Trumpeter Don Cherry recorded this funk album in France in 1985 with a set of multi-ethnic Paris players including Elli Medeiros and produced by Ramuntcho Matta, the songs crossing funk with jazzy vamps, rock roots and modern approaches, reissued with new liner notes and 5 bonus tracks including the cult 1983 single "Kick" featuring legendary author Brion Gysin.

An intensively diverse and thrilling game of "cat and dog" between Norwegian percussionist Paal Nilssen-Love and Japanese guitarist Otomo Yoshihide, performing live at Dom Cultural Center, Moscow, Russia in 2016 for two extended improvisations that exemplify incredible technical skills, reflective and introspective dialog, and cathartic release; absolutely impressive.

Rotterdam based band comprising two Portuguese players--Gonccalo Almeida on bass and Hugo Costa on sax--and German drummer Philipp Ernsting, the trio adding electronics, keys and effects, in their third album slamming hard free jazz and rock angst into a controlled chaos, a maelstrom of powerful riffs, rugged soloing, and mesmerizing grooves.

A strong start to the Australian trio The Neck's 24th album, as Chris Abrahams on piano & keyboards, Tony Buck on drums, percussion & guitar, and Lloyd Swanton on acoustic bass present a powerhouse of free improvisation in a single hour-long work, the first half evoking jazz leaning, with a free and spacious bridge that builds suddenly to a rocking groove.

Doc Chad took his Contemporary Rock Band, here as a quintet with Schroeder on drums, Fisten Titus Waldenfels on fiddle, Jan Fitsen on bass, and Marcello Del Bosco on drums, on a tour of Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Slovenia, Bulgaria, here presenting the best of the tour with recordings of Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix, plus a solo piece recorded on a vintage acoustic guitar.

A mix of songs and instrumentals, with 11 country classic covers, recorded in the studio and on tour from 2017-2018 in Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Slovenia, and Bulgaria, and the UK including one track from Cafe Oto, in the company of Titus Waldenfels (guitar), Thilo Kuhn (keys), Schroeder (drums), Gary Cherwonka (pedal steel) and Steven De Bruyn (harmonica).

Influenced by progressive rock, kosmiche, and fusion forms, the UK trio Das Rad of Nick Robinson on guitars & electronics, Martin Archer on sax, reeds, winds, keys and electronics, Steve Dinsdale on drums and percussion, and Julie Archer on voice, bringing 70s sounds to modern sensibilities and superb creative playing, a great achievement.

Declaring Terry Riley, Magma, Krautrock, and Sun Ra as influences, this is the fourth album from wind and keyboard player Martin Archer's Orchestra Of The Upper Atmosphere, an augmented six-piece UK ensemble whose rock affinities also embrace improvisation and minimalism, a heady mix of virtuosic playing with melodic intention and extremely detailed tapestries of sound; dreamy and elegiac.

A collaborative French instrumental rock band led by and with compositions from the core quartet of Anthony Belguise (drums), Jean-Loup Faurat (guitar), Regis Laugier (bass) and Nico Morcillo (guitar), with a list of 22 international guests across 8 songs and instrumentals, including Rafael Toral, Maria Radich, Paulo Furtado, Carlos Zingaro, Rui Carvalho, &c.

Recorded in the late 1970's in Canada while improvising rock, jazz, pysch, folk, country & blues guitar madman Doctor Eugene Chadbourne was living there, this is the second of four LPs documenting his work at the time, this album presenting 6 solo pieces of profound playing amidst an unusual experimental nature and a uniquely Chad sense of humor.

The sixth album from guitarist Hedvig Mollestad Thomassen's scorching Norwegian instrumental rock trio, having built a strong following through their impressive approach to rock, schooled from both early hard/progressive band but also driving fusion bands, with a penetrating edge in authoritative soloing and intense rhythmic interplay.

Intricate interactions in free improv from the Portugese trio of violist Joao Camoes, cellist Miguel Mira (Open Field String Trio, Nuovo Camerata), and pianist Rodrigo Pinheiro (Red Trio), focused on the balance between contrasting counterpoint, polyrhythms and fluid soundscapes.

