Experimental improvisation driven by the foundations of electric piano, organ & electronics of Chicago keyboardist Daniel Van Duerm, fueled by the flexible and unusual drumming of Alexander Adams and passionately expanded by the cathartic tenor sax wrangling of Danny Andrade, dark and light come together to form an "anti-glow" from this intriguing young trio.

An incredibly well-rounded musician on sax and flute, performing in both improvised and contemporary settings including Dedalus Ensemble and work with Etron Foun drummer Guigou Chenevier, here Sakina Abdou presents a series of solo saxophone improvisations recorded at her home in Lille, France, drawing on all of her influences in eight informed performances.

The Field/Vidic duo of Slovenian saxophonist based in Switzerland Gregor Vidic and London born drummer Niclas Field is expanded with Japanese free improvising guitarist Tetuzi Akiyama, recording at Gok Sound in Tokyo in 2017 for three exceptional and suspenseful and electroacoustic improvisations, merging melodic and abstract approaches in uniquely detailed ways.

An unusual duo of double bass, voice, hammered dulcimer, recorder, slide whistle, and various objects, recorded in 2019 between bassist Damon Smith and Sarah Ruth Alexander, freely improvising through nine pieces that show the breadth of creative imagination and powerful technical skills of each; curiously compelling, unpredictable and marvelously diverse.

Berlin trumpeter Liz Allbee's solo work focuses on the interaction of voice, extended approaches to her instruments, which includes her self-designed quadrophonic trumpet, electronics and acoustic homemade instruments, on Rille presenting four enigmatic works of dramatic pacing--environmental and rhythmic--guided by impressionistic spoken words and moments of tonal clarity.

Recording at London's Cafe OTO, and at the 2022 Newcastle Festival Of Jazz And Improvised Music, saxophonist and composer Martin Archer's exceptional 8-piece line up of his exuberant avant-electric jazz band blurring lines between 70's Miles and AACM abstractions, is heard across three CDs of fiery soloing, contemplative transitions, and spectacular group interplay.

The 2nd release in a new series of small groups drawn from members of the Discus Music family, where the group meets, writes, rehearses and records in one single session, here developing ten compositions from all four players edited into a continuous sequence of structure and improvisation, embracing melody, texture and pure abstraction.

After participating in the Birmingham Improvisors Orchestra, wind improviser Martin Archer, bass guitarist John Jasnoch and violin & electronic musician Sarah Farmer were joined in the studio by drummer Lee Boyd Allatson to record this mix of compositions, graphic scores and free improv, merging AACM-style free jazz with contemporary chamber-oriented improv.

An unusual blend of jazz tradition, spoken word and soundscape, presenting mostly as a jazz album with spoken narration from Steve Piccolo (Lounge Lizards) guiding the album with abstract comments that interject with Sergio Armaroli's virtuoso vibe playing, Elliot Sharp adding both acoustic sax elements and inventive sonic environments underpinning many moments; conceptually fascinating.

A compelling and lyrical debut from the London-based trio Aspyrian of Robin Porter on tenor & soprano saxophones, Jack Gillen on guitar and Matt Parkinson on drums, the band name from Old English translating to "To search, explore, trace, discover, explain", which the band does with ebullient dexterity through seven original compositions from Porter and Parkinson.

On their first concert as a duo in 2014, alto saxophonist Michael Attias and pianist Simon Nabatov recorded these five creatively lyrical improvisations at iBeam in Brooklyn, Nabatov on the keys and inside the piano and both using tremendous technique in a mix of perky and introspective free expression, including an extended work that melds into Herbie Nichol's "Spinning Song".

The Australian trio of percussionist Robbie Avenaim, keyboard player Chris Abrahams performing on a Waldorf Q+ Synthesiser and bass flutist Jim Denley, all compatriots in a variety of groupings, in an extended studio improvisation of spacious textures and rapidly understated percussive elements, aptly titled for the weaving and cris-crossing threads on a loom.

Recording on a vintage reel-to-reel tape deck in his own warehouse living room during a lunar eclipse, saxophonist Steve Baczkowski (Brandon Lopez Trio, Buffalo Suicide Prevention Unit, Ensemble MIA) captures thirteen explorations on tenor and baritone saxophones, plus a homemade wind instrument, for an intimately challenging album of outrageous technique and overtones.

With a title roughly translating to "Unscrewed", Argentinian guitarist Luciana Bass dismantles and loosens the bolts on conventional boundaries, blending blues and abstract improvisation in a journey marked by melodic passion and adventurous sonic exploration, crafting a vivid interplay between embraceable beauty and strikingly unexpected contrasts.

Quirky in a masterful display of instrumental skill from the Swedish duo of soprano saxophonist Martin Küchen and trombonist Ola Rubin (Swedish Fix, Lazy Rude Monk), using every inch of their instruments along with mutes, percussion and percussive emanations, creating a virtual menagerie of animalistic sounds alongside dexterous lines.

Subtle, beautiful, haunting, masterful and delicately commanding, the duo of pianist and vibraphonist Karl Berger and Jason Kao Hwang on violin and viola recorded these 8 dialogs in Berger's Woodstock studio, their familiarity from Hwang's participation in Berger's Creative Music Orchestra summoning lyrical and sensitive music, finding profundity in restraint.

The 2nd release from the trio of Chicago cornetist Josh Berman, UK drummer/percussionist Paul Lytton and Chicago bassist Jason Roebke, featuring material recorded during the trio's April 2018 European tour, in two extended side-long improvisations from Padova, Italy and Trondheim, Norway, in sets of profound technique and creative prowess; exceptional.

Recording live in the studio in Washington D.C., this is a fully improvised journey of sub-bass drones, fiery free jazz, and melancholic sonic tales, weaving trombone-driven explorations of real and imagined sonic landscapes; with poetic fictionalizations from Alex Smith and artwork by James Dillenbeck, this album is a fascinating look at an unexpected and imaginative range on the trombone.

With nine years of work together, the Uruguayan duo of guitarist Santiago Bogacz, aka Matador, and clarinetist Emiliano Aires have developed a near-telepathic dialog of sharp-edged interactions through technically rapid exchanges and plateaus of anxious reserve; exhilarating work heard here in 9 vehement and creatively urgent improvisations.

