Investigating the experimental legacy of Victorian polymath Alexander J. Ellis, author of the 1880 paper, The History of Musical Pitch, composer Seamus Cater uses 74 tuning forks tuned to represent Elliss research of just ratios of 480Hz, in three compositions focusing on the most consonant tones of the system, and balancing them through minimalist chamber work from a 7-piece ensemble.

Reworking a piece for string trio originally commissioned by the Concertgebouw Brugge and premiered by the Goeyvaerts Trio as part of the 2019 SLOW Festival, this new version expands on the original composition to bring elegant calmness and clarity to the work, performed by UK's Apartment House members Mira Benjamin on violin, Bridget Carey on viola and Anton Lukoszevieze on cello.

Two works for voice and chamber orchestra performed by the UK Explore Ensemble under the direction of Nicholas Moroz, and a multi-tracked vocal work by Lotte Betts-Dean, rich and understated works of rich harmonics and atmospheric overtones composed by Catherine Lamb, placing phonetic vocals in space and ambiance, eschewing words for tone, texture and motion; mesmerizing.

The New York-based andPlay duo of violinist Maya Bennardo and violist Hannah Levinson perform two extended works commissioned for their performance series, Translucent Harmonies: first an acoustic rendering of Catherine Lamb's "Prisma Interius VIII (Melodic Duo)"; then Kristofer Svensson's work of contrasts, surprises, modulations, and transformations.

Vancouver mainstay, guitarist and composer Tony Wilson leads Longhnad, performing the energetically twising and turning, genre-spanning music of composer and saxophonist Peder Long, a mentor to Wilson while studying at Malaspina College, in a band with Vancouver collaborators Russell Sholberg (bass), Skey Brooks (drums), Jesse Zubot (violin) and Joshua Zubot (violin).

A wild improvising band from Vancouver in their 3rd release of episodic compositions based around instrumental rock forms, six "sick" and wide-ranging pieces that blend rock, jazz, chamber music and inventive forms in magnificent way, from JP Carter on trumpet, Joshua Zubot on violin, Peggy Lee on cello, Cole Schmidt on guitar, James Meger on bass, synths and Dan Gaucher on drums.

The debut of Vancouver & Montreal violinist Joshua Zubot's string ensemble with fellow violinists Jesse Zubot & Meredith Bates, cellist Peggy Lee and acoustic bassist James Meger, performing ten Zubot compositions informed by his involvement in diverse musical styles, each allowing room for improvisation as he takes the string ensemble into unique and unorthodox territory.

A new improvising trio from Berlin by Meinrad Kneer on double bass, Rudi Fischerlehner on drums & percussion and Olaf Rupp on electric guitar, an energetic project that borrows from free jazz with electroacoustic elements and clamorous intersections from Fischerlehner, as the trio runs the gamut from nearly chaotic interaction to deep contemplation in four diverse movements.

Working with German jazz and "third stream" musician, vibraphonist & composer Gunter Hampel, New York alto saxophonist Marion Brown is heard in two live recordings from 1968 & 1969 in Munchen, Germany and Wurzburg, in quintet and sextet configurations with superb supporting musicians including Steve McCall (drums), Ambrose Jackson (trumpet), Daniel Laloux (bass) and Jeanne Lee (voice).

The Finnish duo of Niko-Matti Ahti and Marja Ahti, merging musique concrète with narrative elements in an album titled Nokivesi (soot-water) that presents a two-part work using a collage approach to acousmatic sound and documentary elements of elderly people, through themed field recordings along with modular synthesizer and digital processing.

A stunningly beautiful suite from Richmond, VA drummer and composer Scott Clark, poetic songs rendered by Laura Ann Singh in a sextet with Bob Miller on trumpet, flugelhorn, J.C. Kuhl on bass clarinet, tenor saxophone, Michael McNeill on piano and Adam Hopkins on bass, in four sublimely passionately compositions presented in studio recording and live versions.

A stunningly beautiful suite from Richmond, VA drummer and composer Scott Clark, poetic songs rendered by Laura Ann Singh in a sextet with Bob Miller on trumpet, flugelhorn, J.C. Kuhl on bass clarinet, tenor saxophone, Michael McNeill on piano and Adam Hopkins on bass, in four sublimely passionately compositions presented in studio recording and live versions.

