Pedal Steel guitar innovator Susan Alcorn in a mostly solo release, beautifully performing 4 lush compositions by Astor Piazzolla, with bassist Michael Formanek joining for the Alcorn-penned "Suite for AHL".

This meeting of 5 EA-Improv heavyweights from Europe and the Pacific US happened during the MKM trio tour in Northern America 2010, capturing this extended performance at CalArts for 40 minutes of engaging, burbling electronics, pulses, and short wave introspection.

"There is a definite sense of a drama of the creative process which entices the listener into an undreamt-of world of sounds. What makes this duo so special is the density of chamber music, the aural tension, the mutually intuitive read...

"A spontaneously composed dish has now gained a fixed position on the menu card. In late 1999, informal sessions were so exciting that a new band was founded on the spot, the Swiss improvisational trio Potage du Jour with the singer/voc...

Reissuing and remastering saxophonist Anthony Braxton's stellar release documenting his 1993 live performance with Marilyn Crispell on piano, Mark Dresser on bass, and Gerry Hemingway on percussion & marimba, demanding collective improvisation from masterful players.

Clean Feed's side label Shhpuma presents a solo release from multi-instrumentalist Guilherme Goncalves (Gala Drop), dreamy and informed guitar-driven music borrowing from kosmische musik, Edgar Froese, or Loren Connors, in gorgeously paced lush instrumental music.

"Behind Tales of Love and Death lies a simple idea that had rarely been put to such convincing use: to bring together jazz and operatic singing. Eugenio Colombo brought his current quartet to the studio (Colombo on saxophones and flutes...

Portuguese composer and pianist Simao Costa in an album of solo prepared piano in the style of John Cage, using transducers, speaker & objects, paced like a Morton Feldman composition, balancing tones and percussive sound in exquisite compositions.

"Communication is a bridge. Carlo Actis Dato and Baldo Martinez build one that is supple and sways tantalizingly to the impulses of their imagination. Both are visionaries who can envisage the distant and head for it. Their path is not ...

Deux Maisons (Two Houses) is a chamber jazz quartet bringing together French and Portuguese players of the current generation: from France, 2 brothers, Theo & Valentin Ceccaldi (violin and cello); from Portugal, Luis Vicente (trumpet) & Marco Franco (drums).

17 succinct improvisations recorded in 2000 from the trio of the late and legendary German free improvising bassist Peter Kowald, West Coast bassist Damon Smith, and alto saxophonist Marco Eneidi, powerful and lyrical improv with a nod to Ayler amidst brilliant playing.

An active set of recordings from eRikm in duo with drummer Martin Brandlmayr, the latter keeping both players' feet on the ground while the former introduces and intervenes with unusual sonic elements, disruptive and lyrical, an enjoyably complex and unpredictable set.

Houston based guitarist Sandy Ewen met BPA label leader, bassist Damon Smith to record these open-minded improvisations in the studio, with Smith also using 7 string electric upright bass, laptop, and field recordings played in real time.

Presenting live recordings from the 2004 UK "Feedback: Order from Noise" tour, an ambitious presentation of artists including Alvin Lucier, Otomo Yoshihide, Knut Aufermann, Sarah Washington, Toshimaru Nakamura, & Nicolas Collins, performing solo, in duos, and as an ensemble.

The third solo venture for Lisbon-based guitarist and visual artist Filipe Felizardo, performing without effects and loops over a lush and spare framework, for a "ghost blues meditation" in 8 movements of focused, beautifully paced and sonically oriented playing.

Helen Mirra uses the index of a W.G. Sebald's novel to create a mysterious, intriguing and fascinating audio world, performed by Mirra on printing press and acoustic guitar, and Fred Frith on rainsticks, mbira, charango, music box, voice, shoes and other objects.

Classical pianist Joana Gama and live electronic processing artist Luis Fernandes bridge compositional and experimental forms in this lyrical work, where Fernandes transforms, dissects, loops and otherwise mutates the Gama's playing in unexpected and elegant ways.

The first of two releases documenting the trio of three towering figures--German free jazz legend Peter Brotzmann, Japanese avant-garde wizard Keiji Haino, and wildly versatile American composer and musician Jim O'Rourke--recording at Shinjuku Pit Inn, in Tokyo, 2010.

"Biathanatos introduced New Zealanders Matthew Mitchell and Duncan Haynes to Leo Records' audience of avant jazz-ophiles and free improv fans. But this duo is somewhat atypical of the revered English label. Haynes' highly melodious, sof...

