An exhilarating departure from saxophonist Paul Dunmall's Coltrane-esque approach to free improvisation with this electrified quintet of Steven Saunders on guitar, Richard Foote on trombone, James Owston on bass and Jim Bashford on drums, playing with upbeat urgency through a set of Dunmall compositions, often letting Saunder's riffs take the foreground around a first-rate set of solos.

Their first album after a 6-year break, the collaboration of vocalist Julie Tippetts and multi-reedist & electronic artist Martin Archer is heard in two distinct presentations: a large and stunningly complex suite with an ensemble of acoustic and electronic artists; and a sequence of 13 separate and contrasting songs, performed by various small groups drawn from the JTMA Ensemble.

The continuing collaboration from the collective free jazz trio of Philippines-based American alto saxophonist Rick Countryman, Philippines bassist Simon Tan and Swiss drummer Christian Bucher is heard in this studio session of eight lyrically inclined tracks of spontaneous interaction, a well-balanced mix of energetic grooves and contemplative group conversation.

Two 2022 live free jazz sessions from Malaysia, the first a saxophone duo between US ex-pat based in The Philippines, Rick Countryman on alto and Malaysian tenor saxophonist Yong Yandsen, appropriately recorded at The Saxophone Store in Kula Lumpur; then 5 trio improvisations recorded in concert at Live Fact in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia on the same tour.

Reissuing the limited 2003 release on saxophonist Paul Dunmall's DUNS label, this wonderfully sophisticated concert at Victoria Rooms in Bristols featured collaborators and jazz luminaries Philip Gibbs on guitar, Neil Metcalfe on flute, Andrew Ball on piano & celesta and Hilary Jeffrey on trombone, a quintet of tempered intensity and incredibly expressive power.

With shared background in Slovik groups and ensembles including work with Szilárd Mezei and the Olfamoštvo ensemble, the Lih Kadim sextet of electroacoustic improvisers is heard in an exceptional 2021 concert of innovative and exploratory interaction, each recording taken from a successive night performing at the Cultural Centre, Bistrica Ob Sotli in Slovenia.

The MMM Trio of Carlo Mascolo on prepared trombone, Miguel Mira on cello and Marcello Magliocchi on drums & percussion recorded this album during a concert series in Puglia, Italy, placing each musician in a separate room with headphones, promoting the close listening and concentrated interaction each brings to their unusual approach to free improvisation.

A fascinating chamber jazz trio performing in a 2021 live concert in the Galerie at arToxin, in Munich, Germany from the collective free improvising trio of Udo Schindler on alto & sopranino saxophones & bass clarinet, Sebastian Gramss on double bass and Gunnar Geisse on laptop guitar, subtitled RESILIENT PERSPECTIVES... a real fact? [LowToneStudies#9+]

Udo Schindler follows his duo album with drummer Eric Zwang-Eriksson @ Salon fur Klang+Kuns, Poetry?? Ein Wurfelwurf with this recording at BASIS_Sound_Space at MUCCA - Munich Center of Community Arts in Munich, Schindler on sopranino & tenor saxophones and the deep TUBAX, interacting with Eriksson's rapid-fire and uniquely voiced drum & percussion work.

A 2022 concert of acoustic and electroacoustic interaction at The Jazz Centre UK from the Trans Map duo of Evan Parker on soprano saxophone and Matthew Wright on laptop processing, the "+" in Transmap+ being trombonist Robert Jarvis, a versatile collaborator since London Improvisers Orchestra and here a 3rd voice expanding their spectacular open collective free improv.

An incredible performance recorded at Roulette in NYC by a large ensemble of 16 jazz luminaries of various ages, cultures and musical backgrounds, led by composer and bassist William Parker, who explains that Universal Tonality is another name for love, the profusion of which is interpreted by vocalist Leena Conquest in a profoundly inspired concert of magnificent artistry.

The 2nd album from the duo of Japanese circuit bender Kayu Nakada, using circuit boards from electronic instruments short circuited for new effects, and Japan-based Canadian electronic instrument maker Tim Olive (845 Audio) on shortwave radio, magnetic pickups & undokai, recorded together in Kobe, Japan and then edited and composed into these two intriguing works.