Drawing on the same trio heard on his RogueArt release, 7 Poets Trio, Boston-born Brooklyn-based composer and drummer Fujiwara presents a set of six sophisticated works along with one collective improvisation, utilizing the unique orchestration of vibraphonist Patricia Brennan and cellist Tomeka Reid to create a diverse set of highly rewarding recordings.

Wabanaki bassist, composer and songwriter Mali Obomsawin presents a compositional suite that highlights the art and culture of her people, binding together blues, jazz, hymns and folk songs with an ensemble of exceptional NY improvisers: Savannah Harris (drums), Miriam Elhajli (guitars, voice), Allison Burik (reeds), Noah Campbell (sax) and Taylor Ho Bynum (cornet & flugelhorn).

Wabanaki bassist, composer and songwriter Mali Obomsawin presents a compositional suite that highlights the art and culture of her people, binding together blues, jazz, hymns and folk songs with an ensemble of exceptional NY improvisers: Savannah Harris (drums), Miriam Elhajli (guitars, voice), Allison Burik (reeds), Noah Campbell (sax) and Taylor Ho Bynum (cornet & flugelhorn).

With a septet of women improvisers and contemporary performers, composer and violinist Jessica Pavone's long-form collective improv compositions are titled after innovations made by women throughout history to circumvent obstructions to their freedoms, revealed through string and bassoon orchestration that balances harmony, dissonance, drone and disruptive experimentation.

An amazing collection and reflection on the work of percussionist, composer and connector Chris Cutler of Henry Cow fame and founder of the highly influential Recommended Records label and distribution service, through 10 CDs, 1 DVD and two books of documentation, artwork, photographs, published and unpublished texts in a sturdy box, with over five hours of unreleased materials.

Improvisations from graphic scores that influence the structural framework for these five pieces from New York-based artist & composer Nickolas Mohanna, who uses a varied palette of percussive devices alongside electric guitar and computer, including hammered notes and brushed cymbals to create pulsing and immersive shapes that emerge and submerge in each floating work.

Recorded thirteen years before this release and rediscovered during pandemic lockdowns, the improvising and extremely open-minded trio of Fred Frith on electric guitar, Sudhu Tewari on percussion (or as credited, "recuperated junk") and Cenk Ergun on electronics recorded these seven superb improvisations in the studio at Expression College for Digital Arts, in Emeryville, CA.

Joining long-time UK improvising collaborators, saxophonist Paul Dunmall and drummer Mark Sanders is London performer and engineer Alex Bonney performing on trumpet, modular synthesizer and laptop, the trio recording in the studio for three conversations of lyrically inclined electro-acoustic improv, Bonney's synthetics adding an alien aspect to sophisticated dialog.

The sophomore release for the acoustic free improvising Amsterdam trio of Ziv Taubenfeld on bass clarinet, Henk Zwerver on guitar, and Maya Felixbrodt on viola, upping the intensity in a set of abstract improvisations of an active nature using unorthodox and extended techniques; upbeat and often exciting collective discourse that leads to great moments of individual expression.

Portugal's suspenseful reductionist improvising ensemble, blending acoustic and electronic instruments in delicately detailed motion, heard in this live recording at SMUP in Parede from Ernesto Rodrigues (viola), Nuno Torres (sax), Bruno Parrinha (bass clarinet), Luisa Goncalves (piano), Flak (electric gutiar), Joao Madeira (bass), Carlos Santos (analog synth) and Jose Oliveira (percussion).

A fortuitous 2015 concert from the lowercase chamber/ea-improv octet Suspensão, captured live at Ler Devagar Bookstore in Lisbon from Ernesto Rodrigues (viola & harp), Guilherme Rodrigues (cello), Nuno Torres (alto sax), Eduardo Chagas (trombone), Antonio Chaparreiro (guitar), Rodrigo Pinheiro (piano & melodica), Miguel Mira (bass), Carlos Santos (electronics) and Jose Oliveira (percussion).

Configured as an electroacoustic chamber nonet led by Ernesto Rodrigues on viola & crackle box, with two saxophones, bass clarinet, piano, electric guitar, double bass, electronics & percussion, in two live, highly concentrative and subtly detailed improvisations performed in 2023 at O'Culto da Ajuda, during Ciclo Indeterminação na Música do Séc. XXI.

