Dijkstra / Bishop / Karayorgis / McBride / Gray:
Cutout (Driff Records)
The Boston-based quintet Cutout of Jorrit Dijkstra on saxophones, Jeb Bishop on trombone, Pandelis Karayorgis on piano, Nate McBride on bass, & Luther Gray on drums, in a set of free jazz pieces and virtual suites from original compositions and "instant-arranging" techniques from all band members, applying fresh ideas to superb playing with great camaraderie. ... Click to View
Karayorgis / McBride / Smith / Gray / Rosenthal:
CliffPools (Driff Records)
Merging two Boston-based trios--Cliff of bassist Damon Smith, drummer Eric Rosenthal and pianist Pandelis Karayorgis, and Pools of bassist Nate McBride, drummer Luther Gray, and Karayorgis--performing Karayorgis compositions with collective input from all five, creating profoundly great music in a shared language fueled by long collaborative relationships. ... Click to View
Judith Wegmann:
Le Souffle Du Temps II - Reflexion (ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)
Through preparations, computers, contact microphones, gongs, feedback and other tools, Swiss pianist, composer & improviser Judith Wegman's work transform the sound of the piano into an otherworldly instrument, set against more traditional acoustic pieces of a reflective nature, together creating a conceptual set of ten pieces of a uniquely flexible approach. ... Click to View
Edu Haubensak / Tomas Korber:
Works For Guitar & Percussion by Buck-Wolfarth (ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)
Active since 2010, the German duo of classical guitarist Christian Buck and improviser Christian Wolfarth occupies a space between music and sound art, as they perform two works each by Ed Haubensak and Tomas Korber, pieces that make use of time, microharmonies, multiphonics, unusual tuning systems, interference patterns, and other conceptual approaches to music. ... Click to View
Eugene Chadbourne :
Solo Guitar Volume 4-1/3 [VINYL] (Feeding Tube Records)
The final volume in the 4-LP set of Eugene Chadbourne's solo guitar recordings made while living in Calgary, Canada during the 70s, this 4th volume presenting four extended pieces blurring improvisation and experimental approaches to the instrument, alongside unusual percussive and sound devices, a quirky and as technically amazing period of Doc Chad's incredible career. ... Click to View
Mike Weis:
In Low Light (Music for the Winter Solstice) [CASSETTE] (Notice Recordings)
An album of ritualistic rhythm and hypnotic drumming with subliminal field recordings and environmental additions from Chicago drummer Mike Weiss (Zelienople), using mbira, tongue drum, dholak, changgo, bass drum, cymbals, gongs, singing bowls, bells, dharma bell, and moktak over 8 pieces that express, reflect and meditate on the 2018 winter solstice. ... Click to View
Ben Bennett / Zoots Houston / Fred Lonberg-Holm:
Pinkie No [CASSETTE] (Notice Recordings)
Captured live at Chicago's Elastic Arts, the trio of Fred Lonberg-Holm on cello, Ben Bennett on percussion, and Zoots Houston on synthesizer work on a nearly microscopic level as they use extended techniques and unusual synthetic timbres, transforming from abrasive and gritty to broad tonal environments, from monumental sound to moments of pin drops; fascinating. ... Click to View
Ryoko Akama / Anne-F Jacques:
Evaporation [CASSETTE] (Notice Recordings)
Moving between "object stations" during their performance, Japanese improviser and sound artist Ryoko Akama (Lappetites) and Quebecois sound artist Anne-F Jacques create a flurry of minimal activity, intensely detailed and unidentifiable yet compatible sound using minimal electronics, activated objects, and Jacques' "contraptions and erratic devices". ... Click to View
Sue Lynch / Dawid Frydryk / Dave Fowler / John Edwards:
Dial (FMR)
A great example of British collective free jazz captured live at Iklectic in London in 2019 for two extended and wide-ranging performances--"Dial Tone I" & II--from the quartet of Sue Lynch (Remote Viewers, The Horse Improvised Music Club), Polish trumpeter based in London Dawid Frydryk, drummer Dave Fowler Maggie Nichols) and the ever-active John Edwards on bass. ... Click to View
Keune / Russell / Schneider / Lovens :
Nothing Particularly Horrible (Live In Bochum '93) (FMR)
Bringing together British and German free improvisers for this 1993 concert during the Ruhr Jazz Festival, the quartet of John Russell on guitar, Hans Schneider on bass, Paul Lovens on drums & percussion, Stefan Keune on saxophones, find their convincing collective voice from previous pairings of the improvisers including News from the Shed & Stefan Keune Trio. ... Click to View
