ROVA (Raskin / Ochs / Voigt / Ackley): Saxophone Diplomacy (Hatology)
A much needed reissue of the ROVA Saxophone Quartet's historic 1983 tour of Russia, Latvia and Romania, as Jon Raskin on alto, baritone & soprano sax plus clarinet, Andrew Voigt on alto, sopranino & soprano sax + flute, Bruce Ackley on soprano sax & clarinet, and Larry Ochts on tenor & sopranino sax tear apart six incredible multi-reed improvisations; incredible! ... Click to View
George Graewe / Ernst Reijseger / Gerry Hemingway: Concertgebouw Brugge 2014 (Fundacja Sluchaj!)
Performing together since 1989, at first frequently and now as very special events, this concert at Concertgebouw in Brugge of pianist Georg Graewe, cellist Ernst Reijseger, and drummer and marimba player Gerry Hemingway, is a superb example of the both telepathic and confidently confrontational interplay of their chamber-oriented and superbly paced improvisation. ... Click to View
Katarsis4 (Bizys / Janonis / Pancerovas / Jusinskas): Katarsis4 (NoBusiness)
A diverse, unique and sometimes explosive saxophone quartet from Lithuania founded by Arminas Bizys, Kazimieras Jusinskas, Algirdas Janonis, and Danielius Pancerovas, using extended techniques, the saxophones themselves and found objects as they articulately merge structurally free improvisation, academic approaches and motives from Lithuanian folk music. ... Click to View
Bobby Bradford / Frode Gjerstad / Kent Carter / John Stevens: Blue Cat [VINYL] (NoBusiness)
The 2nd in NoBusiness' archive series of the Norwegian Detail collective, here with Frode Gjerstad on alto sax, Bobby Bradford on cornet, Kent Carter on bass, and John Stevens on drums, captured live in London in 1991 during a UK record, in a 3-part free improvisation of informed free-jazz and free playing, exciting and with complex, swinging subtlety. ... Click to View
Marc Copland: Gary ((Illusions))
Having a long association with pianists Keith Jarrett, Paul Bley, Bill Evans, and Marc Copland, it's fitting that the compositions of legendary bassist Gary Peacock are revealed in this solo album from Marc Copland with whom he has most recently work, Copland interpreting his evocative compositions with thoughtful sensitivity and masterful skill. ... Click to View
Arto Lindsay / Joe McPhee / Ken Vandermark / Phil Sudderberg: Largest Afternoon (Corbett vs. Dempsey)
Bringing together Chicago's long partnership of saxophonists Joe McPhee and Ken Vandermark with frequent Vandermark collaborator, drummer Phil Sudderberg, and New York guitarist Arto Lindsay, recording on a winter afternoon in a Chicago studio to record these fifteen collective, freely improvised conversations of intense energy, unexpected twists and turns, and brilliant playing. ... Click to View
Fred Lonberg-Holm / Joe McPhee: No Time Left for Sadness (Corbett vs. Dempsey)
"This Time", "That Time" and "Next Time", the three titles from the first duo meeting of Joe McPhee on tenor saxophone and cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm, also bringing electronics, the distillation of their playing outside of Survival Unit III a revelation in intensity and unconventional creativity, fueled by magnificent playing and an empathetic rapport. ... Click to View
Joke Lanz / Jason Kahn / Norbert Moslang / Gunter Muller / Christian Weber: kangaroo_kitchen [2 CDS] (Mikroton Recordings)
Two astounding and wide-raning electroacoustic improvisations from 5 prominent musicians on the Swiss experimental scene--Joke Lanz (turntables), Jason Kahn (synth, radio, mixer), Norbert Moslang (cracked everyday electronics), Gunter Muller (ipods & electronics), and Christian Weber (bass, revolver) captured live at the 2018 Mikroton Mikroten Festival in Kaliningrad and Moscow. ... Click to View
VocColours / Yoichiro Kita: Live in Japan (Creative Sources)
A strange album of vocal improvisation from the the VocCoulours quartet of Brigitte Kuepper, Gala Gabriele Hummel, Norbert Zajac, and Iouri Grankin, performing live with Koichi Makigamion (voice & theremin), Yoichiro Kita (trumpet & laptop), Keiko Komori (bass clarinet), and Morgan Fisher (keyboards & toys); a truly unique album of startling utterance, texture, and environment. ... Click to View
Etienne Nillesen / Nicola Hein / Magda Mayas / Eve Risser / Marta Warelis: Piano Trialogues (Creative Sources)
Nicola L. Hein, performing on prepared guitar, and Etienne Nillesen on extended snare drum, present three trio recordings with three different pianists--Magda Mayas, Eve Risser, and Marta Warelis--each adding a different dimension to Hein & Nillesen's playing, as heard in these three live recordings from The Loft in Cologne German in 2018. ... Click to View
Liquid Quintet (feat Agusti Fernandez / Artur Majewski / Albert Cirera / Rafal Mazur / Ramon Prats): Flux (Fundacja Sluchaj!)
