TEST / Roy Campbell
TEST / Roy Campbell
(577)
A live recording from 1999 at Hint House in Harlem of TEST, led by Tom Bruno on drums with Matthew Heyner on bass and Sabir Mateen on alto & tenor sax, flute & clarinet, joined by Daniel Carter on alto & tenor sax, trumpet & flute, the set recorded by Matt Motel who captures the essence of this freewheeling band who brought their music not only to jazz clubs, but also to the street and subway.

Assif Tsahar
ayn le-any
(Hopscotch Records)
FREE WITH ANY ORDER!

A freestyling solo album from NY/Israeli saxophonist Assif Tsahar, performing on tenor sax and bass clarinet in an exciting three-part improvisation of avant forms of technical dexterity and extended range through emphatic and sustained expression of long lines and cycling figures that shift and transform; a great example of Tsahar's skill and imagination.

Milford Graves / Don Pullen
The Complete Yale Concert, 1966
(Corbett vs. Dempsey)
Originally issued in two volumes on their own SRP Records in 1966 & 67 as In Concert At Yale University and Nommo, the duo of drummer/percussionist Milford Graves and pianist Don Pullen are heard live in in this excitingly energetic and revelatory concert at Yale University, redefining the roles of their instruments during the most exploratory period of free jazz.

Marion Brown
Why Not? Porto Novo! Revisited
(ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)
Reissuing two essential albums from saxophonist Marion Brown--Why Not? (ESP, 1968) and Porto Novo (Polydor, 1969)--the first recorded in NY in a quartet with pianist Stanley Cowell, bassist Sirone and drummer Rashied Ali, the second recorded in The Netherlands in a trio with Han Bennink on drums and Maarten Van Regteren Altena on double bass; essential.

Tony Oxley
February Papers
(Discus)
Reissuing percussionist and electronic innovator Tony Oxley's 1977 Incus album, collecting works from Oxley's evolving approaches, including a quartet with bassist Barry Guy and violinists David Bourne & Philipp Wachsmann; a trio with Barry Guy and Ian Brighton on electric guitar; and solo pieces including a piece for Evan Parker emulating his sound through electronics.

Morton Feldman
Triadic Memories [2 CDs]
(ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)
The second of four connected solo piano works by Morton Feldman, Triadic Memories is about that reality, the acoustic space created by the piano's strings and soundboard, as Feldman attempted to expand the temporal frame of his music, heard here in Judith Wegmann's 2019 recording, where thThe second of four connected solo piano works by Morton Feldman, Triadic Memories is about the acoustic space created by the piano's strings and soundboard, as Feldman worked to expand the temporal frame of his music, heard her in Judith Wegmann's 2019 studio recording where that space is revealed by a magnificent Bosendorfer 280VC piano.at space is revealed by a magnificent Bosendorfer 280VC piano.

Charlie Parker
Selections From The SAVOY Recordings
(ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)
The second of two volumes in celebration of legendary saxophonist Charlie Parker's 100th birthday, here remastering his landmark recordings for the Savoy label in New York City between 1945-48, performing with jazz greats including Bud Powell, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, John Lewis, Curley Russel, Max Roach, &c. for some of be-bop's finest and best known compositions.

Schlippenbach Quartet
Three Nails Left
(Corbett vs. Dempsey)
Remastered and with the original cover, the expanded Schlippenbach Trio of pianist Alexander Von Schlippenbach, saxophonist Evan Parker on soprano & tenor, drummer/percussionist Paul Lovens, and German double bassist Peter Kowald, a stellar group captured in two incredibly inventive concerts at Third New Jazz Festival Moers and at Quartier Latin in 1974 & 1975.

Cooper-Moore & Stephen Gauci
Conversations Vol. 1 [VINYL]
(577)
The first of two volumes from legendary Downtown NY pianist Cooper-Moore and saxophonist Stephen Gauci, recorded after a seven-month residency at Happylucky No. 1 Gallery in Brooklyn, allowing the two players to develop a natural dialog of unique and idiosyncratic approaches to their instruments, resulting in these 6 commanding recordings freely improvised in the studio.

John Coltrane Quartet
My Favorite Things Graz 1962
(ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)
The 2nd volume from tenor & soprano saxophonist John Coltrane 1962 tour of Europe and Scandinavia, heard here in late November at Stefaniensaal, Graz with his quartet of pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Jimmy Garrison, and drummer Elvin Jones, the band playing classic numbers under the influence of Coltrane's expanding drive to transform his music toward greater freedom.

Charlie Parker
Selections From The DIAL Recordings
(ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)
The first of two volumes in celebration of legendary saxophonist Charlie Parker's 100th birthday, here remastering his landmark recordings for the Dial label on the US West Coast between 1946-47, performing with jazz greats including Miles Davis, Lucky Thompson, Erroll Garner, Barney Kessel, Red Calender, JJ Johson, Max Roach, &c. for some of Parker's best known and essential compositions.

John Butcher / Thomas Lehn / Matthew Shipp
The Clawed Stone
(RogueArt)
Matthew Shipp (piano), John Butcher (saxophones) and Thomas Lehn (electronics) in a studio album recorded in France in 2017, a uniquely voiced collective trio of transformative improvisation, Lehn's additions and modifications blending perfectly with Shipp's solid foundations and Butcher's advanced technical expression, for an engrossing and expressive set of recordings.

Joe McPhee
Black Is The Color: Live in Poughkeepsie and New Windsor, 1969-70 [2CDS]
(Corbett vs. Dempsey)

Thumbscrew (Fujiwara / Halvorson / Formanek)
The Anthony Braxton Project
(Cuneiform)
The Thumbscrew trio of NY improvisers Tomas Fujiwara on drums & vibes, Mary Halvorson on guitar, and Michael Formanek on double bass, turn their focus to their shared history with composer and reedist Anthony Braxton as he celebrates his 75th birthday, performing 11 previously unheard compositions selected from Composition No. 14 through No. 274; masterful and profound.

Cecil Taylor / Tony Oxley
Birdland / Neuburg 2011
(Listen! Foundation (Fundacja Sluchaj!))
Performing in the intimacy of the Birdland Jazz Club in 2011, New York innovative pianist Cecil Taylor met with London free jazz legendary percussionist and long-time associate in The Feel Trio, Tony Oxley, Taylor's rapid often percussive approach to the keys pairing with Oxley's percussive work, and both invoking lyrical beauty from the other.

Evan Parker / Agusti Fernandez
Tempranillo
(Fundacja Sluchaj!)
Reissuing this astonishing 1995 studio recording, capturing the first encounter between two legendary free jazz performers--UK saxophonist Evan Parker on tenor and soprano saxophones and pianist Augustí Fernández--in an 8-part dialog of mercurial speed balanced with moments of passionate introspection, resissued with new mastering, restoring this essential meeting.

Peter Kowald Quintet
Peter Kowald Quintet
(Corbett vs. Dempsey)
First ever CD reissue of the only band under bassist Peter Kowald's own name, remastered; originally released by FMP in 1972, this is exemplary European Free Jazz from one of the orignal innovators in a quartet with Peter Kowald on tuba, bass, & alphorn, Gunter Christmann and Paul Rutherford on trombones, Peter van der Locht on alto saxophone, and Paul Lovens on drums.

Daniel Carter / Matthew Shipp / William Parker / Gerald Cleaver
Welcome Adventure! Vol. 1
(577)
After decades playing together, the quartet of Daniel Carter on tenor sax, trumpet & flute, Matthew Shipp on piano, William Parker on bass, and Gerald Cleaver on drums, release the first of two planned studio albums, with two extended and remarkably warm collective excursions bookending a shorter "Scintillate", in an exceptionally solid album of masterful modern jazz.

Masayuki Takayanagi New Direction Unit
Axis/Another Revolvable Thing [2 CDs]
(Blank Forms)
Reissuing the 1975 album of Japanese guitarist Masayuki Takayanagi's New Direction Unit with Kenji Mori on reeds, Nobuyoshi Ino on bass & cello, and Hiroshi Yamazaki on percussion, in a 2-CD set of the band's open-minded free-flowing and conceptual improvisation series "Fragments", captured live at Yasuda Seimei Hall in Tokyo, Japan and presented in performance order.

Modern Jazz Quintet Karlsruhe / Four Men Only (Joos / Eichhorn / Zimmer / Buhler / Thellman)
Complete Recordings [3-CD BOX SET]
(NoBusiness)

Frode Gjerstad / Fred Lonberg Holm / Steve Swell / William Parker
Tales From
(Fundacja Sluchaj!)
After on a tour through upstate New York State with Chicago cellist and electronic artist Fred Lonberg-Holm, saxophonist Frode Gjerstad headed to New York City for a planned trio recording which evolved into this informed quartet with Steve Swell on trombone and William Parker on bass, tuba, cornet & flutes, an outstanding example of Transatlanic collective improvisation.

Joe Morris
Perpetual Frontier The Properties of Free Music [BOOK]
(Riti Publishing)
Joe Morris wrote this book to discuss aspects of free music, including responses to his questionnaire written by Joe McPhee, William Parker, Jamie Saft, Ken Vandermark, Marilyn Crispell, Nate Wooley, Jack Wright, Matthew Shipp, &c.

Matthew Shipp / Rob Brown
Then Now
(RogueArt)
Since their 1988 duo album Sonic Explorations and through a number of group collaborations, the duo of alto saxophonist Rob Brown and pianist Matthew Shipp have extended and evolved their uniquely astute and confident dialog, as heard in this magnificent 8-part studio album, a reflection on their compatibility and perceptive artistry.

Okuden Quartet (Mat Walerian / Matthew Shipp / William Parker / Hamid Drake)
Every Dog Has Its Day But It Doesn't Matter Because Fat Cat Is Getting Fatter [2 CDs]
(ESP-Disk)
Reed player Mat Walerian's 4th album as a leader, in a quartet with Matthew Shipp on piano, William Parker on double bass & shakuhachi, and Hamid Drake on drums, the name "Okuden" meaning "inner teachings, as Walerian's compositions vary from a fully free introspective opener to joyful jazz idiom, a perfect set for this versatile and enlightened set of musicians.

Tatsuya Nakatani
Monochrome
(self-released)
As much a solo percussion album as a collection of large-scale compositions, Tatsuya Nakatani created hundreds of recordings of his collection of gongs, meticulously capturing each instrument's voice and arranging them into seven large works, maintaining the character of each instrument as material for these wonderfully dramatic and resonant works of silence, space and texture.

Assif Tsahar
ayn le-any
(Hopscotch Records)
FREE WITH ANY ORDER!

A freestyling solo album from NY/Israeli saxophonist Assif Tsahar, performing on tenor sax and bass clarinet in an exciting three-part improvisation of avant forms of technical dexterity and extended range through emphatic and sustained expression of long lines and cycling figures that shift and transform; a great example of Tsahar's skill and imagination.

Milford Graves / Don Pullen
The Complete Yale Concert, 1966
(Corbett vs. Dempsey)
Originally issued in two volumes on their own SRP Records in 1966 & 67 as In Concert At Yale University and Nommo, the duo of drummer/percussionist Milford Graves and pianist Don Pullen are heard live in in this excitingly energetic and revelatory concert at Yale University, redefining the roles of their instruments during the most exploratory period of free jazz.