Referencing the book Letters to Milena (Briefe an Milena) by Franz Kafka of his intense love affair with Czech journalist & writer Milena Jesenská, through four lettered parts of a subtly sophisticated set of improvisations by Ernesto Rodrigues (viola), Nuno Torres (alto sax), Guilherme Rodrigues (cello), Eric Bauer (electronics) and Stephen Flinn (percussion).

Father and son string improvisers Ernesto Rodrigues on viola and Guilherme Rodrigues on cello join with Berlin improvisers Fumio Okura (Ensemble 222) on violin and Hannes Buder on guitar for six collective chamber free improvisations using extraordinary technique and focus, creating parallel and converging conversations that build and recede in vigorous momentum.

Emulating the Korean river Taedong through it's undulating flows, uproar, flux and treachery in eleven succinct chamber-oriented improvisations from the quartet of South Korean tenor saxophonist Jung-Jae Kim, French-born South Korean-based drummer Quentin Cholet, with the Portuguese father/son duo of Ernesto Rodrigues on viola and Guilherme Rodrigues on cello.

Berlin recordings from the lowercase chamber improvising string quartet of New Zealand violinist Sarah Claman, Portuguese violist Ernesto Rodrigues and cellist son based in Berlin, Guilherme Rodrigues, with Swiss sound artist Caroline Cecilia Tallone on electroacoustic hurdy gurdy & amplified objects, exploring three shadow aspects of "Umbra", "Penumbra" and "Antumbra".

Recording at Berlin-Wedding's performance space Werkhalle Wiesenburg in the summer of 2023, the free improvising chamber trio of violist Ernesto Rodrigues and cellist Guilherme Rodrigues meet with Portuguese flutist Carlos Bechegas, bringing contemporary classical technique to an extended and energetically tempestuous improvisation and a sprightly "Time Between".

Burning electric improvisation that draws from rock, metal, jazz and free improv by the Lisbon trio of Luis Guerreiro on trumpet, electronics, Jorge Nuno on electric guitar and Joao Valinho on drums, recording in the studio for an extended and unremitting collective improvisation that roars with galvanic, dramatic strength; terrifying!

An exemplary album of thoughtful free improv from the trio of tenor saxophonist Pedro Alves Sousa with 2/3's of Red Trio--pianist Rodrigo Pinheiro and drummer Gabriel Ferrandini--recorded after a five day residency at the Goethe-Institut Lisbon, the band finding new approaches to playing to distance themselves from the typically fast & energetic music they are often associated with.

Six permutations on motion from the Kinetic duo of Portuguese pianist Rodrigo Pinheiro (Red Trio) and Pedro Carneiro performing on marimba with quarter tone extension, the duo emerging from "shadows and resonance" and ending with "inertia and collision", as they explore the interactions of keys and percussion in improvisations executed with the precision of composed music.

Presenting concentrative and contemplative free improvisation from the Portuguese trio of Jorge Nuno on acoustic guitar, Hernâni Faustino on double bass and João Valinho on drums & percussion, recording in the studio for a 4-part and cohevise set of improvisation through muscular plucking, rich bowing, abstracted string progressions and mysterious drums & percussion; fascinating.

Having collaborated over 15 years in bands including Slow is Possible and Cat in a Bag, the Portuguese quartet of Duarte Fonseca on drums, Joao Clemente on guitar, Nuno Santos Dias on Waldorf Zarenbourg electric piano and Ricardo Sousa on double bass, borrow from electric 70's jazz, rock and experimental forms through 10 diverse and intriguing concepts tinged with a dark wit.

Saxophonist José Lencastre's Nau Quartet of Lencastre on alto & tenor, Hernani Faustino on double bass, Rodrigo Pinheiro on piano and João Lencastre on drums are joined by Pedro Carneiro on marimba for four extended improvisations that balance melodic intentions with urgent force, the additional percussive elements motivating the band from edgy soloing to introspective contemplation.

A remarkable trio of active players on the Lisbon free improv scene -- José Lencastre (alto sax), Hernâni Faustino (double bass) and Vasco Furtado (drums) -- and the debut release for the Phonogram Unit label, in six collective improvisations recorded in the studio, evenly proportioned between boppish free jazz and abstract, almost chamber sonic expression; beautiful.

