Following jazz traditions blending lyrical and free approaches with unexpected twists and turns from the Norwegian quintet of Andree Roligheten on sax, Thomas Johansson on trumpet, Oscar Gronberg on piano, Jon Rune Strom on double bass, and Tollef Ostvang on drums.

London master drummer Steve Noble (Rip Rig and Panic, Derek Bailey), a mainstay on the scene for decades, with Scandinavian free improvising saxophonist Kristoffer Berre Alberts (Cortex, Saka, Starlite Motel) for a live album of uproariously driven, skronky free jazz.

A dark set of heavy improvisations from bassist Goncalo Almeida's project with drummer Jorg A. Schneider, with guests Susana Santos Silva on trumpet and Colin Webster on baritone sax; references to Bill Laswell, Zu, and Napalm Death are a good indication.

The free improvising trio of John Dikeman on sax, Jon Rune Strom on bass, and Tollef Ostvang on drums, invites Joe McPhee on pocket trumpet and alto sax for a release of rugged free improv using unorthodox approaches and amazing dexterity in their playing.

Active since 2013, this ever-changing band was formed by multi-reedist Joachim Badenhorst, blending jazz, post-rock, noise, lo- fi, psychedelica, and ambient music into a potent brew, as heard here in this septet rendering performing live at the 2015 Ljubljana Jazz Festival.

Approaching the free side of 60s postbop in the Ornette Coleman vein, the Cortex quartet of Thomas Johansson (trumpet), Kristoffer Alberts (sax), Ola Hoyer (double bass) and Gard Nilssen (drums) are captured for a dynamic and captivating set at IBeam in Brooklyn in 2015.

Live recordings at the 2015 Tampere Jazz Happening from the first meeting of Susana Santos Silva on trumpet, Lotte Anker on sax, Sten Sandell on piano, Torbjorn Zetterberg on bass and Jon Falt on drums, a modern supergroup of responsive and subtle collective improvisation.

Chicago free improvising mainstay Fred Lonberg-Holm's Stirrup trio with Nick Macri on double bass and Charles Rumback on drums crosses genres and grooves in an album balancing lyrical and hard-grooved tunes, with Lonberg-Holm taking up guitar on a number of tracks.

A most unusual trio: actually a quartet, this Polish/Ukraine group has three strings (violin, cello, contrabass) with modular synth and electronics reinforcing their sound, less EA than chamber jazz with fascinating orchestration and wonderful harmonic and melodic invention.

The NY duo of Whit Dickey on drums and Kirk Knuffke on cornet, in Dickey's first published recording in a decade, using a slow pulse and space in sophisticated dialogs and ballads that avail finesse and economical approaches that rely on the incredible skills of both players.

The transnational quartet of artists from Germany, Latvia and Poland comprised of Karlis Auzins (sax), Lucas Leidinger (piano), Tomo Jacobson (double bass), and Thomas Sauerborn (drums), performing intuitive and collective free improvisation of great sensitify and skill.

Solo work from Portuguese guitarist Luis Lopes, showing a different side to his work with Humanization 4tet or his Noise Solo project, instead presenting a gentler and more romantic music marked by seductive playing with an unexpectedly tender appeal.

Reissuing and re-mixing New York saxophonist Steve Lehman's 2004 album with his previous Camouflage Trio of Mark Dress on double bass and Pheeroan Aklaff on drums, perfoming a stupendous set of original compositions live at Teatro Academica Gil Vicente in Coimbra, Portugal.

Guitarist Nick Millevoi leads an ensemble that includes Jamie Saft on Hammond Organ, Ches Smith on drums, Johnny Deblase on bass, Dan Blacksberg on trombone and June Bender on violin, for an album equally embracing and subverting a wealth of rock and jazz forms.

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.

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.

A collection of "stories untold" with varying line-ups, from a duo with Fala Mariam to a sextet with Mariam, Nuno Torres, Rodrigo Amado, Jose Bruno Parrinha & Paulo Curado, including the participation of other musicians like Carlos Santos, Hernani Faustino, Luis Desirat & Moz Carrapa.