Recordings from a unique concert at the Synagogue in Oerlinghausen, Germany in 1996 between long-term collaborators Philipp Wachsmann and artist Sarah Brigitte Eckel, Wachsmann improvising in the resonance of the synagogue on violin, viola, electronics & tape in response to Eckel's exhibition extemporizing five canvas painting and a floor installation.

Beginning their collaboration during the 1970s in the Chamberpot Ensemble, the duo of violinist Philipp Wachsmann and keyboard and electronic improviser Matthew Hutchinson are heard in live recording from three London Concerts in 2002 & 2003, Wachsmann's violin extended via live signal processing and transformations, extending their dialogs in expansive ways.

Philipp Wachsmann's acoustic violin is routed through his own electronics and then fed into the Live Electronic Sampling & Transformations (LiSa) systems of Michael Bunche, processed and re-performed using time-based transformations shaped by gestural input or as static samples, creating new and unexpected trajectories, sounds snd forms for Wachsmann's playing.

Both members of Evan Parker's Electro Acoustic-Ensemble and Colourscape, the ea-improv duo of Philipp Wachsmann on violin & viola and Lawrence Casserley using a signal processing instrument and percussion, are heard in these 2012 studio recordings in Buckinghamshire in 9 wide-ranging dialogs exploring permutations of playing, processing and transforming their instruments.

A series of sixteen succinctly expansive, dramatic and moody collective improvisations, evocative music of rich melodic and rhythmic foundation that coax inspired tempests from misty lands and seas, at the intersection of Austrian Hurdy Gurdy master Matthias Loibner and Zurich-based West Kamerun drummer Lucas Niggli; absolutely impressive and beguiling.

Ydivide is Swiss drummer Clemens Kuratle's multi-national quintet with Dee Byrne on alto saxophone, Elliot Galvin on piano & electronics, Chris Guilfoyle on guitar and Lukas Traxel on bass, a dynamic young band performing Kuratle's structured compositions allowing for energetic and enthusiastic soloing amidst collective group work and lyrically introspective moments.

A well-balanced early 80s album in it's first reissue from Sun Ra with a 16-piece Arkestra, recording at Squat Theater in New York City, 1982 for a mix of Ra original numbers and songs including "Children of the Sun" and "Cosmo-Party Blues", plus a wild Sun Ra solo synthesizer improv, blues and traditional jazz numbers, and a layered percussion jam.

The of trio of Lisa Cameron on percussion, Damon Smith on double bass and Alex Cunningham on violin, continue their work after 2020's Dawn Throws Its First Knife with this cassette and download releases of five collective improvisations, using extended techniques amidst cogent conversation, from assertively exciting to darkly moody atmospheric interplay.

A mysterious set of four works using magnetic pickups to create a diverse set of soundscapes, from ringing tones to cantankerous scratchy earthquake zones, with radio captures alone or on top of those environments adding a sense of mystery to each piece, sometimes providing enigmatic voices, sometimes static, sometimes strange signal and carrier waves; fascinating.

With one foot in fusion-oriented improv and the other in psychedelic/prog rock, the 4th album from the Norwegian quartet of Per Steinar Lie on lapsteel & electric guitar, Oystein Braut on guitar, organ & Mellotron, Julius Lind on double bass and Orjan Haaland on drums are joined by keyboard wiz Sigbjorn Apeland and percussionist Stale Liavik Solberg.

The third release from the collaboration between the American avant-metal rock trio Sumac of guitarist Aaron Turner, drummer Nick Yacyshyn and bassist Brian Cook with Japanese legendary guitarist and vocalist Keiji Haino, for six rugged free rock improvisations captured live at the Astoria Hotel in Vancouver BC during Haino's 2019 tour of North America.

The third release from the collaboration between the American avant-metal rock trio Sumac of guitarist Aaron Turner, drummer Nick Yacyshyn and bassist Brian Cook with Japanese legendary guitarist and vocalist Keiji Haino, for six rugged free rock improvisations captured live at the Astoria Hotel in Vancouver BC during Haino's 2019 tour of North America.

