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AMM (Prevost / Rowe / Tilbury)
Phlegm
(Matchless)

A late-period live recording from AMM — Eddie Prévost, Keith Rowe, and John Tilbury — capturing their refined electroacoustic free improv language of near-silence, where percussion, electronics, and piano dissolve into a shared sonic field shaped by extreme restraint, microscopic detail, and a collective focus on texture, duration, and deep listening.


Eri Yamamoto Quadraphonic
Fly With The Wings
(Mahakala Music)

A warm and lyrical new quartet from pianist, vocalist, and melodica player Eri Yamamoto alongside Chad Fowler on alto sax & flute, Kevin Thomas on bass, and longtime collaborator Ikuo Takeuchi on drums, blending groove-driven jazz, free improvisation, and tender balladry with Yamamoto's distinctive touch, highlighted by playful interplay, beautiful melodies, and a soulful, unhurried charm.


Eri Yamamoto / Matthew Shipp
Horizon
(Mahakala Music)

A deeply personal collaboration between pianists Eri Yamamoto and Matthew Shipp, recorded live in the studio with Yamamoto in the left channel and Shipp in the right, as Yamamoto marks thirty years in New York with a set of original compositions for this occasion, their distinctive voices intertwining in an elegant, searching, and harmonically rich conversation of friendship, individuality, and creative life.


Ivo Perelman (w/ Marc Ribot / Elliott Sharp / Joe Morris)
Trifecta [3 CDs]
(Mahakala Music)

Uniting tenor saxophonist Ivo Perelman with three distinct guitar voices — Marc Ribot, Elliott Sharp, and Joe Morris — this 3-CD set presents three separate duo encounters recorded at Park West Studios in Brooklyn, highlighting contrasting improvisational languages while exploring timbre, interaction, and the expressive possibilities of the guitar in free improv contexts.


Adam O'Farrill (O'Farrill / Rogers / Stinson / Holzman)
Elephant
(Out Of Your Head Records)

Leading his new quartet Elephant, trumpeter Adam O'Farrill presents a forward-looking jazz session of original compositions that shift fluidly between rhythmic drive and abstraction, where contrasting textures, layered structures, and expressive interplay animate a dynamic ensemble sound shaped by subtle electronic elements and a contemporary, cross-genre sensibility.


Webber/Morris Big Band
Unseparate
(Out Of Your Head Records)

Five years after their debut, co-leaders Anna Webber and Angela Morris return with a 19-piece large ensemble recording that showcases their next-level compositional voices, unfolding through the "Just Intonation Etudes for Big Band" suite and a series of richly orchestrated works that balance drones, contrapuntal density, rhythmic blasts, and lyrical themes in an adventurous exploration of sound and structure.


Tomeka Reid Quartet (w/ Roebke / Halvorson / Fujiwara)
Dance! Skip! Hop!
(Out Of Your Head Records)

Led by cellist Tomeka Reid, this longstanding quartet with Mary Halvorson on guitar, Jason Roebke on bass, and Tomas Fujiwara on drums delivers a rhythmically propulsive and structurally nimble set that balances grounded low-end drive with agile drumming, incisive guitar textures, and Reid's expressive counterpoint, channeling echoes of 1960s jazz while asserting an exuberant, and yes — danceable — release!


Rob Brown / Brandon Lopez / Juan P. Carletti
Walkabout
(Mahakala Music)

An energetic trio session of collective free improvisation from NY alto saxophonist Rob Brown, bassist Brandon Lopez, and drummer Juan Pablo Carletti, recorded in the studio and driven by an intense energy that maintains a powerful swing, with Brown's incisive phrasing, Lopez's commanding bass, and Carletti's dynamic percussion merging into a spontaneous and deeply expressive musical force.


Adam O'Farrill
For These Streets
(Out Of Your Head Records)

Brooklyn trumpeter Adam O'Farrill leads a superb octet — Mary Halvorson (guitar), Patricia Brennan (vibes), Tomas Fujiwara (drums), and others — through dramatically inventive compositions inspired by the literature and arts of the 1930s, balancing angular rhythmic intensity, rich melodic lyricism, and expressive improvisational depth with adventurous sophistication.


Pierre Favre Trio (Favre / Schweizer / Mraz)
Bird Food
(Songs)

Captured in 1968 in Zurich and long shelved before its recent discovery, this early trio session brings Pierre Favre, Irene Schweizer, and George Mraz together in a concise, fiery set of attentive free jazz, balancing Ornette Coleman's title piece with Schweizer's compositions, where dynamic interplay and acute listening reveal a nascent yet fully engaged collective voice.


Marta Sanchez
For The Space You Left
(Out Of Your Head Records)

Drawing from periods of isolation spanning a 2017 residency and the early pandemic, pianist Marta Sanchez presents a solo prepared piano work that transforms the instrument into a layered, multi-voiced sound world, where interlocking rhythms, fragile textures, and introspective passages of free improv reflect contrasting emotional states shaped by solitude, vulnerability, and a deeply internal creative process.


John Zorn (w/ Marsella / Roeder / Smith / Hashimoto)
Alea Iacta Est
(Tzadik)

With a title translating to The Die is Cast, this formidable piano concerto from composer John Zorn unfolds through abrupt shifts in mood, tempo, and texture, as Brian Marsella, Jorge Roeder, and Ches Smith navigate its exacting, volatile structures with precision and intensity, joined by Sae Hashimoto on vibraphone, adding a resonant counterpoint to this complex, dynamically shifting work.


Trevor Watts / Barry Guy / Ramon Lopez
The First Touch
(Listen! Foundation (Fundacja Sluchaj!))

Reconnecting generations of European free improv, legendary saxophonist Trevor Watts joins longtime collaborator Barry Guy and percussionist Ramon Lopez for a fiercely interactive trio session balancing ecstatic energy, disciplined abstraction, and deeply responsive interplay, as decades of shared musical history erupt into vivid collective expression, explosive rhythmic momentum, and emotionally charged spontaneity.


Tomas Fujiwara
Dream Up
(Out Of Your Head Records)

Recorded at Roulette Intermedium in Brooklyn, drummer and composer Tomas Fujiwara introduces his Percussion Quartet with Patricia Brennan on vibraphone, Tim Keiper on African strings and percussion, and Kaoru Watanabe on Japanese drums and flute, blending global traditions into vivid, imaginative works that traverse groove, texture, and color with striking originality and depth.


Joe Henderson
The Classic 1960s Albums [4 CD BOX SET]
(Enlightenment)

Bringing together seven landmark 1960s sessions, this 4-CD set captures Joe Henderson at the height of his early career, leading stellar ensembles through a compelling range of post-bop expression, from hard-driving grooves to exploratory improvisation, showcasing his commanding tone, compositional strength, and enduring influence on modern jazz.


Hemphill Stringtet, The
Plays the Music of Julius Hemphill
(Out Of Your Head Records)

Celebrating the profound compositional legacy of Julius Hemphill through inventive string adaptations of his saxophone quartet and sextet works, violinists Curtis Stewart and Sam Bardfeld, violist Stephanie Griffin, and cellist Tomeka Reid channel Abdul Wadud's expressive spirit, transforming Hemphill's blues-inflected jazz into vividly textured chamber improvisations with lyrical intensity.


Joe McPhee & Strings (w/ Maneri / Lonberg-Holm / Bisio)
We Know Why The Caged Bird Sings
(RogueArt)

Uniting Joe McPhee on tenor saxophone and spoken word with violist Mat Maneri, cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm, and bassist Michael Bisio, this remarkable quartet of long-time collaborators and distinct musical voices forges a deeply cohesive work of lyrical chamber jazz and free improvisation, balancing individual expression with a collective language of striking originality and emotional depth.


Alexander Hawkins / Taylor Ho Bynum
A Near Permanent State Of Wonder
(RogueArt)

Performing two Bill Dixon works alongside pieces by pianist Alexander Hawkins, Hawkins and cornetist Taylor Ho Bynum unite in a deeply intuitive duo recorded live in New Haven, their spacious and lyrical exchange balancing improvisational freedom with structural grace as two distinct voices attuned to form, texture, and expressive subtlety.


Tomeka Reid Quartet (w/ Roebke / Halvorson / Fujiwara)
Dance! Skip! Hop! [VINYL]
(Out Of Your Head Records)

Led by cellist Tomeka Reid, this longstanding quartet with Mary Halvorson on guitar, Jason Roebke on bass, and Tomas Fujiwara on drums delivers a rhythmically propulsive and structurally nimble set that balances grounded low-end drive with agile drumming, incisive guitar textures, and Reid's expressive counterpoint, channeling echoes of 1960s jazz while asserting an exuberant, and yes — danceable — release!


Henry Cow
The Henry Cow Box Redux: The Complete Henry Cow [18 CDs, DVD & 3 BOOKLETS]
(Recommended Records)

Expanding the definitive collection from British avant-garde pioneers Henry Cow, this expanded edition compiles the complete 40th anniversary box with remastered studio and live recordings, rare material including Cabinet of Curiosities and Glastonbury and Elsewhere, plus a DVD and three extensive booklets totaling 250 pages, presenting a comprehensive and rigorously documented portrait of the band's uncompromising, genre-defying work.


Sylvie Courvoisier Trio (w/ Gress / Wollesen)
Eclats - Live in Europe
(Intakt)

Captured during a European tour, the trio of pianist Sylvie Courvoisier with bassist Drew Gress and drummer Kenny Wollesen presents a finely honed language shaped through deep trust and evolving interplay, where Courvoisier's compositions unfold with precision and openness, balancing intricate detail, shifting textures, and spontaneous free improv with subtle complexity and vivid expressiveness.


Adam O'Farrill (O'Farrill / Rogers / Stinson / Holzman)
Elephant [VINYL]
(Out Of Your Head Records)

Leading his new quartet Elephant, trumpeter Adam O'Farrill presents a forward-looking jazz session of original compositions that shift fluidly between rhythmic drive and abstraction, where contrasting textures, layered structures, and expressive interplay animate a dynamic ensemble sound shaped by subtle electronic elements and a contemporary, cross-genre sensibility.


Bertrand Gauguet / John Tilbury
Contre-Courbes [2 CDs]
(Akousis Records)

Two concert recordings between alto saxophonist Bertrand Gauget and pianist John Tilbury, one at Eglise Saint Maximin, in Metz, France in 2016 and the other at Festival Paysages d'écoute at Les Quinconces, France in 2019, leveraging the natural resonance of both spaces as they perform with concentrative pacing using advanced techniques to create drama and intensity.


Tomas Fujiwara (Fujiwara / Reid / Brennan)
Pith
(Out Of Your Head Records)

Drawing on the same trio heard on his RogueArt release, 7 Poets Trio, Boston-born Brooklyn-based composer and drummer Fujiwara presents a set of six sophisticated works along with one collective improvisation, utilizing the unique orchestration of vibraphonist Patricia Brennan and cellist Tomeka Reid to create a diverse set of highly rewarding recordings.


Peter Brotzmann / Steve Hubback
Treforest 82
(FMR)

A previously unreleased duo encounter pairing Peter Brötzmann's ferocious saxophone with Welsh percussionist Steve Hubback's compact and inventive drum setup, captured at the 1982 Treforest festival in the UK in a brief but explosive burst of free improv where probing textures erupt into cathartic climaxes through raw, intensely focused interplay.


Eri Yamamoto Quadraphonic
Fly With The Wings
(Mahakala Music)

A warm and lyrical new quartet from pianist, vocalist, and melodica player Eri Yamamoto alongside Chad Fowler on alto sax & flute, Kevin Thomas on bass, and longtime collaborator Ikuo Takeuchi on drums, blending groove-driven jazz, free improvisation, and tender balladry with Yamamoto's distinctive touch, highlighted by playful interplay, beautiful melodies, and a soulful, unhurried charm.


