The Stefan Aeby Trio at the Intakt Festival at Vortex Jazz Club in London 2017, the pianist leading his trio with bassist Andre Pousaz and drummer Michi Stulz through lyrical original compositions from Aeby, with one from Pousaz, a wonderful example of the modern piano trio that embrace a wealth of styles and approaches while flowing clearly in jazz history.

The 40th Anniversary release for the creative free improvising jazz trio of Gerry Hemingway (drums), Mark Helias (bass) and Ray Anderson (trombone), with guests Joe Lovano on sax and Jason Moran on piano; superb lyrical soulful collective improvisation of the finest order.

Pianist, vibraphonist, and composer Karl Berger presents his 2nd release in a trilogy of Tzadik CDs that started with the solo "Strangely Familiar", here in a trio with Joe Fonda on bass and Harvey Sorgen on drums, lyrical free bop jazz in 7 rich and distinctive movements.

A beautiful example of the modern piano trio, led by in-demand drummer, Jim Black, with Elias Stemeseder the pianist and Thomas Morgan on bass, in a lyrical album that uses Black's compelling and elusive drumming on 9 original Black compositions and one unexpected standard, as all three deliver complex playing that sounds accessible and engaging, a true achievement.

Trombonist Samuel Blaser leads a trio of Benoit Delbecqu (piano & keys) and Gerry Hemingway (drums & percussion) through 11 tracks that merge modern improvisation with conceptual compositional elements creating intense, introspective & intelligent music.

The New York collective trio of bassist Stephan Crump, pianist Kris Davis and drummer Eric McPherson focuses on starfish (asteroida), which can regenerate lost sections of itself, as this band creates highly focused group compositions that use melodic elements as rhythm and vice versa, recontextualizing and transforming their confident and masterful playing.

A reissue of this 1973 LP of succinct free improvsation by Peter Brotzmann, Fred van Hove, and Han Bennink, with Brotzmann on clarinet, alto, tenor, baritone, bass saxophones, van Hove plays celesta & piano, and Bennink on drums and a crazy assortment of percussive devices.

Belgian pianist based in Oslo, Jonas Cambien's Trio with Andre Roligheten on reeds and Andreas Wildhagen on drums, in an album of unique compositions using simple ideas yielding complex improvisation & dialog, named for the Dougal Dixons book "After Man: A Zoology of the Future".

The French free improvising trio of pianist Cecile Cappozzo, double bassist Patrice Grente, and drummer Etienne Ziemniak are heard in performance at "la Maison en Bois" in Abbeville-la-Riviere in 2018, with trumpeter Jean-Luc Capozzo joining them on the title track, as they bring order to the 4 part "Chaos" through superb collective improvisation.

This album was developed to present Daniel Carter, typically a wind/reed/trumpeter player, on an album that included his piano playing, which then advanced by adding the goal of both Carter and long-time collaborator, drummer Federico Ughi, to record with bassist William Parker, who rounds out this excellent trio on bass, tuba and shakuhachi.

The trio of pianist Gianni Lenoci, bassist Kent Carter, and drummer Bill Elgart recording in France, 2012 in an album that balances free improvisation with melodic impulse, giving the impression of calm while yielding intricate interactions on close listening.

Thanos Chrysakis with Dario Villega and Oli Mayne in improvised set using electronics, prepared pianos, percussion, &c, a colored palimpset of sound.

Pianist Marc Copland in a beautiful trio album with bassist Drew Gress and drummer Jochen Ruecker, mixing original compositions with classics including pieces by Joni Mitchell, Ron Carter, Cole Porter, Victor Young, &c.

Two live dates from Crescendo and Glenn Miller Cafe in Sweden from the trio of Sebastian Bergstrom on piano, Joachim Nyberg on bass, and Emil Astrand-Melin on drums.

The dynamic rhythm section that worked behind Anthony Braxton as part of his legendary mid-'80s through mid-'90s quartet steps out on its own to perform a program of Braxton compositions.

Pianist and vocalist Marilyn Crispell's 2nd trio album from 1990 recorded live at Switzerland's Taktlos Festival in 1989, in the company of masterful free improvisers Reggie Workman on bass and Paul Motian on drums.

Taagi - which takes its title from the Apache word for "three" - is Dutch based pianist Clark's first trio recording with bassist Aaron Gonzalez and drummer Stefan Gonzalez.

