Albert Ayler:
Summertime To Spiritual Unity - Revisited (ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)

Remastering and reissuing two tracks--"Summertime" and "C.T"--from saxophonist Albert Ayler's 1964 Fontana album My Name Is Albert Ayler with basssist Nils-Henning Orsted Pedersen, drummer Ronnie Gardiner and pianist Nils Bronsted; and his classic and passionate 1965 ESP Disk release Spiritual Unity with double bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Sunny Murray. ... Click to View

Archie Shepp:
Four For Trane To Live At Newport - Revisited (ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)

Influenced by and working with John Coltrane, saxophonist and composer Archie Shepp paid tribute to 'Trane with his 1965 Impulse! album Four for Trane, here remastered and joined with tracks from the live album John Coltrane/Archie Shepp: New Thing At Newport, accompanied on each by acclaimed free jazz players including Roswell Rudd, John Tchicai, Reggie Workman, Barre Phillips, Joe Chambers, &c. ... Click to View

Andrew Cyrille:
Music Delivery / Percussion (Intakt)

A leading statesman of free jazz drumming, Andrew Cyrille's approach is influenced by both the Blue Note era and the groundbreaking work he participated in with Cecil Taylor or Trio3, still going strong and perceptively wise as heard on these eleven succinct studio solo performances, featuring favored percussive instruments adding melodic elements to these solid rhythmic vignettes. ... Click to View

Christoph Irniger Pilgrim:
Ghost Cat (Intakt)

Zurich tenor saxophonist & composer Christoph Irniger in his fourth album on the Intakt label with his creative and cooperative band Pilgrim of Stefan Aeby on piano, Dave Gisler on guitar, Raffaele Bossard on bass and Michael Stulz on drums, performing Irninger's lyrical and thoughtful compositions, along with one from bassist Raffaele Bossard. ... Click to View

Feldman / Rempis / Daisy:
SIROCCO (Aerophonic)

Welcoming third improvisers into the long-standing duo, Chicago saxophonist Dave Rempis and drummer Tim Daisy invite New York/Chicago violinist Mark Feldman to perform at Elastic Arts, in Chicago, heard in two extended improvisations, superb examples of masterful technique and profound dialog. ... Click to View

Bergman / Robinson / Swell / Sage:
Quartets/Trios/Duos (Mahakala Music)

Sheltered in place during the pandemic, trombonist Steve Swell occupied his time listening to recordings forgotten or never released, seizing on these excellent studio session from 2007 organized with drummer Ray Sage, performed in duo, trio and quartet configurations with clarinetist Perry Robinson and pianist Borah Bergman, demonstrating that in bad circumstance, good can appear. ... Click to View

Stefania Ladisa Strutture (w/ Adrian Northover / Marcello Magliocchi):
Dal'Introspezione All'Interazione (FMR)

Two live performances at Sala Castello di Sannicandro di Bari and at Sala Auditorium Accademia Cinema Ragazzi in Bari, Italy from violinist & violist Stefania Ladisa's trio Strutture with drummer Marcello Magliocchi and saxophonist Adrian Northover (LIO, Remote Viewers, Runcible), using the resonance of the performances spaces in spacious free interaction. ... Click to View

Guillaume Gargaud / Patrice Grente / Thierry Waziniak:
OMUSUE (Torf Records)

Bringing vast experience in free improv and contemporary creative settings, the French trio of Guillaume Gargaud on acoustic guitar, Patrice Grente on double bass and Thierry Waziniak on drums present seven unique collective conversations named by permutation, recorded in the studio to bring the nuance of their playing to the foreground. ... Click to View

Marianne Svasek :
Marwa (thanatosis produktion)

A beautiful and contemplative performance of "Raga Marwa", a a hexatonic Indian raga and the eponymous raga of the "Marva thaat", peformed by Dutch-Czech master vocalist Marianne Svašek, and recorded in Stockholm, with Svašek and Swedish bass player Vilhelm Bromander both performing on the tanpura, a long-necked plucked string instrument used to create a sonic canvas behind the raga. ... Click to View

J.J. Gregg:
Opening Up (IntangibleCat)

Referencing the "queen of morning ragas" Raag Bhairavi, Oregon-based sitar player and experimental musician J.J. Gregg performed these three improvisations immediately following a group meditation, each raga providing a distinct mood to take their listeners on a journey to complement their state of mind, weaving themes of inspiration and experience. ... Click to View

