Viola improviser and composer Mat Maneri leads this trio with British UK legend Evan Parker on soprano and tenor saxophone and Romanian ex-patriot and frequent collaborator Lucian Ban on piano, for ten compositions blending tradition, song, and improvisational tactics, recalling 20th century modern classical music in addition to jazz.

The Scandinavian quintet of Ole-Henrik Moe on violin, Kim Johannesen on guitar; Ola Hoyer on double bass; Erik Nylander on drums & drum machine; and Klaus Ellerhusen-Holm on alto saxophone and Bb on clarinet, in a daring album of mostly Ellerhusen-Holm compositions, arranged collectively into these creative and energetic gems.

The Californian saxophone quartet composed of Bruce Ackley, Steve Adams, Larry Ochs and Jon Raskin is extended with Henry Kaiser on guitar and Kyle Bruckmann on analog synth to perform the music of saxophone legend Steve Lacy in 7 compositions, putting an eclectic spin on the iconic composer and performer's music.

Saxophonist Martin Kuchen's amazing 9-piece Angles ensemble returns for an album titled for the grief of those who disappear due to war, crime and oppression, music that celebrates the tense balance in the challenge to confront and lead away from darkness and tyranny.

In 1964 Albert Ayler's approach to free improvisation had found its voice, in a quartet supported by the now-legendary players Don Cherry on cornet, Gary Peacock on doublebass, and Sunny Murray on drums, heard live in a well-recorded concert at Club Montmarte, in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1964; ferocious and forward thinking, an astonishing concert!

A fluid and freely improvised solo set from New York pianist Matthew Shipp performing live at the Taktlos Festival in Zurich, Switzerland, 2016, presenting profoundly virtuosic playing skills and remarkable instincts in a continuous 45 minute set that maintains interest and strong bearing as he takes his audience on a commanding and coherent journey.

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.

Composer, improviser, and trumpet player Nate Wooley continues to cement his place as an American iconoclast by releasing the complete recordings of his revolutionary solo [Syllables] compositions as a deluxe 4 CD set consisting of two reissues of out-of-print early works: 8 [Syllables] (2013) and 9 [Syllables] (2014) as well as the premiere recording of his 150 minute epic For Kenneth Gaburo.

Chicago bassist and multi-instrumentalist Joshua Abrams follows up his incredible "Simultonality" album with this faster-paced album recorded with his Natural Information Society, joining traditional musics, American minimalism & jazz with the gnawa ceremonial instrument the guimbri.

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The Portugese quintet of Angelica V. Salvi on harp, Miguel Carvalhais on computer, Nuno Torres on alto saxophone, Marcello doe Reis on electric guitar, and Joao Pais Filipe on drums & percussion in a live concert in Brazil at Salao for a far-ranging album of electroacoustic free improvisation, beautifully building to frenetic, collective dialog.

An exciting album crossing free improvisation with chamber approaches and extended techniques from Serbian violist Szilard Mezei performing in a trio with pianist Marina Dzukljev and drummer/percussionist Vasco Trilla, recording in Novi Sad, Serbia in 2017.

The well-traveled working group of Francois Carrier (alto saxophone, Chinese oboe), Michel Lambert (drums) and Rafal Mazur (acoustic bass guitar) performing live at Alchemia Club in Krakow, Poland in 2015 for an excellent example of collective free improvisation with distinctive and unconventional approaches to their dialog.

A meeting in NY's Lower East Village between four improvisors--Robert Burke on saxes, George Lewis on trombone & electronics, Paul Grabowsky on piano & snare drum, and Mark Helias on acoustic bass--playing a pre-composed work, blending 21st century composition with modern jazz sensibility, enhanced by Lewis' computer-based "shapeshifts".

The 4th album from The International Nothing, originally the clarinet duo of Kai Fagaschinski and Michael Thieke, now extended with Christian Weber on double bass and Eric Schaefer on percussion, adding new facets to their sonic spectrum of precise microtonal interaction.