The long-running collaboration of Paris pianist Benoit Delbecq and Netherlands-born, Boston-area saxophonist Jorrit Dijkstra is joined by Boston drummer John Hollenbeck, the pianist and saxophonist also picking up electronics and bass synth as they improvise over 10 concepts of movement through texture and distinctive approaches to their instruments.

Miles Perkin takes the late bassist Jean-Jacques Avenel's place in pianist Benoit Delbecq's trio with Emile Biavenda on drums and percussion, in an inventive and lyrical album balancing structure versus improvisational freedom in engaging ways.

Norwegian saxophonist Frode Gjerstad started the forward thinking free improv group Detail in 1981 with Eivin One Pederson on keys and SME legend, drummer John Stevens; this live recording of the original lineup is a fantastic document of the roots of this important band.

Three versatile improvisers with pedigrees including Christian Weber, Christian Wolfarth, Objets Trouves, Big Bold Back Bone, &c, the Swiss trio of Roberto Domeniconi on piano, Jan Schlegel on electric bass, and Sheldon Suter on drums use unusual and extended techniques integrated within free improv in this coproduction with RSI Rete Due Radiotelevision, Switzerland.

Israeli pianist Maya Dunietz comes together with British free improvisers John Edwards (bass) and Steve Noble (drums) for a trio record of creative and informed playing, a marvel of power and inventiveness.

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Saxophonist and bass clarinetist Christoph Erb travels between Europe and Chicago, here in a trio with Chicago mainstays, pianist Jim Baker and drummer Frank Rosaly, for an intense and fierce album of collective improvisation captured live at their second-only encounter on the stage of the Experimental Sound Studio in Chicago in 2014.

Pianist Espen Eriksen's Trio with bassist Lars Tormod Jenset and drummer Andreas Bye in their third album of melodic and inventive creative jazz, here with 8 new lyrical pieces informed by their extensive touring, and charged by the addition of legendary UK saxophonist Andy Sheppard, for whom Eriksen wrote a set of tunes tailored to his playing.

The fifth album from the powerful Swedish trio Fire!, comprised of Mats Gustafsson (The Thing), Johan Berthling (Tape) and drummer Andreas Werliin (Wildbirds & Peacedrums), with Mats playing keyboards and electronics on selected tracks.

The fifth album from the powerful Swedish trio Fire!, comprised of Mats Gustafsson (The Thing), Johan Berthling (Tape) and drummer Andreas Werliin (Wildbirds & Peacedrums), with Mats playing keyboards and electronics on selected tracks.

The 27th volume in John Zorn's Book of Angels series, presenting his Masada compositions interpreted by superlative groups, here in a piano trio of lyrical and technical power: Craig Taborn (piano), Christian McBride (bass), and Tyshawn Sorey (drums).

Pianist Danny Fox's trio with bassist Chris van Voorst van Beest and drummer Max Goldman in an album showing how the tight rapport this touring band has developed on the road, performing Fox's melodic and inventive compositions with a wealth of influences and style.

Pianist Danny Fox's trio with bassist Chris van Voorst van Beest and drummer Max Goldman in an album showing how the tight rapport this touring band has developed on the road, performing Fox's melodic and inventive compositions with a wealth of influences and style.

Free Pantone trio is a Portuguese musical group recently created in Lisbon by bassist Rui Sousa, pianist Manuel Guimaraes and drummer Joao Valinho, using a trans-idiomatic and experimental approach they seek to exploit diverse musical genres and sub-genres from jazz and contemporary music using improvisation and real-time composition as their uniting principle.

The trio of pianist Jobic Le Masson, drummer Didier Laserre and bassist Benjamin Duboc in four stretched out and understated ballads filled with subtlety and nuance.

Satoko Fujii's excellent trio with Mark Dresser on bass and Jim Black on drums: spiritous, technically impressive, melodically and conceptually adventurous music not to miss!

A set of new trio compositions from pianist Satoko Fujii with bassist Todd Nicholson and drummer/percussionist Takashi Itani, a magnificent set of compositions for the transformative season.

Nine original compositions from pianist Paul Giallorenzo in his 2nd Delmark CD, reducing the band to a classic piano trio with compatriots Joshua Abrams on bass and Mikel Patrick Avery on drums, in a passionate album that balances high energy polytonal swing to profound and lyrical ballads, with abstract blues and free-form inventiveness; excellent.

Reprising the energetic trio on his first jazz recording "Sideways", pianist/composer Bob Gluck is joined by bassist Michael Bisio and drummer/percussionist Dean Sharp for 6 original Gluck compositions.