The first new Bootstrappers album since 1992, joining band leader Elliott Sharp for this 3rd album are longtime collaborators Melvin Gibbs on electric bass and Don McKenzie on drums, for seven assertive rock-based improvisations fueled by electronics, free jazz, no wave and electroacoustic sound, manifesting a hardboiled NY ethic of focused grooves and free playing.

1991 collaboration between Shaking Ray Levis and Borbetomagus in an exquisite mix of over-amplified and otherwise bewilderingly fierce free improv.

The 2nd release from Italian composer/performer Alessandro Bosetti and Australian pianist Chris Abrahams (The Necks), a very intimate album of sonic explorations that spans improvised fragments and original renditions of compositions like Steve Lacy's "Esteem" with Bosetti's lyrics.

Two bright stars of DIY Brooklyn improvisers with unusual approaches to their instruments through extended techniques, processing and odd acoustic effects from saxophonist Michael Foster and cellist Leila Bourdreuil, together since 2009 creating racous & beautiful sound.

Solo piano works from Brennan, also performing on arcopiano, pizzicatopiano, sordinopiano, tamburopiano, frampiano, indian harmonium, Irish whistle, Hohner accordion & melodica, Yamaha e-piano.

Performing on oboe, English horn and live electronics, West Coast double-reedist Kyle Bruckmann presents three extended solo works of deep electroacoustic binding, each dedicated to a writer, artist or musician: "A Spurious Autobiography for John Barth (2015)"; "An Extruded Introversion for Blixa Bargeld (2016)"; and "A Fuzzy Monolith for James Turrell (2015)".

Using a wide assortment of guitars (electric, baritone, arch top acoustic, bass) + monochord, waterphone & zulu bells, Necks drummer and multi-instrumentalist Tony Buck joins with percussionist Mark Nauseef performing on bells and gongs for seven exotic improvisations rich in overtones, microtonal movement, ringing harmonics and hybrid motion.

Known for his ensemble The Big Machine with Peter Evans, Carlos Homs, &c., NYC saxophonist Aaron Burnett steps out for a solo album of intense improvisatory exploration, demonstrating his background in classical saxophone studies that fuels an ardent intensity in personal expression, a tremendous balance between technique and passion.

Bridging contemporary and improvised music, Montreal double bassist Nicolas Caloia wrote these pieces for textured and impossible rhythms; blending pieces by Nancarrow and Grand Master Flash; and manipulating poems by Genevieve Letarte; with supporting improv from Jean Derome & Lori Freedman.

Known best for the guitar work on clipping's Rick and Morty song "Stab Him in the Throat", Chicago guitarist Kirsten Carey joins with drummer Aaron Edgcomb (Trigger) for this set of mischievous improvised experiments that explore the relationships between rock, jazz and experimental sound through eleven assertive dialogs of quirky, skronky, and inspired playing.

An aural map of extended pianist Charity Chan's techniques, in unusual non-invasive, object interactive and excursive approaches to the acoustic piano.

The 3-headed monster Khimaira--a lion head in front, a goat head at its back and a snake head at its tail--is rendered by the transatlantic trio of NY saxophonist Chris Pitsiokos, Portuguese trumpeter Susana Santos Silva and Swedish bassist Torbjourn Zetterberg, using profound technique, snarling interaction and contemplative patience to coax the beast in masterful interplay.

81 short tracks performed on the no-input mixer without multitracking or processing, intended to be played in a random sequence.

Sorollets i catxarros—noises and rattles—from Barcelona electric guitarist and free improviser Amidea Clotet, who explores unusual possibilites from the instrument through textural approaches and amplification, evoking unusual soundscapes of inexplicable sound from the body, hardware and strings of the guitar, in seven unusual and fascinating expositions.

A set of playful, upbeat duos from West Coast-born bassist Greg Cohen and NY guitarist Bill Frisell, celebrating Cohen's home state of California in 6 originals and 3 California covers.

An energetic concert at Area Sismica, in Forli, Italy from the dual saxophone and dual drums Italian quartet of Marco Colonna on baritone & sopranino saxes, Edoardo Marraffa on tenor & alto saxes, Fabrizio Spera on drums, percussion & bow, and Marco Zanotti on drums, percussion & kalimba; a wonderfully explosive concert, the first live post-pandemic performance for all four.

Michel F Cote in a hybrid release of country and actuelle music that is unpredictable and funny with help from artists such as Bernard Falaise, Frank Martel, Billie Folliday, etc.

Unusual electronic improv that moves from light to dark with great grooves and unusual turns, from the core of Klaxon Gueule with Jesse Levine on organ.

Frequent collaborators, Canadian drummer and experimentalist Eric Hamelin joins Chris Dadge, who more typically performs as a drummer/percussionist, in a duo with Dadge on violin, as the two create wonderfully active environments of sound that follow conceptual paths embracing electroacoustic methodology through two pieces performed live in the studio.

A series of ominous duos on the dark side from NY improviser Jeremiah Cymerman on clarinets & pedals, and Charlie Looker (Extra Life, Psalm Zero) on guitars & piano, each of the five pieces exploring murky caverns of warmly bleak environments rendered through Looker's deep piano & guitar work, perforated by cracks of light through Cymerman's riffs & exclamations.

A diverse set of compositions from and performed by French composer Melaine Dalibert in his third solo piano album, presenting active rhythmic to introspective work, exploring harmonics and chord evolution; artwork by David Sylvian, and one piece composed for Sylvian, alongside pieces for elsewhere label leader Yuko Zama, Peter Garland and pianist Reinier van Houdt.

Influenced by progressive rock, kosmiche, and fusion forms, the UK trio Das Rad of Nick Robinson on guitars & electronics, Martin Archer on sax, reeds, winds, keys and electronics, Steve Dinsdale on drums and percussion, and Julie Archer on voice, bringing 70s sounds to modern sensibilities and superb creative playing, a great achievement.

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.

