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.

Four very different previously unissued concert settings featuring trombonist Paul Rutherford: 2 festival solos - one from 1979 with electronics and one from 2004 without; a 1988 duo with Paul Rogers a few months before their ROGUES CD; and a 2007 trio with Veryan Weston and Marcio Mattos, which turned out to be Rutherford's last public appearance.

A 7" limited vinyl picture disc made to celebrate legendary European Free Jazz bassist Barry Guy's 70th birthday, with Guy providing "acoustic sounds" along with his collaborating frogs, Wasserfrosch (Rana Esculenta) and Laubfrosch (Hyla Arborea), size A presenting Frogs & Barry Guy, and side 2, Barry Guy & Frogs; quirkly and wonderful free improv.

Recorded and presented as part of Pauline Oliveros Foundation's New Vanguard Series in Kingston, NY in 2006, the unusual duo of Joe McPhee on b-flat and e-flat alto clarinets and synthesizer and Bryan Eubanks on open circuit electronics explores unusual dynamics and psychoacoustic intersections of both acoustic and electronic instruments.

A series of shorter works composed by Christian Wolff written to explore the process of practicing and working within specified limits, exercises for both the composer and the performers, recorded live in Berlin in 2000 by an ensemble directed by Peter Ablinger and including Wolff on piano & melodica, Robin Hayward on tuba, Anette Krebs on guitar, &c.

A beautiful set of minimalist compositional drone from New York composer Phill Niblock, commissioned by the performers Natalia Pschenitschnikowa on bass flute and Erik Drescher on glissando flute, recorded at PIETHOPRAXIS, in Cologne, Germany by Marcus Schmickler, and in Berlin, Germany, by Thomas Ankersmit.

German composer and improviser Simon Rummel presents the 2nd release from his 11-piece Simon Rummel Ensemble, blending his interest in acoustic phenomena and improvisational harmonics in an extended work that shift from beautiful tonal work to disruptive cacophony and back to melodic music blending jazz and 20th century approaches; a great achievement.

Waterscapes is the performing duo of New York saxophonist Blaise Siwula and guitarist Jorge Nuno, interwining distinct approaches to acoustic and electric improvisation, creating rich sound environments and rapid interaction that draws the listener in and then sweeps them off their feet with passionate, complex and informed dialog.

Audio experimenters Alfredo Costa Monteiro and Miguel A. Garcia join forces in an album titled after "Aq'ab'al", the Mayan Astrology Sign about polar opposites--dawn and dusk, hot and cold, black and white--which represents renewal and change, through a series of opposing audio events, forceful sounds of texture, feedback, and intervention.

A unique take on this large brass instrument from Italian trombonis and Free Flow Festival director Carlo Mascolo, using preparations, focusing on components of the instrument, and using extreme techniques to create a startlingly diverse set of sounds, vocalisations, microtonal output and simply bizarre utterances as Mascolo brings new language to horn.

A studio album between three UK master improvisers -- John Butcher on sax, John Edwards on double bass, and Mark Sanders on drums -- the trio pushing the envelope in technique and dialog in nearly telepathic playing that transports the listener into their environment, as the music builds and releases in effortless ways that are stunning and exulant; highly recommended.

Pioneering improvising pianist Fred Van Hove at UK's Cafe OTO for the first time, captured in a duo with UK drummer/percussionist Roger Turner, their first recording together, for a night of exceptional improvised interplay, sophisticated and complex playing that is constantly buoyant and charming, an enthralling conversation between two veteran players.

A pairing of two innovative players, Berlin-based pianist Magda Mayas and Australian sound and wind artist Jim Denley, Mayas playing inside and out of the piano and Denley on alto sax and bass flute, both providing field recordings adding unexpected elements in a set of extremely balanced recordings that entrance the listener with unlikely and captivating settings.

Inspired by the automatic water clock invented by Iraq inventor, engineer, and father of robotics, Badi' al-Zaman ibn al-Razzaz al-Jazari built in the 12th century, pianist Pat Thomas recorded these four exceptional improvisations of powerful solo piano with an unusual and inventive twist live at London's Cafe Oto in 2015.

Extreme acoustic space recordings from saxophonist John Butcher, part of Arika's Resonant Spaces event, with performances from resonant and remote corners of Scotland.

The 7th album from the quartet of Netherlands guitarists Andy Moor and Terrie Hessels (The Ex) with Chicago free improvising multi-reedist Ken Vandermark and Netherlands drummer/percussionist Paal Nilssen-Love in an album balancing amazing energy with profound introspective moments in thrilling edge-of-your-seat improvisation - excellent!

