Through preparations, computers, contact microphones, gongs, feedback and other tools, Swiss pianist, composer & improviser Judith Wegmann's work transform the sound of the piano into an otherworldly instrument, set against more traditional acoustic pieces of a reflective nature, together creating a conceptual set of ten pieces in a uniquely flexible approach.

The first recording of the playfully detailed improvisation of two NY collaborators with nearly two decades of work together--Andrea Parkins on accordion, objects & electronics, and Matthew Ostrowski on electronics--improvising in the studio for eight explorative works that seamlessly mesh acoustic and electronics, seemingly forward and backward at the same time!

Merging heavy melodic jazz with tinges of heavy metal, John Zorn's Simulacrum trio of John Medeski on organ, Kenny Grohowski on drums, and Matt Hollenberg on guitar perform nine of Zorn's intense compositions in a beautifully recorded concert at the Firehouse 12 studio, the band's consummate playing and passion bringing power to Zorn's darkly exciting music.

A brilliant example of free improvisation from the performing trio of Barry Guy on double bass, Agusti Fernandez on piano and Torben Snekkestad on sax & trumpet, recording live at KoncertKirken Ð Blagards Plads in Copenhagen, merging shards of jazz and fully free playing using astonishing technique and creative intention that is as rewarding as it it intrepid.

Primarily voice improvisations from the duo of Muyassar Kurdi and Ka Baird, also performing on piano, bells, gong, flute and spike fiddle, recorded at Pineapple Reality and Pioneer Works in Brooklyn, NY between 2017 & 2018, their work focused on typically delicate interweaving of their voices and instruments, with a sense of suspense, humor and joyful mystery.

Layered lowercase electroacoustic improv from the US / Mexico City / German trio of Chris Cogburn on percussion & electronics, Juan Garcia on double bass, and Ignaz Schick on turntables & electronics, eclectically informed by concrete sources and abstract electronics over Garcia's bass work and Cogburn's threshold-crossing acoustics & electronic percussion.

Layered lowercase electroacoustic improv from the US / Mexico City / German trio of Chris Cogburn on percussion & electronics, Juan Garcia on double bass, and Ignaz Schick on turntables & electronics, eclectically informed by concrete sources and abstract electronics over Garcia's bass work and Cogburn's threshold-crossing acoustics & electronic percussion.

A wonderfully assertive acoustic dialog between London improviser Phil Durrant on mandolin and octave mandolin, and Norwegian percussionist living in Leeds, UK, Emil Karlsen, the two focusing on a quick flow of ideas that ebb and flow naturally, each complementing the other in tightly defined interactions, creating a consistent sound of rapid texture and impetus.

ZNR, the French trio of Hector Zazou, Joseph Racaille, and Patrick Portella, in a deluxe box set combining both of the official ZNR releases, "Barricades III" and "Traite de Mechanique Populaire" along with 2 CDs of additional released and unreleased material and a book of memories, histories, reflections, photographs, documents, interviews and other memorabilia.

Inspired by and using the same instrumentation as John Tchicai's seminal 60's free jazz band New York Art Quartet, since 2013 the Berlin Art Quartet of Matthias Schubert on saxophone, Matthias Bauer on bass, Matthias Muller on trombone, and Reinhard Bruggemann on drums, has carried on the spirit of NY Free Jazz, here in a live concert at B-Flat, in Berlin in 2019.

Legendary players, drummer Alvin Fielder, bassist William Parker, and saxophonist Kidd Jordan joined younger generation players pianist Christopher Parker, vocalist Kelley Hurt, and saxophonist Chad Fowler in New Orleans to record this exceptional album of modern jazz compositions primarily from Fowler, plus a collective improvisation and a narrative from Hurt.

Baritone saxophonist Dave Sewelson leads this collective quartet of New York associated players Steve Swell on trombone, William Parker on bass, abd Marvin Bugalu Smith on drums, a masterful example of modern creative jazz with a strongly lyrical attitude, through two extended improvisations and ending with a shorter "Reflections"; exemplary free jazz.

Part of The Soundscapes Concert Series organized by saxophonist Harri Sjostrom and named for the Helsinki venue where it was recorded, over 2 days 11 incredible musicians in various configurations presented a spectacular set of performances, with improvisers including Evan Parker, Paul Lovens, Phil Wachsmann, Sebi Tramontana, Harri Sjostrom, Teppo Hauta-aho &c.

