The soundtrack to the documentary Loving Highsmith about thriller novelist Patricia Highsmith, with music composed by Belgium guitarist Noël Akchoté along with pieces by Cole Porter, Mancini, Johnny Mercer, Frank Sinatra, Hildegard von Bingen, Carl Fischer, &c, presented in two CDs, one each of duets between Akchoté and New York guitarists Mary Halvorson and Bill Frisell.

Mizuki Wildenhahn adds an unusual percussive instrument through dance to the multi-arts Amu quartet of Wildenhahn, trumpeter Natsuki Tamura, pianist Satoko Fujii, and percussionist Takashi Itani, heard on the CD and seen on the DVD of this 2-disc set of their unorthodox and absorbing live performance at Kanagawa Prefectural Lake Sagami-ko Exchange Center in 2018.

The Architek Percussion ensemble is a Montreal quartet performing works by Canadian composers, using percussion, drums, sampling, electronics and synth in wonderfully odd ways, here with two guest performers presenting works composed and mixed by Elliot Britton.

The collaborative Australian electric jazz trio of Simon Jeans on guitar, Johannes Luebber on keyboards, and Daniel Susnjar on drums, who create semi-composed sonic structures that are used for collective improvisation and also live film scores and contemporary dance works, present 3 "Artefacts" using multiple structures of passionate and melodically inspired playing.

A 1995 live concert at Romanisches Cafe in Tokyo from the South Korean and Japanese free improvising quartet of Choi Sun Bae on trumpet, Junji Hirose on tenor & soprano saxophones, Motoharu Yoshizawa on electric vertical five strings bass, and Kim Dae Hwan on percussion, in five collective improvisations including an homage to Charlie Parker.

Dedicated to Dada legend Hugo Ball, founder of the Cabaret Voltaire, through modern interpretations of six sound poems written by Ball in 1916, performed at BIMHUIS in 1989 by the trio of Jaap Blonk (voice), Bart van der Putten (saxophone) and Pieter Meurs (double bass); and in 2013 at radio station KUHF by the duo of Jaap Blonk and Damon Smith on double bass.

The 2nd release from the UK collective quartet of Jose Canha on double bass, Trevor Taylor on drums, percussion, Dan Banks on piano and Josh Ison on saxophone, exploring the intersection between freely improvised music and free-jazz, drawing out energetic and subtle moments in lyrical interactions through energetic and focused momentum with a full range of character.

Using the building site of the Paris Philharmonie as their source location and inspiration, the trio of Pascal Battus using found objects, Bertrand Gauget on saxophone, and Eric La Casa on microphones, improvise and record the background sounds, machines, and environmental influences, using those recordings to create these three fascinating compositions.

Studio improvisations from the far-ranging quartet of Daniel Thompson on acoustic guitar, Adrian Northover on saxophone, Mbira & Melodica, Adam Bohman on objects, and Jean-Michel Van Schouwburg on voice, an experimental acoustic set that at times takes on nearly electronic qualities, Van Schouwburg and Bohman bringing unusual and unique elements to authoritatively perplexing dialog.

Wandelweiser founder and composer Antoine Beuguer and French composer Anastassis Philippakopoulos in a work for voice (Philippakopoulos) and breath (Beuguer), employing spaces of silence against utterance and sibilant expression, a patiently developing work that floats by in deceptively simple ways, captivating through each articulation that seems perfectly placed.

Three albums of three duos between three frequent Boston collaborators and improvisers -- Jeb Bishop on trombone, Pandelis Karayorgis on piano and Damon Smith on double bass -- each CD respectively a combination of trombone & bass, piano & bass and piano & trombone, each recorded during the last year of Jeb Bishop's residency in Boston between 2016-2022.

During a residency in 2020 at the Domaine de Kerguehennec in Brittany, saxophonist and composer Baptiste Boiron developed this repertoire for the trio Lá of Boiron on soprano, alto & tenor saxophones, Bruno Chevillon on double bass, and Frederic Gastard on bass saxophone, Boiron's compositions applying a wealth of creative approaches merging contemporary and improvised playing.

A long continuous work from this trio of soprano saxophonist, free improvisation using extended techniques and unusual approaches to the instrument.

Two major works of evolving acoustic soundscape from Swiss violinist & composer Patricia Bosshard realized by the 27-member Orchestra des Nouvelles Creations, which includes Bosshard, Stephane Rives, Bertrand Denzler, &c.; "Sillon" employs a percussive pulse over 27 independently transforming grooves; "Reflets" a harmonic composition for bowed strings, including three double basses.

Two bright stars of DIY Brooklyn improvisers with unusual approaches to their instruments through extended techniques, processing and odd acoustic effects from saxophonist Michael Foster and cellist Leila Bourdreuil, together since 2009 creating racous & beautiful sound.

Rick Countryman on alto saxophone, Simon Tan on bass, and Christian Bucher on drums cover diverse territory while letting each player stand out in this studio album of collective improvisation, their frequent collaborations allowing them to evoke a strong degree of melodicism among spontaneous interaction, from energetic grooves to ballads to beautiful textural work.

Percussionist Hemingway with John Butcher on tenor and soprano sax performing live in 2005, demonstrating their extended language in a brilliant and eccentric dialog.

Swiss prepared spinet player Christoph Schiller and Argentine guitarist-composer Tomás Cabado, whose work is found on the Wandelweiser label, met in Schiller's studio in Basel to perform compositions from both and to improvise, recording this wonderfully relaxed but compelling music that exists in the fertile grey area between composition and improvisation.