Intense free improvisation recorded in the studio from the Netherlands duo of Rene Aquarius on drums and Otto Kokke on saxophone, in an ever-shifting display of technical prowess and twisted approaches to playing, a controlled grindcore of cathartic jazz.

Delicate abrasions and corruption of their instruments from the NY duo of Erica Dicker (Till by Turning) on violin and Dennis Sullivan (Radical 2), 9 works of improvised soundscape and avant-raw chamber music through prepared strings, tapes, looped feedback, resonant metals, modified snares and liberally bowed surfaces, richly constrained and luxuriously blood-curdling.

Hand selected by Montreal clarinetist Lori Freedman and assembled during a 2022 residency in Berlin, the BeingFive quintet brought together ea-improvisers Yorgos Dimitriadis (percussion), Axel Dorner (trumpet), Andrea Parkins (accordion & objects) and Christopher Williams (double bass) for a workshop approach to creating sonic environments of incredible depth and expressiveness.

Vibraphonist Chris Dingman set up his vibraphones next to the bedroom where his father was under hospice care from a rare heart ailment, setting an atmosphere of calm and compassion to help soothe, heal, and carry him through his final challenges, released here as a 5-CD set of 5 hours of ethereal sounds through poignant melodies, swirling textures, and undulating pedal tones.

Bringing together two exceptional trumpeters approaching their instruments in innovative ways--Berlin trumpeter Axel Dorner and Toronto trumpeter Lina Alleman--in duos and virtual ensembles, each of the eight improvisations titled for lesser-known, smaller celestial bodies, the album title referring to the furthest distance an object achieves while orbiting the sun.

Beginning with a reimagining of the Civil Rights anthem "We Shall Overcome", trumpeter Dave Douglas' album is an emotional and powerful statement of human engagement towards justice--Racial justice; Climate justice; Voting justice; Gender justice--performed with Ryan Keberle on trombone, Fay Victor on voice, Camila Meza on voice, guitar, Jorge Roeder on bass and Rudy Royston on drums.

Bob Drake continues to tug on the heart-strings of prog in short but smart songs that reference the best of the last few decades of prog/psych/avant rock forms, Drake as always handling all parts in a great balance of guitar, electronic & acoustic instruments, including some newly invented instruments; includes a fold-out poster in Bob Drake style from Joe Mruk.

A solo poetic album by Andre Duchesne on acoustic guitar playing 14 beautiful songs.

French free vocalist Isabelle Duthoit and world traveling improviser and Zeitkratzer trumpeter Franz Hautzinger continue their collaborations at GMEA Centre National de Creation Musicale, in Albi, France to record these 11 unusual duos, using outrageous technique and inexplicable intent to create aberrant accompaniments to your most subtle and frightening dreams.

French free vocalist Isabelle Duthoit met world traveling improviser and Zeitkratzer trumpeter Franz Hautzinger in New York City to record these highly unusual duos, using extreme techniques and inexplicable intent to create 9 uniquely aberrant accompaniments to your most subtle and strange dreams; reference Phil Minton, Axel Dorner, Freddie Kruger.

Recorded at Experimental Sound Studios following a powerful and inspired concert at Elastic Arts, this trio captures the distinct musical voices of Edith Steyer (alto saxophone & clarinet), Mabel Kwan (piano), and Michael Zerang (drums & percussion), weaving sound-oriented improvisations and diverse transatlantic influences from Berlin and Chicago.

Highlighting issues between the US & Mexican borders, Thollem McDonas' Estamos Trio presents their 2nd album, here with Carmina Escobar (vocals, electronics, guitarron), Milo Tamez (percussion, found objects, electronics) and Thollem (keyboard, vocals, clay pot) in a work commissioned by and recorded at the 2018 "Casa Tomada" (House Taken Over) in Santa Fe for SITE.

Taking song titles from the Arawak language, the Estamos Trio of Thollem McDonas (piano), Milo Tamez (drums) and Carmina Escobar (voice & electronics) brings together artists from the Mexican/U.S. border, creating beautiful creative works.

The second release by the trio of Evidence (Pierre Carter, Jean Derome, Pierre Tanguay) who are devoted to the great jazz music of Thelonious Monk.

Guitarist Falaise (Klaxon Gueule, Les Projectionnistes) in pieces that reference Aksak Maboul, Braxton, Beefheart, Donatoni, Les Granules, Nancarrow, Stravinsky, & Wyatt.

Bernard Falaise's debut solo album in 15 peieces for guitar ensembles played by one guitarist with the help of overdubbing and digital processing.

British saxophonist Simon Rose uses extended and evocative techniques in this exceptional set of duos with Paul Stapleton, who plays a Bonsai Sound Sculpture, an assemblage of unusual electronic and acoustic components allowing a wide range of expression.

Meridian percussionist and frequent collaborator with Vic Rawlings and Annie Lewandowski, Tim Feeney presents a fascinating solo album of "four improvised poundings" using "a drum, a pair of sticks, a metal plate, a pair of dowels, a heavy cymbal, a large room, a small squirrel, a static listening, a punishing listening, a boring listening, a quickening listening".

Free improvisations and a few fascinating covers of work by Cecil Taylor, Chico Hamilton, and Johnny Dyani from the duo of double bassist Damon Smith and legendary drummer Alvin Fielder, showing intense and unusual approaches in great rhythmic dialog.

This Berlin-based collaboration with sound engineer Roy Carroll performing on electronics features the trio of Chris Heenan on contrabass clarinet, Adam Pultz Melbye on double bass, and Christian Windfeld on snare drum, percussion & objects, using a reductionist approach to deep sonic improvisation of mysterious origins, in an extended journey of sound.

An album of raw and emotional "love songs", 17 unique solo violin improvisations and vocal utterance as the New York improviser runs her bow with passionate openness and intimacy through raspy edges, ardent plucking, introspective aching, and moments of beauty, all displayed through immense technique and powerful control over her instrument.

Applying extended techniques from rubbing & scraping to sawing and striking, New York violinist Gabby Fluke-Mogul presents a bold solo violin album of 6 pieces with titles like "Bruise" or "Teeth", drawing an incredible gamut of unusual sounds from the violin and its body, occasionally adding vocal utterance, all laid out with a wonderfully quirky sense of timing.

