This nine piece klez funk rock jazz ensemble performs original compositions and arrangements combining West African influenced rhythms with Eastern European Klezmer melodies.

Calgary's A Band collective follows in the tradition of the People Band, Scratch Orchestra, and Portsmouth Sinfonia in creating swirling mixes of traditional and non-traditional instruments.

AIMTorotono Orchestra under the direction of Kyle Brenders was formed in 2007 to perform the music of Anthony Braxton, here in their first studio album of original compositions for their own sophisticated repertoire.

Clean Feed's 2nd LP is their 4th Angles release, expanding saxophonist Martin Kuchen's band to 9 pieces with Mattias Stahl, Johan Berthling, Alexander Zethson, Mats Aleklint, Eirik Hegdal, Goran Kajfes, and Magnus Broo in an album of rare expressiveness and power.

Now a nine-piece, Martin Kuchen leads the magnificently powerful Angles band through 7 demanding compositions, with trumpeter Magnus Broo back in the band alongside Alexander Zethson, Mattias Stahl, Jonan Berthling, Andreas Werlin, Eirik Hegdal, Mats Aleklint & Goran Kajfes.

Now a nine-piece, Martin Kuchen leads the magnificently powerful Angles band through 7 demanding compositions, with trumpeter Magnus Broo back in the band alongside Alexander Zethson, Mattias Stahl, Jonan Berthling, Andreas Werlin, Eirik Hegdal, Mats Aleklint & Goran Kajfes.

An unusual improvising orchestra that absorbs concepts from a wealth of styles, led by saxophonist Frode Gjerstad; this 1992 recording is of a 7-piece band with 2 drummers including Paal Nilssen-Love, 2 bassists guitar, and Ove Storland on vocals.

Five idiosyncratic compositions by English composer Frank Denyer with performers including The Barton Workshop, Elisabeth Smalt, Juliet Fraser, Kiku Day and Frank Denyer himself, using shakuhachi, voice, muted strings, percussion and an axe striking a block of wood.

Bertrand Denzler composed this pseudo-drone work performed by the ONCEIM Orchestra, allowing the orchestra members to make decisions in order to keep the drone alive while moving within a small, pre-established musical perimeter defined by the composer.

Pianist Satoko Fujii's large ensemble blending masterful Japanese and Euro players like Kazuhisa Uchihashi, Natsuka Tamura with Matthias Schubert, Gebhard Ullmann, &c., with Fujii's compositions amazingly flexible frameworks that lend themselves to great soloing and ensemble playing.

Since 2005 this French progressive rock band has merged cinematic orchestral jazz in a marriage of Soft Machine, Magma, Steve Coleman and Bernard Herrmann, here in their 3rd album, a double CD of instrumental music that's technically interesting and melodically fulfilling.

Guitarist Bill Frisell's first-ever appearance as the featured soloist on a big band session, performing with British composer and arranger Michael Gibbs and his NDR Bigband for a tour de force album playing over arrangements of compositions drawn from his career.

British jazz composer and arranger Michael Gibbs directs his NDR Big Band through a set of lyrical jazz pieces with brilliant arrangements, including four original compositions and compositions from Carla Bley, Thelonius Monk, Ornette Coleman, Gordon Jenkins, and Ron Carter.

A hybrid of theater, music, sound poetry and political manifesto from Sylvaine Helary, focused on the "Arab Spring" in Egypt, using intertwining words and voices around the quartet performances of Hugues Mayot, Sylvain Lemetre, Antonin Rayon and Sylvaine Helary.

Legendary UK free-jazz guitarist Ray Russell meets California avant guitarist Henry Kaiser to explore celestial squids with drummers Weasel Walter & William Winant, bassists Michael Manring & Damon Smith, and saxophonists Steve Adams, Joshua Allen, Phillip Greenlief, and Aram Shelton.

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.

French-Japanese violist Frantz Loriot's large ensemble drawn from 5 nations in an excellent set of compositions that employ a diverse set of approaches, slyly drawing the listener into unique and encompassing sound worlds of remarkable elements and superb improvisation.

Composer, cornetist, and musical director Rob Mazurek leads his largest regular ensemble, the Exploding Star Orchestra, through one of his most ambitious recordings, part of an epic science fiction opera inspired by the writings of Samuel R. Delany and Stanislaw Lem.

