• AHC (Alexander Cooper)
• Amanojaku (Yoshida/Fujii/Tamura)
• Paul Bley Trio
• Ellen Christi (Christi/Buchanan/Ulrich/Parker/Brown)
• Ellen Christi/Claudio Lodati
• Flying Luttenbachers, The
• Satoko Fujii GEN String Ensemble
• Keiji Haino/Natsuki Tamura
• Steve Lacy Three
• Stian Larsen/Colin Webster/Ruth Goller/Andrew Lisle
• Sophie Lussi/Sandra Weiss/Fridolin Blumer/Andreas Wettstein
• MARANATA (Wesseltoft/Stiberg/Escalante)
• Turbulence
• Un Drame Musical Instantane
• Various Artists
• Allan Zane/Carl Kruger
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Jazz & Improvisation
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Bley, Paul 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.
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Christi, Ellen (Christi / Buchanan / Ulrich / Parker / Brown): Instant Reality
(Network)
A striking exploration of avant-garde jazz and free improvisation, this 1992 session unites vocalist and pianist Ellen Christi with Steve Buchanan (electric guitar), Tomas Ulrich (cello), William Parker (bass), and Lefferts Brown (loops), weaving dynamic vocal phrasing, bold instrumental textures, and evolving electronic layers into an immersive and unpredictable sonic landscape.
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Christi, Ellen / Claudio Lodati: Dreamers
(Splasc(H) )
A refined and nuanced collaboration between vocalist Ellen Christi and guitarist Claudio Lodati, recorded in Ivrea, Italy in 1990, blending lyrical vocal improvisations with fluid electric and acoustic guitar work in an intimate, expressive dialogue — relaxed and unforced, yet deeply engaging, avoiding both histrionics and weightless ambience to create a grounded yet exploratory listening experience.
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Flying Luttenbachers, The: Losing the War Inside Our Heads
(ugEXPLODE)
Bridging past and future, this 17th album from The Flying Luttenbachers is a punishing collection of modernist brutality, largely developed by Weasel Walter alone, yet culminating in a ferocious trio performance with Luke Polipnick and Charlie Werber captured in Chicago and NY; dense with asymmetrical riffs, death metal complexity, and avant-garde adaptations; savage!
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Flying Luttenbachers, The: Spectral Warrior Mythos 2
(ugEXPLODE)
Documenting The Flying Luttenbachers' transition from a New York-based lineup to a Chicago trio, this blistering live-in-the-studio session captures Weasel Walter (guitar), Luke Polipnick (bass), and Charlie Werber (drums) unleashing complex, high-energy compositions with no overdubs, solidifying their raw and relentless approach to genre-blurring improv, as the band continues its evolution.
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Haino, Keiji / Natsuki Tamura: What Happened There?
(Libra)
An electrifying 1st-time meeting between guitarist Keiji Haino and trumpeter Natsuki Tamura, captured live at Tokyo's Shinjuku Pit Inn, where the duo shape an unpredictable set that veers from reflective stillness to wildly passionate outbursts, their extended techniques and visceral vocals — sometimes urgent, sometimes outrageous — fueling an exhilarating and uncompromising sonic adventure.
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Lacy, Steve 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.
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Larsen, Stian / Colin Webster / Ruth Goller / Andrew Lisle : Temple of Muses
(Relative Pitch)
Norwegian guitarist Stian Larsen joins UK musicians Colin Webster on alto sax, Ruth Goller on bass, and Andrew Lisle on drums in a high-energy fusion of free jazz, post-rock, and noise, weaving dynamic improvisation that moves from sparse textures to explosive climaxes, embracing ecstatic intensity, cathartic interplay, and expansive creative exploration.
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Lussi, Sophie / Sandra Weiss / Fridolin Blumer / Andreas Wettstein: Atlantic Puffin
(ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)
Blending Swiss and Argentine heritage, violinist Sophie Lüssi, along with Sandra Weiss (sax & bassoon), Fridolin Blumer (double bass), and Andreas Wettstein (drums), crafts an improvisational sound rooted in jazz, tango, and folk traditions, shaped by her studies in Zurich and two decades in Buenos Aires, resulting in a music that is both technically brilliant and deeply expressive.
