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.

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.

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".

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

Double bassist Jonas Gerigk invited two Berlin-based musicians--pianist Anaïs Tuerlinckx and percussionist Burkhard Beins--for a week of musical experiments and exploration at the venue Saxstall in Pohrsdorf/Tharandt, Germany, culminating in a well-recieved live performance; these two recordings are the result of their week of sonic investigation and improvisations.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

An exemplary album of thoughtful free improv from the trio of tenor saxophonist Pedro Alves Sousa with 2/3's of Red Trio--pianist Rodrigo Pinheiro and drummer Gabriel Ferrandini--recorded after a five day residency at the Goethe-Institut Lisbon, the band finding new approaches to playing to distance themselves from the typically fast & energetic music they are often associated with.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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".

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.

Their first duo album, Collect My Thoughts released in 1995 on Nine Winds, these live improvisations captured at Berkeley's The Shinebox in 2017 show the two West Coast collaborators--Phillip Greenlief on alto & tenor saxophones plus clarinet, and drummer/percussionist Scott Amendola--'staying with it' in an energetic set of five informed dialogs.

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.

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.

John Butcher mastered this live recording immaculately captured by Alex Ward at the Vortex in London in 2022 between two exceptional free improvisers, Dominic Lash on electric guitar and Ståle Liavik Solberg on drums & percussion, their three-part dialog sliding in and out of jazz, non-idiomatic and experimental modes in quick-witted and masterful exchanges.

An expressive piano trio from Steve Beresford on piano, Italian-born, UK-based drummer/percussionist Valentina Magaletti, and Italian Bassist Pierpaolo Martino, Beresford using piano preparations, electronics & toys to expand the palette of their instrumentation, all three bringing a wealth of experience in jazz, free improv and experimental sound to their solid conversations.

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.

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.

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.

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'.

From the fertile Montreal improv scene, the long-collaborating Mercury duo of double bassist Nicolas Caloia and clarinetist Lori Freedman on b-flat and bass clarinets are heard in eight rugged dialogs captured live as they seemingly flay the body through visceral dialog with titles including "Eyeball-Eyelid"; "Teeth-Tongue-Throat-Lip"; or "Ass-Brain".

The second trio release from alto saxophonist Jose Lencastre, Hernâni Faustino (Red Trio) here on electric bass and drummer Vasco Furtado, three Portuguese improvisers whose continued work together adds strength to their collective improvisation, heard in five pieces recorded live in the warm space of the Espírito Santo Church in Caldas da Rainha in Western Portugal.

Focused on unusual rhythms at the intersections of electrified bass and guitars, the trio of Italian improviser Felice Furioso on drums & percussion, Portuguese electric guitarist Jorge Nuno and Brazilian electric bassist Felipe Zenicola (Chinese Cookie Poets) turn in seven generally growling and aggressively paced works under the umbrella of experienced prejudice.

Bassist & composer Nick Dunston's Berlin band Skultura creates a uniquely experimental and fascinatingly sculpted approach to free jazz through layers of sound and serious playing punctuated by voice and concrete elements, each piece keeping the listener in anticipation of what might happen next, eased into serious jazz grooves, then whisked away in new directions; not to be missed!

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.

A first encounter between Swiss drummer Fritz Hauser and Portuguese marimba master Pedro Carneiro, the title translating roughly to "step of two", implying a dance heard in elusively minimal yet highly active interactions between the two, each progressively numbered work borrowing from improvisational and contemporary approaches; fascinatingly sophisticated and often joyful work.

Emulating the Korean river Taedong through it's undulating flows, uproar, flux and treachery in eleven succinct chamber-oriented improvisations from the quartet of South Korean tenor saxophonist Jung-Jae Kim, French-born South Korean-based drummer Quentin Cholet, with the Portuguese father/son duo of Ernesto Rodrigues on viola and Guilherme Rodrigues on cello.

Recording at Berlin-Wedding's performance space Werkhalle Wiesenburg in the summer of 2023, the free improvising chamber trio of violist Ernesto Rodrigues and cellist Guilherme Rodrigues meet with Portuguese flutist Carlos Bechegas, bringing contemporary classical technique to an extended and energetically tempestuous improvisation and a sprightly "Time Between".

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.

Ethnic folk flavors of traditional Polish dance music and song merge with modern jazz in the Polish Lumpeks quartet, researching the history of their music and working with musicians of multiple generations as they update their antecedents through free improvisation, and augmenting their repertoire with exotic instrumentation including bird calls, cabasa, baraban, basy, and drone box.