Recording in the studio in Hornchurch, UK in 2022, the open-minded, innately lyrical and freely improvising trio of pianist Dan Banks, long-time collaborator with drummer Trevor Taylor at the latter's Jazz825 club in Southend-on-Sea, and Portuguese double bassist Jose Canhas, are heard in five impeccable contemporary jazz recordings, warm collective conversations of adept skill.

The French free improvising trio of pianist Cecile Cappozzo, double bassist Patrice Grente, and drummer Etienne Ziemniak are heard in performance at "la Maison en Bois" in Abbeville-la-Riviere in 2018, with trumpeter Jean-Luc Capozzo joining them on the title track, as they bring order to the 4 part "Chaos" through superb collective improvisation.

The duo of Jean-Luc Cappozzo on trumpet, horns and objects, and Geraldine Keller on voice flute & objects in an album of tones and tongues, an unusual set of adventurous free improvisation.

A profound contemporary work integrating improvisation into composed forms from Montreal composer and percussionist Isaiah Ceccarelli and performed by an ensemble of 16 Musique Actuelle improvisers and performers, beautifully balanced between diverse instrumental passages and texts inspired by different poetical and musical forms of the past; sublime.

A collection of original songs and interpretations inspired by Jane Birkin and Serge Gainsbourg, from vocalist Hélène Breschand, also performing on harp, electronics & field recordings, in a duo with Elliott Sharp, who creates grooves and instrumental environments on guitar, synth, bass, drum programming & electronics, each song beautifully fractured and rich in detail.

Using the interference points of closely pitched sound, long-time collaborators Xavier Charles and Bertrand Gauguet use acoustic and amplified clarinets and saxophones to create frequency landscapes that change slowly, ringing with harmonics while finding unison and conflict in their tones, creating meditative aural environments of great beauty and reflection.

A collection of guitar, electronic and voice pieces from Anne-James Chaton and Andy Moor, originally released as a series of four seven inch singles here combined into a single CD with 3 bonus tracks.

81 short tracks performed on the no-input mixer without multitracking or processing, intended to be played in a random sequence.

The fourth Clarinet Trio release on Leo Records, and the first one in eight years, with Jurgen Kupke on clarinet, Michael Thieke on alto clarinet, and Gebhard Ullmann on bass clarinet.

Eight powerful and often cinematic pieces for organ and percussion, jointly composed and performed by long-time collaborators, Montreal composers and improvisers Katelyn Clark and Isaiah Ceccarelli, these 8 compositions developed around improvisations on the historic instruments continuo & portative organs, with percussion including a 40" bass drum, bell plates, and almglocken.

Three quartet improvisations and six duo combinations between Dan Clucas on cornet, Jeb Bishop on trombone, Damon Smith on double bass, and Matt Crane on drums, recording in the studio in Rhode Island, 2018, the various permutations of each player elucidating the full group interactions through focused and captivating investigations of instrumental combinations.

Pianist Laura Cole's first solo album presents 2 CDs; the first a collection of arrangements of pieces given to Cole for the album from friends and colleagues, including Robert Mitchell, Alex Wilson, Nikki Iles, Jason Yarde and Corey Mwamba; the 2nd disc, "As Warm As The Sun" is a collection of compositions and improvisations by Cole herself.

Three solo tracks by Zhao Cong, who develops suspenseful sonic environments over which she inventively and patiently adds daily objects, sounds from her mixer, condenser microphone, her voice, a cardpaper tube, no input feedback, contact microphones, and a home ballroom light, each piece evolving with a unique disposition towards certain associative sounds; fascinating.

Bringing together veteran bassist Drew Gress with younger generation players, Belgian-American saxophonist Robin Verheyen (Bram De Looze) and drummer Mark Ferber (Gary Peacock, Ralph Alessi), pianist Marc Copland's new quartet presents a lyrical album of original compositions and standards; virtuosic, energetic and sensitively interpreted works of modern jazz.

Combining elements of neo-soul, jazz fusion and hip hop, the Cordoba genre-bending sextet from Chicago use their warm, slightly off-center grooves to present vocalist Brianna Tong's articulate lyrics that observe and reflect on the state of world, the band's arrangements extended on five songs with the Latin America-influenced Kaia String Quartet.

Poet Francois Cotinaud presents a tribute to Arnold Schoenberg and John Cage through the acting of Francoise Purnode and nine musicians involved in soundpainting, with a CD and a DVD of the performance plus interviews & insight into the work.

Four composers - John Carisi, Eddie Sauter, Christian Wolff, and Stefan Wolpe - create a program of works with a measured balance in the interrelated and contrasting material.

After a performance in 2019, Kobe-based Canadian sound artist Tim Olive and Calgary percussionist, experimenter and Bug Incision lAfter a performance in 2019, Kobe-based Canadian sound artist Tim Olive and Calgary percussionist, experimenter & Bug Incision label leader Chris Dadge recorded these two studio pieces using Dadge's amplified percussion, small instruments & electronics, as well as Olive's magnetic pickup/electronics system, running through a number of guitar & bass amplifiers.abel leader Chris Dadge recorded these two studio pieces using Dadge's amplified percussion, small instruments & electronics, as well as Olive's magnetic pickup/electronics system, running through a number of guitar & bass amplifiers.

Adding bassist Jon Short to their lineup, the 4th album from Das Rad continues the band's genre-merging approach of rock & improv forms rooted in prog, kosmiche, and jazz rock, this post-pandemic album bringing the band back together for live interaction, their enthusiasm evident in their energetic intercourse, particularly in the extended suite "Expergefactor".

An extended solo titled for author Redell Olsen's book secure portable space (Reality Street), performed on Lever harp and EBows by UK electroacoustic improviser Rhodri Davies, recorded at Old School, Bracon Ash, in Norfolk in 2004 by Graham Halliwell and edited by Benedict Drew and John Wall, creating a richly evolving work of haunting plateaus and valleys.