The 7th album from the quartet of Netherlands guitarists Andy Moor and Terrie Hessels (The Ex) with Chicago free improvising multi-reedist Ken Vandermark and Netherlands drummer/percussionist Paal Nilssen-Love in an album balancing amazing energy with profound introspective moments in thrilling edge-of-your-seat improvisation - excellent!

Box set CD reissue of the 2007 release of this seminal Italian free improvising group's complete recordings from 1967-69, in a deluxe box with 4 CDs, a DVD containing the original film "Nuova Consonanza" shot by Theo Gallher of their 1967 concert, and a 64 page LP-size book in English and Italian with essays, group commentary, collected reviews, &c.

A great example of traditional free improvisation spanning generations from the quartet of Danny Kamins on baritone saxophone, Damon Smith on double bass, and two drummer/percussionists--Alvin Fielder and Joe Hertenstein--for 10 tracks of swinging free music recorded in the studio in Texas, 2016, jazz with a lyrical intention and powerful rhythmic underpinnings.

"Fracture Mechanics" is the scientific study of cracks in any material, an apt title from these European experimental innovators--Burkhard Beins, Lucio Capece, Martin Kuchen, and Paul Vogel--pulling back the curtain on process and creating an impressive album crossing acoustic and electronic improv, organized sound, and inexplicable interaction; recommended.

The meeting of Johnny Chang (viola), Jamie Drouin (suitcase modular synth), Dominic Lash (double bass), Dimitra Lazaridou-Chatzigoga(zither, and David Ryan (bass clarinet) recording at Bourough welsh Congregational Chapel, in London in 2013, recorded by Another Timbre label leader Simon Reynell, for a unique merging of disparate approaches to ea-improv.

An important and well-matched trio of electroacoustic improvisers, and a welcome addition to guitarist Ian Brighton's return to active music life, with Steve Beresford on piano, prepared piano and electronics, and Trevor Taylor (Circuit) on percussion and electronics, six unhurried improvisations of intricate interplay and interchange themed on physics.

A live concert at Dom Cultural Center in Moscow, Russia in 2015 from Norwegian tuba player Martin Taxt, Saint Petersburg violinist and object player Andrey Popovskiy, and ppool performer Kurt Liedwart focusing on sinewaves and noise, in an extended lowercase improvisation exploring harmonic and microtonal sounds.

Two recordings from the lowercase acoustic improvising trio of Portuguese players Ernesto Rodriduges on viola and Nuno Torres on alto saxophone and objects with Saint Petersburg alto saxophonist Ilia Belorukov, recording at Belorukov's Spina! label's studio, and again live at Vertikal' Gallery in Saint Petersburg in 2016.

Cilantro is the duo of multi-instrumentalists Angelica Castello on paetzold, ukulele, organ, tapes, & electronics, and Billy Roisz on electric bass, organ, tv, piezzo, computer & electronics, scrutinizing the activity in bordering areas between noise and silence, tenderness and rudeness, beat and drone, inner consciousness and outer awareness, control and freedom.

Lawrence Casserley is a pioneer of real time electroacoustic music, since the 60s working with other artists and developing his Signal Processing Instrument, using physical gestures to process and morph sounds; here he works with British vocalist and Deep Listening teacher Viv Corringham in an other-worldly collaboration of voice and electonics.

Known more for his double bass work, Christian Meaas Svendsen releases a stunningly beautiful album of unusually orchestrated pop songs with an 8-piece band of Nordic improvisers and performers, a dramatic album of tension and release which, despite lyrics in Norwegian, draws all listeners in through inventive and innovative musical structures.

Known more for his double bass work, Christian Meaas Svendsen releases a stunningly beautiful album of unusually orchestrated pop songs with an 8-piece band of Nordic improvisers and performers, a dramatic album of tension and release which, despite lyrics in Norwegian, draws all listeners in through inventive and innovative musical structures.

This trio joins 3 disparate approaches to composition and improvisation--Japanese improviser Ayumi Tanaka, Oslo composer Johan Lindvall, and ECM artist Christian Wallumrod-developing the engaging material on this album by focusing on elements like tuning, register, intervals and dynamics, for an absorbing album of compatible and concentrative playing.

This trio joins 3 disparate approaches to composition and improvisation--Japanese improviser Ayumi Tanaka, Oslo composer Johan Lindvall, and ECM artist Christian Wallumrod-developing the engaging material on this album by focusing on elements like tuning, register, intervals and dynamics, for an absorbing album of compatible and concentrative playing.

Amsterdam guitarist Raphael Vanoli in a solo record of discovery, hiper-amplifying his guitar so that slight motions create forceful statements, where gently blowing on the strings creates dynamics and harmonics rarely explored, effected to create complex sonic compositions with unique, unusual and fascinating properties.

