An enthusiastic and energetically powerful trio meeting between three masters--Oliver Schwerdt on grand piano & percussion, Barry Guy on double bass and Baby Sommer on drums & percussion--performing live in 2021 at naTo, in Leipzig for two extended improvisations of remarkable communication, incredible virtuosity, but most importantly, incredible and compelling creative drive!

Formerly known as J@K@L, this Chicago trio has explored hard hitting improvisation since 2014, the band name an amalgamation of the performer's names--Keefe Jackson on tenor & sopranino saxophone & tube, Julian Kirshner on drums and Fred Lonberg-Holm on cello, tenor guitar and electronics--in a dynamic and exciting 2022 concert at Elastic Arts, in Chicago.

Teiku, a Talmudic acronym that roughly translates to "unanswered question", was co-founded by pianist Josh Harlow and percussionist Jonathan Barahal Taylor to explore each of their family's unique Passover vocal melodies through improvisation and sonic exploration, performed in a quintet with Art Ensemble/Sun Ra bassist Jaribu Shahid and reedists Peter Formanek & Rafael Leafar.

UK Composer David Pett's Remote Viewers present two large works: "Inside the Blizzard" in five parts of configurations from solo to quintet; and "Trivia", a quintet work in eight parts; solid, compelling work of forceful confidence from members Adrian Northover, Sue Lynch, Caroline Krabbel & Petts on sax, John Edwards on bass, Hutch Demouilpied on trumpet and Rosa Theodora on piano.

After recovering from heart surgery, Portuguese guitarist Jorge Nuno (Ensemble MIOA, Isoptope, Voltaic Trio, &c) records this solo improv album to show his resilience, performed primarily on acoustic guitar in a balanced journey of assertive and introspective playing, accompanied by an insert of a text work by Rui Baião.

The third collaboration between sound and electronic artists Bruno Duplant and Rutger Zuydervelt (Machinefabriek) is a darkly heavy and dramatic work of subtle motion that slowly unfolds and shifts through vast sonic environments, fueled by acousmatic sources that take the listener to the edge of darkness and then pulls them back in warm waves or rich ambiance.

Since 2021 Swiss composer Felix Profos and drummer Peter Conradin Zumthor have performed as the duo Grund, Profos performing on harmonium and on the 1973 Italian organ Bontempi Pop3, Zumthor on bass drum, gong, bells & snare, their extended work on this self-titled album a tranquil and meditative work of slow transitions with moments of terse activity, receding with grace and serenity.

The core of the Boston improvising collective Leap of Faith Orchestra are the duo of cellist Glynis Lomon and reedist and multi-instrumentalist David Peck, here joined by Eric Woods on analog synth and new collective member Jared Seabrook on drums & percussion, for two examples of Peck's broad palette concept yielding evolving transformations through free playing

Perhaps the most synthetic of Evil Clown releases, Expanse represents space and restraint, this the 8th album from the Boston improvising collective of David Peck on reeds, winds, synths and percussion, Robin Amos on synths, Michael Knoblach on percussion (including egg beater, humpty dumpty toy, and teething rings) and Joel Simches providing real-time processing; inexplicably interesting.

Celebrating 50 years, percussionist Kahil El'Zabar's Ethnic Heritage Ensemble as the trio of El'Zabar, Corey Wilkes (trumpet) and Alex Harding (bar. sax), joined on tracks by James Sanders (violin) and Ishmael Ali (cello), reinterpret classics including "Great Black Music", "Ornette" and Aretha Franklin's "Compared to What", along with Miles' "All Blues" and McCoy Tyner's "Passion Dance".

Drawing on a far-ranging set of influences--jazz, rock, contemporary, surf & exotica--California-born improvising guitarist Simon Hanes (of Trigger, who covered Zorn's Bagatelles) now resides in NYC, appropriately releasing an album of eclectic, generally upbeat, sometimes quirky, typically melodic instrumentals performed with an octet ensemble of incredible musicianship.

The third release for the Chicago collective improvising trio of Jeff Kimmel on clarinet & electronics, Ishmael Ali on cello & electronics and Bill Harris on drums & feedback, acoustic interplay in the foreground with electronics adding layers of intriguing sonic pressure as their playing evolves through clear and cohesive conversation over punctuated & textural foundations.