The first release from the German free improvising trio of pianist Georg Graewe, bassist Marcio Mattos, and drummer Michael Vatcher, playing Graewe's rich and intricate spontaneous compositions that ebb and flow effortlessly into each other.

Drawing on collective improvisation and compositions from Carla Bley and Annette Peacock, the trio of pianist Georg Graewe, double bassist Damon Smith and drummer Michael Vatcher recorded this album of ferocious playing through rapid-fire interaction balanced with lovely free ballads, a reflection of their tremendous skill and their insightful approach to improvisation.

The first CD from 2002 by German saxophonist/clarinetist Frank Gratkowski, Belgian pianist/ accordionist Fred Van Hove, and drummer/percussionist Tony Oxley, reserved yet unrestrained free improvisation; smart dialog from three tremendous players.

Inspired by Irish painter Hughie O' Donoghue, bassist and composer Barry Guy takes the same trio from his albums "Odyssey" and "Ithaka"--pianist Marilyn Crispell and drummer Paul Lytton--on an impressionist album of expressive and emotional playing, with lyrical and explosive peformances that reflect a haunting music showcasing each player's skills; stunning.

Primarily a bass and guitar duo between Portugese natives Joao Hasselberg, on double bass and electric, and electric guitarist Pedro Branco, here in their second album together of delicately sophisticated string improvisations, joined by a a great set of collaborators to expand the duo to trio and quartet.

Hailing from Atlanta, GA, guitarist Tyler Higgins is also a multi-instrumentalist and composer who merges genres of moody, cinematic music based around folk, blues, jazz and twisted with unusual approaches, aided in his endeavors by drummer Paul Steven and wordless vocalist Ellen Higgins, producing a alluring set of musical narratives.

The 2nd LP from Polish multi-wind & reedist Mat Walerian, his 2nd with NY pianist Matthew Shipp, and the 2nd recorded within the live Okuden Concert Series, adding drummer Hamid Drake for an excellent album of free improvisation that flows beautifully from track to track.

The Boston based trio of pianist Pandelis Karayorgis, bassist Jef Charland and drummer Luther Gray documented their work on their own compositions in 2012, after a year's worth of monthly concerts.

Contrasting his concurrent piano trio album with Nate McBride and Luther Gray, "Pools", "Cliff" is a first encounter between Boston-area pianist and composer Pandelis Karayorgis and drummer Eric Rosenthal with double bassist Damon Smith, recently migrated from the West Coast, as the three present a concentrative album of collective improvisation revealing three masterful players.

The classic piano trio gets Boston-area pianist Pandelis Karayorgis' take on lyrical free playing, recorded in an informal studio session as drummer Luther Gray and bassist Nate McBride run through a a set of mostly Karayorgis compositions plus two collective compositions, great modern jazz informed by a variety of projects each has collaborated on.

"Grunen" (The Greening) is a live totally improvised recording from the trio of pianist Achim Kaufmann, bassist Robert Landfermann, and drummer Christian Lillinger.

Four sessions on a 2 CD set, all featuring Steve Lacy and Kent Carter: (1) DISPOSABILITY, the 1965 trio record with Aldo Romano of jazz standards, originals and free improv; (2) SORTIE, the 1966 free improv quartet + Enrico Rava album; (3) previously unissued 1967 'Free Fall' Film Cues in a quintet with Rava, Karl Berger, & Paul Motian; (4) two never issued '72 quintet pieces with Steve Potts, Irene Aebi on cello and Noel Mcghie.

A beautiful jazz trio record from Swedish pianist Mathias Landaeus with bassist Kristian Lind and drummer Jonas Holgersson, performing a mix of traditional and European tunes with style and taste.

Pianist Mathias Landaeus leads his trio with Johnny Aman on bass and Jonas Holgersson on drums through five original pieces, a mazurka by Chopin, and Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah", an eclectic take on the piano trio blending modern techniques with both traditional and creative compositions.

A thorough overview of bassist and vocalist Joelle Leandre's recent work in a boxed set of 8 CDs and a 16 page booklet of essays, photos and credits, each CD bringing a unique grouping from Les Diaboliques to duos with Mat Maneri, Fred Frith, Lauren Newton, & Jean-Luc Cappozzo, plus one solo disc and a quartet with Zlatko Kaucic, Evan Parker and Augusti Fernandez; magnificent.

