The first duo recordings from fellow New York jazz musicians, trombonist Steve Swell and pianist Matthew Shipp, having brushed shoulders together with Whit Dickey, Dom Minasai, Jemeel Moondoc, Allen Lowe &c., they bring a wealth of familiar knowledge and language to their binary concentration, through twelve concise dialogs themed around the dark expanse of space; masterful and intimate.

As part of the transatlantic network The Bridge connecting creative musicians for performance, the quartet of Jaimie Branch on trumpet, synthesizer & electronics, Isaiah Collier on soprano & tenor saxophones, Gilles Coronado on electric guitar and Tim Daisy on drums, recorded this wildly building live performance after a 2022 tour across Chicago and the Midwest.

Dual double bass dialogs shifting between energetic and introspective dialogs, from Portuguese improviser Gonçalo Almeida (LAMA, Albatre, The Attic) and Belgium bassist Peter Jacquemyn (EARR, BaggerBoot), recorded in three exhilarating concerts, first in an "Encounter" & "Exchange" at JazzBlazzt in Belgium, then at Jurgen Moortgat's living room series for a powerful "Enrapture".

More uncommon than than the sax/drum duo format, reedist Michael Moore performs on clarinet and Paul Berner on contrabass, releasing this double CD of intimately recorded duos, an eclectic mix of standards and original compositions in a lovely and engaging set of lyrical and succinct expression from two eloquent and passionate improvisers.

Marking their 40th anniversary with this 8th album, London's lyrically sophisticated Delta Saxophone Quartet in varying sax configurations of Christian Forshaw, Graeme Blevins, Howard McGill, Kathryn McGuiness, Andy Tweed, Tim Holmes and Chris Caldwell, reflect on their history in a diverse set of pieces including covers of Joy Division, David Bowie, The Durutti Column, &c.

Part of a series at Birmingham, UK's East Jazz Club by saxophonist Paul Dunmall with some of the UK's finest improvisers, here in a quartet of two string players—Olie Brice on bass and Faith Brackenbury on violin—plus long-time collaborator Tony Bianco on drums, the title Prema referring to divine love or higher love, as heard in this tremendous, extended performances.

The debut as a leader for Chicago double bassist and composer Jakob Heinemann, in a series of peacefully sophisticate, through-composed compositions of acoustic orchestration with subtle field recording & object accents from Heinemann, each piece leaving room for improvisation, performed in a quartet with Ishmael Ali on cello, Jeff Kimmel on clarinet and Molly Jones on flutes.

The first four pieces of a concert at Splendor Performance Space in Amsterdam in 2019 by the free improvising trio of Michael Moore on alto sax, clarinets & bird whistles, Barre Phillips on bass, and Gerry Hemingway on drums & percussion, three open-minded and masterful improvisers who balance free jazz forms and non-idiomatic approaches with a chamber sensilbility.

Swiss pianist, composer and producer Marie Kruttli, who splits her time between Switzerland and Berlin, steps away from her trio with bassist Lukas Traxel and drummer Jonathan Barber for a sophisticated solo album of original composition and improvisations, in thirteen succinct, emotional and introspectively elegant works.

Recording in Switzerland at La Becque Residency Center, the experimental improvising duo of Francisco Meirino on synth & field recording and Jerome Noetinger using electronics, tape, reel to reel player & radio, create a 6-part series of unusual sonic interactions, patiently exposing unidentifiable sounds and synthetic punctuation, neither subtle nor explosive but wonderfully engaging.

Joining again after their 2016 Szilard Mezei Flute & String Trio album White Flower with the collaborative duo of Serbian guitarist Maja Radovanlija and flautist Svetlana Novakovic, violist Mezei brings an enchanting set of compositions with sophisticated arrangements, flowing melodic passages and tonal colors, particularly the title track in memory of his father.

Multi-reedist Michael Moore presents works from his catalog with the powerfully flexible 19-piece NDR Big Band, drawing from the history of his Ramboy label, including a tribute to Stravinsky, expanding a trio for clarinets, rearranging an Ellingtonian piece originally written for Available Jelly, and the title track, written for his mother as the first recording for Fragile Quartet.

