A solo session of Pierre-Yves Martel on prepared double bass with no over-dubs or post-processing.

Drummer and loopster Jean Martin with multi-instrumentalist Colin Fisher in a veritable orchestra of sound resources, inspired and imaginative studio work.

Much more than a simple duo, with overdubbed saxophone Martin & Shaw make large and complex environments & orchestral sections over which they nimbly improvise.

After touring Canada extensively for 3 years the trio of Jean Martin, Justin Haynes and Kevin Turcotte released this CD of wide-ranging and excellent recordings.

Percussionist Michel F Cote takes his Mecha Fixes Clocks ensemble (Philippe Lauzier-sax, Elwood Epps-trumpet, Jean Rene-sax, Pierre-Yves Martel-feedback, Bernard Falaise-guitar, Guillaume Dostaler-piano) on a compelling audio tour of air travel.

Bassist Eric Normand's compositions showcase the incredibly talented quintet of James Darling (cello), Antoine Letourneau-Berger (vibes), Michel F. Cote (drums/feedback) and Jean Derome (flute, sax, birdcall).

The Bent Spoon Duo of Chris Dadge and Scott Munro met bassist Eric Normand (Tour De Bras, Ambiances Magnetiques) while Normand was on tour to record these ragged electro-acoustic improvisations.

Trio improvisations with guitar, violin, and an assortment of noise elements, thoughtful pieces that use space wisely as they prepare for vicious attacks of sound.

An eclectic collection of mostly improvisational songs that use sampling and other electronic processing on raw instrumental material, that is then combined with new improvisation to reshape the material even further.

Le Grand Groupe Regional d'Improvisation Liberee (GGRIL) of the St. Lawrence region is conducted by British saxophonist Evan Parker in this live concert held in Rimouski after a workshop hosted by Evan Parker.

A live recording from the improvising trio of Gordon Allen, Michel F. Cote and Alexandre St-Onge, rendering acoustics and electronics in dark and unconventional techniques.

The Ratchet Orchestra is a large ensemble of 30 fringe musicians from Montreal headed by director Nicolas Caloia whose compositions allow for improvised chamber jazz and showcase the talents of the orchestra's most passionate players.

Jocelyn Robert's first release on Ambiances Magnetiques in a four-disc set that shows off his solo work and highlights the contributions from other artists who have worked with him through the years.

Percussionist Danielle Palardy Roger's first major solo composition in 13 pieces which is performed by Claude Beaugrand, Jean Derome, André Duchesne, Joane Hétu, Diane Labrosse, and Martin Ouellet.

Italian drummer Mirko Sabatini on a solo album that explores different aspects of his instrument's sound and mechanics through interesting improvisation.

Vocalist and guitarist Jerry Snell in his first album of twelve songs that are based on a text he wrote about social and political conflicts around the world.

The 2nd release from the Montreal free improvising trio Joshua Zubot (violin), Bernard Falaise (guitar) and Isaiah Ceccarelli (drums/percussion) is a magnificent example of open-minded improvisation using unusual and sparkling approaches to sound and discourse.

Montreal artists Isaiah Ceccarelli on percussion, Bernard Falaise on electric guitar and Josh Zubot on violon, impressive textural music from contemplative soundscapes to frantic climaxes.

The duo of Arthur Bull on guitars & harmoia and Eric Normand on electric bass and tenor banjo, and both on voice, taking on American rural songs--delta blues, cajun music, and Quebecois laments, &c--with a modern eye and a good sense of humor.

The duo of Pierre Tanguay on drums and percussion and Tom Walsh on trombone in a release of minimalist construction that blends composition and improvisation.

The solo debut album from electronic artist and composer Pierre Tanguay is a collection of dark ambient background music that is minimalist in nature but also very impressive.

Bassist Nic Caloia (Ratchet Orchestra) with his Montreal based quartet of pianist Guillaume Dostaler, drummer Isaiah Ceccarelli and Jean Derome on baritone sax and bass flute, in an album of great compositional mood and creative playing.

Montreal's great jazz trio of saxophonist Jean Derome, bassist Normand Guilbeault, & drummer Pierre Tanguay, in an album of original compositions and work by Dolphy, Ellington, Kirk, Mengelberg & Strayhorn.

An anthology of 24 unreleased works by various members of Ambiances Magnetiques: Michel F Cote, Jean Derome, Andre Duchesne, Joane Hetu, Diane Labrosse, Robert Marcl Lepage, etc..

