June 16, 2026:
There will be no serious update to the blog this week, as I prepare to take a week's vacation and leave Carl in charge of the staff. The first half of 2026 has already been exceptionally busy, bringing new shipping challenges shaped by serious global events, along with the unexpected complexities of launching and distributing a digital label in the modern age. It has added considerably to our workload, but it has also produced some wonderful results, and I am more than ready for a week away. Before I go, I thought I would share the albums I have loaded up for the trip. All were released in 2026, and together they offer a wide-ranging cross-section of styles, moods, and energies - the perfect opportunity to spend some focused time with a great group of recordings!
 Zorn, John (w/ Julian Lage / Gavin Riley): Seven Sonnets (Tzadik)
John Zorn continues his lyrical acoustic guitar writing with a Shakespeare-inspired book of seven intimate compositions for Julian Lage and Gyan Riley, whose long collaboration as interpreters of Zorn's music brings warmth, precision and conversational clarity to pieces that draw on early music, minimalism, contemporary classical forms, folk, jazz and soundtrack-like atmosphere.
 Zorn, John / John Medeski Trio: The Bagatelles Vol. 8 (Tzadik)
A fierce interpretation of John Zorn's Bagatelles by the organ trio of John Medeski with guitarist David Fiuczynski and drummer Grant Calvin Weston, this release channels funk, jazz, and psychedelic rock into explosive, high-energy performances, transforming Zorn's concise compositions into a dynamic, groove-driven and sonically adventurous set.
 Remergency (Hirsh / Hollenberg / Sewelson): Wave Benders (Squid Note Records)
Drummer Steve Hirsh, guitarist Matt Hollenberg, and baritone saxophonist Dave Sewelson forge a volatile trio language that blends avant-rock intensity, free-jazz elasticity, and raw electric blues impulses, channeling tightly focused improvisations where ferocious energy, abrupt shifts, and deep mutual trust drive the music beyond genre boundaries into a space that feels both unruly and sharply intentional.
 John Butcher : Away, I Was [CD + DOWNLOAD] (Relative Pitch)
UK saxophonist John Butcher presents a diverse collection of solo performances across tenor and soprano saxophone, ranging from expansive live improvisations to intimate studio explorations, feedback-driven textures, and multitracked works, with several pieces referencing artists including Derek Bailey, Keiji Haino, Eliane Radigue, Lester Young, and Joe McPhee.
 Reid, Tomeka Quartet (w/ Roebke / Halvorson / Fujiwara): Dance! Skip! Hop! (Out Of Your Head Records)
Led by cellist Tomeka Reid, this longstanding quartet with Mary Halvorson on guitar, Jason Roebke on bass, and Tomas Fujiwara on drums delivers a rhythmically propulsive and structurally nimble set that balances grounded low-end drive with agile drumming, incisive guitar textures, and Reid's expressive counterpoint, channeling echoes of 1960s jazz while asserting an exuberant, and yes — danceable — release!
 Kaiser, Henry: Gateway To Strangeness (solo guitar) (Metalanguage)
A limited artist-released solo guitar recording from Henry Kaiser on acoustic guitar, electric guitar, harp guitar, and seven guitars laid across a table, presenting concise to medium-length explorations of resonance, distortion, extended-string sonority, tabletop texture, and improvisational invention from one of creative music's most idiosyncratic and restless guitarists.
 Machinefabriek: Samen (Machinefabriek)
Collecting Machinefabriek works from singles, EPs and compilations released between 2015 and 2025, Rutger Zuydervelt presents a 17-track, 76-minute continuous mix that serves as both a personal selection of favourites and an inviting entry point into his immersive world of ambient detail, drone, field recordings and electro-acoustic texture.
 Denio, Amy: Tutto Bene Vol. II (Klanggalerie)
A wide-ranging solo and collaborative release from Amy Denio, this eclectic set blends voice, accordion, clarinet, guitars, bass, percussion, electronics, and field recordings across composed, improvised, and live performances, weaving jazz, avant-garde, and global influences into a playful, genre-blurring sonic journey rich in texture, storytelling, and inventive ensemble interplay.
 Courvoisier, Sylvie Trio (w/ Gress / Wollesen): Eclats - Live in Europe (Intakt)
Captured during a European tour, the trio of pianist Sylvie Courvoisier with bassist Drew Gress and drummer Kenny Wollesen presents a finely honed language shaped through deep trust and evolving interplay, where Courvoisier's compositions unfold with precision and openness, balancing intricate detail, shifting textures, and spontaneous free improv with subtle complexity and vivid expressiveness.
 Lewis, James Brandon Quartet: Abstraction Is Deliverance (Intakt)
A powerful quartet session led by James Brandon Lewis on tenor sax with Aruán Ortiz, Brad Jones, and Chad Taylor, blending lyrical melodic clarity with dynamic, responsive interplay, where rich tonal expression and groove-sensitive improvisation draw from the lineage of John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, and David S. Ware while forging a deeply personal, contemporary voice.