A strange and bizarrely beautiful "fanzine" of three CDs, one each from hurdy gurdy drone artist Yann Gourdon, bass guitarist Maxime Petite, and Jean Luc Guionnet on organ, with illustration by artists Fredox, Celine Guichard, and 38Fillette; an odd and absorbing package.

John Zorn's Masada Book Three, "The Book Beri'ah", continues in its second volume with this powerful and demanding album from the Philadelphia avant-metal band of Ludovic Beier on accordion & accordina, Timba Harris on violins, Matt Hollenberg on guitars & Oud, Dan Kennedy on bass, Larry Kwartowitz on drums, and Nick Shellenberger on keyboards & vocals.

In 2010 Scandinavian guitarists Raoul Bjorkenheim and Anders Nilsson performed this incredible concert at DMG in NYC, accompanied by NY drummer Gerald Cleaver, a breathtaking album of intricate improvised interplay.

A heavy album merging free improvisation, blues and rock forms from the French Killing Spree trio of Matthieu Metzger on alto saxophone & electronics, Sylvain Daniel on electric bass & effects, and Gregoire Galichet on drums, living up to the band name in dark malice captured live at Club Soto in Kyoto, Japan during their 2018 Japanese tour; vengeful.

A split 7": on one side Sleepytime Gorilla Museum percussionist/drummer/composer Moe! Staiano's West Coast rotating ensemble Surplus 1980 in a teaser for an upcoming release with G.W. Sok, Kyle Bruckmann, members of Fred Frith Trio and Total Shutdown; on the other side King Champion Sounds featuring G.W. Sok, formerly of the Dutch band the Ex.

Surplus 1980 Collectiv Ensembl takes the current members of drummer Moe! Staiano's Surplus 1980 along with associated musicians, including Kyle Bruckmann, John Shiurba, Vicky Grossi, Paul Costuros, &c, with vocals from Dutch vocalist G.W. Sok (The Ex), in an album of avant post-punk rock, sophisticated but determined and pointed music, an unusual hybrid of impressive styles.

Mattin takes 5 spontaneous 5-minute songs from 5 musicians, and a 25 minute concert structured by 5 instructions based on those song titles, then records vocals for the 5 songs as a singing lecture, then superimposes all 3 to create the five 5-minutes songs on this album.

A split LP with each side featuring a 20 minute solo track from both brotherly halves of the acclaimed space guitar improvising band My Cat Is An Alien.

Blending a punk rock sensibility with Sephardic tribalism via a taste of North African Gnawa magic, Abraxas is one of the most primal and rocking ensembles in the Masada family, here taking on the 5th edition of Masada Book Three, "The Book Beri'ah", recording in Bill Laswell's studio for 9 joyfully exuberant and intensely executed interpretations of Zorn's compositions.

The second of two "Psychedelic Backfire"s, The Norwegian Elephant 9 improvising rock trio of drummer Torstein Lofthus, bassist Nikolai Haengsle, and keyboardist Stale Storlokken are joined by Dungen guitarist Reine Fiske for an exciting live concert at Kampen Bistro, in Oslo in 2019, the interaction of Fiske and Storlokken a fine example that prog rock is still a vital form.

The first of two "Psychedelic Backfire" concerts at Oslo's Kampen Bistro, taken from a 4 night residency by the Norwegian Elephant 9 rock trio of drummer Torstein Lofthus, bassist Nikolai Haengsle, and keyboardist Stale Storlokken, expanding on tracks from their excellent studio catalog in strongly lyrical and technically superb instrumental and improvised rock forms.

John Zorn invited the trio of guitarist Will Greene, bassist Simon Hanes, and drummer Aaron Edgcomb, to found a new band and play his score books "Bagatelles" and "Apparitions" for his Tzadik label; the trio found common ground merging jazz, experimental and rock forms, forming Trigger and releaseing this album of wonderfully strange creative intent.