The 2nd album from En Corps, the improvising trio of Eve Risser on piano, Benjamin Duboc on double bass, and Edward Perraud on drums, was recorded live at Artacts 16 festival in St Johann, Austria in 2016, performing two building works--"Des Corps" and "Des Ames" (The Bodies, The Souls)--which evolve from intricate quiet interplay into rich harmonic interaction.

Norway's unconventional improvising quartet SPUNK with Maja S. K. Ratkje, Hild Sofie Tafjord, Lene Grenager and Kristin Andersen are heard live at Nasjonal Jazzscene in Oslo, Norway in 2015, capturing these two sets of uniquely unexpected and jaw-dropping recordings from a band on the cutting edge of avant improvisation.

A brilliant quintet brought together for the Tampere Jazz Happening, in Finland in 2013, with NY trumpeter Peter Evans, UK saxophonist John Butcher, Australian bassist Clayton Thomas, German drummer/percussionist Paul Lovens, and French pianist Frederic Blondy for a phenomenal extended improvisation presented in parts: "Une Aile Dissoute Dans La Lumiere".

A strong and enthralling set of dialogs captured live from the working duo of pianist Stephen Grew and saxophonist Trevor Watts on alto & soprano, intricate exchanges of great energy but also great compassion and introspection, a well-rounded set of adventurous exchanges that highlight the incredible skills of both players.

One of the super-groups of free improvisation, colliding elements of jazz, rock, ea-improv and beyond, the Ballister trio of Chicago stalwarts Dave Rempis (sax) and Fred Lonberg-Holm (cello) are captured live at the Oorstof concert series in De Studio, Antwerp, presenting the concert in a limited, combined vinyl LP and DVD release.

Bringing together three leaders from the UK free jazz scene, the new trio of Evan Parker on tenor sax, Steve Noble on drums & percussion, and John Edwards on double bass present a masterful album drawing from the roots of free improvisation in playing that rises and recedes like a tidal force, captured live at the Oorstof concert series in Antwerp.

Mir 8 brings electroacoustic artists Andrea Belfi (drums/percussion), Werner Dafeldecker (electroncis, bass), Hilary Jeffrey (trombone) and Tim Wright (computer & electronics) together for their debut album of four cinematic tracks following an abstract narrative through panoramic landscapes.

Trespass trio with Martin Kuchen on saxophone, Per Zanussi on double bass, and Raymond Strid on drums & percussion, tell us instrumental narrative through compassionate, impassioned and unorthodox writing and playing, about Romania's Pitesti Prison, where for 4 years around 1950 totalarian authorities practiced brainwashing experiments on the inmates.

A live recording of drummer/composer Harris Eisenstadt's Canada Day band performing as a quartet with trumpeter Nate Wooley, saxophonist Matt Bauder, and bassist Pascal Niggenkemper, recorded at SUMP during their 2016 European tour, an exemplary set of free playing over a great set of original compositions, including a large work in 3 sections and 5 parts.

New York alto saxophonist Michael Attias presents his new quartet with Aruan Ortiz on piano, John Hebert on bass and Nasheet Waits on drums, in his sixth album as a leader, a lyrical album dealing with the theory of elasticity and the concept of equality in music.

Fiction, folklore and everyday sounds fuel the compositions of NY pianist Angelica Sanchez, with her trio of Michael Formanek on double bass and Tyshawn Sorey on drums, the band explores concepts of lucid dreaming, backyard birds, novels, mythical creatures and ancient structures, in a magnificent album of inspired free improvisation.

Adventurous/Leventuruos is a good description of the articulate, sophisticated, and exciting trio work that Israeli pianist Daniel Sarid, double bassist Gilad Abro, and drummer Ziv Ravitz present, in 8 dynamic pieces that balance free, rapid and lyrical jazz.

Intricate interplay in modern jazz from guitarist Miles Okazaki in a quartet with fellow New Yorkers Craig Taborn on piano, Anthony Tidd on bass, and Sean Rickman on drums--Tidd and Rickman his compatriots in Steve Coleman and Five Elements--performing Okazaki's playfully complex and innovative compositions that drive some serious grooves.

Tatsuya Yoshida's insanely complex and exhilarating rock project Ruins started around 1986, and bassist Ryuichi Masuda (also a member of Koenji Hyakkei) has been with him since the early days; this CD reissues the 1992 Shimmy Disc album, originally an LP, here with the CD bonus tracks.