The second trio release from alto saxophonist Jose Lencastre, Hernâni Faustino (Red Trio) here on electric bass and drummer Vasco Furtado, three Portuguese improvisers whose continued work together adds strength to their collective improvisation, heard in five pieces recorded live in the warm space of the Espírito Santo Church in Caldas da Rainha in Western Portugal.

An exquisite album of chamber-oriented free improvisation that naturally merges contemporary and jazz forms while underpinned by swinging grooves, each player expressing passion and abstraction to create unique sonic combinations, from Jose Lencastre on alto saxophone, Carlos Zingaro on violin, Clara Lai on piano, Goncalo Almeida on double bass and Joao Sousa on drums.

A first time meeting between drummer João Lencastre and bassist Drew Gress, and an extension of the long association between Lencastre and pianist Leo Genovese, recorded during a short tour as a trio, inviting guitarist Pedro Branco for this studio date to add energetic urgency to Lencastre's melodically charged compositions, yielding great soloing and interplay.

The debut album from pianist Clara Lai's Barcelona-based trio with Alex Reviriego on double bass and Oriol Roca on drums, Lai's background in classical and jazz improvisation felt in the precision of her playing as the trio explores collective construction and structural improvisation, coaxing active and contemplative moments among uniquely experimental approaches.

Formed in 2019 by Red Trio members Rodrigo Pinheiro on piano and Hernani Faustino on double bass plus core Creative Sources electronic musician Carlos Santos, with Joao Almeida on trumpet and Joao Valinho on drums, the "inter.independence" referencing an experimental approach to collective improv through independent layers that interact to create unexpected intersections.

After a first meeting at an improvised music festival, the trio of Portuguese drummer Vasco Furtad, Wuppertal-based drummer/vibraphonist Salome Amend and German alto saxophonist Luise Volkmann agreed to meet again in the studio to record these five collective improvisations, focused on sparse yet active textures influenced by melodic implications.

Focused on unusual rhythms at the intersections of electrified bass and guitars, the trio of Italian improviser Felice Furioso on drums & percussion, Portuguese electric guitarist Jorge Nuno and Brazilian electric bassist Felipe Zenicola (Chinese Cookie Poets) turn in seven generally growling and aggressively paced works under the umbrella of experienced prejudice.

As described, twelve solo improvisations from Portuguese double bassist Hernani Faustino, known for Red Trio, Jose Lencastre Nau Quartet, innumerable Creative Sources ensembles, &c., here displaying his muscular yet lyrical approach to the big strings through plucking, bowing and instrument emanations, paced to value expression over exhibitionism; beautiful.

An enthusiastic and well-balanced studio recording in San Francisco from the trio of Zoh Amba on tenor saxophone, Chris Corsano on drums and Bill Orcutt on electric guitar, following Amba & Corsano's duo tour of the West Coast; this is a first meeting between Amba & Orcutt, who perform as a duo on two tracks, including a guitar duo with Amba on acoustic.

Reissuing and remastering this exceptional 1969 album from avant-garde jazz pioneers Art Ensemble of Chicago as Lester Bowie (trumpets, horns & bass drum), Joseph Jarman saxophones, reeds, winds keys), Roscoe Mitchell (saxophones, reeds, winds, sirens, bells & whistle), and Malachi Favors (bass, banjo & sitar), adding two bonus tracks: "Tthinitthedalen" Parts 1 & 2.

Drawing inspiration from the same set of Cy Twombly drawings as her previous release, For The Love Of Fire And Water, and with nearly the same ensemble — Myra Melford on piano, Mary Halvorson on guitar, Ingrid Laubrock on tenor saxophones, Tomeka Reid on cello and here Lesley Mok on drums — Melford presents five brightly original and sophisticated compositions.

The 2nd volume of the UK/US West Coast quintet of legendary AMM drummer Eddie Prévost, guitarist Henry Kaiser, N.O. Moore on "guitarisism", Blinker Golding on saxophone and Olie Brice on double bass, merging free jazz and free improvisation in a rollicking album of electric jazz recorded in London, adding two more exhilarating "Doors" of quick shifting improv.