With 3 members of the sextet Slow is Possible--alto saxophonist Bruno Figueira, guitarist Joao Clemente and drummer Duarte Fonseca--plus bassist Joao Lucas (who has his own trio on Creative Sources), this cat is a genre-mashing band, blurring jazz and rock forms in a very Downtown NY way: open-minded, surprising, articulate, sophisticated, and passionate improv.

Varying the instrument and proportions of acoustic or electric presentation straddling the foreground/background dynamic for each track, Appalachian Trance Metal guitarist Killick presents his first vinyl LP to extend his vast CD discography; a worthy and curious album of solo guitar, acoustic and electroacoustic work that belongs in any guitar enthusiast's collection.

Chester Hawkins' long-running BSI project now based in DC, layering groove based (kraut)rock with unearthly sound sources, plundered samples, and all form of unmentionable sound.

Mujician pianist Keith Tippetts embarked on his first solo tour in 1979, capturing these concert recordings that were originally released in 1980 on vinyl on the Universe Label; long out of print, Discus has revived these extraordinary recordings, showing the incredible technical abilities, endurance, and quick-witted creative powers of this legendary improviser.

The second album of this Guy Segers (Univers Zero) project in an eclectic ensemble of improvisers, rock musicians and experimenters, a genre-defying project of primarily instrumental work with interventions of song, merging acoustic & electric instruments with electronics, live improvisation with studio manipulation, to find new forms of mesmerizing music.

The collaboration between Magaibutsu label leader, Yoshida Tatsuya (Ruins, Korekyojinn, Koenji, The World Heritage, &c) on drums, keyboards & voice, and Heldon mastermind Richard Pinhas on guitar & effects, continues with this CD of live material from their 2014 Japanese tour, extending the 2015 "Live in Japan" album, including the 8-part "Ascension".

Created out of Sleepytime Gorilla Museum and drummer/percussionist Moe Staiano's Mute Socialite, this 7-piece improvising rock band turns rock on it's side in mostly instrumental, energetically complex and twisted rock pieces with acerbic social narrative, the band employing three drummers, bass & two guitars, piano and trumpet from Darren Johnston.

The Barcelona trio of Gorka Benitez on tenor saxophone & flute, Guillermo Celano on electric guitar, and Marcos Baggiani on drums, play a lyrical and bluesy brand of instrumental rock music which they describe as an eclectic approach to rock emphasizing pure energy and fun, in nine upbeat and groove-oriented tunes of tight and enthusiastic playing.

Burning Ghost is the West Coast rock influenced improvising quartet of Daniel Rosenboom on trumpet, guitarist Jake Vossler, Richard Giddens on double bass, and Aaron McLendon on drums, in a fiery album of heavy playing that borrows from jazz and metal rock forms, with ominious political overtones in their titles while showing articulate and impressive playing skill.

The first duo in 14 years between guitarist Loren Connors and vocalist Suzanne Langille inspired by and using slides of MP Landis' WD series of paintings, which he created live during music performances.

The long-running Chicago free-rock trio Mako Sica currently comprised of Przemyslaw Drazek (trumpet & guitar), Brent Fuscaldo (guitar) and Chaetan Newell (drums & piano) are joined by free improvising legend Hamid Drake on drum kit, tablas and frame drum for a beautiful and rich album of genre merging, spiritually warm, primarily instrumental music, inclusive and persuasive.

More typically a solo performer, Japanese bluesman Kan Mikami has created a distinctive path for his voice, guitar and poetic lyrics; here he is propelled in an improvisational setting with two powerful UK players--John Edwards on bass and Alex Neilson on drums--captured live at London's Cafe Oto for a growling concert of finesse and brusque attitude.

Born from rock bands like Cleric and Simulacrum, this NY instrumental, improvising rock trio blends avant-garde classical, free jazz, dissonant math metal, ambient and world music into a powerful new mix, with Nick Shellenberger on bass and synth, Matt Buckley on drums & percussion, and Matt Hollenberg on guitar; intricate, edgy, demanding and driven music.

