Roscoe Mitchell / Michele Rabbia:
In 2 (RogueArt)

The duo of Roscoe Mitchell on bass and sopranino saxophones with percussion, and Michele Rabbia on percussion and electronics, engage in a meticulous and expressive dialogue where the smallest breath or strike is amplified into vivid detail, redefining improvisation as an inclusive and responsive art of conversation that balances order, disorder, and creative transformation. ... Click to View

Matthew Shipp:
The Cosmic Piano (Cantaloupe)

In a fully improvised solo recording, pianist Matthew Shipp channels a lifetime of discipline and influence into an expansive and deeply personal work whose shifting architectures, sly dissonances, and luminous pacing unfold with the gravity of composed modern classical music while retaining the spontaneous intensity of free jazz, reframing his sound in a broader, genre-fluid context. ... Click to View

Donny McCaslin:
Lullaby For The Lost (Editions)

With longtime collaborators Jason Lindner, Ben Monder, Tim Lefebvre, Zach Danziger, Nate Wood, Ryan Dahle, and Jonathan Maron, visionary saxophonist Donny McCaslin channels the raw intensity of improvised jams into a cinematic, high-energy sound world, blending jazz with rock, electronica, and soulful urgency, a fierce and timeless statement. ... Click to View

Jason Hwang Kao:
Myths of Origin (True Sound Recordings)

Recorded live at the 2022 Vision Festival in Brooklyn, Jason Kao Hwang conducts a remarkable ensemble of strings, guitars, bass, and percussion in a work that blends notated passages with conduction-driven improvisation, forging a powerful and fluid language that transcends cultural and stylistic boundaries while illuminating collective individuality and truth. ... Click to View

Ingebrigt Haker Flaten (Exit) Knarr:
Drops (Sonic Transmissions Records)

For their third studio release, bassist and composer Ingebrigt Håker-Flaten leads his (Exit) Knarr septet through graphic scores that blend visual art, mythology, electronics, and free jazz into a vivid collective process, the ensemble — now including Amalie Dahl and Marta Warelis — shaping long and short forms alike into explosive, texturally rich works of improvisational energy and imagination. ... Click to View

Ingebrigt Haker Flaten (Exit) Knarr:
Drops [VINYL] (Sonic Transmissions Records)

For their third studio release, bassist and composer Ingebrigt Håker-Flaten leads his (Exit) Knarr septet through graphic scores that blend visual art, mythology, electronics, and free jazz into a vivid collective process, the ensemble — now including Amalie Dahl and Marta Warelis — shaping long and short forms alike into explosive, texturally rich works of improvisational energy and imagination. ... Click to View

Eva Novoa:
Novoa / Gress / Gray Trio Vol. 2 (577 Records)

New York pianist Eva Novoa joins bassist Drew Gress and drummer Devin Gray for their second trio release on 577 Records, weaving melodic themes with swing and groove as Novoa expands the palette with Chinese gongs and whistling, Gress layers in modular synth textures, and the ensemble explores freedom, interplay, and evocative electronic landscapes. ... Click to View

Senso di Voce:
Through Itself (Sonic Transmissions Records)

The duo Senso di Voce, with Esin Gunduz on voice and Paul J. Ferington on oboe, create an immersive chamber work of voice, oboe, and electronics whose movements balance the ancient and the contemporary, weaving resonances, silence, and philosophical imagery into a meditative and exploratory sound world that rewards repeated listening with new layers of detail and emotional depth. ... Click to View

Perturbations:
Intractable Problems (Evil Clown)

"Perturbations is the newest Evil Clown Ensemble. The core unit is PEK and Joel Simches... Joel is the Evil Clown house engineer who comes to nearly all the recording sessions at Evil Clown Headquarters. Some of the bands (for example, Metal Chaos Ensemble and Simulacrum) feature Joel's real time signal processing in addition to his role as the recording engineer. Now that the Studio has been updated with new equipment (board and effects) Joel's Perturbation options have increased and improved.

