The title referring to the spatial arrangement where sounds of different frequency are processed in the brain, New York trombonist Steve Swell and Austrian Elisabeth Harnik performing inside and out of the piano, are captured live at Martinsschlossl, in Vienna, Austria in 2019 for 8 free improvisations of immense creative drive and ebullient rapport.

The 2nd Code Girl release from guitarist Mary Halvorson presents an embraceable and ambitious set of songs from 8 poetic forms for which Halvorson composed words & music, 3 of which are sung by Robert Wyatt, the others by Amirtha Kidambi, in a band with Thumbscrew members Michael Formanek (bass), Tomas Fujiwara (drums), plus Maria Grand (sax) and Adam O'Farrill (trumpet).

An innovator in integrating pedal steel guitar into modern improvised music, Cleveland-born, Baltimore-based pedal steel guitar player Susan Alcorn's quintet enlists a superb set of New York players--Mark Feldman on violin, Michael Formanek on double bass, Mary Halvorson on guitar, and Ryan Sawyer on drums--taking on a diverse set of Alcorn compositions.

A superb trio of NY improvisers and composers whose collective work bridges the divide between free playing and jazz tradition, a kind of avant swinging bebop.

This reissue of the 1983 Saturn Research LP presents two aspects of the Sun Ra Arkestra, the first side with the 80's classics "Nuclear War" along with "Retrospect" and "Makeup"; the second side presenting the extended and more experimental "A Fireside Chat with Lucifer", a 20 minute well balanced, open framework that allows for both melodic soloing and extended free exchanges.

Exploring the jazz tradition through 12 tone serial tone row scales, along with graphic scores & other variations, from UK composer Trevor Taylor, also on drums & vibraphones, in a quintet with Shanti Paul Jayashina on trumpet, Josh Ison on saxophones, Dan Banks on piano, and Jose Canha on Double Bass, in a set of tunes that beautifully balance freedom and lyricism.

The other side of Paul Dunmall's characteristic saxophone work is heard here on the alto flute, bringing Dunmall together with fellow flutist Neil Metcalf and the rhythm section of James Owston on bass and Tymek Jozwiak on drums for four exceptional improvisations that focus more on interaction and less on soloing, showcasing all four through sophisticated performance.

Extremely well paired in their unusual approaches to their instruments both acoustic and electronic, this live recording between Udo Schindler on reed & brass instruments and Jaap Blonk improvising with his voice and using computer electronics, results in eight diverting and inspired recording of extreme creative approaches and impressive technical skill.

A superb concert of masterful collective improvisation captured live at LOFT Cologne in 2018 from the trio of Luc Houtkamp on tenor saxophone & clarinet, Steve Beresford on piano & objects, and Martin Blume on drums & percussion, in three extended improvisations, thoughtful work building to periods of powerful passion while maintaining a reflective introspectiveness.

A convergence of reeds across the range of clarinets, from double bass clarinet to piccolo clarinet, in this live recording at Udo Schindler's 88th SALON fur Klang+Kunst in Krailling/Munich between reedists Schindler and Ove Volquartz, with particular emphasis on the deepest of reeds, the most challenging of clarinets, handled masterfully by both players.

Portuguese guitarist Marcelo Dos Reis and trumpeter Luís Vicente, Icelandic pianist Kristján Martinsson and Dutch drummer Onno Govaert release their 2nd album, moving from the studio to a live concert at Salão Brazil in Coimbra in 2018, performing six collective improvisations of explorative and technically advanced, cutting edge free improv.

Refined and free ranging improvisation between German reedist Udo Schindler performing on bass clarinet, tenor & sopranino saxophones and also on cornet, and US double bassist Damon Smith, recorded 3 days after the first volume in this series, presenting two sets from the same day of informed and diverse dialogs between two masterful improvisers.

Double bassist Joshua Abrams provides the compositions for this studio album performed with Ari Brown on tenor sax, Jeff Parker on guitar and Gerald Cleaver on drums, an exceptional quartet of master improvisers who balance lyrical and soulful playing with explorative impulse, fueled by an empathetic responsiveness that only a long history of collaboration can engender.