A compilation of seventeen tracks featuring artists such as Rene Lussier, Jean Derome, Pierre Tanguay, Robert Marcel Lepage, Andre Duchesne, Joane Hetu, &tc.

An incredibly informed instant-composing ensemble drawing on free jazz and post rock sensibilities with nods to Indian ragas, jazz-inflected minimalism, Zappa-esque bouts of sonic anarchy, and German rock music from the 1970s, captured live at Toronto, Guelph and Hamilton, Canada in 2012.

A beautifully building release of guitar and percussion, one long track that adds intensity from lovely minimalism to Fripp-ian chords and driving drum work.

Two albums together. "Carrousel": The Paris based Theo Ceccaldi Trio crosses improv with chamber music in a string trio of lyrical, subtle and advanced improvisation. "Can You Smile": Ceccarelli expands his trio with bassist/free vocalist Joelle Leandre for rich, interactive improvisation.

The Italian duo of pianist Gianni Lenoci and soprano saxophonist Gianni Mimmo using extended and unusual techniques through eight improvisations mixing melody, timbre and tone.

The music of bassist Jason Roebke and his trio of guitarist Matthew Schneider and drummer Marcus Evan is rooted in the leader's solid bass work and the tasteful and informed lyrical freedom of his sidemen, as heard in this live performace Chicago's Hungry Brain.

Guitarist Berthiaume steps away from composition and jazz to record an album of intricate instrumental guitar songs with folk influences, playing solo and in small ensembles.

Guitarist Antoine Berthiaume leads the trio of Michel Donato (bass) and Pierre Tanguay (drums) in this lively album of eleven original compositions.

Jean Derome, Joane Hetu, Danielle Palardy Roger, Alexandre St-Onge and Martin Tetreault each composed works for this stellar group of nine Montreal-based musique actuelle players, a startling and wonderful release of style, approach and concept.

Fred Frith's leads a quartet of electric guitars (Rene Lussier, Nick Didkovsky, Mark Stewart) through 10 different journeys that explores the dynamic potential of this unique group composition.

Montreal's electroacoustic trio of Michel F Cote (percussion), Bernard Falaise (guitars) and Alexandre St-Onge (bass), in their 6th release, 12 succinct tracks of sophisticated improv merging unorthodox approaches for peculiarly satisfying compositions.

Quartetski Does Stravinsky with drummer Isaiah Ceccarelli, guitarist Bernard Falaise, reedist Phillipe Lauzier, viole de gamaba player Pierre-Yves Martel and violinist Joshua Zubot reinterpret Stravinsky's Rite of Spring in honor of its 100th anniversary.

Eleven songs by Montreal trombonist Scott Thomson, settings of poems by P.K. Page (1916-2010), one of Canada's distinguished literary figures, in a band with Pierre Tanguay on drums, Yves Charuest on sax, Nicolas Caloia on double bass, and Susanna Hood on vocals.

Eric Normand's Quebec based 12-piece GGRIL (Grand Groupe Regional d'Improvisation) in an album of 5 improvisations and a piece by percussionist Danielle P. Roger; wonderfully creative music with eclectic instrumentation that's simultaneously challenging and fun.

Composer Simon Martin pays hommage to Quebec painters Ozias Leduc, Paul-Emile Borduas, and Jean-Paul Riopelle in contemplative works for each artist, performed by the ensembles Quatuor Bozzini, Quasar quatuor de saxophons, and Trio de guitares contemporain.

Montreal saxophone quartet Quasar (Jean-Marc Bouchard, Marie-Chantal Leclair, Mathieu Leclair, & Andre Leroux) in their 3rd incredible album of contemporary saxophone compositions, presenting 14 rich and varied compositions, including commissioned and premier works.

Co-founder of the Association of Improvising Musicians in Toronto (AIMToronto) and a member of The Rent, Scott Thomson presents a solo trombone release of explorative approaches to the instrument, masterful work from one of Canada's leading improvisers.

Based on Canadian physician & author Jacques Ferron's book "Gaspe Mattempa", bassist Eric Normad leads a quintet into a mythological audio world with Raphael Arsenault (violin), Philippe Lauzier (bass clarinet), Alexandre Robichaud (trumpet) & Antoine Letourneau-Berger (percussion).

The Architek Percussion ensemble is a Montreal quartet performing works by Canadian composers, using percussion, drums, sampling, electronics and synth in wonderfully odd ways, here with two guest performers presenting works composed and mixed by Elliot Britton.

