"Tournesol", or "Sunflower" in French, is the trio of Benjamin Duboc (double bass), Julien Loutelier (percussion) and Julien Desprez (electric guitar), freely improvising in four tracks that use unusual techniques to create massively dark and riveting sound environments.

Ernesto Rodrigues leads a 16 piece orchestra of strings, reeds, winds, voice, brass, accordion, electric guitar, electronics and percussion through the elaborately restrained work "Chelodnis Nigra", rewarding the careful listener with fascinating layers of sound.

The long-running trio of Paul Hubweber on trombone, Paul Lovens on drums, and John Edwards on double bass in an album releasing a radio concert from Croatia in 2003, and another from Klangbrucke in 2009; highly attuned free improv with near-telepathic dialog from three masters.

With members of IKB, Variable Geometry Orchestra, and LIO, the free improvising/chamber quartet of Ernesto Rodriguge (viola), Bernardo Alvares (bass), Roland Ramana (trumpet), and Nuno Torres (sax), were captured live at Estrela for an intense and introspective concert.

A 46-member orchestra of electroacoustic improvisers performing live at St. George's Church in Lisbon in 2015, for an extended and dynamic tapestry of sound conducted by leader Ernesto Rodrigues, with an impressive list of artists familiar to those following the CS label.

Recorded during Albert Ayler's 1964 European tour with Don Cherry on cornet, Gary Peacock on bass, and Sunny Murray on drums, perhaps Ayler's best band and most creative period, well captured at Hilversum in The Netherlands and for Danish Radio Copenhagen, Denmark.

A solid solo outing from Zurich-based double bassist Friodlin, presenting his 4-part "Camping; Cafe Bar" work, blending the jazz idiom with discursive asides and unusual techniques, plus a lovely and appropriately titled work "But Beautiful".

Conceptualist/composer Alessandro Bosetti in a 4CD box set and extensive booklet presenting large and unusual radio works that he's composed from 2003-2011, using "translations, misunderstandings, travels, microphones, headphones and sonorous telephone games as creative tools."

A multimedia box set of Anthony Braxton's opera work "Trillium J", containing live performance video on Blu-ray disc of a 2014 performance at Roulette in NY, and studio recording on 4-CD set, with 12 vocalists, 12 instrumental soloists and a full orchestra.

1st studio recordings of Echo Echo Mirror House Music, a framework where musicians Braxton, Halvorson, Bynum, Pavone, Testa, Siegel, & Rozen navigate scores combining cartography and graphic notation on instruments plus iPods with samples from Braxton's recorded discography.

Composer and jazz master Anthony Braxton performing on piano in a septet with saxophonists Jackson Moore and Andre Vida, bassist Eivind Opsvik and drummer Mike Szekely, exploring the compositions of Lennie Tristano plus peers Billy Bauer, Connie Crothers, Warne Marsh, Sal Mosca, &c.

Married and working as a duo since 1987, Swiss pianist Hildegard Kleeb and trombonist Roland Dahinden have a rare telepathic link in their freely improvised duos, informed by their work with Anthony Braxton, Alvin Lucier, John Cage, Pauline Oliveros, Christian Wolff, &c. &c.

Irish guitarist Christy Doran in a quintet with NY Downtown stars Hank Roberts (cello) and Marty Ehrlich (reeds), UK legend Ray Anderson (trombone) and Swiss sax master Urs Leimgruber, in recordings from 1989-1991 showing incredible melodic, technical and creative skills.

Citing their influences as Bill Frisell, Paul Motian, John Zorn, and Steve Lacy, the Brussels-based bassless jazz trio of Quentin Stokart (guitar), Mathieu Robert (sax), and Nicolas Chkifi (drums) play lyrical and intelligently restrained music.

The duo of saxophonist Christoph Erb, best known for his work with the Manuel Mengis Group 6, and French-Japanese violist Frantz Loriot, for five open-minded, technically fascinating and musically unique duos recorded in the studio in Switzerland, 2015.