The first new Sun Ra Arkestra album in twenty years, recorded in Philadelphia under the direction of saxophonist Marshall Allan, with long-standing Arkestra members including Danny Ray Thompson, Michael Ray, Vincent Chancey, Knoel Scott, Cecil Brooks, Atakatune, Elson Nascimento and Tyler Mitchel, with new material and new renderings of classic Ra compositions.

Originally released in 3 LPs as Live in Egypt on Thoth Intergalactic and then as the Saturn albums Dark Myth Equation Visitation, Nidhamu & Horizon, this set reissues and expands the 1971 Sun Ra tour recordings: The Mena House Hotel in Giza; a concert at Hartmut Geerken's in Heliopolis; a live Cairo TV channel broadcast; and a concert at Cairo's the Ballon Theatre.

A duo between Japanese free improvising drummer Sabu Toyozum and Swedish baritone saxophonist & wind player Mats Gustafsson, also performing on his own fluteophone (a mouthpiece attached to the flute), capturing five live improvisation at their 2018 performance at Jazz Spot Candy, in Chiba, Japan for an extremely inventive set of potent playing.

An exceptional album of demanding collective free improvisation from the transatlantic quartet of Nate Wooley on trumpet, Liudas Mockunas on contrabass clarinet and saxophones, Barry Guy on bass, and Arkadijus Gotesmanas on drums & percussion, recorded in the studio in Vilnius, Lithuania while Wooley and Guy were artists in residence for the 2019 Improdimensions.

Revisiting two of Archie Shepp's 1969 recordings released on the BYG label as Blasé, and title track to Yasmina, three tracks featuring the vocals of Jeanne Lee, with four band configurations including Dave Burrell, Malachi Favors, Lester Bowie, Roscoe Mitchell, Sunny Murray, Philly Joe Jones, &c., beautifully remastered to bring to light Shepp's pan-stylistic impulses.

Bringing together two essential and impeccably remastered 1960's Cecil Taylor albums — Cecil Taylor Unit Structures and Cecil Taylor Unit Mixed — presenting both traditional influences and Taylor's unique approaches to modern jazz, featuring two septets with musicians including Jimmy Lyons, Henry Grimes, Archies Shepp, Ted Curson, Andrew Cyrille, Roswell Rudd, Sunny Murray, &c.

The Red Trio of pianist Rodrigo Pinheiro, bassist Hernâni Faustino and drummer Gabriel Ferrandini mark their 10th anniversary as a trio on this 2-CD set of an outstanding concert in Lisboa, PT, joining forces with the 13-member Celebration Band, whose members include John Butcher, Ernesto Rodrigues, Luis Vicente, Sei Miguel, Rodrigo Amado, Mattias Stahl, Carlos Santos, &c.

The fourth volume in the NoBusiness Records Sam Rivers Archive series is this live recording from Hamburg, Germany during River's 1979 tour of Europe, with the multi-instrumentalist performing on tenor & soprano saxophones, flute & piano in a quartet with Joe Daley on tuba, euphonium, Dave Holland on bass, cello, and Thurman Barker on drums.

First introduced at the "Konfrontationen" festival in Nickelsdorf in 2006, German pianist and composer Georg Graewe's Sonic Fiction Orchestra developed these diverse works of jazz, fusion-tinged, and chamber improv during a residency at the 2018/19 Porgy & Bess in Vienna, recording in the studio in 2020 for this impressive album, particularly the large "Redshift E" composition.

A 10-album collection in a solid box set of vocal and instrumental suites recorded expressly for this set between late 2018 and early 2020, with women's voices at its core (both on voice & other instruments), taking a vast view of music from around the globe through free improvisation and re-imagined sonic collage, performed by groupings of extraordinary performers.

American pianist Marilyn Crispell joined London Improviser's Orchestra saxophonist & clarinetist Harry Smith and AMM drummer Eddie Prévost for this 2012 concert at London's Cafe OTO, playing in a melodic free jazz mode of passionate interaction and deep communication, resulting in an unforced and naturally masterful set of thoughtfully lyrical improvisation.