Steve Swell's Fire Into Music ( w/ Moondoc / Parker / Drake):
For Jemeel: Fire From The Road [3 CDs] (RogueArt)

A triple CD of extended and magnificent performances between 2004 & 2005 from the quartet of Steve Swell on trombone, William Parker on double bass, Hamid Drake on drums and Jemeel Moondoc on alto saxophone, to whom this album is dedicated; two concerts in Texas and one at the Guelph Jazz Festival, with compositions from Swell and Moondoc plus collective improvisations. ... Click to View

Kaze with Satoko Fujii / Natsuki Tamura / Christian Pruvost / Peter Orins & Ikue Mori:
Crustal Movement (Circum-Libra)

The cooperative Japanese/French quartet Kaze of pianist Satoko Fujii, trumpeter Natsuki Tamura, trumpeter Christian Pruvost and drummer Peter Orins are expanded for a second time with New York electronic artist Ikue Mori, embracing pandemic restrictions by creating this album through file exchange, adding complex layers of profound interaction to the virtual improvisations. ... Click to View

Ayumi Ishito:
The Spacemen Vol. 2 (577 Records)

Somewhere between Acid Mothers, 70s Miles or Sun Ra's Arkestra, NY-based Japanese saxophonist Ayumi Ishito's second Spacemen volume with Theo Woodward on synth & vocals, Nebula and the Velvet Queen on theremin, Jake Strauss on guitar & bass and Steven Bartishev on drums, lives up to it's cosmic moniker through exploratory improv blurring jazz, electronica and psych. ... Click to View

Susana Silva Santos:
All The Birds And A Telephone Ringing [VINYL] (thanatosis produktion)

Aside from her exceptional trumpet work in free improvisation settings, Portuguese trumpeter Susana Santos, currently based in Stockholm, is also an electro-acoustic composer, these six compelling compositions merging field recordings--particularly birds, waters and yes, a phone--along with her trumpet playing and Irish flute, the album title a reference to John Cage's book Silence. ... Click to View

King Ubu Orchestru 2021:
Roi (FMR)

Originally formed in 1985, this free improv ensemble continues in a new rendition of the Örchestrü, with original members Mark Charig (cornet), Paul Lytton (percussion), Alfred Zimmerlin (cello) and Phillipp Wachsmann (violin) joined by new members including Axel Dorner (trumpet), Phil Minton (voice), and Melvyn Poore (tuba), for two exceptional examples of advanced collective and cooperative improvisation. ... Click to View

Tristan Kasten-Krause / Jessica Pavone:
Images of One (Relative Pitch)

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. ... Click to View

Ivo Perelman / Matthew Shipp / Joe Morris :
Shamanism (Mahakala Music)

Adding guitarist Joe Morris to the long-standing collaboration of tenor saxophonist Ivo Perelman and pianist Matthew Shipp directs the New York trio into a fascinatingly unique direction, Morris' often pointillistic style bringing out quick responses and conglomerates of ideas, balanced by hauntingly lyrical and suspended moments; an evokative album of spirited improvisation. ... Click to View

David Myers Lee:
Frontier (pulsewidth)

A live set of electronic recordings from New York sound explorer David Lee Myers, aka Arcane Device, using modular synths under masterful control to create coherent excursions into territories both terrestrial and cosmic, each piece carefully evolving without histrionics or overt noise through warmly vivid and uniquely diverse works of sound. ... Click to View

Perturbations (Peck / Simches):
Agitation (Evil Clown)

Recording as a new group in the vast network of Evil Clown organizations, label leader David Peck on reeds, winds, percussion and digital works stations collaborates with engineer and live processing artist Joel Simches, who create the "perturbations" on this extended improvised work through a vast array of delays, reverbs, audio warps and rotary ensembles. ... Click to View

EUPHORIUM_freakestra (feat Wadada Leo Smith / Barre Phillips):
Free Acoustic Supergroup (Chicago New York Berlin, Dresden Luzern Leipzig) [2 CDs] (Euphorium)

The incredibly creative EUPHORIUM_freakestra as a mid-size ensemble performing at naTo in Leipzig, Germany are joined by legendary free jazz players, Wadada Leo Smith on trumpet and Barre Phillip on double bass, extending the incredible assemblage of players including Oliver Schwerdt, Axel Dorner, Ernst-Ludwig Petrowsky, Urs Leimgruber, Christian Lillinger, Gunter Baby Sommer & Michael Haves. ... Click to View