Eri Yamamoto / Matthew Shipp
Horizon
(Mahakala Music)

A deeply personal collaboration between pianists Eri Yamamoto and Matthew Shipp, recorded live in the studio with Yamamoto in the left channel and Shipp in the right, as Yamamoto marks thirty years in New York with a set of original compositions for this occasion, their distinctive voices intertwining in an elegant, searching, and harmonically rich conversation of friendship, individuality, and creative life.


Ivo Perelman (w/ Marc Ribot / Elliott Sharp / Joe Morris)
Trifecta [3 CDs]
(Mahakala Music)

Uniting tenor saxophonist Ivo Perelman with three distinct guitar voices — Marc Ribot, Elliott Sharp, and Joe Morris — this 3-CD set presents three separate duo encounters recorded at Park West Studios in Brooklyn, highlighting contrasting improvisational languages while exploring timbre, interaction, and the expressive possibilities of the guitar in free improv contexts.


Adam O'Farrill (O'Farrill / Rogers / Stinson / Holzman)
Elephant
(Out Of Your Head Records)

Leading his new quartet Elephant, trumpeter Adam O'Farrill presents a forward-looking jazz session of original compositions that shift fluidly between rhythmic drive and abstraction, where contrasting textures, layered structures, and expressive interplay animate a dynamic ensemble sound shaped by subtle electronic elements and a contemporary, cross-genre sensibility.


Webber/Morris Big Band
Unseparate
(Out Of Your Head Records)

Five years after their debut, co-leaders Anna Webber and Angela Morris return with a 19-piece large ensemble recording that showcases their next-level compositional voices, unfolding through the "Just Intonation Etudes for Big Band" suite and a series of richly orchestrated works that balance drones, contrapuntal density, rhythmic blasts, and lyrical themes in an adventurous exploration of sound and structure.


Tomeka Reid Quartet (w/ Roebke / Halvorson / Fujiwara)
Dance! Skip! Hop!
(Out Of Your Head Records)

Led by cellist Tomeka Reid, this longstanding quartet with Mary Halvorson on guitar, Jason Roebke on bass, and Tomas Fujiwara on drums delivers a rhythmically propulsive and structurally nimble set that balances grounded low-end drive with agile drumming, incisive guitar textures, and Reid's expressive counterpoint, channeling echoes of 1960s jazz while asserting an exuberant, and yes — danceable — release!


Rob Brown / Brandon Lopez / Juan P. Carletti
Walkabout
(Mahakala Music)

An energetic trio session of collective free improvisation from NY alto saxophonist Rob Brown, bassist Brandon Lopez, and drummer Juan Pablo Carletti, recorded in the studio and driven by an intense energy that maintains a powerful swing, with Brown's incisive phrasing, Lopez's commanding bass, and Carletti's dynamic percussion merging into a spontaneous and deeply expressive musical force.


Adam O'Farrill
For These Streets
(Out Of Your Head Records)

Brooklyn trumpeter Adam O'Farrill leads a superb octet — Mary Halvorson (guitar), Patricia Brennan (vibes), Tomas Fujiwara (drums), and others — through dramatically inventive compositions inspired by the literature and arts of the 1930s, balancing angular rhythmic intensity, rich melodic lyricism, and expressive improvisational depth with adventurous sophistication.


Pierre Favre Trio (Favre / Schweizer / Mraz)
Bird Food
(Songs)

Captured in 1968 in Zurich and long shelved before its recent discovery, this early trio session brings Pierre Favre, Irene Schweizer, and George Mraz together in a concise, fiery set of attentive free jazz, balancing Ornette Coleman's title piece with Schweizer's compositions, where dynamic interplay and acute listening reveal a nascent yet fully engaged collective voice.


Marta Sanchez
For The Space You Left
(Out Of Your Head Records)

Drawing from periods of isolation spanning a 2017 residency and the early pandemic, pianist Marta Sanchez presents a solo prepared piano work that transforms the instrument into a layered, multi-voiced sound world, where interlocking rhythms, fragile textures, and introspective passages of free improv reflect contrasting emotional states shaped by solitude, vulnerability, and a deeply internal creative process.


John Zorn (w/ Marsella / Roeder / Smith / Hashimoto)
Alea Iacta Est
(Tzadik)

With a title translating to The Die is Cast, this formidable piano concerto from composer John Zorn unfolds through abrupt shifts in mood, tempo, and texture, as Brian Marsella, Jorge Roeder, and Ches Smith navigate its exacting, volatile structures with precision and intensity, joined by Sae Hashimoto on vibraphone, adding a resonant counterpoint to this complex, dynamically shifting work.


Trevor Watts / Barry Guy / Ramon Lopez
The First Touch
(Listen! Foundation (Fundacja Sluchaj!))

Reconnecting generations of European free improv, legendary saxophonist Trevor Watts joins longtime collaborator Barry Guy and percussionist Ramon Lopez for a fiercely interactive trio session balancing ecstatic energy, disciplined abstraction, and deeply responsive interplay, as decades of shared musical history erupt into vivid collective expression, explosive rhythmic momentum, and emotionally charged spontaneity.


Tomas Fujiwara
Dream Up
(Out Of Your Head Records)

Recorded at Roulette Intermedium in Brooklyn, drummer and composer Tomas Fujiwara introduces his Percussion Quartet with Patricia Brennan on vibraphone, Tim Keiper on African strings and percussion, and Kaoru Watanabe on Japanese drums and flute, blending global traditions into vivid, imaginative works that traverse groove, texture, and color with striking originality and depth.


Joe Henderson
The Classic 1960s Albums [4 CD BOX SET]
(Enlightenment)

Bringing together seven landmark 1960s sessions, this 4-CD set captures Joe Henderson at the height of his early career, leading stellar ensembles through a compelling range of post-bop expression, from hard-driving grooves to exploratory improvisation, showcasing his commanding tone, compositional strength, and enduring influence on modern jazz.


Hemphill Stringtet, The
Plays the Music of Julius Hemphill
(Out Of Your Head Records)

Celebrating the profound compositional legacy of Julius Hemphill through inventive string adaptations of his saxophone quartet and sextet works, violinists Curtis Stewart and Sam Bardfeld, violist Stephanie Griffin, and cellist Tomeka Reid channel Abdul Wadud's expressive spirit, transforming Hemphill's blues-inflected jazz into vividly textured chamber improvisations with lyrical intensity.


Joe McPhee & Strings (w/ Maneri / Lonberg-Holm / Bisio)
We Know Why The Caged Bird Sings
(RogueArt)

Uniting Joe McPhee on tenor saxophone and spoken word with violist Mat Maneri, cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm, and bassist Michael Bisio, this remarkable quartet of long-time collaborators and distinct musical voices forges a deeply cohesive work of lyrical chamber jazz and free improvisation, balancing individual expression with a collective language of striking originality and emotional depth.


Alexander Hawkins / Taylor Ho Bynum
A Near Permanent State Of Wonder
(RogueArt)

Performing two Bill Dixon works alongside pieces by pianist Alexander Hawkins, Hawkins and cornetist Taylor Ho Bynum unite in a deeply intuitive duo recorded live in New Haven, their spacious and lyrical exchange balancing improvisational freedom with structural grace as two distinct voices attuned to form, texture, and expressive subtlety.


Sylvie Courvoisier Trio (w/ Gress / Wollesen)
Eclats - Live in Europe
(Intakt)

Captured during a European tour, the trio of pianist Sylvie Courvoisier with bassist Drew Gress and drummer Kenny Wollesen presents a finely honed language shaped through deep trust and evolving interplay, where Courvoisier's compositions unfold with precision and openness, balancing intricate detail, shifting textures, and spontaneous free improv with subtle complexity and vivid expressiveness.


Bertrand Gauguet / John Tilbury
Contre-Courbes [2 CDs]
(Akousis Records)

Two concert recordings between alto saxophonist Bertrand Gauget and pianist John Tilbury, one at Eglise Saint Maximin, in Metz, France in 2016 and the other at Festival Paysages d'écoute at Les Quinconces, France in 2019, leveraging the natural resonance of both spaces as they perform with concentrative pacing using advanced techniques to create drama and intensity.


Tomas Fujiwara (Fujiwara / Reid / Brennan)
Pith
(Out Of Your Head Records)

Drawing on the same trio heard on his RogueArt release, 7 Poets Trio, Boston-born Brooklyn-based composer and drummer Fujiwara presents a set of six sophisticated works along with one collective improvisation, utilizing the unique orchestration of vibraphonist Patricia Brennan and cellist Tomeka Reid to create a diverse set of highly rewarding recordings.


Peter Brotzmann / Steve Hubback
Treforest 82
(FMR)

A previously unreleased duo encounter pairing Peter Brötzmann's ferocious saxophone with Welsh percussionist Steve Hubback's compact and inventive drum setup, captured at the 1982 Treforest festival in the UK in a brief but explosive burst of free improv where probing textures erupt into cathartic climaxes through raw, intensely focused interplay.


Karl Evangelista's Apura + Andrew Cyrille
Bukas
(577 Records)

West Coast Bay Area guitarist Karl Evangelista leads his Apura ensemble — Lisa Mezzacappa (bass), Francis Wong (tenor sax), Rei Scampavia (keys, electronics), and Lewis Jordan (alto sax) — joined by drum legend Andrew Cyrille in a powerful statement of free improvisation, blending expressive intensity and forward-looking vision with deeply rooted passion and creative openness.


Uneven Eleven (Segers / Hawyard / Kawabata)
Live In Brighton
(Discus)

A ferocious meeting of three seasoned innovators, this live set from Charles Hayward (drums, vocals), Guy Segers (bass), and Kawabata Makoto (guitar) channels decades of rock, punk, psychedelia, and free improvisation into an explosive power trio performance, where raw energy, shifting polyrhythms, and searing intensity collide in a fiercely immediate and unfiltered sonic assault captured on stage in Brighton in 2013.


Louis Armstrong
Hot Five & Hot Seven At 100 [2 CDs + 2 POSTCARDS]
(ALAY)

Recorded in Chicago between 1925 and 1928, these seminal Hot Five and Hot Seven sessions led by Louis Armstrong capture a transformative moment in early jazz, where his virtuosic phrasing, rhythmic innovation, and charismatic presence redefine the music's expressive scope, presented here with exceptional restoration and mastering, and accompanied by two postcards detailing recording sessions and personnel.


Fred Frith / Karen Stackpole
Nature
(Sub Rosa)

Bringing together Fred Frith's extended electric guitar vocabulary with Karen Stackpole's richly resonant world of gongs and metals, this intimate duo session unfolds as a deeply textural dialogue where harmonic overtones, shimmering percussion, and transformed string sonorities intertwine, blurring the boundaries between instrument and resonance in a fluid, exploratory program of free improv.


Tomeka Reid Quartet (w/ Roebke / Halvorson / Fujiwara)
Dance! Skip! Hop! [VINYL]
(Out Of Your Head Records)

Led by cellist Tomeka Reid, this longstanding quartet with Mary Halvorson on guitar, Jason Roebke on bass, and Tomas Fujiwara on drums delivers a rhythmically propulsive and structurally nimble set that balances grounded low-end drive with agile drumming, incisive guitar textures, and Reid's expressive counterpoint, channeling echoes of 1960s jazz while asserting an exuberant, and yes — danceable — release!


Webber/Morris Big Band
Unseparate [VINYL 2 LPs]
(Out Of Your Head Records)

Five years after their debut, co-leaders Anna Webber and Angela Morris return with a 19-piece large ensemble recording that showcases their next-level compositional voices, unfolding through the "Just Intonation Etudes for Big Band" suite and a series of richly orchestrated works that balance drones, contrapuntal density, rhythmic blasts, and lyrical themes in an adventurous exploration of sound and structure.