Formed in 2011, NY trumpeter Dave Douglas' Quintet with saxophonist Jon Irabagon, pianist Matt Mitchell, bassist Linda May Han Oh, and drummer Rudy Royston releases it's fourth studio album, presenting compositions reflecting on 8 biblical psalms, each a sophisticated structure allowing the players great opportunity for interaction and inspired soloing.

Seeking to create an original repertoire for collective composition in a small group format, Portuguese wind improviser Bernardo Tinoco on alto & tenor saxophones, duduk & flute, and pianist Tom Maciel, also on synths and drum machine, sought to influence their playing with electronics and audio processing, on three tracks joined by drummer João Pereira.

Following their 2007 Clean Feed release Delphinius and Lyra the duo of Gunter Baby Sommer and Raymond MacDonald reach deeper into their collective creative conversation for sixteen succinct improvisations--confident, boisterous or introspective--including a 5-part series of "Miniatures", performed on alto & soprano saxophones, drums and an eclectic set of percussive devices.

The rhythmically rich Red Desert Orchestra assembled by pianist and composer Eve Risser is an ensemble made up of nine European musicians joined by African musicians and configured in several distinct ensembles, here as Eurythmia, collaborating with three Burkinabe musicians living in France for irresistible music at the intersection of jazz, West African and dance music.

Following saxophonist Marek Pospieszalski Octet album on Clean Feed interpreting Polish composers of the 20th Century, he continues his work in a quartet setting with original compositions inspired by 19th & 20th Century composers, including Schubert, Britten & Lachenmann, performed with Elias Stemeseder on piano, Max Mucha on double bass and Max Andrzejewski on drums.

Assertively dynamic solo piano improvisations captured live at the 2021 Monopiano Festival in Fylkingen, Stockholm from French-Filipina pianist Margaux Oswald, generating huge block chords over which she runs intricate and complex lines of clear and cohesive expression, pausing for delicate moments of space and introspection; wonderfully exuberant and well balanced.

Stockholm pianist Alexander Zethson invited Greek saxophonist Nicky Kokkoli and guitarist Giannis Arapis to take part in his 13-piece Thanatosis festival ensemble VÖ; they then asked drummer Nils Agnas, bassist Torbjörn Zetterberg and trombonist Mats Äleklint to join them for this sublimely flowing sextet studio session, which includes works by Mingus and Coltrane.

A tribute to controversial and outrageous Quebec sculptor and installation artist Rose Drummond, through a collection of unusual, diverse, absurdist and absolutely remarkable instrumental & vocal songs drawn from saxophonist and composer Jean Derome's musical career, performed with Musique Actuelle luminaries including Michel F Coté, Joane Hétu, and Éric Normand.

Influenced by bassist Simon H. Fell since first hearing him in 1994 in a quartet with Peter Brotzmann, harpist Rhodri Davies approached Fell to work together, enjoying 20 years of collaborations in many group settings; in 2020 Simon H. Fell became seriously ill and passed in June of that year, this extended improvisation being Rhodri Davies' heartfelt tribute to the great improviser.

Two recording sessions yielding 15 recordings of solo harp improvisations in Rhodri Davies' fifth release on his Amgen imprint, beautifully intricate works from exuberant to introspective, with titles borrowed from the works of Lisa Jarnot, Ed Luker, Nathaniel Mackey, Redell Olsen, Sun Ra, Nisha Ramayya, Sarah Riggs and Leslie Scalapino, and cover art by Jean-Luc Guionnet.

The French Dark Tree label continues its curation of the unreleased material of West Coast pianist and band leader Horace Tapscott with this exuberant and substantial collection of live sessions at Catalina's Bar & Grill in Hollywood with Michael Session on saxophones, Thurman Green on trombone, Roberto Miranda on double bass, Fritz Wise on drums and vocal stylist Dwight Trible.

A curious book of images from artists including Rhodri Davies, John Butcher, Angharad Davies, Richard Dawson, &c. photographed in a location familiar to a touring musician--a budget hotel room--pictured laying on the bed with each artist's head covered by that room's hotel wall painting, from typically insipid to perplexingly unexpected.