An exquisite recording of composer Anthony Donofrio 1972 work for solo vibraphone captured at the University of Nebraska where Donofrio teaches and directs their new music ensemble, this extended work for solo vibraphone performed by Donofrio himself, living up to its title in a delicate advancement from clear playing to unusual vibraphone timbres and technique.

One of two albums capturing a May 15th, 2023 concert in Tokyo by composer Takahiro Kuroda at the Ftarri performance space, titled "Square of Thoughts Vol. 2: Eva-Maria Houben and Horn + x", this album presenting two Houben works for solo horn performed by virtuoso horn player Kei Kondo, and one solo piano piece performed by Kuroda on upright piano.

The second of two albums capturing a May 15th, 2023 concert in Tokyo by composer & pianist Takahiro Kuroda at the Ftarri performance space, titled "Square of Thoughts Vol. 2: Eva-Maria Houben and Horn + x", this album presenting a 2018 Houben composition for horn and piano titled "Echo Fantasy II", performed by virtuoso horn player Kei Kondo and Takahiro Kuroda on upright piano.

Music for a solo dance piece performed by Roshanak Morrowatian and composed by Netherland electronic artist Rutger Zuydervelt, the subject of the dance reflecting on the experience of young asylum seekers forced from their native countries to grow up somewhere unfamiliar, the music in seven parts weaving fragments of Iranian popular music into Zuydervelt's abstract electronics.

Expanding on their 2023 Homunculus, the Boston-based collective ensemble Simulacrum with a core of David Peck on reeds, percussion, keys and direction, Eric Woods on analog synth and Bob Moores on space trumpet & guitar are expanded with Cecil Taylor bassist Albey OnBass, synthesist Eric Zinman, reedist Michael Caglianone and drummer Michael Knoblach.

Commissioned for the 2021 Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, John Butcher's fantastic work for 14 improvisers of unique approach employs what Butcher refers to as "psychological orchestration"--imagining how each performer might respond to particular ideas & their sonic company--the score, which includes photographic imagery, directing specific solos, duos & small groupings.

Distilling their ensemble to its original duo configuration, New York improvisers Zeena Parkins and Ikue Mori reflect on the stories of Japanese author Izumi Suzuki through ten mysteriously eclectic and beautifully developed compositions of harp (acoustic and electric), electronics, percussion, harmonium, ondes martenot, and much more; wonderful, imaginative and evocative work.

The chameleonic styles of Sean Ono Lennon are in full force on this instrumental record, merging rock, jazz, experimental and cinematic styles in captivating ways, performed with the spectacular ensemble of Devon Hoff (bass), Yuka Honda (electronics), Johnny Mathar (drums), João Nogueira (Wurlitzer), Ches Smith (drums), Michael Leonhart (trumpet) & Mauro Refosco (percussion).

Merging members of Ensemble SuperMusique with a subset of the ensemble Chorale Joker, Joane Hétu presents four premieres that explore our experiences during the pandemic, SuperMusique focused on electronics and synthetic instruments and offset by a wind quintet, the music and vocal interactions often explosive, reflecting on our mental states during an overwhelming cultural malady.

Five extended improvised piano solos from Joel Futterman recording in his home base of Virginia Beach, each an incredible journey in free playing that quotes and comments on the history of jazz piano, living up to the album's title through insight, perceptiveness, wit and intuition, Futterman's technique and mastery expressing narratives of amazing confidence and solid direction.

Two Portuguese saxophonists of different generations both playing on alto sax--Bruno Parrinha, an established and extraordinary player involved with many projects on Clean Feed and Creative Sources, and João Gato, leader of Apophenia Quartet--present 11 improvisations recorded in the studio, their voices intertwining amid masterful technique and creative impulse.

Cornetist Josh Berman, drummer Bill Harris, and cellist Ishmael Ali meet with NY pianist Eli Wallace in Chicago, recording live in the studio for a session that focuses on acoustic interplay using unusual techniques, inside piano playing, textural percussion with scrapes & drags and melodic & harmonic fragments, Fitting quite well in a set of interesting moods and motion.

