Burkhard Schlothauer presents two works by John Cage written for septet, using indeterminacy in a score where each instrumental part is given twenty time brackets, allowing overlapping sounds which will be shaped depending on choices from each performer.

Composer Jurg Frey's 1988 work "String Quartet" realized by Nadia Francavilla, Clemens Merkel, Stephanie Bozzini and Isabelle Bozzini, exploring ideas of audibility: the moment when sound waves move in space and the air touches the body.

Fritz Welch and Guido Hennebohl present a strange and discomforting album of electronic madness, as they "rattle them pots and pans, slap-the-cheek slurps and stick sharp elbows into a web of goof-off electronics" as they pursue the message of freedom.

Carl Ludwig Hubsch (tuba); Ole Schmidt (bass clarinet); Chris Weinheimer (bass flute); Robert Schleisiek (piano); and Tom Lorenz (vibraphone) interpret Christian Wolff's composition based on "Union Maid", a song from the 1920's, transforming the work through temporal expansion.

Edwin Alexander Buchholz performs this beautiful work by John Cage on accordion, originally written for the Japanese sho, where sounds are single tones and chords, up to six part harmonies, or as Cage wrote, "sounds brushed into existence as in oriental calligraphy".

Antoine Beuger's minimalist work for American painter Marcia Hafif, known for her monochrome paintings, in 24 tonal works each 3 minutes long using stationary waves of eight frequencies from a different octave and punctuated by silence.

One composition each from Antoine Beuger and John Cage performed on the oboe by Kathryn Gleasman Pisaro; Beuger's work presents tones in regular intervals offset by silence; Cage's piece uses pitch and tone color with microtonal inflections, mutes and harmonic fingerings.

Antoine Beuger, Burkhard Schlothauer, Chico Mello, Jurg Frey, Kunsu Shim, Michael Pisaro-Liu, and Thomas Stiegler participate in this realization of Christian Wolff's compositions to make sounds or draw sounds out of stones, alone or with other surfaces, acoustically or amplified.

Henry Threadgill's tribute to friend, composer-conductor Lawrence D. Butch Morris, in a detailed 4-part work with an excellent set of improvisers: Henry Threadgill, Jose Davila, Jason Moran, Christopher Hoffman, David Virelles, Roman Filiu, Curtis Macdonald, and Craig Weinrib.

The follow-up to drummer/composer Dan Weiss's release "Fourteen" presents a larger ensemble taking on jazz, world music, prog rock, contemporary classical music and more in compositions named for drummers, with a diverse orchestration of acoustic and unconventional instruments.

This progressive/folk/jazz/improv/experimental/psych quartet from Norway covers a diverse set of approaches to improvisation, from textural, minimalistic and radically abstract, like something AMM would play, using graphic and written notation.

An inventive and lyrical set of duos between Chicago tenor saxophonist and bass clarinetist Keefe Jackson and vibraphonist Jason Adasiewicz, nine concise pieces that blend free improvisation with compositions seamlessly in a really delightful duo.

The trio of Achim Kaufmann on piano, Frank Gratkowski on sax and clarinets, and Wilbert de Joode on bass, has performed together since the mid-80s, developing a unique language of dynamic, texture and rhythmic complexity that puts them at the forefront of European collective improv.

Freely improvised collective with an electroacoustic inclination and chamber music reserve from the quintet of Dre Hoceva (drums), Bran De Looze (piano), Lester St. Louis (cello), Chris Pitsiokos (sax) and Philip White (electronics & signal processing).

New York drummer Harris Eisenstadt revives his trio with trombonist Jeb Bishop and bassist Jason Roebke, adding tenor saxophonist Tony Malaby, recording in the studio after two concerts at John Zorn's venue The Stone in 2015, heard in here in momentous and heartfelt jazz.