Marion Brown
Awofofora [VINYL]
(AGUIRRE RECORDS)

An overlooked 1976 session led by Marion Brown on alto sax with a rhythmically driven ensemble including Ambrose Jackson, Billy Patterson, Rene Arlain, Fred Hopkins, Ed Blackwell, Jumma Santos, and Chris Henderson, merging funk and Afro-Caribbean grooves with free jazz principles through layered rhythms, collective improvisation, and Brown's distinctive, lyrical tone.


Tim Berne (w/ Rainey / Belisle-Chi)
Yikes [VINYL]
(Screwgun/Out Of Your Head Records)

Highlighting the profound skill and musical connection of alto saxophonist Tim Berne, drummer Tom Rainey, and guitarist Gregg Belisle-Chi, in a captivating journey through meticulously composed pieces, dynamic improvisation, and structured arrangements of spontaneous creativity in a studio recording that emphasize their exploratory artistry and evolution within creative jazz.


Christopher Hoffman
REX [VINYL]
(Out Of Your Head Records)

Recorded in the former home of self-taught painter Rex Brasher, Christopher Hoffman performs a deeply introspective solo work for acoustic and electric cello, channeling solitude and creative intensity into resonant textures and evolving melodic forms that echo both the environment and Brasher's singular artistic vision, creating a powerful meditation on place, perception, and personal expression.


Wrens
Half Of What You See [VINYL]
(Out Of Your Head Records)

The quartet of Ryan Easter (trumpet, voice), Elias Stemeseder (synths, una corda piano), Lester St. Louis (cello, electronics), and Jason Nazary (drums, synths) unleash a feverish collision of noise-encrusted free jazz, spoken word, mutant hip-hop rhythms, and fractured traditions, weaving sinister intensity with playful unpredictability through deeply reactive and explosive improvisation.


Daniel Carter / Evan Strauss / 5-Track / Sheridan Riley
The Uproar In Bursts Of Sound And Silence [VINYL]
(577 Records)

A collage of styles and experimentation developed over several years by bassist and multi-instrumentalist Evan Strauss, using long-form graphically notated conceptual compositions based on bird calls along with thematic material from Ursula K. Le Guin, expanded with narration and poetry from Daniel Carter and titled from an excerpt by Virginia Woolf.


Tomas Fujiwara
Pith [VINYL]
(Out Of Your Head Records)

Drawing on the same trio heard on his RogueArt release, 7 Poets Trio, Boston-born Brooklyn-based composer and drummer Fujiwara presents a set of six sophisticated works along with one collective improvisation, utilizing the unique orchestration of vibraphonist Patricia Brennan and cellist Tomeka Reid to create a diverse set of highly rewarding recordings.


Daniel Carter / Leo Genovese / William Parker / Francisco Mela
Shine Hear Volume 2 [VINYL]
(577 Records)

Inspired by a poem Daniel Carter wrote about the transience and motion of modern life, the quartet of Daniel Carter on saxophone, Leo Genovese on piano, William Parker on bass, Gralla & Shakuhachi and Francisco Mela on drums & voice, turn in an ecstatic album of exotic collective improvisation in this second of two volumes from an excellent studio session.


Eva Novoa Trio (w/ Carter / Mela)
The Freedom Suite, Vol. 2 [VINYL]
(577 Records)

Brooklyn pianist Eva Novoa joins saxophonist Daniel Carter and drummer Francisco Mela for the second volume of The Freedom Suite, a set of twelve pieces blending piano, Rhodes, harpsichord, gongs, and vocals with Carter's multi-reed brilliance and Mela's Cuban-inflected drumming, creating an urgent, intimate, and fluidly improvised dialogue of words, sound, and fearless imagination.


Jason Stein / Marilyn Crispell / Damon Smith / Adam Shead
Live at the Hungry Brain [VINYL]
(Trost Records)

Captured live at Chicago's Hungry Brain in 2023, this cross-generational quartet brings pianist Marilyn Crispell together with the trio of Jason Stein (bass clarinet), Damon Smith (double bass), and Adam Shead (drums), unfolding two expansive collective improvisations that shift from fiery free jazz to lyrical and contemplative passages, balancing propulsion with fluid interplay and expressive dialogue.


Evan Parker / Barry Guy / Paul Lytton
Live at Maya Recordings Festival [VINYL 2 LPs]
(NoBusiness)

Superb improvisation from three masters - Evan Parker on sax, Barry Guy on bass and Paul Lytton on drums - performing at the Maya Recordings Festival, September 23 - 25, 2011 at Theater am Gleis, Winterthur, Switzerland.


Federico Ughi feat. Rachel Musson
Transoceanico [VINYL]
(577 Records)

"Transoceanico" signifies the global reach of Rome, Italy-born improvising drummer Federico Ughi, celebrating 20 years since his first album recorded in London while residing there, leading to his current Brooklyn launchpad for many global tours and albums, this impressive LP realized in a superb free jazz trio with bassist Adam Lane and tenor saxophonist Rachel Musson.


Pat Thomas / Dominic Lash / Tony Orrell
BleySchool [VINYL]
(577 Records)

Referencing the deceptively simple and memorable melodies of pianist Paul Bley, the trio of Pat Thomas on piano, Dominic Lash on double bass, and Tony Orrell on drums & percussion pay homage to the late pianist through his own work, plus compositions from Cara Bley, Ornette Coleman, Duke Ellington, and one collective improvisation; a sensitive and lyrical modern jazz album.


Christopher Hoffman
Asp Nimbus [VINYL]
(Out Of Your Head Records)

With many parallels to and collaborative work with Henry Threadgill, cellist Christopher Hoffman pens eight dynamic compositions for his superb quintet of Bryan Carrott on vibraphone, Rashaan Carter on bass, Craig Weinrib on drums and David Virelles on piano, merging melodic approaches to creative jazz with interesting structures and virtuosic soloing from all performers.


Assif Tsahar / William Parker / Hamid Drake
In Between The Tumbling A Stillness [VINYL]
(Hopscotch Records)

A fierce free jazz concert recorded live at Levontin 7, in Tel Aviv by three players with a long history of collaboration and dynamic trio settings, from Israeli saxophonist formerly based in NYC Assif Tsahar, bassist William Parker and Chicago drummer Hamid Drake, in two extended, energetic and inventive improvisations and a concise closing "Stillness".


Daniel Carter / Patrick Holmes / Matthew Putman / Hilliard Greene / Federico Ughi
Telepatica [VINYL]
(577 Records)

Named for the long history of collaboration over decades, the NY free jazz Telepathic Band of Daniel Carter on saxophones, clarinet & trumpet, Patrick Holmes on clarinet, Matthew Putman on piano, Rhodes, Hilliard Greene on bass and Federico Ughi on drums are heard live at the 2018 Forward Festival in Brooklyn, NY for four outstandingly informed improvisations.


Gerald Cleaver / Brandon Lopez / Hprizm
In The Wilderness [VINYL]
(Positive Elevation / 577 Records)

Drawn from an experimental improv performance by drummer Gerald Cleaver and bassist Brandon Lopez at 577 Records' 2019 Forward Festival, electronic artist and producer Hprizm of the Antipop Consortium took those recording to reconstruct twelve works of illusory and often surreal music, from active beat-based electronica to hazy dreamlike ambience.


Gerald Cleaver
22 / 23 [VINYL VIOLET OPAQUE]
(Positive Elevation / 577 Records)

A journey through a diverse set of genres and styles of electronica, influenced by the New York drummer & composer Gerald Cleaver's native Detroit upbringing, bringing out elements of techno and house music tempered by his improvisational, experimental and avant work; 11 tracks with solid rhythmic foundation in both propulsive and contemplative approaches to electronic composition.


Daniel Carter / Leo Genovese / William Parker / Francisco Mela
Shine Hear, Vol. 1 [VINYL]
(577 Records)

Inspired by a poem Carter wrote about New York's interminable motion, the quartet of Daniel Carter on saxophone, Leo Genovese on piano, William Parker on bass, Gralla & Shakuhachi and Francisco Mela on drums & voice, turn in an ecstatic album of exotic collective improvisation in this first of two planned volumes from an excellent studio session.


John Butcher / Pat Thomas / Dominic Lash / Steve Noble
Fathom [COLORED VINYL]
(577 Records)

The debut for UK saxophonist John Butcher on 577 Records is this exemplary 2021 live recording at Cafe OTO in London by the quartet of Butcher on tenor and soprano saxophones, Pat Thomas on piano, Dominic Lash on double bass and Steve Noble on drums, four of the UK's leading free improvisers demonstrating their prodigious abilities in concentrated conversation.


Daniel Carter / Patrick Holmes / Matthew Putman / Hilliard Greene / Federico Ughi
Electric Telepathy, Vol. 2 [VINYL]
(577 Records)

The latest album from the NY-based Telepathic Band of Daniel Carter on saxophones, trumpet & flute, Patrick Holmes on clarinet, Matthew Putman on keyboards, Hilliard Greene on bass and Federico Ughi on drums, explores spontaneous themes and aural landscapes through studio improvisations recomposed to create five fascinating compositions of perceptive, ecstatic jazz.


Federico Ughi (w / Leo Genovese / Brandon Lopez)
Infinite Cosmos Calling You You You, Vol. 1 [VINYL]
(577 Records)

The first album under 577 label leader and drummer Federico Ughi's name in five years brings together the incredible bass skills of Brandon Lopez and expansive Argentinean keyboard sonics of Leo Genovese, the first of two planned volumes recorded in the studio for a boundary-less album of acoustic and electric improv influenced by the music and philosophy of Sun Ra.


Francois Tusques / Sunny Murray 38
Intercommunal Dialogue 1&2 [2LPS w/ DOWNLOAD]
(NI-VU-NI-CONNU)

A historic reunion captured live at Le Triton in Les Lilas, France, in 2007, bringing together pianist François Tusques and drummer Sunny Murray for the first time in decades to renew their blues-infused, avant-garde dialogue, blending percussive exploration, evocative dedications, and rich improvisation that honors their shared history while forging new sonic landscapes.


Don Cherry / Krzysztof Penderecki
Actions [VINYL 180g]
(Intuition)

Recorded live at the Donaueschingen Music Festival in 1971, this extraordinary collaboration between Don Cherry, Krzysztof Penderecki, and The New Eternal Rhythm Orchestra merges free jazz with avant-garde composition, blending fiery improvisation, unconventional orchestrations and global influences into a powerful experience that challenges traditional genre boundaries.


Eri Yamamoto Quadraphonic
Fly With The Wings
(Mahakala Music)

A warm and lyrical new quartet from pianist, vocalist, and melodica player Eri Yamamoto alongside Chad Fowler on alto sax & flute, Kevin Thomas on bass, and longtime collaborator Ikuo Takeuchi on drums, blending groove-driven jazz, free improvisation, and tender balladry with Yamamoto's distinctive touch, highlighted by playful interplay, beautiful melodies, and a soulful, unhurried charm.


Eri Yamamoto / Matthew Shipp
Horizon
(Mahakala Music)

A deeply personal collaboration between pianists Eri Yamamoto and Matthew Shipp, recorded live in the studio with Yamamoto in the left channel and Shipp in the right, as Yamamoto marks thirty years in New York with a set of original compositions for this occasion, their distinctive voices intertwining in an elegant, searching, and harmonically rich conversation of friendship, individuality, and creative life.


