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

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

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

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

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

Using analog computers that "require a lot of real-time intervention to flesh out their neurotic narratives", the typically trumpeter Tom Djll (Grosse Abfahrt) turns his attention to a series of prickly sound works of strange intention and direction, through fourteen works titled like a series of math equations mashed into a dictionary; good weird fun.

The follow-up to their debut album, Orbital Decay, finds guitarist Phil Venable and drummer Tommy Jackson delving deeper into their free duo referencing free jazz, ambient, no wave, and other forms of experimental and avant-garde music, their often turbulent dialog inspired by a desire to find hope in the world despite a contemporary period of death and injustice.

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

The second of three archival albums from late saxophonist Mars Williams' vaults, this 1996 recording is a rare duet with Chicago drummer Hamid Drake, and is also one of the first concerts of the Empty Bottle Jazz and Improvised Music series, a diverse set of four improvisations marked by energetic enthusiasm, doubling of reeds, and wild playing from both.

A stunning album that effortlessly blends styles from jazz, electronics, minimalism and contemporary forms, rendered by an eclectic group of primarily NY artists including Nate Wooley, Jennifer Choi, James Brandin Lews, Oscar Noriega, Anna Webber, Shahzad Ismaily and Smith himself, in an exhilarating and well-balanced set of Smith compositions that inform and groove spectacularly!

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

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

The first meeting of tenor saxophonist Catherine Sikora and pedal steel guitarist Susan Alcorn was at the Zurcher Gallery in New York City in 2022, an inventive dialog of free improvisation split between three "Filaments", their interaction ranging from delicate dialog to asservite discourse in a wonderfully expressive concert of sincere affinity.

Three innovative cellists at the intersection of improvisation, contemporary compositional and experimental forms — Tomeka Reid from Chicago, Isidora Edwards from Chile and based in London, and Elisabeth Coudoux from Germany — meet in Wiesbaden to record these four multi-layered improvisations merging their unique perspectives with great concentrative expression.

Picking up from their last album in 2005, Lapis Exilis, alto saxophonist Jim Hobb's Fully Celebrated Orchestra joyfully returns with a new set of lyrical Hobb's compositions, Timo Shanko still creating a solid bass foundation and Luther Gray taking Django Carranza's place, extending the band with AYCH member Taylor Ho Bynum on cornet and Ian Ayers on guitar.

French free vocalist Isabelle Duthoit and world traveling improviser and Zeitkratzer trumpeter Franz Hautzinger continue their collaborations at GMEA Centre National de Creation Musicale, in Albi, France to record these 11 unusual duos, using outrageous technique and inexplicable intent to create aberrant accompaniments to your most subtle and frightening dreams.

Expanding on their 2007 release Kinda Green, the decades-long collaboration of SF Bay Area improvisors Tom Djll on trumpet & electronics and Tim Perkis on "coding" and electronics presents six unusual spontaneous compositions of live trumpet, electronics and real-time manipulation, release by the Ubu, Incorporated project supporting experimental and electronic music.

The Tamarisk trio of bassist David Menestres, guitarist Andrew Weathers and vocalist Christina Carter (Charalambides) are heard live at Casa del Popolo, in Montreal and at PIT, in Brooklyn, New York, joined in Brooklyn by flutist Laura Cocks, each performance an extended journey between assertive, cathartic improvisation and introspective rumination.

The result of two formidably versatile improvisers--pianist Joel Futterman and drummer/percussionist Michael Wimberly--meeting in Futterman's home city of Virginia Beach for a session of collective, spontaneous improvisation, is this magnificent two-part work released as the unedited live first takes, an epic journey through masterful technique and compelling expression.

Improvising over the abyss, Texas drummer Lisa Cameron (Roky Erickson, ST 37) and violinist Alex Cunningham (Sandy Ewen, Damon Smith, Claire Rousay) present three extended interactions using conventional instrumentation in unconventional ways, augmented by feedback, bowed cymbals, electronics and objects, under the control of exceptional technique.

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

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

Composed using an "exquisite corpse" method during the pandemic, where each player provided a partially complete track with instructions to expand their concept, enlisting an incredible set of musicians across the US & Europe, directed by Moe! Staiano, including Jesse Quattro, Fred Frith, Carla Kihlstedt, GW Sok, Amy X Neuburg, Darren Johnston, &c &c.

