Ingrid Laubrock / Sylvie Courvoisier / Mark Feldman / Tom Rainey : Tism (RogueArt)

The first recording from these four exceptional improvisers--Ingrid Laubrock on tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, Sylvie Courvoisier on piano, Mark Feldman on violin, Tom Rainey on drums--a session of collective improvisation fueled by each other's familiarity through shared projects over many years, yielding these remarkably cohesive and articulate recordings. ... Click to View

Rob Brown Quartet (w/ Steve Swell / Chris Lightcap / Chad Taylor): From Here To Hear (RogueArt)

A strong session from formidable alto saxophonist Rob Brown, presenting six compositions performed with the extraordinary grouping of trombonist Steve Swell, double bassist Chris Lightcap, and drummer Chad Taylor, all beautifully recorded in the studio, showing the incisive soloing of each player as they keep the listeners swinging on the edges of their seats. ... Click to View

Dave Douglas feat. Uri Caine / Andrew Cyrille: Devotion (Greenleaf Music)

Devoted to the people who helped make these pieces come about, including Franco D'Andrea, Carla Bley, Mary Lou Williams, and Dizzy Gillespie, from the NY trio of Dave Douglas on trumpet and long-time collaborator, pianist Uri Caine, joined by master drummer and percussionist Andrew Cyrille for 10 sophisticated and joyful works in modern creative jazz. ... Click to View

John Zorn: Pellucidar - A Dreamers Fantabula [VINYL] (Tzadik)

Virgin vinyl gatefold remastered issue of Zorn's 2015 Dreamers album with Cyro Baptista on percussion, Joey Baron on drums, Trevor Dunn on bass, Marc Ribot on guitars, Jamie Saft on keyboards, and Kenny Wollesen on vibes, a lyrical album of tuneful compositions and superb soloing, with beguiling compositions inspired by the imaginary worlds of fantasy literature. ... Click to View

Banks / Canha / Taylor / Ison: Luminos (FMR)

Exploring the intersection between freely improvised music and free-jazz, the UK collective quartet of Jose Canha on double bass, Trevor Taylor on drums, percussion, Dan Banks on piano, and Josh Ison on saxophone draw out energetic and subtle moments in their bright interaction, always radiating energetic and focused momentum through a full range of character. ... Click to View

Glascow Improvisors Orchestra / Maggie Nichols: Energy Being (FMR)

The GIO presents a magnificent work of music, text and concept by Maggie Nicols, based on the poem of Scottish bassist Lindsay L. Cooper, "A Madman's Approach to Music", with vocals from Tam Dean Burn, Cliona Cassidy and Maggie Nicols herself, a remarkably fun, somewhat twisted, and thoroughly insightful album capturing Lindsay's create contradictions. ... Click to View

Antoine Beuger and colectivo maDam: .. Of Being Numerous (Edition Wandelweiser Records)

Antoine Beuger's piece merges compositional and improvised approaches, drawing on the text "the memories of RN", as he performs on flute, voice and objects with the electroacoustic improvising ensemble Colectivo maDam, merging long instrumental phrases with words, syllables or letters, using space and detachment to create numerous possibilities to resonate. ... Click to View

Andre Moller O. : A Labour Of Love (Edition Wandelweiser Records)

Two works from German composer Andre O. Moller: 9 Dances for Natalie Bohrer, a visual artist and painter, in a work deriving pitches and durations from a transformation of numbers, using Christoph Schiller's album "spinet" as sources; and "ungerarde" exploring pitch relations from a recording of radio static with durations in a proportional canon structure. ... Click to View

Munchen Neus (Schindler, Udo / Gunnar Geisse / Anton Kaun): Gau (FMR)

A set of unusual and wonderfully unpredictable electroacoustic improvisations recorded live at the Akustronik#18 concert at Projektraum Streitfeld (Munich) in 2017 from the trio of Udo Schindler performing on reeds, brass & analogue synthesizer; Gunnar Geisse performing on laptopguitar & virtual instruments; and Anton Kaun performing on electronics, zeug & effects. ... Click to View

Munchen Neus (Schindler, Udo / Gunnar Geisse / Anton Kaun): superGau (FMR)

A single extended improvisation from the trio of Udo Schindler on reeds, brass & analogue synthesizer, Gunnar Geisse on laptopguitar & virtual instruments, and Anton Kaun on electronics, zeug & effects recorded live at Das Lihotzky/wagnis ART, in Munchen, Germany in 2017, a journey of odd intent, brilliant technique, eccentric attitude, and unorthodox dialog. ... Click to View

