The Squid's Ear
Recently @ Squidco:

Memphis Metaphysics (Moses / Westgaard / Oswald / Edmaiston / Cheli):
Memphis Metaphysics (Sonic Transmissions Records)

The quintet of Ra Kalam Bob Moses (drums), Hein Westgaard (electric guitar), Margaux Oswald (piano), Art Edmaiston (tenor saxophone), and Kevin Cheli (percussion fuse spiritual free jazz with European improvisational energy, drawing on ancient Egyptian concepts of the soul to shape a fiery and resonant sonic ritual, recorded live in Memphis in an atmosphere of raw and uncompromising interplay. ... Click to View


Wrens:
Half Of What You See (Out Of Your Head Records)

... Click to View


Wrens:
Half Of What You See [VINYL] (Out Of Your Head Records)

... Click to View


Christopher Hoffman :
REX (Out Of Your Head Records)

Recorded in the former home of self-taught painter Rex Brasher, Christopher Hoffman performs a deeply introspective solo work for acoustic and electric cello, channeling solitude and creative intensity into resonant textures and evolving melodic forms that echo both the environment and Brasher's singular artistic vision, creating a powerful meditation on place, perception, and personal expression. ... Click to View


Christopher Hoffman :
REX [VINYL] (Out Of Your Head Records)

Recorded in the former home of self-taught painter Rex Brasher, Christopher Hoffman performs a deeply introspective solo work for acoustic and electric cello, channeling solitude and creative intensity into resonant textures and evolving melodic forms that echo both the environment and Brasher's singular artistic vision, creating a powerful meditation on place, perception, and personal expression. ... Click to View


Rainer Jancis / Elliott Sharp:
Uhhuu (zOaR Records)

Elliott Sharp and Rainer Jancis fuse dense guitar textures, electronics, and driving rhythms into a raw and psychedelic blend of polymetric grooves and alchemical sound transformations with experimental intensity, joined by drummer Rob Heth and accordionist Tuulikki Bartosik to create stormy and highly expressive sonic landscapes. ... Click to View


Max Ridley / Eleanor Elektra / Nat Mugavero:
Playing, Praying (577 Records)

The trio of Max Ridley (double bass, voice), Eleanor Elektra (guitar, voice), and Nat Mugavero (drums, voice) create an intimate and spiritually charged improvisation that weaves deep listening, expressive interplay, and moments of resonant silence into a continuous musical communion, recorded live in Cambridge as a heartfelt exploration of sound, stillness, and collective devotion. ... Click to View


+D:A+:
III (Love Earth Music)

Dan Greenwood and Steve Davis fuse noise-driven textures and unpredictable sonic collisions into an uncompromising experimental work on III, channeling their rooted DIY and extreme aesthetics into fractured soundworlds that confront, unsettle, and expand the boundaries of underground audio exploration. ... Click to View


Morton Feldman / GBSR Duo w/ Taylor MacLennan:
Trios [6 CD BOX SET] (Another Timbre)

Spanning Morton Feldman's three expansive trios for flute, piano, and percussion, these performances by the GBSR Duo with Taylor MacLennan immerse the listener in an extended temporal field where quiet intensity, precise timbral balance, and fragile rhythmic relationships unfold with hypnotic patience, transforming duration itself into an expressive element of listening, presence, and sustained attention. ... Click to View


Angharad Davies / Burkhard Beins :
Meshes Of The Evening [VINYL] (NI-VU-NI-CONNU)

In this duo setting, violinist Angharad Davies and percussionist Burkhard Beins achieve an extraordinary level of focus and trust, unfolding detailed free improvisations through intersecting and consonant playing that moves through episodic, suite-like forms, where texture, space, and timbral transformation dissolve individual roles into a single, continuously evolving musical presence. ... Click to View


Nicholas Bussmann / Sven-Ake Johansson / Yan Jun:
Tea Time [Vinyl] (NI-VU-NI-CONNU)

Bringing together robot-controlled piano, percussion, and voice, Nicholas Bussmann, Sven-Åke Johansson, and Yan Jun construct a dreamlike improvisation that balances playful artifice and genuine interaction, where fragmented rhythms, unconventional vocal techniques, and mechanized piano gestures blur distinctions between jazz, ritual, and abstraction. ... Click to View