Three "Card Pieces", short series of pitch collections in a timeline with no other parameter spelled out, performed in a minimalist approach by Swiss spinet player Christoph Schiller and New York drummer & improviser Carlo Costa, where metallic strings are offset by organic and ringing responses, with a final work "Sottobosco" expanding their palette and pace.

Aberrant, expressive and idiosyncratic improvisations from the merging of two unique duos--Audrey Chen on voice and Henrik Munkeby Norstebo on trombone; and Eivind Lonning on trumpet and Espen Reinertsen on tenor sax--all using electronics, recording in Norway together while in separate rooms linked by headphones to create these two beautifully strange improvisations.

Pivoting between his home base of Chicago for 25 years and his current home in New York City, Argentina-born clarinetist and improviser Guillermo Gregorio presents two concerts, the first at the 2018 Edgefest Festival with Chicago luminaries Fred Lonberg-Holm on cello and vibraphonist Carrie Biolo; then in New York with Ivan Barenboim on contralto clarinet and Nicholas Jozwiak on cello.

Reflecting on the loft-oriented NYC free improvisation scene, this 2006 concert at Zebulon, in Brooklyn has keyboardist Alon Nechushtan bringing together a spectacular sextet with Roy Campbell on flute & trumpet, Daniel Carter and Sabir Mateen on reeds, William Parker on bass and Federico Ughi on drums, taking flight on two seemingly boundless Nechushtan compositions.

An album of jazz poetry between long-time collaborator, bassist Michael Bisio and poet Paul r. Harding, with former Jimi Hendrix percussionist Juma Sultan joining on half of the tracks, for thirteen narrative poems and utterance that provide incisive observation on ourselves and our country, the bass and percussion weaving around expression that slams, swings, and pulls no punches.

Formed in 2019 by Red Trio members Rodrigo Pinheiro on piano and Hernani Faustino on double bass plus core Creative Sources electronic musician Carlos Santos, with Joao Almeida on trumpet and Joao Valinho on drums, the "inter.independence" referencing an experimental approach to collective improv through independent layers that interact to create unexpected intersections.

UK saxophonist Andy Sheppard joins again with pianist Espen Eriksen's Trio of drummer Andreas Bye and bassist Lars Tormod Jenset, for a lyrical set of seven richly melodic original compositions, the trio's 7th release together since 2010 and marking 16 years together as a group, evident from their confident communication and seemingly effortless interaction.

UK saxophonist Andy Sheppard joins again with pianist Espen Eriksen's Trio of drummer Andreas Bye and bassist Lars Tormod Jenset, for a lyrical set of seven richly melodic original compositions, the trio's 7th release together since 2010 and marking 16 years together as a group, evident from their confident communication and seemingly effortless interaction.

The first live album from pianist Espen Eriksen's Trio with bassist Lars Tormod Jenset and drummer Andreas Bye, expanded to a quartet with UK saxophonist Andy Sheppard, performing at Nasjonal jazzscene in Victoria, Oslo in 2018 & 2020, at an intimate concert at Propeller Music Division in Oslo 2020, and at Era Jazzu/Czas Komedy, Poznan Poland in 2021.

An exciting and often unorthodox concert of free improvisation between Austrian pianist Elisabeth Harnik and Slovenian drummer/percussionist Zlatko Kaucic, captured live in 2022 at the Kulturhalle in Eggersdorf, Austria for a diverse 5-movement freely improvised and very open-minded work, with both performing inside and outside of their instruments, and literally, underneath the piano.

Drummer with some of the most significant of free jazz icons--Roscoe Mitchell, David Murray, Henry Threadgill, Anthony Braxton, &c.--Tani Tabbal's own trio with fellow New Yorkers Michael Bisio on bass and Adam Siegel on alto sax are joined by Joe McPhee on tenor sax, with compositions from each of Tabbal, Bisio and Joe McPhee, plus four collective improvisations.

After a first meeting at an improvised music festival, the trio of Portuguese drummer Vasco Furtad, Wuppertal-based drummer/vibraphonist Salome Amend and German alto saxophonist Luise Volkmann agreed to meet again in the studio to record these five collective improvisations, focused on sparse yet active textures influenced by melodic implications.

Father and son string improvisers Ernesto Rodrigues on viola and Guilherme Rodrigues on cello join with Berlin improvisers Fumio Okura (Ensemble 222) on violin and Hannes Buder on guitar for six collective chamber free improvisations using extraordinary technique and focus, creating parallel and converging conversations that build and recede in vigorous momentum.