Marion Brown
Why Not? Porto Novo! Revisited
(ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)
Reissuing two essential albums from saxophonist Marion Brown--Why Not? (ESP, 1968) and Porto Novo (Polydor, 1969)--the first recorded in NY in a quartet with pianist Stanley Cowell, bassist Sirone and drummer Rashied Ali, the second recorded in The Netherlands in a trio with Han Bennink on drums and Maarten Van Regteren Altena on double bass; essential.

Tony Oxley
February Papers
(Discus)
Reissuing percussionist and electronic innovator Tony Oxley's 1977 Incus album, collecting works from Oxley's evolving approaches, including a quartet with bassist Barry Guy and violinists David Bourne & Philipp Wachsmann; a trio with Barry Guy and Ian Brighton on electric guitar; and solo pieces including a piece for Evan Parker emulating his sound through electronics.

Morton Feldman
Triadic Memories [2 CDs]
(ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)
The second of four connected solo piano works by Morton Feldman, Triadic Memories is about that reality, the acoustic space created by the piano's strings and soundboard, as Feldman attempted to expand the temporal frame of his music, heard here in Judith Wegmann's 2019 recording, where thThe second of four connected solo piano works by Morton Feldman, Triadic Memories is about the acoustic space created by the piano's strings and soundboard, as Feldman worked to expand the temporal frame of his music, heard her in Judith Wegmann's 2019 studio recording where that space is revealed by a magnificent Bosendorfer 280VC piano.at space is revealed by a magnificent Bosendorfer 280VC piano.

Charlie Parker
Selections From The SAVOY Recordings
(ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)
The second of two volumes in celebration of legendary saxophonist Charlie Parker's 100th birthday, here remastering his landmark recordings for the Savoy label in New York City between 1945-48, performing with jazz greats including Bud Powell, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, John Lewis, Curley Russel, Max Roach, &c. for some of be-bop's finest and best known compositions.

Schlippenbach Quartet
Three Nails Left
(Corbett vs. Dempsey)
Remastered and with the original cover, the expanded Schlippenbach Trio of pianist Alexander Von Schlippenbach, saxophonist Evan Parker on soprano & tenor, drummer/percussionist Paul Lovens, and German double bassist Peter Kowald, a stellar group captured in two incredibly inventive concerts at Third New Jazz Festival Moers and at Quartier Latin in 1974 & 1975.

John Coltrane Quartet
My Favorite Things Graz 1962
(ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)
The 2nd volume from tenor & soprano saxophonist John Coltrane 1962 tour of Europe and Scandinavia, heard here in late November at Stefaniensaal, Graz with his quartet of pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Jimmy Garrison, and drummer Elvin Jones, the band playing classic numbers under the influence of Coltrane's expanding drive to transform his music toward greater freedom.

Charlie Parker
Selections From The DIAL Recordings
(ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)
The first of two volumes in celebration of legendary saxophonist Charlie Parker's 100th birthday, here remastering his landmark recordings for the Dial label on the US West Coast between 1946-47, performing with jazz greats including Miles Davis, Lucky Thompson, Erroll Garner, Barney Kessel, Red Calender, JJ Johson, Max Roach, &c. for some of Parker's best known and essential compositions.

John Butcher / Thomas Lehn / Matthew Shipp
The Clawed Stone
(RogueArt)
Matthew Shipp (piano), John Butcher (saxophones) and Thomas Lehn (electronics) in a studio album recorded in France in 2017, a uniquely voiced collective trio of transformative improvisation, Lehn's additions and modifications blending perfectly with Shipp's solid foundations and Butcher's advanced technical expression, for an engrossing and expressive set of recordings.

Joe McPhee
Black Is The Color: Live in Poughkeepsie and New Windsor, 1969-70 [2CDS]
(Corbett vs. Dempsey)

Thumbscrew (Fujiwara / Halvorson / Formanek)
The Anthony Braxton Project
(Cuneiform)
The Thumbscrew trio of NY improvisers Tomas Fujiwara on drums & vibes, Mary Halvorson on guitar, and Michael Formanek on double bass, turn their focus to their shared history with composer and reedist Anthony Braxton as he celebrates his 75th birthday, performing 11 previously unheard compositions selected from Composition No. 14 through No. 274; masterful and profound.

Cecil Taylor / Tony Oxley
Birdland / Neuburg 2011
(Listen! Foundation (Fundacja Sluchaj!))
Performing in the intimacy of the Birdland Jazz Club in 2011, New York innovative pianist Cecil Taylor met with London free jazz legendary percussionist and long-time associate in The Feel Trio, Tony Oxley, Taylor's rapid often percussive approach to the keys pairing with Oxley's percussive work, and both invoking lyrical beauty from the other.

Evan Parker / Agusti Fernandez
Tempranillo
(Fundacja Sluchaj!)
Reissuing this astonishing 1995 studio recording, capturing the first encounter between two legendary free jazz performers--UK saxophonist Evan Parker on tenor and soprano saxophones and pianist Augustí Fernández--in an 8-part dialog of mercurial speed balanced with moments of passionate introspection, resissued with new mastering, restoring this essential meeting.

Peter Kowald Quintet
Peter Kowald Quintet
(Corbett vs. Dempsey)
First ever CD reissue of the only band under bassist Peter Kowald's own name, remastered; originally released by FMP in 1972, this is exemplary European Free Jazz from one of the orignal innovators in a quartet with Peter Kowald on tuba, bass, & alphorn, Gunter Christmann and Paul Rutherford on trombones, Peter van der Locht on alto saxophone, and Paul Lovens on drums.

Daniel Carter / Matthew Shipp / William Parker / Gerald Cleaver
Welcome Adventure! Vol. 1
(577)
After decades playing together, the quartet of Daniel Carter on tenor sax, trumpet & flute, Matthew Shipp on piano, William Parker on bass, and Gerald Cleaver on drums, release the first of two planned studio albums, with two extended and remarkably warm collective excursions bookending a shorter "Scintillate", in an exceptionally solid album of masterful modern jazz.

Masayuki Takayanagi New Direction Unit
Axis/Another Revolvable Thing [2 CDs]
(Blank Forms)
Reissuing the 1975 album of Japanese guitarist Masayuki Takayanagi's New Direction Unit with Kenji Mori on reeds, Nobuyoshi Ino on bass & cello, and Hiroshi Yamazaki on percussion, in a 2-CD set of the band's open-minded free-flowing and conceptual improvisation series "Fragments", captured live at Yasuda Seimei Hall in Tokyo, Japan and presented in performance order.

Frode Gjerstad / Fred Lonberg Holm / Steve Swell / William Parker
Tales From
(Fundacja Sluchaj!)
After on a tour through upstate New York State with Chicago cellist and electronic artist Fred Lonberg-Holm, saxophonist Frode Gjerstad headed to New York City for a planned trio recording which evolved into this informed quartet with Steve Swell on trombone and William Parker on bass, tuba, cornet & flutes, an outstanding example of Transatlanic collective improvisation.

Matthew Shipp / Rob Brown
Then Now
(RogueArt)
Since their 1988 duo album Sonic Explorations and through a number of group collaborations, the duo of alto saxophonist Rob Brown and pianist Matthew Shipp have extended and evolved their uniquely astute and confident dialog, as heard in this magnificent 8-part studio album, a reflection on their compatibility and perceptive artistry.

Okuden Quartet (Mat Walerian / Matthew Shipp / William Parker / Hamid Drake)
Every Dog Has Its Day But It Doesn't Matter Because Fat Cat Is Getting Fatter [2 CDs]
(ESP-Disk)
Reed player Mat Walerian's 4th album as a leader, in a quartet with Matthew Shipp on piano, William Parker on double bass & shakuhachi, and Hamid Drake on drums, the name "Okuden" meaning "inner teachings, as Walerian's compositions vary from a fully free introspective opener to joyful jazz idiom, a perfect set for this versatile and enlightened set of musicians.

Tatsuya Nakatani
Monochrome
(self-released)
As much a solo percussion album as a collection of large-scale compositions, Tatsuya Nakatani created hundreds of recordings of his collection of gongs, meticulously capturing each instrument's voice and arranging them into seven large works, maintaining the character of each instrument as material for these wonderfully dramatic and resonant works of silence, space and texture.

Kaze (Fujii / Tamura / Pruvost / Orins) w/ Ikue Mori
Sand Storm
(Libra/ Circum-Disc)
The cooperative quartet Kaze of Satoko Fujii on piano, Peter Orins on drums, Christian Pruvost on trumpet, Natsuki Tamura on trumpet, joins with elextroacoustic improviser Ikue Mori for seven exploratory pieces recorded in the studio after a one-week tour in Austria, France, and Russia, their enthusiasm for their extraordinarily unique group sound clearly evident.

Gerald Cleaver
Signs
(577)
Taking his cues from the electronic music of his Detroit roots, free jazz drummer Gerald Cleaver presents an album of synthetic rhythms and sonic landscape, each piece composed in detailed arrangements of compelling and adventurous structures, from propulsive grooves to sinuous soundscapes, a surprising and exciting twist showing Cleaver's strong compositional skills.

Hedvig Mollestad
Ekhidna
(Rune Grammofon)
In 2018 guitarist Hedvig Mollestad Thomassen received an invitation from the festival at Vossajazz commissioning a work for the 2019 festival, for which she expanded her instrumental rock trio to a sextet with trumpeter Susana Santos Silva, drummer Torstein Lofthus (Elephant9), percussionist Ole Mofjell, and keyboardists Marte Eberson & Erlend Slettevoll.

Ivo Perelman / Arcado String Trio
Deep Resonance
(Fundacja Sluchaj!)
Saxophonist Ivo Perelman declares that he "metamorphosed into a string instrument" himself while playing with the dynamic string trio drawn of NY Downtown luminaries--cellist Hank Roberts, violinist Mark Feldman and bassist Mark Dresser--blending technical mastery with profound creative impulse as the quartet weaves a tapestry of free jazz and instant composition.

Chicago Underground Quartet
Good Days [VINYL]
(Astral Spirits)
19 years after the last Chicago Underground Quartet album, this session with Rob Mazurek on piccolo trumpet, electronics & bells, Jeff Parker on electric guitar, and Chad Taylor on drums, percussion and newcomer Josh Johnson on synth bass & keys is a warm reunion, with individual compositions from Taylor, Mazurek & Parker, and two solo pieces by Mazurek and Taylor.

Ned Lagin
Seastones: Set 4 and Set 5 [BLUE VINYL RSD]
(Important Records)
A blue vinyl Record Store Day 2020 release from Ned Lagin in a pioneering electronic composition interweaving metaphors from nature, science, art and music and the origins of music, originally released by the Grateful Dead 's Round Records in 1975 and including musicians Jerry Garcia, Phil Lesh, David Crosby, Grace Slick, David Freiberg, Mickey Hart and Spencer Dryden.

Hedvig Mollestad
Ekhidna [WHITE VINYL]
(Rune Grammofon)
In 2018 guitarist Hedvig Mollestad Thomassen received an invitation from the festival at Vossajazz commissioning a work for the 2019 festival, for which she expanded her instrumental rock trio to a sextet with trumpeter Susana Santos Silva, drummer Torstein Lofthus (Elephant9), percussionist Ole Mofjell, and keyboardists Marte Eberson & Erlend Slettevoll.