The long-running duo of saxophonist Urs Leimgruber and guitarist Andreas Willers are joined by percussionist Fabrizio Spera (Ossatura) and Alvin Curran (MEV) for a live performance at Casa del Jazz in Rome, merging avant jazz approaches with ea-improv through guitar effects and sampling, finding passion in explorative and unpredictable music of superb skill and intent.

"Efflorescence", to reach an optimum stage of development or blossom, as heard through four studio-recorded CDs, expanding on the warm and enduring duo of saxophonist Ivo Perelman and pianist Matthew Shipp in beautifully flowing, succinct improvisations with a lyrical inclination, allowing for exploration through the sophisticated support each brings; beautiful.

Not ambient nor aggressive, Swiss guitarist Vinz Vonlanthen's latest solo album finds the improviser creating contemplative environments in unhurried ways, allowing bass and upper string to interact, often adding unusual vocal emanations to punctuate or layer with the guitar, creating an eclectic set of succinct works, often ominous, always uniquely fascinating.

The second album of open-minded free improvisation of great drive, skill and and experimental determination from the Anticlan trio, a facet of the Albatre trio in the duo of Portuguese saxophonist Hugo Costa and German drummer Philipp Ernsting, along with Mexican guitarist residing in Rotterdamn, Josue Amador, recording in the studio in Rotterdam, 2019.

Two Spanish improvisers of distinction meet at DADA Studio, in Brussels, Belgium to record ten diverse and extraordinary dialogs, from percussionist Ramon Lopez and pianist Josep-Maria Balanya, balancing radical jazz with experimental approaches to free and contemporary improvisation, a tour-de-force of expression and innovation.

Recorded live at Temescal Art Center in Oakland, CA as part of their Babylon 2018 evening, the quartet of Gino Robair (electronics), Phillip Greenlief (tenor sax and clarinet), Mike Khoury (viola) and Dominic Cramp, aka Lord Tang (lyra) improvise in 2 short and 2 extended electroacoustic conversations of detailed restraint, unique pointillism and unforseen atmospheres.

The large IKB electroacoustic ensemble of diverse orchestration led by violist Ernesto Rodrigues, where each release is characterized by an animal, here with the long-snouted seahorse in an extended improvisation recorded at CreativeFest XIII at O'Culto da Ajuda, Lisbon, 2019, building to undulating cycles of intense interaction of absolutely precise control.

Filled with mystery and innuendo, the duo of French pianist and keyboardist Loris Binot, performing on prepared piano, prepared Fender Rhodes, Moog & electronics, and French-based accordionist Emilie Skrijelj, also on samples & electronics, are heard in a recording at the performing arts theater at CCAM in Vandoeuvre-les-Nancy for two extended and superbly intriguing improvisations.

Portugal's Lisbon String Trio of saxophonist Nuno Torres, electric guitarist Abdul Moimeme and violist Ernesto Rodrigues, are joined by Red Trio/ Rodrigo Amado Motion Trio drummer Gabriel Ferrandini for this concert performance at O'Culto da Ajuda, in Lisbon, Portugal as part of the CreativeFest XIII, finding inspired balance in introspective sections and periods of exciting activity.

Two distinct improvisation from the trio of Japanese musician Rieko Okuda on piano & viola, Finnish musician Antti Virtaranta on double bass, and Russian musician Girilal Baars on voice & objects, the first with Baars primarily focused on free vocals in a Phil Minton-esque mode, the second all instrumental with Baars performing on "old wheel".

New York City-based trombonist/composer Weston Olencki, specializing in the performance and production of experimental music & art, presents four compositions for brass instruments exploring a sound-based and psychoacoustic approach to solo performance, applying extended instrument preparations and fundamental principles of sound synthesis to this acoustic medium.

An improvising string quartet with Creative Sources label leader Ernesto Rodrigues on viola, Guilherme Rodrigues on cello, German violinist and violist Dietrich Petzold and German double bassist Jan Roder, recording in the studio in Berlin in 2018 for seven active improvisations with a chamber feel, each named by the letters making up the word "PICTURE".

Three frequent collaborators--Ernesto Rodrigues on viola, Nuno Torres on alto saxophone, and Abdul Moimeme on electric guitar--captured live in 2019 at Logradouro da Compostinha, in Lisbon, Portugal, each using their instruments with unusual approaches through extended techniques, in a half hour set balancing subtle aural ambience with rich, detailed activity; spellbinding.