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MARANATA (Wesseltoft / Stiberg / Escalante): Ugly Euphoria
(Relative Pitch)
An album of brutal improvisation in the Borbetomagus mold as the longstanding Maranata duo of Dag Stiberg on alto and baritone saxophones and Jon Wesseltoft on electronics join forces with Mexican saxophonist Martín Escalante, creating an unrelenting sonic assault of frenzied saxophone interplay and harsh electronics, fueled by a visceral intensity and high-pressure chaotic energy.
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Turbulence: Wormholes
(Evil Clown)
A dynamic collective session from a quintet — led by multi-instrumentalist David Peck with Bonnie Kane (sax, flute, electronics), John Fugarino (brass, percussion), Albey onBass (bass, drums), and Jared Seabrook (drums, gongs) — featuring a richly textured three-horn interplay over an expansive rhythmic foundation, balancing harmonic shifts and spontaneous energy with a strong sense of structure.
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Un Drame Musical Instantane: Qui Vive?
(GRRR)
A strikingly inventive work from Un Drame Musical Instantané, as Jean-Jacques Birgé, Bernard Vitet, and Francis Gorgé blend synthesizers, trumpet, guitar, voice, and unconventional instrumentation in a satire of television and religion, merging free improvisation, jazz, electronics, and contemporary composition into a provocative and unclassifiable sonic experience.
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Various Artists: Evil Clown Shorties Volume 4 (2024)
(Evil Clown)
A curated collection of 14 short improvisations from Evil Clown's modular ensembles, this fourth Shorties Volume distills the essence of expansive, long-form performances into concise yet potent expressions, featuring 31 musicians across 7 ensembles, these spontaneous works, recorded during warmups and soundchecks, offer a dynamic snapshot of the label's ever-evolving sonic landscape.
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Various Artists: Sarajevo (Suite)
(L'Empreinte Digitale)
A profound 1994 GRRR label release, Sarajevo Suite is a conceptual collaboration produced by Jean-Jacques Birgé and Corinne Léonet, featuring a global assembly of jazz and experimental artists-including Lindsay Cooper, Henri Texier, Dee Dee Bridgewater, and the Balanescu Quartet-crafted to support Bosnian war victims.
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Experimental/Electronic
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AHC (Alexander Cooper): Lase [2 CDs]
(Bu Lang Tribute Cake)
A meditative and immersive work of sonic abstraction, Alexander Cooper's first solo release in eight years unfolds as a lattice of minimalism-inspired harmonic diffusion, where shifting textures and fluid structures dissolve into ethereal, non-representational spaces, blurring the boundaries between form and perception in a dynamic interplay of sound and air.
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Zane, Allan / Carl Kruger: Model Collapse
(Love Earth Music)
Allan Zane and Carl Kruger craft an album of "wet ambient music" inspired by Roland Kayn, featuring fluid textures and evolving soundscapes that pay homage to the German composer and electronic music pioneer innovative approach to ambient composition, here in an immersive auditory experience of deep-water, subtle transitory and aqueous sound.
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Rock/R.I.O./Prog
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Amanojaku (Yoshida / Fujii / Tamura): Bishamonten
(Magaibutsu)
Emerging from an improv session during the pandemic, Natsuki Tamura (trumpet), Satoko Fujii (piano), and Tatsuya Yoshida (drums) formed Amanojaku, named after the contrarian demon of Japanese folklore, embracing a balance of composition, improv and mischievous interplay with a uniquely Japanese sensibility through virtuosic spontaneity and irreverent humor, captured live at Koen-dori Classics.
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Composed & Contemporary
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Fujii, Satoko GEN String Ensemble: Altitude 1100 Meters
(Libra)
Celebrating her 65th birthday with her first compositions for strings, pianist-composer Satoko Fujii writes for the specific musicians of GEN, a sextet of violin, viola, bass, piano, electronics, and drums, in a suite inspired by Nagano's mountain views, leveraging microtonal string techniques for an expressive and texturally rich sonic landscape.
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