McPhee / Reid / Lopez / Nilssen-Love / Rempis
Of Things Beyond Thule Volume 1 [VINYL + DOWNLOAD]
(Aerophonic)
Already planning a duo concert at Chicago's Hungry Brain between saxophonist Dave Rempis and drummer Paal Nilssen-Love as part of their Transmission Series, the duo expanded to a trio with the inclusion of visiting cellist Tomeka Reid, and then to a quintet by adding New York legend Joe McPhee on trumpet & sax, and NY bassist Brandon Lopez, recording this masterful, limited album.

Penderecki / Don Cherry & The New Eternal Rhythm Orchestra
Actions [VINYL RSD]
(Our Swimmer)
Formed specifically for a performance at Donaueschingen Music Festival on October 17, 1971 and featuring a veritable who's who of the European scene including Peter Brotzmann, Han Bennink, Terje Rypdal, Albert Mangelsdorff, and Gunter Hampel, trumpeter Don Cherry formed The New Eternal Rhythm Orchestra to perform this mind-bending collaborative work with composer Krzysztof Penderecki.

Tashi Dorji / Tyler Damon
To Catch A Bird In A Net Of Wind [VINYL]
(Trost Records)
Fully free improvisation from Chicago musicians, electric guitarist Tashi Dorji and drummer/percussionist Tyler Damon, performing live in a concert at Horatio N. May Chapel in 2018, the resonance of the location adding a rich reverberant level to their evolving dialog, building to ecstatic sonic states and releasing to energetically ruminative discourse.

Jason Kahn / Christian Wolfarth
Spirits [VINYL]
(Editions)
The 2nd release from Jason Kahn, here on voice and resonator guitar, with Christian Wolfarth on Chinese Cymbal, an antique marching snare and objects, recorded after a series of concerts across Europe in the fall of 2019, Kahn applying a percussionist's perspective to his guitar by playing it as a lap slide, as the two invoke an unusual incantatory spirit from their improvisations.

Claire Rousay
Both [VINYL]
(Second Editions)
Two location-based works of ambient sound from Texas sound artist Claire Rousay, the first recorded at the Central Library in San Antonio, Texas mixing a live microphone feed with sine tones pitched to the building's resonant frequencie; the second a composition using recording made in Ciudad de Mexico, constructing a fictional world from environmental sources.

Ich B!n Nintendo (Winther / Nergaard / Johansen)
Lykke [VINYL]
(Shhpuma)
The Ich Bin Nintendo trio of Christian Skar Winther (guitar & voice), Magnus Skavhaug Nergaard (bass) and Joakim Heibo Johansen (drums) take their improvised noise music into the post-punk world with demanding and energetic music that voices it's power and exultation.

Bobby Bradford / Hafez Modirzadeh / Roberto Miranda / Vijay Anderson
Live At The Blue Whale [VINYL]
(NoBusiness)
Cornetist Bobby Bradford leads this quartet with soprano saxophonist Hafez Modirzadeh, also playing karna and khaen; bassist Roberto Miguel Miranda; and East Coast drummer Vijay Anderson, in a live concert at the Blue Whale in Los Angeles in 2017, a sophisticated avant jazz outing including a set of variations for Ornette Coleman, a great example of modern creative form.

Louis Moholo Octet
Spirits Rejoice! [VINYL]
(Otoroku)
Featuring an incredible lineup of masterful players from 1970's London creative jazz scene--Harry Miller & Johnny Dyani (bass), Keith Tippett (piano), Evan Parker (sax), Nick Evans & Radu Malfatti (trombone), and Kenny Wheeler (trumpet)--South African drummer Louis Moholo's debut album brings both joy and spirituality to freedom and lyricism, a joyful achievement.

KVL (Kirchner / Van Duerm / Lux / Branch)
Volume 1 [VINYL]
(Astral Spirits)
The first of many projected volumes from the Chicago trio of Quin Kirchner on drums, percussion, sampler & electronics, Daniel Van Duerm on electric piano, organ, mellotron & electronics, and Matthew Lux on bass & electronics, with guest Jaimie Branch on trumpet, presenting three extended improvisations that maintain peaceful contemplation in captivating grooves.

Bobby Bradford / Frode Gjerstad / Kent Carter / John Stevens
Blue Cat [VINYL]
(NoBusiness)
The 2nd in NoBusiness' archive series of the Norwegian Detail collective, here with Frode Gjerstad on alto sax, Bobby Bradford on cornet, Kent Carter on bass, and John Stevens on drums, captured live in London in 1991 during a UK record, in a 3-part work of informed free-jazz and free playing, exciting music with complex, swinging subtlety.

Brunhild Ferrari / Jim O'Rourke
Le Piano Englouti [VINYL]
(Black Truffle)
Recorded in concert at Tokyo's SuperDeluxe in 2014, electronic artists and composers Brunhild Ferrari and Jim O'Rourke use tapes, electronics and synths to create these two monumental works of electroacoustic improvisation, with sources including material from Luc Ferrari's "Exercises d'Improvisation", O'Rourke revising and remixing the material in 2019 for this LP release.

Gerald Cleaver
Signs [VINYL + DOWNLOAD]
(577)
Taking his cues from the electronic music of his Detroit roots, free jazz drummer Gerald Cleaver presents an album of synthetic rhythms and sonic landscape, each piece composed in detailed arrangements of compelling and adventurous structures, from propulsive grooves to sinuous soundscapes, a surprising and exciting twist showing Cleaver's strong compositional skills.

Bill Orcutt / Michael Morley
Electric Guitar Duets [VINYL]
(Palilalia)
Reissuing on LP their 2016 limited cassette on the Land and Sea label of a performance by guitarists Michael Morley (Dead C) and Bill Orcutt (Harry Pussy, solo) at the L/S gallery in Oakland, Orcutt on a Fender Telecaster without effects and Morley on a modified 2006 Squire Telecaster made in Indonesia, in a conversation merging clear and crenulated playing.

Peter Evans (w/ Ross / Jozwiak / Harris)
Being & Becoming [VINYL]
(More Is More)
A dynamic 1st release from trumpeter Peter Evans' group Being and Becoming, featuring improvisers from a younger generation of creative musicians--Joel Ross on vibes, Nick Joziwak on bass, and Savannah Harris on drums--the album featuring new compositions from Evans, moving between notated chamber music textures, free improvisations, deep grooves and telepathic ensemble playing.

Icepick (Nate Wooley / Ingebrigt Haker-Flaten / Chris Corsano)
Hellraiser [VINYL]
(Astral Spirits)
The 3rd album from the improvising trio of Nate Wooley on trumpet, Ingebrigt Haker Flaten on bass, and Chris Corsano on drums, is a live recording at the 2018 Experimental Sound Studio's Option Series, a smoldering session of collective improvisation that builds tension through impressive rhythmic texture and releases it in cathartic and passionate passages.

Alva Noto
Xerrox Vol. 4 [VINYL 2 LPs ]
(Noton)
The 4th of 5 Xerox releases from electronic and sound composer Carsten Nicolai, based on the concept of digital replication of source material, Nicolai replicates his recordings and utilizes their changes, in Volume 4 creating melodic ambient works, warm tones that are colored and affected by subtle texture, creating a beautiful set of 14 cinematic expressions.

Alvin Lucier
Works for the Ever Present Orchestra [VINYL 2 LPs]
(Black Truffle)
Pieces written for the Ever Present Orchestra, a 13-piece ensemble formed in 2016 exclusively to perform composer Alvin Lucier's works, with a core of 4 guitarists, 3 saxophones, 4 violins and piano, here presenting Lucier's continuing exploration of the behaviour of sound in physical space, blending electronic and acoustic sources with subtle tension and mystery.

Jason Kahn
Lining Out [VINYL]
(Hiddenbell Records)
"Lining Out" is taken from a form of hymnody practiced to this day as Gaelic Psalm singing by the Free Churches on the Outer Hebrides off the west coast of Scotland, interpreted by Swiss improviser Jason Kahn in percussion and voice of uniquely uninhibited & unpredictable utterance and song juxtaposing superb expression and dexterity on drums, cymbals, bells and percussion.

Olivia Block with Chicago Composers Orchestra
Karren [VINYL w DOWNLOAD]
(Sedimental)
A two-movement electroacoustic-orchestral composition from composer Olivia Block, the first side of the LP using heavily processed field recordings taken from orchestral rehearsals and various public locations, including museums and zoos; the 2nd a layered orchestral score performed by the Chicago Composers Orchestra and recorded over several years.

Horatiu Radulescu
Clepsydra / Astray [VINYL]
(Edition Rz)
Romanian-French composer Horatiu Radulescu with 2 works from 1983: "Clepsydra" for 16 Sound Icons played on a sideway piano, and the 1984 work "Astray" for 6 saxophones and Sound Icons.

Sun Ra
The Heliocentric Worlds of Sun Ra Volume One [VINYL]
(ESP-Disk)
LP remaster with mp3 download of the 1st volume in Sun Ra's "Heliocentric World" set recorded in NYC, 1965, music that was "light years beyond "free jazz" improvisation".

Luigi Nono
A Carlo Scarpa; A Pierre Dell'Azzurro Silenzio, Inquietum; Guai ai Gelidi Mostri [VINYL]
(Edition Rz)
3 works by composer Luigi Nono: "A Carlo Scarpa" for orchestra; "A Pierre..." for bass flute, bass clarinet and live elektronics; and "Guai ai Gelidi Mostri" for ensemble, voices and live elektronics.

Assif Tsahar
ayn le-any
(Hopscotch Records)
FREE WITH ANY ORDER!

A freestyling solo album from NY/Israeli saxophonist Assif Tsahar, performing on tenor sax and bass clarinet in an exciting three-part improvisation of avant forms of technical dexterity and extended range through emphatic and sustained expression of long lines and cycling figures that shift and transform; a great example of Tsahar's skill and imagination.

Milford Graves / Don Pullen
The Complete Yale Concert, 1966
(Corbett vs. Dempsey)
Originally issued in two volumes on their own SRP Records in 1966 & 67 as In Concert At Yale University and Nommo, the duo of drummer/percussionist Milford Graves and pianist Don Pullen are heard live in in this excitingly energetic and revelatory concert at Yale University, redefining the roles of their instruments during the most exploratory period of free jazz.

Marion Brown
Why Not? Porto Novo! Revisited
(ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)
Reissuing two essential albums from saxophonist Marion Brown--Why Not? (ESP, 1968) and Porto Novo (Polydor, 1969)--the first recorded in NY in a quartet with pianist Stanley Cowell, bassist Sirone and drummer Rashied Ali, the second recorded in The Netherlands in a trio with Han Bennink on drums and Maarten Van Regteren Altena on double bass; essential.

Tony Oxley
February Papers
(Discus)
Reissuing percussionist and electronic innovator Tony Oxley's 1977 Incus album, collecting works from Oxley's evolving approaches, including a quartet with bassist Barry Guy and violinists David Bourne & Philipp Wachsmann; a trio with Barry Guy and Ian Brighton on electric guitar; and solo pieces including a piece for Evan Parker emulating his sound through electronics.

Charlie Parker
Selections From The SAVOY Recordings
(ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)
The second of two volumes in celebration of legendary saxophonist Charlie Parker's 100th birthday, here remastering his landmark recordings for the Savoy label in New York City between 1945-48, performing with jazz greats including Bud Powell, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, John Lewis, Curley Russel, Max Roach, &c. for some of be-bop's finest and best known compositions.