Fred Frith : Woodwork / Live At Ateliers Claus (Klanggalerie )

Fred Frith's solo performances are amongst some of his most fascinating, and this live album at Ateliers Claus in Brussels, 2018 does not disappoint, Frith using every inch of his guitar and an arsenal of objects, in tandem with his masterful creative intent, to present an extended and fascinating journey in sound, remarkable in its breadth and bold inventive power. ... Click to View

Jan Maksimowicz / Dmitrij Golovanov: Thousand Seconds Of Our Life [VINYL] (NoBusiness)

A sophisticated duo meeting at InTegra House in Trakai, Lithuania between two central figures of Lithuanian creative jazz--saxophonist Jan Maksimowicz and pianist Dmitrij Golovanov--in a spontaneous set of dialogs plus a rendering of Kenny Kirkland's "Dienda", as the two employ magnificent technique and strong lyrical tendencies across twelve succinct improvisations. ... Click to View

Gerrit Hatcher: Burnt Pan Rolling Boil (Kettle Hole Records)

Chicago saxophonist Gerrit Hatcher sees his solo saxophone performances as a format that can be both charismatic and alienating in to the listener, as he uses extreme technique and powerful streams of emotional playing in a set of improvisations: "Salt Dome" parts 1-3, and "Cooking Fuel", each wrought with frailty and bluster; impressive work. ... Click to View

Tim Olive / Martin Tetreault: Faune (845 Audio)

Fellow Canadians, Montreal's Ambiances Magnetiques collective member, turntablist and electronics artist Martin Tetrault meets Japan-based electronic explorer Tim Olive performing on magnetic pickups, in their first album despite having performed sporadically across three decades: 4 rich improvisations minimally edited, shaping sound in compelling ways. ... Click to View

Doreen Girard / Tim Olive: Boro (845 Audio)

Recording in Saskatoon in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan the day before their performance at the Sounds Like Festival, audio explorer Tim Olive brings his magnetic pickups in a first meeting with Doreen Girard performing on a prepared tsymbaly, a Ukranian hammer dulcimer, for a single, unusually evolving, and wonderfully rich improvisation. ... Click to View

Leif Elggren : Motor For An Unknown Vehicle (Opening Of The Grave) [VINYL] (Fragment Factory)

Swedish conceptual artist Leif Elggren developed this second album in his trilogy using "The Motor", a soundwork that he's built over many years from basic fragments of sound used in installations and performances, aggregated here in an expanded form as a continuous drone, harsh on the surface but complex in its layers and sonic collisions. ... Click to View

Detail (Frode Gjerstad / Johnny Mbizo Dyani / John Stevens): Day Two (NoBusiness)

The history of the early Detail trio of Frode Gjerstad on tenor & soprano saxophones, Johnny Mbizo Dyani on double bass, and John Stevens on drums continues to be unearthed with this studio session at Staccato Studios, in Stavanger, Norway in 1982, in two extended improvisations demonstrating the impressive skill and direction the band possessed. ... Click to View

The Attic (Rodrigo Amado / Goncalo Almeida / Onno Govaert): Summer Bummer (NoBusiness)

Following up their 2017 album live at SMUP in Lisboa, the Attic trio of Rodrigo Amado on tenor saxophone, Goncalo Almeida on double bass, and Onno Govaert on drums are heard in this concert at the 2018 Summer Bummer Festival in Antwerp, Belgium, in a solid set of confidently exploratory improvisation and engrossing group dialog balancing pensive reflection and fire. ... Click to View

Whit Dickey / Kirk Knuffke: Drone Dream [VINYL] (NoBusiness)

Two implicitly lyrical players -- trumpeter Kirk Knuffke and drummer Whit Dickey -- in their second album together of well-paced, thoughtful dialog, an intimate set of recordings that show the adept skills of both as they promote their inherent melodic intentions on their instruments, neither overpowering, but conversing in a warm and rewarding give and take. ... Click to View

Kang Hwan Tae / Midori Takada: An Eternal Moment (NoBusiness)

A concert in 1995 at Cafe Amores, in Hofu, Yamaguchi of the duo of Japanese percussionist Midori Takada and alto saxophone Kang Tae Hwan, both using exceptional and unusual approaches to their music, applying their backgrounds in free jazz, theater and studies in traditional African and Asian percussion to create a unique hybrid, from hypnotic to frenetic; fascinating. ... Click to View