Four improvisations that start as dense and scrabbly electroacoustic improv and then transport into beautiful sonic interaction from the Chicago collaborative quartet of Chris Dammann (Scott Clark) on double bass, Kevin Davis (Jason Stein's Locksmith Isidore) on cello, John Niekrasz (Poor School, The Naked Future) on drums and Toby Summerfield (Larval, Algernon, Scott Clark) on guitar.

Two "songs" from a series of works by Netherlands composer and pianist Danya Pilchen, exploring the possibilities of making and experiencing time through attentive listening, these works focused on creating a dialogue between two measures of time, performed with Anne La Berge on flute, Germaine Sijstermans on clarinet, Seamus Cater on harmonica and Koen Nutters on double bass.

A portrait of UK interdisciplinary composer Paul Newland's music through five pieces dating from 2009 to 2023 performed by members of London's Apartment House ensemble, including a string quartet, two different trio combinations, a short work for solo piano, and a score for open instrumentation, realised in this recording by a septet.

A collection of works from Netherlands composer Michel Banabila, including a piece developed with saxophonist Dave Liebman and previously released only digitally; a work with Rutger Zuydervelt (Machinefabriek); a work with Pierre Bastien; and excerpts from scores for Yin Yue's choreography in two works: "Somewhere" for New York Live Arts and "Timeless Tide" for BalletMet.

Singer, songwriter and pianist Nelly Klayman-Cohen, aka Rotem Geffen, explores the fringes of dreamy pop music with lyrics in German, English and Hebrew that explore themes of memory, love, grief, loss, and the night as a vibrating room, with collaborators including Alexander Zethson on keyboards, Isak Hedtjar on clarinets and winds, Vilhelm Bromander on double bass, &c.

Singer, songwriter and pianist Nelly Klayman-Cohen, aka Rotem Geffen, explores the fringes of dreamy pop music with lyrics in German, English and Hebrew that explore themes of memory, love, grief, loss, and the night as a vibrating room, with collaborators including Alexander Zethson on keyboards, Isak Hedtjar on clarinets and winds, Vilhelm Bromander on double bass, &c.

A series of instrumental compositions from D. Petri (Dog Hallucination), structured as songs of a rhythmic nature using synths, samples, field recordings and effects, eight embraceable and upbeat work with layers of detail, influenced by Petri's love of explorative electronic music including YMO or Tom Ellard, or labels like Mille Plateau and Raster.

Documenting six live performances with Anthony Braxton's Lorraine Trio featuring trumpeter Susana Santos Silva, accordionist/vocalist Adam Matlock, and Anthony Braxton, plus four studio recordings featuring Braxton, saxophonist James Fei, and bassists Zach Rowden and Carl Testa, in a solid box set of 10 CDs in five gatefold wallets with a 28 page booklet of notes by Anthony Braxton.

A trio of all-star European jazz performers from three generations — drummer Daniel Humair (85), bass player Heiri Kanzig (66) and trombonist Samuel Blaser (42) — in their second album after 2020's album 1291, for a mixture of original compositions and standards including Monk's "Jackie-ing" & "Bemsha Swing", Ellington's "Creole Love Song" & "Tiger Rag".

Since 1997 the duo of Montreal sonic experimenters Christof Migone and Alexandre St-Onge, both members of Klaxon Gueule, have performed under the name "Undo", here declaring themselves "undone", presenting nine tracks of of live & studio recordings from 1997-2013 of often bizarre yet ever innovative cracked electronics, acoustics, voice, and inexplicable sound; weird and wonderful!

The second trio release from clarinetist Guillermo Gregorio, double bassist Damon Smith and Jerome Bryerton on gongs, selected metal & cymbals (but no drums), in a sophisticated album of eight collective improvisations numbered as "The Planar Effect" and two Gregorio compositions, an absolutely impressive set that obscures the line between "spontaneous" and "composition".

Three label leaders come together for this extraordinary 2023 concert at Elastic Arts in Chicago--Aerophonic's Dave Rempis on alto, tenor & baritone saxophones; Driff Records' Pandelis Karayorgis on piano; Amalgam Records' Bill Harris on drums--along with bassist Jakob Heinmann, this exceptional free jazz performance cementing the bond between Boston and Chicago with a hope for more!