Schlippenbach Quartet
Three Nails Left
(Corbett vs. Dempsey)
Remastered and with the original cover, the expanded Schlippenbach Trio of pianist Alexander Von Schlippenbach, saxophonist Evan Parker on soprano & tenor, drummer/percussionist Paul Lovens, and German double bassist Peter Kowald, a stellar group captured in two incredibly inventive concerts at Third New Jazz Festival Moers and at Quartier Latin in 1974 & 1975.

Cooper-Moore & Stephen Gauci
Conversations Vol. 1 [VINYL]
(577)
The first of two volumes from legendary Downtown NY pianist Cooper-Moore and saxophonist Stephen Gauci, recorded after a seven-month residency at Happylucky No. 1 Gallery in Brooklyn, allowing the two players to develop a natural dialog of unique and idiosyncratic approaches to their instruments, resulting in these 6 commanding recordings freely improvised in the studio.

John Coltrane Quartet
My Favorite Things Graz 1962
(ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)
The 2nd volume from tenor & soprano saxophonist John Coltrane 1962 tour of Europe and Scandinavia, heard here in late November at Stefaniensaal, Graz with his quartet of pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Jimmy Garrison, and drummer Elvin Jones, the band playing classic numbers under the influence of Coltrane's expanding drive to transform his music toward greater freedom.

Charlie Parker
Selections From The DIAL Recordings
(ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)
The first of two volumes in celebration of legendary saxophonist Charlie Parker's 100th birthday, here remastering his landmark recordings for the Dial label on the US West Coast between 1946-47, performing with jazz greats including Miles Davis, Lucky Thompson, Erroll Garner, Barney Kessel, Red Calender, JJ Johson, Max Roach, &c. for some of Parker's best known and essential compositions.

John Butcher / Thomas Lehn / Matthew Shipp
The Clawed Stone
(RogueArt)
Matthew Shipp (piano), John Butcher (saxophones) and Thomas Lehn (electronics) in a studio album recorded in France in 2017, a uniquely voiced collective trio of transformative improvisation, Lehn's additions and modifications blending perfectly with Shipp's solid foundations and Butcher's advanced technical expression, for an engrossing and expressive set of recordings.

Joe McPhee
Black Is The Color: Live in Poughkeepsie and New Windsor, 1969-70 [2CDS]
(Corbett vs. Dempsey)

Thumbscrew (Fujiwara / Halvorson / Formanek)
The Anthony Braxton Project
(Cuneiform)
The Thumbscrew trio of NY improvisers Tomas Fujiwara on drums & vibes, Mary Halvorson on guitar, and Michael Formanek on double bass, turn their focus to their shared history with composer and reedist Anthony Braxton as he celebrates his 75th birthday, performing 11 previously unheard compositions selected from Composition No. 14 through No. 274; masterful and profound.

Cecil Taylor / Tony Oxley
Birdland / Neuburg 2011
(Listen! Foundation (Fundacja Sluchaj!))
Performing in the intimacy of the Birdland Jazz Club in 2011, New York innovative pianist Cecil Taylor met with London free jazz legendary percussionist and long-time associate in The Feel Trio, Tony Oxley, Taylor's rapid often percussive approach to the keys pairing with Oxley's percussive work, and both invoking lyrical beauty from the other.

Evan Parker / Agusti Fernandez
Tempranillo
(Fundacja Sluchaj!)
Reissuing this astonishing 1995 studio recording, capturing the first encounter between two legendary free jazz performers--UK saxophonist Evan Parker on tenor and soprano saxophones and pianist Augustí Fernández--in an 8-part dialog of mercurial speed balanced with moments of passionate introspection, resissued with new mastering, restoring this essential meeting.

Peter Kowald Quintet
Peter Kowald Quintet
(Corbett vs. Dempsey)
First ever CD reissue of the only band under bassist Peter Kowald's own name, remastered; originally released by FMP in 1972, this is exemplary European Free Jazz from one of the orignal innovators in a quartet with Peter Kowald on tuba, bass, & alphorn, Gunter Christmann and Paul Rutherford on trombones, Peter van der Locht on alto saxophone, and Paul Lovens on drums.

Daniel Carter / Matthew Shipp / William Parker / Gerald Cleaver
Welcome Adventure! Vol. 1
(577)
After decades playing together, the quartet of Daniel Carter on tenor sax, trumpet & flute, Matthew Shipp on piano, William Parker on bass, and Gerald Cleaver on drums, release the first of two planned studio albums, with two extended and remarkably warm collective excursions bookending a shorter "Scintillate", in an exceptionally solid album of masterful modern jazz.

Masayuki Takayanagi New Direction Unit
Axis/Another Revolvable Thing [2 CDs]
(Blank Forms)
Reissuing the 1975 album of Japanese guitarist Masayuki Takayanagi's New Direction Unit with Kenji Mori on reeds, Nobuyoshi Ino on bass & cello, and Hiroshi Yamazaki on percussion, in a 2-CD set of the band's open-minded free-flowing and conceptual improvisation series "Fragments", captured live at Yasuda Seimei Hall in Tokyo, Japan and presented in performance order.

Modern Jazz Quintet Karlsruhe / Four Men Only (Joos / Eichhorn / Zimmer / Buhler / Thellman)
Complete Recordings [3-CD BOX SET]
(NoBusiness)

Frode Gjerstad / Fred Lonberg Holm / Steve Swell / William Parker
Tales From
(Fundacja Sluchaj!)
After on a tour through upstate New York State with Chicago cellist and electronic artist Fred Lonberg-Holm, saxophonist Frode Gjerstad headed to New York City for a planned trio recording which evolved into this informed quartet with Steve Swell on trombone and William Parker on bass, tuba, cornet & flutes, an outstanding example of Transatlanic collective improvisation.

Matthew Shipp / Rob Brown
Then Now
(RogueArt)
Since their 1988 duo album Sonic Explorations and through a number of group collaborations, the duo of alto saxophonist Rob Brown and pianist Matthew Shipp have extended and evolved their uniquely astute and confident dialog, as heard in this magnificent 8-part studio album, a reflection on their compatibility and perceptive artistry.

Okuden Quartet (Mat Walerian / Matthew Shipp / William Parker / Hamid Drake)
Every Dog Has Its Day But It Doesn't Matter Because Fat Cat Is Getting Fatter [2 CDs]
(ESP-Disk)
Reed player Mat Walerian's 4th album as a leader, in a quartet with Matthew Shipp on piano, William Parker on double bass & shakuhachi, and Hamid Drake on drums, the name "Okuden" meaning "inner teachings, as Walerian's compositions vary from a fully free introspective opener to joyful jazz idiom, a perfect set for this versatile and enlightened set of musicians.

Tatsuya Nakatani
Monochrome
(self-released)
As much a solo percussion album as a collection of large-scale compositions, Tatsuya Nakatani created hundreds of recordings of his collection of gongs, meticulously capturing each instrument's voice and arranging them into seven large works, maintaining the character of each instrument as material for these wonderfully dramatic and resonant works of silence, space and texture.

Kaze (Fujii / Tamura / Pruvost / Orins) w/ Ikue Mori
Sand Storm
(Libra/ Circum-Disc)
The cooperative quartet Kaze of Satoko Fujii on piano, Peter Orins on drums, Christian Pruvost on trumpet, Natsuki Tamura on trumpet, joins with elextroacoustic improviser Ikue Mori for seven exploratory pieces recorded in the studio after a one-week tour in Austria, France, and Russia, their enthusiasm for their extraordinarily unique group sound clearly evident.

Ivo Perelman / Arcado String Trio
Deep Resonance
(Fundacja Sluchaj!)
Saxophonist Ivo Perelman declares that he "metamorphosed into a string instrument" himself while playing with the dynamic string trio drawn of NY Downtown luminaries--cellist Hank Roberts, violinist Mark Feldman and bassist Mark Dresser--blending technical mastery with profound creative impulse as the quartet weaves a tapestry of free jazz and instant composition.

Phil Wachsmann
Writing In Water
(Corbett vs. Dempsey)
UK-based violinist Phillip Wachsmann, an essential player bringing contemporary approaches of indeterminacy, conceptualism and electroacoustics to the early community of improvisers and experimentalists, in a reissue of his 1984 Bead Records album, presenting his astute and sophisticated live solo performance for violin and electronics at the Actual Festival in July 1984, London.

Zeena Parkins / Jeff Kolar
Scale
(Two Rooms Records)
Commissioned by choreographer Jennifer Monson, the collaboration of Downtown NY electric harpist and sound artist Zeena Parkins and Chicago sound artist Jeff Kolar explore the intersection of acoustic phenonema against electronic, synthetic & radio sounds, inspired by the timing of natural phenomena like ocean currents and daylight emergence; fascinating.

Opening Performance Orchestra
Radio Music Extended (Based on John Cage's Radio Music)
(Sub Rosa)
Taking their lead from John Cage's 1956 Radio Music, the Opening Performance Orchestra in collaboration with the radio & a/v device archive at the Tesla Museum in Trest, present this 72-minute piece from a private live performance in July 2018, the 7 members of the Orchestra plus 2 guest operating 13 historical radio sets, dating from between 1935 and 1961.

Amirtha Kidambi / Lea Bertucci
End of Softness [CASSETTE w/ DOWNLOAD]
(Astral Spirits)
Working in isolation during the Covid-19 pandemic, vocalist Amirtha Kidambi and tape manipulator and electronic artist Lea Bertucci re-contextualize their Phase Eclipse album, merging segments of that album with a recording of a live performance, to create a new set of works, rife with the agony, isolation, and anomalous experiences of the time: The End of Softness.

Pisaura (Michael Pisaro / Zizia)
Asteraceae
(Sedimental)
A work composed from field recordings of performances around Los Angeles during the winter of 2018-19, the Pisaura trio of Michael Pisaro, Amber Wolfe Rounds & Jarrod Fowler (Zizia) used astrological charts to determine patterns of composing, performing, recording, and producing music with celestial and terrestrial rhythms; a mysteriously detailed and almost reverent work in sound.

Ned Lagin
Seastones: Set 4 and Set 5 [BLUE VINYL RSD]
(Important Records)
A blue vinyl Record Store Day 2020 release from Ned Lagin in a pioneering electronic composition interweaving metaphors from nature, science, art and music and the origins of music, originally released by the Grateful Dead 's Round Records in 1975 and including musicians Jerry Garcia, Phil Lesh, David Crosby, Grace Slick, David Freiberg, Mickey Hart and Spencer Dryden.

Phill Niblock
Music for Organs
(Matiere Memoire)
Two massive drone works for organ and pre-recorded tracks commissioned by Musica Festival Strasbourg for organist Hampus Lindwall, with tapes by Emanuel Schmelzer-Ziringer, each piece titled anagrammatically (ie. Nagro = Organ) and recorded with the composer at the Manufacture d'orgues Thomas and Orgelbau Klais organ in the Collegiale Sainte-Waudru, in Mons, Belgium.

Machinefabriek
Amalgaam
(Zoharum)
Based on a series of improvisations on a very hands-on hardware setup, with an old tone generator, effects pedals, dictaphones, contact mics, &c., Machinefabriek (Rutger Zuydervelt) took these recordings into the studio to compose these four works, 2 brief pieces and the 2-part, intricate "Amalgaam", in an absorbing album of dramatic texture & sound.

Merzbow
StereoAkuma
(Room40)
A 5-part concert and encore from Masami Akita, AKA Merzbow, performing in Australia at Room40's Open Frame Festival in 2019, a wrenching performance of distinctive yet diverse noise sources and textures revealed as a controlled tumult; all profits from this edition will be donated to assisting wildlife recovery in the wake of the Australia bushfire crisis of 2020.