To help feature Joel's electronic manipulations, we keep the instrumental unit to no more than 3 players. This set, Intractable Problems, is the ninth Perturbation Set, and the third to feature three of our strongest horn players, me (reeds), Michael Caglianone (reeds), and John Fugarino (brass), while the other 6 Perturbation sets have all had different lineups drawn from the Evil Clown Roster. All three of us also double the percussion, electronics, electro-acoustic and other instruments from the studio. The broad palate concept works best when all the players change instruments frequently through the performance, creating a steady flow of transformations across sonorities over the duration.

The combination of strong deeply connected improvisors with deep broad palette doubling and Joel's perturbations resulted in an extraordinary improvisation. There is a bit more space than usual, and a lot of very interesting sounds from the auxiliary instruments. With Joel at the controls of the signal processing, we essentially have real-time decision making as a performance unit, and we get the full-time attention of a master engineer on the electronic Perturbations of the instrumental expressions. I really like this combination of live playing with over-the top signal processing. Now having addressed this particular aesthetic problem 9 times, I can see that this will be an ongoing Evil Clown project with at least several LIVESTREAM's per year."-David Peck, from the liner notes

Leap Of Faith Orchestra:
Sentence Types And Tokens (Evil Clown)

Expanding to a nine-piece ensemble, Leap of Faith Orchestra with PEK and Glynis Lomon joined by John Fugarino, Eric Dahlman, Michael Caglianone, Tor Snyder, Albey onBass, Dennis Warren, and Joel Simches, transforms through broad palette improvisations where horns, strings, guitar, bass, percussion, electronics, and real-time processing converge into a richly layered orchestral improvisation. ... Click to View

Leap Of Faith:
Problems Of Time And Causality (Evil Clown)

With PEK and Glynis Lomon joined by John Fugarino, Eric Dahlman, Michael Caglianone, Tor Snyder, Albey onBass, Scott Samenfeld, Cliff White, and Joel Simches, Leap of Faith expands into a richly textured septet where strings and horns form the core dynamic, augmented by percussion, electronics, and processing in an improvisation that evolves through a vast range of sonorities. ... Click to View

Henry Threadgill:
Listen Ship (Pi Recordings)

Composer Henry Threadgill conducts a suite for six acoustic guitars and two pianos, bringing together Bill Frisell, Miles Okazaki, Brandon Ross, Gregg Belisle-Chi, Jerome Harris, Stomu Takeishi, Maya Keren, and Rahul Carlberg in an intricately orchestrated work whose intervallic syntax and meticulous counterpoint entwine with unexpected timbres to reveal his singular and sublime vision. ... Click to View

Fieldwork (Iyer / Lehman / Sorey):
Thereupon (Pi Recordings)

Seventeen years after their last recording, the New York trio of Steve Lehman (alto saxophone), Vijay Iyer (piano, Rhodes), and Tyshawn Sorey (drums) reunite with dense, high-impact compositions and fearless interplay, blending complexity with groove as they reaffirm their status as one of the most vital ensembles in contemporary improvised music. ... Click to View

Dan Weiss (w/ Evans / Okazaki / Brennan):
Unclassified Affections (Pi Recordings)

Drummer and composer Dan Weiss brings together Peter Evans (trumpet), Patricia Brennan (vibraphone), and Miles Okazaki (guitar) in a set of compositions written for their distinct voices, shifting from meditative calm to intense peaks, weaving intricate contrapuntal textures and improvisations into a mysterious and transcendent collective sound. ... Click to View

Eva Novoa Trio (w/ Daniel Carter / Francisco Mela):
The Freedom Suite, Vol. 2 (577 Records)

Brooklyn pianist Eva Novoa joins saxophonist Daniel Carter and drummer Francisco Mela for the second volume of The Freedom Suite, a set of twelve pieces blending piano, Rhodes, harpsichord, gongs, and vocals with Carter's multi-reed brilliance and Mela's Cuban-inflected drumming, creating an urgent, intimate, and fluidly improvised dialogue of words, sound, and fearless imagination. ... Click to View

