Evan Parker ElectroAcoustic Ensemble (w/ Sainkho Namtchylak):
Fixing the Fluctuating Idea (Victo)

Evan Parker's Electroacoustic Ensemble, merging reeds, strings and percussion with live signal processing to create something indescribably transformative is further amplified with the addition of free improvising vocalist and Tuvan throat singer Sainkho Namtchylak, adding an unearthly layer of interaction and transmogrification to this incredible 1996 FIMAV performance. ... Click to View

Rempis Percussion Quartet, The (w/ Haker Flaten / Daisy / Rosaly):
Sud Des Alpes (Aerophonic)

The 10th album from The Rempis Percussion Quartet, the dual-drumming free improvising collective quartet of Dave Rempis on alto & tenor saxophones, Ingebrigt Haker Flaten on bass, and Tim Daisy & Frank Rosaly on drums, celebrating their 15th anniversary as a working band through this exhilarating concert captured during their 2019 European Tour at AMR in Geneva, Switzerland. ... Click to View

Mike Cooper / Duck Baker :
Cumino In Mia Cucina (Confront)

Having been acquainted with each other for decades but never finding the opportunity to record, improvising American guitarist Duck Baker and British guitarist Mike Cooper finally found their chance in 2010 while both were in Rome, taking two acoustic nylon Spanish guitars into the studio to record these three extended, intertwining improvisations. ... Click to View

Damon Smith / Peter Kowald / Joelle Leandre / Bertram Turetzky :
Bass Duos 2000-2007 [3 CDs + 3 Postcards] (Balance Point Acoustics)

Three CDs, each dedicated to a mix of concert and studio recordings of double bass duos, the first between Damon Smith and Peter Kowald in 2000 at Gallery 2310, in Oakland, CA; the 2nd between Smith and Joëlle Léandre in 2002, which was recorded by Henry Kaiser; and between Smith and Bertram Turetzky at 1510 8th St. Performance Space, in Oakland, CA in 2007. ... Click to View

Rhodri Davies:
Wound Response (Amgen Records)

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

Rhodri Davies:
An Air Swept Clean of All Distance (Amgen Records)

First release on the Alt.Vinyl label in 2014, this album finds harpist Rhodri Davies performing on the same instrument as his prior album Wound Response, but here with no amplification, preparations or distortion, improvising through "tumbling phrases, arpeggios and articulate rhythms", in a compelling album of assertive and joyful playing. ... Click to View

Various Artists (curated by Nick Vander):
Walk My Way, Volume Four (Orbit577)

The fourth of a five volume compilation series curated by Nick Vander, a testament to the incredible musical range of the guitar and the imaginative possibility of guitarists around the world, with tracks from Janet Feder, Martin Vishnick, Ikbal Lubys, Edward J. Gibbs, Joshua Weitzel, Guram Machavari, Eric Wong, Garth Erasmus, and Bill Horist. ... Click to View

Donald McKenzie II Sturge Anthony (feat. Elliott Sharp, Bill Laswell and Vernon Reid):
Silenced II - Views from the Auction Block (577)

Drummer Donald Sturge Anthony McKenzie II trades off duos with a set of masterful musicians in the second volume of his "Silenced" project, here with guitarist Elliott Sharp for a complex and inspired dialog; with bassist Bill Laswell for a rich and moody soundscape; and with guitarist Vernon Reid in a piece for McKenzie's daughter; plus one solo drum piece. ... Click to View

AMM (Tilbury / Prevost):
Industria (Matchless)

The title Indústria, was chosen by Eddie Prevost in tribute to the history behind the Museu Industrial de Bala do Tejo, in Portugal where this concert took place by the legendary free improvisation band AMM, represented here as the duo of percussionist Eddie Prévost and pianist John Tilbury, performing as part of the 2015 OUT.FEST - Festival Internacional de Musica Exploratoria do Barreiro. ... Click to View

Fred Frith / Ikue Mori:
A Mountain Doesn't Know it's Tall (Intakt)

Having worked together for 40 years starting in the 80's in the Downtown NY scene, guitarist Fred Frith and electronic artist Ikue Mori recorded this album in Germany, using studio time left after recording the music for a radio play by Werner Penzel, using that work as an influence for these exceptional improvisations on home made instruments, toys and electronics. ... Click to View

Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii:
Keshin (Libra)

An album of duets between trumpeter Natsuki Tamura and pianist Satoko Fujii, the husband & wife core of Libra Records, recorded as a DIY effort during the 2020 pandemic in their own home recording space and mixed by themselves, a diverse album of intimate and impressive improvisations that find the two in a uniquely deep and expressively concentrative conversations. ... Click to View

James Tenney (Ensemble Open Music Gera):
Acoustic Phenomena / Hymnic Sounds (Edition Wandelweiser Records)

Recording in Altes Wannenbad Gera, in Gera, Germany, an ensemble of performers associated with Ensemble Open Music Gera and Ensemble Zeitkratzer perform James Tenney's work exploring concepts of tuning systems, sound/noise, consonance/dissonance, sound/silence, and organisation of time, in three pieces that use a climax-oriented form Tenney refers to as "swell pieces". ... Click to View

Dave Tucker / Pat Thomas / Thurston Moore / Mark Sanders:
Educated Guess Vol. 1 (577)