First released in 2012 on the Alt.Vinyl label and now reissued on his own Amgen label, Rhodri Davies performs solo in Newcastle upon Tyne on lap harp and electronics, using two main techniques: over-articulation of the strings (what harpists are taught not to do) and attacking the strings with a plectrum, forcing the tuning into new relationships until the strings eventually break.

A curious book of images from artists including Rhodri Davies, John Butcher, Angharad Davies, Richard Dawson, &c. photographed in a location familiar to a touring musician--a budget hotel room--pictured laying on the bed with each artist's head covered by that room's hotel wall painting, from typically insipid to perplexingly unexpected.

Taking modular synths into unusual territory, Autumn Records label leader and relentless audio explorer Greg Davis spent years using a computer controlled modular synthesizer system to generate an obsessive set of synthetic and electronic sounds -- swooping, burbling, chattering, &c. -- assembled into this quick witted and energetic set of compositions.

French composer and guitarist Clara De Asis composed the extended soundwork "Without" for the duo of Erik Carlson (violin) and Greg Stuart (percussion), defining a precise framework for the position and duration of each sound section and silence, with outlines for texture, volume, use of tone or noise, and percussive materials, but leaving space for many of the performers' choices.

Engrossing interactions of electronic sound, abstract percussion, static, metallic ringing and other ephemeral sonic assertions, from French-based Spanish sound artist Clara de Asís and UK-based Japanese-Korean installation & sound artist Ryoko Akama: three tracks of live electroacoustic improvisation, and three compositions extracted from those sessions.

The final collaboration of innovative electronic artist J.A. Deane, working remotely with violinist Jason Kao Hwang who sent Deane improvised solo acoustic violin recordings that Deane edited into 57 gestures, mapping them to a keyboard and creating six tracks of morphed electronics which Hwang improvised over with an electric violin to complete this unique and fascinating album.

The seventh release on Potlatch for tenor saxophonist Bertrand Denzler and the first for electronic artist Jason Kahn, in an extended electroacoustic improvisation, Denzler performing his instrument in ways Adolphe Sax did not intend intersected by Kahn's bent and crackly emissions, each increasingly assertive through to a engrossing, exhalable end.

A commissioned piece for Jean Derome by Montreal's O Vertigo dance troupe and their production "The Beast Within" that explores animalistic qualities in a dynamic mix of improvisation and composition.

Two saxophones, two voices; two gargoyles, two satyrs; two forces of nature that agitate, whistle, squeak, scrape, blow, and bite, transforming music into a secular incantation and a banquet of sound.

Stunningly unusual vocal music from composer, music researcher and vocalist based in Montreal, Gabriel Dharmoo, collecting works from 2012 to 2019, performed with small and large ensembles using almost completely wordless voice, utterance, guttural sound, swoops and, melodic flights, augmented with physical percussion like stamping and clamping; brilliant and enthralling.

Comprised of Anglo-Russian pianist Vladimir Miller (Moscow Composers Orchestra), Italian double-bassist Pierpaolo Martino (Mondegreen, Howl and Machine3) and British saxophonist Adrian Northover (The Remote Viewers, London Improvisers Orchestra), this collective improv trio brings a lyrical and melodic approach to their performances of graceful and cultivated conversation.

The pairing of German trumpeter Axel Dorner, and NY-born experimental artist Jason Kahn living and performing in Zurich, brings the tradition of avant free jazz and nonidiomatic improvisation into an unusual merging of techniques and approaches, each applying their advanced virtuosity to this intense concert, recorded during Hamburg's Zoom In Festival, 2017.

A much-needed reissue of Dave Douglas's Tiny Bell Trio with guitarist Brad Shepik and drummer Jim Black, a remarkably telepathic group recorded mid-tour after 3 years working together.

A solo poetic album by Andre Duchesne on acoustic guitar playing 14 beautiful songs.

With a booklet of images showing the riverside location of the first performances of French guitarist Marc Ducret's sophisticated compositions reflecting tidal river flows & fluctuations by season, the four meticulous recordings on this album were captured in the studio with Fabrice Martinez on trumpet, flugelhorn & tuba, Christophe Monniot on saxophones and Samuel Blaser on trombone.

Marc Ducret's Tower series continues, skipping a beat as we jump from Vol 2. to Vol. 4, in this live solo acoustic guitar release from his 2012 Baltic tour, where he reassembles and builds bridges to offer a new vision of the Tower's cycle.

An electroacoustic composition of environment & sound punctuated with subtle percussion and electronic interventions, developed from field recordings, performances on Roosevelt Island, and studio recordings in Brooklyn by the duo of Tucker Dulin on bells, bowl, can, cymbal, lentils, mallet & whistle and Ben Owen on paper mic, speaker boxes, op amps & cassette.

Two saxophones take the front line in Paul Dunmall's 2018 studio album, the leader on tenor saxophone with fellow tenor player Julian Siegel, also on bass clarinet, while Mark Sanders drums and Percy Pursglove handles bass and also trumpet, as the band falls into a hard bop mode, weaving lines together over wonderfully turbulent and soulful grooves; outstanding.

Two unique and adventurous takes on collective free improvisation led by Paul Dunmall and recorded in the studio, using the group that appears on his first Paul Dunmall Presents series in January 2020: Dunmall on tenor sax, John O'Gallagher on alto sax, Percy Pursglove on trumpet, Elliott Sansom on piano, Chris Mapp on electric bass and Miles Levin on drums.

Hard working free improv session from the UK trio of Paul Dunmall on tenor sax, John Edwards on double bass and the late Tony Marsh on drums, performing live at the Vortex in 2010, and at UWE in Bristol, 2007, never released material reminding of Marsh's stature and skill.