Believe (Farrar / Manojlovic / Thomas / Pike):
Spirits Of The Dead Are Watching (Relative Pitch)

The debut of Sydney-based quartet Believe-Peter Farrar (alto saxophone), Novak Manojlovic (piano), Clayton Thomas (double bass), and Laurence Pike (drums)-unleashes three expansive improvisations of visceral energy and nuanced intimacy, blending extended techniques, shifting textures, and percussive interplay into a powerful free jazz statement that feels as natural as wind and waves. ... Click to View

Ada Rave / Marta Warelis:
Peel Mondo (Relative Pitch)

In a live set at Amsterdam's club & workspace Splendor, Argentinian tenor/sopranino explorer Ada Rave and Polish pianist Marta Warelis shape an intimate but volatile dialogue, fusing air, resonance, clusters, and melody into patient arcs that bloom from microscopic detail to surging release, a great example of the city's improvising community at their most attentive and fearless. ... Click to View

The Young Mothers (Haker-Flaten / Rosaly / Taylor / Jackson / Gonzalez / Horne ):
Better If You Let It (Sonic Transmissions Records)

After a six-year hiatus, The Young Mothers return with their third album as Ingebrigt Håker Flaten, Jawwaad Taylor, Jason Jackson, Stefan Gonzalez, Jonathan F. Horne, and Frank Rosaly merge jazz, hip-hop, experimental rock, electronics, and free improvisation into a restless and unpredictable collective statement, balancing cinematic flair with raw immediacy in their most dynamic release to date. ... Click to View

The Young Mothers (Haker-Flaten / Rosaly / Taylor / Jackson / Gonzalez / Horne):
Better If You Let It [VINYL] (Sonic Transmissions Records)

After a six-year hiatus, The Young Mothers return with their third album as Ingebrigt Håker Flaten, Jawwaad Taylor, Jason Jackson, Stefan Gonzalez, Jonathan F. Horne, and Frank Rosaly merge jazz, hip-hop, experimental rock, electronics, and free improvisation into a restless and unpredictable collective statement, balancing cinematic flair with raw immediacy in their most dynamic release to date. ... Click to View

Ingebrigt Haker-Flaten (Exit) Knarr:
Breezy (Sonic Transmissions Records)

Bringing together his Knarr ensemble for a second recording, bassist and composer Ingebrigt Håker Flaten leads Mette Rasmussen, Karl Hjalmar Nyberg, Erik Kimestad Pedersen, Oscar Grönberg, Jonathan F. Horne, Olaf Moses Olsen, Oddrun Lilja Jónsdóttir, and Joakim Rainer Petersen in an exuberant homage to Jaimie Branch, weaving spirited improvisation, textured arrangements, and collective joy into a vibrant and heartfelt statement. ... Click to View

Tomas Fujiwara:
Dream Up (Out Of Your Head Records)

Recorded at Roulette Intermedium in Brooklyn, drummer and composer Tomas Fujiwara introduces his Percussion Quartet with Patricia Brennan on vibraphone, Tim Keiper on African strings and percussion, and Kaoru Watanabe on Japanese drums and flute, blending global traditions into vivid, imaginative works that traverse groove, texture, and color with striking originality and depth. ... Click to View

Webber/Morris Big Band:
Unseparate (Out Of Your Head Records)

Five years after their debut, co-leaders Anna Webber and Angela Morris return with a 19-piece large ensemble recording that showcases their next-level compositional voices, unfolding through the "Just Intonation Etudes for Big Band" suite and a series of richly orchestrated works that balance drones, contrapuntal density, rhythmic blasts, and lyrical themes in an adventurous exploration of sound and structure. ... Click to View

Adam O'Farrill:
For These Streets [VINYL 2 LPs] (Out Of Your Head Records)