Though not well documented, free jazz legendary pianist Cecil Taylor's working band for 3 years in the late nineties was this quintet of Harri Sjostrom on soprano saxophone, Tristan Honsinger on cello, Teppo Hauta-aho on double bass, and Paul Lovens on drums, cymbals & gongs, heard in this energetic concert at Tampere Jazz Happening in Finland, 2018.

The first album as a bandleader from Chicago tenor saxophonist Gerrit Hatcher in a full quintet of well-known Chicago improvisers -- cornetist Ben LaMar Gay, tenor saxophonist Keefe Jackson, bassist Katie Ernst, and drummer Julian Kirshner -- in an album that would fit well in the ESP/Ayler free-jazz mode, tipped off by a cover of Charles Tyler's "Man Alone".

Chicago saxophonist and Kettle Hole label leader Gerrit Hatcher joins with West Coast saxophonists Rob Magill (Weird Cry Records, Dreamcolour) and Japanese saxophonist based in Los Angeles Patrick Shiroishi, for five collective free improvisations of informed saxophone interaction; three approaches to the horn that complement and contrast in fascinating ways.

The Chicago collective trio of tenor saxophonist Gerrit Hatcher, Lebanese bassist Eli Namay and drummer/percussionist Bill Harris are captured live at Chicago's The Whistler in the summer of 2019 for two extended and exploratory improvisations, showing both technical mastery and a curiosity for new modes of expression through inspired and intuitive conversation.

A truly unique duo album of sax and drums from Chicago reedist Mars Williams and Spanish percussionist Vasco Trilla, using their immense technical skills to pivot reflective and meditative playing around exuberant free jazz spirit, maintaining a sense of journey and sonic introspection through unusual and extended technique; a beautifully balanced album.

Drummer Tomas Fujiwara composed these compositions specifically for his trio with Patricia Brennan (vibraphone) and Tomeka Reid (cello), beautifully orchestrated for the unique combination of instruments and the extraordinary technique of each player, resulting in lyrical improvisation performed with a clarity appropriate for each piece's dedication.

Meeting in France in 2017 for the Festival Météo de Mulhouse, Evan Parker alternating between soprano and tenor saxophones and Matthew Shipp on acoustic piano, present an epic extended improvisation that naturally evolves through several sections, followed by a brief post-script, each musician attentively focused as they support the clarity of each other's playing.

A brilliant example of trans-Atlantic collective free improv from the quartet of New York free jazz heavies Matthew Shipp on piano, Joe Morris on double bass, Gerald Cleaver on drums, and UK tenor saxophonist Paul Dunmall, playing in the tradition of ecstatic and extended free jazz in a nearly hour long live performance recorded at Roulette in Brooklyn in 2012.

Founded in 1967 by pianist Misha Mengelberg, drummer Han Bennink, and saxophonist & clarinetist Willem Breuker, this double CD documents the earliest years of the ICP collective through live & studio recordings from 1966-71, with an impressive cast of jazz and contemporary compositional players creating a delightfully diverse set of approaches to improvisation.

A lost gem from of British free sax and drums & percussion duo of saxophonist Larry Stabbins and percussionist Roy Ashbury, originally released in 1976 on the Bead Label, their interplay including masterful and extended techniques from Stabbins and an array of chimes, chains, wood blocks, shakers, and bowed cymbals augmenting Ashbury's kit; captivating dialog.

Originally released in 1980, this album reissues late trumpeter Bill Dixon's recording from Barigozzi Studio, in Milano, Italy in 1980, performing Dixon's tapestry-like compositions with Dixon on trumpet & piano, Arthur Brooks on trumpet, Stephen Haynes on trumpet, Stephen Horenstein on tenor & baritone saxophones, Alan Silva on bass, and Freddie Waits on drums.

Tenor saxophonist Albert Ayler's 1966 quintet brought a unique orchestration to his music, heard in these live performances in Berlin, Lörrach, Paris & Stockholm in November of 1966, four concerts presented chronologically as performed with the exemplary playing of brother Donald Ayler on trumpet, Michel Samson on violin, William Folwell on bass, and Beaver Harris on drums.