Hard driving free jazz and hard bop from the German trio of Chris Pitsioko on alto sax, Noah Punkt on electric bass, and Philipp Scholz on drums and percussion, referencing the past with their foot clearly in the present through propulsive and creatively heavy playing.

Bay Area trumpeter Darren Johnston meets improvising guitar legend Fred Frith for an incredibly well-paced series of duos, remarkable improv that uses space, skill, extended techniques and unexpected approaches to both instruments in vivid and beautiful discourse.

A live recording at Greenwich House Music School in New York City in 2014, and the 3rd album from the Renku trio of Michael Attias on alto sax, John Hebert on double bass, and Satoshi Takeishi on drums, lyrical and intimate trio work from three masterful players.

After performing at Jean-Herve Peron's 2010 Avant Garde Festival, Yumi Hara (keys, violin & voice), Geoff Leigh (winds & electronics), John Greaves (bass & piano) and Chris Cutler (drums & percussion) present their first studio album mixing open-minded composed and improvised music.

John Zorn's 4th volume of ritualistic organ improvisations, this recital was recorded at midnight on the eve of Halloween on St. Bart's organ, the largest in New York City, a massive sound of "contrasts, colors, bells, drones, counterpoint and simultaneity".

Composer John Zorn presents two books of "Madrigals" scored for six acappella female voices, rich and seductive compositions intertwining voices in beautiful, electrifying and riveting ways through 10 works inspired by the 19th century British poetry of Percy Bysshe Shelley.

Works for dance constructed by guitarist/composer Fred Frith as accompaniment to Amanda Miller's choreography for Nederland Dans Theater in 2011, revisited and revised by Frith into these beautiful pieces, with help from William Wynant, Lotte Anker, Karla Kihlstedt Arditti, &c.

The long-awaited, missing 2nd side of "Technology of Tears" recorded at Noise NY by Kramer, this album was written for theatre in 1987 using a host of avian and mammalian voices, snippets of unidentified musical material and electroacoustic noise-sculpting, for a dark and amazing album.

Michel Banabila's excellent melodically experimental electroacoustic label Tapu in their 2016 double CD sampler, with tracks from Banabila, Asid & Banabila, Banabila & Van Geel, Banabila & Machinefabriek, Banabila & Erker, and Banabila/Erker/Samson.

Harpist Gabriele Emde began performing contemporary music by exceptional 20th century artists in the early 80s; in this collection recorded from 1985 to 1987 she presents one of Cage's "Landscape" pieces, a major work by Hans Otte, and several short pieces by Lou Harrison.

In 1979 Joe McPhee, working with CJR produced Craig Johnson, recorded this set of overdubbed recordings of himself performing on saxes, trumpet and flugelhorn over original compositions showcasing solo, duo, trio and quartet contexts, an album of virtual McPhee ensembles!

Unreleased for more than 39 years, these remarkably creative live solo performances on trumpet, flugelhorn, flute, steelophone, percussion and gongs from improvisor and composer Wadada Leo Smith were recorded in Los Angeles in 1977, during his visionary Kabell Records years.

The original Pere Ubu keyboardist Allen Ravenstine in a limited edition release of analog electronics, an extraordinary album of rich sound taking unexpected twists and turns while showing the power of the EML synthesizer, coupled with a theremin.

An album of tones and tonal environments from Barry Chabala and A.F. Jones, using guitars and effects to create slowly moving tones punctuated with unusual utterances of unknown origin; rich and curiously non-specific sound that lives in the back- and foreground.

A long-term studio project/mutant big band merging collage, scored pieces, structured improvisations, cut-up jams, hi- and lo-fi textures, electroacoustic work, and location recording into large and wonderfully unpredictable compositions with few boundaries.

Led by composers Sam Eastmond and Nikki Franklin, The SPIKE Orchestra is a large ensemble that draws on a wide range of influences including Duke Ellington, Frank Zappa, Carl Stalling, Zorn and more, here performing the 26th "Book of Angels" covering Zorn's Masada book.