Tipple, the trio of Frode Gjerstad on alto sax and clarinet, Kevin Norton on percussion, and David Watson on electric guitar, are captured live for an energetic and masterly concert at Elastic Arts, in Chicago, Illinois in 2015, four "Elastic" improvisations of intense interaction, from collective conversation to stunning solo statements; jaw dropping.

Two extended examples of free improvisation from UK stalwarts, tenor saxophonist Paul Dunmall, bassist John Edwards, and drummer Mark Sanders, joined by New York pianist Matthew Shipp, all captured live at Cafe Oto in 2010; set one is an unflagging example of energetic collective improv, set two more introspective yet vital and demanding; a superb concert!

Portuguese alto saxophonist Jose Lencastre's Nau [ship] Quartet with Joao Lencastre on drums and two thirds of Red Trio -- Rodrigo Pinheiro on piano and Hernani Faustino on bass -- in a lyrical album of collective free improvisation informed by masterful playing that's energetic but never bombastic, a thoroughly enjoyable and thought-provoking album.

An hallucinogenic and commanding blending of improvisation, song, spoken word, and tonal/timbral music from double bassist Christian Meaas Svendsen's Filosofer, creating beautiful sonic environments out of which voice and message emerge and submerge, buoyed by a string quartet (two violins and two double basses), computers, turntables, synths and samplers.

An hallucinogenic and commanding blending of improvisation, song, spoken word, and tonal/timbral music from double bassist Christian Meaas Svendsen's Filosofer, creating beautiful sonic environments out of which voice and message emerge and submerge, buoyed by a string quartet (two violins and two double basses), computers, turntables, synths and samplers.

Violinist Seth Parker Woods presents four extraordinary compositions, the first for solo cello and voice from Edward Hamel, and then one work each for cello and electronics from Michael Clarke, George Lewis, and Pierre Alexandre Tremblay, each sophisticated, suprising, and beautifully executed pieces taking the cello into unique creative territory.

Montreal Musique Actuelle turntablist Martin Tetreault and sound artist Erick d' Orion created this project as a tribute to the original explorers of electronic music and musique concrete -- GRM, Stockhausen, Henry, Oram, Schaeffer, &c. -- using historic sound recordings and new sources, presenting this incredible concert live at Au Mois in Quebec.

The Montreal free improvising trio Still of Nicolas Caloia on bass, Peter Valsamis on drums, and Yves Charuest on saxophone is joined in the studio by visiting Spanish pianist Agusti Fernandez for a superb set of detailed and energetic free jazz, 6 pieces titled "(un fold)" I - VI, making an album of first rate and exciting collective music.

Portuguese violist Ernesto Rodrigues joins with German electronic improviser Has W Koch for an album of interactive acoustics and electronics, where textures from Rodrigues' viola are fed into Koch's electronics to create new and unanticipated transformations, both patiently evolving the textures to reveal sublime minutiae and detail.

Confront initiates their new Core Series with the text piece "There Is No Love" with David Sylvian on voice, vocal treatments and electronics, Rhodri Davies on harp, vibraphone and radio, and Mark Wastel on tam tam and percussion, a sophisticated spoken word piece of shadowy atmosphere and innuendo, leveraging approaches from experimental, improvised and composed music.

Free jazz saxophone and trumpet legend Joe McPhee explains that he considers Seattle his second home, performing regularly there since 1984; in 2010, after the passing of his own heroes, trumpeter Bill Dixon and saxophonist Fred Anderson, McPhee presented this tribute there as a solo "symphony" in a remarkable, heartfelt and absolutely impressive concert.

Tenor saxophonist Albert Ayler leads the New York free improvising sextet of trumpeter Don Cherry, alto saxophonist John Tchicai, trombonist Roswell Rudd, bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Sunny Murray through two extended jams, which were used as the soundtrack for director Michael Snow's short film "New York Eye and Ear Control".

Wandelweiser composer Antoine Beuger presents 25 of the 50 pages of his "Ockeghem Octets", each piece dedicated to one of Beuger's heroes, performed by an octet comprised of melodica, concertina, harmonium, e-bow zither, cello, flute, accordion and alto flute, each player provided notes and a playing methodology to create these gorgeous soundscape.

Morton Feldman's final composition, originally premiered in 1987, here performed by pianist Mark Knoop, violinist Aisha Orazbayeva, violist Bridget Carey, and cellist Anton Lukoszevieze, recording a year after their successful performance at London's Cafe Oto, maintaining focus and concentration on this large, unhurried work of micro-variations.

An extended improvisation between spinet player Christoph Schiller and Boston-based composer/violinist Morgan Evans-Weiler, recorded in Schiller's workshop in Basel during Evans-Weiler's tour of Europe, a slowly moving exploration of pitch, timbre and texture executed with intensive concentration and utterly impressive control.

