Sophisticated and interactive electroacoustic improvisation from the trio of Chris Cundy on bass clarinet, James O'Sullivan on guitar, and Aural Terrains label leader Thanos Chrysakis on laptop, synth and radio, performing the six part "Asphodels Abide".

An unusual improvising orchestra that absorbs concepts from a wealth of styles, led by saxophonist Frode Gjerstad; this 1992 recording is of a 7-piece band with 2 drummers including Paal Nilssen-Love, 2 bassists guitar, and Ove Storland on vocals.

Percussionist Chris Dadge recorded these two drones using amplified cymbals, violin, and snare drum inside a replica of a Saskatchewan-prairies-style grain silo erected by artist Mark Lowe at the 2011 Calgary Folk Festival.

Saxophonist Matthieu Metzger takes us on the dark side in a "Killing Spree" with electric bassist Sylvain Daniel and drummer Gregoire Galichet, 9 pieces of demanding improvisation that share a Naked City or Court of the Crimson King energy fueled by awesome technical prowess.

A retrospective album from Canadian fusion guitarist and composer Jerry De Villiers Jr, active in the Montreal jazz scene in the 1990s and known for the theme song to the Emmy Award winning show Arthur sung by Ziggy Marley, here with 7 studio and 7 live tracks.

Norwegian saxophonist Frode Gjerstad started the forward thinking free improv group Detail in 1981 with Eivin One Pederson on keys and SME legend, drummer John Stevens; this live recording of the original lineup is a fantastic document of the roots of this important band.

An unusual and thickly strung album bridging dark rock and improvised music from saxophonist Noah Kaplan, bassist and prepared bassis Giacomo Merega, bassist and prepared painist Wes Matthews, and vocalist Rosalie Kaplan.

Intricate interactions in free improv from the Portugese trio of violist Joao Camoes, cellist Miguel Mira (Open Field String Trio, Nuovo Camerata), and pianist Rodrigo Pinheiro (Red Trio), focused on the balance between contrasting counterpoint, polyrhythms and fluid soundscapes.

New York pianist Kali Z. Fasteau in a quintet with L. Mixashawn Rozie on sax, flute, and djembe, Kidd Jordan on tenor sax, J.D. Parran on flute and clarinet, and Ron McBee on percussion, a beautiful journey in jazz that borrows from the past while looking to the future.

A live concert at Cafe Sting in Stavanger, Norway in 2003 from the free improvising acoustic/electric quartet of Frode Gjerstad on alto sax and clarinet, Anders Hana on electric guitar, Morten Olsen on drums and Per Zanussi on acoustic bass and electronics.

The superb quartet of saxophonist Frode Gjerstad on tenor, with trumpeter Bobby Bradford, pianist Borah Bergman, and drummer Pheeroan akLaff, recording in the studio in New Jersey, 1997 in a tour de force of unusual and highly creative free improvisation.

The well-traveled and nearly telephathic Norwegian trio of reedist Frode Gjerstad performing on alto sax and clarinet with drummer Paal Nilssen-Love and bassist Jon Rune Strom are joined by NY trombonist Steve Swell for a live concert at at Constellation in Chicago, 2014.

One of two sets recorded on one intense night at Tokyo's Shinjuku Pit Inn from the trio of Japanese improvised rock legend Haino Keiji, European Free Jazz saxophone master Peter Brotzmann, and versatile American composer and musician Jim O'Rourke.

Crossing boundaries of jazz, rock and noise, the Haitian Rail quartet of Dan Blacksberg (trombone), Nick Millevoi (guitar), Ed Ricart (bass) and Kevin Shea (drums) present six scorching works of avant free improvisation with a dark NY Metropolitan intent.

Eyal Maoz, James Ilgenfritz, and Lukas Ligeti make up Hypercolor, the NYC-based spastic jazz-rock hybrid whose ridiculous artsong craftsmanship alternately revels in complexity or brazen simplicity, favoring entropy and near-disaster over order or tidiness.

Hyrrokkin is an avant rock trio from Yellow Springs, OH consisting of Ed Ricart (guitar, bass), Paul Larkowski (bass), and Brett Nagafuchi (drums), influenced by the methods and spirit of jazz, the tones and textures of new music, and the electric backbone of rock.

The NY trio of saxophonist Noah Kaplan, electric bassist Giacomo Merega, and trumpeter Moffett, in free improvisation focusing on texture and tone, applying traditional counterpoint to contemporary improvisation.

The Canadian duo of reedist Philippe Lauzier and bassist Eric Normand freely improvise in sound environments that are both introspective and precarious, using subtle and aberrant approaches to playing that evoke unusual aspects of their instruments in oddly refined dialog.

A live performance at Ephemere, Studio Loos in The Netherlands from Rutger Zuydervelt, AKA Machinefabriek, in a set that mixes his sources with recordings from the room, creating a dynamic and vibrant recording that ranges from subtle near-silence to thick electronic excitement.

Italian electric bassist Giacomo Merega together with saxophonist Noah Kaplan and guitarist Marco Cappelli for a set of rhythm-less free form improvisations recorded in Brooklyn, NYC, with pianist Anthony Coleman and violin player Mauro Pagini joining for several tacks.