Daniel Levin / Laurent Estoppey:
Freedom From The Known [VINYL] (ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)

In this duo setting, Daniel Levin and Laurent Estoppey engage in a deeply exploratory dialogue for cello and saxophone that blurs the line between intention and execution, unfolding mercurial, soaring improvisations that push the expressive limits of their instruments while inviting attentive listening without the need for explanation or resolution. ... Click to View


Jessica Williams :
Blue Abstraction: Prepared Piano Project 1985-1987 [VINYL] (Pre-Echo Press)

Drawing from a period of intense experimentation in the mid-1980s, Jessica Williams transforms a prepared piano into a newly imagined and startlingly creative instrument, shaping music that moves from Satie-like lyricism to controlled cacophony through altered strings, tactile resonance, and deeply expressive melodic voicing-forward-thinking and intimate work unheard for nearly four decades. ... 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


Steve Lehman Trio + Mark Turner:
The Music of Anthony Braxton (Pi Recordings)

Alto saxophonist Steve Lehman leads his trio with bassist Matt Brewer and drummer Damion Reid, joined by tenor saxophonist Mark Turner, in a vibrant live homage to Anthony Braxton's small ensemble works, blending intricate modern jazz interplay with searing emotional expression in a bold, high-energy celebration of Braxton's enduring influence. ... Click to View


Kris Davis and the Lutoslawski Quartet:
Solastalgia Suite (Pyroclastic Records)

Composed by Kris Davis for piano and string quartet and recorded in 2024 with the Lutosławski Quartet, this eight-movement suite channels the concept of solastalgia — homesickness amid environmental loss — through a deeply expressive dialogue between piano and strings, unfolding music that is elegiac, urgent, and resolute as it navigates climate-driven grief, instability, and a fragile sense of hope. ... Click to View


Kai Fagaschinski :
Aerodynamics [VINYL 2 LPs] (NI-VU-NI-CONNU)

Two expansive clarinet-centered works explore psychoacoustic perception and collective illusion, the first album a swarm-like octet performance by The Paranormal Clarinet Society built from simple instrumental language with a rigorously structured multi-track, the second a solo improvisation that imagines ensemble interplay through breath, density, spatial awareness, and finely calibrated sonic detail. ... Click to View


Liz Allbee:
Breath Vessels [VINYL] (NI-VU-NI-CONNU)

Using self-built breath vessels alongside tuning forks, sine waves, and voice, Liz Allbee creates a form of speculative folk music shaped by respiratory rhythms, resonant drones, and tactile gestures, unfolding a quietly epic, intimate, and immersive soundworld that imagines future collectivity through shared breath, material resonance, and electro-acoustic communion. ... Click to View


Ernesto Rodrigues / Guilherme Rodrigues / Jung-Jae Kim / Andreas Willers:
Points of Dichotomy (Creative Sources)

This quartet of viola and crackle box, cello, tenor saxophone, and acoustic guitar/voice captured live in Berlin at Richten25 unfolds a finely balanced improvisation shaped by contrast and restraint, as acoustic textures and electronic disruptions interact through tension, fragmentation, and close collective listening within a continually shifting sonic landscape. ... Click to View


Ernesto Rodrigues / Claudia Risch / Grgur Savic / Guilherme Rodrigues:
Past Dreams In Rust (Creative Sources)

Recorded in Berlin in 2022, this quartet of violin, flute/bass clarinet, alto saxophone, percussion, and cello unfolds a restrained improvisation focused on fragile textures, breath-driven tones, and microtonal tension, as shifting timbres and sparse gestures accumulate into a patient, weathered soundscape shaped by decay, resonance, and collective listening. ... Click to View


Die 3 Diven:
RCHTN MTNCHTN (Creative Sources)

Recorded live in Berlin and later in Hannover, this trio of acoustic and electric guitars, objects, electronics, and voice embraces playful disruption and material intervention, blending sounddrawings, tactile gestures, and noisy fragments into a volatile form of free improvisation that balances humour, abrasion, and performative tension within a constantly shifting ensemble space. ... Click to View