As the availability of venues for free improv have dwindled through New York City, an emerging new "loft scene" has developed, one of them named simply Aron's Place, the home of Aron Namenwirth, whose 2023 series hosted the solid, free-wheeling quartet of Dave Sewelson on baritone saxophone, Stephen Moses on drums, Jochem van Dijk on electric bass and Steve Holtje on electric keyboard.

With previous albums on Creative Sources, Bug Incision and Eh?, the duo of Jay Kreimer and Public Eyesore label-leader Bryan Day use invented instruments recorded these highly percussive, well-paced and well-recorded improvisations during Kreimer's Fulbright fellowship in India, in Baroda, Hyderabad and Bangalore, the main tracks named for their recording location.

A psychedelic set of recordings based around the guitar work of Philip Gayle, improvised, recorded, and layered into diverse experiments in sound and performed on banjo, bass, cello, door, guitars, mandolin, percussion, piano, toy piano, voice, ukulele and waterphone, with guests including saxophonist Shogo Ohshima and vocalists Shizka Ueda, Omusubisan and Fuuchan.

Mego founder and electronic artist Peter Rehberg met with Schmickler (Kontakta) in 2007 for two days of explosive, dense recording with a remarkable clarity.

Electroacoustic composer Robert Cahen studied at ORTF and CNSM in Paris under Pierre Shaeffer, turning to video work in the 1970s and applying musique concrete concepts to moving image, these compositions recorded at the GRM studios between 1971 and 1974 show his mastery over sound and his expressive ability to morph transitions through rich sonic detail.

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

Compressing his Exploding Star Orchestra to a sextet, Chicago trumpeter Rob Mazurek presents two expansive works of ecstatic, exploratory electric and groove-oriented jazz, performed with Damon Locks (voice, electronics), Tomeka Reid (cello), Angelica Sanchez (Wurlitzer electric piano), Ingebrigt Haker-Flaten (double bass) and Chad Taylor (drums).

Promo drill through top right of jewel tray and booklet, sealed and otherwise new/mint condition.

The debut as a leader for Chicago double bassist and composer Jakob Heinemann, in a series of peacefully sophisticate, through-composed compositions of acoustic orchestration with subtle field recording & object accents from Heinemann, each piece leaving room for improvisation, performed in a quartet with Ishmael Ali on cello, Jeff Kimmel on clarinet and Molly Jones on flutes.

One "Small Dog" and one Big from the Texas experimental duo of Andrew Weathers on synth, lap steel, recorder & electronics, and Gretchen Korsmo on voice, keys & percussion, both members of the Full Spectrum Records collective, their confident collaboration morphing drones, sonic deformation, resonance, voice, bells and mysterious sources in two well-paced & passionate sonic journeys.

Excerpted from their 2022 concert at Museo Ex Teresa Arte Actual in Mexico, flutist Camilo Ángeles (TVL REC label), also performing on bass flute, joins with New York City violist Joanna Mattrey, an active performer and improviser associated with Issue Project Room and Roulette, for six unusual duos of wind, string and voice leveraging the natural resonance of the museum space.

Cantankerously informed and paced like a perfect tumble, the duo improvisations of Massachusetts collaborator Stella Silber on turntables and Nat Baldwin on upright bass augment their work through turntable preparations and static, Baldwin performing all over his instrument, as the duo surprise and maintain interest through accessible abrasiveness.

Active as a drum soloist since 2003, Ryosuke Kiyasu (Fushitsusha, SETE STAR SEPT, Kiyasu Orchestra) performs solo in a live performance split between two extended improvisations, captured at Tokyo Arts and Space in 2022, using a snare drum and a table in a forceful demonstration of rhythm and punctuation that is affected by the ambiance of the space.

As part of the transatlantic network The Bridge connecting creative musicians for performance, the quartet of Jaimie Branch on trumpet, synthesizer & electronics, Isaiah Collier on soprano & tenor saxophones, Gilles Coronado on electric guitar and Tim Daisy on drums, recorded this wildly building live performance after a 2022 tour across Chicago and the Midwest.

Performing on the 7,466 pipe Æolian-Skinner organ at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, one of the first American classic-style organs and among the largest church organs in the West, John Zorn continues his solo organ series with this tribute to Terry Riley in two extended improvisations, part of his 70th birthday celebration as part of Fred Barnes's concert series.