The trio of AACM legend Roscoe Mitchell on sax and flute, Craig Taborn on piano, organ and synth, and Kikanju Baku on drums & percussion, in the first of two "conversational" albums of advanced and dynamic improv in a forceful and captivating set of group compositions.

Digital sound processing oscillating through a variety of media saturated sources including electronic billboards, kiosk stations, traffic control devices and other city environments, knotted into sculptural arpeggiation by sound artists Nickolas Mohanna.

Composer, saxophonist, writer, and interdisciplinary artist Keir Neuringer in a solo album of five extended improvisations performed before an invited audience, an emotional album of physical exhalations of grief at the loss of his mother months before the recording.

A collection of 8 synth-driven ambient cosmic voyages from Romannis Motte using Roland JX8P, Roland RS-5, Alexis QS7, Alexis Micron, Korg PE1000, Crumar DS-2, iPad running NanoStudio, Korg iMS20, 0-iPolySix, Access Virus A.

The free improvising trio of bassist Jon Rune Strom (Frode Gjerstad Trio, Paal Nilssen-Love, &c), tenor saxophonist Kristoffer Berre Alberts and percussionist Dag Erik Knedal Andersen, fiery free jazz with great technical skills and an oddly playful side.

A sturdy 4 LP box set documenting Sun Ra's 1984 European Tour, here performing live in Nickelsdorf, Austria at Jazzgalerie, for an ebullient set of Sun Ra originals and standards with the Arkestra including John Gilmore, Marshall Allen, Danny Ray Thompson, Eloe Taylor, James Jackson, &c &c.

Vanguard pianist Thollem McDonas, and NY drummer Brian Chase (Yeah Yeah Yeahs) in a duo of "blues, punk rock, honky tonk, and folk with abstract maximalism and raw technical integrity".

UK free improvising drummer Roger Turner meets Japanese guitarist Otomo Yoshihide at the Hara Museum, Tokyo in the winter of 2013 for a performance that balances introspective improvisation with assertive and authoritative playing for a captivating and dynamic album.

Recordings of two German trumpeters--Birgit Uhler and Leonel Kaplan--both using extended techniques and modern instrumental language, splitting their recordings between the left and right channels for clarity in their fascinating and unconventional dialogs.

A meditative double CD with subtle flavours of flute and gamelan accompanying a reading by Ian Watson, the author of "The Tao of Homeopathy" exploring the philosophies and practices of homeopathy and Taoism."-Susie Hodder-Williams

"Battle Pieces" was conceived as a background for an improviser, using linguistics, tape processes & aleatoric concepts to fashion an ever-shifting composition that supplies the soloist with information within the context of an ever-changing series of densities, velocities and silences.

The third in John Zorn's solo organ is performed live at the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival in 2013, performing with unusual sonorities, spectral experimentation, hypnotic moods and stirring melodies.

Using mostly unprocessed electric guitars, the duo of Elliott Sharp and Scott Fields' latest release presents eight dueling guitar works using dynamic, angular tones and textures, from extremely aggressive work to clean avant-jazz with twisted technical intent.

The quartet of Cosottini, Melano, Pisani, Miano (EAQuartet Electroacoustic) in compositions referring to the 4 cardinal map points using graphic scores, games, open readings, &c.

Legendary trumpeter, composer and educator Bill Dixon in a 17 piece orchestra playing original compositions live at the 12th Vision Festival in New York City.

The first Hopscotch release from the then husband/wife duo of wind player Assif Tsahar and drummer Susie Ibarra, lyrical and textural powerfully woven improvisation.

Live recordings at the 2014 Vancouver International Jazz Festival from drummer Harris Eisenstadt's excellent and lyrical Golden State chamber jazz ensemble, here as a quartet with Michael Moore on clarinet, Sara Schoenbeck on bassoon, and Mark Dresser on bass.

The 1st proper Ghost Trees full-length release from the duo of Brent Bagwell on tenor sax and Seth Nanaa on drums, presenting 8 songs honed during a year-long, cross-country tour, with the duo in tight communication in restrained and assertive improv with a wide range of influences.

Mattin takes 5 spontaneous 5-minute songs from 5 musicians, and a 25 minute concert structured by 5 instructions based on those song titles, then records vocals for the 5 songs as a singing lecture, then superimposes all 3 to create the five 5-minutes songs on this album.

Experimental electronics & improvisations from NY based composer/keyboardist Shoko Nagai, using multiple textures and an open sense of time to evoke rich aural environments, with the aid of Todd Reynolds (violin), Jonathan Goldberger (guitar), Stomu Takeishi (bass) & Jim Black (drums).

A unique album of self-aware conversation from Hong-Kai Wang and Mattin, who record themselves responding to their own dialog, addressing those responses to the audience and adding their reaction to the final recordings, creating an abstract spoken ambiance.