+Felladog+:
II (Love Earth Music)

The second collaboration between Steve Davis and Jim Fellahean Szudy, recorded in 2025 and unfolding across fifteen carefully shaped tracks that move fluidly between droning loops, harsh noise, hypnotic textures, and death-ambient atmospheres, with each piece functioning as a self-contained narrative while contributing to a cohesive, emotionally charged whole of sustained intensity. ... Click to View


Meketa Power Electronics:
Suffering (Love Earth Music)

Steven Meketa, aka Meketa Power Electronics, in a solo work of sermons and electronics channels where Meketa's power electronics evoke a raw, faith-driven expression of endurance and confrontation, using grinding textures, spoken testimony, and sustained intensity to transform personal suffering into a stark and uncompromising sonic statement. ... Click to View


Ernesto Rodrigues / Guilherme Rodrigues:
Pico (Creative Sources)

Portuguese improvisers Ernesto Rodrigues and son Guilherme Rodrigues juxtapose a live Berlin performance with field recordings from Pico Island in a quietly probing duo set where viola, cello, crackle box, and environmental sound blend in austere, texture-driven improvisations that move between subtle acoustic detail and atmospheric ambiguity. ... Click to View


Ernesto Rodrigues / Erhard Hirt / Guilherme Rodrigues:
Munster (Creative Sources)

Recorded live at BLACK BOX in Münster, the trio of Ernesto Rodrigues (viola, crackle box), Erhard Hirt (electric guitar, electronics), and Guilherme Rodrigues (cello, objects) unfolds a focused, textural improvisation where tactile electronics, bowed strings, and percussive gestures move from fragile passages toward denser mechanical motion, shaping a richly detailed sonic environment with subtly shifting momentum. ... Click to View


Ernesto Rodrigues / Ines Ferreira / Carlos Santos / Monsieur Trinite:
Cimetiere des Bateaux (Creative Sources)

Recorded live at Lisbon's Cossoul during the Creative Sources Improvised Music Series, Ernesto Rodrigues (viola, crackle box, objects), Inês Ferreira (violin, whistle), Carlos Santos (modular synth), and Monsieur Trinité (percussion) shape a single, textural improvisation where austere string detail, small percussion, and unstable electronics drift from near-silence into sharper, eccentric turns. ... Click to View


Aly Berry:
Hope This Reaches You in Time? (FMR)

Recorded with a handpicked ensemble of well-known jazz musicians, vocalist and lyricist Aly Berry presents a debut that draws on classic jazz phrasing with a contemporary, observational touch, her storytelling framed by performances from Dave Green, Scott Hamilton, Andy Watson, Natalie Rozario, and Neil Bullock in a polished, traditionally rooted jazz setting. ... Click to View


Orlov-Davydovsky, Georgy:
Borderline Psychosonic Environments (Love Earth Music)

Working alone with electronics, radios, field recordings, homemade instruments, and voice, Georgy Orlov-Davydovsky constructs immersive electro-acoustic pieces shaped by specific physical environments, layering noise, drone, and fragile gestures into meditative sound narratives that explore borderline psychosonic listening states through dense textures and unstable sonic detail. ... Click to View


+DOG+ / Bastard Noise:
Our Mothers Unstoppable Revenge (Love Earth Music)

Recorded, mixed, and edited at Speed Semen Clove Factory in late 2024, Steve Davis (+DOG+) and Eric Wood (Bastard Noise) deliver two extended pieces of harsh electronics and processed sound, driven by abrasive vocals and bleak, mantra-like text, as dense noise pressure and corrosive timbral detail evolve over long durations into a sustained, confrontational sonic mass. ... Click to View


Evan Parker / Andrea Centazzo:
Bullfighting On Ice! Live In Padova 1977 [VINYL] (Ictus Remastered Collection)

Restored from the December 12, 1977 Padova concert, Evan Parker's soprano/tenor torrents collide with Andrea Centazzo's percussion and electronics, turning audience heckles into rocket fuel as long, scorching sequences leap from whispering key-click detail to volcanic blasts, capturing a decisive moment when Italy's free scene opened wide to Northern Europe's most inventive sax voice. ... Click to View



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The Squid's Ear

When The Squid's Ear first started it was with the idea of creating a magazine website that emulated the print medium. Hence we created structured covers for each "issue," which were purportedly delivered quarterly. Below are the 6 issues from our first 2 years.