Recording at the magnificent cathedral at Berner Münster in Switzerland during the 2017 Zoom In Festival, the improvising string duo of violist Frantz Loriot and cellist Theresa Wong, also on voice, performed this extended work of creative string interaction, energetic and idiosyncratic and wonderfully expressive, enhanced by the natural resonance of the space.

An impressive highly interactive and extended improvisation focused mostly on strings, with label leader Ernesto Rodrigues on viola, Guilherme Rodrigues on cello, plus Red Trio's Hernani Fasutino on double bass and legendary Portuguese violinist Carlo Zingaro, with Jose Oliveira adding active percussive interaction, captured live at the CreativeFest XIII in 2019.

Inspired by the music of 70's Miles Davis electric work, composer and saxophonist Martin Archer presents 15 compositions performed in two parallel sessions over two CDs, the first in a septet that includes Corey Mwamba, Pat Thomas and Dave Sturt, and the second an extended ensemble with brass and wind sections, each bringing distinctive life to these inspired compositions.

A trio of legendary Canterbury, avant improvisation and contemporary compositional players come together for an album recorded live in the studio over two days, from Alex Maguire on piano and Hammond organ, Martin Pyne on vibraphone, drums, percussion & electronics, and Mark Hewins on guitars & electronics; inventive, sophisticated, hallucinatory & virtuosic work.

The "AXIS" of UK saxophonist Ron Caines and multi-reedist Martin Archer, also on organ and electronics, in a subtle septet with outstanding players including Laura Cole on piano and Johnny Hunter on drums, in a set of dream-like and lyrically beautiful improvisations, merging electronics and horns over a powerfully solid rhythm section that create warm textural cycles.

Three musicians who are active members of the Lille-based collective Muzzix--Peter Orins on drums, Barbara Dang on grand piano, Sakina Abdou on saxophone & recorder--captured live at La Malterie, in Lille, France for two extended improvisations of minimalist conversation using extended techniques and unusual approaches to their instruments; fascinating.

The GGRIL (Grand groupe régional d'improvisation libérée) improviser ensemble based in Quebec invited German saxophonist living in NYC, Ingrid Laubrock, to compose three works, taking the band on adventerous journeys of texture, abstraction and melody, harnessing the power of the band's unique orchestration of electric guitars, percussion, and strings.

The Canadian free improvising duo of accordionist Robin Servant (GGRIL, P.O.W.E.R., Danielle Palardy Roger) and drummer Mathieu Bec (Dubovnik, Michel Doneda) are heard in this 2019 performance at la Maison de la Culture du Pic Champlain, in a gripping set of dialogs using preparations and extended techniques to create unusual sonic approaches to both instruments.

Translating to "sketch", the duo of Japanese improvising guitarist Tetuzi Akiyama and French guitarist Hervé Boghossian recorded these sketches in the studio in Marseille, France, seven succinct free improvisations of an open and intuitively lyrical nature performed on acoustic guitars, in a gorgeous album of uniquely spacious interlaced string improvisation.

The collaboration of Quebec bassist Eric Normand and Australian saxophonist Jim Denley, both dedicated experimenters, in their third duo album under the Plant name, here recording live at the 2019 Syndey, Australia NowNow Festival, with Denley also playing bass flute, fruits and objects, and Normand using objects and playing the bass amp itself.

Recording in Chile at the University Austral in 2018, trumpeter Benjamin Vergara and guitarist Fred Frith take us on two extended journeys through free electroacoustic improvisation, Frith's providing diverse and intense sonic environments over which Vergara's virtuosic and intuitive approach to the trumpet soars; impressive, creative, cathartic.

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.

Roman philosopher Titus Lucretius Carus named "Clinamen" the unpredictable (in time and space) swerve of atoms falling in the void, which aptly describes the unexpected directions taken in subtle free improvisation from this French trio, led by bassist Louis-Michel Marion, with Jacques Di Donato on clarinet, and Philippe Berger on viola.

Two Norwegians and a Geordie (ie, NE Englander), from drummer Stale Birkeland, saxophonist Petter Frost Fadnes, and guitarist Chris Sharkey, since 2007 creating epic works of rich electroacoustic improvisation, recording their third album after extensive touring through Europe and Japan, using the the natural resonance of the Chapel FM, in Leeds to enrich their sound.