With 2 clarinetists--Joris Ruhl and Joachim Badenhorst--and 2 prepared pianists--Eve Risser and Philip Zoubek--plus flutist Julian Elvira, leader/bassist Pascal Niggenkemper explores his "different twins" concept in 9 uniquely orchestrated and impressive improvisations.

The second collaboration between the Portugese Red Trio of Rodrigo Pinheiro (piano), Hernani Faustino (double bass) and Gabriel Ferrandini (drums) with UK saxophonist John Butcher, performing live at Jazz em Agosto Festival in 2015, revealing new aspects to their project.

Lisbon Underground Music Ensemble (LUME) is an 11-piece ensemble led by pianist Marco Barroso, here captured live at the 2014 festival Jazz em Agosto for an unusual concert that blends free jazz, noise, rock, musical quotes and much, much more in exhiliarating ways.

Belgian pianist based in Oslo, Jonas Cambien's Trio with Andre Roligheten on reeds and Andreas Wildhagen on drums, in an album of unique compositions using simple ideas yielding complex improvisation & dialog, named for the Dougal Dixons book "After Man: A Zoology of the Future".

A dark and gritty album of experimental improvisation from the Portuguese trio of Jose Bruno Parrinha on reeds, Luis Lopes on electric guitar, and Ricard Jacinto on cello and electronics, dense yet restrained playing that occasionally emerges to moments of beauty.

A remarkable album of free improvisation from the Scandinavian quartet of Isak Hedtjarn on clarinet, Lisa Ullen on piano, Elsa Bergman on double bass, and Erik Carlsson on drums, captivating the listener with active and detailed interplay of strong intention and technical skill.

NY Saxophonist Tony Malaby's Paloma Recio with Ben Monder on guitar, Eivind Opsvik on double bass, and Nasheet Waits on drums in a studio album performing Malaby's 4-part "Incantation Suite", lyrically free improvisation with a shimmering essence invoking dreamlike states.

Scandinavian and American musicians join together to form this quartet, with Kristoffer Berre Alberts on saxes, Jamie Saft on organ and keys, Ingebrigt Haker-Flaten on electric bass, and Gard Nilssen on drums & electronics, for an album of spacey and groove oriented jazz.

With members of IKB, Variable Geometry Orchestra, and LIO, the free improvising/chamber quartet of Ernesto Rodriguge (viola), Bernardo Alvares (bass), Roland Ramana (trumpet), and Nuno Torres (sax), were captured live at Estrela for an intense and introspective concert.

An excellent jazz album using diverse styles bridging free and lyrical playing from the trio of Sergio Tavares (bass), Fabio Almeida (sax) and Joao Martins (drums), playing in and out of the jazz idiom and augmenting Almeida's sax with electronics in compelling ways.

Strings and small percussion imbue this darkly beautiful set of extended improvisations from the Portugese trio of Ernesto Rodrigues on viola, Guilherme Rodrigues on cello, and Monsieur Trinite on small percussion; creative richly open soundscapes with intriguing interventions.

A 46-member orchestra of electroacoustic improvisers performing live at St. George's Church in Lisbon in 2015, for an extended and dynamic tapestry of sound conducted by leader Ernesto Rodrigues, with an impressive list of artists familiar to those following the CS label.

The duo of saxophonist Christoph Erb, best known for his work with the Manuel Mengis Group 6, and French-Japanese violist Frantz Loriot, for five open-minded, technically fascinating and musically unique duos recorded in the studio in Switzerland, 2015.

A solid solo outing from Zurich-based double bassist Friodlin, presenting his 4-part "Camping; Cafe Bar" work, blending the jazz idiom with discursive asides and unusual techniques, plus a lovely and appropriately titled work "But Beautiful".

A 5-part introspective improvisation from the trio of Creative Sources leader Ernesto Rodrigues on violin, viola, and electronics; Guilherme Rodrigues on cello, pocket trumpet, and radio; and Jassem Hindi on clarinet; subtle work with extended techniques and unexpected punctuation.

Two freely improvised works performed on cello, sine waves, cracklebox, bottle, synth, cornet and objects from the quartet of frequent collaborators Guilherme Rodrigue, David Area Guillermo Torres, and Tomas Gris, a mix of subtle improvisation and subsuming sound.