Reflecting on a magnificent career as an improviser, vocalist & organizer, including Spontaneous Music Ensemble, Les Diaboliques and the Feminist Improvising Group, Maggie Nichols releases an LP solo vocal improv: a set of intimate & expresive songs performed on voice and piano applying techniques going back to John Stevens/SME, and a take on Zappa's 'what's the ugliest part of your body'.

Reflecting on a magnificent career as an improviser, vocalist & organizer, including Spontaneous Music Ensemble, Les Diaboliques and the Feminist Improvising Group, Maggie Nichols releases two related CDs of solo vocal improv: a set of intimate & expresive songs performed on voice and piano; and a set of overdubbed free improvisations applying techniques going back to John Stevens/SME.

The first vinyl re-issue of the 1980 duo between UK saxophonist Evan Parker and US trombonist George Lewis, captured live at the Art Workers Guild in London, using the natural resonance of the space and phenomenal technique in an intense set of dialogs showing the mastery of each player and the forceful voice each of them brings to free improvisation.

A much-needed reissue of saxophonist Evan Parker and drummer/percussionist Paul Lytton's first duo album, recorded in London at the loft of The Standard Essenco in 1972 and originally released on the Incus label, the duo approaching their instruments in fantastic and unusual ways in a dialog far ahead of its time, augmented with recordings and eccentric assemblages.

The long-standing duo of German multi-reedist & brass player Udo Schindler and drummer Eric Zwang Eriksson are joined by percussionist Erwin Rehling (HAMMERLING) for the 4-part free and eclectically authoritative improvisatory work "Ritual Sound Exposure", recorded live at the music venue and bookstore BASIS_Klangraum at the Munich Community Arts Center.

A unique approach to improvisation, the Italian trio of Carlo Mascolo on trombone & no-input trombone, Giacomo Mongelli on drums & objects and Pino Montecalvo on trombone & toy junk, use a "Blind Instant Composition" approach to their live studio improvisations, where the players are unable to see each other, forcing close listening & response to their quirky and fascinating conversations.

The last concert with late German saxophonist and wind-player Ernst-Ludwig Petrowsky, aka Luten Petrowsky, and his decade-long run with the New Old Luten Trio of younger generation improvisers, pianist Elan Pauer (aka Oliver Schwerdt) and drummer/percussionist Christian Lillinger, for a nearly 1-hour energetic performance at naTo, in Leipzig in 2016, "... And A Cutie for Good Bye".

Punctuated with a Prelude, Interlude and Epilogue, the core Unknown Shores trio of Portuguese improvisers, bass clarinetist João Pedro Viegas, pianist Silvia Corde and double bassist Adriano Orru, are joined by guests Carlos Zingaro on violin and Helena Espvall on cello for a 10-part work of spontaneous composition, a conceptual collection of exquisite chamber jazz.

A rare setting for tenor saxophonist Ivo Perelman in a larger ensemble: an exemplary sextet with trumpeter Nate Wooley and vibraphonist Matt Moran over a string section of Fred Lonberg-Holm on cello, Joe Morris on bass and Mat Maneri on viola, recording a ten-part work sans drums or piano, allowing fascinating new orchestral possibilities performed with utmost creative mastery.

A patiently evolving collective performance at Chicago's Hungry Brain from the trio of New Yorkers--trumpeter Russ Johnson and bassist Max Johnson--and Chicago drummer Tim Daisy, whose arsenal of percussive devices adds unexpected asides to the trio's confident free jazz explorations, Johnson adding lyrical lines as the band moves as one through two extended improvisations.

An explorative album of collective free improvisation from the transatlantic duo of German pianist Elisabeth Harnik and New York trombonist Steve Swell, following up on their 2020 album Tonotopic Organisation, this 2022 live concert at Offene Ohren, in Munich brings listeners current to both improvisers immense creative drive, masterful skill, and their mutual, exuberant rapport.