Blending jazz and rock forms with frenetic excitement and masterful control, multi-reedist Forebrace quartet with Roberto Sassi (electric guitar), Santiago Horro (electric bass) and Jem Doulton (drums) run the gamut on exultantly virtuosic improvisation, here recording live at Cafe Oto.

Pianist Danny Fox's trio with bassist Chris van Voorst van Beest and drummer Max Goldman in an album showing how the tight rapport this touring band has developed on the road, performing Fox's melodic and inventive compositions with a wealth of influences and style.

Translating to League of Shadows, Swiss composer Jürg Frey's sublime twilight compositions for solo piano are performed by Dutch pianist Reinier van Houdt, presenting seven of Frey's works written from 1984-2018, including one previously unreleased composition, in all 20 movements spread over 3 CDs ranging in time from 1:47 to 40:34, a significant addition to both musician's oeuvres.

Two commanding players from the UK & European improv scene who have consistently pushed the envelope in free improvisation--electric & prepared guitarist Fred Frith and saxophonist/bass clarinetist Hans Koch--present an album of assertive interactions, merging alien environments with amazing technical playing and inexplicable approaches to sound - superb!

Pianist Joel Futterman pays a tribute to late alto saxophonist Eric Dolphy through six Dolphy original compositions, plus one Mal Waldron track and two Futterman originals referencing Dolphy's well-known Blue Note record, "Out to Dinner" parts one & two, each track unedited with no overdubs and the album presented in the sequence in which it was recorded.

The second album from Argentinian cellist, composer and improviser Violeta Garcia, exploring the amplified, prepared, expanded and extended violoncello through 15 succinct solo expositions in an album that she describes as a "very hyper-sensitive monster", using unconventional, extended and sometimes terrifying technique amidst powerful creative expression.

From fractured and fragmented to assertively raw improvisation in the unusual pairing of saxophone and cello from Chris Pitsiokos on alto and Argentinian cellist Violeta Garcia, using intense approaches to their instruments in a reactive set of 11 concise dialogs, a well-matched meeting of innovative improvisers uniquely responding to and clearly enjoying an eccentric conversation.

The NY based, long-running trio The Gate led by Dan Peck on tuba and effects, with double bassist Tom Blancarte and drummer Brian Osborne, in a cassette culled from live concerts in Hannover and Brussels while on a European tour in November of 2015, "a brutally unfiltered representation of The Gate's special brand of spontaneous composition."

Born in São Paulo, Brazil and working in Amsterdam and Lisbon, and also part of the London Improvisers Orchestra, Yedo Gibson unleashes an album of solo improvisation on the soprano and tenor saxophones, his "conic tubes" which he uses to express the potential to change environment and energy through technically impressive, expressive playing.

A sparkling and energetic encounter between Norwegian saxophone legend Frode Gjerstad and fellow Norwegian and relative newcomer, pianist Isach Skeidsvoll of groups Bear Brother and Garrubo Band, the two spurring each other to intense levels of interaction, stepping back at times for introspective moments only to plunge forward in a wonderfully enthusiastic dialog.

Exploring the resonant properties inside a Bb clarinet caused by overtones, overblowing and other unusual reed techniques, Switch~ Ensemble clarinetist Madison Greenstone generates ten studies of extreme yet tremendously controlled anomalies on the single reed, each piece a masterwork of control in the extremities of unexpected sonic expression.

Pivoting between his home base of Chicago for 25 years and his current home in New York City, Argentina-born clarinetist and improviser Guillermo Gregorio presents two concerts, the first at the 2018 Edgefest Festival with Chicago luminaries Fred Lonberg-Holm on cello and vibraphonist Carrie Biolo; then in New York with Ivan Barenboim on contralto clarinet and Nicholas Jozwiak on cello.

Five duets inspired by the Japanese concept of borrowed scenery (Shakkei (借景)) — integrating background landscapes into the design of a garden — are exquisitely realized in these spiritual and introspective performances, from the 20-year collaboration between French saxophonist Alexandra Grimal (tenor and soprano) and Italian pianist-organist Giovanni Di Domenico.

Recorded using the natural resonance from the base of a stone double spiral staircase in the Castle of Chambord, France, improvising soprano saxophonist Alexandra Grimal explores her own personal language and the affect the ambience brings to her adept playing, through beautifully melodic lines, long arpeggiations, or short bursts of penetrating utterance.

Black Vinyl - Expanding on their decade-long collaboration with albums on Astral Spirits, Bocian and Confront (Ensemble Var), and both members of Fire! Orchestra, sound artist Joachim Nordwall on analog synth and tapes and reed & wind player Mats Gustafsson use extended approaches to their instruments through effects and close mic-ing to create powerful and hallucinatory sound worlds.

Jade Vinyl - Expanding on their decade-long collaboration with albums on Astral Spirits, Bocian and Confront (Ensemble Var), and both members of Fire! Orchestra, sound artist Joachim Nordwall on analog synth and tapes and reed & wind player Mats Gustafsson use extended approaches to their instruments through effects and close mic-ing to create powerful and hallucinatory sound worlds.

Two distinct session, the first CD presenting free improv trio perfomances in St. Louis, MO between Paul Hartsaw on soprano & tenor saxophones, Damon Smith on double bass and Jerome Bryerton on percussion, the 2nd CD finding Hartsaw and Smith in the studio in Oakland CA for a more experimental session, Smith adding laptop & field recordings and both employing extended techniques.

Swiss accordionist Hans Hassler stands above the (small) crowd of improvising accordionist in the breadth of his career, his ability to balance both lyrical, abstract, serious, and humorous aspects in his approach to the instrument, a true original in intent and ability to engage his listeners, in 15 original and diverse compositions recorded in 2017.

Chester Hawkins' curiosity for Denmark resulted in his renting an apartment in central Kobenhavn, bringing along his electronically modified lapsteel guitar, wind and reed instruments, tabletop noise-boxes, mobile synthesizer apps and a shortwave radio, which he joined with field recordings from the capital region, creating this magnificent loveletter to Denmark.