Communion is Portuguese drummer and composer Joao Lencastre's project to bring musicians from the American and international jazz scenes together, here in his 3rd release presenting a piano trio with two New Yorkers--pianist Jacob Sack and Norwegian bassist living in New York, Eivind Opsvik--for 3 Lencastre compositions, 1 Ornette Coleman piece, and 6 collective compositions.

Live recordings from the 2013 Edgefest by the trio of Canadian pianist Marilyn Lerner, NY bassist Ken Filiano, and drummer Lou Grassi, a freely flowing session that combines profound technical skills with innate lyrical sensibility.

New York pianist Marilyn Lerner in a trio with Ken Filiano and Lou Grassi, instant compositions with great structure, virtuosity and melodic content.

Pianist Lossing's Brooklyn-based trio with bassist Masa Kamaguchi and drummer Billy Mintz, improvising with a unique language of "interdependence, functionality, and expressiveness".

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

From Philadelphia comes this exuberant album with its feet firmly planted in jazz tradition as the trio of pianist Brian Marsella, bassist Christian McBride, and drummer Anway Marshall pay tribute to composer and pianist Hasaan Ibn Ali (1931-1980), an influence on Coltrane, Tyner, etc., with 7 Ali originals and a composition for Ali from Marsella.

Brian Marsella, pianist from Banquet of the Spirits, Zion80 and The Flail, in a trio album taking on John Zorn's Masada compositions, The Book of Angels, with the actual Masada rhythm section of Trevor Dunn on bass and Kenny Wollesen on drums, in 16 lyrical and effusive pieces focused through the eyes of piano masters from Satie to Pullen.

Quebec improvisers Pierre-Yves Martel on Viola da Gamba, objects, and feedback, Eric Normand on electric bass and snare drum, are joined by Berlin pianist Magda Mayas for two extended works of free improvisation, manipulating and contorting strings with an electroacoustic edge, dark ruminations of exquisite detail, patience, and adroit interaction.

The much-anticipated 2nd volume in pianist Myra Melford's series of live performances, "Alive In The House Of Saints", documenting sublimely beautiful and innovative playing with her trio of Lindsey Horner on bass and jazz legend Reggie Nicholson on drums, performing live in two concerts in Germany in 1993.

Pianist Myra Melford's original trio with Reggie Nicholson on drums and Lindsey Horner, her first in a long career of tremendous collaboration, presents a superb example of melodic playing balancing free and traditional structures with effusive joy and profound skill, captured live at Der Club, in Heiligenhaus, Germany in 1993.

The Boston free jazz piano trio MI3 switch from electronics to acoustics in this set that mixes obscure Ellington and Sun Ra numbers with edgy originals.

The first release by the piano trio configuration of Mostly Other People Do the Killing features bassist/composer Moppa Elliott, pianist Ron Stabinsky, and drummer Kevin Shea, with each composition named after a small town in Pennsylvania that contains a color, and the town of "Paint, PA" lent its name to the title, with one apt Duke Ellington cover.

An exciting and forceful album of free jazz from the trio of pianist Simon Nabatov, bassist Max Johnson and drummer Michael Sarin, recording in the studio in New York City with each player propelling themselves in dynamic, inventive collective free playing with an experimental bent, but never departing from the traditions of identifiable jazz music; recommended!

Drawing from the spirit of early free jazz, pianist Simon Nabatov's new trio with Dominik Mahnig on drums and Stefan Schonegg on bass, are caught live at the LOFT in Cologne, Germany in 2015 for a superb concert of jazz that balances captivating lyrical material with exciting free passages, taking unexpected directions that constantly engage.

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

The Necks 16th release layers polyrhythmic material to form seething blocks of sound, in two long pieces, one more stripped back to the live trio, the other featuring multiple strata of swirling Hammonds, noise-guitar and electronics.

The Necks 16th release layers polyrhythmic material to form seething blocks of sound, in two long pieces, one more stripped back to the live trio, the other featuring multiple strata of swirling Hammonds, noise-guitar and electronics.

The Necks trio of Chris Abrahams (piano), Tony Buck (drums) and Lloyd Swanton (bass) return to their evolving improvisation format, with ethereal arco harmonics, mesmeric piano riffs, subliminal pulses, twittering electronics, and even an arco bass choir.

The trio of Chris Abrahams, Lloyd Swanton & Tony Buck in their first release in 4 years, named for an industrial suburb, a bleak and beautifully building affair in The Necks tradition.