Stunningly transformative techniques on the solo trumpet from NY and Berlin-based brass improviser Brad Henkel, recording in a Berlin studio for eight diverse acoustic pieces that mostly sound like anything but a trumpet, merging throat singing on one track, or squalling through tubes with intent control on another; reference Jacob Wick, Axel Dorner, Natsuki Tamura.

Italian percussionist, sound artist, improviser and composer Nicholas Remondino expresses the sentiment of the 18 recordings on this solo album of prepared drum improvisations through a single sentence, each piece flowing into the next through unusual punctuation, gestures and intersections, as the listener is carried along curious landscapes of extraordinary technique.

Burning electric improvisation that draws from rock, metal, jazz and free improv by the Lisbon trio of Luis Guerreiro on trumpet, electronics, Jorge Nuno on electric guitar and Joao Valinho on drums, recording in the studio for an extended and unremitting collective improvisation that roars with galvanic, dramatic strength; terrifying!

A septet bridging generations of improvisers from Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, DC, Minnesota, and NY, from Chad Fowler (sax & flute), George Cartwright (sax & guitar), Christopher Parker (piano), Kelley Hurt (voice), Luke Stewart (bass), Steve Hirsh (drums), and guest tenor saxophonist Zoh Amba, in four works reflecting our turbulent times, plus a tribute to Davey Williams.

Written in response to the excavation of slave quarters on the site of George Washington's President's House, Philadelphia saxophonist and former Cecil Taylor sideman Bobby Zankel presents a 6-section suite performed with Philly luminaries Jaleel Shaw (sax), Robin Eubanks (trombone), Diane Monroe (violin), Ruth Naomi Floyd (voice), Sumi Tonooka (piano), Lee Smith (bass) and Pheeroan AkLaff (drums).

The band name Omawi is a conglomerate of this Dutch trio's name, appropriate for the nearly telepathic interaction of pianist Marta Waleris, drummer Onno Govaert and double bassist Wilbert de Joode, captured in their first live performance after the pandemic lockdown at Zaal100, in Amsterdam, their enthusiasm and pent-up expression clearly evident in five extraordinary improvisations.

Inspired by Judith Schalansky's book "Atlas of Remote Islands: 50 islands I never set foot in and never will", the debut of the chamber improvising trio of Fie Schouten on clarinet & basset horn, Vincent Courtois on cello and Guus Janssen on piano, organ, harmonium & harpsichord reflect on these pristine and untouched areas of the earth in sublimely sophisticated conversation.

Configured as an electroacoustic chamber nonet led by Ernesto Rodrigues on viola & crackle box, with two saxophones, bass clarinet, piano, electric guitar, double bass, electronics & percussion, in two live, highly concentrative and subtly detailed improvisations performed in 2023 at O'Culto da Ajuda, during Ciclo Indeterminação na Música do Séc. XXI.

Performing live in a virtual festival performance at his home studio as an extension of his work at erstwhile's 2011 Amplify festival, Japanese sound artist Taku Unami recorded these three extended works using cardboard boxes and small robots, creating the curious sounds of their interactions and capturing them on binaural microphones to recreate their dynamics as exactly as possible.

Recorded during the 2019 Kraków Jazz Autumn Festival, NY trombonist Steve Swell leads a series of small groups and a large ensemble, recording at Radio Kraków and at Alchemia with some of Europe's most active improvisers: Gebhard Ullmannm, Elisabeth Harnik, Niklas Barno, Paal Nilssen-Love, Jon Rune Strom, Carlos Zingaro, Mikolaj Trzaska, Signe Emmeluth, Hanne de Backer, Elisabeth Coudoux, & Per Ake Holmlander.

Joining the long-running Trespass Trio of Per Zanussi on double bass, Martin Küchen on baritone & sopranino saxophone and Raymond Strid on drums for their performance at the 2018 Blow Out Festival in Oslo was Portuguese trumpeter Susana Santos Silva, performing Küchen compositions and a unique group take on Charlie Parker's "Koko", in a concert of both ardent and exuberant improvisation.

Insanely virtuosic exchanges between two New York heavyweight improvisers--pianist Matt Mitchell and multi-wind player Anna Webber on tenor saxophone & flute--in three concise dialogs and two extended works, through twists and turns supporting each other in an equal exchange of expression that implies telepathic exchange of elegant lyricism or rapid-fire excitement.

A piano sax and bass trio led by Argentinian pianist Nataniel Edelman with Michael Formanek on bass and Michael Attias on alto sax, recording in the studio in Berlin for a mix of five Edelman compositions, one by Attias, and four collective improvisations, recorded in a single day for a consistently lyrical, flowing set of elegantly informed, magnificent playing.