Sealed new copy damaged in the post, dinged corners and bends but the LPs are in mint shape.

The first album from the amalgamated band name Herr Borrelgrip, a play on the names of alto saxophonist Pierre Borel and double bassist Joel Grip, developing their work in Stockholm, Berlin and Paris starting in 2008 as a performing duo, heard here in a beautiful gatefold double LP studio release with an extensive LP-sized booklet of text in French and images.

A rollicking set of interwoven tunes and improvisations from the trio of Michael Moore on clarinet, bass clarinet, alto saxophone & melodica, Will Holshouser on accordion, and Han Bennink on drums, performing live at Drom, in New York City in 2009 during a 2-week American tour, a joyfully upbeat and lyrical set of improvisations with exuberant drive.

With prior albums on For4Ears and Matchless, the French electroacoustic (with an emphasis on "acoustic") free improvising quartet Hubbub of Frédéric Blondy (piano), Bertrand Denzler (tenor sax), Jean-Luc Guionnet (alto sax), Jean-Sébastien Mariage (guitar), and Edward Peraud (percussion) present two extended, perfectly paced improvisations of stunning interplay and incredible technique.

Two extended sound collages and cut-ups from field recordings and percussion recorded during tours from 2014 to 2017, the title taken from a sign in one of the hotels that Jerman & Barnes stayed at, apt for the mix of punctuating locations, dissipating noise and unusual percussive passages, a fascinating journey that expands and contracts to make captivating stories.

Two western-US, like-minded sound artists and improviser who started their musical lives as drummer/percussionists, Jeph Jerman and Ted Byrnes present nine relatively succinct tracks of unusual and unidentifiable sources, typically formed around a rhythmic center and always actively engaging, finding logic in curious or even chaotic interaction.

Two side-long compositions from audio explorer Jeph Jerman, assembled using recordings of objects including "mouth, stone, wood, glass, metal, paper, plastic, radio" plus field recordings made through the spring and summer of 2020 in and around Cottonwood, AZ, joined with audio contributions from Doug Theriault, Chris Reider, Julie Schubert, &c.

An album of cathartic release in five solo saxophone improvisations from Omaha, Nebraska reedist Kyle Jessen, aggressive and angst-filled expositions that reflect anger and isolation, but also powerful statements of technical skill and personal expression, from the brutal "Death Trap" to the more introspective explorations of "Poltergeist"; exactingly purgative.

Guitarist Kim Johannesen and clarinetist Svein Magus Furu in a set of works with interacting tonalities that rely almost completely on texture, tones, scraping, &c..

Using an imaginative set of piano preparations, Auckland, New Zealand pianist Hermione Johnson draws unusual timbral and tonal qualities from the prepared piano, deftly improvising with dexterous technical skills to create unusual rhythmic and timbral environments, each a marvelous, miniature universe of unexpected voicings, evoking gongs, guitars, kotos, &c.

Recalling the For4Ears era of electroacoustic improvisation, the ea-improv trio of Jason Kahn on electronics, Frantz Loriot on viola and Christian Wolfarth on percussion are heard in this extended improvisation recorded in concert at Plattform nicht dokumentierbarer Ereignisse in Atelier Dürrenfeld/Geitel, Köln, Germany, as part of the trio's 2022 European tour.

Collaborating since 2004, Berlin alto saxophonist Anna Kaluza and double bassist Jan Roda--a member of Kaluza's Quartet with trombonist Christof Thewes and drummer Kay Lübke--in a studio album of duo improvisations, documenting their live performances in the same configuration since 2020 through ten succinct dialogs of informed affinity.

Violist Jessica Pavone and double bassist Tristan Kasten-Krause found they shared a similar aesthetic in sound and sonic structure while working together in other ensembles, their debut developed over two seasons of experimentation with string interactions of consonance and dissonance using distinct timbres and textures, heard in four patiently unfolding compositions.

Recorded over 2 days in a Chicago studio in configurations from duos to an octet, drummer Quin Kirchner provides the compositions on this double LP for 11 pieces, alongside works by Frank Foster, Phil Cohran, Sun Ra & Carla Bley, presented as a story or a journey of differing styles and forms, made cohesive by Kirchner's remarkable drumming and coherently diverse interests.

Montreal's electroacoustic trio of Michel F Cote (percussion), Bernard Falaise (guitars) and Alexandre St-Onge (bass), in their 6th release, 12 succinct tracks of sophisticated improv merging unorthodox approaches for peculiarly satisfying compositions.

Versed in jazz and contemporary composed music, Belgian alto saxophonist Audrey Lauro embarks on a solo journey with seven saxophone improvisations, using 'everyday objects' to prepare her instrument and close-microphone placement to create an intimate sound space, exploring 'the area where voice and instrument converge'.

Sparse but detailed improvisational journeys from the long-running duo of saxophonist Philippe Lauzier and bassist/electronic artist Pierre-Yves Martel.

The duo of French bassist Joelle Leandre and flautist Jerome Bourdellon, two tremendously skilled improvisers in an impressive dialog on a variety of flutes, bass clarinet, bass, voice, with one solo piece from each.

Relative Pitch Records debuts with the excellent duo of bassist Joelle Leandre and Bay Area woodwind improviser Phil Greenlief in 11 variations for contrabass and woodwinds.

An embraceable & explorative example of the core duo of the Boston-area free improvising ensemble Leap of Faith (the foundation of the Leap of Faith Orchestra) of David Peck on reeds and Glynis Lomon on cello, aquasonic & voice, both employing the enormous Evil Clown arsenal of percussive and sonic devices, in two large works recorded at their headquarter studio.

Rich in lyrical playing and creative freedom, Vancouver cellist Peggy Lee's 6th album expands on her goal to explore different strategies for improvisation within composition, featuring the unique voices of her ensemble including Brad Turner (trumpet), Jon Bentley (sax), Jeremy Berkman (trombone), Ron Samworth & Tony Wilson (guitars), Andre Lachance (bass) and Dylan van der Schyff (drums).