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A sophisticated and lyrical album of modern jazz led by UK vibraphonist Corey Mwamba, also on glockenspiel & beak flute, in a quartet with Laura Cole on piano, Andy Champion on double bass, and Johnny Hunter on drums & small percussion, with all pieces "devised and scored" by Mwamba alongside one collective improvisation; powerfully refined modern jazz.

Italian sonic explorer Francesco Gregoretti uses his drumkit like a lead instrument, amplifying and modifying its sound through effects, as he pursues his varied "Imploded" bands (Strongly Imploded, Grizzly Imploded) fueled by the mathematics of Chaos Theory, here with guitarist Maurizio Argenziano in an album of dense sound, from near-minimal to highly interactive.

An extended work for 10 improvisers using a composite composition of graphic scores, open notations, and two trio sub-pieces titled "skelf" (electric guitar, double bass and drums) and "antiphon" (violin, viola and double bass), all directed by UK saxophonist Matt London in an ensemble with reeds, winds, brass, strings, electric guitar, and Mark Sanders on drums.

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The Swedish duo of percussionist Andreas Pollak and prepared pianist Johan Graden (Adam & Alma) in an album of references and innuendo, clandestine and furtive sounds that evoke great mystery and drama in beautifully shaped sound; evocative music that deceives to emerge from the electronic realm while in actuality coming from all acoustic sources.

Live recordings at Exploratorium, in Berlin, Geremany in 2010 from the quartet of Klaus Kurvers on double bass, Andrea Sanz Vela and Ernesto Rodrigues on violin, and Micha Rabuske on dlute, bass clarinet, and soprano sax, collective improvisation with complex interplay and a bright spirit as the group follows their instincts in interesting dialog.

The second volume of the project heard in the previous Creative Sources album, "Suspensao", here in a 9-piece electroacoust ensemble with viola, cello, doublebass, alto sax, trombone, piano, electric guitar, computer and percussion, suspenseful lowercase music that unfolds in mysterious, beautiful and rewarding ways.

Bringing together a wealth of experience in contemporary improvised music, Berlin-based cellist Guilherme Rodrigues and soprano and sopranino saxophonist Harri Sjostrom developed these 12 pieces, combining and contrasting their instruments, at times seeming to complete each other's phrases, in a remarkably sophisticated and virtuosic "Treasure".

After setting music for the poetry of Pablo Neruda and Andriana Minou (Gledalec), Slovenian pianist Kaja Draksler turns to the work of Robert Frost in a set of 7 sophisticated compositions, sung by Laura Polence & Bjork Nielsdottir in an improvising octet with reedists Ab Baars & Ada Rave, violinist George Dumitriu, bassist Lennart Heyndels and drummer Onno Govaert.

Energetic and assertive jazzcore improv from Portuguese guitarist Luis Lopes' long-running Humanization 4Tet with saxophonist Rodrigo Amado and the near-telepathic rhythm section of Aaron Gonzalez on double bass and Stefan Gonzalez on drums, in an album recorded in the studio in front of an audience in New Orleans during their 2018 tour, finding the band in formidable form.

Russian-born Germany/NY-based pianist Simon Nabatov's Quintet with the new lineup of Chris Speed on tenor sax & clarinet, Herb Robertson on trumpet & cornet, John Hebert on double bass and Tom Rainey on drums, performing Nabatov's magnificently lyrical, sophisticated and often chamber-oriented compositions, an incredible achievement in writing and performance.

A transatlantic all-star quartet of modern improvisers influenced by contemporary compositional music and creative jazz, with pieces from all four players--Fredrik Ljungkvist on tenor sax & clarinet, Kris Davis on piano, Ole Morten Vagan on double bass, and Øyvind Skarbø on drums--creating superb modern, unforseeable, and joyful music.

The distinctively unique voice and unconventional stylings of Patty Waters bring a set of standards and folk songs to a live quartet session in Houston, Texas in 2018 with the stellar backup of Burton Greene on piano, Mario Pavone on bass, and Barry Altschul on drums, covering songs by Billy Holiday, Nat King Cole & Hank Williams along with a trio instrumental of Monk's "Off Minor".