Ivo Perelman (w/ Marc Ribot / Elliott Sharp / Joe Morris)
Trifecta [3 CDs]
(Mahakala Music)

Uniting tenor saxophonist Ivo Perelman with three distinct guitar voices — Marc Ribot, Elliott Sharp, and Joe Morris — this 3-CD set presents three separate duo encounters recorded at Park West Studios in Brooklyn, highlighting contrasting improvisational languages while exploring timbre, interaction, and the expressive possibilities of the guitar in free improv contexts.


Adam O'Farrill (O'Farrill / Rogers / Stinson / Holzman)
Elephant
(Out Of Your Head Records)

Leading his new quartet Elephant, trumpeter Adam O'Farrill presents a forward-looking jazz session of original compositions that shift fluidly between rhythmic drive and abstraction, where contrasting textures, layered structures, and expressive interplay animate a dynamic ensemble sound shaped by subtle electronic elements and a contemporary, cross-genre sensibility.


Webber/Morris Big Band
Unseparate
(Out Of Your Head Records)

Five years after their debut, co-leaders Anna Webber and Angela Morris return with a 19-piece large ensemble recording that showcases their next-level compositional voices, unfolding through the "Just Intonation Etudes for Big Band" suite and a series of richly orchestrated works that balance drones, contrapuntal density, rhythmic blasts, and lyrical themes in an adventurous exploration of sound and structure.


Tomeka Reid Quartet (w/ Roebke / Halvorson / Fujiwara)
Dance! Skip! Hop!
(Out Of Your Head Records)

Led by cellist Tomeka Reid, this longstanding quartet with Mary Halvorson on guitar, Jason Roebke on bass, and Tomas Fujiwara on drums delivers a rhythmically propulsive and structurally nimble set that balances grounded low-end drive with agile drumming, incisive guitar textures, and Reid's expressive counterpoint, channeling echoes of 1960s jazz while asserting an exuberant, and yes — danceable — release!


Rob Brown / Brandon Lopez / Juan P. Carletti
Walkabout
(Mahakala Music)

An energetic trio session of collective free improvisation from NY alto saxophonist Rob Brown, bassist Brandon Lopez, and drummer Juan Pablo Carletti, recorded in the studio and driven by an intense energy that maintains a powerful swing, with Brown's incisive phrasing, Lopez's commanding bass, and Carletti's dynamic percussion merging into a spontaneous and deeply expressive musical force.


Adam O'Farrill
For These Streets
(Out Of Your Head Records)

Brooklyn trumpeter Adam O'Farrill leads a superb octet — Mary Halvorson (guitar), Patricia Brennan (vibes), Tomas Fujiwara (drums), and others — through dramatically inventive compositions inspired by the literature and arts of the 1930s, balancing angular rhythmic intensity, rich melodic lyricism, and expressive improvisational depth with adventurous sophistication.


Pierre Favre Trio (Favre / Schweizer / Mraz)
Bird Food
(Songs)

Captured in 1968 in Zurich and long shelved before its recent discovery, this early trio session brings Pierre Favre, Irene Schweizer, and George Mraz together in a concise, fiery set of attentive free jazz, balancing Ornette Coleman's title piece with Schweizer's compositions, where dynamic interplay and acute listening reveal a nascent yet fully engaged collective voice.


Marta Sanchez
For The Space You Left
(Out Of Your Head Records)

Drawing from periods of isolation spanning a 2017 residency and the early pandemic, pianist Marta Sanchez presents a solo prepared piano work that transforms the instrument into a layered, multi-voiced sound world, where interlocking rhythms, fragile textures, and introspective passages of free improv reflect contrasting emotional states shaped by solitude, vulnerability, and a deeply internal creative process.


John Zorn (w/ Marsella / Roeder / Smith / Hashimoto)
Alea Iacta Est
(Tzadik)

With a title translating to The Die is Cast, this formidable piano concerto from composer John Zorn unfolds through abrupt shifts in mood, tempo, and texture, as Brian Marsella, Jorge Roeder, and Ches Smith navigate its exacting, volatile structures with precision and intensity, joined by Sae Hashimoto on vibraphone, adding a resonant counterpoint to this complex, dynamically shifting work.


Trevor Watts / Barry Guy / Ramon Lopez
The First Touch
(Listen! Foundation (Fundacja Sluchaj!))

Reconnecting generations of European free improv, legendary saxophonist Trevor Watts joins longtime collaborator Barry Guy and percussionist Ramon Lopez for a fiercely interactive trio session balancing ecstatic energy, disciplined abstraction, and deeply responsive interplay, as decades of shared musical history erupt into vivid collective expression, explosive rhythmic momentum, and emotionally charged spontaneity.


Tomas Fujiwara
Dream Up
(Out Of Your Head Records)

Recorded at Roulette Intermedium in Brooklyn, drummer and composer Tomas Fujiwara introduces his Percussion Quartet with Patricia Brennan on vibraphone, Tim Keiper on African strings and percussion, and Kaoru Watanabe on Japanese drums and flute, blending global traditions into vivid, imaginative works that traverse groove, texture, and color with striking originality and depth.


Joe Henderson
The Classic 1960s Albums [4 CD BOX SET]
(Enlightenment)

Bringing together seven landmark 1960s sessions, this 4-CD set captures Joe Henderson at the height of his early career, leading stellar ensembles through a compelling range of post-bop expression, from hard-driving grooves to exploratory improvisation, showcasing his commanding tone, compositional strength, and enduring influence on modern jazz.


Hemphill Stringtet, The
Plays the Music of Julius Hemphill
(Out Of Your Head Records)

Celebrating the profound compositional legacy of Julius Hemphill through inventive string adaptations of his saxophone quartet and sextet works, violinists Curtis Stewart and Sam Bardfeld, violist Stephanie Griffin, and cellist Tomeka Reid channel Abdul Wadud's expressive spirit, transforming Hemphill's blues-inflected jazz into vividly textured chamber improvisations with lyrical intensity.


Joe McPhee & Strings (w/ Maneri / Lonberg-Holm / Bisio)
We Know Why The Caged Bird Sings
(RogueArt)

Uniting Joe McPhee on tenor saxophone and spoken word with violist Mat Maneri, cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm, and bassist Michael Bisio, this remarkable quartet of long-time collaborators and distinct musical voices forges a deeply cohesive work of lyrical chamber jazz and free improvisation, balancing individual expression with a collective language of striking originality and emotional depth.


Alexander Hawkins / Taylor Ho Bynum
A Near Permanent State Of Wonder
(RogueArt)

Performing two Bill Dixon works alongside pieces by pianist Alexander Hawkins, Hawkins and cornetist Taylor Ho Bynum unite in a deeply intuitive duo recorded live in New Haven, their spacious and lyrical exchange balancing improvisational freedom with structural grace as two distinct voices attuned to form, texture, and expressive subtlety.


Tomeka Reid Quartet (w/ Roebke / Halvorson / Fujiwara)
Dance! Skip! Hop! [VINYL]
(Out Of Your Head Records)

Led by cellist Tomeka Reid, this longstanding quartet with Mary Halvorson on guitar, Jason Roebke on bass, and Tomas Fujiwara on drums delivers a rhythmically propulsive and structurally nimble set that balances grounded low-end drive with agile drumming, incisive guitar textures, and Reid's expressive counterpoint, channeling echoes of 1960s jazz while asserting an exuberant, and yes — danceable — release!


Sylvie Courvoisier Trio (w/ Gress / Wollesen)
Eclats - Live in Europe
(Intakt)

Captured during a European tour, the trio of pianist Sylvie Courvoisier with bassist Drew Gress and drummer Kenny Wollesen presents a finely honed language shaped through deep trust and evolving interplay, where Courvoisier's compositions unfold with precision and openness, balancing intricate detail, shifting textures, and spontaneous free improv with subtle complexity and vivid expressiveness.


Adam O'Farrill (O'Farrill / Rogers / Stinson / Holzman)
Elephant [VINYL]
(Out Of Your Head Records)

Leading his new quartet Elephant, trumpeter Adam O'Farrill presents a forward-looking jazz session of original compositions that shift fluidly between rhythmic drive and abstraction, where contrasting textures, layered structures, and expressive interplay animate a dynamic ensemble sound shaped by subtle electronic elements and a contemporary, cross-genre sensibility.


Bertrand Gauguet / John Tilbury
Contre-Courbes [2 CDs]
(Akousis Records)

Two concert recordings between alto saxophonist Bertrand Gauget and pianist John Tilbury, one at Eglise Saint Maximin, in Metz, France in 2016 and the other at Festival Paysages d'écoute at Les Quinconces, France in 2019, leveraging the natural resonance of both spaces as they perform with concentrative pacing using advanced techniques to create drama and intensity.


Tomas Fujiwara (Fujiwara / Reid / Brennan)
Pith
(Out Of Your Head Records)

Drawing on the same trio heard on his RogueArt release, 7 Poets Trio, Boston-born Brooklyn-based composer and drummer Fujiwara presents a set of six sophisticated works along with one collective improvisation, utilizing the unique orchestration of vibraphonist Patricia Brennan and cellist Tomeka Reid to create a diverse set of highly rewarding recordings.


Peter Brotzmann / Steve Hubback
Treforest 82
(FMR)

A previously unreleased duo encounter pairing Peter Brötzmann's ferocious saxophone with Welsh percussionist Steve Hubback's compact and inventive drum setup, captured at the 1982 Treforest festival in the UK in a brief but explosive burst of free improv where probing textures erupt into cathartic climaxes through raw, intensely focused interplay.


Karl Evangelista's Apura + Andrew Cyrille
Bukas
(577 Records)

West Coast Bay Area guitarist Karl Evangelista leads his Apura ensemble — Lisa Mezzacappa (bass), Francis Wong (tenor sax), Rei Scampavia (keys, electronics), and Lewis Jordan (alto sax) — joined by drum legend Andrew Cyrille in a powerful statement of free improvisation, blending expressive intensity and forward-looking vision with deeply rooted passion and creative openness.


Webber/Morris Big Band
Unseparate [VINYL 2 LPs]
(Out Of Your Head Records)

Five years after their debut, co-leaders Anna Webber and Angela Morris return with a 19-piece large ensemble recording that showcases their next-level compositional voices, unfolding through the "Just Intonation Etudes for Big Band" suite and a series of richly orchestrated works that balance drones, contrapuntal density, rhythmic blasts, and lyrical themes in an adventurous exploration of sound and structure.


Daniel Carter / Evan Strauss / 5-Track / Sheridan Riley
The Uproar In Bursts Of Sound And Silence [VINYL]
(577 Records)

A collage of styles and experimentation developed over several years by bassist and multi-instrumentalist Evan Strauss, using long-form graphically notated conceptual compositions based on bird calls along with thematic material from Ursula K. Le Guin, expanded with narration and poetry from Daniel Carter and titled from an excerpt by Virginia Woolf.


Euro Herc
Segnali [CASSETTE + DOWNLOAD]
(Tsss Tapes)

"Turning discarded sounds into a form of stumbling poetry", Christian Schiefner (aka Chemiefaserwerk) and Michal Fundowicz (aka Turmeric Acid) use cassette tapes, objects and field recordings (eg. a kitchen timer, a kalimba pattern, a Polish instructional tape, Croatian field recording) to create fascinating transformations of sonic environments in two engaging aural journeys.


Arcane Device
Plays the Music of J.S. Bach
(pulsewidth)

Under his Arcane Device moniker, David Lee Myers revisits an unrealized collaboration with Tod Dockstader, deconstructing well-known classical works — primarily those of Bach — through sampling, stretching, looping, and computer-based processing, transforming familiar motifs into playful, shimmering, and immersive soundscapes inspired by Lucas Foss's Baroque Variations.


Architek Percussion
Metatron
(Ambiances Magnetiques)

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.