Extending their previous collaborations during the time of pandemic, NY electronic improviser Ikue Mori and Japanese improvisers Natsuki Tamura on trumpet and Satoko Fujii on piano developed this extraordinary ea-improv album via file exchange, starting with Fujii's piano improvisations to which Mori & Tamura added their layers, with Mori mixing the final, startling results.

The follow-up to NY drummer/composer Dan Weiss's 2018 release Starebaby is an unconventional compounding of electric jazz, doom metal, electronic music, and improvisation, performed with Matt Mitchell on piano & Prophet 6, Craig Taborn on piano, Fender Rhodes & synthesizers, Ben Monder on guitars, and Trevor Dunn on electric bass.

Recorded at the same time and influenced by the recording of their 2020 album The Anthony Braxton Project, the NY Thumbscrew trio of Tomas Fujiwara on drums, Mary Halvorson on guitar, and Michael Formanek on double bass & electric bass present 9 original compositions, three pieces from each of the musicians, of melodically inclined forward thinking, creative jazz.

After work supporting Lee Morgan, Gerry Mulligan, Sonny Rollins, McCoy Tyner, Steve Lacy, Albert Ayler, Don Cherry, Cecil Taylor, &c., free jazz bassist Henry Grimes recorded this great example of his skills as a composer and leader, in a trio with Tom Price on drums and Perry Robinson, here in a definitive vinyl LP reissue of this exemplary album.

London's Otoroku label keeps this magnificent album in print with a 2021 reissue of the 1982 Incus release featuring Evan Parker performing solo on soprano saxophone, using the natural resonance of the Church Of St. Jude-on-the-Hill, in Hampstead London as he explores upper tones and high frequency split tones in a technically brilliant display.

On their 6th recording as a trio concept, The Fire! trio of Mats Gustafsson (sax), Johan Berthling (bass guitar) and Andreas Werlin (drums) add to their energetic approach to free improvisation through Mats Gustafsson performing on both baritone sax and flute, and by the addition of guests Goran Kajfes on quartertone trumpet and Mats Aleklint on trombone and sousaphone.

The debut of a new electric jazz quintet from NY violinist Sana Nagano, with Peter Appfelbaum on tenor saxophone & megaphone, Keisuke Matsuno on electric guitar, Ken Filiano on acoustic bass & effects, and Joe Hertenstein on drums, an inventive and energetic album of joyful urgency and tremendous group dynamic, fueled by Nagano's exuberant and lyrical compositions.

The first of a 3-album trilogy Playfield offers the musical equivalency of a walk through the diversity of New York in a loft-style extended improvisation from the octet of Daniel Carter on horns & reeds, Luisa Muhr on voice, Ayumi Ishito on sax, Eric Plaks on piano, Aron Namenwirth & Yutaka Takahashi on guitars, Zach Swanson on bass, and Jon Panikkar on drums.

A remarkable tour de force of solo piano improvisation on this self-released album from Virginia-based but New York-associated pianist Joel Futterman, recording in the studio in 2009 for a three-part series of exploratory and profoundly masterful improvisations, captivating with intense and technical passages that yield to lyrically beautiful and expansive playing.

An almost hour long "Rhizome" of free improvisation and a brief "Renewal" from the duo of Joel Futterman on piano and Ike Levin on tenor sax & bass clarinet, performing live at Constellation in Chicago in 2017, for a wonderfully evolving work of suspense, release, technical brilliance and exuberant expression, a dialog that only two such frequent collaborators can evoke.

Zorn's compositions on this album bridge the worlds of contemporary compositional and fully improvised jazz, Zorn conducting a quartet with Stephen Gosling's piano and Sae Hashimoto's vibraphone parts fully notated, while drummer Ches Smith and bassist Jorge Roeder provide an improvisational rhythm section, bringing to life these dynamic and lyrical works.

John Zorn's Gnostic Quartet of Bill Frisell on guitar, Carol Emanuel on harp, John Medeski on organ, piano & Fender Rhodes, and Kenny Wollesen on vibraphone perform Zorn's melodic compositions dedicated to one of Zorn's earliest mentors, Ennio Morricone, through nine compositions of "beautiful harmonies, a driving rhythmic pulse and stunning lyricism."

