Susan Alcorn / Septeto del Sur:
Canto (Relative Pitch)
Recording in Maria Pinto, Chile, steel guitarist Susan Alcorn combines Chilean folk and nueva cancion with free improvisation and contemporary classical in an expansive set of 5 original compositions and a group arrangement of the Victor Jara's "El Derecho de Vivir en Paz", the achingly beautiful themes paying tribute to the victims of Augusto Pinochet's regime. ... Click to View
Mia Dyberg Trio (w / Thomsen / Forchhammer):
Timestretch (Clean Feed)
Danish alto saxophonist Mia Dyberg's Trio with drummer Simon Forchhammer and Norwegian double bassist living in Denmark, Asger Thomsen, following their 2018 William S. Burroughs-inspired Clean Feed release with a solid collection of original compostions and solo improvisations from Dyberg; a well-balanced and diverse set of creative jazz expression. ... Click to View
Miha Gantar:
Amsterdam [5 CD BOX SET] (Clean Feed)
The second box set from Slovenia-born pianist Miha Gantar, named for his adopted city of Amsterdam, through five CDs presenting the many aspects of chamber-oriented, refined jazz that he composes and improvises around, with one CD each of trio and quartet settings, a CD of duos with Michael Moore, an extended solo improvisation, and a duel piano work. ... Click to View
Eclectic Maybe Band:
Bars Without Measures (Discus)
Creating structured works from real time improvisations, Guy Seger's (Univers Zero) large ensemble of absolutely impressive players breaks down to smaller grouping to record the layers of each piece, which Seger then uses as raw material for each finished piece, as elements of rock, jazz, composed, and experimental forms merge into accomplished and engaging compositions. ... Click to View
Tony Buck / Mark Nauseef:
Mongrels (Relative Pitch)
Using a wide assortment of guitars (electric, baritone, arch top acoustic, bass) + monochord, waterphone & zulu bells, Necks drummer and multi-instrumentalist Tony Buck joins with percussionist Mark Nauseef performing on bells and gongs for seven exotic improvisations rich in overtones, microtonal movement, ringing harmonics and hybrid motion. ... Click to View
Jack Wright:
What Is What (Relative Pitch)
Improviser, influencer and world traveler performing with exceptional players in interesting situations, saxophonist Jack Wright is heard in four solo improvisations that support the description of his wide vocabulary on the horn: "leaping pitches, punchy, precise timing, sharp and intrusive multiphonics, surprising gaps of silence, and obscene animalistic sounds". ... Click to View
Rodrigo Pinheiro / Pedro Carneiro:
Kinetic Etudes (Phonogram Unit)
Six permutations on motion from the Kinetic duo of Portuguese pianist Rodrigo Pinheiro (Red Trio) and Pedro Carneiro performing on marimba with quarter tone extension, the duo emerging from "shadows and resonance" and ending with "inertia and collision", as they explore the interactions of keys and percussion in improvisations executed with the precision of composed music. ... Click to View
Claman / Rodrigues / Rodrigues / Tallone:
Three Shadows (Creative Sources)
Berlin recordings from the lowercase chamber improvising string quartet of New Zealand violinist Sarah Claman, Portuguese violist Ernesto Rodrigues and cellist son based in Berlin, Guilherme Rodrigues, with Swiss sound artist Caroline Cecilia Tallone on electroacoustic hurdy gurdy & amplified objects, through three shadow aspects of "Umbra", "Penumbra" and "Antumbra". ... Click to View
BenjamÃn Vergara / Amanda Irarrazabal:
Ultimo Sosiego (577 Records)
Influenced by the landscapes and sonic profiles of Chile's extreme southern territory, Chilean trumpeter Benjamin Vergara (Relincha Festival of Experimental Music) and double bassist Amanda Irarrazabal alliterate and reflect through a series of four improvisations coaxing texture and melody in their dialogs through tremendous technique and concentration. ... Click to View
Jessica Pavone:
Clamor [VINYL] (Out Of Your Head Records)
With a septet of women improvisers and contemporary performers, composer and violinist Jessica Pavone's long-form collective improv compositions are titled after innovations made by women throughout history to circumvent obstructions to their freedoms, revealed through string and bassoon orchestration that balances harmony, dissonance, drone and disruptive experimentation. ... Click to View
Paul Dunmalll (Dunmall / Kinch / Cole / Mwamba / Kane / Drake):
Bright Light A Joyous Celebration (Discus)
