August 14, 2026:
A more typical week as we fell back into our routines of receiving, purchasing, cataloging, and publishing, though in a somewhat more compact form, with only one large update in the middle of the week. The slower months bring fewer releases, which allows us to focus more closely on those that do come in, and this week brought some really excellent additions to our catalog, which I'll detail below.
Meanwhile, my work week was split in two important directions. First, the new European de minimis rules, along with recent VAT collection requirements, continue to dog us. We received a sales report from our merchant processor showing that orders from most of Europe and the UK have dropped off significantly, no doubt because of the complications and potential for additional charges. Trade wars and bureaucratic layers are a terrible reason to interrupt the flow of cultural exchange, and we're working to resolve these issues.
To that end, this week on our Discogs storefront, one of the marketplaces where we sell, we've added a new shipping method for the 25 EU countries implementing the new de minimis rules. Since Discogs is able to collect and remit VAT, this addition will allow us to collect the duty those EU nations expect as well. We've added an additional 3 euros per item sold, plus 3 euros per order, so that we can declare the packages we send through FedEx as "DDP," meaning duty paid. FedEx will ultimately charge those duties back to us, and EU customers should receive their packages without additional charges or customs delays.
While we don't agree that there should be additional charges on these orders, this solution through Discogs at least provides a path for European customers eager to collect the latest US domestic releases without unnecessary complications.
The other part of my work week was spent preparing the next Duologues album from Ivo Perelman for our digital label, Squid Note Records. This follow-up is a double album drawn from two studio sessions recorded by Jim Clouse at Park West Studios in Brooklyn, pairing Perelman with pianist Matthew Shipp. I'll have a pre-order link in my next entry and on our own website. In the meantime, if you haven't picked up the exceptional duo album by Perelman and Damon Smith, Duologues 6: Core of Existence, now is a great time to catch up on that, or any of the other seven albums we've released on Squid Note!
Philz Weekly Recommendations:
This week's mailing list is a mix of new releases and a few previous albums that we've priced lower. The new releases are an especially strong set, starting with the last album from the recent batch of ezz-thetics releases from Hat Hut, Ltd., the Verona Sextet's Leap And Bounds. It's an excellent album that draws on some of my favorite performers, including Tony Buck from The Necks and Elliott Sharp, who, along with Sergio Armaroli, has released some of the most interesting hybrids of improvisation and compositional form over the last decade or so, plus the great Magda Mayas on piano.
I'm quite sure that Two Balls Are Enough, but that doesn't stop the unlikely duo of saxophonist and flutist Mats Gustafsson — also playing slide flute, clarinet, harmonica, organ, and electronics — and electroacoustic accordionist and vocalist Kimmo Pohjonen from demonstrating the point through nine exciting improvisations. Pohjonen was new to me, but reading about his work throughout Europe, I can see how his inquisitive approach to the accordion has led him toward this wild mix of experimental and traditional forms.
Two albums come to us on Random Acoustics, centered around Georg Graewe and featuring exceptional support from more Squidco favorites — Gerry Hemingway, Frank Gratkowski, and Mark Sanders across the two releases. The music is characterized as chamber jazz, but the interplay, dynamics, and intricacy of the musicians' interactions transcend the form, creating a particularly distinctive approach to improvisation.
Corbett vs. Dempsey has released a set of sessions led by Chicago alto saxophonist Nick Mazzarella, recorded in Siena, Italy with bassist Silvia Bolognesi, drummer Cristiano Calcagnile, and trumpeter Emanuele Marsico. The album moves through a range of approaches, from collective improvisation to composed material, resulting in an extremely well-balanced example of contemporary creative jazz.
Chicago-based Chinese multi-instrumentalist Lao Dan continues to emerge as a fascinating voice, and his new quartet album with pianist Mabel Kwan, bassist Joshua Abrams, and percussionist Michael Zerang captures a tremendous set at Elastic Arts in Chicago. What makes the band especially distinctive is Dan's instrumentation, as he moves between tenor saxophone, Chinese flute, and suona, the traditional Chinese double-reed wind instrument.
Two last notes. We didn't pick up the LP edition of the Alexander Schlippenbach Trio's Elf Bagatellen when it was first released, carrying only the CD. It's an exemplary album with Evan Parker and Paul Lovens, and we finally have a few copies. The price might seem steep, but it's a beautifully presented gatefold edition of their recent, masterful work.
And finally, I really can't stop listening to Another Timbre's box set of John Tilbury's final works, recorded at his home and combined with archival recordings featuring Keith Rowe, Klaus Filip, and six pianists. It's an extraordinary collection, and one I've found myself returning to again and again.