John Zorn brings together Downtown New Yorkers, Marc Ribot on guitar, Trevor Dunn on bass and Tyshawn Sorey on drums, for 12 instrumental miniatures combining atonal lyricism with rock intensity; scronky, demanding and exciting hybrids of improv and rock.

After a 13-year hiatus KoenjiHyakkei is back with a thrillingly joyful album of unexpected song and extended, masterful instrumental sections that turn on a pin point, referring and redefining prog and RIO forms with honest enthusiasm, in a quintet with Tatsuya Yoshida on drumming, Sakamoto Kengo on bass, Koganemaru Kei on guitar, Yabuki Taku on keys and Komori Keiko on sax.

A new edition of Koenjihyakkei's landmark fourth album, blending progressive rock, jazz fusion, symphonic rock and neoclassicism with the energy of hardcore punk, the volume of metal and the attitude of Rock In Opposition, from Tatsuya Yoshida on drums, Sakamoto Kengo on bass, Kanazawa Miyako on keyboards Yamamoto Kyoko on voice, and Komori Keiko on reeds.

A new edition of Koenjihyakkei's landmark fourth album, blending progressive rock, jazz fusion, symphonic rock and neoclassicism with the energy of hardcore punk, the volume of metal and the attitude of Rock In Opposition, from Tatsuya Yoshida on drums, Sakamoto Kengo on bass, Kanazawa Miyako on keyboards Yamamoto Kyoko on voice, and Komori Keiko on reeds.

Bassist Ingebrigt Haker-Flaten (The Thing) and Stale Storlokken (Elephant9, Supersilent, Terje Rypdal) join the Nordic Krokofant trio of Axel Skalstad on drums, vibraphone, Tom Hasslan on guitar, and Jorgen Mathisen on saxophone for the band's 3rd album, performing the 4-part work "Q", an intense and sophisticated album of complex and passionate instrumental rock.

Reissuing the first of two albums from the NY collaboration of guitarist Fred Frith and cellist Tom Cora, both providing vocals, percussion, violin, & bass, in a classic example of Downtown NY genre-merging of improvisation and rock with a vicious edge, in smart songs and even smarter instrumental sections, an insanely inventive and intelligent album as vital now as it was then.

Mattin takes 5 spontaneous 5-minute songs from 5 musicians, and a 25 minute concert structured by 5 instructions based on those song titles, then records vocals for the 5 songs as a singing lecture, then superimposes all 3 to create the five 5-minutes songs on this album.

The ultimate Henry Cow collection bringing together all of the 40th anniversary releases of this influential and innovative band, with all the remastered studio CDs, live CDs, Bonus CD, DVDs and booklets from each prior box, plus an additional 60 page booklet of band commentaries, pictures and other documents prepared specifically for this release, all in a sturdy & handsome box.

A split 7" release between Cremaster (Alfredo Costa Monteiro (electronics) and Ferran Fages (feedback mixing board and electroacoustic devices); and the Komora A trio of Karol Koszniec (electronics), Dominik Kowalczyk (laptop) and Jakub Mikolajczyk (modular synth).

After the 2014 Rock In Opposition Festival in Japan, Richard Pinhas and Yoshida Tatsuya did a two week tour of Japan; one of the results was this CD compiled from several shows during that tour, an excellent album of improvised electronics and drums from Heldon and Ruins masters.

An album of ecstatic noise improv with an experimental edge from the trio of Ulrich Krieger on tenor saxophone & contrabass clarinet, Nandor Nevai on "throats" & drums, and Wolcott on oscillator & electronics, viciously assertive music in seven track of mostly succinct statements composed or conceived by each of the band members; cathartic.

This puzzling display of punk/jazz surrealism is masterminded by Nondor Nevai on drums and vocals, featuring Weasel Walter on bass and legendary journeyman Kenny Millions (aka Keshavan Maslak) on guitar and reeds, a sort of unholy fusion between extreme metal, bludgeoning noise rock, free jazz, black humor and true stream-of-consciousness improvisation.