Bridging contemporary and improvised music, Montreal double bassist Nicolas Caloia wrote these pieces for textured and impossible rhythms; blending pieces by Nancarrow and Grand Master Flash; and manipulating poems by Genevieve Letarte; with supporting improv from Jean Derome & Lori Freedman.

Emilie Girard-Charest is a Montreal cellist, composer and improviser, here presenting 5 works, one of her own and 4 from Fredrik Gran, Sergio Castrillon, Maxime Corbeil-Perron and Joane Hetu, using extreme techniques and electroacoustic accompaniment in both joyful and terrifying ways.

Composed between 1926 and 1939, "Mikrokosmos" was Bela Bartok's attempt to solve certain technical problems in the art of piano playing, here adapted by the 5-piece Quartetski into a fascinating series of progressive exercises and etudes, oddly enough presented without a piano.

Taking two of Montreal's most vital musicians, guitarist Rene Lussier and clarinetist Robert Lepage, and joining them with the far-ranging string quartet Le Quatuor Bozzini for a stunning album that merges chamber music, noise music, and improvisation without leaving behind melody, intention and direction; magnificent!

The transatlantic string trio of Amsterdam-based cellist Tristan Honsinger (also on voice) with Montreal free improvisers violinist Joshua Zubot and double bassist Nicolas Caloia in an album of informed improvisation that bring an upbeat approach to authoritative dialog which is both sharp-witted and irreverent, but never less than engaging.

Five original chamber works for saxophone and ensemble by composer and saxophonist Tim Brady for his second release on Ambiances Magnetiques.

A plethora of objects being struck and stroked from the meeting of drummers Cote (Bruire, Klaxon Gueule) and Ceccarelli, complex interactions of percussion, feedback and electronics.

Two saxophones, two voices; two gargoyles, two satyrs; two forces of nature that agitate, whistle, squeak, scrape, blow, and bite, transforming music into a secular incantation and a banquet of sound.

Using saxophones and their voices, Jean Derome and Joane Hetu create songs of improvisation that invoke their primal human nature in creative and beautiful ways.

Saxophonist Pierre's Labbe's 1st release in 6 years, performing original compositions in a quartet with guitarist Bernard Falaise, drummer Isaiah Ceccarelli & bassist Clinton Ryder.

24 miniature works from the fantastic and intense improvising trio of Joane Hetu, Diane Labrosse and Danielle Palardy Roger, inspired by the eternal revival of the legendary Phoenix.

Nozen is a crossroads of contemporary jazz, musique actuelle and the musical traditions of Jewish Eastern Europe, contrasting styles giving birth to a deep and spontaneous music.

Composer Danielle Palardy Roger presents a work for a 13-voice mixed choir, two speakers, two soloists, and two percussionists in a satirical elegy that is an account of a man's last agonizing moments.

Written in 1998, Danielle Palardy Roger's game piece composition was performed at the first Ensemble SuperMusique concert, here in 7 versions recorded at various locations in bands including Joelle Leandre, Joane Hetu, Guido Del Fabbro, Jean Derome, &c. &c.

Montreal/Actuelle turntablist Martin Tetreault and Berlin turntablist Ignaz Shcick in two sets of recordings from two encounters in Belgium and Switzerland, 2006.

1st release for the duo of wind player Linsey Wellman and percussionist Mike Essoudry embracing stasis and movement, meditation and exuberance, delicacy and amplitude.

Montreal Musique Actuelle turntablist Martin Tetreault and sound artist Erick d' Orion created this project as a tribute to the original explorers of electronic music and musique concrete -- GRM, Stockhausen, Henry, Oram, Schaeffer, &c. -- using historic sound recordings and new sources, presenting this incredible concert live at Au Mois in Quebec.

The free improvising trio of Makoto Sato on drums, Jean-Francois Pauvros on guitar and Jean-Marc Foussat on synthesizer & voice in a studio album of unique electro-acoustic dialog recorded in Paris in 2013.

Guitarist and singer Sylvie Chenard in duet with musician/performance artist Jon Asencio, joyfully exploring the energies of resistance and anarchy, in shades of science-fiction and totalitarian reality.

A series of 20 short tracks by cellist Melanie Auclair that combine music with ambient sound with players such as Lori Freedman, Antoine Berthiaume, Luc Sicard, etc.

Montreal creative guitarist Tim Brady and his Bradyworks (Lori Freedman, Karen Young, &c) performing 6 duos for electric guitar with other instruments, and 12 compositions for electric guitar (with and without effects pedals).