Junji Hirose
SSI-7
(Hitorri)

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.


David Myers Lee
Room In A Moon House
(pulsewidth)

A series of "Rooms" and related electronic environments from New York sound artist David Lee Myers, whose long running Arcane Device project runs parallel to these nearly ambient works that Myers intimates are for intimate environments, developed through deft use of Eurorack electronics, feedback, sampling and other elegant electronic processes.


Gerald Cleaver
22 / 23 [VINYL VIOLET OPAQUE]
(Positive Elevation / 577 Records)

A journey through a diverse set of genres and styles of electronica, influenced by the New York drummer & composer Gerald Cleaver's native Detroit upbringing, bringing out elements of techno and house music tempered by his improvisational, experimental and avant work; 11 tracks with solid rhythmic foundation in both propulsive and contemplative approaches to electronic composition.


Manja Ristic / Joana Guerra / Veronica Cerrotta
Slani pejzazi [CASSETTE + DOWNLOAD]
(Tsss Tapes)

TSSS Tapes brought together these three performers -- Belgrade violinist and sound artist Manja Ristić; Lisbon exploratory improviser and cellist Joana Guerra; and Argentine pianist and sound artist living in Rio de Janeiro, Veronica Cerrotta -- developing these two intensely detailed compositions of acoustic performance, field recordings and acousmatic sound.


David Myers Lee
Oculus [2 CDs]
(pulsewidth)

A double CD of rich ambient work from New York City-based sound artist David Lee Myers, presenting four expansive compositions that blend electronics, lamellophone, feedback matrices, and hardware and software processing, evoking the ocular opening of the eye and architectural forms through immersive soundscapes that explore the interplay between organic and electronic elements.


Le UN
25 Pieces Sans Vide [3 CDs]
(UnRec)

Documenting the expansive collective practice of the French improvising ensemble Le UN across three CDs recorded between 2021 and 2022, this large-scale set brings together 25 performers working in shifting formations through free improv unconstrained by score or direction, exploring acoustics, public spaces, environmental interaction, and richly textural electro-acoustic interplay.


Rolf Julius
(Halb) Schwarz
(Edition Rz)

Six dense, mysterious and abstract electronic compositions created over a decade by German sound sculpture artist and composer Rolf Julius.


Eric La Casa
Paris Quotidien [CD+60 page booklet of photos & text]
(Swarming)

Eric La Casa documents his home environment in Paris through audio investigation and field recordings, creating 3 large works that reveal the properties, singularities, banalities and features of his audio environment in perspective to his status as a citizen of the city, presented in a gatefold CD package with a color 60-page booklet of photos and text.


Fake Humans (Fisher / Didur)
Exegesis [VINYL]
(Shhpuma)

The Toronto-based duo of Colin Fisher on woodwinds and percussion and Carl Didur on keyboards and bass bridge acoustic and electronic improv with science fiction sensibilities in their two part "Exegesis", a critical exposition of un-genred music that borrows from global sources in service to their unusual and exotic tale; a wonderfully perplexing album.


London Experimental Ensemble
Child Ballads [VINYL]
(Split Rock Records)

Drawn from 305 traditional ballads from England and Scotland alongside their American variants, anthologised by Francis James Child during the second half of the nineteenth century, are here sung by Ed Pettersen in the fascinating intersection of traditional lyrics and experimental interpretations of melodies, performed by the 11-piece London Experimental Ensemble.


Zhao Cong
Rotating, Rotating
(Hitorri)

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.


Toys'R Noise
Manivole [VINYL]
(BeCoq)

Using toys and handmade instruments alongside guitar, bass, synths, plundered recordings and electronics, the French Toys'R'Noise trio are a live performing group that borrows from electro-beat rock forms with overtones of IDM/ambient forms, building extended sections and then amusing with quick-witted sections that bridge a clear love of the music.


Gerald Cleaver
Signs [VINYL + DOWNLOAD]
(577 Records)

Taking his cues from the electronic music of his Detroit roots, free jazz drummer Gerald Cleaver presents an album of synthetic rhythms and sonic landscape, each piece composed in detailed arrangements of compelling and adventurous structures, from propulsive grooves to sinuous soundscapes, a surprising and exciting twist showing Cleaver's strong compositional skills.


Periferiya (Kobi / Korber / Liedwart / Muller / Myasoedov / Shershenkov)
Boundary Scan [VINYL 2 LPs]
(Mikroton Recordings)

A Russian-Swiss collaboration between Boris Shershenkov (St. Petersburg), Kurt Liedwart and Mikhail Myasoedov (Moscow), Thomas Korber (Zurich), Christian Kobi (Berne) and Christian Muller (Biel), recording in the remote Vallée de Joux, on the border between Switzerland & France, leveraging diverse approaches to sound to create these six detailed electroacoustic improvisations.


Greg Davis
Throughline
(Autumn Records)

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.


Sergio Merce
En Lugar De Pensar
(Edition Wandelweiser Records)

One circular and one continuous composition from Argentinian composer Sergio Merce, using rich tones like clouds of sound generated by a microtonal saxophone, synthesizer and wind synth, the title referring to his sense of music a channel to see, to reveal, a channel that opens through intuition, observation and attention but not through thinking; beautiful.


Marta Forsberg
TKAC [VINYL]
(thanatosis produktion)

Tkać means to weave, as Swedish electroacoustic sound artist Marta Forsberg interwines drones, first through a work of sound and light using frozen and processed violin sounds that slowly shift in minimal repetition; then in a synthetic work exploring darkness, light and colour by means of LED light, fabric, sequins, and minimalistic drone-based electronic music.


Liz Allbee
Rille
(Relative Pitch)

Berlin trumpeter Liz Allbee's solo work focuses on the interaction of voice, extended approaches to her instruments, which includes her self-designed quadrophonic trumpet, electronics and acoustic homemade instruments, on Rille presenting four enigmatic works of dramatic pacing--environmental and rhythmic--guided by impressionistic spoken words and moments of tonal clarity.


Barnes / Jerman / Nordwall
The Oortcloud [It Wasn't Until Weeks Later] [VINYL]
(STELLAGE)

A performance in Gothenburg, Sweden as part of the contemporary acoustic and electronic society Geiger in their monthly public recording "Geiger Sessions", by sound artists Tim Barnes, Jeph Jerman, and Joachim Nordwall, in a concert of rich and highly textured noise, referencing the astronomical Öpik-Oort cloud described by Dutch astronomer Jan Oort.


David Myers Lee
Partikelrauschen
(pulsewidth)

Referring to the music on this album from New York feedback and electronic pioneer David Lee Myers as "firmly rooted in the electronic music of the 1950s-1960s", over nine tracks we are taken on an otherworldly journey of detailed particulate electronic adventures, sometimes swooping, vertiginous, monstrous and unpredictable, each track captured live in Myer's Pulsewidth studio.


Dorian Wood / Thor Harris (w/ Carla Bozulich / Jarboe / Patrick Shiroishi / Heather Trost)
You Are Clearly In Perversion [CASSETTE + DOWNLOAD]
(Astral Editions)

A ritualistic narrative work from multidisciplinary artist Dorian Wood and percussionist Thor Harris (Swans), with Carla Bozulich and Jarboe contributing their voices in an ensemble of contemporary and experimental arrangement, alongside guests David Coulter, Heather Trost, Jeremy Barnes, Michael Corwin, Ignacio Carvajal, Andrea Calderon, Elizabeth Warren and Patrick Shiroishi.


Quatuor Bozzini
Michael Oesterle: Quatuors
(Collection QB)

German-born Canadian composer living in Deux-Montagnes, Quebec Michael Oesterle has a long relationship with the Quatuor Bozzini beginning with their first commission 25 years ago, here in four works including a tribute to English mathematician Alan Turing, the large-scale "String Quartet No. 4", and a piece inspired by Quebec poet Nicole Brossard's book Mecanique jongleuse.


Fred Frith And Ensemble Musiques Nouvelles
Something About This Landscape For Ensemble
(Sub Rosa)

Commissioned by and recorded during the 2018 Ars Musical Festival, Fred Frith composed this work while under the inspiration of his residency at Lou Harrison's straw-bale house in the desert at Joshua Tree, CA, then performed with the Ensemble Musiques Nouvelles, along with two very unique improvisations, one recorded during the dress rehearsal and then again in concert.


Anthony Pateras
A Dread of Voids
(Another Timbre)

Two works written for a group of Australian performers living in Berlin--Jon Heilbron, Rebecca Lane, Jess Aszodi & Sam Dunscombe--by Australian composer and pianist Anthony Pateras, A Dread Of Voids developed for a residency at the Archipel Festival in Geneva after enduring a pandemic quarantine; and Patterned Language, composed for the Astra Chamber Music Society.


Eva-Maria Houben (Kei Kondo / Takahiro Kuroda)
His Master's Voice / Aus Den Fliegenden Blattern Eines Fahrenden Waldhornisten / Lose Verbunden
(Ftarri Classical)

One of two albums capturing a May 15th, 2023 concert in Tokyo by composer Takahiro Kuroda at the Ftarri performance space, titled "Square of Thoughts Vol. 2: Eva-Maria Houben and Horn + x", this album presenting two Houben works for solo horn performed by virtuoso horn player Kei Kondo, and one solo piano piece performed by Kuroda on upright piano.


Smith Quartet with John Tilbury
Morton Feldman: Music For Piano And Strings Volume 1 [DVD-AUDIO]
(Matchless)

The Smith Quartet with pianist John Tilbury perform two long works by Morton Feldman: "For John Cage" (1982) and "Piano and String Quartet" (1985) on DVD Audio.


Smith Quartet with John Tilbury
Morton Feldman: Music for Piano and Strings Volume 2 [DVD-AUDIO]
(Matchless)

The 2nd volume of "Music for Piano and Strings" by Morton Feldman is performed by The Smith Quartet with John Tilbury, presenting "Patterns In a Chromatic Field", and "Piano, violin, Viola, Cello", on DVD audio to allow for the length of these large works.


Linda Smith Catlin
Dirt Road
(Another Timbre)

Canadian composer Linda Catlin Smith's extended composition for violin and percussion in 15 parts, performed by percussionist Simon Limbrick and violinist Mira Benjamin, a unique orchestration that reveals a journey of steady pace, tension and beauty.


Jacques Demierre / Anouck Genthon
Teyerit
(Confront)

A series of unusual compositions originally written by Jacques Demmiere and Vincent Barras, here reworked by Demmiere and violinist Anouck Genthon, each piece focusing on sounds, breaths, frictions, silences, vowels and consonants, weaving and complementing each other through a mix of traditional, extended and unconventional techniques; fascinating.


Taku Sugimoto
Guitars
(Meenna)

Three concisely plain compositions for guitar, two solo and one trio, are played only with open strings or natural harmonics, where all the tunings are respectively irregular, written by Tokyo-based guitarist and composer Taku Sugimoto and performed and recorded in St. Petersburg, Russia by guitarists Andrey Popovsky, Denis Sorokin and Alexander Markvart.


Jean-Luc Guionnet / Rhodri Davies
Dyslexic Harp (Deciphered In The Dark)
(Amgen Records)

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.


John Bruschini
Cecil Ensorcelled
(Bru Note)

Solo guitarist John Bruschini channels lessons from his tenure with Cecil Taylor into a series of sculptural improvisations that deconstruct and reconstruct melodic and harmonic ideas, presenting a reflective and adventurous exploration of the guitar's expressive possibilities shaped by an avant-garde lineage.


Stefan Wolpe
Enactments
(Hat [now] ART)


Christian Wolff
Early Piano Pieces
(Hat [now] ART)

Early works from avant-garde composer Christian Wolff, including pieces for prepared piano influenced by John Cage's ideas for the same instrument.