Two distinctive works of sounds and noise from Atlanta sound artist and drummer Kelsey Wilson composing extended works using field recordings collected between 2020-2022, volume/feedback and synthesizers; first a howling and heavy journey in "Bootstrap Story"; then a rich and ringing birthday party for Nick Cave that ends with haunting bells and running water.

Two long-standing experimental sound projects join together as Legendary Bastard Noise, aka Eric Wood and +DOG+, aka Steve Davis, combine for two extended and well-paced works of dark sonics and electronics, the first piece "Misery Milestone" a haunting and desolate soundscape with disruptive punctuation; the 2nd "Beneficiary: Earth" adds agonizing voice to a work of global arpeggiation and destruction.

A split 7" vinyl between UK collage artist Ade Rowe, also known as Awkward Geisha, in a country & western song of improvised guitar & sax titled "Psycho"; and somewhat appropriately backed with a quartet of guitar, harmonica, mandolin & trumpet from avant country eccentric Eugene Chadbourne, poking fun through a song titled "Up Against The Wall, Redneck Mother".

Elka Bong is the experimental sound art duo of Al Margolis and Walter Wright, here joined by guests Andrea Pensado on voice and electronics and Steve Davis on electronics, Margolis performing on synth, electric guitar & objects, and Weiss on Board Weevil and drum kit, in a mix of improvisation, extended technique, cacophony and indeterminacy.

An unusual pairing of effected accordion and a 3D printer from Czech accordionist living in NY, Lucie Vitkova, also performing on harmonica, Korg Volca Bass and Moog, and NY multimedia artist Merch Blasco, the album titled for the name of Blasco's 3D printer "Anette", which also printed the thimble-microphones she wears on her fingers to capture parts of this performance.

Two extended works for percussion & electronics from Matt Weston, a curious coupling of resonant interactions that is likely a mysterious mixture of preparation, improvisation and composition, augmented with electronics and modified in the mix through studio manipulation, making for fascinating journeys through enigmatic punctuation and sound.

"Smash", "Even More Smashing" and "Grab" sums up the intense energy that the Ballister trio brought to their 2022 performance at Elastic Arts in Chicago as part of the Catalytic Sound Festival, impelled by Paul Nilssen-Love's powerful drumming and Fred Lonberg-Holm's demanding cello work, with Dave Rempis roaring on alto, tenor and baritone saxophones; wow!

"Smash", "Even More Smashing" and "Grab" sums up the intense energy that the Ballister trio brought to their 2022 performance at Elastic Arts in Chicago as part of the Catalytic Sound Festival, impelled by Paul Nilssen-Love's powerful drumming and Fred Lonberg-Holm's demanding cello work, with Dave Rempis roaring on alto, tenor and baritone saxophones; wow!

Drummer with some of the most significant of free jazz icons--Roscoe Mitchell, David Murray, Henry Threadgill, Anthony Braxton, &c.--Tani Tabbal's own trio with fellow New Yorkers Michael Bisio on bass and Adam Siegel on alto sax are joined by Joe McPhee on tenor sax, with compositions from each of Tabbal, Bisio and Joe McPhee, plus four collective improvisations.

Aberrant, expressive and idiosyncratic improvisations from the merging of two unique duos--Audrey Chen on voice and Henrik Munkeby Norstebo on trombone; and Eivind Lonning on trumpet and Espen Reinertsen on tenor sax--all using electronics, recording in Norway together while in separate rooms linked by headphones to create these two beautifully strange improvisations.

Stunningly transformative techniques on the solo trumpet from NY and Berlin-based brass improviser Brad Henkel, recording in a Berlin studio for eight diverse acoustic pieces that mostly sound like anything but a trumpet, merging throat singing on one track, or squalling through tubes with intent control on another; reference Jacob Wick, Axel Dorner, Natsuki Tamura.

Pivoting between his home base of Chicago for 25 years and his current home in New York City, Argentina-born clarinetist and improviser Guillermo Gregorio presents two concerts, the first at the 2018 Edgefest Festival with Chicago luminaries Fred Lonberg-Holm on cello and vibraphonist Carrie Biolo; then in New York with Ivan Barenboim on contralto clarinet and Nicholas Jozwiak on cello.