"For her fifth album since the turn of the millennium, all released on Leo, Carolyn Hume breaks the pattern of the previous four. Firstly, she is no longer paired with drummer Paul May, instead opting to play solo. Secondly, she only pl...

"The discography of Carolyn Hume and Paul May on Leo Records continues to grow. On their fourth CD for Leo Records they continue to explore their haunting, atmospheric pieces occasionally augmented by the voice of Sonja Galsworthy, guit...

The duo of Henry Kaiser and bassist Damon Smith perform 8 free improvisation with titles from the book "Company Week" by Peter Riley, a commentary on Derek Bailey's 1997 collective, Kaiser using a 1998 Monteleone Radio Flyer 7 string guitar at the request of Smith.

Tzadik's series reinterpreting John Zorn's Masada compositions releases the 24th "Book of Angels", performed by Klezmerson, a Mexico-based ensemble led by violist & composer Benjamin Shwartz, who founded the group in 2003 to integrate music from a Mexican standpoint.

"Where We Were is not your usual set of saxophone duets. Over the course of nearly four years, Caroline Kraabel and Phil Hargreaves hauled their saxes, flutes, and recording equipment to several unusual recording locations, from the ane...

Bassist Chris Lightcap's Bigmouth features 2 saxophonists--Chris Cheek and Tony Malaby, Craig Tabor on keys and Gerald Cleavers on drums, in 8 melodic tracks inspired by landmarks of NYC and influenced by jazz tradition, West African music, pop hooks, and more.

"Lopez' new solo album, Drums Solo II: Swinging with Doors, shows the drummer in an entirely different scenario. To put it bluntly, he's improvising to a door. Well, many doors - kitchen doors, station doors, school doors, even sauna do...

"Thierry Maucci has a fat, rich sound on tenor and baritone sax, with a tone a bit more piercing and urgent on the alto. The listener gets a chance to study all of his tricks on this 50-minute solo album. Liaison Acoustique was recorded...

"It is probably not easy to be the son of Pino Minafra and try to find your musical identity. But there are advantages too: from early childhood Livio was hanging out with great musicians such as Sergey Kuryokhin, the whole of Italian I...

A map of the latitudes delineating the geographical area where the European - North American history of deforestation and resforestation has played out, in a work of guitar and field effects from Portugese artist Helen Mirra and sound artist Ernst Karel.

"The second CD by Matthew Mitchell (guitar, electronics) and Duncan Haynes (piano) in Leo Records catalogue. Recorded in London in June 2005 The Urban Choreographic is a result of total immersion into the diversity and intensity of urba...

A beautifully paced and uniquely voiced album of electronic soundscapes from luminary New York performer Ikue Mori, 10 works including a realization of Izumi Kyoka's story "Koya Hijuri", 3 pieces for Mozu birds, the 2-part "Pomegranate Seeds", and one of Zorn's Masada compositions.

On the cover, Jean Derome. Inside: Walter Smetak; Barbara Hannigan; Ian Tung; Cris Derksen; Alex Zhang Hungtai; plus reviews of recordings and events, a label profile, essays, &c. &c.

A collaboration mixing improvisation with sound & noise from sound artist Adam Denton, working primarily with the slithery tones that live within improvisation, and Sean Cotterill, who's work straddles the ocean of skronk guitar to live programming 'ones' and 'zeros'.

"TRIO L.T.D. music augmented by the voice and trombone of Bertl Muetter is built on the mutual understanding of improvisation. However, the listeners are also involved in their endless process of musical development. Recorded live durin...

"Above all else, this album is serious fun-fun for the live audience at the recording, fun for the CD listener, and fun for the performers. At its best, improvisation flows out of the sheer pleasure of playing and experimenting together...

Ever-active bassist Pascal Niggenkemper in his first solo album of riveting and intriguing double bass work, from aggressive to contemplative and immersive improvisations using work using bass preparations to transform the instrument and make us rethink its potential.

LP edition of the 1st of 3 CDs from the collaboration between Charlemagne Palestine on Bosendorfer piano, orgue Yamaha and voice, and Rhys Chatham on trumpet, loop pedal & electric guitar, presenting a large and slowly evolving composition.

The Portugese trio of Pedro Sousa (sax), Tiago Sousa (keys & percussion) and Travassos (tapes and electronics), using amplified objects and circuit bending amidst acoustic and electric sources that blends melodic sound sources in rich and unexpected ways.