Jim & The Schrimps (Jim Black / Asger Nissen / Julius Gawlik / Felix Henkelhausen):
Ain't No Saint (Intakt)

"Jim" is US drummer & composer Jim Black working in Berlin, and The Shrimps are the trio of bassist Felix Henkelhausen and the two-sax front line of Germans, Asger Nissen on alto and Julius Gawlik on tenor, finding a rapport and common approach to free improv, they formed to perform & record Black's assertive compositions influenced by the tradition of Black American jazz. ... Click to View

Three-Layer Cake (Mike Pride / Mike Watt / Brandon Seabrook):
Stove-Top (Rarenoise Records)

Circumventing pandemic lockdowns, the trio of Brandon Seabrook on guitar, banjo & tapes, Mike Pride on drums, marimba, glockenspiel, bells & organ and Mike Watt on bass recorded their contributions in separate studios and file-shared to create this genre-merging album of free improv, rock, experimental and inexplicable forms; an inspired and seriously unique album of challenges overcome. ... Click to View

Martin Archer (w/ John Jasnoch / Sarah Farmer / Lee Boyd Allatson):
Wasp Honey (Discus)

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. ... Click to View

Duo User 52 (Udo Schindler / Etienne Rolin):
Plastic Narratives (FMR)

Confidently forceful German free improvisation with an eccentric approach, from multi-instrumentalist Udo Schindler on clarinets, cornet & tuba and artist & improviser Etienne Rolin on basset horn, Glissotar (a continuous wind instrument) & a Bansuri flute, as they improvise over Schindler's poem (jetzt/now) from his cycle frequenz schaukelt / frequency swings. ... Click to View

Eden Lonsdale:
Clear and Hazy Moons (Another Timbre)

Splitting the album between two ensembles, UK composer Eden Lonsdale's beautifully languid compositions are performed first by Apartment House, and then by the young Rothko Collective, the four pieces showing Lonsdale's development of writing for harmony, timbre and resonance into works focused on the passing of time and the integration of prominent melodic elements. ... Click to View

Marco Baldini :
Vesperi (Another Timbre)

Influenced by the seemingly contradictory sources of 16th century Italian composers and their polyphonic compositions, Eliane Radigue, and North Indian classical, Italian composer Marco Baldini's beautifully dark works employ a slow, rarefied pace and subdued dynamics with a fascination for pianissimo playing, heard in eight chamber compositions for low strings and marimba. ... Click to View

Ljug Aldrig:
Stabbings / Juiced [7'' VINYL + DOWNLOAD] (thanatosis produktion)

Ljug Aldrig, aka Roosen, a visual artist, guitarist and vocalist from Stockholm, is heard in a 2-song 7" + download release performing with Dennis Egberth on drums, Alexander Zethson on keys, Anton Toorell on bass, guitars and Isak Hedtjarn on saxophone. ... Click to View

Axioms (PEK / SpokenWord / Lomon / onBass / Simches):
Illusion and Reality (Evil Clown)

Two vocalists associated with Cecil Taylor's final trio--Albey onBass and Jane SpokenWord--join Evil Clown leader David Peck (PEK) on reeds, winds and a large collection of percussive devices, and Glynis Lomon on cello & aquasonic, for an extended work of critical poetry and spoken word, merging truth and abstraction through free improv and pointed expression. ... Click to View

Friedrich Kettlitz :
Rabolgs Bergwand [4 CDs] (Euphorium)

Having collaborated with EUPHORIUM_freakestra and Gunter Baby Sommer, narrator and actor Friedrich Kettlitz presents a 4-CD set of sound poetry using a language that pretends to be German but expands upon his native tongue, his deep voice carrying innuendo, humor, seriousness and articulate expression that fascinates regardless of the listener's own language. ... Click to View

Paul Dunmall / Liam Noble / John Edwards / Mark Sanders:
One Moment (FMR)

Some of the finest London and Birmingham improvisers, the free improvising quartet of saxophonist Paul Dunmall with pianist Liam Noble, drummer Mark Sanders and bassist John Edwards, continue their work together with this exceptional live performance at the Eastside Jazz Club, Birmingham Conservatoire in an extended, far-ranging and engaging collective concert. ... Click to View