2021 reissue of this 2004 release on the DUNS label bringing together a uniquely voiced quartet with Paul Dunmall on tenor & soprano saxophones, virtuoso concertina player Simon Thoumire, John Edwards on double bass and Philip Gibbs on guitar, with both Dunmall & Thoumire performing on bagpipes on two tracks; a welcome reissue to a distinctive and thought-provoking album.

The other side of Paul Dunmall's characteristic saxophone work is heard here on the alto flute, bringing Dunmall together with fellow flutist Neil Metcalf and the rhythm section of James Owston on bass and Tymek Jozwiak on drums for four exceptional improvisations that focus more on interaction and less on soloing, showcasing all four through sophisticated performance.

The first album from the duo of American composer & violinist Jordan Dykstra and Dutch composer Koen Nutters, developed by exchanging material of ambient & spacious nature using slow chord development, field recordings, viola, pitch pipe, crotales, piano EBow and electronic programming, the resulting work diverse and constantly evolving through fascinating details.

The 4th album from saxophonist & bass clarinetist Silke Ebherard with her long-running powerhouse trio of Jan Roder on bass and Kay Lübke on drums, presenting all Eberhard compositions showing her strong writing voice under the influence of jazz greats like Dolphy, Mingus and Coleman, through nine well-balanced pieces from bluesy introspection to burning freedom.

Three chamber works by Calgary, Canadian composer Mark Ellestad composed between 1988 and 1994 and recently retrieved by the composer, including the title track, a graceful solo guitar work performed by Christián Alvear; a meditative piece for pump organ & Hardanger fiddle performed by the composer; and a large work for violin and cello performed by Apartment House.

Ensemble Supermusique, Montreal's premiere open-minded improvising ensemble, here led by saxophonist & vocalist Joane Hetu and conducted by percussionist Danielle Palardy Roger, present a live concert of graphic scores dating back to 1920, with works from Fred Frith (Stone, Brick, Glass, Wood, Wire), Luigi Russolo, Maxime Daigneault, Emilie Girard-Charest & Anestis Logothetis.

The collective ensemble Supermusique featuring key performers from Montréal's musique actuelle scene, including Jean Derome, Isaiah Ceccarelli, Joane Hetu, Danielle Palardy, &c. perform "Sounding the Image", three animated scores composed through the creation of moving images and rendered live in a remarkable concert at Amphiteatre de Gesu, in Montreal in 2019.

Ellery Eskelin performing solo on tenor saxophone at 61 Local in Brooklyn, NY, four original compositions, personal and distinctive improvisation like listening to tales from a well seasoned and adept traveler.

Taking song titles from the Arawak language, the Estamos Trio of Thollem McDonas (piano), Milo Tamez (drums) and Carmina Escobar (voice & electronics) brings together artists from the Mexican/U.S. border, creating beautiful creative works.

The New York free improvising trio of Matthew Heyner (Test, Malkuth) on bass, Matt Lavelle on trumpet and clarinet and Ryan Sawyer (Tall Firs, Stars Like Fleas) on drums in the follow-up to their 2005 Utech double CD "Embracing The Tide / Making Eye Contact With God", an impressive release of expressive technique and ritualistic drive.

Quebecois guitarist Bernard Falaise of Miriodor, Klaxon Gueule, Papa Boa and Les Projectionnistes fame, continues his solo series with the fifth note of the scale, "Sol (G)", reflected in a series of eight inventive guitar improvisations using timbral effects and looping structures to expand his virtual ensemble as does in his live performances.

Two deep basses come together in this recording of a live performance at O'Culto de Ajuda, Lisboa, Portugal between Red Trio double bassist Hernani Faustino and Ensemble MIA/String Theory double bassist Joao Madeira, mixing bowed and plucked styles along with preparations and extended techniques in a three part suite of powerfully imposing improvisation.

Recorded at the 2014 Ad Libitum Festival in Warsaw, pianist and composer Agusti Fernandez was invited to perform four concerts in celebration of his 60th birthday, choosing his working trio Aurora for once concert, a solo performance of "El Laberint de la Memoria", his electroacoustic Thunder trio, and a large ensemble conduction: "River, Tiger Fire".

Irish guitarist and composer Scott Fields has worked with the poems of late New York writer Steve Dalachinsky over the years, here bringing together an ensemble of improvisers, electronic and contemporary classical performers to set a suite of six poems by Dalachinsky sung by soprano Barbara Schachtner, with interludes between each weaving them into a larger and satisfying opus.

An album of raw and emotional "love songs", 17 unique solo violin improvisations and vocal utterance as the New York improviser runs her bow with passionate openness and intimacy through raspy edges, ardent plucking, introspective aching, and moments of beauty, all displayed through immense technique and powerful control over her instrument.

Applying extended techniques from rubbing & scraping to sawing and striking, New York violinist Gabby Fluke-Mogul presents a bold solo violin album of 6 pieces with titles like "Bruise" or "Teeth", drawing an incredible gamut of unusual sounds from the violin and its body, occasionally adding vocal utterance, all laid out with a wonderfully quirky sense of timing.

US sound artists Heather Frasch and UK Ryoko Akama, who together run the mumei journal exploring the relationship between text and sound, in works commissioned by Bruno Duplant based on written texts, each interpreted, recorded and edited by the other using objects, field recordings, electronics, cello & voice, with one piece from Frasch and two versions from Akama.

Seeking new methods of performing real-time collective composition through improvisation, composer & guitarist Moss Freed developed a language of hand signals that could be used among a large ensemble with instructions to guide players towards particular activities, heard in this spectacular set of seven improvisations, each named for an iconic improviser or composer.