The first solo record for NY violist Joanna Mattrey, performing also on the Stroh violin, in a deep exploration of the sound possibilities for both instruments, using preparations to alter the resonance of the viola, masking its overtly singing and beautiful nature and allowing for unexpected and unusual textures which weave around melodic lines; unique and fascinating.

Originally a clarinetist, UK improviser Alex Ward began exploring the guitar in rock settings, first bringing the instrument to his improv work around the year 2000 with N.E.W. (w/ Steve Noble & John Edwards); this is his 1st solo guitar album, showing a wide range of styles that embrace improv, rock and compositional styles, a remarkable display of skill and creative drive.

UK guitarist Alex Ward's quartet featuring his compositions for improvisers, performed with a set of younger players on London's free improv scene--Charlotte Keeffe on trumpet & flugelhorn, Otto Willberg on double bass, and Andrew Lisle on drums--heard here in two intricately exciting 2018 concerts in London at Set Dalston Lane and at Cafe Oto Project Space.

A set of beautiful electro-acoustic compositions, dream-like and rich in details using sources of acoustic instruments, field recordings, guitar, electronics and voice, organized into hazy and beautiful reflections, with contributions from Margaret Hermant on xylophone & violin, Jeremy Young on electronics, and Lee Ranaldo providing field recordings and voice.

Bringing together NY drummer/percussionist John Hollenbeck, also on prepared piano, with Berlin bassist Bernhard Meyer for an album that blends textural rock, electronic and jazz approaches in 9 elusively calm yet structurally turbulent pieces, using complex systems of cross rhythms against atmospheric immersion, occasionally disruptive but generally eccentrically controlled and exploratory.

Schizophrenically skronky improv of ea-cutups and semi-maniacal segments that resolve to near-stillness from the West Coast TONED trio of Nathan Corder on electronics, Leo Suarez on drums, and Tom Weeks on sax, using a nonlinear and nonhierarchical organizational process and multiple layers of compositional feedback loops to create unpredictably bizarre and overtly fun music.

Pianist Claudia Binder presents 3 concepts for solo piano - the introspective "Room for a Sound" and it's dramatic inverse, "Sound for a Room"; "Polyphony" in 3 parts using piano preparation, one part playful, one part serious, one part peculiar; and an inexplicable "It Takes Two to Tango"--in performances revealing a curious mind and tremendous skill.

Drummer Quentin Conrate works in contemporary music, musical theater and experimental art, concerned with space, sound and movement; here he is caught live at Festival Becoq in La Cooperative, Montolieu, France for an album of refracted and reverberant sound using a collection of objects described as "incomplete drums", and a wall.

A melodically subtle and sophisticated album of twenty improvisations composed by saxophonist Christoph Gallio and performed with Gerry Hemingway on drums and Silvan Jeger on electric bass, with Friederike Mayrocker providing words on several tracks, the compositions as short as 19 seconds and a long as 7:40, each dedicated to visual artists and colleagues.

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Highlighting issues between the US & Mexican borders, Thollem McDonas' Estamos Trio presents their 2nd album, here with Carmina Escobar (vocals, electronics, guitarron), Milo Tamez (percussion, found objects, electronics) and Thollem (keyboard, vocals, clay pot) in a work commissioned by and recorded at the 2018 "Casa Tomada" (House Taken Over) in Santa Fe for SITE.

Norwegian jazz vocalist Guro Gravem Johansen (Soyr, Crazy Moon, and vocalist for Helge Hurum's orchestra), in a duo with Colombian cellist based in Helsinki, Sergio Castrillon, performing on a prepared microtonal cello, as the two improvise over five dialogs, from the extended "Primo" to the succinct "Quintuple", blending unusual technique with unique creative impulse.

NY/East Coast Jazz vocalist Kosi presents her 5th album, a rewarding album of original songs that depict her experiences touring as an independent singer-songwriter through jazz idioms influenced by blues and rock forms, her strong voice emotional and expressive while supported by a core sextet of New York musicians; lyrical, solid, passionate.

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A great example of British collective free jazz captured live at Iklectic in London in 2019 for two extended and wide-ranging performances--"Dial Tone I" & II--from the quartet of Sue Lynch (Remote Viewers, The Horse Improvised Music Club), Polish trumpeter based in London Dawid Frydryk, drummer Dave Fowler (Maggie Nichols) and the ever-active John Edwards on bass.

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