Originally working together in avant percussionist Evelyn Glennie's improvisation Core-tet Project, Serbian violist and composer Szilard Mezei comes together again with his quartet of Bogdan Rankovic on reeds, Ervin Malia on double bass and Ivan Burka on vibraphone to present this 2022 meticulous chamber improvisation concert at Gradska Koncertna Dvorana / City Concert Hall.

A unique 1995 studio album from bassist Joe Fonda, remastered reissued to bring to life this septet with Anthony Braxton on reeds & winds, Herb Robertson on trumpet, Grisha Alexiev on drums, Vickie Dodds on vocals, and integrating tap dancer Brenda Bufalino as a full percussive voice into the ensemble's unique merging of jazz and dance, and of the healing arts and the performing arts.

Meeting in the studio in Chicago, the quartet of Oakland guitarist Karl Evangelista, UK pianist Alexander Hawkins, midwestern bassist Tatsu Aoki and Chicago drummer Michael Zerang combine Evangelista's open-ended compositions with a series of dialogic free improvisations around the concepts of music and family, instrumentally answering the question posed by the album's title.

The DUOT pairing of Argentinian, Barcelona-based sax player Albert Cirera and Spanish drummer Ramón Prats is joined on their 6th album by the Portuguese string quartet ZARM Ensemble of Carlos Zingaro on violin, David Alves on violin, Ulrich Mitzlaf on cello and Alvaro Rosso on double bass for a dynamic concert at Igreja do Espírito Santo in Caldas Da Rainha, Portugal.

The full performance of legendary improvising guitarist Derek Bailey's 2001 exhilarating duo with bassist Simon H. Fell at Sound 323, originally released as a mini-CD and voted record of the year in 2002 by The Wire, then released on CD and now as a deluxe 2 LP set on 180gm White Vinyl.

Surprises abound with Lucas Niggli's approach to improvised composition, using 40 playing cards that his ten-piece ensemble interpret, drawing on inspired performers from improvised, experimental and contemporary classical music, their game performed over three rounds, allowing an incredibly diverse set of approaches to reveal themselves on each unique track.

A heavy and wild ride in the 9th album from New York's The Gate of composer and tuba player Dan Peck, bass player Tom Blancarte and percussionist Brian Osborne, concise pieces of heavy melodic elements, dark riffs and an ominous attitude, intersecting with plundered asides and anxious pauses, a strong addition to their discography and an engrossing collection of deep disturbance.

Straddling quirky folk song and experimental sound collage, the long-running Western Massachusettes duo of fiddler, banjo player & singer Mia Friedman and clarinetist, wind player & sound artist Andy Allen (Guerilla Toss) present an album of observational songs with unusual perspectives and an anything goes approach to the music that surrounds each song; delightful.

A musical work composed by French drummer Peter Orins inspired by Alan Moore's 2016 novel Jerusalem crossing geographical and temporal space, recorded during a residency with the Muzzix collective at La Malterie in Lill and performed with Maryline Pruvost on voice & indian harmonium, Barbara Dang on piano, and Gordon Pym on electronics & amplified objects.

The title referring to roots alongside the subtitled comment "agricultural improvisations" in this 2022 free improv recording from the Bêche ta motte (dig your mound) trio of Quebec luminaries Bernard Falaise on guitar, Michel F Cote on percussion & synths and Thomas Gaudet-Asselin on double & electric bass, in twelve succinct experimental improvisations of unusual rhythmic and sonic natures.

Like aberrant robots chattering, French sound artist ErikM and Czech multi-instrumentalist Petr Vrba aka vrrrbitch developed these compositions to function like vocal conversations of extreme discourse, set over effected synthetics, disruptions, dark rhythmic pulses and inexplicable sonic digressions, in seven powerfully compulsive quasi-conversations.

Splitting time between Montreal and New York, Canadian saxophonist Erik Hove recorded these twelve deceptively restrained solo improvisations in various locations in 2020 & 2021, applying electronics to his playing which is influenced by both improvisers like Steve Lehman, Henry Threadgill or Steve Coleman and spectral composers like Gerard Grisey or Tristan Murail.

