"Ugly Beauties" explores the alien terrains between jazz, compositional and improvised music, with pianist Marilyn Lerner, cellist Matt Brubeck and drummer Nick Fraser.

Pianist Marilyn Lerner in a compilation of improvisations created by setting up different microphones in various configurations to highlight different sound qualities of the piano.

The duo of Jean Derome and Rene Lussier on their third album of composition and improvisation that was recorded live with no overdubs.

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.

Ten new songs from Genevieve Letarte on her second CD that is full of compelling melodies and are accompanied by electric and acoustic guitar, bass, drums and trumpet.

Eighteen songs by the dynamic quartet Locomotive, led by composer and guitarist Andre Duchesne, that are intelligent, melodic, and energetic.

The guitar and drum duo of Rene Lussier and Pierre Tanguay in the first recording from their project "La vie qui bat", an excellent recording of improvisation.

The duo of Rene Lussier (guitar, daxophone) and Martin Tetreault (synthesizer, electronics, drum machine) find inspiriation from the old school of musique concrete in this excellent release.

Continuing where La vie qui bat: Chevre left off, this is the second installment of the project from the duo of Pierre Tanguay and Rene Lussier where they take a journey though human nature.

Rene Lussier on solo electric guitar in fourteen improvisational pieces that were not overdubbed or processed post-recording.

These compositions are the result of three stories by Rene Lussier that were commissioned for different projects in the form of short films.

Surreal sound experiments using poetry, noise and ambient music and an eclectic set of instruments to make bewildering and enjoyable compositions, recommended!

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

Double bassist Pierre-Yves Martel adapts Prokofiev's Visions fugitives op.22, short pieces for solo piano, into vehicles for free-jazz exploration.

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.

Mecha Fixes Clocks' 3rd release with Michel F. Cote, Lori Freedman, Philippe Lauzier, Ellwood Epps, Josh Zubot, Martin Tetrault, Bernard Falaise, &c... a musique actuelle supergroup, and an amazing conceptual work.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The Bozzini Quartet commissioned this work from the duo Derome/Hetu, which tackles the subject of making differences cohabit, calling for the musicians to move & improvise in response to a soundtrack in 4 languages.

This Toronto quintet spent two years researching and performing the music of Steve Lacy, focusing on the vocal works, which they play with precision, imagination and love.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

Geographic improvisations from this trio of string and percussion players, with each track named by location and distance between Montreal and Chelsea, Ontario.

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.

The trio of Roberto Fega (electronics), Elio Martusciello (guitar, electronics) and Graziano Lella (laptop) in a series of compositions and improvisations that explore the syncretism between different musical codes.

Fascinating compositions combining improvisation and organized sound from Martusciello, Lella, & Fega, using acoustic and electronic instruments to frightening effect.

The meeting of Martin Tetreault and Otomo Yoshihide, two turntable master manipulators, in a studio recording from Montreal, in a collection of 21 improvisations that explore different themes.

Turntable duo of Martin Tetreault and Otomo Yoshihide in a collection of improvised recordings taken for a Spring tour in 2003 around parts of Europe.

Picking up where 1. Grrr leaves off, this album is the second addition of the turntable duo of Martin Tetreault and Otomo Yoshihide in a collection of live, improvised recordings.

Following 1. Grrr and 2. Tok, this is the third and final part of a series of live recordings from the improvising turntable duo of Martin Tetreault and Otomo Yoshihide.

Using extended and unsual techniques of cutting up, scratching, scraping, sanding grooves, even ironing his records, turntabilist Martin Tetreault approaches new music in audacious ways.

Two CDs from experimental electronic artist Martin Tetreault; one a studio work from 1991-92 using sampling, the second a collection of various experimental works recorded between 1984 and 86.

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.

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.

Guitarists Bernard Falaise and Ron Samworth play alongside percussionists Pierre Tanguay and Dylan Van der Schyff in this loud debut album of free improvisation.

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 live concert recording from 1992 featuring five groups of fifteen total musicians playing 17 previously unreleased tracks.

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

The Vertical Squirrels trio plays collective improvisations that draws on groove elements of funk and rock with Rob Wallace's sensitive drumming and Fischlin's adventurous ECM-tinted guitar work.

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.

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.

A wonderfully inventive and enjoyable solo guitar album from Montreal guitarist Bernard Falaise, a member of Miriodor, Klaxon Gueule, les Projectionnistes, Diesel and other groups, here mostly focused on acoustic guitar with open turning fed into effects pedals, alongside pieces for electric guitar, glockenspiel and melodica; magnifique!

Translating to "this is not", the experimental Montreal trio of Michel F. Cote, Alexandre St-Onge and Bernard Falaise have for 20 years experimented in sound, bridging rock, experimental and improvised forms, here in a 3-CD retrospective of studio works from the last 16 years with collaborators Jean Derome, Ellwood Epps, Sam Shalabi, Philippe Lauzier, and Christof Migone.

An organized sound work paying homage to German cartographer Karl Ortmann; and a piece built around the video installation "MSTM Wall" by British media artist Ian W. Coel.

