Throw out your expectations of what “jazz music” is or might be. Jazz is a giant tree with thick roots, a twisted trunk and continuously expanding branches. Just pull up the wikipedia page and you’ll find countless sub-genres and off-shoots. Over the past century jazz musicians have always pulled inspiration from many sources, be it Latin, funk, or even pop music.

Asheville, North Carolina’s Vertigo Jazz Project is doing just that. It being the 21st Century, we are bombarded by music from ...