Mike & Kate Westbrooks 1986 album of Gioacchino Rossini interpretations, with Lindsay Cooper on sopranino sax, huge works that impart improv and humor into magnificent compositions.

Containing the majority of minimalist composer Morton Feldman's compositions for solo piano, 3 CDs of short works and 2 for the magnificent "For Bunita Marcus" and "Triadic Memories", performed by one of the foremost interpreters of Feldman's work, Philip Thomas, and presented in a sturdy 5-CD box set with a 52 page booklet of notes from the performer and artwork.

Electroacoustic composer Francois Bayle, a member of Pierre Schaeffer's Groupe de Recherches Musicales, and who worked with Stockhausen and Messiaen, in two 2-part compositions from 1978 and 1979, acousmatic music of mysterious sound sources that are presented with impressive pacing, tension and drama, using a rich and diverse palette of sound.

Pianist and vibraphonist Karl Berger is also a professor of composition, having won numerous awards and commissions for his work, here presenting the final part of a trilogy written for Tzadik, a beautiful 14-part suite for piano and string realized with Berger himself at the keys in a septet of well known NY performers including Ken Filiano, Tomas Ulrich, Jason Kao Hwang.

"Gong/Ear" is a decades-long series of improvisations with dancers from Fluxus conspirator Philip Corner, recorded in his NYC loft in 1989, using his favorite Paiste tam-tam to create a feedback loop of perceptions between gong and dance.

NY composer Mario Diaz de Leon, who is influenced by Scelsi, Ligeti, Dumitrescu & Radulescu, focuses on acoustic & electronic hybrids that often fuse both elements into unified meta-instruments.

Five years in the making, composer Scott Johnson transcribed the speech of philosopher Daniel C. Dennett (Committee for Skeptical Inquiry) into this extended, 8-movement suite, using a rich, detailed set of musical landscapes blending musical genres that run in parity with the voice of Dennett, as Johnson emphasizes and highlight his insightful thinking.

Composer George Lewis leads an ensemble that bridges compositional and improvisation skills through four large works written between 2012 and 2014 using the concept of "assemblage," a pragmatic, material, non-teleological approach to composition on four differing themes, yielding fascinatingly complex yet diverse, thrilling and embraceable results.

San Francisco Bay Area composer, acoustic bassist, and bandleader, Lisa Mezzacappa used the 1872 writings of British world traveler Isabella Bird "I am doing what a woman can hardly ever do ..." as the basis for lyrics for her adventurous ten-part "panoramic song cycle for improvisers, with Fay Victor handling the vocals with a stellar ensemble of modern improvisers.

Nicole Mitchell explores the work of African-American writer Octavia Butler in a science fiction concept of intergalactic integration, achieved through 9 detailed pieces that balance improvisation, composition and song in unique and sophisticated ways.

An unusual and distinctive record from violinist and ornithologist Hollis Taylor, a book with 2 CDS presenting 41 tracks of recordings of the Australian pied butcherbird, each track pairing a bird, environmental sound, and a single instrumentalist, with an impressive list of performers who take unique approaches to the challenge of accompanying a bird.

A series of shorter works composed by Christian Wolff written to explore the process of practicing and working within specified limits, exercises for both the composer and the performers, recorded live in Berlin in 2000 by an ensemble directed by Peter Ablinger and including Wolff on piano & melodica, Robin Hayward on tuba, Anette Krebs on guitar, &c.

French composer Christian Zanesi, a student of Pierre Schaeffer and Guy Reibel at the Paris Conservatory and an artistic director of the Ina GRM, in an album presenting works from 1983 ("Stop ! L'horizon") and 1991 ("Grand Bruit"), the latter built on field recordings of train travel, the former an hommage to the potential of the recording studio itself.

Joh Zorn wrote this multifaceted suite celebrating the vibrant Italian dramatic form Commedia dell'arte that began in the 16th century, evoking the characters Harlequin, Colombina, Scaramouch, Pulcinella and Pierrot in five compositional miniatures for small chamber ensembles.

During a week in April 2017 John Zorn travelled to Paris, where he performed several concerts including "The Interpretation of Dreams", presented an evening with guests, and performed solo on the organ at the Grande salle Pierre Boulez, the full concert of which is presented on this CD, along with 30 minutes of recordings made before the evening's concert.