A stunning sound collage made from recorded fragments of Fujii's studio piano, captured inside and out using traditional piano sonorities and preparations that often microscopically detail the instrument, then edited into two electroacoustic compositions of startling and unexpected expansiveness and wonder; a unique and fascinating release in Fujii's large oeuvre.

A book of scores to accompany the double CD of 56 Satoko Fujii compostions titled "Diary 2005-2015", performed by respected classical pianist and educator Yuko Yamaoka, released as part of Satoko Fujii's ambitious 60th birthday monthly album set.

Having played in trio settings before, pianist Satoko Fujii and Spanish drummer Ramon Lopez seized the opportunity to record as a duo in the studio in NY, bringing just two Fujii compositions to guide them, they began freely improvising, creating this stunning album of elegant interaction, peaceful yet detailed, intuitively beautiful and sophisticated music.

Technically brilliant and creatively inventive, pianist Joel Futterman expands on his 2020 Listen! Foundation CD with a second three-part journey into his powerfully investigative approach to solo jazz improvisation, referencing a history of styles and techniques that display both a dynamo of intricate ability and a sensitivity to timing, space and melodic expression.

An epic journey in free vocal improvised music from the trio of vocalist Anna Gadt with Zbigniew Chojnacki on accordion & live electronics and Krzysztof Gradziuk on drums, performing live in the studio in Nieport, Poland, with arrangements, deconstructions and original music by Anna Gadt, along with the theme from "Monumentum pro Gesualdo" by Igor Stravinski.

Dramatic, darkly thrilling music with moments of sheer beauty from French electric bassist Frederick Galiay and his Camaeleo Vulgaris ensemble, a sextet performing Galiay's compositions in a potent mix of electric guitar, electrified baritone sax, synthesizer, and two drummer/percussionists, recorded after a dozen live concerts honing the material to this riveting studio version.

Pianist Bob Gluck in a trio with Joe Giardullo on soprano saxophone and Christopher Dean Sullivan on bass, a delicate album that belies the "quiet" in its title.

Bay Area experimental music scene legend and multi-disciplinary artist Barabara Golden celebrates her 80th birthday presents works created between 1980-2020, including performances by Robert Ashley, Maggi Payne, Chris Brown, WIGband with Johanna Poethig, George Lewis, William Winant, Mary Oliver and texts by Melody Sumner Carnahan.

Approaching the concept of endless repetition, New York composer and pianist Phillip Golub (Tropos, Sarafand Ensemble, Cecil McBee) presents his debut solo piano album, a contemplative set of system-based looping phrases that open up to improvisational variety in live performance, here in four renderings that defy the categorization of a "loop".

Unlike anything in trumpeter Dennis Gonzalez's discography, this album was developed from Moog recordings by Derek Rogers, whose shifting tonalities and colors led Gonzalez to a Jon Hassel-influenced approach, adding a rhythmic basis of tabla and djembe from Jagath Lakpriya and sitar-inspired harp from Jess Garland, underpinned by the rich bass work of Drew Phelps.

A duo of contrasts and compatabilities from German violinst Gunda Gottschalk and guzheng virtuoso Xu Fengxia, exotic and beautifully textured improvisation live from Victoriaville, 2008.

Representing some of the London scene's most innovative and creative improvisers, with years of work together as a trio and as M.A.M.--saxophonist Andrian Northover (Remote Viewers), cellist Marcio Mattos (Stellari String Quartet, Tony Oxley's Celebration Orchestra) and vocalist Marilza Gouvea--are heard here in 2 studio recordings and 3 live recordings at Iklectic.

Thirteen succinct improvisations pitting Gordon Grdina's swinging middle-eastern flavors on the oud offset by gritty, experimental guitar work against drummer Jim Black's well-chosen and rock-solid grooves, an engaging album that shifts and explores a tremendous range of ideas and adventurous attitudes that span jazz, rock and experimental genres with ease.

A split 7" 45 with radical sonic experimenting quartet Great Architect with Brent Bagwell from Eastern Seaboard; and polyrhythmic experimenting quartet Moenda.

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Recording in Brussels, Rhodri Davies performs a composition for pedal harp written for and dedicated to him by composer and saxophonist Jean-Luc Guionnet, using liberal periods of space that creates hanging anticipation amidst beautiful moments of fragmented string sequence and percussive response using the frame of the harp, leaving the listener in a state of fascinated expectancy.

Eric La Casa and Jean Luc Guionnet recorded this conceptual work in Melbourne, Australia, combining different scales of time, space, & attention, with different working strategies to create a gallery installation, and this book & DVD package exploring the acoustic phenomenon of "standing waves" to engage with the physical relationship between sound and space.

Impressive experimental approaches to organized recordings of rhythmic and melodic percussion, a mix of quirky and curious samples & loops, spoken word, field recordings and inexplicable origins, captivating the listener in concise and diverse expositions and dynamic pacing, a journey in "pleasingly" upbeat passages and moments of awe and contemplation.

A diverse and confident set of solo drums improvisations, acoustic or in tandem with metal and wooden objects, microphone amplification, drum feedback manipulation and close-microphone use on a detuned floor tom, in the first solo release from Chicago drummer and Amalgam label leader Bill Harris recording live at the Music Garage, in Chicago.

Melodic and texturally rich jazz from the trio of pianist Jackson Harrison with Ben Waples on double bass and brother James Waples on drums, a lyrical album of original compositions named for the process of coalescing a powder into a solid by heating it without liquefaction.

Ensemble Recherche plays chamber music pieces by Polish composer Roman Haubenstock-Ramati that are dynamically explosive and allow for the free communicating of the musicians.