Taking their band name from a Thelonious Monk quote, the Norwegian power trio of vibraphone player Amund Storløkken Åse (son of keyboardist Ståle Storløkken and vocelist Tone Åse), guitarist Nicolas Leirtrø and drummer Øyvind Leite bridge the divide between 70's progressive rock, classical music, jazz and improvisation with a unique instrumentation.

Taking their band name from a Thelonious Monk quote, the Norwegian power trio of vibraphone player Amund Storløkken Åse (son of keyboardist Ståle Storløkken and vocelist Tone Åse), guitarist Nicolas Leirtrø and drummer Øyvind Leite bridge the divide between 70's progressive rock, classical music, jazz and improvisation with a unique instrumentation.

Blues with a strong sonic sense in Atlanta, GA guitarist Tyler Higgin's 2nd release on Shhpuma, his trio again featuring drummer Paul Stevens, and here adding bassist Gabriel Monticello, known for symphonic, jazz and rock forms, bringing masterful skill to this album that richly blends blues, gospel, folk, jazz and rock forms with passion and style.

Recorded in 2005 with an ensemble of like-minded instrumentalists and then edited and collaged for the next year and a half, this was a project of Charles Hayward during his time at The Albany in Deptford, London, using their digital recording suite to create a large work using a variety of strategies and developed in a dramatic story form, issued here for the 1st time.

In 2018 guitarist Hedvig Mollestad Thomassen received an invitation from the festival at Vossajazz commissioning a work for the 2019 festival, for which she expanded her instrumental rock trio to a sextet with trumpeter Susana Santos Silva, drummer Torstein Lofthus (Elephant9), percussionist Ole Mofjell, and keyboardists Marte Eberson & Erlend Slettevoll.

Formed in the mid-2000s in the wake of the band Knead, the first new Sanhedrin album in six years sees the return of Keiji Haino on guitar, Mitsuru Nasuno on bass guitar and Tatsuya Yoshida on drums, performing live at Akihabara Club Goodman in Japan for four extended rock improvisations, dense, soulful avant-prog with feedback drenched resonance.

The 5th album from the UK collective improvising progressive rock band of reedist Martin Archer, drummer Steve Dinsdale, bassists Lorin Halsall & Terry Todd, percussionist Walt Shaw, keyboardist Andy Peake, violinist Yvonna Magda and string player & vocalist Jad Todd, merging acoustic and electronic instruments in rich and often dreamlike forms that flow with spirited refinement.

A retrospective of the work of guitarist and one-time Captain Beefheart Magic Band member Gary Lucas, in two CDs, the first devoted to songs recorded with Lucas' psychedelic jazz-rock band Gods and Monsters, the second devoted to solo works, rarities and collaborations, with an incredible list of performers reflecting Lucas' diverse 40-year career.

Continuing the collaboration that started in 2013, the duo of drummer Chris Corsano and guitarist Bill Orcutt expand on their free playing during the pandemic, recording remotely, with Orcutt improvising two passes over Corsano's initial drum tracks, creating something that blurs the lines between jazz, rock, folk and something passionately unique to their dialog.

Blurring the boundaries of popular rock, composed and electro/experimental/ea forms, with hints of The Ex, Gang of Four, Talking Heads, LCD Soundsystem and their own happily quirky sound, Squid was formed in Brigton by Ollie Judge (Drums & Lead Vocals), Louis Borlase (Guitars), Arthur Leadbetter (Keys, Strings & Percussion), Laurie Nankivell (Bass & Brass) and Anton Pearson (Guitars).

A scorching album of instrumental rock bridging avant, prog and jazz/rock forms, from the inspired and burning Norwegian band led by guitarist Hedvig Mollestad Thomassen and her trio with bassist Ellen Brekken and drummer Ivar Loe Bjornstad; reference John McLaughlin, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Black Sabbath, or just focus on the powerhouse that is the Hedvig Mollestad Trio.