Drummer and conductor Nandor Nevai's NY trio with bassist Tim Dahl and bassist Trevor Dunn in the fifth iteration of his _ ("UNDRSKOR") project, championing a novel fusion-idiom referred to as 'Neauxtheque' which may be said to invoke "Danger Classical", the Martial Pop subgenre of Industrial and the virtuosic demands of Technical Death Metal.

The Quebec project Brulez Les Meubles (Burn the Furniture) was conceived by long-time friends and contemporary jazz fans, bassist Eric Normand and guitarist Louis Beaudoin-de la Sablonniere, each collaboration inviting other musicians to join their warm & relaxed approach to modern jazz, here with Jean Derome on saxophone & flute and John Hollenbeck on drums.

With a common passion for the jazz guitar, from Jim Hall to Bill Frisell, from Rene Thomas to Brandon Ross, the core duo of Canadian improvisers, guitarist Louis Beaudoin-de la Sablonniere and bassist Éric Normand, are joined by drummer Tom Jacques for a set of original compositions plus a Paul Bley piece, one by Gilles Vigneault, and two collective improvisations.

Exploring the Venus Flytrap (dionée attrape-mouche) through a trio of electroacoustic improv, with the acoustic elements from Clarisse Beriault on oboe and acoustic bass and Robin Servant on accordion, bassist Éric Normand providing the electric foundation to their sly and savage improvisations, all three using electronics & effects to emulate the thigmonastic carnivore.

TOC, the trio of Ternoy, Cruz & Orins respectively on keyboards, drums and electric guitar, celebrate fifteen years of free improvisation with this expansive 4-CD set of recordings from the 2021 Spontaneous Music Festival in Poland; Lumen in Budapest in 2021; the 2021 Festival la malterie in Lille, France; and reissuing their 2008 CD on the Circum-Disc label, Le Gorille.

Having originally met in 2016 when Viennese trumpeter Franz Hautzinger and Quebec electric bassist Éric Normand formed Torche! with Michel F Cote, Philippe Lauzier and Xavier Charles, the two improvisers developed this collage during the pandemic from asynchronous recordings, creating six dramatic and explorative compositions of incredible and unusual technique.

The Quebec project Brulez Les Meubles (Burn the Furniture) was conceived by long-time friends and contemporary jazz fans, bassist Eric Normand and guitarist Louis Beaudoin-de la Sablonniere, each collaboration inviting other musicians to join their warm & relaxed approach to modern jazz, here with Jean Derome on saxophone & flute and John Hollenbeck on drums.

During a 1985 stay in Montreal, iconic German double bassist Peter Kowald asked alto saxophonist Yves Charuest to perform a series of duos with him, after which Charuest invited Michel Ratté to perform as a trio live at Le Bruit Court, recording in their studio these solid free jazz recordings that remained in storage for 37 years prior to this release!

A double album of electroacoustic improv sessions from Sommerville, MA, centered around electronic artist Andrew Neumann on the Buchla Music Easel--a complex additive analogue synth--heard in quartet and trio sessions with Forbes Graham (trumpet), Sandy Ewen (guitar & objects), Junko Fujiwara (cello), Damon Smith (double bass) and Eric Rosenthal (drums & percussion).

Assertively probing like a squid raging out of the sea, Street Tentacle is the trio of Chicago tenor saxophonist Jeff Chan, guitarist Da Wei Wang also on electronics, and drummer Jerome Bryerton on drums, cymbals, gongs, bowed metal & assorted percussion, in five assertive improvisations of an everything including the kitchen sink style; daunting and domineering!

Using extended techniques, Baltimore-based saxophonist John Berndt--director of Multiphonic Choir ensemble, a member of the Red Room collective and curator of their experimental performance series, and creator of the "Relabi" style of arrhythmic pulse--presents 15 succinct improvisations pushing his reed instruments to their outer edges in astonishing ways.

Using custom-written software to translate prime number sequences into a tonal palette of rich, compatible sounds, Vermont-based electronic musician and sound artist Greg Davis investigates the compositional properties of those numbers by paring the representation of each sequence into a network of pure sine tones which interact with fascinating harmonic and rhythmic structures.

