a tightly coiled sound, wedding the bebop phrasing of Charlie Parker to thoroughly modern, hard-hitting rhythm concepts. In the ‘80s he streamlined the jazz-funk of Ornette Coleman's Prime Time, stratifying the groove with hip-hop tautness for his slashing lines. He played jagged post-bop under bassist Dave Holland on “You I Love,” but his band Five Elements served up his ideas most effectively, creating a wonderful tension on Monk's “'Round Midnight.” He's a student of rhythms from around the globe, whether India, Ghana, or Cuba, as on “Air-Iwori (Odú Ifá Suite).”