Collaborators in Montreal projects including Ensemble Supermusique and Ratchet Orchestra, bass clarinetist Lori Freedman (Queen Mab Trio) and trombonist Scott Thomson (Monicker) have also worked as a duo for more than 15 years, starting with the Barnyard Record album Plumb, their long history allowing flexibility in unusual dialog and utterance that captivates naturally.

Assertive, sometimes skronky, masterful playing from the Gorilla Mask trio of Peter Van Huffel on alto & baritone saxes, Roland Fidezius on electric bass and Rudi Fischerlehner on drums & percussion, in their 5th album in 13 years, nuancing their sound with electronics while adhering to power trio playing fed by new collaborative and conceptual approaches from all band members.

From post/hard bop to African-influenced spiritual jazz, the 2nd release from saxophonist & clarinetist Avram Fefer's quartet with Marc Ribot on guitar, Eric Revis on bass and Chad Taylor on drums swings freely or finds introspective grooves in nine original Fefer compositions of rich melodies around unusual time signatures, yielding extraordinary soloing and group interplay.

A statesman of the French free improvisation scene, Sylvain Guerineau, who has performed with Sunny Murray, Joëlle Léandre and more recently as part of a trio with Didier Lasserre and Paul Rogers, joins with next-generation double bassist Fred Marty integrating advanced techniques into lyrical contexts, for five satisfying improvisations, the last a reference to Sonny Rollins.

An immersive album of understated but incredibly detailed free improvisation from the quartet of Ernesto Rodrigues on viola, Bruno Parrinha on bass clarinet, Emidio Buchinho on electric guitar and Carla Santana on electronics, performing live at Escola Superior de Teatro e Cinema, in Amadora, Portugal for a four part concentration on silence through sound.

Continuing their exploration of isotopes, here focusing on the unstable element Uranium, the Portuguese Isotope Ensemble led by violist Ernesto Rodrigues presents two stunningly detailed concert performances from the 2021 CSFest XV at O'Culto da Ajuda in Lisbon, with some of Europe's leading improvisers taking on U92 in both "Electroacoustic" and "Acoustic" properties.

Performing live at SMUP, in Parede, Portugal in 2022, the bass-oriented chamber quintet of Ernesto Rodrigues on viola, Bruno Parrinha on bass clarinet, Joao Madeira on double bass, Hernani Faustino on double bass and Jose Oliveira on percussion balance jazz and contemporary compositional approaches to their sophisticated and extremely detailed improvisations.

The sixth release by Creative Sources' detailed electroacoustic improvising group Suspensão led by violist Ernesto Rodrigues, with Guilherme Rodrigues on cello, Nuno Torres on alto sax, Antonio Chaparreiro on electric guitar, Carlos Santos on computer and Jose Oliveira on percussion & inside piano, is this impressive performance at "Temporada Miso Music 2009" in Lisbon.

Performing on clarinets and theremin, Udo Schindler follows up his series Salon für Klang+Kunst after 99 events with this new series at BASIS_Klangraum in Munich's historic BASIS Booksalon at MUCCA, in a concert with instrument maker Ardhi Engle performing on a diverse set of acoustic and electronic inventions for nine concise collective conversations.

An 8-part studio improvisation in Lisbon, 2022 from Portuguese musicians Ernesto Rodrigues on viola, Bruno Parrinha on flute & bass clarinet and Joao Madeira on double bass in a quartet with French tenor saxophonist Michel Stawicki, sometimes introspective and moody through highly detailed playing but building to periods of tumultuous and exciting activity.

A uniquely configured electroacoustic trio recording live in the studio in Lisbon in 2018 between Mexican flutist and founding member of the improv collective Generación Espontánea, Wilfrido Terrazas, and Portuguese improvisers Mariana Carvalho on prepared piano and Abdul Moimeme using two electric guitars and objects, balancing introspective moments with periods of uninhibited excitement.

The 8-piece String Theory ensemble directed by violist Ernesto Rodrigues in a live performance at O'Culto da Ajuda in Lisbon of a beautiful and subtle work inspired by a poem written by Rodrigues, ".. dans cette immensite ", realized through viola, violin, cellos, viola de gamba, double bass, piano, zither and objects, a deceptively tranquil work of detail and dexterous execution.