Unusual approaches to string improvisation from the quartet of Ernesto Rodrigues (viola), Guilherme Rodrigues (cello), Maria da Rocha (violin), and Miguel Mira (double bass), using extended techniques in subtle yet detailed discourse yielding unexpected qualities to their instruments.

An extended and far-ranging acoustic free improvisation from the trio of Ernesto Rodrigues on viola, Phillip Greenlief on tenor sax, and Tom Wafford on violin, recorded live at the Gallery 1412 during the Seattle Improvised Music Festival of 2006.

The duo of Johannes Nastesjo on double bass and Vasco Trilla on drums and percussion, an album of extended techniques and unexpected devising, using quietly aggressive techniques balanced by concentrative improv to create unexpected eruptions and unusual sonic environments.

A unique approach to solo reeds and winds from French multi-reedist Matthieu Prual, also on flute and ORLA Keyboard, maintaining lyrical and comprehensible approaches with strong technical skills in captivating and succinct statements, truly excellent work.

Ernesto Rodrigues leads a 16 piece orchestra of strings, reeds, winds, voice, brass, accordion, electric guitar, electronics and percussion through the elaborately restrained work "Chelodnis Nigra", rewarding the careful listener with fascinating layers of sound.

Citing their influences as Bill Frisell, Paul Motian, John Zorn, and Steve Lacy, the Brussels-based bassless jazz trio of Quentin Stokart (guitar), Mathieu Robert (sax), and Nicolas Chkifi (drums) play lyrical and intelligently restrained music.

The trio of Richard Scott on modular synths, Emilio Gordoa on vibraphone & percussion, and Ute Wasserman on voice, in uniquely orchestrated free improvisations that focuses on sound interaction with detail and restraint, while still bringing a sense of wonder and exuberation.

Remarkably detailed, slowly moving improvisation from the trio of Katsura Yamauchi on alto sax, Carlos Santos on electronics, and Ernesto Rodrigues on viola, harp and objects, a beautiful balance of acoustic and electronic sound in intensely concentrated music.

The long-running trio of Paul Hubweber on trombone, Paul Lovens on drums, and John Edwards on double bass in an album releasing a radio concert from Croatia in 2003, and another from Klangbrucke in 2009; highly attuned free improv with near-telepathic dialog from three masters.

Spontaneous compositions of freely improvised music performed on piano, synth, whistles, electroacoustic guitar, percussion, live electronics and effects from this trio who hail from Moscow and Siberia, recording their unique and adventurous dialog in the studio.

Saxophonist Paulo Alexandre Jorge leads his Improbable Trio with Tom Wheatley on double bass and AMM/Matchless legendary percussionist Eddie Prevost in a six part album of ardent free improvisation on titles about Sex, Love, Death, Friendship, Art Beauty, Power Law, &c.

Portugese violist Joao Camoes, living in Paris, in a duo with Jean-Marc Foussat on electronics and voice, which he approaches like those of the acoustic improvised music and free jazz; the two present two long works where Foussat processes and extends Camoes' sound.

Andre Gonvalves, known for the ADDAC System brand of modular synthesizers and several devices for electronic music, in a solo album combining analog and digital sounds and tools, processing of field recordings and ready-made materials, a rich and beautiful work.

Portuguese trumpeter Luis Vicente in a quartet with Amsterdam-based improvisers John Dikeman (sax), Wilbert De Joode (bass) and Onno Govaert (drums), captured during an energetic live performance at zaal 100 in Amsterdam in 2015 for superb free jazz.

Jazz Passengers leader and saxophonist Roy Nathanson in an album of duos recorded live during a series of concerts at The Stone in NY, with collaborators including Marc Ribot, Curtis Fowlkes, Anthony Coleman, Arturo O'Farrill, Myra Melford, and Lucy Hollier.

Scandinavian and American musicians join together to form this quartet, with Kristoffer Berre Alberts on saxes, Jamie Saft on organ and keys, Ingebrigt Haker-Flaten on electric bass, and Gard Nilssen on drums & electronics, for an album of spacey and groove oriented jazz.

New York bassist Eric Revis' Trio with Kris Davis on piano and Gerald Cleaver taking over the drum position in an album that crosses the traditional piano trio concept with modern free parlance, for both lyrical and unconventionally creative moments.