Recording in the studio in Nice, France, guitarist Andrea Bazzicalupo's solo album is a collection of pieces, consisting exclusively of improvisations and instant creations, moving between sonic explorations, melodic textures, experimental material and spontaneous compositions, a well-paced collection of introspective and assertive explorations.

Alternating between classical and electric guitars, Pascal Landry and Francois Paquet use a non-traditional broadcast system where the signal from their electric guitars is sent through materials selected by the musicians, creating unique tones and timbres, and providing an interesting visual aspect to their dialogs, captured here in the studio in Beauport, Quebec in 2021.

5th anniversary LP reissue of bassist Adam Hopkins' 2018 album, a great example of the Downtown / Brooklyn scene, using jazz as a jumping-off point to merge free playing, fusion, and rock into an enthusiastic and technically brilliant album of original compositions performed with the sextet of Anna Webber, Ed Rosenberg, & Josh Sinton on sax, Jonathan Goldberger on guitar, and Devin Gray on drums.

From the fertile London free improv scene comes this substantial concert recorded at the Vortex Jazz Club in 2022 by the trio of Olie Brice on double bass, Rachel Musson on tenor saxophone and Mark Sanders on drums, three highly compatible players from two generations of improvisers in three extended improvisations of energetic free jazz balanced by contemplative exploration.

An open-minded duet between French pianist Didier Fréboeuf, also performing on clavietta and objects, and tenor & sopranino saxophonist and contrabass clarinetist Jean-Luc Petit, in an improvisatory exploration of three crusts--"Bark", "Scab" and "Crisp"--music of impressive, creative dexterity that balances scrabbly playing with introspection around each crusty littoral.

A psychedelic set of recordings based around the guitar work of Philip Gayle, improvised, recorded, and layered into diverse experiments in sound and performed on banjo, bass, cello, door, guitars, mandolin, percussion, piano, toy piano, voice, ukulele and waterphone, with guests including saxophonist Shogo Ohshima and vocalists Shizka Ueda, Omusubisan and Fuuchan.

Leap of Faith is the core duet of the Leap of Faith Orchestra (LOFO) of David Peck on clarinets, saxophones, double reeds & flutes, and Glynis Lomon on cello, aquasonic & voice, using a huge arsenal of instruments to improvise works featuring transformations across highly varied sonorities, joined here by trumpeters Bob Moores & John Fugarino, and percussionist Michael Knoblach.

Vancouver mainstay, guitarist and composer Tony Wilson leads Longhnad, performing the energetically twising and turning, genre-spanning music of composer and saxophonist Peder Long, a mentor to Wilson while studying at Malaspina College, in a band with Vancouver collaborators Russell Sholberg (bass), Skey Brooks (drums), Jesse Zubot (violin) and Joshua Zubot (violin).

A series of sixteen succinctly expansive, dramatic and moody collective improvisations, evocative music of rich melodic and rhythmic foundation that coax inspired tempests from misty lands and seas, at the intersection of Austrian Hurdy Gurdy master Matthias Loibner and Zurich-based West Kamerun drummer Lucas Niggli; absolutely impressive and beguiling.

The first vinyl re-issue of the 1980 duo between UK saxophonist Evan Parker and US trombonist George Lewis, captured live at the Art Workers Guild in London, using the natural resonance of the space and phenomenal technique in an intense set of dialogs showing the mastery of each player and the forceful voice each of them brings to free improvisation.

The 2nd studio album from Daniel Carter's collective Playfield, which started with outdoor performances to allow NYC's auditory ambience to infiltrate and orchestrate their sound; here the octet ensemble brings in field recordings of diverse outdoor elements including cicadas, ice-cream trucks, &c., along with electronic effects to expand their take on free-flowing electric jazz.

With previous albums on Creative Sources, Bug Incision and Eh?, the duo of Jay Kreimer and Public Eyesore label-leader Bryan Day use invented instruments recorded these highly percussive, well-paced and well-recorded improvisations during Kreimer's Fulbright fellowship in India, in Baroda, Hyderabad and Bangalore, the main tracks named for their recording location.

