Steve Lacy / Evan Parker:
Chirps (Corbett vs. Dempsey)
The first reissue in three decades of the 1985 SAJ Series FMP album bringing together legendary saxophonists Steve Lacy and Evan Parker, both on soprano saxophone, for two extended improvisations of magnificent reed interactions and a final coda, performed live during Summer Music at Haus am Waldsee, in Berlin, 1985; an essential album of masterful musicianship. ... Click to View
Josh Sinton:
Book of Practitioners, Vol. 1 "H" (FiP recordings)
Six etude studies originally written by Steve Lacy in the 1980s, with whom NY baritone saxophonist Josh Sinton collaborated in the early 2000s, and who gave his blessings to Sinton's approach and adaption of each, developed subsequently for 20 years and recorded in 2021 for this album, demonstrating Sinton's personal approach to both Lacy's material and with the deep reed saxophone. ... Click to View
Jon Rose:
State of Play [2 CDs] (Recommended Records)
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! ... Click to View
Jessica Pavone / Lukas Koenig / Matt Mottel:
Spam Likely (577 Records)
Self-describing their approach to improvisation as a "free-range sonic stew", the trio of Jessica Pavone on viola & electronics, Lukas Koenig (MOPCUT) on drums and Matt Mottel (Talibam!) on keytar & guitar, find common ground in extended conversations, both through rapid and weaving interactions and in expansive evolutions of sweeping sonic inspiration. ... Click to View
Fabrice Villard / Pierre-Stephane Meuge:
Musique Logique (nunc.)
25 pieces for solo saxophone in a tribute to and following the logical number games of minimalist composer Tom Johnson, composed by clarinetist and ensemble Dedalus member Farbrice Villard under the inspiration of Johnson's collection Rational Melodies, and performed by the extraordinary French clarinetist Pierre-Stephane Meuge (Counterpoise). ... Click to View
Wills McKenna / Norman W. Long / Ishmael Ali / Bill Harris:
Anemoi [2 CDs] (Amalgam)
Part of cellist Ishmael Ali's Chi Away Project recording small ensembles of new collaborations between Chicago musicians of diverse backgrounds, this live recording of energetic and unique free jazz and ea-improv was captured at Marmalade in 2021, bringing together Ali, drummer Bill Harris, saxophonist & flutist Wills McKenna and sound artist Normal W. Long. ... Click to View
Success Pistols (Finer / Bevins / Davidovici / Hong):
First Shot (Amalgam)
Borrowing from jazz/improvised music, new compositional forms and avant reductionist traditions, the Montreal quartet Success Pistol release their debut album of compositions by saxophonist Dustin Finder, oral instructions including game pieces that leave room for improvisation; with Scott Bevins on trumpet, and husband and wife duo Eli Davidovici on bass and Mili Hong on drums. ... Click to View
Nat Baldwin:
Autonomia II: Recombinations [CASSETTE w/ DOWNLAOD] (Traced Objects)
Four unedited performances of extreme double bass work from Tripticks label leader Nat Baldwin, merging free playing with extraneous bass sounds, noise and unusual techniques, yielding a muscular set of double bass improvisations, the opening tracks building technique around fractured lyrical expression as the album builds to the closing "negation" of burning intensity. ... Click to View
Philippakopoulos, Anastassis :
Piano 1 Piano 2 Piano 3 (Edition Wandelweiser Records)
An album of concentrated expression for solo piano in three works from French composer Anastassis Philippakopoulos and meticulously performed by Serbian pianist Teodora Stepancic, exploring intervals through minimalistic progressions, titled "Piano 1", "Piano 2" & "Piano 3", each in two or three parts as they build to explosive moments in the final movement. ... Click to View
Thom Elliott:
Human Heart Worm [CASSETTE] (Tribe Tapes)
An album of thick, dark noise like a tunneling heart worm from Michigan noise musician Thom Elliott (Pleasure Dome Tapez), recorded in isolation during the pandemic in 2021, self-described as "my most aggressively revolting sonic landscapes", in four parts of detailed sludge that surprise with frequent sonic twists and turns on their pulsing tours. ... Click to View
Ollie Brice (w / Challenger / Glaser / Yarde / Musson / Crowley / Bonney / Macari / Roberts / Hunter):
Trio / Octet: Fire Hills [2 CDs] (West Hill Records)