Two quartets performing two live concerts from 1963 led by John Coltrane on tenor & soprano saxophones, the first at the Newport Jazz Festival with McCoy Tyner on piano, Jimmy Garrison on double bass and Roy Haynes on drums, the second at Birdland with Elvin Jones on the drums, plus 2 studio recordings with that quartet at Van Gelder Studio in the same year.

Pianist Alexander Hawkins' six movement composition is realized by the UK Riot Ensemble, known primarily for their work with notated contemporary music, adding Evan Parker's incredible soprano sax soloing, and filtered through Matthew Wright's live electronic processing, resulting in this amazing hybrid masterwork that bridges modern 21st Century forms.

The 10th album from The Rempis Percussion Quartet, the dual-drumming free improvising collective quartet of Dave Rempis on alto & tenor saxophones, Ingebrigt Haker Flaten on bass, and Tim Daisy & Frank Rosaly on drums, celebrating their 15th anniversary as a working band through this exhilarating concert captured during their 2019 European Tour at AMR in Geneva, Switzerland.

Recorded during the The Futuristic Sounds of Sun Ra sessions in 1961 after moving the Arkestra to the Philadelphia/NY area from his original Chicago base, these two ballads are sung by Ricky Murray, "I Struck a Match..." written by Sun Ra and very much an Arkestra tune, while "Dreamsville" is a Livingston-Mancini-Evans tune that receives Ra's big band treatment.

Bringing an innate lyricism to free improvisation in the piano trio format, albeit a thoroughly modern take on that format where all performers are equal and active participants, from Aki Takase on piano, Christian Weber on bass, and Michael Griener on drums, performing five Takase originals, one from Griener & Takase, and 8 collective works.

A live concert of collective free improvisation captured at Elastic Arts in Chicago in 2018 between Rob Magill on tenor & soprano saxophones, Gerrit Hatcher on tenor saxophone, Charlie Kirchen on bass, and Julian Kirshner on drums, an energetic and diverse concert in three conversations that allow for great discourse and extended soloing; numbered edition of 150 copies.

Bassist Sebastien Beliah leads this French-Polish quartet with Louis Laurain on cornet, Pierre Borel on alto saxophone, and Olga Koziel on voice & percussions, blending free jazz and traditional Polish music & songs with an experimental bent and the flourish of East European folk energy, a passionate mix that entertains and surprises the listener with unexpected twists & turns.

A wild ride in two live performances, one at Elastic Arts in Chicago and the other at The Sugar Maple in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, both in 2018 from the Kuzu trio of Dave Rempis on alto, tenor & baritone saxophones, Tashi Dorji on guitar, and Tyler Damon on drums, evolving free improvisation that builds from introspective to full-on burning free jazz.

In 2019 pianist Thollem McDonas toured the US -- 12 months and 25 albums worth of recordings -- joining collaborators from a vast spectrum of improvisers and performers, this album presenting two such recordings: one a duo with drummer/percussionist Alex Cline from a live concert in Santa Monica; the other a duo with guitarist Susan Alcorn recorded in Baltimore.

A 4-track collective improvisation project performed by Paul Dunmall (saxophones, fife & bagpipes), pianist Keith Tippett, guitarist Philip Gibbs and drummer Pete Fairclough, recorded at Victoria Rooms at the University of Bristol, UK in 2000 and originally issued on Dunmall's own DUNS label, here reissued 20 years later in the memory of Keith Tippett.

"Mutual aid" is the primary ethic of an anarchistic utopia in which each knows what they have, is honest about what they need, and is prepared to give and receive accordingly; here in 8 compositions from trumpeter Nate Wooley performed with Ingrid Laubrock, Sylvie Courvoisier, Cory Smythe, Josh Modney, Matt Moran, Russell Greenberg, and Mariel Roberts.

Joining the exemplary New York City Flow Trio of Louie Belogenis on tenor & soprano saxophones, Joe Morris on bass, and Charles Downs on drums is NY legendary saxophonist & trumpeter Joe McPhee, performing on tenor saxophone in an album of collective free jazz that reminds its listeners of the power of passionately unfettered yet superbly controlled free playing.