Claire Rousay
Both [VINYL]
(Second Editions)
Two location-based works of ambient sound from Texas sound artist Claire Rousay, the first recorded at the Central Library in San Antonio, Texas mixing a live microphone feed with sine tones pitched to the building's resonant frequencie; the second a composition using recording made in Ciudad de Mexico, constructing a fictional world from environmental sources.

Elizabeth Millar / Tim Olive / Craig Pedersen
Charm Point
(845 Audio)
Montreal-area's Mystery and Wonder Records duo of Elizabeth Millar on clarinet and Craig Pedersen on trumpet met sound artist Tim Olive in Tokyo's famed Gok Sound studio to record these absorbing electroacoustic improvisations, employing hand-made microphones in metal and wooden tubes, corrupted consumer sound devices, and electro-magnetism through analog circuits.

Brunhild Ferrari / Jim O'Rourke
Le Piano Englouti [VINYL]
(Black Truffle)
Recorded in concert at Tokyo's SuperDeluxe in 2014, electronic artists and composers Brunhild Ferrari and Jim O'Rourke use tapes, electronics and synths to create these two monumental works of electroacoustic improvisation, with sources including material from Luc Ferrari's "Exercises d'Improvisation", O'Rourke revising and remixing the material in 2019 for this LP release.

Gerald Cleaver
Signs [VINYL + DOWNLOAD]
(577)
Taking his cues from the electronic music of his Detroit roots, free jazz drummer Gerald Cleaver presents an album of synthetic rhythms and sonic landscape, each piece composed in detailed arrangements of compelling and adventurous structures, from propulsive grooves to sinuous soundscapes, a surprising and exciting twist showing Cleaver's strong compositional skills.

Jean D. L. (w/ Hermant / Ranaldo / Young)
Forays
(Shhpuma)
A set of beautiful electro-acoustic compositions, dream-like and rich in details using sources of acoustic instruments, field recordings, guitar, electronics and voice, organized into hazy and beautiful reflections, with contributions from Margaret Hermant on xylophone & violin, Jeremy Young on electronics, and Lee Ranaldo providing field recordings and voice.

Kassel Jaeger / Jim O'Rourke
In Cobalt Aura Sleeps [VINYL]
(Editions Mego)
Franco-Swiss composer & electroacoustic musician and director of INA GRM, François J. Bonnet, aka Kassel Jaeger, joins forces with sound artist Jim O'Rourke in a followup to their 2017 album Wakes on Cerulean, in a large two-part work of electroacoustic compositions, merging synthetics and drone elements of detailed and absorbing sound.

Alva Noto
Xerrox Vol. 4 [VINYL 2 LPs ]
(Noton)
The 4th of 5 Xerox releases from electronic and sound composer Carsten Nicolai, based on the concept of digital replication of source material, Nicolai replicates his recordings and utilizes their changes, in Volume 4 creating melodic ambient works, warm tones that are colored and affected by subtle texture, creating a beautiful set of 14 cinematic expressions.

Phill Niblock
G2,44+/X2 [CD + BOOK]
(Room40)
A gorgeous and rich drone composition from New York composer Phill Niblock, intended for maximum volume to bring out shifting and slowly interacting harmonics from a nonet of incredible guitarists — David First, Rafael Toral, Robert Poss, Susan Stenger, Alan Licht, Kevin Drumm, Lee Ranaldo, and Thurston Moore — with Jim O'Rourk engineering the album for optimal warmth.

Machinefabriek / Anne Bakker
Short Scenes
(Zoharum)
While developing a soundtrack with violinist and violist Anne Bakker, Rutger Zuydervelt aka Machinefabriek, began editing a series of Bakker's improvisations, creating new works from those recordings by layering them into succinct short works or "scenes"--twenty of them in the end--that he sequenced into this album of confidently dramatic and delicately beautiful episodes.

Olivia Block with Chicago Composers Orchestra
Karren [VINYL w DOWNLOAD]
(Sedimental)
A two-movement electroacoustic-orchestral composition from composer Olivia Block, the first side of the LP using heavily processed field recordings taken from orchestral rehearsals and various public locations, including museums and zoos; the 2nd a layered orchestral score performed by the Chicago Composers Orchestra and recorded over several years.

Various Artists
PRES Revisited. Jozef Patkowski In Memoriam
(Bolt)
Recordings of a concert at London's Cafe Oto dedicated to Jozef Patkowski's Polish Radio Experimental Studio (CD2), which are transformed in the studio by John Tilbury, Eddie Prevost, Phil Durrant, Maciej Sledziecki & Mikolaj Palosz (CD1).

Marc Baron
Hidden Tapes
(Potlatch)
Five fascinating works composed from old cassette tapes accelerated or slowed down, layered and transformed with analog devices, with the addition of sources from movies soundtracks and classical or liturgical music extracts.

Various Artists
PRES Scores [2 CDs]
(Bolt)
Polish Radio Experimental Studio's late 50's achievements included first attempts to write down electronic sounds through graphics; this CD presents 5 such scores heard in experimental realizations commissioned of Lionel Marchetti, Thomas Lehn, Philip Zoubek and Wolfram, &c.

Christina Kubisch
Dreaming Of A Major Third
(Edition Rz)
Christina Kubisch developed software to react to the variations in sunlight reflected on solar panels installed at an historic mill complex in the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, the sun's interactions driving pitch-shifted and envelope-altered samples from the original bells of that museum's clock tower to create a beautiful and illusory long-form recording.

Coclea
Coclea
(Shhpuma)
Clean Feed's side label Shhpuma presents a solo release from multi-instrumentalist Guilherme Goncalves (Gala Drop), dreamy and informed guitar-driven music borrowing from kosmische musik, Edgar Froese, or Loren Connors, in gorgeously paced lush instrumental music.

Eric La Casa
W2 (1998-2008) [2 CDs]
(Herbal International)
A journey in sound from composer Eric La Casa, who organized these recordings of water and wind captured over 12 years as a sonic journal of the various geographic locations he visited, transforming them into an absorbing story about the living world.

Machinefabriek W/ Anne Bakker
Deining
(Machinefabriek)
Deining, meaning "heave" or "commotion", is a long composition from the duo of Rutger Zuydervelt on sine tones and violinist Anne Bakker, who bows each string, sliding slowly from the lowest note to the highest and in reverse, creating an hallucination of shifting tones.

Manuel Zurria
Again & Again [2 CDs]
(ANTS Records)
Drawing from contemporary composers including Tom Johnson, Philip Glass, Steve Reich, Terry Riley, Adrian Democ, James Tenney, &c, this is the 3rd chapter of Italian flutist Manuel Zurria's project/research on "minimalisms" in contemporary music, taking an active interpretation of the classification over 16 informed and adventurous recordings.

Angharad Davies / Klaus Lang / Anton Lukoszevieze
Unfurling
(Another Timbre)
Instigated by Simon Reynell and Ryoko Akama and recorded on the last day of a residency at at Dai Hall in Huddersfield in early 2020, the long-standing collaborative relationship of violinist Angharad Davies and cellist Anton Lukoszevieze are joined by Klaus Lang on harmonium, heard in this incredibly rich, mesmerizing and fascinating journey in pitch, tone & timbre.

Magnus Granberg / Skogen
Let Pass My Weary Guiltless Ghost
(Another Timbre)
First performed in November 2019 at the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival and then at the Splitter Orchester festival in Berlin, this studio recording of Magnus Granberg's delicately complex and exquisitely dream-like composition features his Skogen ensemble, including Granberg, Rhodri Davies, Toshimaru Nakamura, Erik Carlsson, Petter Wastberg, &c.

Metal Moves
Metalkymist
(FMR)
Percussionist Steve Hubback's project Metal Moves presents the percussionist, composer and instrument maker's work, using drums, gongs, bells, cymbals and percussive sculptures in well-developed compositions, evoking mysterious environments that evolve into muscular displays of extraordinary power, a beautifully balanced album of uniquely voice solo percussion.

Harley Gaber
Indra's Net
(Edition Rz)
A hybrid acoustic tape piece of solo violin on four track tape, and a work for four violins, composed in 1974 by Harley Gaber, delicate pieces that he considered complements to his large work "The Winds Rise in the North".

Morton Feldman
Patterns In A Chromatic Field [2 CDs]
(Hat [now] ART)
Feldman's idiosyncratic large composition is also one of his more active, influenced by John Cage, and using a score that defines organizational procedures in chordal and chromatic patterns, as realized in this '93 recording by Rohan de Saram (cello) and Marianne Schroeder (piano).

Morton Feldman
Trio
(Hat [now] ART)
Reissuing the 1996 recording of Morton Feldmans' "Trio" performed by Ives Ensemble members Job Ter Haar on cello, John Snijders on piano, and Josje Ter Haar on violin, Feldman's compositions sparse with tension over spacious moments of lyrical beauty, tense dissonance, unhurried repetition, and a sense of drifting momentum; evasive yet beautiful music.

Linda Smith Catlin
Wanderer
(Another Timbre)
Eight sophisticated chamber pieces composed by Linda Catlin Smith and realized by the Canadian Apartment House ensemble, including a solo piano performed by Philip Thomas, a piano duo with Thomas and Mark Knoop, and works for percussion & cello, 2 quintet pieces for strings, percussion and winds, and two 7-piece conducted works with two percussionists, strings and brass.

Julius Eastman / Apartment House
Femenine
(Another Timbre)
A live recording of Julius Eastman's 1974 work "Femenine" performed by Apartment House led by cellist Anton Lukoszevieze, with Simon Limbrick on vibraphone, Kerry Yong on piano, Mark Knoop on keyboard, Mira Benjamin on violin, and Gavin Morrison and Emma Williams on flute, an ecstatic and intricate work using a repeating figure contrasted with both asynchronous and complementing backgrounds.

Alvin Lucier
Works for the Ever Present Orchestra [2 CDs]
(Black Truffle)
Pieces written for the Ever Present Orchestra, a 13-piece ensemble formed in 2016 exclusively to perform composer Alvin Lucier's works, with a core of 4 guitarists, 3 saxophones, 4 violins and piano, here presenting Lucier's continuing exploration of the behaviour of sound in physical space, blending electronic and acoustic sources with subtle tension and mystery.

Alvin Lucier
Works for the Ever Present Orchestra [VINYL 2 LPs]
(Black Truffle)
Pieces written for the Ever Present Orchestra, a 13-piece ensemble formed in 2016 exclusively to perform composer Alvin Lucier's works, with a core of 4 guitarists, 3 saxophones, 4 violins and piano, here presenting Lucier's continuing exploration of the behaviour of sound in physical space, blending electronic and acoustic sources with subtle tension and mystery.

Cornelius Cardew
Material
(Hat [now] ART)

Luigi Nono
20 Jahre Inventionen V
(Edition Rz)
Three compositions by Luigi Nono, recorded at the Berlin festival "Inventionen", live electronics moving away from clear spatial and timbral assignations rendering the acoustic instruments barely recognizable.

Horatiu Radulescu
Clepsydra / Astray [VINYL]
(Edition Rz)
Romanian-French composer Horatiu Radulescu with 2 works from 1983: "Clepsydra" for 16 Sound Icons played on a sideway piano, and the 1984 work "Astray" for 6 saxophones and Sound Icons.