A scorching album of instrumental rock bridging avant, prog and jazz/rock forms, from the inspired and burning Norwegian band led by guitarist Hedvig Mollestad Thomassen and her trio with bassist Ellen Brekken and drummer Ivar Loe Bjornstad; reference John McLaughlin, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Black Sabbath, or just focus on the powerhouse that is the Hedvig Mollestad Trio.

The productive and excellent work of Norwegian rock band Motorpsycho, releasing an album a year for 30+ years, continues with this superb example of long form and diverse approaches to the rock medium, the core trio of Saether (bass, vocals, mellotron, &c), Hans Magnus Ryan (guitar, sax, vocals) and Tomas Jarmyr (drums) extended by Reine Fiske on guitar and Ola Kvernberg on percussion.

The fifth album from Amsterdam avant rock band Plan Kruutntoone led by Hans Visser on guitar, banjo & voice, and drummer/percussionist Chris MŸller, is a diverse set of recording that bring a sense of isolation and introspection, including spoken word pieces with Samuel Beckett text fragments, and a string quartet composed by Hans Visser; unique and singular.

Originally issued on vinly LP in 1986 and at last reissued on vinyl, this incredible band emerged post-Henry Cow, initiated by alumni Chris Cutler (drums) and Lindsay Cooper (reeds), plus bassist Bill Gilonis, Zeena Parkins on harp, and four outstanding vocalists taking on Chris Cutler's insightful texts: Phil Minton, Dagmar Krause, Sally Potter, and Robert Wyatt.

A powerful and effusive jazz rocking and danceable album of instrumentals and songs from the Italian/International J & F Band of drummer Tiziano Tononi, bassist Joe Fonda, plus guitarists David Grissom, Bobby Lee Rodgers & Scott Sharrard, keyboardist Pee Wee Durante, violinist Emanuele Parrini and saxophonist Jon Irabagon, recording in New Haven, CT; get it on!

Following their first record with this powerful blues rock & jazz album, the Italian/US J & F Band of Tiziano Tononi (drums), Joe Fonda (bass), drummer/percussionist Jaimoe and Pach, Peewee Durante (keys), Alberto Mandarini (trumpet), Beppe Caruso (trombone) and Gianluigi Paganelli (tuba), with guest guitarist David Grissom and vocalist Lamar Williams Jr.

An early recording of guitarist Bill Nace performing solo in Bennington, Vermont in 2007, originally released on cassette in 2008 on the Open Mouth label, here re-pressed on LP to re-introduce an earlier, wilder side to Nace's playing through brief pieces of diverse intention using an array of objects to transform his guitar into a tightly honed sonic device.

Adhering to the tenets of "Dissonance, Speed, Aggression, Weirdness, and Singularity", Weasel Walter leads his Flying Luttenbachers in their 15th album of no wave, punk jazz & brutal prog, Weasel switching to guitar and yielding the drum chair to Sam Ospovat, as the band rips through ridiculously complex twists and turns, even taking on Albert Ayler's strange '66/'67 musical suites.

The Indiana collective Crazy Doberman in a 15-performer configuration including core members Tim Gick and Drew Davis, merging jazz and indescribable approaches to free improvisation with a mix of acoustic & electronic instruments, building their pieces from mysteriously cantankerous rumination to ecstatic grooves and much in-between.

Without bowing to genre restrictions, Gabriel Zucker's indie jazz orchestra The Delegation combines free jazz, chamber forms, avant song structures and experimental layering & transitions, as his large work in four sections of three movements each, explores time and the competing impulses of a backwards-looking nostalgia and a forwards-looking futurist belief in progress; innovative & stunning!

Essentially written by Philadelphia multi-instrumentalist D. Liedel, who handles most of the parts on this unusual blend of rock, electronics, jazz, pop punk and a number of unlikely genres, presenting strange songs that take sharp turns into twisted realms, neatly layering each piece into a heady brew that's hard to pin down, but a great deal of fun trying.