Brooklyn trumpeter Adam O'Farrill leads a superb octet — Mary Halvorson (guitar), Patricia Brennan (vibes), Tomas Fujiwara (drums), and others — through dramatically inventive compositions inspired by the literature and arts of the 1930s, balancing angular rhythmic intensity, rich melodic lyricism, and expressive improvisational depth with adventurous sophistication. ... Click to View

Beth Schenck Quintet (w/ Mezzacappa / Wright / Glenn / Wrobel):
Dahlia (Queen Bee Records)

Blending lush harmonies, rhythmic twists, and inspired interplay, alto saxophonist and composer Beth Schenck leads a Bay Area quintet of Cory Wright, Matt Wrobel, Lisa Mezzacappa, and Jordan Glenn in a set of fiercely original compositions that traverse ethereal soundscapes and propulsive forms, reflecting deep musical relationships, artistic nuance, and a richly personal voice. ... Click to View

Michel Doneda / Frederic Blondy:
Points Of Convergences [2 CDs] (Relative Pitch)

Recorded in the extraordinary resonance of Paris's Saint-Merry Church, this double album captures soprano and sopranino saxophonist Michel Doneda in duo with pianist Frédéric Blondy, their improvisations unfolding in deep dialogue with the architecture itself, as tones and textures expand into the vast acoustics, creating immersive, luminous soundscapes of remarkable depth and presence. ... Click to View

Joe Morris / Brad Barrett / Beth Ann Jones:
Abstract Forest (Relative Pitch)

Celebrating guitarist Joe Morris's 70th, this trio with Brad Barrett on cello and Beth Ann Jones on bass unfolds with deliberate restraint and deep listening, Morris layering textures around Barrett's lyrical and percussive bowing while Jones anchors with sculptural, propulsive bass, the group seamlessly shifting between spacious intimacy and taut collective momentum in an immersive improv dialogue. ... Click to View

John Zorn (JACK Quartet w/Yura Lee / Michael Nicolas):
Prolegomena (Tzadik)

Composed in 2020 during the first months of the pandemic and recorded at Oktaven by Ryan Streber, this striking work for strings expands the JACK Quartet with violist Yura Lee and cellist Michael Nicolas, delivering two masterful pieces of dramatic tension, mercurial movement, and virtuosic beauty that stand among Zorn's most compelling contributions to modern chamber music. ... Click to View

Phillip Schulze (w/ Anthony Braxton / Christian Jendreiko / Andrew Raffo Dewar / Detlef Weinrich):
Ambassador Duos [DOUBLE VINYL + CD] (apparent extent)

Spanning a decade of collaborations, this double LP and CD set presents Phillip Schulze's electro-acoustic responsive instrument in dialogue with Anthony Braxton, Christian Jendreiko, Andrew Raffo Dewar, and Detlef Weinrich, each duo exploring transidiomatic communication through improvisations that merge analog and digital realities, resulting in vivid encounters of texture, gesture, and sonic imagination. ... Click to View

Graham Lock:
Forces In Motion - The Music And Thoughts Of Anthony Braxton [BOOK] (Da Capo Press)

Documenting Anthony Braxton's 1985 UK tour with his classic quartet, Forces in Motion combines travel diary, interviews, and essays to present both the warmth of Braxton's personality and the depth of his visionary musical and philosophical project, offering an essential introduction to his art and a profound exploration of sound, creativity, and spirit. ... Click to View

Earscratcher (Harnik / Rempis / Lonberg-Holm / Daisy):
Otoliths (Aerophonic)

The transatlantic quartet of Elisabeth Harnik (piano), Dave Rempis (saxophones), Fred Lonberg-Holm (cello), and Tim Daisy (drums) in their second album, recorded live at the North St. Cabaret in Madison, WI, weaving surges of energy with passages of lyricism, deep timbral exploration, and spacious formal development, balancing ferocity and subtlety in a richly detailed and dynamic collective architecture. ... Click to View