2015 recordings of tenor saxophonist Ellery Eskelin's trio with Gary Versace on organ and Gerry Hemingway on drums, an ebullient set live at the Jazz Festival in Willisau, Switzerland, sequencing Count Basie, Victor Young, Ernie Burnett, and Thelonious Monk tunes.

Unusual approaches to string improvisation from the quartet of Ernesto Rodrigues (viola), Guilherme Rodrigues (cello), Maria da Rocha (violin), and Miguel Mira (double bass), using extended techniques in subtle yet detailed discourse yielding unexpected qualities to their instruments.

Saxophonist Paulo Alexandre Jorge leads his Improbable Trio with Tom Wheatley on double bass and AMM/Matchless legendary percussionist Eddie Prevost in a six part album of ardent free improvisation on titles about Sex, Love, Death, Friendship, Art Beauty, Power Law, &c.

Originally issued on the Hat Hut label as a 3-LP set, this 1978 recording of Cecil Taylor compatriot, saxophonist Jimmy Lyons, performing live at Collective for Living Cinema in New York in a unique band with Karen Borca (bassoon), Munner Bernard Fennel (cello) and Roger Blank (drums).

Chicago's 2012 Marshmallow Festival brought together improvising drummer Frank Rosaly with New York guitarist Thurston Moore for a thick 35 minute improvisation that builds in intensity as Moore's drive and Rosaly's vehement interaction take the listener on a monumental journey.

The duo of Johannes Nastesjo on double bass and Vasco Trilla on drums and percussion, an album of extended techniques and unexpected devising, using quietly aggressive techniques balanced by concentrative improv to create unexpected eruptions and unusual sonic environments.

The trio of Richard Scott on modular synths, Emilio Gordoa on vibraphone & percussion, and Ute Wasserman on voice, in uniquely orchestrated free improvisations that focuses on sound interaction with detail and restraint, while still bringing a sense of wonder and exuberation.

An excellent jazz album using diverse styles bridging free and lyrical playing from the trio of Sergio Tavares (bass), Fabio Almeida (sax) and Joao Martins (drums), playing in and out of the jazz idiom and augmenting Almeida's sax with electronics in compelling ways.

A unique approach to solo reeds and winds from French multi-reedist Matthieu Prual, also on flute and ORLA Keyboard, maintaining lyrical and comprehensible approaches with strong technical skills in captivating and succinct statements, truly excellent work.

Two freely improvised works performed on cello, sine waves, cracklebox, bottle, synth, cornet and objects from the quartet of frequent collaborators Guilherme Rodrigue, David Area Guillermo Torres, and Tomas Gris, a mix of subtle improvisation and subsuming sound.

An extended and far-ranging acoustic free improvisation from the trio of Ernesto Rodrigues on viola, Phillip Greenlief on tenor sax, and Tom Wafford on violin, recorded live at the Gallery 1412 during the Seattle Improvised Music Festival of 2006.

A 5-part introspective improvisation from the trio of Creative Sources leader Ernesto Rodrigues on violin, viola, and electronics; Guilherme Rodrigues on cello, pocket trumpet, and radio; and Jassem Hindi on clarinet; subtle work with extended techniques and unexpected punctuation.

Strings and small percussion imbue this darkly beautiful set of extended improvisations from the Portugese trio of Ernesto Rodrigues on viola, Guilherme Rodrigues on cello, and Monsieur Trinite on small percussion; creative richly open soundscapes with intriguing interventions.

Remarkably detailed, slowly moving improvisation from the trio of Katsura Yamauchi on alto sax, Carlos Santos on electronics, and Ernesto Rodrigues on viola, harp and objects, a beautiful balance of acoustic and electronic sound in intensely concentrated music.

The 4th album from The International Nothing, originally the clarinet duo of Kai Fagaschinski and Michael Thieke, now extended with Christian Weber on double bass and Eric Schaefer on percussion, adding new facets to their sonic spectrum of precise microtonal interaction.