Intermedia artist Ricardo Jacinto with Nuno Torres (sax), Ricardo Jacinto (cello), Andre Sier (electronics), Dino Recio (percussion), Nuno Morao (percussion, melodica) and Joao Pinheiro (percussion, vibes) in a structured improvisation in an electro-acoustic environment.

A beautiful jazz trio record from New York collaborators Mario Pavone, who provided all of the compositions except for one group improvisation, with Matt Mitchell on piano and Tyshawn Sorey on drums; lyrical, lovely, and sophisticated music.

Portugese harpist Eduardo Raon uses harp, daxophone, electronics, voice & percussion to create dramatic music that applies his classical training to improvisational methods, using real-time electronic processing to create encompassing yet intricate and unusual sonic environments.

Following her trio record with Benjamin Duboc and Edward Perraud, pianist Eve Risser releases this contemplative and gorgeous solo album, a beautifully paced and delicate album for the piano, augmented with moving preparations for sonic and percussive accents.

Rich string work from Adriana Sa on zither & electronics, To Trips on resonator guitar, and John Klima on electric bass, following graphical scores and using electronics sparingly, in an album that is extremely focused while seeming to ramble in gorgeous ways.

A beautiful collaboration between Luis Jose Martins on classical guitar, percussion & electronics, and Joan Sa on piano, toy piano, celestra, idiophones & electronics, gentle music that's nearly a song, but actually sophisticated, textured, and lovely contemporary improvisation.

Composer, pianist and multi-instrumentals Joana Sa gives voice to texts by Goncalo M. Tavares as read by Rosinda Costa, where the text organizes the thoughts that filter the multiple, disorderly, eccentric, voluble mind described in Tavares' work.

The 3rd volume in NY guitarist Elliott Sharp's "Octal" project, using a Koll 8-string guitar/bass, an electroacoustic hollow-bodied guitar with 2 extra bass strings, presenting unedited improvisations of technical and sonic power.

"The legacy of improvised solo reed music began with iconoclasts such as Eric Dolphy, Joe McPhee, Steve Lacy, Anthony Braxton, Evan Parker, and Peter Brotzmann-and it is still being developed by a younger generation of players such as K...

Frequent collaborators, Matthew Shipp (piano) and Michael Bisio (bass) are joined by fellow Downtown New Yorker Mat Maneri on viola create what they refer to as a chamber ensemble, performing the 15 improvised and inspired chapters of Shipp & Bisio's "Gospel".

Prolific sound artists Sindre Bjerga and Claus Poulsen jointly tweak various close-miked micro-sounds into a strange noise-oriented collage, crossing drone and concrete approaches in bizarre ways.

"The Invisible Story" was produced over a four year period, and completed just last ear: This work deals with the ideas of Bela Hamvas (1897-1968), a Hungarian literary figure whose fate was literally sealed by his country's history. In...

Reissue and 2015 remaster of Cecil Taylor's superb live set at Grosser Saal Volkshaus, in Basel, Switzerland in 1981, performing solo over three extended improvisations, presented for the first time in the original concert sequence.

A remastered CD edition of outsider artist and brilliant studio composer Ghealia Tazartes' 1979 debut album, expanded to include the first CD release of "Ferme ta gueule, Zarathustra," a composition largely based on materials pre-dating "Diasporas".

Merging three legends--drummer Charles Hayward (This Heat, Camberwell Now, Massacre), Guy Segers (Univers Zero) and Kawabata Makoto (Acid Mothers Temple) for a wild improvising trio caught live at Cafe Oto in Lodon in 2013; not to be missed!

The 3rd issue from Elliott Sharp's compiled series of guitar work in the 21st century, demonstrating new sounds, processes, techniques, melodies, riffs and gestures from a who's-who of modern improvising guitarists, a must-have release for all guitar fans and players.

Innovative arrangements in trumpeter Marco von Oreilli's quintet release, performed with trombonist Lukas Briggen, pianist Michael Wintsch, bassist Kasper von Gruningen, and drummer Samuel Duhsler, through 7 original and lyrical compositions that never fail to surprise.

Innovative and idiosyncratic Swiss pianist Michel Wintsch in a set of original compositions that combine ambient sound and intentionality, displaying great technical skills and a unique mind that embraces melody and the unexpected aspects of improvisation.

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 trio of bassist Gary Peacock, pianist Paul Bley, and trumpeter Franz Koglmann interpret and improvise on the music of avant song-writer Annette Peacock.

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.