Long-time collaborators and iconoclastic improvisers, drummer Eddie Prévost and saxophonist John Butcher, met at All Hallows Church, in High Laver, Essex in 2023, using the natural ambience of the space to capture these three improvisations, Prévost playing primarily on a drum kit and both in a more jazz-oriented sax and drum duo, extended by both players' exceptional technique.

Two unfolding, extended sets from a 2022 concert at Cafe OTO by AMM legendary percussionist Eddie Prévost and French pianist based in London, Marjolain Charbin, the pianist playing inside and out her of instrument augmented by objects, Prévost creating sonic environments through cymbal bowing and scraping, as the duo evolve into high motion and withdraw into suspenseful beauty.

Joining the long-running Trespass Trio of Per Zanussi on double bass, Martin Küchen on baritone & sopranino saxophone and Raymond Strid on drums for their performance at the 2018 Blow Out Festival in Oslo was Portuguese trumpeter Susana Santos Silva, performing Küchen compositions and a unique group take on Charlie Parker's "Koko", in a concert of both ardent and exuberant improvisation.

Lyrically upbeat and expressive piano trio compositions from Polish pianist Grzegorz Tarwid and his trio with double bassist Max Mucha and drummer Albert Karch, all active performers on the Polish and European free jazz secene, here in six works of diverse moods that start with Latin tinges and seamlessly work through playful and pointillistic pieces to end in a tranquil "Sleep".

Crossing styles, generations and approaches to improvisations, multi-reedist and composer Ned Rothenberg's quartet of Rothenberg on clarinets & alto sax, Sylvie Courvoisier on piano, Mary Halvorson on guitar & effects and Tomas Fujiwara on drums perform five Rothenberg compositions and one by Rothenberg & Courvoisier, of spectacular timbral, rhythmic and melodic intersections.

Reflecting on the 60th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech "I Have a Dream", pianist Aruan Ortiz is influenced by King's concepts of form and structure, assembling an incredible quintet including Don Byron on reeds, Pheeroan akLaff on drums, Yves Dhar & Lester St. Lousi on cello and narration by Mtume Gant, for a 7-song cycle musically depicting the turbulence of the time.

Joining pianist Simon Nabatov's trio with bassist Stefan Schönegg and drummer Dominik Mahnig are Leondhard Huhn on saxophone & clarinet and Philip Zoubek on synthesizer, this Cologne-based 3+2 quintet expanding Nabatov's space as the group performs six collective improvisations interpreting a series of semantics signal that influence tempo, pitch, tone and timbre; extraordinary.

From the fertile Montreal improv scene, the long-collaborating Mercury duo of double bassist Nicolas Caloia and clarinetist Lori Freedman on b-flat and bass clarinets are heard in eight rugged dialogs captured live as they seemingly flay the body through visceral dialog with titles including "Eyeball-Eyelid"; "Teeth-Tongue-Throat-Lip"; or "Ass-Brain".

Upbeat retro-future jazz with a bit of an acerbic wit, from the organ trio of Finnish saxophonist Mikko Innanen, Danish drummer Stefan Pasborg and French Hammond organ player Cédric Piromalli, in nine diverse pieces from funky swing to lush balladry, with Canadian improviser Lori Freedman providing sharply inquisitive narrative on two pieces.

A first encounter between Swiss drummer Fritz Hauser and Portuguese marimba master Pedro Carneiro, the title translating roughly to "step of two", implying a dance heard in elusively minimal yet highly active interactions between the two, each progressively numbered work borrowing from improvisational and contemporary approaches; fascinatingly sophisticated and often joyful work.

Their first duo album, Collect My Thoughts released in 1995 on Nine Winds, these live improvisations captured at Berkeley's The Shinebox in 2017 show the two West Coast collaborators--Phillip Greenlief on alto & tenor saxophones plus clarinet, and drummer/percussionist Scott Amendola--'staying with it' in an energetic set of five informed dialogs.

The second box set from Slovenia-born pianist Miha Gantar, named for his adopted city of Amsterdam, through five CDs presenting the many aspects of chamber-oriented, refined jazz that he composes and improvises around, with one CD each of trio and quartet settings, a CD of duos with Michael Moore, an extended solo improvisation, and a dual piano work.