Last Dream Of The Morning (Butcher / Edwards / Sanders):
Crucial Anatomy (Trost Records)
The trio of British free improvisation innovators--John Butcher on saxophones, John Edwards on double bass, and Mark Sanders on percussion--in their 2nd album under the "Last Dream Of The Morning" moniker after their Relative Pitch album, captured live at Cafe Oto in 2018 displaying their incredible affinity to creative freedom through technically superb playing. ... Click to View
Snekkestad / Fernandez / Guy:
The Swiftest Traveler (Trost Records)
An exhilarating live concert from the international trio led by Scandinavian saxophonist Torben Snekkestad, with Spanish pianist, Agusti Fernandez, and British double bass player, Barry Guy, blurring the lines between free improvisation, free jazz, and contemporary classical music in quick-witted interaction and explorative, innovative sounds and textures. ... Click to View
Snekkestad / Fernandez / Guy:
The Swiftest Traveler [VINYL] (Trost Records)
An exhilarating live concert from the international trio led by Scandinavian saxophonist Torben Snekkestad, with Spanish pianist, Agusti Fernandez, and British double bass player, Barry Guy, blurring the lines between free improvisation, free jazz, and contemporary classical music in quick-witted interaction and explorative, innovative sounds and textures. ... Click to View
Sven-Ake Johansson :
Schlingerland / Dynamische Schwingungen [VINYL] (Cien Fuegos)
Originally issued 1972 on the FMP label, drummer Sven-Ake Johansson follows his instincts in polyrhythmic drum improvisation, demonstrating the prowess that make him such a capable sideman of Peter Brotzmann, Alexander Von Schlippenbach, &c., through three direct and compelling statements of powerful rhythms that layer time signatures and tempos, dynamics and pulse. ... Click to View
Philip Corner:
Gamelan Coming & Going (ANTS Records)
Gamelan Son of Lion partners Philip Corner and Evan Schwartzman perform this fluxus composition where two pianists play piano notes on the chromatic scale in relationship to numbers counted out loud from 1 to 88, forward and backward, creating an unusual texture and counterpoint that when taken as a whole becomes hypnotic and obsessively absorbing; inexplicably interesting. ... Click to View
Sabina Meyer / Marco Dalpane :
Cabaret Per Nulla (ANTS Records)
Pianist Marco Dalpane and soprano Sabina Meyer create a virtual cabaret of songs using the music of Erik Satie and John Cage, interlacing pieces by each in a delicate set of songs that draw the two composers together through a surprising commonality, the lyrics provided from texts written by J. Peladan, C. Mendes, H. Pacory, J.P. Contamine de Latour, &c.; lovely. ... Click to View
Metal Chaos Ensemble:
The Nameless City (Evil Clown)
Exploring chaotic rhythms on metallic instruments, the Boston-area collective led by David Peck use gongs, chimes, bowls, and glockenspiel alongside PEK's horns and Yuri Zbitnoff's percussion, here in a sextet work merging acoustic instruments with deep electronics and groove-heavy elements of electric bass, synth, electric guitar, electric trumpet, and live signal processing. ... Click to View
Turbulence:
Son Of Cosmocentric (Evil Clown)
Turbulence Cosmocentric Edition, the extended horn section for the Leap of Faith Orchestra with the core of PEK on winds & percussion, Yuri Zbitnoff on drums, percussion, plus guest Michael Caglianone on saxophones, sheng, game calls and percussion, in an extended piece that holds reflections of Sun Ra's work through powerful rhythms and diverse and unusual instrumental passages. ... Click to View
Georg Graewe Quintet:
Amsterdam, October 1998 (Random Acoustics)
Recorded in concert at Amsterdam's Stedelijk Museum in 1998, legendary pianist Georg Graewe's Quartet with Frank Gratkowski on alto saxophone & clarinet, Kent Kessler on double bass, and Hamid Drake on drums present a tour-de-force of passion, technique and creative drive in an epic 53 minute improvisation from high energy to reflective stretches; superb! ... Click to View
Georg Graewe:
Stills And Stories (Random Acoustics)
German pianist and Euro Free Jazz stalwart Georg Graewe in a solo work, released a decade after his previous solo album, presenting a remarkable set of succinct compositions balancing astonishing technical skills with beautifully expressive playing, presented in several series of "stills" and "stories". ... Click to View
Frederick Galiay (Viard / Sebastien / Boudart / Galiay):