Israeli alto & soprano saxophonist Daniel Zamir returns to Tzadik with tracks from each of two quartets in a release of burning jazz, passionate, lyrical and technically exceptional playing in compositions that shift time signatures and moods with strong melodic focus.

An expanded reissue of Albert Ayler's 1965 live album "Bells" in a quintet with drummer Sunny Murray (drums), Gary Peacock (bass), Donald Ayler (trumpet) and Charles Tyler (alto sax), plus his 1975 "Prophecy" album in a trio with Murray and Peacock, plus tracks from "Albert Smiles with Sunny".

The magnetic heads on Takuji Naka's cassette decks and Tim Olive's magnetic pickups explain The New "Attractive" aspect of the title, as this duo use pliable metals, analog electronics and a battered spring reverb unit to create a unique journey in sound.

Saxophonist Junji Hirose met Kazuhisa Uchihashi at Foxhole in Kichijoji in 2014 and 2015, Uchihashi performing only on Hans Reichel's daxophone--wood shapes played in a variety of ways to create unusual sound--as heard on these 10 surprising and wonderfully idiosyncratic recordings.

15 wonderfully creative works from Boston-area saxophonist Jorrit Dijkstra, also on lyricon, analog synth and effects pedals, creating a one-man-band of unconventional sonic textures layered live, over which he improvises in fun and profound ways.

A 15-member ensemble of Boston area improvisers plus guests Jeb Bishop, Tony Malaby and Taylor Ho Bynum, taking their name from the deep-sea submersibles used for exploring, as this band survey's large form improvisation that blends free and melodic jazz in adventurous ways.

Blending melodic strength with post-bop intensity, Boston area improvisers Jorrit Dijkstra on alto sax, lyricon & analog synth, Pandelis Karayorgis on piano, Nate McBride on bass and Curt Newton on drums present 10 exuberant and unique modern jazz compositions.

Since 2007 NEXMAP has produced "Binary Cities", a performance series bringing together artists from different cities; in 2009 they brought guitarist Fred Frith and saxophonist Michel Doneda together in San Francisco for the first time for an incredible night of improvisation.

The long-standing partnership of saxophonist Ivo Perelman and pianist Matthew Shipp take color, with each track taking the name of a hue, mixing shades through free improvisation of subtle grace in a masterful dialog that only two such complementary players can present.

Ivo Perelman pays tribute to Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos through free improvisation, enlisting two violists--Mat Maneri and Tanya Kalmanovitch-for a uniquely orchestrated set of recordings with Perelman emulating and complementing the strings in engaging ways.

Saxophonist Ivo Perelman suggests the listener use the titles of these improvisations to create their own narratives for the fluid and oratory overtones of these lyrical instant compositions, performed with drummer Whit Dickey and pianist Matthew Shipp.

Guitarist Luis Jose Martins and pianist Joana Sa, known from their Shhpuma release "Almost a Song" and a release on Creative Sources, join again with harpist Eduardo Raon, with two Shhpuma releases, for a delicately complex, effervescent, and sometimes turbulent release.

Young Belgian pianist & composer Bram De Looze in a new Septych (septet) orchestrated with two cellos, three horns, piano and drums from a tremendous set of players: Daniel Levin, Gebhard Ullmann, Robin Verheyen, Lester St-Louis, Bo Van Der Werf and Flin Van Hemmen.

A live performance from Culturgest in Lisbon, Portugal, 2015 of Portugese trumpeter Susana Santos Silva and Slovenian pianist Kaja Draksler, presenting six free improvisations that showcase both the technical skills and the strong creative powers of both improvisers.

Guitarist Luis Lopes (Humanization 4tet, Lisbon-Berlin Trio) is known for his mix of jazz, blues, rock; saxophonist Guionnet (The Fish, Hubub) for a mix of free jazz and electroacoustic experimentation; together live they create a riveting and unexpected hybrid of sound.