A hybrid of theater, music, sound poetry and political manifesto from Sylvaine Helary, focused on the "Arab Spring" in Egypt, using intertwining words and voices around the quartet performances of Hugues Mayot, Sylvain Lemetre, Antonin Rayon and Sylvaine Helary.

Drummer Gerry Hemingway in a CD & DVD release, 15 audio tracks and accompanying video and interview, dividing the program into "mist, dust, light, and sex", highlighting aspects of this prominent percussionist that expand our understanding of his prodigious abilities.

Captivating improvisational journeys with drummer and percussionist Gerry Hemingway and Jin Hi Kim performing on the Korean komungo black zither .

An amazing journey in sound and voice from saxophonist/vocalist Joane Hetu with five singers/narrators/musicians/noise-makers and layered field recordings, a remarkable and sophisticated work about sex, loss, death, art, & politics.

Four compositions written between 2000-2019 from Joane Hétu: a duo between bassist Nicolas Caloia & bass clarinetist/vocalist Lori Freedman; a work with Hétu & Jean Derome plus the Quaturo Bozzini string and Quasar saxophone quartets; a composition for 20 electric guitars; and one movement from "Préoccupant, c'est Préoccupant performed by Ensemble Supermusique.

Known mostly as a saxophonist on the Japanese improvised music scene, Junji Hirose has also released a series of albums using self-made analog noise instruments, here using a device where balls and small objects are placed on a large, shallow, round metal plate and moved by a compressor, here in four tracks with different objects and one with no objects at all.

Focusing on melody, rhythm, harmony, and texture, violinist/composer Jason Kao Hwang's Sing House employs a perceptive and swinging blend of Western and Eastern influences as his impressive band with Andrew Drury on drums, Ken Filiano on bass, Chris Forbes on piano, and Steve Swell on trombone present four lyrical, propulsive and wonderfully embraceable "songs".

Longtime bandmates Ken Filiano (bass) and Andrew Drury (drums) join violinist Jason Kao Hwang for 6 original compositions, each a progression of gestures, songs, movements and locations that bring the musicians into a state of discovery and compassion, completed during the COVID-19 pandemic and honoring healthcare workers and those tragically lost to the disease.

Sebastian Gottschick's adaptations of Ives' songs and short instrumental pieces pay homage to the composer and develop his work further, as conducted by Gottschick with the ensemble fur neue musik zurich.

Three consummate improvisers--Catherine Jauniaux on voice, Xavier Charles on clarinet and Jean-Sebastien Mariage on electric guitar--met at la Muse en Circuit in Alfortville, France after touring, recording this authoritative version of their profound and extended work, which uses lyrics excerpted from Marguerite Duras' 1971 cinematic novel L'amour.

Bringing together two masterful percussionists -- Norwegian drummer Per Oddvar Johansen and Paris-based Japanese drummer Seijiro Murayama -- for a distinctive drum duo, each musician using a minimal set that combines a snare drum with small objects and cymbals, for an album of six improvisations and two composed pieces, all showing restraint in rhythmic interaction.

Joker brings together 12 vocalists, many core members of the Ambiances Magnetiques/Musique Actuelle collective including Joane Hetu, Jean Derome, Diane Labrosse, Michel F Cote, Lori Freedman, &c, performing unusual works of voice and narration composed by Joane Hetu.

Live recordings of JC Jones in duo settings, 14 different collaborations including Ned Rothenberg, Victoria Hanna, Harold Rubin, Josef Sprinzak, Nori Jacoby, &c.

Clarinetist Theo Jorgensmann's quartet with double bassist Christian Ramond, drummer Klaus Kugel, and vibraphonist Christopher Dell recording in the studio in German, 1999.

While contrabass player Matija Schellander was performing a residency at the 2017 music Festival Artacts in Austria, this quartet formed with Paris saxophonist Jean-Luc Guionnet, percussionist Seijiro Murayama and Beijing-based vocalist Yan Jun, developing this work of quiet tension and sudden release, here from one of four performances, recorded live at Ljubljana in Slovenia.

Beijing sound artists Yan Jun and Zhu Wenbo developed this hour-long sound composition from independent recordings, a set of abstractions through recordings in the field, mechanical and electronic devices, human voice and utterance, acoustic and electronic instruments, &c. &c., made cohesive and compelling through independent time assignments by each artist; inexplicably interesting.

After riding through his city of Zurich to the Kunstraum Walcheturm studio in 2020, Jason Kahn was struck by the quiet aspects of the usually busy city, now quelled by pandemic; entering the studio feeling the desolation and strange sense of peacefulness in the midst of so much tragedy and suffering, he recorded these "songs" of passionate free vocal improvisations and acoustic guitar.

A 60 page book and CD from sound artist Jason Kahn, the audio composition representing an interconnected set of sound impressions focused on the Indian city of Varanasi, using field recordings of life on the street, the people, animals & music heard there, into the holy sites of the city, the school rooms, ending with a cremation and inevitable quiet at end of day.

Exploring Kyoto through a series of 37 compositions organized from field recordings of everyday sound in the city made during Jason Kahn's 3 month stay in 2012, creating unique audio memories evoking and commenting on the structure of Kyoto's social spaces.

Swiss improviser Jason Kahn continues his forays into vocal experimentation with this solo album, recorded in the rooms of a former Swisscom telephone relay station in Zurich, recorded in a single take, pushing himself over the edge in these unique vocal compositions that are stark examples of his creative and confrontational skills.

Sound experimenter and electroacoustic organizer Jason Kahn revisits previous works and expands on them with the book and CD release, with an essay on his approach towards public space interventions and text / sound installations, a track listing, photographs from the locations of his field recordings, and texts and prose poems to accompany the listener.

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.

Pianist Stephen Clarke plays seven works for solo piano by Estonian-born, Canadian-naturalized composer Udo Kasemets that focus on specific designs of micro-detail.