A series of intimate duets between Syrian-born, Vancouver-based oud, ney, flamenco guitar and singer Emad Armoush with aA series of intimate duets between Syrian-born, Vancouver-based Emad Armoush performing on oud, ney, flamenco guitar and song, with clarinetist Francois Houle, violinist Jesse Zubot, trumpeter JP Carter, drummer/percussionist Kenton Loewen and cellist Marina Hasselberg--Houle, Zubot and Carter also adding electronic layers--as Armoush reinvents Arabic tradition alongsie original compositions. Francois Houle, violinist Jesse Zubot, trumpeter JP Carter, drummer/percussionist Kenton Loewen and cellist Marina Hasselberg--Houle, Zubot and Carter also adding electronic layers--as Armoush reinvents Arabic tradition alongside original compositions.

As described, twelve solo improvisations from Portuguese double bassist Hernani Faustino, known for Red Trio, Jose Lencastre Nau Quartet, innumerable Creative Sources ensembles, &c., here displaying his muscular yet lyrical approach to the big strings through plucking, bowing and instrument emanations, paced to value expression over exhibitionism; beautiful.

Upbeat retro-future jazz with a bit of an acerbic wit, from the organ trio of Finnish saxophonist Mikko Innanen, Danish drummer Stefan Pasborg and French Hammond organ player Cédric Piromalli, in nine diverse pieces from funky swing to lush balladry, with Canadian improviser Lori Freedman providing sharply inquisitive narrative on two pieces.

Merging traditional Finnish harmonies into experimental jazz compositions and improvisation with a penchant for extraneous sound and quick shifts from elegant playing to forceful avant expression, Finish guitarist Heikki Ruokangas performs eight haunting works with mastery of technique and pacing in a warmly gripping album of solo acoustic guitar.

Merging traditional Finnish harmonies into experimental jazz compositions and improvisation with a penchant for extraneous sound and quick shifts from elegant playing to forceful avant expression, Finish guitarist Heikki Ruokangas performs eight haunting works with mastery of technique and pacing in a warmly gripping album of solo acoustic guitar.

Reflecting on the 60th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech "I Have a Dream", pianist Aruan Ortiz is influenced by King's concepts of form and structure, assembling an incredible quintet including Don Byron on reeds, Pheeroan akLaff on drums, Yves Dhar & Lester St. Lousi on cello and narration by Mtume Gant, for a 7-song cycle musically depicting the turbulence of the time.

Joining pianist Simon Nabatov's trio with bassist Stefan Schönegg and drummer Dominik Mahnig are Leondhard Huhn on saxophone & clarinet and Philip Zoubek on synthesizer, this Cologne-based 3+2 quintet expanding Nabatov's space as the group performs six collective improvisations interpreting a series of semantics signal that influence tempo, pitch, tone and timbre; extraordinary.

Assembling a masterful set of New York jazz luminaries including Michael Attias, Ben Goldberg, John Hebert, Thomas Heberer, Sam Ospovat, Chris Speed, Omar Tamez and Kenny Warren, pianist Angelic Sanchez tailors her compositions to these players through nine original compositions, along with Ellington's "Lady of the Lavender Mist" and "Tristeza" by Amarndo Carvajal.

The fifth album from John Zorn's Chaos Magic Ensemble of Brian Marsella on Fender Rhodes Piano, John Medeski on organ, Kenny Grochowski on drums and Matt Hollenberg on guitar, in three free flowing works that display Zorn's perceptive merging and the band's enormous skill, contrasting lyrical electric jazz with turbulent rock forms and disciplined contemporary structure.

Saxophonist José Lencastre's Nau Quartet of Lencastre on alto & tenor, Hernani Faustino on double bass, Rodrigo Pinheiro on piano and João Lencastre on drums are joined by Pedro Carneiro on marimba for four extended improvisations that balance melodic intentions with urgent force, the additional percussive elements motivating the band from edgy soloing to introspective contemplation.

Taking a turn into the Caribbean and the music of Don Drummond, trombonist Samuel Blaser assembled a new group with Alex Wilson on keys, Ira Coleman on bass, Dion Parson on drums, Michael Blake on tenor sax and Soweto Kinch on alto and vocals, with guest performances by Carroll Thompson, dubs by the late Lee 'Scratch' Perry, and a multi-bone section including Steve Turre & John Fedchock.

An assertive album of collective free jazz from three masterful NYC players — John Blum (piano), David Murray (tenor sax) and Chad Taylor (drums) — recording in the studio for eight high-octane improvisations inspired by the mathematical and natural concept of recursion, comparing nature's expansive growth with the growth of jazz through the incremental expansion of ideas and influences.