As the availability of venues for free improv have dwindled through New York City, an emerging new "loft scene" has developed, one of them named simply Aron's Place, the home of Aron Namenwirth, whose 2023 series hosted the solid, free-wheeling quartet of Dave Sewelson on baritone saxophone, Stephen Moses on drums, Jochem van Dijk on electric bass and Steve Holtje on electric keyboard.

A wild improvising band from Vancouver in their 3rd release of episodic compositions based around instrumental rock forms, six "sick" and wide-ranging pieces that blend rock, jazz, chamber music and inventive forms in magnificent way, from JP Carter on trumpet, Joshua Zubot on violin, Peggy Lee on cello, Cole Schmidt on guitar, James Meger on bass, synths and Dan Gaucher on drums.

Ydivide is Swiss drummer Clemens Kuratle's multi-national quintet with Dee Byrne on alto saxophone, Elliot Galvin on piano & electronics, Chris Guilfoyle on guitar and Lukas Traxel on bass, a dynamic young band performing Kuratle's structured compositions allowing for energetic and enthusiastic soloing amidst collective group work and lyrically introspective moments.

The debut of Vancouver & Montreal violinist Joshua Zubot's string ensemble with fellow violinists Jesse Zubot & Meredith Bates, cellist Peggy Lee and acoustic bassist James Meger, performing ten Zubot compositions informed by his involvement in diverse musical styles, each allowing room for improvisation as he takes the string ensemble into unique and unorthodox territory.

The second album of collective free improvisation from Leap of Faith expanded by Chinese musicians, from the core duo of multi-reedist David Peck and cellist Glynis Lomon, here with Chinese improviser, Boston-based Beijing guzheng player Jiaxin Wan, alongside trumpeter Bob Moores, for two exotic improvisations of patiently evolving global elements.

Recording remotely in a call-and-response, vibraphonist Sergio Armaroli and saxophonist Evan Parker resolved an issue of recording in the same physical space by interleaving recordings of solo improvisations recorded in response to each other's sequential recordings, Armaroli with the 6-part "Two Rooms One Vibraphone" and Parker with the 5-part "Interludes".

Remastering and reissuing two vital Blue Note albums from alto saxophonist Jackie McLean: 1963's Let Freedom Ring in a quartet with Walter Davis (piano), Herbie Lewis (double bass) & Billy Higgins (drums); then 1964's Destination... Out! in a quintet with Grachan Moncur III (trombone), Bobby Hutcherson (vibes), Larry Ridley (double bass) and Roy Haynes (drums).

An exemplary set of explorative hard bop compositions from composer/trumpeter Alan Shorter, first Mephistopheles from Wayne Shorter's The All Seeing Eye in an octet with legends Wayne Shorter, James Spaulding, Freddie Hubbard, Grachan Moncur III, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter & Joe Chambers; and then Alan Shorter's own Orgasm with Gato Barbieri, Charlie Haden, Reggie Johnson, Muhammad Ali & Rashied Ali.

Evoking the passionate free improvisation of Kaoru Abe and influenced by Austrian poet Georg Trakl's "Nocturnal Song", the trio of Makoto Kawashima and Harutaka Mochizuki on alto saxophone and Michel Henritzi on lap steel & feedback recorded these three crepuscular works in separate locations, assembled by Henritzi into richly dreamlike and cathartic compositions.

Forming his NU Ensemble in 1997 to merge free-jazz, improv, noise and contemporary forms, Mats Gustafsson presented Hidros One for 9 improvisers, tape & conductor that same year, progressing over 25 years to this 9th conduction of the Hidros concept in his largest ensemble yet: 25 musicians in two 9-piece ensembles plus soloists, captured live at the 2022 Avant Art Festival in Warsaw, Poland.

Recorded in 1998 but sounding absolutely modern, exuberant and often explosively inspired, this live recording at Jazzclub Fasching in Stockholm brings the then 10-year collaboration of drummer Raymond Strid, pianist Sten Sandel and saxophonist Mats Gustafsson to ecstatic heights, bridging free jazz forms and rendering Coltranes "Afro Blues" with intense passion.