Natsuki Tamura & Christian Pruvost on trumpets, Satoko Fuji on piano and Peter Orins on drums for a quartet where all members are active compositional contributors, creating a powerful ensemble sound with strong soloing using modern creative techniques; excellent!

The fifth album from the French and Japanese quartet Kaze, initiated by drummer Pter Orins, with two trumpeters--Christian Pruvost and Natsuki Tamura--and pianist Satoko Fujii, all using extended and unusual techniques as they perform innovative compositions from Fujii, Orins, and Tamura with a balance of serious and playful approaches; brilliant.

The cooperative Japanese/French quartet Kaze of pianist Satoko Fujii, trumpeter Natsuki Tamura, trumpeter Christian Pruvost and drummer Peter Orins are expanded for a second time with New York electronic artist Ikue Mori, embracing pandemic restrictions by creating this album through file exchange, adding complex layers of profound interaction to the virtual improvisations.

A live recording at Koenji Jirokichi in 2022 between Magaibtusu leader Tatsuya Yoshida (Ruins, Korekyojinn, Koenji Hyakkei, PYN, &c) and pianist Kazuto Shimizu (Arepos, Chakra, Hikashu, Killing Time, Lars Hollmer's Global Home Project, &c), both on vocals as they unfold a playful and technically incredible set of "Doodads", "Watchamacallits" and other wonderful curiosities.

Collecting facets of London trumpeter Charlotte Keeffe's diverse settings and interests, including three live recordings with her own quartet, three recordings with London Improvisers Orchestra including a conduction for a piece dedicated to Steve Beresford, a duo with guitarist Diego Sampieri, and two solo recordings, one interacting with live electronics.

Solo improvisation from Stefen Keune performing on sopranino and alto saxophones, intense playing that focuses on hard-blowing and extreme performance, wringing a singularly desperate yet astute language from the horn.

Two thirds of the free jazz group "Boom Box"--saxophonist Thomas Borgmann and drummer Willi Kellers--and referencing that band's 2011 album titled Jazz, Keys & Screws is rounded out as a trio with double bassist Jan Roder, following the format of "Jazz" with compositions from each player following head/solo format, fueled by each player's extensive experience.

The first volume in an ongoing collaboration between composers Kenneth Kirschner and Joseph Branciforte, this work explores the application of software-based compositional techniques — including algorithmic processes, generative systems, and indeterminacy — performed in a superb ensemble including members of Flux Quartet and International Contemporary Ensemble.

Perhaps one of the quirkiest releases from the Klaxon Gueule trio of Michel F Côté, Bernard Falaise and Alexandre St-Onge, performing respectively on drums, guitar and bass, and all on synthesizers and computer, recalling early electronic albums while adding a whimsical and alluring edge to their often darker and more experimental prior releases.

Naming each track for the teeth of a different type of zip-fastener (curved, triangular, saggitate, &c) Swiss double bassists Daniel Studer and Peter K. Frey improvise a fascinating set of interlocking and intersecting abstractions, recorded live at at Kronen Galerie, in Zurich as the two celebrated their 20th anniversary as a duo through a series of 10 half-hour concerts.

The album title translating to Humanity, Polish improvising vocalist Natalia Kordiak demonstrates her skills both as a jazz singer and as part of the continuum of creative free improv vocalists, with a tremendous quartet of young musicians: Przemyslaw Chmiel on tenor & soprano saxophones, Mateusz Kolakowski on piano, Alan Wykpisz on double bass & bass guitar and Grzegorz Palka on drums.

Multi-reedist Peter Kuhn returned to the San Diego scene in 2013, forming the Dependent Origination band with a core of drummer Alex Cline and saxophonist Dave Sewelson, referencing the Buddhist concept of interdependent co-arising; 4 years later this album adding Dan Clucas (cornet) & Scott Walton (bass) represents the current state of this excellent collective band.

Exploring the details of everyday life as he examines the relationship between his environment and himself, microscopic audio explorer Éric La Casa investigates sounds beyond the threshold of auditory hearing, capturing barely perceptible sonic manifestations with incredible clarity and detail, constructing engaging works from these surprising and intriguing sounds.

A fascinating set of stereophonic electroacoustic compositions based on the recordings and mixes used for four sound installations in four galleries in France, impeccably captured and creatively edited: Eric La Casa & Jean-Luc Guionnet; Michaële-Andréa Schatt & Eric La Casa; Seijiro Murayama & Eric La Casa; and Arnau Horta & Eric La Casa.

A live recording of two extended improvisations at Audio Rebel's Quintavant in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from the quartet of Arthur Lacerda on guitar and electronics, electric bassist Felipe Zenicola, guitarist Eduardo Manso, and drummer/percussionist Paal Nilssen-Love.

Price Reduction: A startling and energetically exciting collision of cleverly eclectic sound sources when Swiss turntablist and sound artist Joke Lanz met Austrian improviser and turntablist Dieb13 (Dieter Kovacic) for this amazing 2020 concert at GrillX in Vienna, using three turntables to create an incredible collage of sounds from the humorous to the awe inspiring.

Working with sound designers, cinematic and theater artists along with free improvisers, percussionist and composer Didier Lassere's performance project focuses on the relationship between sound and silence, composing entry, exit and superimposition points that the members of his septet improvise around, reconfiguring to smaller groupings throughout the work.

The 2007 solo debut of New York free improvising trumpeter Matt Lavelle, here performing on the hybrid instruments, the Bass-Trumpinet and Bass-Clarumpet, introduced and punctuated with spoken word insight and declarations, and using overdubs on selected tracks, making for an intimate and accomplished album of modern free jazz.