An overview of Montreal's Ensemble Supermusique celebrating their 40th anniversary, drawing on works from founders Joane Hétu, Diane Labrosse, and Danielle Palardy Roger and their projects including Wondeur Brass, Les Poules, Justine, &c., realized by 40 instrumentalists in 8 groups of 3 to 8 players; masterful sophistication with a sense of humor and wonder — exceptionnelle!

An international electroacoustic improvising trio of German trumpet player Birgit Ulher, also on radio, speaker & objects, and two Chicago outside improvisers--Carol Genetti on voice & objects, and Eric Leonardson on his unique self-built instrument the springboard, objects & electronics-- heard in a live performance at Elastic Arts, in Chicago, Illinois in 2018.

Influenced by the New York School of composers (Cage, Feldman, &c.), composer Paul Paccione revisits and revises five of his compositions written 40 years prior, performed by a 10-piece configuration of London's Apartment House; beautifully contemplative pieces linked together through common threads, the momentum of individual moments absorbed by the presence of the larger work.

A new ensemble emerging out of the Boston collective band Expanse with David Peck on reeds, percussion and innumerable instruments, Count Robot on voice & tapes, DNA Girl on guitars & mandolin, Tim Mungenast on guitar, and Michael Caglianone on reeds & winds, all adding percussion and electronics from the Evil Clown arsenal, exploring aspects of group improvisation.

The second album from New York trumpeter Peter Evan's band Being and Becoming stretches out his concepts in five extended works that dovetails superb contemporary jazz — integrating extended techniques and solid vibraphone work — with beautifully rich and explorative passages, masterfully performed with Joel Ross (vibes), Nick Jozwiak (bass) and Michael Shekwoaga (drums).

The second album from New York trumpeter Peter Evan's band Being and Becoming stretches out his concepts in five extended works that dovetails superb contemporary jazz — integrating extended techniques and solid vibraphone work — with beautifully rich and explorative passages, masterfully performed with Joel Ross (vibes), Nick Jozwiak (bass) and Michael Shekwoaga (drums).

Recording with the legendary rhythm section of bassist Reggie Workman and drummer Andrew Cyrille, tenor saxophonist Ivo Perelman and stritch & saxello player Chad Fowler perfectly complement each other as they play off and complete each other's lines and phrases under the support of astute foundational support, an exemplary album of collective, cross-generational free improvisation.

Montreal composer, guitarist and arranger Andre Duchesne developed the pieces on this solo album as a tribute to his sister Carole, "the one who dreamed of horses," who passed in 2010, his pieces incorporating elements of rock, improvisation and compositional forms, a sincere tribute developed by recording daily over a month as a virtual rock band of guitar, bass and drum programming.

Combining acoustic drums, percussion and electronics, the third solo album from Chicago drummer Bill Harris delves deeper into the sonic aspects of his improvisations while providing them in discrete segments through eleven succinct recordings, a diverse set demonstrating unique approaches to rhythm and sound, enhanced on some pieces through studio techniques.

A collection of works from pianist & composer Dante Boon in diverse duos and virtual duo compositions that reflect on John Cage's "inner clock" concept from "Two2", each of Boon's compositions directing the players through systems of notation and counting unique to each player, varying the rules of how the two players eventually synchronize their performances.

A collaboration that goes back 30 years, French improvising bassist Joëlle Léandre and avant accordionist Pascal Contet in their fifth album together, turning from their more typically extended conversations to a series of 10 "Miniatures", shorter and diverse dialogs recorded live in 2022 at the beautiful Arsenal Concert Hall in Metz, France.

A fascinating work dedicated to improvising cellist Remy Belanger de Beauport written by Montreal composer Joane Hétu and performed by the large Ensemble SuperMusique with Jean Derome, Lori Freedman, Scott Thomson, Diane Labrosse, Danielle Palardy Roger, Pierre Tanguay, &c., commissioned and performed for the Ensemble's 40th anniversary and expanded for this studio edition.