The 5th of NI-VU-NI-CONNU's 5-LP John Butcher series and part of a 2 night residency at ausland in Berlin coinciding with his 65th birthday, tenor & soprano saxophonist John Butcher is joined by the long-running duo Spill of pianist Magda Mayas and drummer Tony Buck (The Necks) for two extended works of evolving, absorbing introspection and eruption.

Recorded and mixed on analog tape, MOPDtK combines historical jazz lineage and the 21st century perspective of MOPDtK's members (Jon Irabagon; Ron Stabinsky; Moppa Elliott; Kevin Shea), with each piece dedicated to an individual who influenced their compositional process.

Excerpted from their 2022 concert at Museo Ex Teresa Arte Actual in Mexico, flutist Camilo Ángeles (TVL REC label), also performing on bass flute, joins with New York City violist Joanna Mattrey, an active performer and improviser associated with Issue Project Room and Roulette, for six unusual duos of wind, string and voice leveraging the natural resonance of the museum space.

Recorded for the release concert of their 2013 album Exta, the trio of John Butcher on saxophones, Thomas Lehn on analog synthesizer and John Tilbury on piano captured this extraordinary live concert at Cafe Oto in London, only the second time the group had performed together, recording in two extended sets but segmented into four exceptional and dramatic improvisations.

After "Exta", where saxophonist John Butcher and electronics artist Thomas Lehn met with pianist John Tilbury, the duo now meet with New York pianist Matthew Shipp for a distinct improvisational entanglement of Butcher's dense streams, Lehn's rich sound floor, and Shipp's thick repetitions.

The mystifying duo of Axel Dorner (trumpet, electronics) and Mark Sanders (drums, percussion) blurs the line between electronic and acoustic in this enthralling album.

Three superb London improvisers, two from the new generation of free improv--bassist John Edwards and drummer Mark Sanders--in a trio with legendary pianist John Tilbury in a two part work of tension and release, performed live at Cafe Oto in 2013.

Drawing on the same trio heard on his RogueArt release, 7 Poets Trio, Boston-born Brooklyn-based composer and drummer Fujiwara presents a set of six sophisticated works along with one collective improvisation, utilizing the unique orchestration of vibraphonist Patricia Brennan and cellist Tomeka Reid to create a diverse set of highly rewarding recordings.

Three CDs in a beautifully constructed fold-out cross with liner notes and recording data from NY drummer Kate Gentile, in a set of 41 studio recordings with her working band of Matt Mitchell on piano & keys, Kim Cass on acoustic & electric bass and Jeremy Viner on reeds, each disc exploring a distinct yet connected approach to her fascinating compositions and group interaction.

Active as a drum soloist since 2003, Ryosuke Kiyasu (Fushitsusha, SETE STAR SEPT, Kiyasu Orchestra) performs solo in a live performance split between two extended improvisations, captured at Tokyo Arts and Space in 2022, using a snare drum and a table in a forceful demonstration of rhythm and punctuation that is affected by the ambiance of the space.

Drummer Steve Noble assaults his drum kit in a way that excellently parallels Ikue Mori's electronics, producing an enthralling blend of acoustic and electronic music.

A meeting between two accomplished saxophonists recorded live at Kernel Brewery, in London in 2014, and at The Studio in Derby, with Seymour Wright on alto saxophone and Evan Parker on both alto and soprano, criss-crossing and combining in exuberant and astonishing ways.

Cantankerously informed and paced like a perfect tumble, the duo improvisations of Massachusetts collaborator Stella Silber on turntables and Nat Baldwin on upright bass augment their work through turntable preparations and static, Baldwin performing all over his instrument, as the duo surprise and maintain interest through accessible abrasiveness.

UK free improvising drummer Roger Turner meets Japanese guitarist Otomo Yoshihide at the Hara Museum, Tokyo in the winter of 2013 for a performance that balances introspective improvisation with assertive and authoritative playing for a captivating and dynamic album.