Trio & Octet compositions from UK double bassist Olie Brice: "Fire Hills" in five parts, commissioned by Jazz South and performed by the trio of Brice, Tom Challenger (sax) and Will Glaser (drums); then three pieces including the title track, with Alex Bonney & Kim Macari (trumpets), Jason Yarde, George Crowley, Cath Roberts & Rachel Musson (saxophones), and Johnny Hunter (drums). ... Click to View
Henry Kaiser / Anthony Pirog:
Figure / Ground (Ramble Records)
A gorgeous album of duo work from West Coast guitarist Henry Kaiser and D.C. guitarist Anthony Pirog, creating "ground" structures of beautifully rich harmonics over which "figures" of virtuosic guitar playing emerge and submerge, the overlap creating almost hallucinatory effects as the listener is transfixed somewhere between exquisite foregrounds and backgrounds. ... Click to View
Allen Moore / Ishmael Ali / Bill Harris:
Hearsay (Amalgam)
Unusual textures, unlikely orchestration and unconventional rhythmic directions from the Chicago electroacoustic improv trio of Allen Moore on turntables & records casted with various material, Ishmael Ali on cello, guitar & electronics and Bill Harris on drums & percussion, captured live at Marmalade in Chicago in 2021 for a diverse set of experimental and absorbing improvisations. ... Click to View
Florian Wittenburg :
1- Bis 4-Stimmig (Edition Wandelweiser Records)
Starting with a systematic variation of polyphony in each of the three movements of "Bis 4-Stimmung", German composer and pianist Florian Wittenburg deviates from strict structures through a component of randomly generated core notes which he then makes coherent through harmony and melody, each part punctuated with layers of Wittenburg reciting Dutch poet Cees Noteboom. ... Click to View
Wade Matthews / Carmen Morales:
Fall Five Improvisations (Aural Terrains)
Inspired by and recorded at the basilica of a former monastery overlooking a valley in southern Spain, the duo of Wade MatthInspired by and recorded at the basilica of a former monastery overlooking a valley in southern Spain, the duo of Wade Matthews on digital synthesis & field recordings and Carmen Morales on prepared piano, present improvisations with a unique palette of timbres, contrasting spacious moments against rapid interaction as they "Plunge and Tumble" through five captivating dialogs.ews on digital synthesis & field recordings and Carmen Morales on prepared piano, present improvisations with a unique palette of timbres, contrasting spacious moments with rapid interaction as they "Plunge and Tumble" through five captivating dialogs. ... Click to View
Quatuor Umlaut (Karl Naegelen / Morton Feldman):
Calques (Umlaut Records)
Founded by violinists Amaryllis Billet and Anna Jalving, with Fanny Paccoud on viola and Sarah Ledoux on cello, Quatuor Umlaut presents their first recordings, joined by clarinetist Joris Ruhl for two pieces: "Calques" by composer Karl Naegelen using effects of transparency and fusion of tones; and Morton Feldman's highly textured "Clarinet and String Quartet". ... Click to View
Philip Corner:
On Tape From The Judson Years (Alga Marghen)
Early tape collage works from Fluxus founder and member of the Experimental Media Foundation Philip Corner, five distinct pieces recorded and developed between 1962 to 1963 in New York's Lower East Side, including Lucinda Pastime" for a a dance piece by Lucinda Childs, and "Oracle, a Canata on Images of War" commissioned by the Living Theatre; includes a 16-page booklet. ... Click to View
Leap Of Faith:
Revealing The Essence (Evil Clown)
The first Leap of Faith set in a quartet lineup expanding the core of David Peck on reeds, winds & percussion and Glynis Lomon on cello & aquasonic with trumpeter Vance Provey and percussionist Michael Knoblach, in an introspective livestreamed set that balances the strings of Lomon against two horns while bringing out a wealth of unusual percussive interactions. ... Click to View
Fire! w/ Stephen O'Malley / David Sandstrom:
Requies [VINYL 1-SIDED EP w/ SCREEN PRINT on B-SIDE] (Rune Grammofon)
A one-side EP with a screen print on the B-Side, of a raucous, dark and incredibly epic journey in heavy electric jazz from Fire! configured as the quintet of Mats Gustafsson on bass saxophone, organ & live electronics, Johan Berthling on electric bass, Andreas Werliin on drums, Stephen O'Malley on guitar and David Sandstrom on drums; awe inspiring! ... Click to View
Flying Luttenbachers, The:
Imminent Death [VINYL 2 LPs] (God Records)
The ever-shifting lineup of jazz/no-wave/avant/aberrant improvisers The Flying Luttenbachers, anchored by drummer Weasel Walters, brings multi-reedist Matt Nelson, two guitarists (Brandon Seabrook & Henry Kaiser), bassist Tim Dahl and Brad Laner on synth for an aggressively informed and excitingly unpredictable album of superb playing and possibly bad intention; recommended! ... Click to View