With a history of both improvisation and rock, NY saxophonist and sound artist (Creature Automatic, Love As Laughter) concentrates on the sopranino saxophone in this solo album, performing acoustic feats of impressive technical skill, and on many tracks performing with tuning forks and live electronics, sequenced in a compelling journey of contrasts and wonder.

Clarinetist Robert Marcel Lepage in a "sweet and slightly skewed homage" to the American clarinetist and swing player Pee Wee Russell.

Pianist Marilyn Lerner in a compilation of improvisations created by setting up different microphones in various configurations to highlight different sound qualities of the piano.

Swedish guitar improviser Jon Lipscomb (LOPLOP, Swedish Fix) takes his listeners on a rugged trip across the strings, using distortion, tremolo and rapid-fire technique as he mines territories between free improv, noise and rock, his nimble mind stopping to explore areas of interest then cascading into new, turbulent environments; frightfully powerful.

Argentinian sound artist based in NYC Cecilia Lopez engages fellow Brandon Lopez Trio double bassist Lopez and drummer Gerald Cleaver for a performance of improvisation, installation and architecture, using woven wire nets filled with instruments and hung from Roulette Intermedia's ceiling to act as a complex feedback organism with which the trio interacts.

Saxophonist Allen Lowe's statement on American music and American song form across the many genres and styles that make up the terrain, including jazz, the blues, gospel, honky tonk, heavy metal, hillbilly/minstrel song & medicine shows, &c.; diverse forms of popular music that reflect a commingled society, as Lowe blurs the sacred and the profane with a stellar ensemble of musicians.

Performing solo on violin with surrounding effects that emphasize the dramatic tension in her extended sequences, Samara Lubelski presents two substantial journeys into the infinite, swirling in delays and reverb as her bow transitions from rapid up and down to long drawing and sustaining, pulling a variety of sounds that elate her listeners in spirals and eddies.

Following their recordings of improvisations for the abstract film "Triangulated Waves", the long-running collaboration of guitarist Marcia Bassette (Yew Recordings, Heavy Conversation, Heavy Blossom) and violinist Samara Lubelski (Fiery Furnaces, White Magic, Thurston Moore, God Is My Co-Pilot) join for two extended sonic adventures of intertwining, effected strings.

With virtually the same lineup as their Feeding Tube album Ourania, the Chicago-based duo of Mako Sica--Brent Fuscaldo (electric bass, voice, harmonica & percussion) and Przemyslaw Krys Drazek (electric trumpet, electric guitar & mandolin)--again join with Tatsu Aoki on bass & shamisen and Thymme Jones on keyboards, trumpet, balloon & voice, subbing drummer Jacob Fawcett.

Using multiphonics, extended techniques and an intuitive sense of drama and narrative, Barcelona alto and baritone saxophonist Don Malfon takes his listeners on an 8-part journey of "Mutable" solo performances, using every inch of his horn (including inserting resonant objects), his body, tongue and breath to investigate the outer limits of his instruments.

California saxophonist Adnan Marquez-Borbon exploring improvisation and electro-acoustic manipulation in solo works with a divserse set of influences.

A fully free, quirky and marvelous set of virtually indescribable improvisation from the trio of French vocalist Clara Weill (known from her work with Fred Frith), Olivia Scemama on bass and Tom Malmendier on drums, three active international collaborators with powerful technical skills and a strange sense of humor willing to take their music where ever it oddly leads.

The 2nd release from Magda Mayas' Filamental octet of Mayas, Zeena Parkins, Michel Thieke, Christine Abdelnour, Angharad Davies, Rhodri Davies, Aimée Theriot and Anthea Caddy, is a fascinating studio composition developed from individual recordings provided by each musician, assembled into two detailed and cohesive works of impressive contours and almost ceremonial beauty.

Composed by pianist Magda Mayas for an octet of superb avant improvisers including Rhodri Davies, Zeena Parkins, Michael Thieke, Angharad Davies, &c. and performed live at the 2019 Music Unlimited 33, in Wels, Austria, this extended work uses a graphic score to interpret 12 photographs taken over an hour observing the merging waters of the Rhone and the Arve rivers.

A beautifully evolving set of duos, or "paths" from Philadelphia saxophonist Keir Neuringer and Polish bassis Rafal Mazur, using monumental technique to support a dialog that's technical and intensely focused while remaining lyrically sophisticated and imaginative.

A brutal and complex concert of processed sopranino saxophone, electric guitar and electronics from the long-running Italian quartet Melting Mind of Virginia Genta, Michele Mazzani, David Vanzan and Matteo Poggi, recorded during a 2019 tour of France at Grnd Zero in Lyon, a 33 minute performance of thick noise & feedback layered with inexplicable detail.

The first complete solo release from Seattle, Washington bassist and vocalist Kelsey Mines, active in both classical music as a member of Yakima Symphony, Symphony Tacoma and the Paramount Orchestra, and as an improviser, here presenting a series of improvised solo-duets that explore how listening to our on-going internal dialogue helps us conjure honest, outward expressions.

During their 2019 Japan Tour, the collaboration of the Norwegian experimental rock band MoE and alto sax virtuoso Mette Rasmussen extended their trio with legendary drummer Ikuru Takahashi to record this energetic, rough and tumble album exploring the boundaries between free improvisation, skronky rock, and other confrontational, conceptual crossover forms.

Improvisations recorded at the historical Zaal 100 in Amsterdam between pianist Marta Warelis, whose previous Relative Pitch solo album A Grain of Earth had her playing inside and out of the keyboard; here joined by The Ex and Dog Faced Hermans guitarist and improviser Moor the two create both introspective and rapid-paced sonic interactions of fascinating twists and turns

The second album on Notice Recordings for West Coast free improvising saxophonist Patrick Shiroishi is a duo with San Diego-based double bassist Kyle Motl, in an exceptionally well-balanced example of powerful expression from both players, free blowing and turbulent exchanges offset by experimental introspective passages in four extended and excellent improvisations.