A new set of works from Downtown New York composer John Zorn inspired by the surrealism of Luis Bunuel and the psychotropic dream world of William S. Burroughs, in three compositions performed by Jack Quartet, the rhythm section from the piano quintet Obscure Objects of Desire, plus vivbraphonist Sae Hashimoto, pianist Steve Gosling, and drummer Tyshawn Sorey.

Collecting John Zorn's recent compositions from 2013-2016, with the stellar assistance of performers that include Peter Evans (trumpet), Tyshawn Sorey (drums), Christian McBride (bass), presenting 9 works connected by a twisted and complex story of a magical descent into madness.

After six years of composing primarily for solo viola, NY violist and violinist Jessica Pavone formed the J. Pavone String Ensemble as an extension of the sonic discoveries of her solo music, exploring tactile experience that expand on the themes of her solo work while also integrating a deeper understanding of the effects sound has on the listener.

To mark the 90th anniversary of his birth, Transversales Disques is reissuing electraoustic composer and pioneer Luc Ferrari's 1989 work "Photophonie", along with "Il etait une fois" (1973), "Trans-Voices" (1992), and "Leica" (1977), in a great overview of his work as co-founder of the GRM and with French Radio's Groupe de Musique Concrete.

Daphne Oram & Vera Gray's "Listen Move & Dance series of BBC programs were devised as a radical new technique to help British schoolchildren learn how to dance, Gray's sections arranging short adaptations of classical pieces by Bartok, Stravinsky, Shostakovich, contrasted with Oram's electronic section, adding a sci-fi/Dr. Who element for the more imaginative children...

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.

Brooklyn-based composer, bassist, and writer Nick Dunston in his debut album, blending jazz, contemporary, chamber and avant forms, in a uniquely voiced quintet with Louna Dekker on Vargas on flutes & piccolo, Ledah Finck on violin & viola, Tal Yahalom on guitar, and Stephen Boegehold on drums, in a sophisticated album of concisely fascinating compositions.

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.

Toronto-area saxophonist Colin Fisher, best known for his group I Have Eaten The City, with his collective quartet of NY players Daniel Carter on tenor, alto & soprano saxophones + clarinet & flute, Brandon Lopez on upright bass, and Marc Edwards on drums & percussion, for three extended and exploratory improvisations of exemplary creative insight.

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.

Dark and demanding improvisation, each side of this album an extended foray into dark and dangerous explorations from the Los Angeles trio of Peter Kolovos on guitar, Patrick Shiroishi on saxophone, and Noel Meek on electronics and tapes, Shiroishi's sweeping tones matching the electronics and effected guitar in a glorious nightmare of darkly imaginative sound.

John Krausbauer's composition employs 3 West Coast accordionists (Krausbauer, Kate Short and Aaron Oppenheim) in an extended compositional framework allowing for improvisation, of hallucinatory, shimmering sound that accentuates the intersections of tone and harmonics; minimalist and entrancing in the mode of Pauline Oliveros, Wada, Palestine, Radigue, &c.

An extended and rich confluence of strings from R Keenan Lawler and John Krausbauer, using resonator guitar and banjo, sustained tones that intertwine in a beautiful and optimistic drone, minimalistic yet drenched in a profusion of harmonic detail; a beautiful and elusive dream mixing between an Indian raga and an alien electronic environment.

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).

An excellent first meeting of two guitarists recording on a February afternoon and released in the sequence recorded with no edits or changes, from Jim McAuley on guitar and Scot Ray on lap steel slide guitar with effects, an innately lyrical blending of styles masking the strong technical skills and long histories of these two superlative players.

Quietly lurking as it prepares to attack, this Kobra is the free improvising quaret of Aurora Nealand on accordion, alto saxophone, voice & objects, Steve Marquette on acoustic & electric guitars, Anton Hatwich on bass, and Paul Thibodeaux on drums, captured live at Chicago's Hungry Brain during the Instigation Festival for a mysterious 2-part "New Omens" and some "Telly Attire".

'Spilla' means 'to play' in the language of Neapolitan musicians, and playing here are NY guitarist and composer Elliott Sharp and Italian guitarist Sergio Sorrentino, presenting world premier recordings of 4 works recorded live in Vercelli, Italy: two improvisations and two graphic scores performed on electric guitar with incredible technique and passion.

Stochastic music for percussion and synthesizers from New York avant conceptualist and keyboardist Charlemagne Palestine, here on piano & electronics, with the Italian duo Trrma' of Giovanni Todisco on percussion and Guiseppe Candiano on synth, in two side-long works of irregular rhythm, complexity and dissonance that build and recede in a suspenseful journey.