 Ehrlich, Marty: Cartographies of Flight: Lines Set Afloat Towards Hope (Corbett vs. Dempsey)
Marty Ehrlich leads a chamber-jazz septet with poet Erica Hunt reciting her own texts, shaping fifteen concise works where clarinet, flute, alto saxophone, trumpet, bassoon, cello, bass, and percussion move through composed forms, free improv, and spoken word in a vivid, scene-shifting suite balancing dark resonance, bright melodic sparks, and a searching sense of hope.
 Quatuor Bozzini: Jurg Frey: String Quartets (Collection QB)
Montreal-based Quatuor Bozzini records Jurg Frey's Streichquartett (1988) at Radiostudio Zurich, shaping spare scales, measured intervals, and quietly sustained tones into music of unusual clarity and concentration, where seemingly anonymous material reveals its own distinct character through space, duration, resonance, and the tactile presence of sound.
 Blaser, Samuel Quartet: Rosina (Blaser Music)
Drawing on Italian folk melodies, family memory, and the legacy of Blaser's maternal grandmother, Resistance fighter Rosina Pierina Scarpioni, trombonist Samuel Blaser joins Russ Lossing on piano, Masa Kamaguchi on bass, and Billy Mintz on drums in a deeply personal quartet session of open spaces, raucous interplay, lyrical intimacy, and contemporary improvisation shaped by heritage, song, and identity.
 Davis, Miles 3rd Quintet: Reference: Bitches Brew Live 1969 In Europe [2 CDs + 2 POSTCARDS] (ALAY)
Documenting Miles Davis' 1969 "lost" third quintet live in Berlin, Stockholm and Rotterdam with Wayne Shorter, Chick Corea, Dave Holland and Jack DeJohnette, this 2-CD set captures the post-In a Silent Way ensemble reshaping material headed toward Bitches Brew, balancing lyricism and abstraction through open forms, electric-piano clusters, volatile rhythmic invention and Davis' fiercely exploratory trumpet.
 Ellington, Duke Orchestra: From Fargo Live 1940 (ALAY)
A legendary 1940 live document of Duke Ellington's Blanton-Webster orchestra, captured in Fargo by Jack Towers and Richard Burris, with Ellington on piano, Johnny Hodges and Otto Hardwick on alto saxophones, Ben Webster on tenor, Harry Carney on baritone, Barney Bigard on clarinet, Rex Stewart, Ray Nance and Wallace Jones in the brass, Jimmy Blanton on bass, Sonny Greer on drums, and Ivie Anderson and Herb Jeffries on vocals.
 Ballister + Luke Stewart: Clocking the Wheel (Aerophonic)
Joining Dave Rempis on saxophones, Fred Lonberg-Holm on cello, and Paal Nilssen-Love on drums with bassist Luke Stewart, this live Ballister performance from Roulette expands the trio's ferocious long-running rapport into a dense, high-velocity quartet, Stewart locking with Nilssen-Love in elastic propulsion as cello and saxophone surge through explosive, telepathic collective improvisation.
Squidco Publishing Roundup:
You can view our latest fully cataloged albums in the Recently Section.
You can also browse new titles as they enter our Just In Stock Section — meaning we physically have the album and can ship it, though we may still be updating additional information about the release.
To see restocks of previously listed titles, visit our Recently Restocked page.
And if you're interested in a future release, you can ask us to notify you by email via our Upcoming Releases page — no obligation necessary.
July 9, 2026:
After completing our Independence Day sale, we returned to form by adding a strong group of exceptional albums to the catalog. Listed below are some of my favorites, from the lyrical strength of Samuel Blaser's transatlantic quartet to the electroacoustic composition of Teddy Ryles & Alexander Cooper's latest TRAC album.
Of special note this week are the recently discovered recordings of Satoko Fujii's 2014 Bunker Ulmenwall Orchestra. I was also deeply impressed with the latest release from Montreal-based GGRIL, joined here by DDK - Jacques Demierre on piano, Axel Dorner on trumpet, and Jonas Kocher on accordion. If you haven't heard GGRIL, they are an incredibly creative and impressive large improvising ensemble.
Tyshawn Sorey's remarkable double album Members... Don't! reimagines Max Roach's 1968 Atlantic album Members, Don't Git Weary. Roach's title track, written with and sung by Andy Bey, reflected the political and social tensions of its time. Sorey's version echoes that spirit through the powerful vocal work of Fay Victor, but it is not a strict cover; instead, it uses Roach's material as a guidepost for a new and emotionally expansive work.
I've also spent quite a bit of time with Henry Kaiser's new solo guitar album, a wonderfully distinctive recording with a quirky and exploratory nature, as Kaiser performs on acoustic guitar, electric guitar, harp guitar, and seven guitars on a table. Another guitar-centered album caught my attention this week: Sonic Waves, with guitarist Nils Wohlrabe, prepared pianist Karin Johansson, and double bassist Hasse Westling. The album bridges electroacoustic and acoustic instrumentation, including toy piano, to create beautiful environments of subtle motion and resonant detail.