A singularly beautiful and quirky album of electroacoustic improvisation from long-time collaborators and organizers of Japan's "Meeting at Off Site", Tetuzi Akiyama on acoustic guitar and Toshimaru Nakamura on no-input mixing board, their second duo album since 2009's Semi-Impressionism on the Spekk label, here recording in the studio for five dialogs of lovely eccentricity.

Working in her native Buenos Aires, Argentina and in Berlin, tenor saxophonist Camila Nebbia (Habitable Records) presents sixteen succint, diverse and authoritative solo recordings captured in the studio in Bueno Aires, a mix of assertive harmonic statements and lyrical, often introspective works, at times narrating over her playing or adding effects.

Hard-edged free long form improvisation from the 2nd album from the Dromedaries trio of Keir Neuringer on saxophone, Shayna Dulberger on bass, and Julius Masri on drums, performing at Seizures Palace, in Brooklyn, using unusual rhythmic structures over which the trio's instrumental physicality ranges from savage playing to impressive flights of virtuosity.

The debut solo album from French saxophonist Ornella Noulet, based in Brussels, performing on alto and soprano saxophones and bells, as she draws inspiration from Albert Camus as a commitment to artistic integrity, exploring new sounds and the spiritual dimensions of music through seven energetically introspective and experimentally rich solo improvisations.

A single extended duo performance from improviser, composer and leader of the Infrequency Editions label, Lance Austin Olsen, performing on guitar, field recordings, wax cylinder recordings, MIDI organ & amplified objects, along with French pianist, composer and improviser Bruno Duplant, also credited with "sounds", a moody and tense work that meticulously uses innuendo and space.

The band name Omawi is a conglomerate of this Dutch trio's name, appropriate for the nearly telepathic interaction of pianist Marta Waleris, drummer Onno Govaert and double bassist Wilbert de Joode, captured in their first live performance after the pandemic lockdown at Zaal100, in Amsterdam, their enthusiasm and pent-up expression clearly evident in five extraordinary improvisations.

ONCEIM is the French ensemble of over 30 distinguished musicians directed by Frédéric Blondy, drawing on jazz, free improv, experimental and contemporary music as they evolve impressively detailed works from subtle restraint to controlled swells, heard in live performances from 2018 at Eglise Saint-Merry in Paris and at La Muse en Circuit in 2020, plus a 3rd studio session from 2020.

As part of a 2004 performance series at Fabrique in Brisbane, Australia, Lawrence English invited experimental cassette and field recording artrist Aki Onda to present his unique approach to reusing and rupturing recordings using cassettes, Walkmans, delay pedals and fender twin amps, improvising this extended work & its coda, blurring concrete and inexplicable sources in remarkable ways.

Known for her ensemble Ryorchestra and as half of SaxRuins with Yoshida Tatsuya, Nagoya-based saxophonist, flutist, and composer Ryoko Ono steps out on her own with a solo album featuring saxophone, mouthpiece, duck whistle, and voice, capturing the dramatic contrasts of life through her dynamic, genre-defying improvisations and emotionally resonant compositions.

Using metal, glass, wood, and plastic, percussionist Brian Osborne (The Gate, Hatchers) offers twelve tracks of interweaving layers of simplicity and complexity, clarity and haze, many pieces initiating with deceptive simplicity and insinuating themselves in unique ways, all performed live in the studio and presented with no overdubs or affects.

Paul Paccione's compositions balance a love of "abstract" sound combinations with a vivid sense of lyricism, here in 6 works from 1993 to 2007.

A powerful duo recorded in the studio after their 2013 performance at The Stone in NYC from NY pianist Sylvie Courvoisier and UK saxophonist Evan Parker, with extraordinary playing over eight pieces presenting an inspired range of technical and impressionistic styles.

Recording in the Mills College Concert Hall in Oakland, the quartet of Zeena Parkins (harp), Chris Brown (piano and electronics), William Winant (percussion), and Ben Davis (cello) work in an ethereal mode of electro-acoustic improvisation, drawing unconventional sounds from their instruments as they weave a virtuosic and intricately creative sonic tapestry evoking the rugged unpredictability of the album's title.

Using viola, effects, and on one track, voice, New York improviser and Anthony Braxton ensemble member Jessica Pavone presents a uniquely voiced solo album, approaching the instrument through simple means that become increasingly twisted and unforseen as they advance.

Extending her interest in new forms for the solo viola, augmented by effects and voice, New York composer and improviser Jessica Pavone's fourth solo album of composed viola pieces is the result of years of concentrated long tone practice and an interest in repetition, song form and sympathetic vibration, a uniquely, sometimes quirky, and compelling album.

Her 5th solo viola album finds NY improviser & composer Jessica Pavone extending her exploration of music based on the pitches of the open strings, accentuating the natural sympathetic resonances of the instrument and expanded through the use of electronic effects to create a virtual duo, on one track performing on a Ken Butler hand-crafted hybrid instrument, the Sword Viola.

The debut of the advanced and innovative collaboration between improviser and prominent double bassist Barre Phillips, British saxophonist John Butcher and Norwegian drummer, percussionist and improviser, Stale Liavik Solberg, recording at the Blow out Festival in Oslo, Norway in 2019, and at Offene Ohren, Einstein Kultur, in Munchen, Germany in 2018.

Ricefall (2), the 2nd is a 72-minute piece for 64 separate tracks of rice falling on objects, performed with percussionist Greg Stuart, a composition of unusual dynamics and pacing.

Each of the eight tracks on NY saxophonist Chris Pitsiokos' 2nd solo release for Relative Pitch is named for a type of stone--"Obsidian", "Feldspar", "Anthracite", &c.--each a unique take on its mineral counterpart through incredible technique and concentration, taking the alto saxophone into extreme or reflective territory complementing the nature of each element.

NY drummer Mike Pride's modern jazz work inspired by the birth of his first child, reflecting the fullness Pride finds in his life as a parent, with Jon Irabagon (sax), Alexis Marcelo (piano), Peter Bienec (bass), Jonathan Moritz (sax) and Jason Stein (bass clarinet).