Highlighting the parallel to changes in birdsong in urban areas because of anthropogenic ambient noise, this diverse ensemble demonstrates the evolution of improv approaches through unique origins and backgrounds; with Chad Fowler (stritch, flute), Shanyse Strickland (French Horn), Sana Nagano (violin), Melanie Dyer (viola), Ken Filiano (bass) and Anders Griffen (drums).

Copenhagen composer Niels Lyhne Løkkegaard's long form work refers to units of compositional structure in systems of instruments, each a "bubble" that interacts and collides creating fluctuations, ruptures and tension release in an hypnotic sonic tapestry, performed by Montreal's Quatuor Bozzini on violins, viola, cellos and harmonica; mesmerizing.

Zeitkratzer director and pianist Reinhold Friedl meets with Martin Siewert (Radian, Fake the Facts, Dry Thrust) for three improvised explorations on piano, guitar and electronics, through the course of powerful transitions building from deep introspection into prickly, bellicose interaction, yielding to a brooding finale of subtle electronics and punctuation; profound.

A live and extended performance of brutal but shifting sonic assault performed before an appreciative audience at London's Cafe OTO in 2016, a solo performance from Japanese noise legend Masami Akita, AKA Merzbow, each of the 2 CDs in this set more than 50 minutes of tightly controlled electronic mayhem from the unremitting determination of one of the globe's masters of noise.

Three sides of Charles Mingus in this remastered reissue set: the 1961 Candid album Mingus Presents Mingus with the classic quartet of Eric Dolphy, Ted Curson and Dannie Richmond; then the Mercury release Pre-Bird from the same year, in ensembles performing the music of or influenced by Duke Ellington, along with the ambitious and brilliant through-composed work, "Half Mast Inhibition".

Presented in two versions--a stereo mix and a binaural mix for headphones--flugelhorn improviser and composer Franz Koglmann leads his septet of exceptional players through 10 original Koglmann compositions, sophisticated works that show influences from Ellington to Franz Joseph Haydn or Johann Strauss, in pieces influenced by or tipping the hat to modern artists, musicians and writers.

Giusto Chamber Orchestra performs three works for twelve strings by German composer and visual artist Nikolaus Gerszewski, whose music of shifting pitches, vibrations and volumes--compared with experimental sound & noise work--is influenced by composers Radulescu and Dumitrescu's spectral music, James Tenney's "swell form" and Cornelius Cardew's graphic scores.

The first album under 577 label leader and drummer Federico Ughi's name in five years brings together the incredible bass skills of Brandon Lopez and expansive Argentinean keyboard sonics of Leo Genovese, the first of two planned volumes recorded in the studio for a boundary-less album of acoustic and electric improv influenced by the music and philosophy of Sun Ra.

The first album under 577 label leader and drummer Federico Ughi's name in five years brings together the incredible bass skills of Brandon Lopez and expansive Argentinean keyboard sonics of Leo Genovese, the first of two planned volumes recorded in the studio for a boundary-less album of acoustic and electric improv influenced by the music and philosophy of Sun Ra.

A wild and adventurous concert and one of the highlights of the 39th Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville from the electric improvising quartet of Elliott Sharp on electric guitar & electronics, Colin Stetson on bass, alto & tenor saxophones, Billy Martin on drums & percussion and Payton Macdonald on marimba, vibraphone & African xylophone.

Documenting the 1994 avant music drama composed by pianist Alexander von Schlippenbach and accordionist Sven-Ake Johansson, uber Ursache und Wirkung der Meinungsverschiedenheiten beim Turmbau zu Babel (on the cause and effect of the disagreements over the building of the Tower of Babel) through a double LP, DVD, libretto and 16-page booklet in a solid box set.

This ensemble features 3 core Evil Clown members--David Peck on reeds, winds, percussion & electronics; Eric Woods on analog synth; and Bob Moores on space trumpet, guitar & electronics--with guests Michael Caglianone on reeds & percussion, Robin Amos on electric zither and keyboards; Faruq Hassan on samplers & keys; Albey OnBass on bass; and Michael Knoblach on military devices.