Eleven detailed improvised conversations between Portuguese cellist living in Berlin Guilherme Rodrigues and Belgian guitarist Dirk Serries, employing powerful and unusual techniques on their instruments in dialogs that run the gamut from quiet or abstract interaction to rapid outbursts of challenging intercourse that mesh and diverge in unexpected ways.

An unusual trio configuration for violist Ernesto Rodrigues, joined by Bruno Parrinha on soprano & alto saxophones, and by electric guitarist Flak, who brings an experimental almost ea- approach to their 3-part improvisation, aptly named for it's deceptively calm setting, gradually becoming intricate and active through colored motion like a curious breeze that builds and recedes.

A collective trio in the free jazz idiom from Hugo Costa on alto saxophone, Raoul van der Weide on double bass & percussion objects and Onno Govaert on drums, recording in the studio in Rotterdam for two extended and two succinct improvisations, building their conversations from solo playing that gradually yields to group dialog of evolving intensity.

A chamber jazz quintet orchestrated for three strings, saxophone and percussion from Ernesto Rodrigues on viola, Jose Lencastre on alto saxophone, Miguel Mira on cello, Hernani Faustino on double bass and Joao Lencastre on drums, technically advanced collective playing that simmers with an underlying jazz fire unique to many of Rodrigues' groupings.

A comprovised music piece based on a sound score composed of field recordings from autonomous demonstrations that shook the streets of Montreal in recent years, the 10-piece Montreal ensemble of performers and sound artist interacting with the ambient recordings as they aim to understand how sound and music contribute to the formation of affective communities.

German vocalist Birgit Wunsch leads this improvising trio with Edith Steyer on clarinet & saxophone and Alberto Cavenati on guitar, using abstract and atonal melodies in a chamber improvised setting for freely improvised voice, text and sound, crossing a sense of pop music with non-idiomatic improvisation of great technical and creative intent.

Following saxophonist Marek Pospieszalski Octet album on Clean Feed interpreting Polish composers of the 20th Century, he continues his work in a quartet setting with original compositions inspired by 19th & 20th Century composers, including Schubert, Britten & Lachenmann, performed with Elias Stemeseder on piano, Max Mucha on double bass and Max Andrzejewski on drums.

The rhythmically rich Red Desert Orchestra assembled by pianist and composer Eve Risser is an ensemble made up of nine European musicians joined by African musicians and configured in several distinct ensembles, here as Eurythmia, collaborating with three Burkinabe musicians living in France for irresistible music at the intersection of jazz, West African and dance music.

Following their 2007 Clean Feed release Delphinius and Lyra the duo of Gunter Baby Sommer and Raymond MacDonald reach deeper into their collective creative conversation for sixteen succinct improvisations--confident, boisterous or introspective--including a 5-part series of "Miniatures", performed on alto & soprano saxophones, drums and an eclectic set of percussive devices.

Seeking to create an original repertoire for collective composition in a small group format, Portuguese wind improviser Bernardo Tinoco on alto & tenor saxophones, duduk & flute, and pianist Tom Maciel, also on synths and drum machine, sought to influence their playing with electronics and audio processing, on three tracks joined by drummer João Pereira.

Stockholm pianist Alexander Zethson invited Greek saxophonist Nicky Kokkoli and guitarist Giannis Arapis to take part in his 13-piece Thanatosis festival ensemble VÖ; they then asked drummer Nils Agnas, bassist Torbjörn Zetterberg and trombonist Mats Äleklint to join them for this sublimely flowing sextet studio session, which includes works by Mingus and Coltrane.

Assertively dynamic solo piano improvisations captured live at the 2021 Monopiano Festival in Fylkingen, Stockholm from French-Filipina pianist Margaux Oswald, generating huge block chords over which she runs intricate and complex lines of clear and cohesive expression, pausing for delicate moments of space and introspection; wonderfully exuberant and well balanced.

A unique album of oddly metered yet highly rhythmic jazz from guitarist and composer Mané Fernandes, a member of Pedro Alves Melo Omniae Large Ensemble, but more importantly, part of a scene he refers to as Post-Beat Aesthetics, merging electronic and synthetic elements into jazz form, a serious and diverting direction for creative improv and studio play.