A masterful fountain of melodic ideas, intriguing rhythms, and exceptional technical skill from the duo of Hamid Drake on drums and frame drum, and Sylvain Kassap on clarinets and chalumeau, recording live at the France Musique at Studio Theatre dÕAlfortville and in the studio.

A live performance at Judson Church in Manhattan as part of the 20th Vision Festival from the NY/France free improvising trio of Joelle Leandre on double bass, Mat Maneri on viola, and Gerald Cleaver on drums and percussion, two tracks of steadily building, incredibly compatible dialog.

Debut LP of the young Gothenburg, Sweden trio of saxophonist Adrian Asling Sellius, drummer Hampus Ohman-Frolund, and double bass player Matt Dimming, drawing on elements of pop and rock, klezmer, cinematic soundscapes, experimental noise, and free jazz.

The Swedish duo of percussionist Andreas Pollak and prepared pianist Johan Graden (Adam & Alma) in an album of references and innuendo, clandestine and furtive sounds that evoke great mystery and drama in beautifully shaped sound; evocative music that deceives to emerge from the electronic realm while in actuality coming from all acoustic sources.

The second volume of the project heard in the previous Creative Sources album, "Suspensao", here in a 9-piece electroacoust ensemble with viola, cello, doublebass, alto sax, trombone, piano, electric guitar, computer and percussion, suspenseful lowercase music that unfolds in mysterious, beautiful and rewarding ways.

Live recordings at LOFT in Cologne, Germany from the trio of George Wissel on prepared saxophone, Achim Tang on doublebass, and Simon Camatta on drums & percussion, performing seven "Movements" that use prodigious technique with reserve and direction, revealing the structure of their work as the pieces build and recede in fascinating ways.

Mattin takes 5 spontaneous 5-minute songs from 5 musicians, and a 25 minute concert structured by 5 instructions based on those song titles, then records vocals for the 5 songs as a singing lecture, then superimposes all 3 to create the five 5-minutes songs on this album.

Having previously worked together with Joe McPhee and Kent Kessler, this album distills the Portuguese saxophonist Rodrigo Amado and NY drummer/percussionist Chris Corsano to a concentrated sax and drum duo of earnest and edgy playing, bending jazz, free and blues idioms to their will with magnificent technique and power, both clearly elated in their meeting.

Recorded live at Silence Sounds in Guelph Canada, the duo of Xavier Charles on clarinet and Eric Normand on electric bass & objects eschew idiom in favor of their unique natural language on their instruments, applying patient development of truly idiosyncratic and fascinating command through a single extended work punctuated in seven diverse passages.

From 2008-16 until drummer Frank Rosaly moved to Amsterdam, alto saxophonist Nick Mazzarella's Trio was an active part of Chicago's creative jazz scene; in early 2018 Rosaly returned for a visit and Mazzarella composed a suite of 6 new pieces to commemorate the trio's tenth anniversary, the exuberant result this excellent concert recorded at Co-Prosperity Sphere!

Exploring human relationships and self perception through the use of physical objects and their potential sounds, San Antonio drummer Claire Rousay, who has worked with Jacob Wick, Ken Vandermark, Brandon Lopez, &c. recorded these six solo drum performances in the studio, developing each in a way that shows her strong technical skills and narrative voice on the drums.

Portland Oregon composer and sound artist Jeff Lane, co-founder of the Chicago/Portland record label Never Anything, as his alter-ego Tereshkova in a large work of electronic composition, part concrete, part acousmatic, spanning two cassettes with four side-long pieces, each an extended journey in mood, motion, perplexing sources and embrace-ably interesting.

A beautiful solo set of 12 improvisations, Michael Attias performing on alto sax with his left hand and piano with his right, captured in the natural reverberation of La Maison en Bois in Abeville-La-Riviere, France; surprisingly his 1st solo album, developed over 12 years yet played in under an hour with no retakes, a wonderful nuanced reflection in tone, melody & color.

A beautifully hypnotic album of saxophone, accompanied by Pan-Ney, Shruti Box and Organ, recorded in overdubs by composer/wind player Werner Durand in this 2nd chapter of his trilogy focused on the Pan-Ney, a self-built instrument for repetitive foundations, as Durand draws on elements of nature, mythology, dance, religion, literature and folklore.

Recording in Toronto, the core trio of drummer Nick Fraser, saxophonist Tony Malaby and pianist Kris Davis are joined on four tracks by tenor saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock and trumpeter Lina Allemano, in an album of composed and collective improvisation, merging Toronto, NY and European influences in an accomplished album of diverse approaches and orchestrations.

The 5th release from the trio of multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Keiji Haino, guitarist Jim O'Rourke and Oren Ambarchi on wineglass and percussion is an introspective and beautifully developed set recorded live at their March 2013 concert at SuperDeluxe.

Recorded in the mid-90s, Livebatts! was a project of John White (Cornelius Cardew, Scratch Orchestra) developed to exploit "toy" keyboards of the 80s--cheap battery-driven instruments that hold tremendous potential for "serious" music-making--used here in a playful quartet with vocalist MJ Coldiron, Andrea Rocca (guitar & samples) and Nancy Ruffer (electrified flute).