Recalling his Sun Quartet album, UK saxophonist Paul Dunmall's new sextet pivots off the jubilant rhythm section of drummer Hamid Drake, double bassist Dave Kane and vibraphonist Corey Mwamba, with three saxophonists--Dunmall on tenor & c-soprano saxophones, Xhosa Cole on tenor and Soweto Kinch on alto & tenor saxophones--in a truly joyful bright celebration of free flowing jazz. ... Click to View
John Butcher / Pat Thomas / Dominic Lash / Steve Noble:
Fathom [COLORED VINYL] (577 Records)
The debut for UK saxophonist John Butcher on 577 Records is this exemplary 2021 live recording at Cafe OTO in London by the quartet of Butcher on tenor and soprano saxophones, Pat Thomas on piano, Dominic Lash on double bass and Steve Noble on drums, four of the UK's leading free improvisers demonstrating their prodigious abilities in concentrated conversation. ... Click to View
Ned Rothenberg (w / Courvoisier / Halvorson / Fujiwara):
Crossings Four (Clean Feed)
Crossing styles, generations and approaches to improvisations, multi-reedist and composer Ned Rothenberg's quartet of Rothenberg on clarinets & alto sax, Sylvie Courvoisier on piano, Mary Halvorson on guitar & effects and Tomas Fujiwara on drums perform five Rothenberg compositions and one by Rothenberg & Courvoisier, of spectacular timbral, rhythmic and melodic intersections. ... Click to View
Grzegorz Tarwid Trio ( w/ Mucha / Karch):
Flowers (Clean Feed)
Lyrically upbeat and expressive piano trio compositions from Polish pianist Grzegorz Tarwid and his trio with double bassist Max Mucha and drummer Albert Karch, all active performers on the Polish and European free jazz secene, here in six works of diverse moods that start with Latin tinges and seamlessly work through playful and pointillistic pieces to end in a tranquil "Sleep". ... Click to View
Calcanhar (Mortagua / Azevedo):
Jump (Clean Feed)
The project name chosen by the duo of Portuguese improvisers, saxophonist Joao Mortagua and pianist Carlos Azevedo, translates to "heel", which they explain "represents the footprint we leave behind as we navigate a constantly evolving musical path", heard in 14 succinct improvisations that balance implicitly lyrical dialog with unconventional and often mischievous technique. ... Click to View
Crossland / Frangenheim:
Basic Tracks Baltimore New York (Concepts of Doing)
Nearly a decade after their first duo collaboration, Ape Green on the Creative Sources label, Wuppertal-born and Berlin-based double bassist Alexander Frangenheim joins again with Baltimore-based trombonist Patrick Crossland for two live performances of wildly creative interaction: first at the 2022 Livewire 12 Festival, then at The Record Shop in Brooklyn. ... Click to View
Joelle Leandre / Vinicius Cajado:
Storm Dance (Not Two)
Six "Dances" of a deeply turbulent nature as legendary French bassist Joëlle Léandre meets Brazilian bassist Vinicius Cajado for a 2022 live concert in Vienna at Alte Schmiede, both employing massively powerful techniques, Léandre vocalizing at times to push their dialog into tempestuous territory; at times darkly explosive but illuminated by incredible creative intent. ... Click to View
Sergio Merce:
Traslasierra (expanded landscape) (Hitorri)
A beautiful album of expanded landscapes performed on electronically modified Electronic Wind Instrument, field recordings, virtual instruments and synthesizer from Argentinian sound artist Sergio Merce, his characteristically patient pacing and use of space creating dramatic and beautiful sonic environments that hint at warm narratives in a seductive excursion. ... Click to View
Made Of Bones (Fonesca / Clemente / Dias / Sousa):
Handgun (Phonogram Unit)
Having collaborated over 15 years in bands including Slow is Possible and Cat in a Bag, the Portuguese quartet of Duarte Fonseca on drums, Joao Clemente on guitar, Nuno Santos Dias on Waldorf Zarenbourg electric piano and Ricardo Sousa on double bass, borrow from electric 70's jazz, rock and experimental forms through 10 diverse and intriguing concepts tinged with a dark wit. ... Click to View
Sheldon Suter:
Berceuses & Nocturnes (Shhpuma)
Percussionist Sheldon Suter steps out from groups including Musique Brute, Big Bold Back Bone, Marco von Orelli 6 or Jurg Wickihalder Orchestra for a seductive album of solo percussion, using zithers, portable turntables, a shruti box and harmonica in immersive works intermixing six pulsing and serene lullabies with five ominous nocturnal environments. ... Click to View
Sheldon Suter:
Berceuses & Nocturnes [VINYL] (Shhpuma)
Percussionist Sheldon Suter steps out from groups including Musique Brute, Big Bold Back Bone, Marco von Orelli 6 or Jurg Wickihalder Orchestra for a seductive album of solo percussion, using zithers, portable turntables, a shruti box and harmonica in immersive works intermixing six pulsing and serene lullabies with five ominous nocturnal environments. ... Click to View