Blaser, Samuel Quartet: Rosina (Blaser Music)
Drawing on Italian folk melodies, family memory, and the legacy of Blaser's maternal grandmother, Resistance fighter Rosina Pierina Scarpioni, trombonist Samuel Blaser joins Russ Lossing on piano, Masa Kamaguchi on bass, and Billy Mintz on drums in a deeply personal quartet session of open spaces, raucous interplay, lyrical intimacy, and contemporary improvisation shaped by heritage, song, and identity.
 Le GGRIL + DDK: Diffraction (Tour de Bras / Circum-Disc)
Bringing together Swiss-German trio DDK — Jacques Demierre on piano, Axel Dorner on trumpet, and Jonas Kocher on accordion — with Quebec's large improvising ensemble Le GGRIL, this expansive collaboration uses the ensemble as living material for a collective work of juxtaposition, superposition, sonic individuality, and shared compositional energy across a broad electroacoustic terrain.
 Marcus, Michael Quartet (Marcus / Williams / Rodriguez / Mednard): Next Stop Down (ESP Disk)
Bringing Michael Marcus' reeds and tarogato into a quartet with pianist Rod Williams, bassist Ricky Rodriguez, and drummer Allan Mednard, this ESP-Disk release extends Marcus' post-bop and avant-jazz language through compositions shaped by funky Monk-like angles, tight rhythmic interplay, lyrical woodwind clarity, and the seasoned drive of players versed in blues, free jazz, and modern creative music.
Kaiser, Henry: Gateway To Strangeness (solo guitar) (Metalanguage)
A limited artist-released solo guitar recording from Henry Kaiser on acoustic guitar, electric guitar, harp guitar, and seven guitars laid across a table, presenting concise to medium-length explorations of resonance, distortion, extended-string sonority, tabletop texture, and improvisational invention from one of creative music's most idiosyncratic and restless guitarists.
 Fujii, Satoko: Bunker Ulmenwall Orchestra [2 CDs] (Libra)
A rediscovered 2014 live recording captures Satoko Fujii leading a specially assembled Bielefeld orchestra of professionals and young regional musicians through her monumental Shiki and works by Andreas Kaling, Natsuki Tamura, Luise Volkmann, and Fujii, blending conduction, written structure, collective improvisation, electronics, dual drums, and volatile large-ensemble energy.
 Downs, Charles Quartet (w / Paz / Saft / Morris): Inner (ESP Disk)
A long-overdue first sole-leader album from drummer Charles Downs, formerly Rashid Bakr, bringing his deep history with Cecil Taylor, Jemeel Moondoc, Other Dimensions in Music, and the New York avant-garde into a collective quartet with Hery Paz on saxophone, Jamie Saft on piano, and Joe Morris on bass for five improvisations of fire, lyricism, angular reflection, and seasoned rapport.
 Berman, Josh Trio: Everybody Else's Life, Too (Corbett vs. Dempsey)
Cornetist Josh Berman's trio with Jason Roebke on bass and Chris Corsano on drums brings Chicago's jazz lineage into sharp contemporary focus, balancing compact composition and expansive interaction through playful, adventurous music that draws on early jazz, AACM-rooted invention, melodic swing, textural abstraction, and volatile rhythmic exchange.
 TRAC (Teddy Ryles / Alexander Cooper): Heavy Nano Ream Aria [2 CDs] (Bu Lang Tribute Cake)
Extending their TRAC debut Cylinder Plus, Teddy Ryles and Alexander Cooper shape a 90-minute two-CD computer-music composition developed with custom source-filter modeling and cepstral-based transfer methods, transforming digital artifacts, modeled resonance, spectral detail, and unstable electronic textures into a long-form electro-acoustic study of timbre, residue, structure, and abstraction.
continued...
|
|
Kenny Wheeler Sextet:
Double Helix Quartet (Jackson Jr. / Ali / Harris / Ra):
Marty Ehrlich / Julius Hemphill:
Pierre Favre:
Steve Swell / Ellen Christi:
Ava Mendoza / Dave Sewelson:
Szilard Mezei Octet:
Lao Dan and Vasco Trilla:
Last Dream of the Morning (John Butcher / John Edwards / Mark Sanders):
Tore Elgaroy and Henry Kaiser:
Seabrook, Brandon (Seabrook / Fraser / Dicker / Stemeseder): Hellbent Daydream (Pyroclastic Records)
Lewis, James Brandon Quartet (Lewis / Ortiz / Jones / Taylor): Omni (Intakt)
Sorey, Tyshawn (w / O'Farrill / Shim / Korten / Allen II / Victor): Members... Don't! [2 CDs] (Pi Recordings)