Hailed as the most pyrotechnic and adventurous concert of the 12th Ad Libitum Festival in Warsaw, Poland, the collective quintet of Agusti Fernandez on piano, Artur Majewski on trumpet, Albert Cirera on saxophones, Rafal Mazur on bass, and Ramon Prats on drums rage and flow through three movements of "Flux", starting at the "Source" and ending in an "Estuary"; awesome. ... Click to View
Steve Swell / Robert Boston / Michael Vatcher: Brain In A Dish (NoBusiness)
Trombonist Steve Swell stands out in this trio of improvisation, recorded in the studio in Brooklyn with pianist Robert Boston, also on organ, and drummer Michael Vatcher, in a set of eleven outstanding dialogs that range from highly energetic to deeply introspective, with quirky and unusual technique from Vatcher and Swell adding unique qualities to their collective "brain". ... Click to View
Juan Vinuesa Jazz Quartet (Vinuesa / Berman / Roebke Avery): Blue Shots From Chicago (NoBusiness)
Spanish tenor saxophonist Juan F. G. Vinuesa leads his quartet with Josh Berman on cornet, Jason Roebke on bass, and Mikel Patrick Avery on drums and percussion, three of the brightest stars on the Chicago scene, performing Vinuesa's compositions and arrangements of lyrical modern jazz that blend structure and melody with plenty of space for free playing; wonderful. ... Click to View
Anthony Coleman : Catenary Oath [VINYL] (NoBusiness)
Downtown NY cornerstone pianist Anthony Coleman is heard in a solo album of Coleman originals including a piece dedicated to Roscoe Mitchell, plus one piece each by Billy Strayhorn, John Klenner, and Ellington/George/Hodges/James, all beautifully captured at Boston's Jordan Hall as Coleman reveals his unique logic and inventive approach to solo performance. ... Click to View
Sounds of Liberation: Unreleased (Columbia University 1973) (Corbett vs. Dempsey)
Originally formed by vibraphonist Khan Jamal in 1970 in the Germantown section of Philadelphia (the homefront of Sun Ra's Arkestra) and expanded to a septet when saxophonist Byard Lancaster joined, the band only released one official LP, this soulfully funky, upbeat and lyrical album extending that output with a well-recorded album recorded at Columbia University in 1973. ... Click to View
Cyanobacteria / Hubsch: Are You an Orchid or a Dandelion? (Toxo Records)
The trio of Renato Grieco on bass, Francesco Gregoretti on drums, Carl Ludwig Hubsch on tuba in a studio album of dense, deep improvisation, using amplification and feedback with extreme technique and meticulously controlled playing to create slowly evolving sonic environments of profound depth and mystery, a shadowy and fascinating album fraught with suspense. ... Click to View
David Grubbs / Mats Gustafsson / Rob Mazurek: The Underflow (Corbett vs. Dempsey)
Recorded during two nights at Underflow Records and Art Gallery in Athens, Greece in 2019, The Underflow trio of Mats Gustafsson (reeds, fluteophone, electronics) from Sweden, with Chicago-based Rob Mazurek (trumpet, electronics), and David Grubbs (electric guitar) present an album of wide-ranging, powerful, often explosively eccentric, and always informed improvisation. ... Click to View
Leap Of Faith: Crumpled Dimensions (Evil Clown)
The core Leap of Faith trio of David Peck (PEK) on winds & percussion, Glynis Lomon on cello, aquasonic & voice, and Yuri Zbitnov on drums & percussion, a subunit of Boston's Leap of Faith Orchestra, is joined by Jim Warshauer (reeds) and Eric Dahlman (trumpet, overtone voice) for an exciting and far-ranging improvisation of exotic instrumentation and intention. ... Click to View
Goh Kwang Lee: Avalanche (2 CDs) (Herbal International)
A double CD of experimental composition from Malaysian sound artist Goh Lee Kwang, hypnotic works of strangely repeating glitch that bookend shorter works of rich percussive abstractions, including a work with processed voice and an extended percussive "Ritual", singular pieces reflecting Kwang's curious mind and long experience merging aberrant and subtle sound. ... Click to View
Alexandra Grimal / Joelle Leandre: Desordre (Montagne Noire)
A playful, thoughtful, and quick witted encounter between Egyptian saxophonist Alexandra Grimal and French double bassist Joelle Leandre, at times each on voice, emphasizing a "desired disorder" in their approach to instant composition and declaring that neither determines the course of the music, but that they follow it simply as the music decides; wonderful. ... Click to View