Appropriately recorded at Seizures Palace in Brooklyn, the 3rd release from the NY trio Pulverize the Sound of Peter Evans on trumpet, Tim Dahl on electric bass and Mike Pride on drums & glockenspiel, expands on this 10 year working band's assertive approach to collective free improv, doing so with innovation, breathtaking technical skill and a wide range of mood and texture.

A collection of sonic poems & images that are inspired by her search for a 'real world' — more tangible and less virtual — presented by Argentinian saxophonist based in Amsterdam, Ada Rave, performing on tenor, soprano & sopranino saxophones with differing preparations for each improvisation, while also being influenced by the native music of the Mapuche people and Argentinian folk music.

The husband and wife duo of New York free improvisers, Reut Regev on trombone and Igal Foni on drums, both bringing electronics to their session, in surprisingly their debut duo release after two decades of musical collaboration and shared life, their assurance and intimacy evident in the relaxed spontaneity and sheer musicality they bring to their dialogs.

Nine investigations on the violin and two on the viola from Berlin composer and improviser Maria I.J. Reich, developed during research into solo improvisation, yielding a unique set of timbres, textures and impetus between the musician and the body & bow of the instrument, influenced by the different locations recorded at and presented as captured; a truly fascinating exploration.

Three innovative cellists at the intersection of improvisation, contemporary compositional and experimental forms — Tomeka Reid from Chicago, Isidora Edwards from Chile and based in London, and Elisabeth Coudoux from Germany — meet in Wiesbaden to record these four multi-layered improvisations merging their unique perspectives with great concentrative expression.

The next angle from the collective Geometry group of Tomeka Reid on cello, Taylor Ho Bynum on cornet & flugelhorn, Kyoko Kitamura on voice, and Joe Morris on guitar, exploring their "Geometry" first of "Caves", then "Distance", "Trees", and now "Phenomena", through highly attuned exploration of sonic complexities and intersecting approaches to their respective instruments.

Bringing New York and Chicago performers together, the quartet of cellist Tomeka Reid, guitarist Joe Morris, cornetist Taylor Ho Bynum and free vocalist Kyoko Kitamura present an album of expressive and creative collective improvisation, bridging chamber forms and free jazz with a captivatingly eccentric appeal from Kitamura's wordless vocalese.

Exploring the sonic and visual territory of water, centering on concepts of metamorphoses and breathing underwater, pianist Joshua White and trumpeter & flugelhorn player Steph Richards also employ resonating water vessels and percussion as they present three fluid and introspectively fathomed works in multiple movements: "Sacred Sea"; "Sequoia"; and "Northern Lights".

Recording in real-time during the pandemic, UK improvisers, baritone saxophonist Cath Roberts (Favourite Animals, Madwort Sax Quartet) and double bassist Olie Brice (Olie Brice Quintet, Tobias Delius, &c) recorded these extended improvisations simulateously at their homes, beautifully paced and intently listening as they keep the conversation going despite a world of restrictions.

Two passionate studio improvisations from saxophonist Matana Roberts, who lovingly dedicates the album to "those bard(s) of summer...the ideas herein of which I gleaned/interrogated/investigated/celebrated with you..."; subtle, rich, and inspiring.

Percussionist Danielle Palardy Roger's first major solo composition in 13 pieces which is performed by Claude Beaugrand, Jean Derome, André Duchesne, Joane Hétu, Diane Labrosse, and Martin Ouellet.

Derek Rogers sculpted these six compositions from live performances, organizing them using strings and synthesizers, and employing digital processing and granular synthesis with concert and field recordings, creating richly complex works that evolve with beautiful pacing.

Focusing intently on multiphonics and long-form statements on the saxophone, the second solo album from Canadian-American saxophonist based in New York City, Erin Rogers, is a tour-de-force of unusual language on the instrument, exploring every inch from the reeds to the pads in manners uniquely harrowing, ingenious, awe-filled, unorthodox, and always inspired.

Performing on saxophones and cymbal, the debut album from NY-based Canadian-American composer, saxophonist, and performance artist Erin Rogers uses multiphonics, vocalization, circular breathing, and inciting of outer resonance to add layers of complexity to her gripping improvisations, which she describes as "No electronics, no bandmates, no composers... just me + dark room + 2 saxophones".

An expansive double album from Australian violinist and mad genius Jon Rose, in solo, duo and odd orchestral settings, including tracks with Jim Denley, Clayton Thomas, Robbie Avenaim, &c.; a project with a 32-string automaton violin + string ensemble; a work for a casino-music driven player-piano; a dueling banjo and interactively bowed violin, &c. &c.; masterfully inexplicable!

A subset of the Andreas Røysum Ensemble, the trio of Norwegian clarinetist Andreas Roysum on Bb& Bass clarinets, Nakama Label leader Christian Meaas Svendsen on double bass and Danish drummer Kresten Osgood recorded these collective free improvisations on the title's date in an unnamed location, for four assertive dialogs of impressive expression.

Berlin-based, Buenos Aires-born saxophonist Sofia Savlo takes listeners on a tour of eight improvisations performed on the low pitched baritone saxophone, using great control & tone augmented by multiphonics and extended techniques, "rotating" through unusual approaches while engaging listeners through expressive narratives, including emulating a drunken revery.

Two meticulous works in two parts each using layered collage of acoustic instruments, objects, electronics, field recordings, voices, fragments of past compositions and early classical music samples, with A.F. Jones providing voice narration, from Venezuelan composer/artist Gil Sanson and Canadian-based composer/painter Lance Austin Olsen: "Pra Min" and "Meditations".

Performing in Krailling-Munich at Udo Schindler's Salon fur Klang+Kunst in 2018, Netherland free improvising, brilliantly mad vocalist Jaap Blonk joins the reed master for ten acoustic improvisations with Schindler on a variety of reeds and brass instruments, the dialog authoritatively informed, masterful, slightly deranged, and continuously captivating.

Inspired by Judith Schalansky's book "Atlas of Remote Islands: 50 islands I never set foot in and never will", the debut of the chamber improvising trio of Fie Schouten on clarinet & basset horn, Vincent Courtois on cello and Guus Janssen on piano, organ, harmonium & harpsichord reflect on these pristine and untouched areas of the earth in sublimely sophisticated conversation.