Sergei Prokofiev / Dmitri Shostakovich
Works For 2 Pianists Under Soviet Rule
(Hat [now] ART)

Two works for piano composed under Stalinist rule by Dmitri Shostakovich and Sergei Prokofiev, recorded in 2009 by pianists Ufuk & Bahar Dorduncu.


David Tudor
Music for Piano
(Edition Rz)

2-CD set with recordings by the legendary 20th century avantgarde pianist performing compositions by (and with) John Cage, plus Sylvano Bussotti, Morton Feldman, Christian Wolff.


Josef Riedl Anton
Klangregionen 1951-2007
(Edition Rz)

Two CD set of electronic and concrete compositions from German composer Riedl, with recordings from Siemens-Studio for elektronische Musik and Studio for konkrete Musik.


Quatuor Bozzini - Jean Derome, Joane Hetu
Le mensonge et l'identite
(Collection QB)

The Bozzini Quartet commissioned this work from the duo Derome/Hetu, which tackles the subject of making differences cohabit, calling for the musicians to move & improvise in response to a soundtrack in 4 languages.


Liza Lim
The Heart's Ear
(Hat [now] ART)

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.


Skuggorna Och Ljuset / Magnus Granberg
Would Fall From The Sky, Would Wither And Die
(Another Timbre)

A new composition by clarinetist and composer Magnus Granberg, the leader of the highly acclaimed ensemble Skogen, this time with a new, smaller group that includes percussionist Erik Carlsson, performing his beautiful, melancholic music.


Jurg Frey
Grizzana and other pieces 2009-2014 [2 CDs]
(Another Timbre)

The Ensemble Grizzana (Ryoko Akama, Mira Benjamin, Richard Craig, Emma Richards, Philip Thomas and Seth Woods) performs a series of delicate and beautiful chamber pieces by Swiss composer and clarinetist Jurg Frey, who also performs on clarinet.


Laura Cole
Enough [2 CDs]
(Discus)

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.


Gil Sanson / Lance Austin Olsen
Works on Paper [2 CDs]
(elsewhere)

Two meticulous works in two parts each using layered collage of acoustic instruments, objects, electronics, field recordings, voices, fragments of past compositions and early classical music samples, with A.F. Jones providing voice narration, from Venezuelan composer/artist Gil Sanson and Canadian-based composer/painter Lance Austin Olsen: "Pra Min" and "Meditations".


Chris Burn / Philip Thomas
as if as
(Confront)

Contemporary composer, improviser and pianist Chris Burn in 4 lively, playful and fasciatingly structured works, as heard in Philip Thomas's renderings: "as if as"; "only the snow"; a transcription of Derek Bailey's "from ten, two, and three" in 6 parts; "pressings and screening" in 4 parts; and "the sky a silver dissonance" with Kate Ledger as a 2nd pianist.


Judith Wegmann
Le Souffle Du Temps II - Reflexion
(ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)

Through preparations, computers, contact microphones, gongs, feedback and other tools, Swiss pianist, composer & improviser Judith Wegmann's work transform the sound of the piano into an otherworldly instrument, set against more traditional acoustic pieces of a reflective nature, together creating a conceptual set of ten pieces in a uniquely flexible approach.


Fredrik Rasten (Johan Lindvall)
Four Parallel Rivers
(Edition Wandelweiser Records)

Norwegian composer Fredrik Rasten, a guitarist who himself has recorded pieces by pianist/composer Johan Lindvall, sees Lindvall beautifully perform 15 of his works for solo equal tempered piano, minimal pieces developed under the influence of Debussy and Bartok's Mikrokosmos compositions along with adaptations of his own microtonal/just intonation work.


Uneven Eleven (Segers / Hawyard / Kawabata)
Live In Brighton
(Discus)

A ferocious meeting of three seasoned innovators, this live set from Charles Hayward (drums, vocals), Guy Segers (bass), and Kawabata Makoto (guitar) channels decades of rock, punk, psychedelia, and free improvisation into an explosive power trio performance, where raw energy, shifting polyrhythms, and searing intensity collide in a fiercely immediate and unfiltered sonic assault captured on stage in Brighton in 2013.


Fushitsusha
Withdrawe, this sable Disclosure ere devot'd
(Les Disques Victo)


Lindsay Cooper
Oh Moscow
(Les Disques Victo)


Kazuhisa Uchihashi / Tatsuya Yoshida
Improvisations 3 [DVD]
(Magaibutsu Limited)

Guitarist Uchihashi Kazuhisa (Altered States, Ground Zero) and drummer Yoshida Tatsuya (Ruins, Koenji Hyakkei) return for a 3rd duo release, a DVD & CD of their amazing improvisations.


The World Heritage
Travelling Silk Road
(Magaibutsu)

Live recordings of drummer Yoshida Tatsuya's World Heritage band from Koenji HIGH in 2009, condensing and editing the show into one incredible hour of sophisticated rock improvisation.


The Ex
Building A Broken Mousetrap
(Ex Records)


TtD (Nasuno Mitsuru / Tatsuya Yoshida)
Teneleven the Duo
(Fourth Hand Record)

Concentrating the Teneleven quintet to a duo in the core of drummer Tatsuya Yoshida (Ruins, Koenji Hyakkei, Korekyojinn) and bassist & electronic device guru Mitsuru Nasuno (Altered States, Fushitsusha, Ground Zero), for eleven tracks of energetic interactive rock improvisations, alternating between "TdD" pieces of burning improvisations and introspective "Afterglows".


Tatsuya Yoshida / Dairo Suga
Root
(Doubtmusic)

Driven by a passionate intensity, this first meeting of drummer Tatsuya Yoshida (Ruins, Korekyojinn, Koenji Hyakkei, &c) and pianist Dario Suga at 7th Floor in Shibuya, Japan begins at high speed, the sheer technical brilliance of both players dazzling, their unbridled energy eventually yielding to passages of introspection that recur to fervor and fraternity; exceptional!


Bob Drake
The Room In The Tower
(Crumbling Tones)

A great set of 11 succinct songs and instrumentals from multi-instrumentalist, prog icon Bob Drake of Thinking Plague, The Science Group, VRIL, and Peter Blegvad fame, vignettes that play with pop formats in insidious ways around recurring Drake themes including a Planet of Dogs, three rustic tales, and a perturbing room in the tower, all noted in a colored foldout poster with lyrics.


Uchihashi Kazuhisa / Yoshida Tatsuya
Improvisations 2
(Magaibutsu)


Scarcity Of Tanks
Fear Is Not Conscience
(Total Life Society Records)

New York/Ohio skronkers Scarcity of Tanks with Jim Sauter of Borbetomagus plus Kid Millions in a hard free rock free improv blast.


PYN (Yoshida / Pittard / Nasuno)
Songs for children who don't want to sleep
(Magaibutsu)

P (Yann Pittard on oud and guitar & vocals), Y (Tatsuya Yoshida on drums & vocals) and N (Mitsuru Nasuno on bass & vocals) performing Arabian Progressive Pop Improvisation, an unusual melding and orchestration of arabic progressions and melodic prog rock.


Huy (Junji / Kazuhisa / Yoshida)
Huy
(Magaibutsu Limited)

The Japanese trio of Hirose Junji on tenor saxophone, Innocence label founder Uchihashi Kazuhisa on guitar, and Yoshida Tatsuya on drums, initiating Magaibutsu's "Improv Session Series" with this on-fire album of controlled chaos, recorded live at Foxhole in Kichijoji.


Richard Pinhas / Tatsuya Yoshida
Ascension
(Magaibutsu Limited)

The collaboration between Magaibutsu label leader, Yoshida Tatsuya (Ruins, Korekyojinn, Koenji, The World Heritage, &c) on drums, keyboards & voice, and Heldon mastermind Richard Pinhas on guitar & effects, continues with this CD of live material from their 2014 Japanese tour, extending the 2015 "Live in Japan" album, including the 8-part "Ascension".


Roman Radkovic Collective
Televize [VINYL]
(Mappa)

A Slovokian experimental group with rock roots and a somewhat DaDa approach to unusual song forms using perplexing repetitions and interventions, led by guitarist and vocalist Roman Radkovič with Josef Novák on keyboard, Jiří Šíla on accordion, Zdeněk Řihošek on harmonica & double bass Zdeněk Caha on drums & voice, and Miloš Šandera on percussion.


No Mor Musik
No Mor Musik
(ugEXPLODE)

This puzzling display of punk/jazz surrealism is masterminded by Nondor Nevai on drums and vocals, featuring Weasel Walter on bass and legendary journeyman Kenny Millions (aka Keshavan Maslak) on guitar and reeds, a sort of unholy fusion between extreme metal, bludgeoning noise rock, free jazz, black humor and true stream-of-consciousness improvisation.


Coultrain
Phantasmagoria [VINYL]
(577 Records)

West Coast songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Coultrain, aka Aaron Michael Frison or Seymour Liberty, in an collection of songs based around a sequence of images reminiscent of a dream, capturing the hazy state of mind that drove the process behind this album, as well as its dreamy effect; soulful and introspective, an album of poetic observation and reflection.


Plan Kruutntoone
Wat Doen De Handen [VINYL + DOWNLOAD]
(esc.rec.)

The fifth album from Amsterdam avant rock band Plan Kruutntoone led by Hans Visser on guitar, banjo & voice, and drummer/percussionist Chris M�ller, is a diverse set of recording that bring a sense of isolation and introspection, including spoken word pieces with Samuel Beckett text fragments, and a string quartet composed by Hans Visser; unique and singular.


Korekyojinn (Yoshida / Nasuno / Natsuki)
Mesopotamia
(Magaibutsu Limited)

The Japanese Korekyojinn trio of Tatsuya Yoshida on drums, Mitsuru Nasuno on bass and Kido Natsuki on guitar continue their high energy approach to prog and jazz/rock with this, their 6th studio album over 20 years, in seven new pieces of extended instrumental works maintaining the effortlessly complex & joyful interplay amid quickly shifting time signatures and melodic changes.


Derviche (Borchard / Favriou)
Murs Absurdes
(Ayler Records)

The 2nd Derviche album on Ayler Records from the French electric bass and drum improvising duo of Eric Brochard and Fabrice Favriou, in five sequences of assertive and masterful instrumental improvising rock, ecstatically heavy material of thick detail and ominous overtone, intended to be played as a continuous suite and clearly intended for maximum amplitude!


Hippie Diktat
Gran Sasso [VINYL]
(nunc.)

The 3rd album from the French Hippie Diktat trio of Antoine Viard on baritone sax, Julien Chamla on drums and Richard Comte on guitar, drawing parallels to Sunn O))) and the raw power of Peter Brötzmann, here in a four-part work of primal rhythms and powerful textures, applying the use of space and timing around repetition to create a bedrock of brawny sound.


M (feat. Ben Stapp / Fred Lonberg-Holm / Marco Colonna / Steve Swell)
Broken Songs
(Listen! Foundation (Fundacja Sluchaj!))

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.


Coultrain
Mundus [VINYL]
(Positive Elevations)

West Coast songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Coultrain, aka Aaron Michael Frison or Seymour Liberty, in a sequel to his Phantasmagoria album, a soulful, introspective and lyrical collection of songs based around a sequence of images reminiscent of a dream, capturing the hazy state of mind that drove the process behind this album, as well as its dreamy effect.


Astroturf Noise (feat Susan Alcorn)
Blazing/Freezing [7-inch VINYL]
(577 Records)

The opening and closing tracks from the new Blazing/Freezing album on a 7" single by the genre-merging Downtown NY trio of Sam Day Harmet (mandolin), Sana Nagano (violin) and Zachary Swanson (upright bass) deconstructing Americana roots music by slicing and dicing it with jazz/improv, electronica, sample sources, and inexplicable errata.