 Gustafsson, Mats / Kimmo Pohjonen: Two Balls Are Enough (Trost Records)
Pairing Mats Gustafsson's saxophones, flutes, electronics and assorted winds with Kimmo Pohjonen's electro-acoustic accordion and voice, this debut duo album moves between composed and improvised terrain, fusing forceful rhythmic drive, extreme dynamics and electronic transformation with unexpected passages of folk-inflected lyricism and spacious, highly responsive interplay.
 Strobl, Laura / Georg Graewe / Mark Sanders: Acutance (Random Acoustics)
Bringing violist Laura Strobl together with pianist Georg Graewe and drummer Mark Sanders, this 2025 Vienna session presents eleven freely improvised chamber pieces in which fleeting melodies, abstract gestures, and sharply contrasted textures coalesce into poised, intricate forms, highlighting the trio's acute responsiveness and the viola's distinctive role within the ensemble.
 Mazzarella, Nick: Siena Sessions (Corbett vs. Dempsey)
Joining alto saxophonist Nick Mazzarella with bassist Silvia Bolognesi and drummer Cristiano Calcagnile, with trumpeter Emanuele Marsico added on two pieces, this 2025 Siena session moves through previously unrecorded originals, open improvisation, piquant balladry, and freebop heat with supple interaction, melodic clarity, and a finely balanced blend of precision and freedom.
 Dan, Lao Chicago Quartet: Klotski (Trost Records)
Bringing Chicago-based Chinese multi-instrumentalist Lao Dan together with pianist Mabel Kwan, bassist Joshua Abrams, and percussionist Michael Zerang, this 2024 quartet set moves through volatile collective improvisation, contrasting Dan's searing tenor saxophone with the crystalline colors of Chinese flute and suona amid dense, responsive ensemble interplay.
 Schlippenbach Trio: Elf Bagatellen [DOUBLE VINYL] (Cien Fuegos)
Capturing the Schlippenbach Trio, one of European free jazz's foundational ensembles, in a more distilled and compositionally focused mode, this 1990 session with Evan Parker on soprano & tenor saxophones, von Schlippenbach on piano, and Paul Lovens on drums and cymbals unfolds through eleven concise improvisations of taut interplay, fractured lyricism, and chamber-like precision.
 Tilbury, John: At Home [4 CDs] (Another Timbre)
Spanning home recordings from 2018 to 2026 with selected archival material, this four-CD set closes John Tilbury's recording career through piano, clavichord, organ and voice, joined by Keith Rowe, Klaus Filip and six pianists in music ranging from Elizabethan songbooks and contemporary compositions to quiet improvisation and reflection.
Squidco Publishing Roundup:
You can view our latest fully cataloged albums in the Recently Section.
You can also browse new titles as they enter our Just In Stock Section — meaning we physically have the album and can ship it, though we may still be updating additional information about the release.
To see restocks of previously listed titles, visit our Recently Restocked page.
And if you're interested in a future release, you can ask us to notify you by email via our Upcoming Releases page — no obligation necessary.
August 6, 2026:
In Memoriam - Stephen Zampino
Almost as soon as I returned from vacation — and, in some ways, while I was still away — I left again for Connecticut to say farewell to my older brother. This blog entry is dedicated to my older and only brother, Stephen Zampino, who passed away on August 4 after a seven-month battle with lymphoma.
My brother was warm, caring, and wonderfully silly, with a sense of humor that brought joy (and some rolling eyes) to everyone around him. He touched so many lives and leaves behind a lasting influence on all who knew him. He worked as a librarian at The Ferguson Library in Stamford, Connecticut, primarily with children and young adults. A gifted storyteller, Stephen delighted generations of children with his lively, animated readings. His knowledge of children's and young-adult literature led to appointments to several national American Library Association committees. He served on the ALA's Notable Children's Videos Committee and was later selected as one of nine librarians nationwide to serve on the 2013 Robert F. Sibert Medal Committee, which chose the year's most distinguished informational book for children. He also served on the 2020 YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Committee and the 2022 Theodor Seuss Geisel Award Committee.
Rest in Peace Stevie, you were always there for me.
I hope the above explains why this blog entry is light on information, as was last week's. Our time at Squidco has been spent catching up with new releases and with the reporting, accounting and payments involved in running a store like ours. Even so, we have brought in some exceptionally strong albums over the past two weeks, with more exciting releases on the horizon. As I am often asked, my personal selections from the next two weeks follow this text.
We will also release the latest digital album on Squid Note Records this Friday, alongside our weekly mailing list: The Stateless Trio's In the Sunrise of Some Other World, featuring Rick Countryman on alto flute, Steve Hirsh on drums and Richard Allan Bates on electric bass and effects. It is unusual and rewarding to hear Countryman away from his customary alto saxophone, while Hirsh is well known for his work with the Mahakala label, which he helps lead. Bates is a frequent collaborator with Countryman and can be heard on a number of FMR releases. Please support these artists by purchasing the album, an excellent example of spontaneous improvisation created across international distances.