Kang Hwan Tae / Midori Takada: An Eternal Moment [VINYL] (NoBusiness)

A concert in 1995 at Cafe Amores, in Hofu, Yamaguchi of the duo of Japanese percussionist Midori Takada and alto saxophone Kang Tae Hwan, both using exceptional and unusual approaches to their music, applying their backgrounds in free jazz, theater and studies in traditional African and Asian percussion to create a unique hybrid, from hypnotic to frenetic; fascinating. ... Click to View

Albert Beger Quartet: The Gate [VINYL] (NoBusiness)

Israeli saxophonist Albert Beger's Quartet with Milton Michaeli on piano, Shay Hazan on bass, and Ofer Bymel on drums, the leader also on Shakuhachi, in a studio set of Beger compositions, drawing on his work with William Parker and Hamid Drake in six recordings that balance structure and freedom in soloing, a fine album of modern creative jazz. ... Click to View

Dunmall / Gibbs / Taylor / John Long: Landscapes (FMR)

The counterpart to the Dunmall session "Seascapes" recorded at the same Victoria Rooms at the University of Bristol's music department, this quartet sees Dunmall on soprano sax and flute joined by three string players--Benedict Taylor on viola, Ashley John Long on bass, and guitarist Phil Gibbs--for six detailed collective improvisations leaning toward chamber jazz. ... Click to View

Electro-Phonic Art Trio (Casserley / Wachsmann / Taylor): Through The Rings Of Saturn (FMR)

Lawrence Casserley on percussion & processing, Philipp Wachsmann on violin, and Trevor Taylor on percussion & electronics, use the rings of Saturn as their guide in 2 recordings from Iklectick Arts Lab in London, and 3 recordings in the studio, using the mass of the moons around the rings as the durations of each track; subdued yet deeply spacious, superb interaction. ... Click to View

David Leahy / Philipp Wachsmann: Translated Space (FMR)

Drawing on double bassist David Leahy's "Musicians in Space" research and improvisation series, Leahy met up with free improvising violinist Philipp Wachsmann to record these twelve improvisations, collective conversation in a meeting of strings with influences from chamber and fully free approaches; tempered and detailed dialog of impressive virtuosity. ... Click to View

Circuit (Seagroat / Chatzigiannis / Taylor / Hutchinson / Medley / Wachsmann): Cell (FMR)

UK percussionist and electronic artist Trevor Taylor's Circuit project in an extended electroacoustic version with Jon Seagroat on reeds & electronics, Tim Chatzigiannis on computer & electronics, Mathew Hutchinson on piano, Paul Medley on reeds, and Philipp Wachsmann on violin & electronics, in carefully controlled and sublimely detailed improvisation. ... Click to View

Dunmall / Pursglove / Tromans / Kane / Drake: Soultime (FMR)

The 2nd concert at Eastside Jazz Club for the quintet of Paul dunmall on saxophone & penny whistle, Percy Pursglove on trumpet, Steve Tromans on piano, Dave Kane on bass, and Hamid Drake on drums, in a powerfully passionate and profoundly masterful set of lyrical free jazz, the perfect example of Dunmall's skill at assembling inspired jazz bands; highly recommended! ... Click to View

Sam Rivers / Cecil McBee / Norman Connors: Emanation (Sam Rivers archive sessions. Vol.1) (NoBusiness)

The NoBusiness label initiates its Sam Rivers Archive Series with this CD of River's Loft-era trio. the leader on tenor & soprano saxophones, flute & Piano, Cecil McBee on bass and Norman Connors on drums, for two sets at a Jazz Workshop residency in Boston in the summer of 1971, a superb concert showing inspired group interaction and River's intense focus. ... Click to View

Szilard Mezei Tul A Tiszan Innen Ensemble: Turizmus [2 CDs] (FMR)

Szilard Mezei's Tiszan Innen Ensemble is a chamber jazz ensemble of rare sophistication and talent, 11 musicians performing Mezei's compositions and arrangements based on Hungarian folk songs, in active and lyrical pieces with wonderful interplay between sections and individual players, and excellent moment of lively and passionate soloing. ... Click to View

Joao Lencastre: Parallel Realities (FMR)

An absorbing album of free and electroacoustic improvisation from drummer/composer Joao Lencastre, introducing his Parallel Realities group of creative Portuguese avant jazz players Albert Cirera on sax, Rodrigo Pinheiro on piano, Pedro Branco on guitar and Joao Hasselberg on bass & electronics, composed for subgroups playing unique yet related passages in parallel. ... Click to View