Jennings / Cage / Tilbury / Lexer
Lost Daylight
(Another Timbre)
Pianist John Tilbury is captured with remarkable clarity by Sebastian Lexer as he performs works by composers Terry Jennings and John Cage (with Lexer on electronics); superb performances!

Earle Brown
Synergy
(Hat [now] ART)
Remastered edition of Earle Brown's conducting debut with the Ensemble Avantgarde in Leipzig, presenting his proportional and graphic score "Event: Synergy II", along with 2 other works of distinctive structure.

Morton Feldman
Piano Three Hands, Intermission 5, Vertical Thoughts 2, Extensions 3, Four Instruments, Intermission 5, Piano Piece 1956 A + B, Intersection 3, Instruments 1
(Edition Rz)
A collection of Feldman compositions primarily for piano as recorded by his earliest interpreters: Cornelius Cardew, John Tilbury, David Tutor, Cantilene Chamber Players, and Feldman himself.

Josef Riedl Anton
Klangregionen 1951-2007
(Edition Rz)
Two CD set of electronic and concrete compositions from German composer Riedl, with recordings from Siemens-Studio for elektronische Musik and Studio for konkrete Musik.

Michael Von Biel
S/T
(Edition Rz)
German composer, cellist and fluxus artist Michael von Biel in 5 works, two performed by the Pellegrini-Quartett in 2003, a string quartet from '67, and two electronic works from '64 & '68.

Luigi Nono
A Carlo Scarpa; A Pierre Dell'Azzurro Silenzio, Inquietum; Guai ai Gelidi Mostri [VINYL]
(Edition Rz)
3 works by composer Luigi Nono: "A Carlo Scarpa" for orchestra; "A Pierre..." for bass flute, bass clarinet and live elektronics; and "Guai ai Gelidi Mostri" for ensemble, voices and live elektronics.

Harley Gaber
The Winds Rise In The North
(Edition Rz)
Composer Harley Gaber wrote this piece for strings as an emotional examination of the questions posed by Taoist philosopher Chuang Tzu, here performed by a quintet including violinist Malcolm Goldstein.

Arnold Schonberg
Works For Piano
(Hat [now] ART)
Pi-hsien Chen performs Arnold Schonbgergs, a small part of his oeuvre, yet significant in that they reflect the evolution and development of this great composer's compositional powers.

Christian Wolff
Kompositionen 1950-1972 [2 CDs]
(Edition Rz)
A portrait of Christian Wolff, documenting the composer's early activity through recordings made close to the time of their composition from artists including Cornelius Cardew, Frederic Rzewski, David Tudor, &c.

Morton Feldman
Piano And String Quartet
(Bridge Records)
Composed two years before his death, Feldman's "Piano and String Quartet" is a wonderfully impressionistic piece that moves slowly, rendered beautifully by Vicki Ray and the Eclipse Quartet.

John Cage
Sonatas & Interludes (1946 - 1948)
(Hat [now] ART)
John Cage composed these 20 sonatas and "interludes" from 1946-1948, unique and inventive compositions for conventional and prepared piano, which noted Cage interpreter James Tenney recorded in 2002.

Hedvig Mollestad
Ekhidna [WHITE VINYL]
(Rune Grammofon)
In 2018 guitarist Hedvig Mollestad Thomassen received an invitation from the festival at Vossajazz commissioning a work for the 2019 festival, for which she expanded her instrumental rock trio to a sextet with trumpeter Susana Santos Silva, drummer Torstein Lofthus (Elephant9), percussionist Ole Mofjell, and keyboardists Marte Eberson & Erlend Slettevoll.

B.E.P.
Hamburger Midnight
(Inkanish)

Ich B!n Nintendo (Winther / Nergaard / Johansen)
Lykke [VINYL]
(Shhpuma)
The Ich Bin Nintendo trio of Christian Skar Winther (guitar & voice), Magnus Skavhaug Nergaard (bass) and Joakim Heibo Johansen (drums) take their improvised noise music into the post-punk world with demanding and energetic music that voices it's power and exultation.

Bill Orcutt / Michael Morley
Electric Guitar Duets [VINYL]
(Palilalia)
Reissuing on LP their 2016 limited cassette on the Land and Sea label of a performance by guitarists Michael Morley (Dead C) and Bill Orcutt (Harry Pussy, solo) at the L/S gallery in Oakland, Orcutt on a Fender Telecaster without effects and Morley on a modified 2006 Squire Telecaster made in Indonesia, in a conversation merging clear and crenulated playing.

Charles Hayward
Crossfade Estate
(Klanggalerie)
Recorded in 2005 with an ensemble of like-minded instrumentalists and then edited and collaged for the next year and a half, this was a project of Charles Hayward during his time at The Albany in Deptford, London, using their digital recording suite to create a large work using a variety of strategies and developed in a dramatic story form, issued here for the 1st time.

Das Rad (Archer / Robinson / Dinsdale)
Adios Al Futuro
(Discus)
The 2nd release from the UK instrumental rock band Das Rad of Nick Robinson on guitars, keyboards & electronics, Martin Archer on woodwind, keyboards, synth bass & electronics, and Steve Dinsdale on drums, keyboards & electronics, expand their sound and referenes as they tug on the heartstrings of prog, krautrock and other advanced rock forms with modern and mellotron-fueled orchestration.

Ruins
Tzomborgha
(Magaibutsu)

Art Bears
The World As it Is Today
(Recommended Records)

Tom Roe & A Forma Foma
Breakdown [7" Vinyl]
(free103.9)
This split 7" single tackles two very different versions of Tom Petty's "Breakdown" from free103point9 founder Tom Roe, and then by A Forma Foma.

Deluxx
The Tidy Boy [VINYL]
(Spirit of Orr)
One part Sonic Youth, one part early Residents, Deluxx is the anomalous output of NY/Boston transplant Mark Peretta, a one-man band of crazy riffs and warped song-spieling.

Tyler Higgins (w / Stevens / Higgins)
Blue Mood
(Shhpuma)
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.

Stop Motion Orchestra
Lightworks
(Megaphone / Knock 'Em Dead)
Fitting squarely in the Rock In Opposition mold, Stop Motion Orchestra is an Austin, Texas-based instrumental chamber rock band orchestrated with sax, violin, guitar, synth-bass, drums, here in their second album bringing a bright and melodic force that reminds of Hamster Theatre, Debile Menthol or L'Ensemble Raye; sophisticated, charming and knowledgeable music.

Das Rad (Archer / Robinson / Dinsdale)
Das Rad
(Discus)
Influenced by progressive rock, kosmiche, and fusion forms, the UK trio Das Rad of Nick Robinson on guitars & electronics, Martin Archer on sax, reeds, winds, keys and electronics, Steve Dinsdale on drums and percussion, and Julie Archer on voice, bringing 70s sounds to modern sensibilities and superb creative playing, a great achievement.

Cleric (John Zorn - Masada Book 3)
The Book Beri'ah Vol 2 | Chokhma
(Tzadik)
John Zorn's Masada Book Three, "The Book Beri'ah", continues in its second volume with this powerful and demanding album from the Philadelphia avant-metal band of Ludovic Beier on accordion & accordina, Timba Harris on violins, Matt Hollenberg on guitars & Oud, Dan Kennedy on bass, Larry Kwartowitz on drums, and Nick Shellenberger on keyboards & vocals.

Electric Bird Noise
Hearn-Roberts-Strong-Watts
(Silber)
Guitarist Electric Bird Noise, aka Brian Lea McKenzie, continues his string of slightly off-center rock albums, primarily instrumental work, this album including a muscular quartet with Jason Hearn on drums, Bradley Wayne Roberts on bass, Steve Strong on drums, plus an Alan Watts narration; 8 dramatic tracks using loops, effects, backward tracking and other aural trickery.

Elephant9 w/ Reine Fiske
Psychedelic Backfire II
(Rune Grammofon)
The second of two "Psychedelic Backfire"s, The Norwegian Elephant 9 improvising rock trio of drummer Torstein Lofthus, bassist Nikolai Haengsle, and keyboardist Stale Storlokken are joined by Dungen guitarist Reine Fiske for an exciting live concert at Kampen Bistro, in Oslo in 2019, the interaction of Fiske and Storlokken a fine example that prog rock is still a vital form.

Bill Orcutt
Odds Against Tomorrow
(Palilalia)
After his recent work interpreting the American Songbook, guitarist Bill Orcutt returns to his own compositions in an album cleanly recorded through a Fender Twin in Orcutt's living room, with three pieces multi-tracked, the rest simply pure Orcutt, reflecting beautiful blues-tinged lyricism, jarring interwining of notes, and impressive passages of superb virtuosity.

Koenjihyakkei
Angherr Shisspa Revisited [VINYL]
(Skin Graft)
A new edition of Koenjihyakkei's landmark fourth album, blending progressive rock, jazz fusion, symphonic rock and neoclassicism with the energy of hardcore punk, the volume of metal and the attitude of Rock In Opposition, from Tatsuya Yoshida on drums, Sakamoto Kengo on bass, Kanazawa Miyako on keyboards Yamamoto Kyoko on voice, and Komori Keiko on reeds.

Keiji Haino / Sumac
Even for just the briefest moment Keep charging this "expiation" [VINYL 2 LPs]
(Trost Records)
The second collaboration between the American avant-metal rock trio Sumac of guitarist Aaron Turner, drummer Nick Yacyshyn and bassist Brian Cook and Japanese legendary guitarist and vocalist Keiji Haino finds the quartet settling down from their first blast of an album, here slowly building their heavy feedback-drenched, ponderous and epic music.

Univers Zero
Phosphorescent Dreams [VINYL]
(Sub Rosa)
Originally released in Japan on the Arcangelo label, this 2014 album from Daniel Denis' Univers Zero finds the chamber rock band in a tightly dynamic configuration of reeds, keys, guitar, bass, drums and percussion, as they present intricately dark, complex musical schemes that reference avante classical forms through powerfully expressive rock forms.

Bob Drake
The Gardens of Beastley Manor
(Recommended Records)
Bob Drake takes his listeners on a 22 piece instrumental journey through a "Beastley" garden of confident melodic foundation anBob Drake takes his listeners on a 22 piece instrumental journey through a "Beastley" garden of confident melodic foundation and experimental forays, captured by day and night, a tour de force of conception and execution.

Mako Sica / Hamid Drake
Balancing Tear [VINYL]
(Astral Spirits)
A mix of studio and live recordings in the 2nd collaboration between Chicago's improvising rock trio Mako Sica of Przemyslaw Krys Drazek on trumpets & electric guitar, Brent Fuscaldo on bass and percussion, Chaetan Newell on piano & percussion, meeting with legendary drummer Hamid Drake for an album of expansive, psychedelically-tinged, lushly sonic improvisation.

Dean Roberts
Not Fire
(erstwhile)
Berlin-based songwriter Dean Roberts' first album in 12 years is a collection of dark and melancholic songs, set in unusual formats based around guitar, electronics, strings, with subtle rhythmic elements, performed by Dean's Dark Moth Ensemble, with additional musicians that include Boris Hauf on piano and The Neck's keyboardist Chris Abrahams on harp.

Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O. feat. Geoff Leigh
Chosen Star Child's Confession
(RIOT SEASON)
The Japanese space rock collective Acid Mothers Temple led by Makoto Kawabata & Hiroshi Higashi, reformed in 2015 with new members and here featuring Henry Cow wind player Geoff Leigh on flute and sax, take on a free-form and sometimes mellower psychedelia as the band dips in and out of our space, dimension, and time while re-imagining the best of kraut/prog/spacerock.