Finally, we continue to struggle with the new de minimis rules throughout Europe, and the EU countries themselves appear to be struggling with their implementation. We feel the loss of many European customers deeply. This is the second major wave of international cultural interference created by taxation and customs requirements, following the introduction of IOSS and new VAT rules in 2021.
It is frustrating to see the collection of taxes and duties impose costs that can rival or exceed the price of the albums themselves, obstructing the exchange of music across borders. Part of the rationale behind Squid Note Records is to continue our mission of bringing adventurous music to listeners through both import and export, but our hearts remain with physical media. It is a pity when administrative systems built around commerce remain indifferent to the cultural value of art.
 The Stateless Trio: In the Sunrise of Some Other World (Squid Note Records)
Developed through remote, spontaneously layered exchanges between the Philippines, Malaysia, and Minnesota, Rick Countryman's alto flute, replacing his customary alto saxophone, joins Richard Allan Bates' electric bass and effects and Steve Hirsh's reflective drumming in an organically connected improvisation of spacious textures, subtle rhythmic tension, and lyrical interaction.
Tilbury, John: At Home [4 CDs] (Another Timbre)
Spanning home recordings from 2018 to 2026 with selected archival material, this four-CD set closes John Tilbury's recording career through piano, clavichord, organ and voice, joined by Keith Rowe, Klaus Filip and six pianists in music ranging from Elizabethan songbooks and contemporary compositions to quiet improvisation and reflection.
 Potter, Chris (feat Bill Frisell): Alive With Ghosts Today (Edition Records)
Chris Potter's suite draws on abolitionist John Brown's 1859 raid on Harpers Ferry to examine conviction, sacrifice and America's unresolved conflicts, with Bill Frisell's grainy guitar joined by Burniss Travis, Nate Smith, Sara Caswell, Rane Moore and Zekkereya El-magharbel in an American-rooted sound of blues, folk melody, spacious orchestration and rhythmic drive, balancing historical gravity with vivid ensemble color.
 Byard, Jaki: The Classic 1960s Albums [4 CDs] (Enlightenment)
Collecting eight Jaki Byard albums from 1960-67, this 4-CD set follows the pianist and occasional alto saxophonist through his extraordinary synthesis of ragtime, stride, swing, bop and free jazz, joined across varied sessions by Booker Ervin, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Joe Farrell, Richard Williams, Ron Carter, Roy Haynes, Alan Dawson and others in music of encyclopedic reach, sharp humor and restless invention.
 Lewis, James Brandon Quartet (Lewis / Ortiz / Jones / Taylor): Omni (Intakt)
Advancing James Brandon Lewis' "Molecular Systematic Music" into what he describes as a kind of twelve-tone gospel, this sixth quartet album joins his commanding tenor saxophone and compositions with Aruan Ortiz's incisive piano, Brad Jones' grounded bass and Chad Taylor's responsive drumming in spiritually charged music shaped by rigorous structure, lyrical force and deeply interactive ensemble dialogue.
 OM (Leimgruber / Doran / Burri / Hemingway / Buck): Sudpol (Intakt)
Continuing OM's fusion of rock energy and free improvisation after the death of founding drummer Fredy Studer, soprano saxophonist Urs Leimgruber, guitarist Christy Doran and bassist Bobby Burri are joined by percussionists Gerry Hemingway and Tony Buck for a live set of dense electroacoustic interplay, surging rhythmic force and open-ended collective invention, carrying the group's "ElectroAcoustiCore" language into a new era.
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Ryoji Ikeda:
Motif with Axel Dorner:
Mary Halvorson / Hubert Bergmann:
Olivia Block:
Matthew Wright (Jernberg / Ensemble Klang / Spheric Totemic):
Thanos Chrysakis:
Tyshawn Sorey:
Kenny Wheeler Sextet:
Double Helix Quartet (Jackson Jr. / Ali / Harris / Ra):
Marty Ehrlich / Julius Hemphill:
Verona Sextet (Armaroli / Buck / Gemmo / Mayas / Piccolo / Sharp): Leap And Bounds (ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)
Sonic Fiction Special (Gratkowski / Strobl / Graewe / Hemingway) feat. Earl Howard: Banding Patterns (Random Acoustics)
Grimes, Henry / Marzette Watts (w/ Robinson / Lancaster / Sharrock / Thornton / Berger / Moses &c): The Call (ALAY)
Armaroli, Sergio Quintet (w/ Sharp / Piccolo / Edwards / Sanders): Follow A Very Heavy Person, First Visit (ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)
Ullmann, Gebhard / Uwe Oberg / Joe Fonda / Dieter Ulrich: New Conference Call (ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)