A unique 3CD-box from Umlaut Records putting in attention the musical collaborations between two of Sweden's most headstrong musicians: the pioneers Bengt "Frippe" Nordstrom and Sven-Ake Johansson.

"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...

First album by French rock band Ghost Rhythms's keyboardist and co-composer Camille Petit, orchestral instrumental rock with a progressive rock feel, latin rhythmic influences and strong melodic tendencies, performed by a large ensemble to create an embraceable blend of music.

Previously played Squidco store copy, used for cataloging and samples, in excellent condition.

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On the A side Simon Hanes leads a 14 piece ensemble in an homage to the late 60s/70s Italian soundtracks with a film score to a fictional film "Vai! Vai! Vai!"; on the B side, the improvising Ensemble for the Exploration of New Perspectives in Collective Sound Exploration.

Swiss pianist/composer Luzia von Wyl and her Ensemble of jazz and classical performers presents von Wyl's compositions that borrow from modern and early jazz, chamber music and world sources, in works that draw on her experiences traveling and performing through the world.

Rasa Rasa members Kenny Wollesen, Dalius Naujo, Jonathon Haffner and Sean Francis Conway present the ancient polyphonic vocal music of Lithuania using a mix of ensembles, reviving the infectious grooves and ancient vocal rounds, aided by new instruments devised by Wollesen.

Swedish composer Magnus Granberg (Skogen) places baroque instruments alongside prepared piano, objects and electronics in an exquisite 60-minute piece performed with an excellent set of performers including Cyril Bondi, d'incise, Eric Ruffing, Christoph Schiller, &c.

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.

Double CD remaster of Braxton's incredible 1978 concert in Koln with a massive orchestra including Ned Rothenberg, Leo Smith, Marilyn Crispell, Bob Ostertag, Marty Ehrlich, JD Parran, &c. &c. &c.!

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.

A large work from Brooklyn's jazz-oriented Little Women with saxophonists Travis Laplante & Darius Jones, guitarist Andrew Smiley, and drummer Jason Nazary, a sophisticated building work collectively composed and refined over two years.

Composer, singer, electronic manipulator, violinist and theremin player Maja Solveig Kjelstrup Ratkje released this, her debut album, on CD in 2002, now available again on vinyl LP.

On the Winter Solstice of 2014 Adam Rudolph convened 11 of New York City's finest and most adventurous guitarists: Rez Abbasi, Nels Cline, Liberty Ellman, David Gilmore, Miles Okazaki, Marvin Sewell, Damon Banks, Marco Capelli, Jerome Harris, Joel Harrison and Kenny Wessel.

Composer Zygmaunt Krause pays hommage to Polish art theoretician, painter, pioneer of the Constructivist avant-garde, and creator of the theory of Unism, Wladyslaw Strzeminski, through pieces performed by the Polish Radio National Symphony Orchestra, Silesian String Quartet, &c.

A long-term studio project/mutant big band merging collage, scored pieces, structured improvisations, cut-up jams, hi- and lo-fi textures, electroacoustic work, and location recording into large and wonderfully unpredictable compositions with few boundaries.

A long-term studio project/mutant big band merging collage, scored pieces, structured improvisations, cut-up jams, hi- and lo-fi textures, electroacoustic work, and location recording into large and wonderfully unpredictable compositions with few boundaries.

Six rich and varied electro-acoustic instrumental works from an amazing quintet of brilliant improvisers: Anthony Pateras (keys); Will Guthrie (drums & percussion); Natasha Anders (bass & computer); Clayton Thomas (double bass) and Jerome Noetinger (tapes & electronics).

A reissue of Emanem 3305 (3403) with extra material from the same sessions from free improvising trombonist Paul Rutherford recorded in 1974, presenting a then-rare example of the instrument and approaches that were avant, humorous, technical, and amazingly inventive.

A split tape, side A is the Bouchons D'Oreilles duo of Lukasz Kacperczyk (synth) and Mateusz Wysocki (laptop) focusing on improvisation through electronics; side B is the Warsaw Improvisers Orchestra which includes Kacperczyk, focusing on instant composition.