Exploratory free improvisation with an emphasis on strings from the trio of Ernesto Rodrigues on viola, Biliana Voutchkova on violin, and Micha Rabuske on flutes & sax, collective conversation with scraping and overblowing mutating their sound in interesting and curious ways.

Recordings from the late 70s from the duo of Art Ensemble of Chicago drummer Phillip Wilson and trumpeter Olu Dara, an intimate and intelligently reserved session that includes a 3 part tribute to Lester Bowie, originally released on Hat Hut records.

The 5th of 7 large and inspiring works that began with a Festival of New Trumpet commission in 2007, here in an ensemble of 19 players including C. Spencer Yeh, Ben Vida, Ben Hall, Matt Moran, Chris Dingman, Dan Peck, Josh Sinton, Colin Stetson, the TILT brass octet, &c.

Drummer/percussionist Hubert Zemler's second solo album with two compositions inspired by electronic music, particularly by works of the ensemble Suaves Figures, recorded in the vaults of the Camaldolese Church in Bielany, Warsaw with Milosz Pekala on vibraphones.

Saxophonist Ivo Perelman suggests the listener use the titles of these improvisations to create their own narratives for the fluid and oratory overtones of these lyrical instant compositions, performed with drummer Whit Dickey and pianist Matthew Shipp.

Composer-Improviser-Percussionist Ehran Elisha presents two quintets interpreting two of his extended compositions: "Kindred Soul" and "Spirit Suite", with collaborators including Roy Campbell, Sam Bardfeld, Dave Phillips, Yoni Kretzmer, Michael Attias, Sean Conly, &c.

A tremendous CD of duos, disc one presents Israeli bassist JC Jones in duos with Steve Horenstein, Barre Phillips, Mark Dresser, Damon Smith, Yoni Kretzmer, and Carmel Raz; Disc 2 presents NY saxophonist Yoni Kretzmer in duos with Pascal Niggenkemper, Reuben Radding, Sean Conly, and JC Jones.

The trio of NY free improvisers Yoni Kretzmer on tenor sax and Kevin Shea on drums (Talibam, Mostly Other People Do the Killing) with bassist Jason Ajemian in an intense album of "immaterial tangibility, the raw flesh, dirty concreteness, thoughtlessness and stuff called music."

An excellent example of collective free improv from a quintet led by NY tenor saxophonist Yoni Kretzmer with collaborators Steve Swell (trombone), Thomas Heberer (cornet), Max Johnson (double bass) and Chad Taylor (drums), capturing the horn sound of the late 60's Blue Note era.

The 11 piece Systematic Distortion Orchestra is led by composer and viola player Frantz Loriot, with Brooklyn Downtown players Nathaniel Morgan (sax), Brad Henkel & Joe Moffet (trumpet), Ben Gerstein, Sam Kulik (trombone), Sean Ali & Pascal Niggenkemper (bass), and 3 drummers.

The alto sax duet of Jean-Baptiste Rubin and Sakina Abdou sculpt sound material that draws on the acoustic resources of the space within which they play, captured here in various locations in Northern France by the keen ear of saxophonist/conceptualist Jean-Luc Guionnet.

A direct translation of this band's name is "unemployed shaman", the trio of Leo Ratherius (guitar), Marc-Antonie Moercant (drums) and Thomas Cockerel (bass) use trance-like rhythms to build sonic progressions like cathartic rituals, alongside open-minded improvisations.

The debut album of this focused and intrepid Chicago trio led by saxophonist Dave Rempis with young stalwarts Ryan Packard on percussion and electronics, and Netherlands transplant Albert Wildeman, for three extended improvisations recorded live and in the studio.

The French experimental jazz trio of Theo Ceccaldi (violin), Valentin Ceccaldi (cello) and Sylvain Darrifourcq (drums, percussuions, zither) in a playful release of quick paced, creative improvisations in an album of exciting and somewhat off-kilter music; superbe!