KNW
<<NORTH ov GOD>>
(Psykomanteum)
An album of ecstatic noise improv with an experimental edge from the trio of Ulrich Krieger on tenor saxophone & contrabass clarinet, Nandor Nevai on "throats" & drums, and Wolcott on oscillator & electronics, viciously assertive music in seven track of mostly succinct statements composed or conceived by each of the band members; cathartic.

John Coltrane Quartet
Impressions Graz 1962
(ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)
Taking his quartet on a European tour in the fall of 1962, Coltrane's band with McCoy Tyner on piano, Jimmy Garrison on double bass, and Elvin Jones on drums performed in Graz, Austria at Stefaniensaal, the concert beautifully recorded by ORF Steiermark and here released as the first of two volumes, showing both Coltrane's lyrical origins and expanding free inclinations.

John Coltrane Quartet
My Favorite Things Graz 1962
(ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)
The 2nd volume from tenor & soprano saxophonist John Coltrane 1962 tour of Europe and Scandinavia, heard here in late November at Stefaniensaal, Graz with his quartet of pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Jimmy Garrison, and drummer Elvin Jones, the band playing classic numbers under the influence of Coltrane's expanding drive to transform his music toward greater freedom.

Albert Ayler Quartets
Spirits To Ghosts Revisited (remastered)
(ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)
Three variations of quartet settings from iconoclastic free jazz saxophonist Albert Ayler, remastering and combining two Debut Records albums, "Spirits" from 1964 with Norman Howard (trumpet), Sunny Murray (drums), and alternating bass between Henry Grimes & Earle Henderson; and 1965's "Ghosts" on Debut Records with Don Cherry (trumpet), Gary Peacock (bass), and Sunny Murray.

Marion Brown
Capricorn Moon To Juba Lee (remastered)
(ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)
Merging and remastering two essential albums from free jazz saxophonist Marion Brown: his 1966 ESP album "Marion Brown Quartet" with trumpeter Alan Shorter, bassist Reggie Johnson and percussionist Rahied Ali; and his 1967 Fontana album "Juba-Lee" in a septet with Reggie Johnson, drummer Beaver Harris, pianist Dave Burrell, trombonist Grachan Moncur III & saxophonist Bennie Maupin.

Henry Kaiser
Problems are only opportunities in work clothes.
(Fractal Music)
FREE WITH ANY ORDER!

Henry Kaiser performs a live guitar solo on a borrowed Downes 101HB baritone guitar with no overdubs, just delays and no looping, provided by Henry Kaiser to Squidco as a free item to accompany any other Squidco purchase where the customer requests a copy, intended to help stores like Squidco during this time of pandemic; for which we are extremely grateful!

Joe Morris
Perpetual Frontier The Properties of Free Music [BOOK]
(Riti Publishing)
Joe Morris wrote this book to discuss aspects of free music, including responses to his questionnaire written by Joe McPhee, William Parker, Jamie Saft, Ken Vandermark, Marilyn Crispell, Nate Wooley, Jack Wright, Matthew Shipp, &c.

Daniel Carter / Matthew Shipp / William Parker / Gerald Cleaver
Welcome Adventure! Vol. 1
(577)
After decades playing together, the quartet of Daniel Carter on tenor sax, trumpet & flute, Matthew Shipp on piano, William Parker on bass, and Gerald Cleaver on drums, release the first of two planned studio albums, with two extended and remarkably warm collective excursions bookending a shorter "Scintillate", in an exceptionally solid album of masterful modern jazz.

Albert Ayler Trio
1964 Prophecy Revisted
(ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)
With the essential sidemen to express his unique voice and approach to free jazz, saxophonist Albert Ayler, double bassist Gary Peacock, and drummer Sunny Murray, recorded these sessions in 1964 for the ESP label as "Prophecy", this excellent reissue & remaster also adding the live "Albert Smiles with Sunny" (inRespect) from the same concert; essential.

Marion Brown
Why Not? Porto Novo! Revisited
(ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)
Reissuing two essential albums from saxophonist Marion Brown--Why Not? (ESP, 1968) and Porto Novo (Polydor, 1969)--the first recorded in NY in a quartet with pianist Stanley Cowell, bassist Sirone and drummer Rashied Ali, the second recorded in The Netherlands in a trio with Han Bennink on drums and Maarten Van Regteren Altena on double bass; essential.

Cecil Taylor / Tony Oxley
Birdland / Neuburg 2011
(Listen! Foundation (Fundacja Sluchaj!))
Performing in the intimacy of the Birdland Jazz Club in 2011, New York innovative pianist Cecil Taylor met with London free jazz legendary percussionist and long-time associate in The Feel Trio, Tony Oxley, Taylor's rapid often percussive approach to the keys pairing with Oxley's percussive work, and both invoking lyrical beauty from the other.

Morton Feldman (Philip Thomas)
Piano [5 CD BOX SET]
(Another Timbre)
Containing the majority of minimalist composer Morton Feldman's compositions for solo piano, 3 CDs of short works and 2 for the magnificent "For Bunita Marcus" and "Triadic Memories", performed by one of the foremost interpreters of Feldman's work, Philip Thomas, and presented in a sturdy 5-CD box set with a 52 page booklet of notes from the performer and artwork.

TEST / Roy Campbell
TEST / Roy Campbell
(577)
A live recording from 1999 at Hint House in Harlem of TEST, led by Tom Bruno on drums with Matthew Heyner on bass and Sabir Mateen on alto & tenor sax, flute & clarinet, joined by Daniel Carter on alto & tenor sax, trumpet & flute, the set recorded by Matt Motel who captures the essence of this freewheeling band who brought their music not only to jazz clubs, but also to the street and subway.

New York Contemporary Five
Consequences Revisited
(ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)
Though short-lived, the New York Contemporary Five brought together NY free players Don Moore on bass, J.C. Moses on drums, Archie Shepp on tenor saxophone, and Don Cherry on trumpet with Danish alto saxophonist John Tchicai, in a remastered edition of their 1966 album "Consequences", expanded with Shepp's revisiting of the material in a sextet with Sunny Murray and Ted Curson.

Derek Bailey / Han Bennink / Evan Parker
Topographie Parisienne [4 CDs]
(Fou Records)
Recorded in 1981 by audio engineer and label owner Jean-Marc Foussat, the trio of guitarist Derek Bailey, saxophonist Evan Parker, and drummer/multi-instrumentalist Han Bennink are heard in an amazing evening of performance at 28 rue Dunois, in Paris, France, in duo and trio configurations, exploring material similar to Parker's "Topography of the Lungs"; essential.

Sun Ra Arkestra
Heliocentric Worlds 1 and 2
(ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)
The two volumes of "Heliocentric Worlds", recorded 7 months apart in 1965, represent perhaps one of greatest chapters in Sun Ra's legacy, bringing together his immense orchestration skills with future-leaning free jazz, allowing his players expanse inside disciplined compositions that reflect on both space and the then-new freedom explored by jazz soloists.

Polwechsel / Klaus Lang
Unseen
(ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)
The innovative acoustic free improvising ensemble Polwechsel, bridging contemporary music and free improvisation in ways that sound deceptively electroacoustic and comprised of Michael Moser on cello, Werner Dafeldecker on double bass, and Martin Brandlmayr & Burkhard Beins on cymbals & percussion, are joined by Klaus Lang performing on the church organ of St. Lambrecht's Abbey.

Assif Tsahar
ayn le-any
(Hopscotch Records)
FREE WITH ANY ORDER!

A freestyling solo album from NY/Israeli saxophonist Assif Tsahar, performing on tenor sax and bass clarinet in an exciting three-part improvisation of avant forms of technical dexterity and extended range through emphatic and sustained expression of long lines and cycling figures that shift and transform; a great example of Tsahar's skill and imagination.

Charlie Parker
Selections From The DIAL Recordings
(ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)
The first of two volumes in celebration of legendary saxophonist Charlie Parker's 100th birthday, here remastering his landmark recordings for the Dial label on the US West Coast between 1946-47, performing with jazz greats including Miles Davis, Lucky Thompson, Erroll Garner, Barney Kessel, Red Calender, JJ Johson, Max Roach, &c. for some of Parker's best known and essential compositions.

Sam Rivers / Joe Daley / Dave Holland / Barry Altschul / Charlie Persip
Zenith
(NoBusiness)
2nd in a projected 8-volume series of reed & wind player Sam Rivers archival recordings produced Ed Hazell and NoBusiness; "Zenith" is a masterful 1977 recording at Jazztage Berliner with Sam Rivers on sax, flute & piano, Joe Daley on tuba & euphonium, Dave Holland on bass &, cello, and Barry Altschul & Charlie Persip on drums, in an extended, diverse and exceptional set.

Charlie Parker
Selections From The SAVOY Recordings
(ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)
The second of two volumes in celebration of legendary saxophonist Charlie Parker's 100th birthday, here remastering his landmark recordings for the Savoy label in New York City between 1945-48, performing with jazz greats including Bud Powell, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, John Lewis, Curley Russel, Max Roach, &c. for some of be-bop's finest and best known compositions.

Marc Copland / Drew Gress / Joey Baron
And I Love Her
(Illusions/Mirage)
Brought together originally as the rhythm section for John Abercrombie, the trio of pianist Marc Copland, bassist Drew Gress and drummer Joey Baron have continued on as a performing trio, heard here in NYC for a lyrical set of standards, popular tunes, and originals including pieces by Coltrane, Hancock, Lennon-McCartney, Cole Porter, and John Abercrombie.

Jimmy Giuffre 3 (w / Bley / Swallow)
Graz Live 1961
(ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)
After introducing his new trio with pianist Paul Bley and double bassist Steve Swallow in two 1961 albums on Verve, clarinetist Jimmy Giuffre embarked on a tour of Europe, this recently discovered, well-recorded concert in Graf, Austria the perfect example of his unique concepts yielding intensely focused, harmonically challenging, rhythmically abstract, and exquisite chamber jazz.

Thumbscrew (Fujiwara / Halvorson / Formanek)
The Anthony Braxton Project
(Cuneiform)
The Thumbscrew trio of NY improvisers Tomas Fujiwara on drums & vibes, Mary Halvorson on guitar, and Michael Formanek on double bass, turn their focus to their shared history with composer and reedist Anthony Braxton as he celebrates his 75th birthday, performing 11 previously unheard compositions selected from Composition No. 14 through No. 274; masterful and profound.

Taylor Bynum Ho 9-tette
The Ambiguity Manifesto
(Firehouse 12 Records)
Grown from a sextet to this 9-tette, cornetist/composer Taylor Ho Bynum's ensemble brings together some of the finest improvisers from the Boston and New York scenes for compositions that merge orchestration and allow flexibility in interpretation, as heard in these 7 lyrical pieces, the last 3 turning the first 3 on their heads in reworked, expanded versions.

Satoko Fujii / Orchestra New York
Entity
(Libra)
Satoko Fujii leads her 13-piece big band through 5 thrilling and insightful compositions with a who's-who of NY improvisation: Nels Cline (guitar), Ches Smith (drums), Joe Fiedler & Curt Hasselbring (drums), Oscar Noriega, Ellery Eskelin, Briggan Krauss, Andy Laster & Tony Malaby (sax), Herb Robertson, Natsuki Tamura & Dave Ballou (trumpet) & bassist Stomu Takeishi; wow!