Composer Ryoko Akama releases a 2 disc set of 23 scores in the crossroads of minimalism and sound compositions, quiet and loud, performed in a sextet with the composer herself plus Christian Muller, Cristian Alvear, Cyril Bondi, Stefan Thut, and d'incise, each section like a page in a notebook related to place, space, time or location.

A much-needed reissue of Univers Zero's second album, "Heresie", originally released in 1979, here in its 2010 Cuneiform Records remix; a classic of chamber rock music in the Rock in Opposition approach, featuring heavy use of dissonance and dark, brooding, and extremely complex melodies, a classic and important record showing creative paths in rock music.

The 2007 solo debut of New York free improvising trumpeter Matt Lavelle, here performing on the hybrid instruments, the Bass-Trumpinet and Bass-Clarumpet, introduced and punctuated with spoken word insight and declarations, and using overdubs on selected tracks, making for an intimate and accomplished album of modern free jazz.

The New York free improvising trio of Matthew Heyner (Test, Malkuth) on bass, Matt Lavelle on trumpet and clarinet and Ryan Sawyer (Tall Firs, Stars Like Fleas) on drums in the follow-up to their 2005 Utech double CD "Embracing The Tide / Making Eye Contact With God", an impressive release of expressive technique and ritualistic drive.

The debut album of the New York Trio Caveat of Jonathan Moritz on tenor and soprano saxophones, John McLellan on drums, and James Ilgenfritz on bass, in an unusual Christmas album taking understated and obscure approaches to tunes like "Blue Christmas" and "Dreidel", where only the attentive listener discovers the melodic and harmonic basis for each tune.

Pronounced as "knife", this new project from NY trumpeter Nate Wooley brings together Chris Pitsiokos on alto sax, Brandon Lopez on bass, and Dre Hocevar on drums in a fresh take on the concepts of free jazz, using short material composed by Wooley and based on the poetry of Aram Saroyan, used in looping and repeating structures that never sound as such.

West Coast oboist and english horn improviser composes a startlingly enjoyable work based on Matt Shears' book of recursive, encyclopedic poetry of the same name: 10 pieces colliding elements of skronk, spoken word, fried electroacoustic noise and dark prog within a Creative Music framework, with a core quartet of Aram Shelton, Jason Hoopes and Jordan Glenn, plus guest Weston Olencki and a large cast of readers.

The 2nd recorded outing of this Oslo based improvising quartet, comprised of 3 young Norwegian players -- Katrine Shiott (cello), Jan Martin Gismervik (drums), and Jonas Cambien (piano & keys) -- with fRench clarinetist Xavier Charles, performing subtle collective improvisation using extended techniques, eclectic percussion, and piano preparations.

New York bassist Max Johnson expands his piano trio of Kris Davis on piano and Mike Pride on drums with Susan Alcorn on pedal steel guitar, adding an eclectic Western flavor to overall on-point, anchored and driven modern jazz of a high order, balancing lyrical playing with moments of free collective playing, in a beautiful and extraordinary album.

An unusual and captivating work from the trio of saxophonist Alexandra Grimal, double bassist Benjaim Duboc, and cellist Valentin Ceccaldi, leading their album with tracks from "Respirer l'ombre" by Giuseppe Penone "spontaneously used without permission but with great admiration," leading to powerful and unpredictable directions in free improvisation; excellent.

Rob Mazurek solo works are brilliant displays of honest, lyrical and emotional playing, here recording in Rome for Radio Roma, bringing the cornet to the foreground, starting with a piece only on the horn, then adding electronics, piano, and prepared piano for a set of ethereal and spiritual improvisations that are not bound by any specific genre.

The trio of Daunik Lazro on baritone and tenor saxophone, Jean-Luc Cappozzo on trumpet & flugelhorn and Didier Lasserre on drums, alternate jazz standards from Duke Ellington (Sophisticated Lady; Hop Head), John Coltrane (Lonnie's Lament), Albert Ayler (Angels), with original compositions and the 3-part "Garden", all in the varied traditions of jazz.

A unconventional yet lyrical album of creative jazz from the New York quartet of Angelika Niescier on alto sax, Denman Maroney on hyperpiano, James Ilgenfritz on contrabass, and Andrew Drury on percussion, Maroney's piano preparations and Drury's objects complementing complex time signatures and intricate notated materials that yield lush, beautiful music.

A superb example of contemporary collective improvisation crossing from acoustic improvisation into electroacoustic material from the quartet of Joachim Badenhorst on clarinets, Susana Santos Silva on trumpet, Goncalo Almeida on double bass, keyboards & effects, and Greg Smith on drums & laptop, performing live at Jazzcase series Dommelhof, 2016.