The second album of piano works from Japanese composer Jo Kondo performed by pianist Satoko Inoue--a noted interpreter of solo works by Feldman, Ferrari, and Cage--here presenting all of Kondo's works for solo piano written from 2001 to 2012, alongside two early works from 1975, exploring a wealth of harmonic, rhythmic, and conceptual ideas from a diversity of projects.

The NY electronics duo exclusiveOr (Sam Pluta and Jeff Synder) join forces with the International Contemporary Ensemble and Architeuthis Walks on Land (Katherine Young and Amy Cimini) for this tour-de-force ensemble work, combining composed forms, electro-acoustic improvisation, noise, and lush harmonies, in a fascinatingly detailed album of creative musicianship.

The NY electronics duo exclusiveOr (Sam Pluta and Jeff Synder) join forces with the International Contemporary Ensemble and Architeuthis Walks on Land (Katherine Young and Amy Cimini) for this tour-de-force ensemble work, combining composed forms, electro-acoustic improvisation, noise, and lush harmonies, in a fascinatingly detailed album of creative musicianship.

Nine compositions from Ryoko Akama commissioned by Another Timbre while she was doing research at the Krzysztof Kieslowski archive in Poland, the scores based on fragments of notes and objects from that archive, realized here by the Apartment House ensemble as a beautiful set of floating works invoking "clouds, as shape, as light, as colour, as body, as element".

London's Apartment House in a quintet configuration performs four chamber works by Slovakian composer Adrian Democ, plus the Czech ensemble Ostravska Band / Fama Q performing one composition; gentle music of deceptive simplicity, using color, shade and hue through unique orchestration, his works built upon creative foundations steeped in historic reference.

A set of varied compositions from Frank Denyer, most of them of a delicate acoustic intimacy, with works for female singers & flute, two works for koto, a string quartet, one for flute and electronics and the two-part "Frog" for a bowed stringed instrument of Denyer design, the "sneh"; uncategorizable music of sublime imagination and unusual approaches.

A uniquely epic work in 14 parts by composer Frank Denyer, with a large ensemble of 40 musicians, many playing specially built instruments made from discarded materials, with other instrumentation including sitar, mandolin and hammered dulcimer, 4 male vocalists, 4 female vocalists, 4 players of adapted organ pipes, crumhorns, bowed wine glasses, 3 double basses, a contrabassoon, &c. &c.

Two compositions from Berlin-based Australian composer-instrumentalist Jon Heilbron scored for two double basses and two hardanger fiddles--violins with extra sympahetic strings-- in his two part "Puma Court", a slowly-evolving work that develops uniquely rich acoustic environments of interacting harmonies & timbres, punctuated with subtle percussive elements.

Previously played Squidco store copy, used for cataloging and samples, in very good condition with slight bending on edges of binding for outer booklet. CDs in NM condition.

Pianist Daniel Bernardes pays homage to French composer Olivier Messiaen, augmenting his piano trio of Antonio Augusto Aguiar on bass and Mario Costa on drums with the Drumming GP Ensemble of Miquel Bernat on marimba, Jeffrey Davis & Pedro Gois on vibraphones, and Joao Dias on glockenspiel, a wonderful merging of contemporary percussive composition and modern jazz.

Swedish bass player Egil Kalman, here on modular syntheizer, joins Norwegian guitarist Fredrik Rasten for a lovely album of drifting electronics and beautifully entwining acoustic guitar, unhurriedly developing environments of warm, slowly evolving chord structures that show influences from players like Catherine Lamb or the Wandelweiser collective.

Swedish bass player Egil Kalman, here on modular syntheizer, joins Norwegian guitarist Fredrik Rasten, for a lovely album of drifting electronics and beautifully entwining acoustic guitar, unhurriedly developing environments of warm, slowly evolving chord structures that show influences from players like Catherine Lamb or the Wandelweiser collective.

Their first release in 2000 performing Cornelius Cardew's "Treatise", for 20 years the Formanex quartet of sound artists, conceptualists and experimenters Anthony Taillard, Christophe Havard, Emmanuel Leduc, and Julien Ottavi are heard here in collaborations with Keith Rowe, Kasper T. Toeplitz, Ralf Wehowsky, Seth Cluett, Michael Pisaro, Radu Malfatti, &c.

A suite of 12 movements, divided into two series of six works usually organized in pairs - electronic sounds with instrumental and more rarely, concrete sounds - from composer Bernard Parmegiani, premiered in 1975 in Paris.