Zorn / Chadbourrne / Bradfield / Baker / Hutton:
John Zorn's OIympiad - Vol. 2 Fencing 1978 (Tzadik)
Two exceptional live performances of John Zorn's interactive "Fencing" concept leading free improv into unusual directions, from the early Downtown NY scene in 1978, first at Zorn's own loft in the trio of guitarists Eugene Chadbourne, Duck Baker and Randy Hutton; then at Bard College, in Kingston, NY with Zorn on multiple reeds, Chadbourne on guitar and Polly Bradfield on violin. ... Click to View
Heroes Are Gang Leaders:
LeAutoRoiOgraphy [BLACK VINYL] (577 Records)
Led by tenor saxophonist James Brandon Lewis and poet Thomas Sayers Ellis, this 12-piece ensemble of pointed and ecstatic free jazz and spoken word are heard at the 2019 Sons D'Hiver Festival in Paris, 2019, their sound influenced by chamber elements and sharpened through insightful and demanding observations and the influence of Amiri Baraka (LeRoi Jones). ... Click to View
Eunhye Jeong (Jeong / Burik / Ridley / Mela / Kim):
End of Time / KM-53 Project Vol. 1 (577 Records)
An energetic and sophisticated album of free improvisation based around three compositions by and under the direction of Boston-based South Korean pianist Eunhye Jeong, in a quintet with Allison Burik on alto saxophone & bass clarinet, Max Ridley on double bass, Francisco Mela on drums and Mina Kim on cello, who also performs Jeong's solo work for cello on the center track. ... Click to View
John Zorn (Marsella / Roeder / Smith):
Suite for Piano (Tzadik)
Blurring the lines between composed and improvised music, John Zorn's ten-part composition in his "Suite for Piano" was inspired in part by the Goldberg Variations and Schoenberg's solo piano music, set in the classic piano trio format and performed by extraordinary New York musicians and improvisers, Brian Marsella on piano, Jorge Roeder on bass, and Ches Smith on drums. ... Click to View
Kirk Knuffke Trio (w/ Bisio / Shipp):
Gravity Without Airs [VINYL 2 LPs + DOWNLOAD] (Tao Forms)
A mix of original compositions and collective improvisations from the NY trio of cornetist Kirk Knuffke, bassist Michael Bisio and pianist Matthew Shipp, in a double album of exemplary creative jazz from three players steeped in both tradition and forward-thinking approaches to improvisation, filled with spectacular playing from enthusiastic to introspective; a superb release. ... Click to View
AAVD Trio (Alexander Adams / Danny Andrade / Daniel Van Duerm):
Anti Glow (Amalgam)
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. ... Click to View
Stefan Thut:
Among (Inexhaustible Editions)
Creating complex intervals that the players must "notice among each other" as a model for coexistence, cellist Stefan Thut's score for three string players and sine waves, here configured for double bass (Félicie Bazelaire), acoustic guitar (Fredrik Rasten) and cello (Thut) with Léo Dupleix on sine waves tuned to multiples of prime numbers and attached to the wooden boxes that serve as transducers. ... Click to View
Amirtha Kidambi / Luke Stewart:
Zenith/Nadir [CASSETTE w/ DOWNLOAD] (Tripticks Tapes)
Referencing the highs and lows to which the NY duo of free improvising vocalist Amirtha Kidambi and bassist Luke Stewart take their listeners, both bringing along electronics as they divert between clear acoustics and extreme processing, pouring out the turbulence of the time with a unique sense of duress and oddly hopeful musing; frighteningly unique and fascinating. ... Click to View
Hippie Diktat:
Gran Sasso [VINYL] (nunc.)
The 3rd album from the French Hippie Diktat trio of Antoine Viard on baritone sax, Julien Chamla on drums and Richard Comte on guitar, drawing parallels to Sunn O))) and the raw power of Peter Brötzmann, here in a four-part work of primal rhythms and powerful textures, applying the use of space and timing around repetition to create a bedrock of brawny sound. ... Click to View
Richard Comte / Julien Pontvianne:
Sunken Music (nunc.)
The long-standing duet of guitarist Richard Comte and tenor saxophonist Julen Pontvianne (Onze Hours Onze) is a conversation of introspective and resonant repetition around silence, tonal decay, slow call and response and submerged themes, here symbolically immersed as they explore four sunken islands from around the world: Vordonis; Lohachara; Semionovski and Elugelab. ... Click to View