Four side-long improvisations from the Australian trio of Chris Abrahams on piano, Tony Buck on drums, and Lloyd Swanton on bass, each side a masterpiece of slowly transpiring and evolving music, unhurriedly expanding each track to reveal tension and allure.

Powerful and diverse duo recordings between trombonist Johannes Bauer and Peter Brotzmann on tenor & alto saxophone, Tarogato, & clarinet, recorded in Osaka, Japan in 1997, released as a tribute to Bauer, who passed away in 2016, part of Brotzmann's archive of unreleased material.

Montreal-based Composer-percussionist Isaiah Ceccarelli, well known through his Ambiances Magnetiques releases, in 7 compositions, a mix of timbrally-based music in which he himself performs, and through-composed pieces that focus on harmonic progressions, performed as string duos, trios, and quartets.

The Berlin trio of Rudi Mahall on clarinet and bass clarinet, Olaf Rupp on electric and acoustic guitar and Jan Roder on double bass in an ironically packaged album of free improvisation of the highest standard, taking the listener on a journey of informed free jazz that references the past in thoroughly modern approaches to creative music.

Drummer Peter Orins expands the Kaze quartet of trumpeters Natsuki Tamura and Christian Pruvost and pianist Satoko Fujii, with a second drummmer--Didier Lasserre--and a second pianist--Sophie Agnel--for a live recording of a 5-part suite of magnificently epic collective improv.

Pianist Satoko Fujii's Orchestra Tokyo + the band Kaze, bringing guests trumpeter Cristian Pruvost and drummer Peter Orins alongside trumpeter Natsuki Tamura into a spectacular big band of great power but also subtle meditation, in four works that include a tribute to the late guitarist and Fujii collaborator Kelly Churko.

Pianist Matt Mitchell, a member of saxophonist Tim Berne's Snakeoil, releases a solo album of Berne compositions, taking the reedist's typically frenetic material into unexpected territory, revealing dark beauty and intensely introspective aspects to Berne's music.

Alto saxophonist Rick Countryman is a busy player on the Phillippine scene, here in a trio with Simon Tan on bass and visiting Swiss drummer Christian Bucher for nine exemplary examples of free jazz in the tradition, hot music that bends melody while remembering its jazz roots.

Dedicated to sailors, their adventures and rough living conditions while at sea, from the collective free improv quartet of US jazz master and Lacy associate Kent Carter on bass, French saxophonist Sylvain Gueineau, Makoto Sato on drums and Itaru Oki on trumpet & flute.

New Yorks' Mostly Other People Do the Killing step back in time to the 1930s-40's in modern swing-ear compositions from bassist Moppa Elliott, performed with the amazing septet of Steven Bernstein, Jon Irabagon, Kevin Shea, Ron Stabinksy, David Taylor, and Brandon Seabrook.

An amazing album of electronic experimentation from multi-instrumentalist Jean-Marc Foussat, dedicating the album to the late painter and son Victor Foussat, through two extended and far-ranging works that blends concrete sounds with intense playing and sonic environments.

NY Composer and percussionist Harris Eisenstadt furthers his exploration into long-form composition and unusual instrumentation in his 20th release as a bandleader, with a spectacular improv ensemble including Nate Wooley, Jeb Bishop, Han Roberts, Anna Webber, &c. &c.

Synth improviser Jean-Marc Foussat and double bassist Fred Marty join their names and playing together for an absolutely impressive album of exploratory improv, Foussat taking their music into hallucinatory territories while Marty provides both a solid anchor and flights of textural nuance; supberb.

The final portion of the live recording at Free Music Market, in Berlin in 1970 from the trio of tenor saxophonist Peter Brotzmann with Fred Van Hove on piano, Han Bennink on drums, and joined by trombonist Albert Mangelsdorff for three extended and fiery improvisations.

The early 70s trio of tenor saxophonist Peter Brotzmann with Fred Van Hove on piano, Han Bennink on drums is joined by trombonist Albert Mangelsdorff for a live recording at Free Music Market, in Berlin for two extended and fiery improvisations of incredible skill and drive.