Bill Orcutt
Jump On It
(Palilalia)

Ten years having passed since his last solo acoustic guitar album, Bill Orcutt's new release focuses on a more lyrical, relaxed and reflective side to his playing, in ten succinct pieces recorded in the spring and summer of 2002 at San Francisco's community focal point for and member of Intersection for The Arts, The Living Room.


Albert Ayler Quintet
Copenhagen, Bordeaux 1966 & Newport 1967 Live First Release
(ALAY)

Previously unreleased recordings from the Albert Ayler Quintet — captured in Copenhagen and Bordeaux during the 1966 Newport in Europe tour and at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1967 — present Ayler with Donald Ayler, Michel Samson, Bill Folwell, and Beaver Harris/Milford Graves in fiercely expressive performances, newly restored and mastered from rediscovered tapes.


Joe Morris
Perpetual Frontier The Properties of Free Music [BOOK]
(Riti Publishing)

Joe Morris wrote this book to discuss aspects of free music, including responses to his questionnaire written by Joe McPhee, William Parker, Jamie Saft, Ken Vandermark, Marilyn Crispell, Nate Wooley, Jack Wright, Matthew Shipp, &c.


Cecil Taylor New Unit (Tony Oxley / Hari Sjostrom / Okkyung Lee / Jackson Krall)
Words & Music (The Last Bandstand)
(Listen! Foundation (Fundacja Sluchaj!))

Reviving Cecil Taylor's legendary Unit concept, this searing New Unit performance with Okkyung Lee (cello), Tony Oxley (electronics), Harri Sjostrom (soprano and sopranino saxophones), and Jackson Krall (drums) documents the final concert of Taylor's life in a nearly eighty-minute fusion of music and spoken word, recorded live on April 23, 2016, at the Whitney Museum in New York City.


Art Edmaiston / Chad Fowler w/ Bob Moses / Damon Smith / Clifford Jackson
Memphis Mandala
(Mahakala Music)

Recorded live at Crosstown Arts in Memphis in March 2024, this concert brought together Art Edmaiston, Chad Fowler, Ra Kalam Bob Moses, Damon Smith and Clifford "Pee Wee" Jackson for a spiritually charged free jazz session that channels a deep Southern lineage, blending blues-rooted intensity with fearless collective improvisation into a cohesive, dramatic and wholly spontaneous performance.


Eri Yamamoto / Matthew Shipp
Horizon
(Mahakala Music)

A deeply personal collaboration between pianists Eri Yamamoto and Matthew Shipp, recorded live in the studio with Yamamoto in the left channel and Shipp in the right, as Yamamoto marks thirty years in New York with a set of original compositions for this occasion, their distinctive voices intertwining in an elegant, searching, and harmonically rich conversation of friendship, individuality, and creative life.


Cecil Taylor Unit (w/ Lyons / Silva / Cooper / Murray)
Live At Fat Tuesday's February 10, 1980 First Visit [CD + POSTCARDS]
(ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)

The 2nd night of the superb, extended live performance from 1980 at NYC's Fat Tuesday jazz club, from the outstanding sextet of forward-thinking free improvisers, Jimmy Lyons on alto sax, Ramsey Ameen on violin, Alan Silva on double bass & cello, Jerome Cooper on drums & African Balaphone and Sunny Murray on drums, led by Cecil Taylor on piano in an ecstatic concert never previously released.


[ahmed] (Thomas / Grip / Gerbal / Wright)
Sama'a (Audition) [VINYL 2 LPs]
(Otoroku)

Reimagining and transforming Ahmed Abdul-Malik's Jazz Sahara in their first studio session, the [Ahmed] quartet of Pat Thomas, Joel Grip, Antonin Gerbal, and Seymour Wright ignite four compact, single-take explorations that fuse percussive intensity, kaleidoscopic group interplay, and a fearless reshaping of tradition into dizzying, future-leaning improvisation.


AMM with Sachiko M
Testing
(Matchless)

A rare meeting between Japanese minimalist Sachiko M and AMM's Eddie Prévost and John Tilbury, recorded in 2004 at London's Museum of Garden History, where sine wave precision meets tactile percussion and spacious piano in an intricate electroacoustic improvisation that explores silence, texture, and the fragile tension of deep collective listening.


Tomeka Reid Quartet (w/ Roebke / Halvorson / Fujiwara)
Dance! Skip! Hop!
(Out Of Your Head Records)

Led by cellist Tomeka Reid, this longstanding quartet with Mary Halvorson on guitar, Jason Roebke on bass, and Tomas Fujiwara on drums delivers a rhythmically propulsive and structurally nimble set that balances grounded low-end drive with agile drumming, incisive guitar textures, and Reid's expressive counterpoint, channeling echoes of 1960s jazz while asserting an exuberant, and yes — danceable — release!


Thelonious Monk with Sonny Rollins
1953 To 1957 Revisited
(ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)

Restoring and remastering three key sessions documenting the evolving creative relationship between Thelonious Monk and Sonny Rollins, alongside artists including Julius Watkins, Ernie Henry, Oscar Pettiford, and Max Roach, in a vital revisitation of formative collaborations that highlight Monk's unique brilliance and Rollins' early improvisational voice within shifting post-bop ensembles.


Steve Lacy Three
Live Lugano 1984 - First Visit [CD + 2 POSTCARDS]
(ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)

Recorded live in Lugano in 1984, Steve Lacy's trio with guitarist Barry Wedgle and bassist Jean-Jacques Avenel reimagines his compositions in an intimate and transparent setting, where Lacy's masterful soprano saxophone carves precise yet expressive lines, drawing on influences from poetry, Monk, and visual art to create a striking balance between structure and improvisation.


Karl Evangelista's Apura + Andrew Cyrille
Bukas
(577 Records)

West Coast Bay Area guitarist Karl Evangelista leads his Apura ensemble — Lisa Mezzacappa (bass), Francis Wong (tenor sax), Rei Scampavia (keys, electronics), and Lewis Jordan (alto sax) — joined by drum legend Andrew Cyrille in a powerful statement of free improvisation, blending expressive intensity and forward-looking vision with deeply rooted passion and creative openness.


Eliane Radigue
Asymptote Versatile (1963-64)
(Amgen Records)

An historic world-premiere recording of Éliane Radigue's earliest surviving work, performed at Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, where a stellar ensemble realizes her flexible "sonic proposition" through evolving textures, mathematical spirals and dynamic transformations that foreshadow her later visionary soundworld.


Morton Feldman / GBSR Duo w/ Taylor MacLennan
Trios [6 CD BOX SET]
(Another Timbre)

Spanning Morton Feldman's three expansive trios for flute, piano, and percussion, these performances by the GBSR Duo with Taylor MacLennan immerse the listener in an extended temporal field where quiet intensity, precise timbral balance, and fragile rhythmic relationships unfold with hypnotic patience, transforming duration itself into an expressive element of listening, presence, and sustained attention.


Jimmy Lyons
Rivbea Live! Series, Volume 3
(NoBusiness)

Continuing NoBusiness' series of historic loft concerts at Sam Rivers' Studio Rivbea, alto saxophonist Jimmy Lyons leads a quintet featuring bassoonist Karen Borca, bassist Hayes Burnett, and drummers Henry Letcher and Syd Smart in two electrifying 1970s performances, delivering fervent free jazz marked by intricate interplay and dynamic improvisation.


AMM (Prevost / Rowe / Tilbury)
Phlegm
(Matchless)

A late-period live recording from AMM — Eddie Prévost, Keith Rowe, and John Tilbury — capturing their refined electroacoustic free improv language of near-silence, where percussion, electronics, and piano dissolve into a shared sonic field shaped by extreme restraint, microscopic detail, and a collective focus on texture, duration, and deep listening.


Marion Brown
Capricorn Moon To Juba Lee (remastered)
(ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)

Merging and remastering two essential albums from free jazz saxophonist Marion Brown: his 1966 ESP album "Marion Brown Quartet" with trumpeter Alan Shorter, bassist Reggie Johnson and percussionist Rahied Ali; and his 1967 Fontana album "Juba-Lee" in a septet with Reggie Johnson, drummer Beaver Harris, pianist Dave Burrell, trombonist Grachan Moncur III & saxophonist Bennie Maupin.


Ivo Perelman (w/ Marc Ribot / Elliott Sharp / Joe Morris)
Trifecta [3 CDs]
(Mahakala Music)

Uniting tenor saxophonist Ivo Perelman with three distinct guitar voices — Marc Ribot, Elliott Sharp, and Joe Morris — this 3-CD set presents three separate duo encounters recorded at Park West Studios in Brooklyn, highlighting contrasting improvisational languages while exploring timbre, interaction, and the expressive possibilities of the guitar in free improv contexts.


Teiku (Harlow / Taylor / Shahid / Formanek / Leafar)
Teiku
(577 Records)

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.


Albert Ayler with Don Cherry
1964 Recordings First Visit Completed [2 CDs + POSTCARDS]
(ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)

Four sets of recordings from September, 1964 in Copenhagen, Denmark from a week performing live at Club Montmarte, and a recording in Hilversum, The Netherlands for VARA Radio, collecting and remastering these vital recordings from tenor saxophonist Albert Ayler's most vital free jazz quartet with Don Cherry on cornet, Gary Peacock on double bass and Sunny Murray on drums.


Derek Bailey / John Stevens
The Duke of Wellington
(Confront)

Seminal figures in the evolution of free or nonidiomatic improvisation, guitarist Derek Bailey and percussionist/pocket trumpeter John Stevens are heard in a 1989 London performance vividly captured by Michael Gerzon at The Duke of Wellington, their restless and enthusiastic interplay shifting from angular invention to lyrical reflection in a compelling document of their remarkable rapport.


Byron Coley / Mats Gustafsson / Thurston Moore
Now Jazz Now: 100 Essential Free Jazz & Improvisation Recordings (1960-80) [BOOK]
(Ecstatic Peace Library )

Drawing from deeply personal listening histories, this richly illustrated volume assembles 100 essential free jazz and improvisation recordings from 1960-80, presenting album art, notes, and reflections that frame the music as non-hierarchical and interlinked, offering an immersive guide for adventurous listeners interested in the lineage, spirit, and lived culture of creative freedom.


Peter Brotzmann / Steve Hubback
Treforest 82
(FMR)

A previously unreleased duo encounter pairing Peter Brötzmann's ferocious saxophone with Welsh percussionist Steve Hubback's compact and inventive drum setup, captured at the 1982 Treforest festival in the UK in a brief but explosive burst of free improv where probing textures erupt into cathartic climaxes through raw, intensely focused interplay.


Albert Ayler Trio
Prophecy Live, First Visit
(ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)

Recorded live at New York City's Cellar Café in June 1964, this essential document captures Albert Ayler, bassist Gary Peacock, and drummer Sunny Murray in a pivotal moment of spiritual free jazz, expressing motifs like 'Ghosts' and 'Spirits' into an ecstatic, ever-evolving language, with this remastered edition offering a refined perspective on a landmark session that shaped Ayler's uncompromising vision.


Evan Parker / Joelle Leandre
Long Bright Summer
(RogueArt)

Drawing on decades of fearless improvising, saxophonist Evan Parker and bassist Joëlle Léandre engage in an intense and unfiltered acoustic dialogue recorded live in France, their shared language enabling lightning reactions, extended techniques, surges of density and flow, hushed textural intimacy, and moments where Léandre's wordless voice merges seamlessly into their spontaneous interplay.