Often performing together as a duo after their initial 2004 Chicago Tentet encounter, drummer/percussionist Paal Nilssen and multi-reedist Peter Brötzmann typically released albums of live performances, this 2015 studio date in Antwerp unique in their catalog, an exemplary set of recordings, particularly with Brötzmann on a new contra-alto clarinet and Paal adding gongs to their improvisations.

Often performing together as a duo after their initial 2004 Chicago Tentet encounter, drummer/percussionist Paal Nilssen and multi-reedist Peter Brötzmann typically released albums of live performances, this 2015 studio date in Antwerp unique in their catalog, an exemplary set of recordings, particularly with Brötzmann on a new contra-alto clarinet and Paal adding gongs to their improvisations.

Concepts of community, dialog, sharing and transmission, or "recontre", are the linking ideas between these four works commissioned of Montreal composer and wind player Jean Derome, developed for four Quebec ensembles, these pieces combine contemporary and improvisational forms, the scores shaped by constraints from the combinatorial mathematics of Marin Mersenne.

Having worked together in other collaborations, this was the first meeting as a trio by Giuseppe Doronzo on baritone sax & Iranian bagpipe, Andy Moor on electric guitar and Frank Rosaly on drums, performing live at BIMHUIS in Amsterdam for a contemplatively charged set of unorthodox instrumental approaches using contemporary improv attitudes through structured and collective playing.

The Swiss guitar trio of Florestan Berset on electric guitar with Norbert Pfammatter on drums and Francesco Losavio on double bass perform a mix of lyrical compositions from Berset, along with lyrically inclined collective improvisation from the group, each player bringing unique approaches to their instruments in a highly compatible set of conversations.

A collection of arboreal pieces for solo acoustic guitar--wood transformed into a resonator with the help of metal oscillators and digital manipulation--performed in the studio by NY guitarist and improviser Elliott Sharp, developing the works around trees, "austere and intense", each piece unfolding like delicate branches of acoustic and ethereal framework.

Mailing unspooled 1/4" tape to each other along with a magnet to randomly erase part of each tape, Marc Baron & Mark Vernon captured these fragments and placed them into sequence based on the minute past the hour each was originally recorded, contrasting the degraded recordings with the original; an exacting but fascinating method of creating something unexpected and uniquely engaging.

The eighth album from the long-running CHANGES TO blind project of Phil Zampino, eight works drawing on compositions & improvisations, acoustic & synthetic instruments, field recordings & samples, with guests Levi Erik providing field recordings & voice and Wilmington, NC's 910 Noise Members of Carl Kruger, subterrene, John Bishop, Authorless and Ryan Lewis.

Eftsoons (defined as "soon after") is the 1981 duo album from NRG Ensemble leader Hal Russell with ensemble saxophonist and Chicago mainstay saxophonist Mars Williams, who also performs on slide whistle, bells and "lots of other stuff", Russell also performing on cornet, vibraphone and toys; an exciting and energetic album of truly free, inspired playing!

Joining the Boston free improvising duo of David Peck on clarinets, saxophones, clarinets & flutes, and Glynis Lomon on cello, aquasonic & voice--the core duo of Leap of Faith Orchestra--are Bonnie Kane on tenor sax, flute & electronics, and John Loggia on drums and percussion, capturing the extended title track and a brief, "possible outcome" as a summation.

The NC Tragic Assembly free improvising trio of Charles Chace on guitar, Crowmeat Bob on reeds and Phil Venable on upright bass are joined for this 2022 concert at Carrboro, NC's ArtCenter by improvising percussion powerhouse Tatsuya Nakatani, adding sonic expansion and rhythmic punctuation to this trio's typically drum free configuration, heard in four striking improvisations.

Part of the split series from Swedish label FRIM (Association For Free Improvised Music), this album presents the two solo concerts from an evening at Rönnells Antikvariat during the 2022 Sound of Stockholm festival, first from drummer Henrik Olsson performing on turntables & objects; then from Aviva Endean on clarinets, electronics, voice & plastic pipes.

Following her 2022 album Ogura Plays Stockhausen, Japanese born, Frankfurt-based pianist Miharu Ogura turns her attention to her own compositions, presenting five uniquely creative works unfolding in pacing that surprises the listener, balancing silence and clusters of layered patterns that move at differing speeds and rhythms, from simple clarity to labyrinthine entanglement.