A burning album of free jazz caught live at Au Topsi Pohl, in Berlin, Germany in 2019 between the long-running duo of tenor saxophonist Bertrand Denzler and drummer Antonin Gerbal, best known for their work in Zoor or Denzler-Gerbal-Dorner, here working an "Interstellar Space" area of strength and energy through intense interaction and cathartic playing.

The 2nd release from this Sydney, Austrlian acoustic sextet, creating subtle yet dynamic improvisations influenced by the musical concepts of John Cage and Morton Feldman, balancing contemplative sections with building surges, these works developed on their 2019 Europe tour, which included performances at Copenhagen Jazz Festival as well as shows in Berlin and Stockholm.

The core of the German free improvising Takatsuki Trio is Rieko Okuda (piano, viola, &c.), Antti Virtaranta (bass), and Joshua Weitzel (shamisen, guitar), who, while touring, ask a guest from the area they're performing in to join them, here inviting tenor saxophonist Matthias Schubert in Kassel, Germany, and in Wiesbaden, Germany inviting saxophonist Dirk Marwedel.

Formed in 2014 to explore their own personal history with jazz music, the French trio of Fidel Fourneyron on trombone, Sebastien Beliah on double bass and Geoffroy Gesser on tenor saxophone & clarinet put their focus on the master of be-bop, Charlie Parker, updating, reinventing and making an inventive playground of Parker's music through thirteen classics.

Found dead in the Thames River in 1969, pianist & composer Mike Taylor left a legacy of two solid & lyrical jazz albums, of which the complete Trio album and one track from Pendulum are remastered; but he was also a songwriter for the Eric Clapton/Ginger Baker/Jack Bruce band Cream, of which three Taylor compositions with lyrics and vocals by Baker are included.

Dark Tree's Roots series continues to unearth hidden masterworks from the West Coast scene, here with bassist Roberto Miranda's Home Music ensemble in 1985, an 11-piece large band performing Miranda's lyrically rhythmic compositions, with an all-star cast including flutist James Newton, clarinetist John Carter, pianist Horace Tapscott, trumpeter Bobby Bradford, &c.

Cleverly complex yet melodically embraceable, the trio of Beligan pianist residing in Norway, Jonas Cambien's trio with Andre Rolighete on tenor and soprano saxophone and drummer Andreas Wildhagen perform eleven original Cambien compositions, a mix of astute, joyful and irrepressibly creative approaches to jazz and free improvisation.

Recording in the studio in Switzerland, the trio of Sylvie Courvoisier on piano, Ned Rothenberg on alto saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet & Shakuhachi, and Julian Sartorius on drums & percussion perform a mix of compositions, with 3 from Courvoisier and 1 by Rothenberg, and 4 collective improvisations; a unified and accomplished album of diverse approaches to free improv.

Meeting for the 1st time at the 2016 October Meeting in Holland, the quartet performance there of Susana Santos Silva on trumpet, Mette Rasmussen on alto sax, Ada Rave on tenor sax & clarinet and Kaja Draksler on piano, inspired the formation of Hearth to develop soundscapes focusing on moods and textures, as heard in these six rich, explorative collective improvisations.

The Hammond organ takes the lead sound on this straight-up, melodically grooving and fast-paced album, with compositions coming mostly from Finnish saxophonist Mikko Innanen, performed in this trio with French organist Cedric Piromalli and Danish drummer Stefan Pasborg; an album that puts one foot in the history of 60's jazz and one foot firmly in the creative present.

Following his ECM album Trace Provisoire, violinist Dominique Pifarély's new album with his quartet of Antonin Rayon on piano, Bruno Chevillon on double bass and Francois Merville on drums, expands on the merging of compositional and improvisational form in this set of Pifarély compositions, alongside two co-written with Bruno Chevillon and two with Antonin Rayon.

Their 2020 tour cut short and no prospects of perfomance in March 2020, the trio of trumpeter Thomas Heberer, bassist Joe Fonda and drummer Joe Hertenstein began a weekly discipline of composing and rehearsing new music, doing so for the next five months, recording this superbly defined set of new compositions in August, the day before Herstenstein left NYC for Berlin.