One "Small Dog" and one Big from the Texas experimental duo of Andrew Weathers on synth, lap steel, recorder & electronics, and Gretchen Korsmo on voice, keys & percussion, both members of the Full Spectrum Records collective, their confident collaboration morphing drones, sonic deformation, resonance, voice, bells and mysterious sources in two well-paced & passionate sonic journeys.

New York-based trumpeter Nate Wooley and London-based saxophonist Seymour Wright in a series of 9 duos using the fringes of their instruments in exploratory and introspective dialog of great depth and intensity.

Performing on the 7,466 pipe Æolian-Skinner organ at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, one of the first American classic-style organs and among the largest church organs in the West, John Zorn continues his solo organ series with this tribute to Terry Riley in two extended improvisations, part of his 70th birthday celebration as part of Fred Barnes's concert series.

The second volume of powerful free playing and intimate conversation bringing together two New York-based improvisers, Cuban native drummer/percussionist Francisco Mela and Tennessee native reed & wind player Zoh Amba, both sharing a mountain region upbringing that brings a uniquely reflective quality to their playing, fortified by the exploratory NY improv scene.

Improvising over the abyss, Texas drummer Lisa Cameron (Roky Erickson, ST 37) and violinist Alex Cunningham (Sandy Ewen, Damon Smith, Claire Rousay) present three extended interactions using conventional instrumentation in unconventional ways, augmented by feedback, bowed cymbals, electronics and objects, under the control of exceptional technique.

Unofficial jazz documentarian Boris Rose captured these recordings on reel-to-reel tape of the Bill Evans Trio in 1960, an artistically fulfilling concert at Birdland in NYC and a rare recording of this particular trio with bassist scott LaFaro and drummer Paul Motian; originally issued in 1992 on the Cool & Blue label, here properly restored and remastered.

A trio of leaders in their own right performing pianist Satoko Fujii's demanding compositions, bassist Takashi Sugawa and drummer Ittetsu Takemura rise to the challenge in a set of six exciting works that push and pull this remarkable piano trio in unexpected directions, responding to the twists and turns of Fujii's intense and intricate directions; superlative!

The result of two formidably versatile improvisers--pianist Joel Futterman and drummer/percussionist Michael Wimberly--meeting in Futterman's home city of Virginia Beach for a session of collective, spontaneous improvisation, is this magnificent two-part work released as the unedited live first takes, an epic journey through masterful technique and compelling expression.

Joining with two of London's finest free improvisers, Swiss saxophonist Christoph Gallio of DAY & TAXI fame and performing on alto, soprano & c-melody saxophones, meets drummer Mark Sanders and double bassist Dominic Lash at London's Cafe OTO for a remarkable concert of free collective playing in two large works: "Wildlife" in three parts, and "Homelife" in two parts.

The third album of piano works from Japanese composer Jo Kondo performed by pianist Satoko Inoue, known for her interpretations of Morton Feldman, John Cage, Luc Ferrari, &c., here performing Kondo works written between 2013 and 2020 that apply different methods and approaches to form and interpretation, including works that incorporate improvisation and choices left to the performer.

The Kaze quartet of trumpeter Natsuki Tamura, pianist Satoko Fujii, trumpeter & flugelhorn player Christian Pruvost and drummer Peter Orins, continues its avant-embracing and uniquely voiced project with this live performance at Lille, France, an episodic and spontaneously diverse set of three collective improvisations of intuitive, adventurous interaction.

Compressing his Exploding Star Orchestra to a sextet, Chicago trumpeter Rob Mazurek presents two expansive works of ecstatic, exploratory electric and groove-oriented jazz, performed with Damon Locks (voice, electronics), Tomeka Reid (cello), Angelica Sanchez (Wurlitzer electric piano), Ingebrigt Haker-Flaten (double bass) and Chad Taylor (drums).

Expanding on their 2007 release Kinda Green, the decades-long collaboration of SF Bay Area improvisors Tom Djll on trumpet & electronics and Tim Perkis on "coding" and electronics presents six unusual spontaneous compositions of live trumpet, electronics and real-time manipulation, release by the Ubu, Incorporated project supporting experimental and electronic music.