NY saxophonist Steve Lehman's Octet integrates delicate and highly nuanced spectral harmonies into meticulously crafted rhythmic settings, advanced and compelling jazz.

Saxophonist Steve Lehman's trio with drummer Damion Reid and double bassist Matt Brewer is expanded with pianist Craig Taborn for an album of Lehman originals and compositions by Autechre, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Kenny Kirkland, and Jeff "Tain" Watts, plus three duo recordings between Lehman and Taborn; intricate cutting edge jazz made effortless and exuberant!

NY saxophonist Steve Lehman builds on his work with spectral harmony, expanding the harmonic palette with live electronics & a custom-built vibraphone, in an octet with Jonathan Finlayson, Mark Shim, Tim Albright, Chris Dingman, Jose Davila, Drew Gress & Tyshawn Sorey.

Although she has probably become known as one of Australia's best-known composers, Liza Lim's compositions undermine centuries-old Eurocentrism and are largely inspired by Asian culture.

Hailed as the most pyrotechnic and adventurous concert of the 12th Ad Libitum Festival in Warsaw, Poland, the collective quintet of Agusti Fernandez on piano, Artur Majewski on trumpet, Albert Cirera on saxophones, Rafal Mazur on bass, and Ramon Prats on drums, rage and flow through three movements of "Flux", starting at the "Source" and ending in an "Estuary"; awesome.

One of the strangest items in the Takayanagi (New Direction Unit) discography:- an acoustic guitar nontet playing covers of South American tango, milonga, vals, rumba, &c.

Performing solo on violin with surrounding effects that emphasize the dramatic tension in her extended sequences, Samara Lubelski presents two substantial journeys into the infinite, swirling in delays and reverb as her bow transitions from rapid up and down to long drawing and sustaining, pulling a variety of sounds that elate her listeners in spirals and eddies.

A warm and relaxed saxophone trio album led by Finnish tenor saxophonist Pauli Lyytinen (Raoul Bjorkenheim's eCsTaSy), Polish double bassist Maciej Garbowski and drummer Krzysztof Gradziuk (RGG), the three focused on deeply expressive interaction and lyrical finesse, while performing live at Institute of Music Performance, in Katowice, Poland, in 2019.

A set of blues songs of a personal nature, concepts for a broken yet hopeful age, written and sung by improvising guitarist Marcin "M" Olak (Gadt/Osborne/Zakrocki/Olak, Agusti Fernandez) performed and expanded by a set of stellar improvisers: Ben Stapp on tuba, Fred Lonberg-Holm on cello, Marco Colonna on flute and Steve Swell on trombone.

Widoki, Polish for Views, is the debut album of the free improvising trio of Artur Malecki on drums, Michal Aftyka on double bass & electric bass and Przemylaw Chmiel on tenor & soprano saxophones, performing seven compositions from drummer Malecki and one collective improvisation, a strong and wide-ranging set of recordings from a band with a fresh perspective on creative jazz.

Using multiphonics, extended techniques and an intuitive sense of drama and narrative, Barcelona alto and baritone saxophonist Don Malfon takes his listeners on an 8-part journey of "Mutable" solo performances, using every inch of his horn (including inserting resonant objects), his body, tongue and breath to investigate the outer limits of his instruments.

A tribute to late experimental sound artist Peter Rehberg (Pita) from collaborators and friends Lasse Marhaug and Jérôme Noetinger, ten recordings of wildly creative, slippery electronics, crunching sound bunts, rapid fire electronic turmoil and tapehead jamming, ending with a beautifully drifting tribute to an artist who widely influenced modern sound culture.

A truly inventive collective trio of free improvisers from Denman Maroney on hyperpiano (a conventional piano played with one hand on the keys and other inside the piano), West Coast double bassist Scott Walton and French drummer Denis Fournier, performing within the piano trio format and then turning it on its side with unexpected approaches to their conversations.

A fully free, quirky and marvelous set of virtually indescribable improvisation from the trio of French vocalist Clara Weill (known from her work with Fred Frith), Olivia Scemama on bass and Tom Malmendier on drums, three active international collaborators with powerful technical skills and a strange sense of humor willing to take their music where ever it oddly leads.

Spanish sound artist and vocalist Mattin in his 6th "Songbook" album, performed with Farahnaz Hatam, Pan Daijing, Colin Hacklander, Werner Dafeldecker, and Dean Roberts, a vicious mix of essentially no-wave rock and experimental music, six songs at exactly six minutes each covering topics of the conflicts, confusion and frustrations of our modern age.

Mattin takes 5 spontaneous 5-minute songs from 5 musicians, and a 25 minute concert structured by 5 instructions based on those song titles, then records vocals for the 5 songs as a singing lecture, then superimposes all 3 to create the five 5-minutes songs on this album.

Indian-born, currently Amsterdam-based American Rajesh Mehta expands the timbral and textural palette of the trumpet in twelve pieces with accompaniment by Paul Lovens on drums and cymbals.

Trumpeter Manuel Mengis 3rd Hat release, 8 original compositions of sophisticated and enjoyable modern jazz from a sextet with dual sax and guitar leads.

A member of the French ONJ (Orchestre National de Jazz), saxophonist Metzger also works with a variety of real-time transformation music software; this is an excellent review of his compositions and his unique voice in modern improvisation.

Four recordings of chamber-oriented improvisation by Serbian violinist Szilárd Mezei in a trio with bassist Zoltán Csányi, a frequent collaborator of Mezei, and Catalonian percussionist Vasco Trilla, performing in 2021 at KC Lab in Novi Sad, at RCA Magyarkanizsa in Serbia, at Samo Pivo in Subotica, Serbia and at Korzó Zeneház in Szeged, Hungary.