Putting together two releases from Montreal guitarist and composer Tim Brady's "24 Frames" project: "Trance" (CD + DVD) and "Scatter" (2 CDs), performed solo and with his Bradyworks ensemble.

25 chamber works composed by Montreal composer, multi-instrumentalist and improviser Jean Derome, presenting pieces from the wealth of projects he's involved in, including Dangereux Zhoms, Ensemble de flutes Alize, duos with Lori Freedmam, Quasar, quatuor de saxophones, &c.

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.

An excellent quartet of 4 female improvisers creating mysterious landscapes, bizarre spaces and surprising topography using dual pianos, flute, melodica, trombone & alphorn.

After 14 years this Montreal trio dedicated to the works of Thelonius Monk, comprised of Jean Derome on alto and baritone sax, Pierre Cartier on electric bass, and Pierre Tanguay on drums, returns with 11 exuberant recordings including "Brilliant Corners", "Pannonica", &c.

Percussionist Ziya Tabassian plays solo tombak, the main percussion instrument used in Persian classical music, in 9 pieces that explore the large range of tones and nuances of the instrument.

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

P (Yann Pittard on oud and guitar & vocals), Y (Tatsuya Yoshida on drums & vocals) and N (Mitsuru Nasuno on bass & vocals) performing Arabian Progressive Pop Improvisation, an unusual melding and orchestration of arabic progressions and melodic prog rock.

A quartet of creative improvisers from Montreal--Joane Hetu (sax and voice), Pierre-Yves Martel (viola da gamba, harmonica), Emilie Mouchous (synth)--and from Germany--Carl Ludwig Hubsch (tuba)--blend conventional instruments with objects and profound techniques to create detailed and carefully controlled aural environments, enveloping the listener in rich, imaginative environments.

The meticulous and magnificently creative mind of wind player and composer Jean Derome used a 2010 Sudoko puzzle as a guide for his "Sudoko Pour Pygmees", presented alongside "7 Dances (for 15)" and "5 Thoughts (for hard rubber)", performed by an octet of Montreal mainstays including Pierre Tanguay, Pierre Cartier, Guido Del Fabbro, Bernard Falaise, &c.

Prepared piano and percussion from Ofer Pelz and Preston Beebe, the percussionist using a diverse set of approaches to drums, cymbals and devices, blurring the sonic distinctions with Israeli-born Montreal-based pianist Ofer Pelz, whose preparations transform the piano in remarkable ways as the two focus on time, texture, space, and ambiance through seven fascinating improvisations.

A fun, odd and eccentric album constructed from extracts of hours of tape reels and audio cassettes by Montreal turntablist Martin Tetrault, a mix of plunderphonic sources, unusual turntable technique, and experimental audio collage drawn from an insanely diverse set of sources, in this sequel to his 1992 "Snipettes!" cassette, here with 31 new fascinating miniatures.

Legendary UK drummer Roger Turner and Canadian guitarist Arthur Bull, seasoned improvisers since the 70s and already working as a duo, joined with Montreal trombonist Scott Thomson during Thomson's 2017 residency in Halifax through suddenlyListen, touring and recording this album of propulsive and dynamic creative improvisation during their 2018 tour of Eastern Canada.

Using voice, kick drum, electronics with immersive spatialization, and bass clarinet, Lori Freedman presents an exhilarating and impressive live performance at Montreal's Studio 270, exploring the beauty of extremes, her playing and incredible sense of timing the culmination of her 11-city North American tour titled "The Virtuosity of Excess"; absolutely impressive.

The Montreal string quartet Quatuor Bozzini of Alissa Cheung on violin, Clemens Merkel on violin, Stephanie Bozzini on viola, and Isabelle Bozzini on cello is extended with double bassist Pierre-Alexandre Maranda as they perform composer Simon Martin's work of long tones and timbres, exploring the nature and philosophy of sound, and our relationship to it.

Stunningly unusual vocal music from composer, music researcher and vocalist based in Montreal, Gabriel Dharmoo, collecting works from 2012 to 2019, performed with small and large ensembles using almost completely wordless voice, utterance, guttural sound, swoops and, melodic flights, augmented with physical percussion like stamping and clamping; brilliant and enthralling.

Perhaps one of the quirkiest releases from the Klaxon Gueule trio of Michel F Côté, Bernard Falaise and Alexandre St-Onge, performing respectively on drums, guitar and bass, and all on synthesizers and computer, recalling early electronic albums while adding a whimsical and alluring edge to their often darker and more experimental prior releases.

Performing four of avant composer Alvin Lucier's works composed between 1991 and 2004, the Montreal-based Quatuor Bozzini (Clemens Merkel on violin, Alissa Cheung on violin, Stephanie Bozzini on viola, and Isabelle Bozzini on cello) focus on Lucier's works of sonic exploration, including the intensely harmonic interactions of the album's title work.

The duo of Swiss improvisers Bertran Deznier (saxophone) and Hans Koch (clarinet, saxophone) in an outstanding release of instantaneous composition.

This is the third release from Jean Derome et les Dangereux Zhoms, which, like the two preceding it, was created from Derome's personal travel journal.