Meeting at Park West Studios in Brooklyn, the NY trio of Ivo Perelman on tenor saxophone, Mark Helias on bass and Tom Rainey on drums record seven collective free improvisations of great depth and expression, unhurried playing that concentrates on the group dialog, yielding space for exceptional soloing supported by perceptive interaction; masterful!

A series of electroacoustic improv "Ballads" and "Blues", beautiful and chimerical works at the intersection of strings and a miscellany of percussion, patiently and unhurriedly unfolding under the deep listening ears from the Polish trio of Patryk Zakrocki on prepared electric guitar & granular delay, Maciej Garbowski on double bass and Krzysztof Gradziuk on multipercussion, objects & toys.

A wildly explorative and masterful studio encounter for three of the UK's most well-known and well-recorded improvisers--Paul Dunmall on tenor & soprano saxophones, clarinet & flute; Paul Rogers on 7-string double bass; and Mark Sanders on drums--in four collective improvisations that run the gamut from explosive to introspective conversation; ferocious!

The 2nd album from the Polish guitar trio of Marek Malinowski on guitar, Robert Rychlicki-Gasowski on double bass & bass guitar, and Wojciech Zadruaynski on drums, performing Malinowski's embraceable mix of lyrically inclined modern jazz compositions with an explorative side, balancing structure with free space for sprightly spontaneity, a beautiful followup.

Delicately forceful, the live concert at Real Art Ways, in Hartford, Connecticut as part of the ImprovisatioNOW concert series, is a perfect encounter between two legendary New York improvisers--trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith and guitarist Joe Morris--capturing five dialogs of impressive technique and creative expression, including references to Monk and Ma Rainey.

In the footsteps of the band for which she's the vocalist — Scott Thomason's The Rent paying homage to the music of Steve Lacy — Montreal vocalist and movement performer Susan Hood steps out on her own to merge the words of German poet Judith Malina, who influenced Lacy and Irene Aebi's "Cycle of Jazz Art Songs", with Steve Lacy's exuberant music, for a captivating and sincere pairing.

Featuring works premiered at the ESM concert "Zigzague and Colore" in November 2022 in Montreal at Escape Orange - Edifice Wilder - Espace Danse, this exceptional concert of Montreal's premiere improvising Ensemble SuperMusique presents the works of three female composers--Elizabeth Millar, Laura Kavanaugh, and Danielle Palardy Roger--through a variety of graphic scores.

Assembling a world-class ensemble of 24 string players drawing from the Quartets JACK, Sirius, Flux, and Bergamot, here performing as SysOrk, Elliott Sharp's large-scale algorithmic composition provides simple instructions to the participants, creating a seething sonic tapestry of shifting, swirling tones and acoustic drones, exceptionally immersive and detailed.

While NY trombonist Steve Swell and alto saxophonist Rob Brown were in Paris, flutist Michel Edelin, who has recorded and performed with Swell over more than a decade, organized this session with Paris-based American ex-pats, drummer John Betsch and bassist Peter Giron, recording three Swell compositions, two by Brown, one from Edelin and four collective improvisations; magnifique!

In September of 2002, Szilard Mezei performed a series of 5 consecutive, unaccompanied solo concerts in Hungary improvising on viola, this album presenting two of these captivating and magnificent performances, balancing impressive technique with his ability to captivate through stunning passages of exquisite lyricism and thematic development, an incredible achievement.

From subtle dynamics to invigorating free exchanges, the collective improvising band Easter Quartet brings together New York luminaries Ken Filiano on bass with two drummer/percussionists--Lou Grassi and Todd Capp--and Leipzig, German pianist Simone Weissenfels, performing in the studio for three extended, forcefully confident, evolving improvisations.

The 1st of three archival albums from saxophonist Mars Williams' vaults, this 1996 concert in Utrecht with the NRG Ensemble--the band that Williams' carried forward after Hal Russell's passing in 1992--in an unrestrained concert of original material from Williams and fellow saxophonist Ken Vandermark, with Kent Kessler on bass, Steve Hunt on drums, and Brian Sandstrom on bass, guitar & trumpet.