Peter Brotzmann's 9-piece ensemble for the 164th NDR-JAZZWORKSHOP with the South African rhythm team of Harry Miller (bass) and Louis Moholo (drums), plus Frank Wright & Willem Breuker(sax), Hannes Bauer & Alan Tomlinson (trombone) and Alexander Von Schlippenbach (piano).

A unique saxophone quartet from 4 distinctive players, all on soprano sax -- Johh Butcher, Christian Kobi, Hans Koch, and Urs Leimgruber -- creating an incredible array of sound and spontaneous composition with profound technical prowess and discerning discretion in dialog.

Led by composers Sam Eastmond and Nikki Franklin, The SPIKE Orchestra is a large ensemble that draws on a wide range of influences including Duke Ellington, Frank Zappa, Carl Stalling, Zorn and more, here performing the 26th "Book of Angels" covering Zorn's Masada book.

A memorial CD of unreleased material from the late contrabassist Stefano Scodanibbio, who was a student of Fernando Grillo's and a long-time associate of Luigi Nono and Terry Riley, performing with an ensemble that includes Riley, Tristan Honsinger, Bruce Ackley, &c.

NY bassist Jason Anastasoff composes map-based works using graphic & traditional notation, plus interpreted spoken work, peformed with Sean Ali (bass), Brad Henkel (trumpet), Nathaniel Morgan (sax), Owen Stewart-Robertson (guitar) and Jacob Wick (trumpet).

Five idiosyncratic compositions by English composer Frank Denyer with performers including The Barton Workshop, Elisabeth Smalt, Juliet Fraser, Kiku Day and Frank Denyer himself, using shakuhachi, voice, muted strings, percussion and an axe striking a block of wood.

Montreal's most creative large ensemble, led by Joane Hetu & Daniell Palardy Roger, in their 5th release presenting works composed between 1976-2015 featuring twenty musicians playing in different combinations, showing the creative breadth and skills of this amazing band.

Rova led by saxophonist Larry Ochs expands their translation of John Coltrane's "Ascension" in this amazing 3 disc CD/DVD/BluRay set of their cathartic performance at the 2012 Guelph Jazz Festival with a stellar lineup including Mazurek, Frith, Cline, Mori, Drake, &c &c.

A memorial CD of unreleased material from the late contrabassist Stefano Scodanibbio, who was a student of Fernando Grillo's and a long-time associate of Luigi Nono and Terry Riley, performing with an ensemble that includes Riley, Tristan Honsinger, Bruce Ackley, &c.

An oustanding suite composed and led by trumpeter Dave Douglas for the for Monash Art Ensemble, an improvising chamber orchestra including some of Melbourne, Australia's finest players, scored for four winds, four brass, four strings, four percussion, and electronics.

Alto saxophonist/arranger Ed Palermo leads his 18-piece big band in a set of road-tested arrangements of Frank Zappa classics, along with a Neil Young ballad, a Leiber and Stoller piece, and a Los Lobos tune, all with technical and lyric prowess and surprising twists and turns.

The ultimate audiophile repressing of this essential album of Sun Ra and his Arkestra performing live in Switzerland in 1980, originally an LP, then a CD, and now restored and expanded to 2 LPs in the original box packaging, with 3 new tracks and 4 post cards.

Not chamber music, not world music, not jazz, Serbian composer and instrumentalist Boris Kovac has for 40 years perfected his unique blend of compositional music, rich in the region's folk history while stunningly lyrical and sophisticated in execution.

A 15-member ensemble of Boston area improvisers plus guests Jeb Bishop, Tony Malaby and Taylor Ho Bynum, taking their name from the deep-sea submersibles used for exploring, as this band survey's large form improvisation that blends free and melodic jazz in adventurous ways.

Carl Ludwig Hubsch (tuba); Ole Schmidt (bass clarinet); Chris Weinheimer (bass flute); Robert Schleisiek (piano); and Tom Lorenz (vibraphone) interpret Christian Wolff's composition based on "Union Maid", a song from the 1920's, transforming the work through temporal expansion.

Pianist Chris McGregor's 1963 album with a large South African band including saxophonists Dudu Pukwana and Kippie Moeketsi, and Mongezi Feza on trumpet, a precursor to Blue Notes and Brotherhood of Breath, showing the powerful direction McGregor was to take his music in.