The Squid's Ear 1st Or So
Anniversary Issue


Squid's Ear 1st Anniversary
Illustration: Madeleine Fix


FEATURES

    EEwAP+JB(10)
        Ellery Eskelin's Trio with Andrea Parkins and Jim Black
        Mark 10 Years Together

        By Kurt Gottschalk

    The Best Kept Secret in the East
        Tom Rainey Sits Behind the Kit for Tim Berne,
        Mark Helias and Tony Malaby. Surely You've Noticed

        By Matt Rand
         An Earful of Rainey
        By Steve Smith



FESTIVAL REVIEW

    Flying through Vancouver
        The 16th Annual Time Flies Festival
        By Paul Serralheiros



BOOK REVIEWS

    Helen Stapinski - Baby Plays Around (Villard)
        By Kristen Persinos

    Steve Dollar - Jazz Guide to New York City
    (The Little Bookroom)
        By Kurt Gottschalk


10 Pauline Oliveros Okk Yung Lee Steppenwolf XXXXX
The Best of
Last Year
Pauline Oliveros
on the Accordion
Okkyung Lee
Travelogue
Our Own
Bottom Shelf
Editorials










Previously Featured at The Squid's Ear

December 2003

Squid Sax SAXOPHONE TRIO

    Singing at the Threshold
        Kali Fasteau's Lifetime of
        Listening and Playing

        By James Keepnews

    Berlitz Jazz
        David Murray's Musical Travels
        By Kurt Gottschalk

    John Butcher
        Improvising from a
        Sound Perspective

        By Marc Chénard




    Outside the Chicken Shack
            Lars Hollmer Brings Sammla Mammas Manna to the U.S.
        By William Burke

    Festival Reviews

        Fiasco in Chicago
            The 2003 Jazz Festival, and the Story that Needn't Be Told
            By Kurt Gottschalk

        Guelph's Caring Adventure
            The Little Engine in Ontario
            By Mike Chamberlain

    Book Review

        John Fahey's Vampire Vultures
            By Kurt Gottschalk


Johnny Cash RIAA Marc Ribot Italian Flag Cabaret Laws
Ameri-chord: Johnny Cash Remembered The Upside of Dowloading Marc Ribot's Musical Activism Jim Pugliese's Travelogue Cheek to Cheek Misdemeanors






Previously Featured at The Squid's Ear

October 2003




Overview:

    Mike Hammer, Les Baxter and the Jewish People
    The Many Tribes of John Zorn
    By Skip Heller

    Charming the Cobra
    A first-hand account of organizing a performance of John Zorn's most famous game piece
    By Eyal Hareuveni



Interview:

    12 Stories About John Zorn and One About A Fan
    Claudia Heuermann's Documentary Shows Musician and Filmmaker in Action
    By Kurt Gottschalk

    Op Ed: The Zorn Non-Inteview
    Ah, John, We Hardly Knew Ye




In Review:

    A Month of Zorndays
    John Zorn's 50th Birthday Celebration at Tonic
    Updated througout the month!



Critics Picks: John Zorn on Record





July 2003



Susie Ibarra

Susie's Aria
Drummer Susie Ibarra Premieres her first Opera
By Steve Smith

Great Minds at Play
Finding Art in Science, Monthly at Cornelia Street Cafe
By Matt Rand

Goth Pop, The Ocean and Radio Shack
The Unique Sensibilities of Marianne Nowottny
By Florence Wetzel

Stop and Smell the Sewers
Psychogeographers Strive to Slow the Nonstop City
By Kurt Gottschalk and Urania Mylonas

Free Music Missionary or Professional Juggler
Evan Parker Discusses Four Decades in Free Improvisation
By Marc Chenard