Company: Trios [VINYL 2 LPs] (Honest Jons Records)
Nine improvisers--Joelle Leandre, J.D.Parran, Ernst Reyseger, Hugh Davies, Jamie Muir, Peter Brotzmann, Evan Parker, Vinko Globokar, & John Corbett--joined Derek Bailey for this 1983 Company week, recording at the I.C.A. in London over 4 days in 1983, mostly performing in trio configurations, with one duo between Bailey & Reijseger, and a final ensemble with all 9 players. ... Click to View
Alexander Schlippenbach von / Dag Magnus Narvesen: Liminal Field (Not Two)
The performing duo of pianist Alexander von Schlippenbach and drummer Dag Magnus Narvesen bring two strong voices from different generations of free improvisers, creating a unique sound that merges the creative energies and vocabulary of each in dynamic and subtle expressions of vigorous movements that unravel in layered improvisation, rewarding their listeners. ... Click to View
Willem Breuker / Han Bennink: New Acoustic Swing Duo [2 CDS] (Corbett vs. Dempsey)
Remastering and re-issuing the very first album on the new Dutch artist-run free improvised music label, ICP Records (Instant Composers Pool), "New Acoustic Swing Duo" shows brings reedist Willem Breuker and drummer Han Bennink together for 6 incredible improvisations, the 2nd CD extending the album with a live concert at Jazzclub Podium in Essen, DE in 1968. ... Click to View
Mats Gustafsson / Wendy Gondeln / Wolfgang Voigt / Martin Siewert: The Shithole Country & Boogie Band (Corbett vs. Dempsey)
A unique album blurring acoustic recordings from saxophonist Mats Gustafsson with the electronic machinations and rhythms of Wendy Gondeln, aka Albert Oehlen, a German experimental electronic artist, two two inviting Martin Siewert for additional guitar on two tracks, and Wolfgang Voight to remix two tracks; funky, unpredictable, amusing, and seductively tantalizing. ... Click to View
Masahiko Satoh / Sabu Toyozumi: The Aiki [VINYL] (NoBusiness)
Working together often over decades, free improvising drummer Sabu Toyozumi and composer/improvising pianist Masahiko Satoh are heard here in a 1997 duo concert at C・S・Aka-Renga, in Yamaguchi City, Japan, for an engaging concert of energetic interaction, emphasizing Satoh's percussive approach to the keys and Sabu's inherent melodicism in his approach to drumming. ... Click to View
Mike Cooper / Mark Wastell: Sound Mirrors (Confront)
Lapsteel guitarist and electronic artist Mike Cooper and percussionist Mark Wastell, employing a paiste 32" tam tam and a shruti box, pay homage to the large acoustic sound mirrors used in Britain from 1916 to 1930 as an early form or radar, each of their detailed improvisation referencing one of the locations on the British south and northeast coasts. ... Click to View
Lars Akerlund / Eryck Abecassis: Falls (Mikroton Recordings)
Investigating the possibilities of instability with synthesizers and electronic instruments, sound artists Eryck Abecassis (France) and Lars Akerlund (Sweden) present 7 impressive tracks of "Dark Energy" in two parts, combining electronics and modular synth, with credits to VICC (Visby International Centre for Composers) and EMS (Electronic Music Studio, Stockholm). ... Click to View
Andrea Ermke / Chris Abrahams / Marcello Busato / Arthur Rother: Sink (Mikroton Recordings)
With understated grooves and the presence of Necks keyboardist Chris Abrahams it's easy to compare Necks with this Berlin-based band, formed in 2004 with Andrea Ermke on minidiscs, Marcello Busato on drums, and Arthur Rother on electric guitar, but the distinction is heard in their unusual sound sources, mixing electronic, synthetic and concrete sounds in hallucinatory ways. ... Click to View
Guro Johansen Gravem / Sergio Castrillon: Ekelyveien 10 (Creative Sources)
Norwegian jazz vocalist Guro Gravem Johansen (Soyr, Crazy Moon, and vocalist for Helge Hurum's orchestra), in a duo with Colombian cellist based in Helsinki, Sergio Castrillon, performing on a prepared microtonal cello, as the two improvise over five dialogs, from the extended "Primo" to the succinct "Quintuple", blending unusual technique with unique creative impulse. ... Click to View