Joining noise rock and free jazz, the Louis Minus XVI quartet is fronted by two saxophonists--Adrien Douliez on alto and Jean Baptiste Rubin on tenor--with Maxime Petit on bass and Frederic L'homme on drums, in a balanced album of powerful and introspective compositions.

Following their 2013 release "Aphelion", the working trio of Dave Rempis on sax, Joshua Abrams on bass & clarinet, and Avreeayl Ra on drums release their 2nd collaboration in a 2-CD album of live and studio improvisations, adding Jim Baker on keys and electronics for the 2nd disc.

A live recording by the long-running duo of Matt Turner on cello and Hal Rammel on amplified palettes at Acme Records & Music Emporium in Milwaukee in 2015 as part of the Audible Electricity series, presenting uniquely voiced and detailed improvisations.

The "Viking of 5th Ave" Moondog (Louis Thomas Hardin) was a blind musician noted for his unique garb, but also for his beautiful compositions that blended creative and rhythmic music with lyric and song, here in a collection of 25 songs from his "Madrigal Book 1".

A box set documenting the October 2015 3-day event held at Porgy and Bess in Vienna for the 50th birthday of saxophonist Mats Gustafsson (The Thing, Fire! and innumerable duo/trio/ensemble formations) with a who's-who of collaborators invited to join in various formations.

Clarinetist, percussionist and vocalist Akira Sakata performs a disturbing rendering of "The Tale of the Heike", an epic account of the 12th century struggle between the Taira and Minamoto clans for control of Japan.

When Blue Tapes asked Gustafsson to compose an album using an instrument he'd never recorded with before he chose the Dubreq Pianomate, an electronic instrument from the 60s intended to be used with a piano; Gustafsson used it sans-piano, and the results are these 2 beautiful drones.

Sun City Girls guitarist Alan Bishop, also improvising on voice, meets Beirut's "A" Trio of Mazen Kerbaj on trumpet, Sharif Sehnaoui on guitar, and Raed Yassin on bass for four quite unusual improvisations, and a cover of "Gently Johnny", best known from the UK movie "Wicker Man".

Unreleased material from Sun Ra & His Astro Infinity Arkestra recorded in the rehearsal space of Sun Ra's Philadelphia home in 1969, with a dozen never-before-heard pieces from Ra's songbook, plus reworkings of some classics; invaluable music for the Sun Ra collector.

The second volume of "The Saturn Singles", recordings from Sun Ra's own El Saturn label, focusing on recordings with Yochanan (aka The Space Age Vocalist), a wildly original street performer from Chicago whom Sun Ra befriended, plus other tracks from 1959-1962.

The trio of Keiji Haino, Jim O'Rourke and Oren Ambarchi continues with this double LP of the band performing live at SuperDeluxe in Tokyo in 2014, for a journey in improvised rock and electronics with the shamanistic vocals of Haino guiding their unique and powerful playing.

Full Blast, the long-running trio of Peter Brotzmann (reeds), Marino Pliakis (electric bass) and Michael Wertmuller (drums), recording in the studio for an album of seven masterful free improvisations of strong technical and powerfully intense playing.

Brotzmann continues to surprise in eclectic pairings, here pitting his tenor saxophone, bass clarinet, tarogato, and clarinet against Heather Leigh's pedal steel guitar, recorded during a tour of Poland where the two paused from big bands, trios, quartets, and duos to record this gem.

New York drummer Tyshawn Sorey's impressive work for double trio is an ambitious chamber jazz composition using multiple harmonic, formal, rhythmic, and modal vocabularies in an exploratory and improvisational framework, inspired by the work of Lawrence D. Butch Morris.

The NY improvising trio of Mary Halvorson (guitar), Michael Formanek (double bass) and Tomas Fujiwara (drums) follow their "Thumbscrew" album with this impressive release of avant jazz, balancing melodic and technical playing with beautiful pacing and insightful interaction.