In 1971 the quartet of Peter Brotzmann on tenor sax, Fred Van Hove on piano, Han Bennink on drums, and Albert Mangelsdorff on trombone took the stage at The Free Music Market in Berlin to perform this aggressive and informed album of prime European Free Improvisation.

Percussionist Will Guthrie recorded the individual parts of these compositions in a variety of locations, constructing them into a remarkable set of electroacoustic compositions that blend drums, percussion, field recordings, and electronics in unexpected ways.

Two rich sound works: "Grounded Cloud" which gathers fragments of noise and tone into a continuous fabric; and "Hearing Metal (4)", an investigation into metallic resonance, performed by Pisaro with Dedalus members Stephane Garin (percussion) and Didier Aschour (guitar).

A superb encounter from France in 1982 between four masters in a fertile and creative period: Derek Bailey (guitar), Joelle Leandre (double bass), George Lewis (trombone), and Evan Parker (saxophone), each bringing incredible experience to their enduring collective music.

An amazing album of electronic experimentation from multi-instrumentalist Jean-Marc Foussat, dedicating the album to the late painter and son Victor Foussat, through two extended and far-ranging works that blends concrete sounds with intense playing and sonic environments.

The duo of Joana Gama on piano and Luis Fernandes on electronics is expanded with Ricardo Jacinto on cello to create rich, mysterious works inspired by Erik Satie's score for the ballet "Relache", graced with the image of the double cross he used when he founded his 1-member church in 1892.

Chris Pitsiokos' Unit with electric guitarist Brandon Seabrook, electric bassist Tim Dahl, and drummer Weasel Walter turn in a fiery and demanding album of compelling free jazz, using traditional jazz structures but turning them on their head in joyfully unconventional ways.

Cellist Daniel Levin's sophisticated jazz quartet with Mat Maneri (viola), Matt Moran (vibes), and Torbjorn Zetterberg (double bass) are captured live at Connecticut's Firehouse 12 for a superb album of modern improv with great skill, depth and style.

Saxophonist Martin Kuchen's amazing 9-piece Angles ensemble returns for an album titled for the grief of those who disappear due to war, crime and oppression, music that celebrates the tense balance in the challenge to confront and lead away from darkness and tyranny.

Influenced by noir crime novels from the 20s set in the Bay Area, bassist Mezacappa wrote these sophisticated and lyrical compositions for selected scenes or characters, performed by the superb sextet of William Winant, Tim Perkis, Aaron Benett, John Finkbeiner, & Jordan Glenn.

Celebrating the 400th release of Clean Feed Records, Swedish free jazz phenomenon, saxophonist Mats Gustafsson meets with NY jazz pianist Craig Taborn for an unlikely yet highly satisfying encounter that pushes each improviser into unfamiliar, edge-of-their seats, territory.

A small group setting where each performer brings a composition to the session, with Discus family members Martin Archer on saxophones, Corey Mwamba on vibraphone, Seth Bennet on double bass, and Peter Fariclough on drums, for jazz that balances melodic and formidable free improvisation.

A captivating compilation from electronic composer Michel Banabila recorded between 2005-2016, a combination of studio, live and theatre recordings remixed into two continuous tracks of sound, with collaborations including Oene Van Geel and Rutger Zuydervelt (Machinefabriek).

Two live recordings of electroacoustic improv from the Japanese tour of guitarist Tetuzi Akiyama, Jason Kahn on synthesizer, and Toshimaru Nakamura on electronics, spacious yet detailed interaction that draws the listener into remarkable sound worlds.

Experimental sound performer Lawrence English on drums, electronics and field recordings joins forces with Akio Suzuki on the amazing analapos instrument (see video) for three tracks of unusual and alien sound, punctuated with strange references and percussive devices.

The trans-Atlantic Ballister trio of Dave Rempis (saxes), Fred Lonberg-Holm (cello & electronics) and Paal Nilssen-Love (drums & percussion) release their 6th album, a live concert at Cafe Oto in London in 2015, a hard-hitting, euphoric release of free-improvising power.