Time Elleipsis (Ayler)
Dramatic, darkly thrilling music with moments of sheer beauty from French electric bassist Frederick Galiay and his Camaeleo Vulgaris ensemble, a sextet performing Galiay's compositions in a potent mix of electric guitar, electrified baritone sax, synthesizer, and two drummer/percussionists, recorded after a dozen live concerts honing the material to this riveting studio version. ... Click to View
Francois Carrier / Tomek Gadecki / Marcin Bozek / Michel Lambert:
Wide (FMR)
A burning album of collective free jazz from Canadian compatriots Francois Carrier on alto saxophone and Michel Lambert on drums, on a spring tour of Europe, performing at Poland's MOZG in Byrgoszcz, home of the MOZG Festival, with Polish tenor saxophonist Tomek Gadecki amd bassist Marcin Bozen, also on French Horn, in an exhilarating set of three extended improvisations. ... Click to View
Thollem / Parker / Cline:
Gowanus Sessions II [VINYL] (ESP)
Free collective improvisation with an electronic edge from the trio of Nels Cline, double bassist William Parker and pianist Thollem McDonas, following up on their 2012 "Gowanus Session I" recorded in the same studio space, here expanding on the 1st session's shorter works with two large and evolving improvisations that balance reflective moments with intensive playing. ... Click to View
Werner Dafeldecker :
Parallel Darks [VINYL] (Room40)
Viennese-born, Berlin-based electro-acoustic composer Werner Dafeldecker (Polwechsel, Fennesz, &c) creates an intense and beautiful musique concrete and acousmatic journey in two parts, examining "perspective, extreme subjectivity and the specters that haunt our auditory worlds" through mysterious sound and enveloping sonic construction, a profound and riveting work. ... Click to View
Skeleton Crew (Frith / Cora):
Learn to Talk [VINYL] (ReR Vinyl)
Reissuing the first of two albums from the NY collaboration of guitarist Fred Frith and cellist Tom Cora, both providing vocals, percussion, violin, & bass, in a classic example of Downtown NY genre-merging of improvisation and rock with a vicious edge, in smart songs and even smarter instrumental sections, an insanely inventive and intelligent album as vital now as it was then. ... Click to View
Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O.:
Minstrel In The Galaxy [VINYL + DOWNLOAD] (RIOT SEASON)
First-ever vinyl release of this 2004 album, with a then-new quartet lineup of the band including the core trio of Makoto Kawabata (Guitar), Atsushi Tsuyama (monster bass), Hiroshi Higashi (guitar and effects), replacing Cotton Casino with drummer Hajime Koie from the band Mainliner, AMT creating an evolving psychedelic journey of touchstones & prog force. ... Click to View
Leap Of Faith:
Cosmic Distance Ladder (Evil Clown)
The core trio of the Leap of Faith Orchestra comprising multi-reedist & wind player David Peck, also on percussive devices, with Glynis Lomon on cello, aquasonic and voice, and Yuri Zbitnoff on drums & percussions, with special guests Kat Dobbins on trombone and Bob Moores on trumpet & flugelhorn, in an evolving set of strong harmonic, percussive & lyrical interaction. ... Click to View
Gen Montgomery Ken:
Endogeny [CASSETTE] (Tribe Tapes)
Sound and visual artist Gen Ken Montgomery released this album on cassette on the Directions Music label in 1990, here reissued in 2020; the two side-long pieces were performed live and then remixed, creating a fascinating and elaborate tapestry of tapes, concrete and mechanical sounds alongside instrumentation of percussion, violin, voice, &c. ... Click to View
Jean Derome:
Somebody Special (Ambiances Magnetiques)
Drawing on the work of Steve Lacy's quintet, Montreal saxophonist Jean Derome pays homage to the late saxophonist through a selection of 9 Lacy pieces with lyrics from Brion Gysin, Lao Tseu, Herman Melville, &c, in a quintet with Derome on alto sax, bass flute & voice, Karen Young providing vocals, Alexandre Grogg on piano, Normand Guilbeault on bass, & Pierre Tanguay on drums. ... Click to View
Ensemble SuperMusique / Symon Henry:
voir dans le vent qui hurle les etoiles rire et rire (Ambiances Magnetiques)
Montreal's true supergroup since 1998 with many of the city's essential Musique Actuelle performers and composers, directed by Danielle Palardy Roger and including Jean Derome, Joane Hetu, Scott Thomson, Lori Freedman, Alexander St. Onge, &c. &c., as they take on a piece by Quebec composer Symon Henry, performed in an exceptional concert in the Chapel in Bon-Pasteur. ... Click to View