After the Desalambrado duo album album between Spanish pianist Agustí Fernandez and drummer/percussionist Lucía Martinez, Fernandez enjoined UK bassist Barry Guy to record with them while he was in Spain working on his Via Augusta; the results are this album of mysterious environments that lead to intense and exciting interaction, expansive improv through Martinez' percussive elements.

A live recording of insightful collective improvisation recorded in 2019 at the Moers Festival in Germany, from Harri Sjostrom on soprano saxophone, Achim Kaufmann on piano, Adam Pultz Melbye on double bass, Dag Magnus Narvesen on drums, and Emilio Gordoa on vibraphone, in an extended exploration of subtle hues through effortlessly intense and inventive interaction.

Formed in 1990 as a sextet to explore the possibilities of real-time signal processing in an improvising context, the 30 year history of saxophonist Evan Parker's Electro-Acoustic Ensemble and the first new album in 9 years explodes with this incredible 2019 live concert at Wojciech Krukowski Hall, in Warsaw, Poland as a 10-piece ensemble of masterful improvisers.

Existing between composition and free improvisation, this Norwegian quartet of Torstein Lavik Larsen on trumpet, Adrian Myhr on double bass, Fredrik Rasten on acoustic guitar, and Jan Martin Gismervik on drums & percussion are informed by minimal composed, folk and improvised musics, applying unusual technique and methodology to create beautiful textural and impressionistic sound.

Discovered in a box of recordings in BPA's possession, this recording from 2003 restores a stimulating freely improvised studio encounter between then-West Coast frequent collaborators, double bassist Damon Smith and percussionist Gino Robair, in a trio with Austrian alto saxophonist & bass clarinetist Tanja Feichtmair, mastered to pristine quality by Weasel Walter.

A percussive "Natchtprogramm" and a tonal "Syntax" from composer Torsten Papenheim, recorded in the studio in Cologne and Berlin, the former performed with trombonist Matthias Much, double bassist Achim Tang and pianist Philip Zoubek; the latter with Johannest Trondle (violincello) & Axel Haller (electric bass), then with Elena Kakaliagou (french horn) & Evi Filippou (percussion).

A three part solo improvisation from pianist and composer Joel Futterman, also performing on Indian flute and curved soprano saxophone, each track a complete unedited first take with no overdubs, presented in the order performed, the first part a nearly 53 minute epic of powerful and consequential playing, from vigorous technical runs to beautifully languid moments; stunning.

NY double bassist Sean Ali presents an engrossing journey in seven pieces that depict an inner journey through tone, technique and words, using the double bass to create deep sonic environments through interactively playing and layering, using extended approaches that support and contrast his narration; a compelling and descriptive observation on the nature of self.

While on vacation in Rome in 2018, NY percussionist Carlo Costa took his portable recorder inside a grain silo in the countryside north of the city, eschewing traditional percussion for found bricks, pipes, rocks and branches found nearby, recording in the resonance of the silo with the sounds of cicadas and other ambiance permeating the silo as he unfolds this engrossing, thoughtfully paced improvisation.

The title referencing police tactics used to subdue a suspect, the 2nd solo album from NY trumpeter Joe Moffett finds the imporoviser approaching the instrument with atypical technique and a sense of sonic power in five engrossing works of technical prowess and creative imagination, producing "mangled, oscillating, chittering noises, a collision of muscle, bone, and metal".

The extended and absorbing live performance between Austrian pianist Elisabeth Harnik and Chicago drummer Michael Zerang at Španski Borci,in Ljubljana, Slovenia in 2019 begins in restful interaction, Harnik often inside the piano and Zerang scraping and coaxing sound, building to a disruptive dream of intense interaction that ends in a turbulent awakening.

An exotic album of tradition-spanning improvisation from the trio of tenor saxophonist Ivo Perleman, oud player Gordon Grdina and percussionist Hamin Honari on tombak and daf, avoiding any cliches of "world fusion" as the effusive Middle Eastern rhythmic devices propel Perelman and Grdina into joyful flights of ecstatic playing that bridge the East and West.