Referencing Thomas Chapin, Ornette Coleman, Roscoe Mitchell & Evan Parker, Spanish saxophonist Liba Villavechia's trio with drummer/percussionsit Vasco Trilla and double bassist Alex Reviriego explore the "tentacles that stem from the great Jazz octopus" through five Villavecchia compositions, one collective improv, and Thomas Chapin's "Bypass".

Translating to "Eulogy of the Shadows", the free improvising duo of violinist Carlos Zingaro and percussionist Pedro Carneiro performing on marimba with a damper pedal, structure their work as though emerging out of the dark night, each step subtly increasing the glow of luminescence through intensity of interaction until receding again into obscurity; sublime.

Drawing on genres blurring avant jazz, compositional forms, experimental rock and their uniquely twisted sense of humor, the Portuguese trio of guitarist Andre Silva, bassist Filipe Louro, and drummer Pedro Alves (also credited for screams!) present their sophomore album, a strange and compelling set of delirious improvisations in three Parts organized across 13 tracks.

Essentially written by Philadelphia multi-instrumentalist D. Liedel, who handles most of the parts on this unusual blend of rock, electronics, jazz, pop punk and a number of unlikely genres, presenting strange songs that take sharp turns into twisted realms, neatly layering each piece into a heady brew that's hard to pin down, but a great deal of fun trying.

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A truly fascinating and seamless hybrid of improvised and composed music, alongside an exploration of feedback and "its acoustic double, a harmonic noise", from the merging of two projects--LAMIEE and Dròlo Ensemble--plus Italian poli-instrumentalists Nicholas Remondino and Andrea Giordano (OTONN), yielding wonderfully complex and enveloping sound worlds.

Finnish/Norwegian guitarist Juhani Silvola describes the music on this fascinating solo album, performed on acoustic and prepared acoustic guitars (using objects below and above the strings) and augmenting his playing with electronics & amplifiers, as "speculative sonic archaeology" or "ritual music made by a civilisation that could have stepped off the pages of a Jorge Luis Borges story.

Portuguese legendary rocker and experimenter Flak (Rádio Macau, Maquina do Almoco Da Pancadas) invited an ensemble of rock, free improvisors and electronic musicians--Rodrigo Amado, José Lencastre, Luís Lopes, Guilherme Rodrigues, Francisco Rebelo and Rui Alves--for this improvised live performance in Lisbon, merging genres in inventive and intriguing ways.

The chameleonic configuration of Angles is here an octet, in a powerfully building and passionate set of three recordings performed by Martin Kuchen (alto sax), Magnus Broo & Goran Kajfes (trumpets), Mats Aleklint (trombone), Mattias Stahl (vibraphone), Alexander Zethson (piano & synth), Konrad Agnas (drums) and Johan Berthling (double bass); exemplary.

An introduction to Amsterdam-based, Slovenian pianist & composer Miha Gantar in a specially priced 5-CD box, performing his diverse and sophisticated compositions in a variety of configurations from solo, duo, trio, quartet & large ensemble, with notable participants including Gerry Hemingway, Christian Lillinger and Axel Dorner; liner notes by Nate Wooley.

The first quartet album for electronic improviser Rafael Toral's Space Quartet is a live album from Casa das Artes Bissaya Barreto in Coimbra, performed with Hugo Antunes on double bass, Nuno Morao on drums & percussion, Nuno Torres on alto saxophone & electronic instrument, with Toral using acoustic & electronic feedback to bring the classic jazz quartet lineup into new spaces.

With one foot in 60s free jazz and the other in contemporary improvisation, the pianoless Italian trio Fade In of Federico Calcagno on bass clarinet & clarinet, Pietro Elia Barcellona on contrabass and Marco Luparia on drums perform original compositions, spirited pieces with inventive elements, solid melodic foundation and surprising twists and turns.

Amsterdam-based bass clarinetist Ziv Taubenfeld's sextet perform the leader's innovative compositions that include a tribute to alto saxophonist Jemeel Moondoc, and a graphic composition for Sunny Murray, in a band with Michael Moore (sax & clarinet), Joost Buis (trombone), Nico Chientaroli (piano), Omer Govreen (double bass) and Onno Govaert (drums & percussion).