With core members Drew Davis, Tim Gick, and John Olsen (Wolf Eyes), the wonderfully eclectic ensemble on each Crazy Doberman album shifts as they introduce musicians who can express the experimental improv structures required for each project, blurring genres and using whatever tools necessary to move from abstract to high intensity motion; a sublimely eccentric big band.

A joint release between Astral Spirts and Relative Pitch, guitarist Ava Mendoza conjures five assertive and rugged "spells" performed on solo electric guitar, passionate works of raw technical skill and bold power as she improvises over two songs composed by herself, alongside pieces written for her from Devin Hoff, Trevor Dunn and John Dikeman.

A joint release between Astral Spirts and Relative Pitch, guitarist Ava Mendoza conjures five assertive and rugged "spells" performed on solo electric guitar, passionate works of raw technical skill and bold power as she improvises over two songs composed by herself, alongside pieces written for her from Devin Hoff, Trevor Dunn and John Dikeman.

As on their prior album Q, the Nordic Krokofant free improvising jazz/rock trio of Axel Skalstad on drums & vibes, Tom Hasslan on guitar and Jorgen Mathisen on saxophone are joined by bassist Ingebrigt Haker-Flaten (The Thing) and Stale Storlokken (Elephant9, Supersilent), cementing their lineup as they forge adventurous and spectacular playing on this Fifth album.

The sophomore release from this Norwegian instrumental rock band, with all members of the quartet coming from an improvisation/jazz background that fuels their diverse interests in the rock format, from blistering runs, dark blues grooves and even a nod to Swedish folk jazz; a dynamic album of great technical playing but more importantly, a strong commitment to rock.

1991 collaboration between Shaking Ray Levis and Borbetomagus in an exquisite mix of over-amplified and otherwise bewilderingly fierce free improv.

One of the most intense and unusual of the 80s Downtown NY groups merging rock and improvisation with strong attitudes and incredible musical concepts, these live recordings, including songs never before released, are taken from American and European concerts by the trio of guitarist Fred Frith, cellist Tom Cora, and either electric harpist Zeena Parkins or reedist Dave Newhouse.

Sharing members of the band F.A.T., the Lille, France on based quintet Eliogabal of Mael Bougeard & Sakina Abdou on saxophones, Paul Menard on guitar, Thomas Coquelet on bass and Pierre Pasquis on drums, declares themselves a free jazz rock progressif, performing complex and assertive music that takes time for contemplative musing among strong lyrical riffs, twists and turns.

The third album from the Sheffield-based trio Das Rad of Nick Robinson on guitars, keys & electronics, Martin Archer on woodwinds, keys & electronics, Steve Dinsdale on drums & keyboards, influenced by progressive rock, kosmiche, and fusion forms, here evolving and refining their melodic approach to genre-crossing styles merging composition and improvisation.

The trio of violinist/vocalist Carla Kihlstedt, bassist Shahzad Ismaily and drummer Matthias Bossi explore the language of memory and dreams through songs, improvisation, and field recordings.

"Superb, simply superb, but also disorienting and disquieting: that's Happy Wretched Family, Non Credo's second album, seven years after Reluctant Hosts. The avant-pop format found on the first LP has evolved into twisted shards of pop ...

. Live recording from 1988.

"The avant rock/improv quartet Slawterhaus was invited to the 1990 Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville. The first 50 minutes of Live come from their performance, the last ten from a con...

The Norwegian quartet formerly known as "Damp" with baritone guitarist Asbjorn Lerheim, tenor saxophonist Atle Nymo, drummer Torstein Lofthus, and double bassist Roger Arntzen, blend expressive forms of jazz with blues and rock in an expansive and rich set of tunes that both pay homage and look to new and inclusive formations of emotional and effusive music.

Led by Univers Zero bassist and composer Guy Seger, the third album from Eclectic Maybe Band combines elements of rock, jazz, electronic and abstract landscapes, performed by an ensemble of chamber rock players including Discus label leader Martin Archer, varying groupings within the band focusing on each section in a mix of composed and improvised approaches.