Festival Reviews:

    Big Sounds in a Small Town
    The Victoriaville Festival celebrates, or at least notices, its 20th anniversary
    By Kurt Gottschalk

    Visions from the Past
    The 2003 Vision Festival Resurrects Legends from the '60s
    By Kurt Gottschalk
        Sound and Vision 2002
        Thirsty Ear's Vision Festival CD/DVD Reviewed


Op-Ed:

    Irving Stone Remembered,
    The Jazz Journalists Awards Noted,
    The Knitting Factory Lamented


 
Butch Morris
Butch Morris Interviewed Derek Bailey on the Guitar Perry Robinson on the Clarinet Anthony Coleman's Bottom Shelf


April 2003



Fred Frith

Destruction and Creativity
Fred Frith in Montreal
By Mike Chamberlain
    An Earful of Fred
    By Len 37 Siegfried

When They Write the Book
Pianist Lewis Porter's Creates an Encyclopedia of Jazz
By Matt Rand

Festival Reviews:

    Sound in the Balance
    Amplify 2003: Elemental
    By Nirav Soni
        An Electroacoustic Ear
        By Nirav Soni

    Swiss Harmony Knife
    Notes from After Yodel: New Swiss Music
    By Kurt Gottschalk




January 2003





Peter Kowald and the New York Unity Village
By Mike Heffley

Separatism and Sound in French Quebec
By Mike Chamberlain

Freedom of Suppression
By Urania Mylonas

The Manhattan Listening Tour
By Nirav Soni

With the Infidel
By Jon Rose

In the Air There's a Feeling of Boombox
By Kurt Gottschalk

Peter Kowald


The Squid's Ear presents
reviews about releases
sold at Squidco.com
written by
independent writers.

Squidco

Recent Selections @ Squidco:


Marty Ehrlich/
Julius Hemphill:
Circle the Heart
[CD + DOWNLOAD]
(Relative Pitch)



John Butcher:
Away, I Was
[CD + DOWNLOAD]
(Relative Pitch)



Joel Futterman:
Absorb
[DIGITAL RELEASE]
(Squid Note Records)



Joel Futterman:
Reflective
[DIGITAL RELEASE]
(Squid Note Records)



Rainer Jancis/
Elliott Sharp:
Uhhuu
(zOaR Records)



Memphis Metaphysics (
Moses/
Westgaard/
Oswald/
Edmaiston/
Cheli):
Memphis Metaphysics
(Sonic Transmissions Records)



Steve Lehman Trio +
Mark Turner:
The Music of
Anthony Braxton
(Pi Recordings)



John Cage:
Chamber Works 1943-1951
(Another Timbre)



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



Angharad Davies/
Burkhard Beins:
Meshes Of The Evening
[VINYL]
(NI-VU-NI-CONNU)



Morton Feldman/
GBSR Duo w/ Taylor MacLennan:
Trios
[6 CD BOX SET]
(Another Timbre)



Jessica Williams:
Blue Abstraction:
Prepared Piano Project
1985-1987
[VINYL]
(Pre-Echo Press)



Daniel Levin/
Laurent Estoppey:
Freedom From The Known
[VINYL]
(ezz-thetics by
Hat Hut Records
Ltd)



Kai Fagaschinski:
Aerodynamics
[VINYL 2 LPs]
(NI-VU-NI-CONNU)



Liz Allbee:
Breath Vessels
[VINYL]
(NI-VU-NI-CONNU)



Kris Davis and
The Lutoslawski Quartet:
Solastalgia Suite
(Pyroclastic Records)



Ernesto Rodrigues/
Guilherme Rodrigues:
Pico
(Creative Sources)



Ernesto Rodrigues/
Ines Ferreira/
Carlos Santos/
Monsieur Trinite:
Cimetiere des Bateaux
(Creative Sources)



Evan Parker/
Andrea Centazzo:
Bullfighting On Ice!
Live In Padova
1977
[VINYL]
(Ictus Remastered Collection)



Alvin Curran/
Andrea Centazzo/
Evan Parker:
Real Time
[VINYL]
(Ictus Remastered Collection)







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