Jose Lencastre / Hernani Faustino / Vasco Furtado :
Vento (Phonogram Unit)
A remarkable trio of active players on the Lisbon free improv scene -- José Lencastre (alto sax), Hernâni Faustino (double bass) and Vasco Furtado (drums) -- and the debut release for the Phonogram Unit label, in six collective improvisations recorded in the studio, evenly proportioned between boppish free jazz and abstract, almost chamber sonic expression; beautiful. ... Click to View
Albert Ayler (incl. Milford Graves, Cecil Taylor, Jimmy Lyons, Sunny Murray, &c):
More Lost Performances, Revisited (ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)
Remastering previously unavailable and vital performances from three configurations of saxophonist Albert Ayler's bands, including their 1967 Newport Festival concert with Milford Graves, their performance at John Coltrane's 1967 Funeral at St. Peter's Lutheran Church in NYC, and an incredible 1962 concert with Cecil Taylor's group with Jimmy Lyons and Sunny Murray in Copenhagen. ... Click to View
Bill Evans (Evans, Hall, Peacock, Motian, Israels, Bunker):
Duos With Jim Hall & Trios '64 & '65, Revisited [2 CDs] (ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)
Three configurations of sophisticated duos & trios from four remastered albums recorded between 1962 and 1966 by pianist Bill Evans: first in duos with guitarist Jim Hall (Undercurrent); then with his trio of bassist Gary Peacock & Paul Motian (Trio 64); then with bassist Chuck Israels & drummer Larry Bunker (Trio 65); and last full circle to 1966, again with Jim Hall (Intermodulation). ... Click to View
Scott Amendola / Henry Kaiser / Michael Manring:
Haunted by Eternity [2 CDs] + Trouble with the Treble (Agren / Colby / Kaiser) (Fractal)
The West Coast power trio of Scott Amendola on drums & live electronics, Henry Kaiser on guitar and Michael Manring on bass are heard in this double album of 15 assertive tracks that balance heavy electronics and effects with intense soloing amidst unusual "soundtracks for quite a number of films that do not exist in our homeworld version of the Earth's infinite timelines." ... Click to View
Mars Williams / Vasco Trilla:
Critical Mass (Not Two)
The second release from the duo of Spanish percussionist Vasco Trilla and Chicago reedist Mars Williams, the latter performing both on reeds and on toy instruments, each using extraordinary and extended technique to create exotically energetic conversations and beautifully meditative environments, in five creative, playful and impressively informed dialogs. ... Click to View
Tony Oxley / Stefan Holker:
The New World (Discus)
A meeting between two percussive collaborators from legendary UK improviser Tony Oxley and long-time collaborator and member of Oxley's Celebration Orchestra, Stefan Holker, the latter on acoustic percussion while Oxley performs in his inimitable style of close miking and effecting percussive objects, as the pair perform six Oxley compositions of tightly ringing, energetic activity. ... Click to View
Armonicord (Querlier / Minor / Houari / Traindl):
Libres (Festival de Massy 26 Octobre 1975) (Fou Records)
Four free players from the assertive history of French free jazz--Jean Querlier on alto saxophone & soprano oboe, Jouk Minor on baritone & sopranino saxophones, Rachid Houari (the original drummer for Gong) on drums and Joseph Traindl on trombone--are heard in this exceptional and determined set performing two compositions by Jouk Minor at the 1st Massy Independent Festival in 1975. ... Click to View
Thanos Chrysakis / Chris Cundy / Peer Schlechta / Ove Volquartz:
Archangel (Aural Terrains)
The follow-up to Music for Two Organs and Two Bass Clarinets, combining the collective work of clarinetists Chris Cundy, (bass clarinets, soprano ocarina) & Ove Volquartz (bass clarinets), Thanos Chrysakis (chamber organ & voice) and Peer Schlechta (pipe organ), recorded in the natural resonance of the Neustadter Kirche church in Hofgeismar, Germany. ... Click to View
Catherine Lamb / Kristofer Svensson:
Translucent Harmonies - two duos for violin and viola, performed by andPlay (Another Timbre)
The New York-based andPlay duo of violinist Maya Bennardo and violist Hannah Levinson perform two extended works commissioned for their performance series, Translucent Harmonies: first an acoustic rendering of Catherine Lamb's "Prisma Interius VIII (Melodic Duo)"; then Kristofer Svensson's work of contrasts, surprises, modulations, and transformations. ... Click to View
The Squid's Ear