Sam Rivers Trio feat Dave Holland / Barry Altschul
Ricochet
(NoBusiness)
Captured live in San Francisco in 1978, the lastest in the NoBusiness Sam Rivers Archive series finds the masterful wind player in peak form with the trio of Dave Holland on bass & cello, and Barry Altschul on drums, Rivers on tenor & soprano sax, flute & piano, in the 52 minute free jazz epic "Ricochet", a high-energy work of diverse mood and character; superb!

Kimmig-Studer-Zimmerlin and George Lewis
S/T
(ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)
The innovative string trio of Daniel Studer on double bass, Harald Kimmig on violin, and Alfred Zimmerlin on cello, develop focused environments of timbre, texture, dynamic and space, seemingly abstract yet incredibly concentrative and virtuosic interaction, here joined by Chicago trombonist and electronics artist George Lewis adding a 4th profound layer to their incredible conversation.

George Lewis / Ozana Omelchuk (Studio Dan)
Breaking News
(ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)
Two works commissioned by the Austrian Studio Dan ensemble: "As We May Feel" by George Lewis, referencing visionary engineer Vannevar Bush's concepts of data linking & association, in a work reminding how music recombines and associates; and Oxana Omelchuk's double concerto for two trombonists, "Wow and Flutter", taking listeners on a profound journey through recording technologies.

Karl Evangelista (w/ Alexander Hawkins / Louis Moholo-Moholo / Trevor Watts)
Apura! [2 CDs]
(Astral Spirits)
Filipino guitarist Karl Evangelista translates the name of the seminal South African sextet Chris McGregor Group's album "Very Urgent" to the tagalog equivalent--"Apura!"-- recording in London with McGregor group drummer Louis Moholo-Moholo and kindred soul Trevor Watts on saxophones, plus luminary pianist Alexander Hawkins, for a sophisticated album of exemplary collective improv.

London Jazz Composers Orchestra
That Time
(Not Two)
Released for their 50th anniversary, The LJCO, in configurations of up to 21 musicians including Derek Bailey, Trevor Watts, Evan Parker, Peter Brotzmann, &c., perform works by Kenny Wheeler, Barry Guy, Paul Rutherford and Howard Riley, captured live at the Berliner Jazztage in 1972; at Donaueschingen Musiktage in 1972; in the studio in 1980; and London's Round House in 1980.

Brotzmann / Schlippenbach / Bennink
Fifty Years After... Live at the Lila Eule 2018
(Trost Records)
50 years after saxophonist Peter Brotzmann's Octet recorded the legendary "Machine Gun" album, the trio of Berlin pianist, composer Alexander von Schlippenbach and Dutch percussionist Han Bennink commemorated the album at Lila Eule in Bremen, the concert heard here so successful that the trio decided to release the album and continue on as a working trio.

Joe Morris
Instantiation: Paradoxical
(Glacial Erratic)
One part of New York improvising guitarist and composer Joe Morris' "Instantiation" project, where each part is uniquely composed with specific notated and operational components making each impossible to perform the same way twice, here in a studio recording with clarinetist Dan O'Brien, bassist Brad Barrett, and violinist Elinor Speirs.

Tomeka Reid / Kyoko Kitamura / Tyler Ho Bynum / Joe Morris
Geometry Of Distance
(Relative Pitch)
Following their debut album, "Geometry of Caves", the quartet of improvising musicians Joe Morris (guitar), Tomeka Reid (cello), Taylor Ho Bynum (cornet) and Kyoko Kitamura (voice) return for this album of passionate free improvisation, here even more attuned as a group as they employ their collective language using unusual technique and incredible expertise; spectacular!

Chicago Underground Quartet
Good Days
(Astral Spirits)
19 years after the last Chicago Underground Quartet album, this session with Rob Mazurek on piccolo trumpet, electronics & bells, Jeff Parker on electric guitar, and Chad Taylor on drums, percussion and newcomer Josh Johnson on synth bass & keys is a warm reunion, with individual compositions from Taylor, Mazurek & Parker, and two solo pieces by Mazurek and Taylor.

Jubileum Quartet (Leandre / Parker / Fermandez / Kaucic)
A UIS ?
(Not Two)
Celebrating 40 years of Zlatko Kaucic's professional career as a musician, the quartet of Joelle Leandre on acoustic bass, Evan Parker on tenor saxophone, Agusti Fernandez on piano, and Zlatko Kaucic on drums & objects are heard live at the 23th Cerkno Jazz Festival in 2018 for an extended and stunning set, from the most active to the most introspective of moments.

Susan Alcorn / Joe McPhee / Ken Vandermark
Invitation To A Dream
(Astral Spirits)
An excellent album of informed free improvisation in the debut of this masterful trio of legendary musicians spread across the US--Joe McPhee on soprano sax & pocket trumpet [NY], Ken Vandermark on tenor sax & clarinet [Chicago], and Susan Alcorn on pedal steel guitar [Texas], a profound album from assertive to introspective playing in seven captivating collective improvisations.

Nate Wooley
Battle Pieces 4
(Relative Pitch)
"Battle Pieces" uses trumpeter Nate Wooley's "social music" system, where each piece is constructed for a soloist who improvises with no score while the remaining player choose at will from over 75 compositions over which the soloist must find their path; here at Roulette in NYC with Nate Wooley, Sylvie Courvoisier, Ingrid Laubrock, & Matt Moran.

Kuzu (Rempis / Dorji / Damon)
Purple Dark Opal
(Aerophonic)
In 2018 on their 2nd tour, the Kuzu trio of Dave Rempis on alto, tenor & baritone saxophones, Tashi Dorji on guitar, and Tyler Damon on drums, captured this, their 15th concert in the tour, at The Sugar Maple, in Milwaukee, an extended improvisation that lives up to its title in dark ruminations that reveal beauty and rare color through powerful and passionate playing.

Various Artists (Barry Guy/Joelle Leandre/Rafal Mazur/Paal Nilssen-Love/Zlatko Kaucic/Agusti Fernandez/Mats Gustafsson/Ken Vandermark/Mikolaj Trzaska/Peter Brotzmann/Steve Swell/Per Ake Holmlander/Maya Homburger)
Not Two... But Twenty [5 CDs in Wooden Box]
(Not Two)
Not Two Records celebrates their 20th Anniversary with a festival in Wlen, Poland, inviting 13 of the finest European & US improvisers--Guy, Leandre, Mazur, Nilssen-Love, Kaucic, Fernandez, Gustafsson, Vandermark, Trzaska, Brotzmann, Swell, Holmlander, & Homburg--performing in configurations from duo to quintet, released in a limited 5-CD wooden box set.

Satoko Inoue
Presents Jo Kondo's New Works For Piano
(ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)
The second album of piano works from Japanese composer Jo Kondo performed by pianist Satoko Inoue--a noted interpreter of solo works by Feldman, Ferrari, and Cage--here presenting all of Kondo's works for solo piano written from 2001 to 2012, alongside two early works from 1975, exploring a wealth of harmonic, rhythmic, and conceptual ideas from a diversity of projects.

Peter Brotzmann / Lonberg-Holm, Fred
Memories Of A Tunicate
(Relative Pitch)
While both improvisers were in New York City for the 2019 Vision Festival, multi-reedist and European Free Improv legend Peter Brötzmann met Chicago cellist and electronics artist Fred Lonberg-Holm to record their 3rd album together, their 1st album in the studio a diverse set of incredible concentration, with Brötzmann performing on tenor saxophone, woodwind, and clarinet.

Eve Risser
Apres Un Reve
(Clean Feed)
A remarkably varied and unique approach to prepared piano that French pianist Eve Risser refers to as "piano droit", heard in her performance at FGO Barbara, in Paris on an upright piano, chosen for its specific mechanical qualities that allow Risser to generate a surprising amount of rhythmic variety, as she performs a single work mixing composed and improvised elements.

Ken Vandermark w/ Butcher / Drake / Kessler / McPhee / Mori / Noble / Prevost / Rasmussen / Tilbury / Wooley
Unexpected Alchemy [7-CD BOX]
(Not Two)
Recorded during Ken Vandermark's residency titled "The Unexpectable", in Krakow in 2017 at Klub Alchemia, plus concerts at Hevre and Black Box in Germany, with duos, trios and quartets in a variety of configurations with artists including Ken Vandermark, Nate Wooley, Ikue Mori, John Butcher, Kent Kessler, Steve Noble, Mette Rasmussen, Eddie Prevost, Joe McPhee &c.

Tim Berne / Nasheet Waits
The Coanda Effect
(Relative Pitch)
A tour de force saxophone duo between two masterful New York players--alto saxophonist Tim Berne and drummer Nasheet Waits--recording live at The Sultan Room in Brooklyn NY in 2019, in two impressive dialogs: "Tensile" for nearly 40 minutes of articulate expression and powerful rhythmic interaction; and the more introspective "5See" of impressive technique and intention.

Gerald Cleaver
Signs
(577)
Taking his cues from the electronic music of his Detroit roots, free jazz drummer Gerald Cleaver presents an album of synthetic rhythms and sonic landscape, each piece composed in detailed arrangements of compelling and adventurous structures, from propulsive grooves to sinuous soundscapes, a surprising and exciting twist showing Cleaver's strong compositional skills.

Barre Phillips
Thirty Years In Between [2 CDs]
(Victo)
The title to be taken literally, these two solo concerts recorded in Canada by French-based US bassist Barre Phillips, the first recorded at Vancouver Western Front in 1989, the 2nd from the 35th International Festival Music Festival of Victoriaville in 2019, both exemplary concerts showing his masterful skills and ability to captivate then and now.

Keith Tippett
Musician Supreme [4 CD BOX SET]
(FMR)
Collecting 4 albums with pianist Keith Tippetts: The Bern Concert, a 1993 live duo with Howard Riley; Linückea, a 2000 studio album with The Kreutzer String Quartet plus a narrated work; The Dartington Trio of Keith Tippett, Julie Tippetts & Paul Dunmall live in 2003; and The Dartington Trio Live at The Priory at the Southend International Jazz Festival.

John Butcher / Thomas Lehn / Matthew Shipp
The Clawed Stone
(RogueArt)
Matthew Shipp (piano), John Butcher (saxophones) and Thomas Lehn (electronics) in a studio album recorded in France in 2017, a uniquely voiced collective trio of transformative improvisation, Lehn's additions and modifications blending perfectly with Shipp's solid foundations and Butcher's advanced technical expression, for an engrossing and expressive set of recordings.

Henry Cow
The Henry Cow Box Redux: The Complete Henry Cow [17 CDs, 1 DVD, 250pg Book]
(Recommended Records)
The ultimate Henry Cow collection bringing together all of the 40th anniversary releases of this influential and innovative band, with all the remastered studio CDs, live CDs, Bonus CD, DVDs and booklets from each prior box, plus an additional 60 page booklet of band commentaries, pictures and other documents prepared specifically for this release, all in a sturdy & handsome box.

Evan Parker / Barry Guy / Paul Lytton
Concert In Vilnius
(NoBusiness)
Three British free jazz giants, having worked in a number of configurations and as a trio over many decades, are caught live in the Russian Drama Theater during the 2017 Vilnius Jazz Festival--Evan Parker on soprano & tenor saxophones, Barry Guy on bass, and Paul Lytton on drums, for four improvisations of nuance and surprise, incredible mastery, and profound conversation.