Finding common ground through independent work in Asheville, NC, drummer Jeff Arnal and modular synth experimenter Curt Cloninger started exchanging musical ideas, developing their concept to add powerful rhythmic elements into patterned energetic synthetics, building a language to improvise together and rework their material into these rich and exciting compositions.

The 2nd album from the quartet of Joe McPhee on tenor saxophone, Warren Smith on vibraphone, Michael Marcus on reeds and Jay Rosen on drums, formed from a 2018 Jazzgalerie Nickelsdorf date with NY drummer Jay Rosen rounding out the quartet, this album extends their accessibly relaxed and creatively magnificent approach to free and structured jazz.

Focusing on lyrically inclined grooves with a relaxed pace, the details and thoughtfully "unthought" playing from the NY trio of Chad Fowler on stritch, saxello & alto flute, William Parker on bass and Anders Griffen on drums, are heard in the Park West Studios in Brooklyn for three extended collective improvisations of passionate, expressive and empathetic playing.

Led by New York wind and reed player Chad Fowler, who performs here on stritch, saxello & alto flute, this collective free jazz album brings together frequent collaborators, bassist William Parker (with whom Fowler plays in Dopolarians) and drummer & trumpeter Anders Griffen (heard on Thinking Unthinking and the Music of Frank Lowe) for two extended improvisations from contemplative to assertive.

Fall 2022 issue of Canada's most fascinating and diverse music magazine; Montreal Violinist And Composer Jessica Moss; Musical Repatriation and Reconciliation with Canada's Indigenous Peoples; sound artist Tona Walt Ohama; Interdisciplinary Artist Chloe Alexandra Thompson; electronic artist Mariana Vieira; Jordan Dykstra; Sabarah Pilon; The London Contemporary Music Festival, &c. &c.

The third release from the Portuguese trio of Rodrigo Amado on tenor saxophone, Gonçalo Almeida on double bass and Onno Govaert on drums in a studio album of assertively exploratory improvisation that builds from stark clarity to impressive hard blowing soloing and group interaction, an outstanding album of modern free jazz.

An extended, warm and lyrically rich conversation between New York cornetist Kirk Knuffke and bassist Michael Bisio, recorded in the Park West Studio in Brooklyn, comfortably adept and filled with accomplished technical skill, their dialog flows easily through a variety of moods and topics, a joyful convergence of adventurous playing that never leaves the listener behind.

Three reed & wind players and a drummer, from Japanese saxophonist Mototeru Takagi's collective free improvising quartet with fellow saxophonist Susumu Kongo, Nao Takeuchi on tenor sax plus flute & bass clarinet, and drummer Shota Koyama, recorded live in 1999 at Little John in Yokohama, Japan for three well-paced conversations of weaving winds and rhythmic intervention.

A free jazz trio session from 1995 at Cafe Amores, in Hofu City, Japan from the trio of late tenor saxophonist Mototeru Takagi with Korean improvisers, late percussionist Kim Dae Hwan and Choi Sun Bae on trumpet, performing five thoughtful and expressive conversations with an often Ayler-esque flavor; inventive playing from lyrical charges to pointillistic interaction.

A free jazz trio session from 1995 at Cafe Amores, in Hofu City, Japan from the trio of late tenor saxophonist Mototeru Takagi with Korean improvisers, late percussionist Kim Dae Hwan and Choi Sun Bae on trumpet, performing five thoughtful and expressive conversations with an often Ayler-esque flavor; inventive playing from lyrical charges to pointillistic interaction.

Better known for his work in avant compositional forms, both his own and as an interpreter of Xenakis and Toru Takemitsu, pianist Yuji Takahashi joined Japanese free jazz legendary percussionist Sabu Toyozumi in 1998 for this fully improvised live concert at C・S・Aka Renga, in Yamaguchi City, Japan, released in a collaboration with the Chap Chap label.

A 1990 concert at Jazz Inn Lovely, in Nagoya, Japan in configurations of duos and trios, from free improvising legends Masayuki Takayanagi on guitar, Nobuyoshi Ino on bass, and Masabumi Kikuchi on piano, with a 16 page booklet of photos from private collections and a detailed essay from Kohjiro Tanaka in English & Japanese providing background on the performance.