The Tarbaby trio of pianist Orrin Evans, drummer Nasheet Waits and double bassist Eric Revis, is joined by trumpeter Josh Lawrence and as with previous albums, featuring acclaimed alto saxophonist Oliver Lake (+ percussionist Dana Murray on track) in an album mixing post-bop, free and lyrical approaches to jazz, with compositions from all four plus a Prince cover.

Performing the embracingly angular compositions of Russian-born, German-based saxophonist Yaroslav Likhachev that pivot on hard bop transformed through inventive approaches, since 2016 Likhachev's Quartet with Yannis Anft on piano, Conrad Noll on bass and Moritz Baranczyk on drums have pursued new forms of expression while maintaining jazz, traditions here in nine well-defined "sketches".

Active collaborators for six years at the time of this recording, this is the first time Swedish improvisers Cornelia Nilsson on drums, Johnny Aman on double bass and Mathias Landaeus on piano & keys have recorded together as a trio, performing seven engagingly lyrical compositions from leader Landaeus, on several tracks adding an unusual edge through the use of synths.

Approaching the string trio of viola, cello and double bass through improvisation and exceptionally extended techniques, the Portuguese trio of Ernesto Rodrigues on viola, Guilherme Rodrigues on cello, and Joao Madeira on double bass "scratch, stretch and strop timbers" as they express a unique universe of string interaction from raucous to reflective.

A joint release with the Berlin record label Maybee Records run by cellist Hui-Chun Lin & Shuichi Chino and Creative Sources, this 2021 concert at Berlin's Kuhlspot Social Club brings together four cellist for an incredible and somewhat vicious display of free improvising string interaction using incredible technique, texture, and intent listening; wild!

This string and reed quintet presents a fluid approach to chamber-oriented improv with dexterous melodic and harmonic motion, utilizing contemporary and jazz idioms as they create something masterfully unique; from Anna Kaluza on alto sax, Edith Steyer on alto sax & clarinet, Ernesto Rodrigues on viola, Guilherme Rodrigues on cello and Ulf Mengersen on double bass.

Lisbon String Trio of Ernesto Rodrigues on viola, Miguel Mira on cello and Alvaro Rosso on double bass continue their series adding a fourth player to their unique form of string improvisation, here with reeidst Bruno Parrinha on alto clarinetist for an extended expedition into highly articulate playing as they explore the dada rejection of logic, reason, and aestheticism.

After the Lisbon String Trio for the Dada album, Bruno Parrinha on B-flat, alto and bass clarinets joins with the string pairing of violist Ernesto Rodrigues and cellist Guilherme Rodrigues to record this impressionistic 3-part work, the title translating to "Without Forgetting The Trees", each movement expanding into darkly colored branches of remarkable control.

Pianist Nico Chientaroli leads this 9-piece Dutch ensemble, based around free improvisation but merging rock & experimental music from funky to abstract, in generally energetic and slightly unhinged music in a Dutch improv kind of way, incorporating spoken word with texts from Jorge Luis Borges, William Burroughs, Martin Calegari, &c.; wonderfully embraceable and eclectic.

Aptly described as chiaroscuro--a veritable play of light and shadow in quick-witted--through nearly microscopic and highly interactive acoustic improvisation from the quartet of Ernesto Rodrigues on viola, Maria da Rocha on violin, Bruno Parrinha on clarinet & bass clarinet and Jose Oliveira on percussion, performing live at Galeria Monumental, in Lisbon in 2022.

Translating loosely to "Something begs the patience of the clouds", the collaborative electroacoustic quintet of Ernesto Rodrigues on viola, Guilherme Rodrigues on cello, Bruno Parrinha on bass clarinet, Luisa Goncalves on piano and Carlos Santos on electronics present two extended improvisations of tension, masterfully adept technical skill and intensively close listening.

A confluence of reeds from Bay Area saxophonists David Boyce and Phillip Greenlief, both performing on and professing an open love letter to the tenor saxophone, the positioning of each clear through stereo placement as they improvise seven dialogs of intent listening and tremendous technique, from high speed intertwining to introspective contemplation.