Percussionist Isaiah Ceccarelli's work for percussion, two voices, two bass clarinets and viola da gamba, woven from the delicate fabric of the tension between darkness and light.

A supergroup of the AM collective with Derome, Hetu, Labrosse, Roger, Tanguay and Tetrault, in adventurous and far-reaching improvisation that have to be heard to be believed!

Sparse but detailed improvisational journeys from the long-running duo of saxophonist Philippe Lauzier and bassist/electronic artist Pierre-Yves Martel.

A rich work for clarinets, bass and drums orchestrated for six musicians including Actuelle core players Lori Freedman, Pierre Tanguay, and Lepage himself, through 14 works that may have something to do with a swamp.

Claude St-Jean's band, Les Projectionnistes (Tommy Babin, Bernard Falaise, Pierre Labbe, Remi Leclerc), plays an ecletic mix of songs ranging from alternative jazz, rock, and improv.

3 live recordings from 3 ensembles - GGRIL, Ensemble SuperMusique and ECM+ - exploring relationsips between early music and contemporary creative music; with Jean Derome, Joane Hetu, Diane Labrosse, Bernard Falaise, &c. &c.

Sax and flute player/Ambiances Magnetique label leader Jean Derome's excellent jazz trio with bassist Normand Guilbeault and drummer Pierre Tanguay, in their 4th release, with three Derome originals and 4 standards including a Dolphy number.

An exceptional free improvising quintet of Montreal & Quebec improvisers--bassist Eric Normand, drummer Michel F. Cote, and bass clarinetist Philippe Lauzier--with French clarinetist Xavier Charles and German trumpeter Franz Hautzinger, performing live during the 2016 Festival de Musique de Creation, creating fascinating commotion with incredible restraint.

With many participants from Ensemble Musique and the Montreal Musique Actuelle scene, composer and multi-instrumentalist Jean Derome directs an ensemble into the exploration of electricity and "Resistances", blending electronics, turntable, 60 Hz hums and other electronics into an orchestra of improvisers executing his dynamic 16 movement composition.

Montreal's superb ensemble of improvisers explore the integration of composed music with improvisation, here in 3 graphic scores from from Danielle Palardy Roger, Joane Hetu, and Lisa Cay Miller, allowing individual performers extensive freedom within fixed compositional frameworks leading to extraordinary and unexpected results, captured lived at Amphitheatre du Gesu in 2017.

The Canadian Council for the Arts commissioned this work by Hungarian composer Gyula Csapo, a student of Morton Feldman amd John Cage, realized by Montreal's Quatuor Bozzini quartet, "Deja? Koja?" meaning "Already? Where to?" is a three-part work with two intermissions, an epic work that references the same basic materials in a variety of perspectives.

A series of musical "mobiles" from European composer Roman Haubenstock-Ramati, sonic transformations of the visual experiences of Alexander Calder's dynamic sculptures.

Seeking to extend the guitar trio into new and unique territory, the Quebec trio of Eric Normand on electric bass, Louis Beaudoin-de-la-Sablonniere on electric guitar, and Louis-Vincent Hamel on drums, reference performers like Jim Hall, Sonny Sharrock, John Abercrombie, & Bill Frisell while focusing on harmolodic force and unusual melodic lines.

An unusual mix of instruments from the Montreal trio of percussionist Michel Bonneau on congas & balafon, John Heward on drums, and Scott Thomson on trombone, all members of Ratchet Orchestra and Heward's Murray Street Band, in an album of active and uniquely layered confident rhythmic floors over which Thomson freely plays with remarkable technique.

Tenor and baritone saxophones in an exchange of spectral interactions that emphasize harmonic overtones and intersections, unusual emanations from both instruments in a perfectly paced improvisations, each of the 12 dialogs named aptly for locations and crossing in Englad and France, adding a sense of journey to these mysterious and wonderful expeditions.

Slyly crossing modern improv and EAI approaches in a surreal take on early bottleneck, banjo and slide blues styles from the Quebec quintet of Arthur Bull on harmonica, voice, guitar & electronics, Eric Normand on banjo, voice & bass, Ben Grossman on "old wheel", Anne-Francoise Jacques on engines, and Gabriel Rochette on trombone; sincere and eccentric.

Separated by 1,000 KMs and speaking a different language, the collaboration of Quebec bassist Eric Normand and Australian saxophonist Jim Denley, both dedicated experimenters, share a common aesthetic in free improvisation as they release their third album: five dialogs using reeds, electric bass, drums, objects and tools to create unusual sonic conversations.