Eri Yamamoto Quadraphonic
Fly With The Wings
(Mahakala Music)

A warm and lyrical new quartet from pianist, vocalist, and melodica player Eri Yamamoto alongside Chad Fowler on alto sax & flute, Kevin Thomas on bass, and longtime collaborator Ikuo Takeuchi on drums, blending groove-driven jazz, free improvisation, and tender balladry with Yamamoto's distinctive touch, highlighted by playful interplay, beautiful melodies, and a soulful, unhurried charm.


Ellery Eskelin Trio New York
About (or On), First Visit [2 CDs]
(ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)

Reuniting for two powerful studio sessions recorded in 2011 and 2013, tenor saxophonist Ellery Eskelin, organist Gary Versace, and drummer Gerald Cleaver form Trio New York, navigating an intuitive path between free improvisation and jazz standards with soulful depth, rich allusions, and a shared language that reimagines the classic organ trio.


Fieldwork (Iyer / Lehman / Sorey)
Thereupon
(Pi Recordings)

Seventeen years after their last recording, the New York trio of Steve Lehman (alto saxophone), Vijay Iyer (piano, Rhodes), and Tyshawn Sorey (drums) reunite with dense, high-impact compositions and fearless interplay, blending complexity with groove as they reaffirm their status as one of the most vital ensembles in contemporary improvised music.


John Coltrane Quartet (w/ Tyner / Garrison / Jones)
Impressions From Graz 1962, Revisited [2 CDs]
(ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)

Expanding and remastering the 2019 single CD of John Coltrane's Quartet from its European tour in the fall of 1962, with McCoy Tyner on piano, Jimmy Garrison on double bass, and Elvin Jones on drums, performing at Stefaniensaal in Graz, Austria, beautifully recorded by ORF Steiermark and now presented in both volumes, showcasing Coltrane's lyrical roots and growing free inclinations.


Webber/Morris Big Band
Unseparate
(Out Of Your Head Records)

Five years after their debut, co-leaders Anna Webber and Angela Morris return with a 19-piece large ensemble recording that showcases their next-level compositional voices, unfolding through the "Just Intonation Etudes for Big Band" suite and a series of richly orchestrated works that balance drones, contrapuntal density, rhythmic blasts, and lyrical themes in an adventurous exploration of sound and structure.


Alan Niblock / John Butcher / Mark Sanders
Tectonic Plates
(577 Records)

A formidable trio debut from Irish double bassist Alan Niblock with British improvisers John Butcher on saxophones and Mark Sanders on drums and percussion, recorded live at The Black Box in Belfast and unfolding across five tectonically inspired pieces that channel collective intuition, dynamic interplay, and seismic shifts of intensity and form.


Angles 11
Tell Them It's The Sound Of Freedom
(Listen! Foundation (Fundacja Sluchaj!))

Martin Küchen's Angles returns as an 11-piece — two trumpets, expanded reeds, vibraphone and amplified violin, Fender Rhodes/synth, and a three-drummer engine — lifting songful, anthemic themes into free, melody-rich interplay and propulsive grooves, the ensemble shifting from playful exchanges to surging peaks as its close-knit rapport balances warmth, bite, and momentum.


Joe McPhee / Steve Swell / Mark Tokar / Klaus Kuge
Spontaneous Convergence
(Not Two)

Recorded live at the Alchemia Club in Krakow, Joe McPhee (reeds) and Steve Swell (trombone) join Mark Tokar (bass) and Klaus Kugel (drums) for a sharply interactive quartet session that moves from tight, prickling exchanges to wide-open collective surges, anchored by the twenty-eight-minute "Joy And Imagination Are Uncontainable."


Anthony Braxton
Solo Bern 1984 First Visit
(ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)

Thirteen years after his breakthrough solo saxophone album For Alto, Anthony Braxton is heard in an inventive solo concert on the same instrument, performing at the Altes Schlachthaus Theatre in Bern, Switzerland for a set of original numbered compositions, the standards "Alone Together" and "I Remember You", and two Coltrane pieces: "Giant Steps" and "Naima".


Ornette Coleman
Free Jazz To Ornette! Revisited
(ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)

Exploring further the concepts of free jazz, saxophonist Ornette Coleman's back-to-back 1961 & 62 albums find the composer and innovator in a ground-breaking double quartet that includes Eric Dolphy, Don Cherry & Freddie Hubbard, Scott LaFaro & Charlie Haden, and Billy Higgns & Ed Blackwell; then with quintet with Scott LaFaro temporarily taking Charlie Haden's chair.


Rob Brown / Brandon Lopez / Juan P. Carletti
Walkabout
(Mahakala Music)

An energetic trio session of collective free improvisation from NY alto saxophonist Rob Brown, bassist Brandon Lopez, and drummer Juan Pablo Carletti, recorded in the studio and driven by an intense energy that maintains a powerful swing, with Brown's incisive phrasing, Lopez's commanding bass, and Carletti's dynamic percussion merging into a spontaneous and deeply expressive musical force.


Tomas Fujiwara
Dream Up
(Out Of Your Head Records)

Recorded at Roulette Intermedium in Brooklyn, drummer and composer Tomas Fujiwara introduces his Percussion Quartet with Patricia Brennan on vibraphone, Tim Keiper on African strings and percussion, and Kaoru Watanabe on Japanese drums and flute, blending global traditions into vivid, imaginative works that traverse groove, texture, and color with striking originality and depth.


Charles Mingus
Presents Charles Mingus To Pre Bird, Revisited
(ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)

Three sides of Charles Mingus in this remastered reissue set: the 1961 Candid album Mingus Presents Mingus with the classic quartet of Eric Dolphy, Ted Curson and Dannie Richmond; then the Mercury release Pre-Bird from the same year, in ensembles performing the music of or influenced by Duke Ellington, along with the ambitious and brilliant through-composed work, "Half Mast Inhibition".


Cecil Taylor Unit (w/ Lyons / Silva / Cooper / Murray)
Live At Fat Tuesday's February 9 - First Visit Archive [CD + POSTCARDS]
(ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)

A superb and extended live performance from 1980 at NYC's Fat Tuesday jazz club, from the outstanding sextet of forward-thinking free improvisers, Jimmy Lyons on alto sax, Ramsey Ameen on violin, Alan Silva on double bass & cello, Jerome Cooper on drums & African Balaphone and Sunny Murray on drums, led by Cecil Taylor on piano in an ecstatic concert never previously released.


Von Schlippenbach, Alexander / Barry Altschul Quartet w/ Joe Fonda & Rudi Mahal
Free Flow [2 CDs]
(Listen! Foundation (Fundacja Sluchaj!))

A first-time meeting of four free jazz luminaries — pianist Alexander von Schlippenbach, bassist Joe Fonda, drummer Barry Altschul, and bass clarinetist Rudi Mahall — captured live in Vienna, delivering a vibrant and exploratory double CD of spontaneous interplay, deep lyricism, and uncompromising freedom from a quartet of master improvisers united in real-time invention.


Joseph Holbrooke (w/ Derek Bailey / Gavin Bryars / Tony Oxley)
Last Live 2001 - In Memoriam Derek Bailey And Tony Oxley [2 CDs]
(Tzadik)

The legendary trio Joseph Holbrooke — guitarist Derek Bailey, bassist Gavin Bryars, and drummer Tony Oxley — reunited after decades for one final performance in 2001, captured in this historic live recording that highlights their uncompromising commitment to free improvisation, the set resonating with both the radical spirit of their 1960s origins and the profound artistry of three pioneering voices in avant-garde music.


Frode Gjerstad / Alexander von Schlippenbach / Dag Magnus Narvesen
Seven Tracks
(Relative Pitch)

A dynamic trio session from Frode Gjerstad on alto sax & clarinet, Alexander von Schlippenbach on piano, and Dag Magnus Narvesen on drums & percussion, their first collaboration unfolds in seven spontaneous improvisations that balance fierce intensity with lyrical openness, revealing a seasoned interplay that blends deep exploration with collective free jazz sensibility.


Jimmy Giuffre (w / Bley / Swallow)
Free Fall Clarinet 1962, Revisited
(ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)

Reissuing clarinetist Jimmy Giuffre's 1963 Columbia album Free Fall, presenting trio performances with bassist Steve Swallow and pianist Paul Bley recorded after their 1961 European tour, along with duos between Giuffre and Swallow and several solo tracks from the clarinetist himself, propelling himself and his band into his sophisticated, risk-taking chamber jazz compositions.


John Butcher / John Edwards
This Is Not Speculation
(Listen! Foundation (Fundacja Sluchaj!))

A remarkable live recording from Einstein Kultur in Munich, reuniting British free improvisation masters John Butcher on saxophones and John Edwards on double bass in four expansive, detailed, and often breathtaking duets, exploring abstract soundscapes with razor-sharp interplay, extended techniques, and an uncompromising sense of sonic exploration.


Oliver Lake / Fred Hopkins / Phillip Wilson / Baikida Carroll / Michael Gregory Jackson
Rivbea Live! Series, Volume 4
(NoBusiness)

Recorded during the mid-1970s loft-jazz flowering at Studio Rivbea in New York City, this live session finds Oliver Lake leading a volatile ensemble with Baikida Carroll, Michael Gregory Jackson, Fred Hopkins, and drummers Phillip Wilson and Jerome Cooper, blending post-BAG urgency, searching improvisation, and sharp ensemble interplay into a raw, idealistic document of creative rebirth.


Davis / Ferrari / Mazza
Things Of This Nature
(Mahakala Music)

The quartet Things Of This Nature — Caylie Davis (trumpet), Chris Ferrari (woodwinds), Shogo Yamagishi (bass), and JJ Mazza (drums) — brings together a young generation of New York improvisers whose tight ensemble interplay, bold free jazz sensibility, and energetic collective approach draw deeply from the tradition while pushing their music toward fresh and expressive terrain.


Peter Brotzmann w/ Peter Uuskyla / Peter Friis Nielsen
Flying Feathers
(FMR)

Blazing through a set of raw, high-intensity free jazz, Peter Brötzmann joins Danish bassist Peter Friis Nielsen and Estonian drummer Peeter Uuskyla for a ferocious trio session where roaring saxophone and tarogato collide with clanking electric bass and trance-like percussion, balancing relentless energy with occasional lyrical openings in this fiercely driven improvisational encounter.


Marion Brown
Three For Shepp to Gesprachsfetzen Revisited
(ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)

Remastering and restoring Marion Brown's 1967 Impulse! album with Grachan Moncure III, Dave Burrel, Stanley Cowell, Sirone, Beaver Harris & Bobby Capp, and his 1968 album on the Calig label with Gunter Hampel, Steve McCall, Ambrosa Jackson & Buschi Niedergall; two albums of essential "New Thing" work through fascinating composed forms by Brown, plus Archie Shepps' "Delicado"; essential.


Paul Bley Trio
Floater & Syndrome - The Upright Piano Sessions, Revisited
(ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)

Revisiting and remastering two albums from Paul Bley's formative trio years with Steve Swallow on double bass and Pete LaRoca Sims on drums, recorded in Newark, NJ, from 1962-63 but unreleased until the 1980s on Savoy Jazz, as Bley explores Carla Bley's compositions alongside his own, reshaping the piano trio dynamic with a balance of free and lyrical approaches to jazz.


Mats Gustafsson / Ken Vandermark / Tomeka Reid / Chad Taylor
Pivot
(Silkheart)

Four master improvisers (Mats Gustafsson, Ken Vandermark, Tomeka Reid, Chad Taylor) from overlapping creative circles engage in a set of powerful interactions, where dense low-end reeds, lyrical cello, and rhythmic elasticity create shifting terrain; through deep listening and long-forged connections, they navigate spontaneous form with urgency, restraint, and a shared sense of sonic purpose.




The Squid's Ear Magazine

The Squid's Ear Magazine

© 2002-, Squidco LLC