The "guess" was guitarist and electronics artist Dave Tucker's educated guess that these four musicians--himself, pianist/keyboardist Pat Thomas, guitarist Thurston Moore and drummer/percussionist Mark Sanders--would create someting extraordinary if he brought them together for a concert at London's Cafe OTO, this boundary-pushing album the indisputably successful result. ... Click to View

Dave Tucker / Pat Thomas / Thurston Moore / Mark Sanders:
Educated Guess Vol. 1 [VINYL] (577)

The "guess" was guitarist and electronics artist Dave Tucker's educated guess that these four musicians--himself, pianist/keyboardist Pat Thomas, guitarist Thurston Moore and drummer/percussionist Mark Sanders--would create someting extraordinary if he brought them together for a concert at London's Cafe OTO, this boundary-pushing album the indisputably successful result. ... Click to View

Donald McKenzie II Sturge Anthony (feat. Nels Cline / Melvin Gibbs / Vernon Reid):
Silenced (577)

A six track album from drummer Donald Sturge Anthony McKenzie II written about the abuse of force from those charged to protect us, in a series of duos with amazing performances from guitarist Nels Cline, saxophonist Arnold Lee, bassist Melvin Gibbs, bassist Dave Hofstra, guitarist Vernon Reid, and drummer/keyboardist CX KIDTRONIX; disturbing and important work. ... Click to View

Rachel Musson / Pat Thomas / Mark Sanders:
Shifa - Live at Cafe Oto (577)

"Shifa", or "Healing", is the London-based trio of saxophonist Rachel Musson, pianist Pat Thomas, and drummer Mark Sanders, here in a live concert at Cafe Oto in 2018 of two collective improvisations of arching sax lines, rolling and potent drumming, powerful block chords and intricate lines, from dark to joyful moments, an intoxicating tonic for the ears. ... Click to View

Coultrain:
Phantasmagoria (Positive Elevation/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. ... Click to View

Coultrain:
Phantasmagoria [VINYL] (Positive Elevation/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. ... Click to View

John Coltrane Quartet:
Newport, New York, Alabama, 1963, Revisited (ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)

Two quartets performing two live concerts from 1963 led by John Coltrane on tenor & soprano saxophones, the first at the Newport Jazz Festival with McCoy Tyner on piano, Jimmy Garrison on double bass and Roy Haynes on drums, the second at Birdland with Elvin Jones on the drums, plus 2 studio recordings with that quartet at Van Gelder Studio in the same year. ... Click to View

Silvan Schmid:
Augmented Space (ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)

Swiss trumpeter Silvan Schmid (Silvan Schmid Quintett, London Improvisers Orchestra, Floor Poodle, &c) in a solo album of remarkable technique, pacing and intention, using traditional brass elements like rips, smears, half-valved notes and portamento, along with murmurs, pops & percussive evocations of indescribable origination, at times augmented via amplification. ... Click to View

Alexander Hawkins feat/ Evan Parker + Riot Ensemble:
Togetherness Music (Intakt)

Pianist Alexander Hawkins' six movement composition is realized by the UK Riot Ensemble, known primarily for their work with notated contemporary music, adding Evan Parker's incredible soprano sax soloing, and filtered through Matthew Wright's live electronic processing, resulting in this amazing hybrid masterwork that bridges modern 21st Century forms. ... Click to View

Mark Feldman:
Sounding Point (Intakt)

Including six of his own compositions, a work by Sylvie Courvoiser and Ornette Coleman's "Peace Warrior", New York violin virtuoso Mark Feldman's new solo album, recorded in the studio in Brooklyn, is a touchpoint to his skills and creative imagination today, 26 years after his first solo album, displaying a profound ability to engage and inspire his listeners. ... Click to View

Aki Takase / Christian Weber / Michael Griener:
Auge (Intakt)

Bringing an innate lyricism to free improvisation in the piano trio format, albeit a thoroughly modern take on that format where all performers are equal and active participants, from Aki Takase on piano, Christian Weber on bass, and Michael Griener on drums, performing five Takase originals, one from Griener & Takase, and 8 collective works. ... Click to View

Yuma Uesaka / Cat Toren / Colin Hinton:
Ocelot (577)

The Brooklyn trio of Yuma Uesaka on tenor saxophone & clarinets, Cat Toren on piano & synthesizer, and Colin Hinton on drums, percussion, gongs, glockenspiel, & vibraphone, in a sophisticated album of modern creative improvisation with a lyrical attitude and a confidently introspective approach, all three players contributing original compositions to this debut album. ... Click to View

E. Gibbs Jason:
Wolves of Heaven (Orbit577)

Working in a Derek Bailey vein of solo guitar improvisation, Portland, Maine improviser E. Jason Gibbs presents 14 performances on the acoustic guitar, cohesive pieces of confident development that reference not only the London improviser, but also shades of Americana and a unique voice and set of strategies uniquely his own. ... Click to View

Sun Ra and His Arkestra:
I Struck a Match on the Moon / Dreamsville [7-inch VINYL] (Corbett vs. Dempsey)

Recorded during the The Futuristic Sounds of Sun Ra sessions in 1961 after moving the Arkestra to the Philadelphia/NY area from his original Chicago base, these two ballads are sung by Ricky Murray, "I Struck a Match..." written by Sun Ra and very much an Arkestra tune, while "Dreamsville" is a Livingston-Mancini-Evans tune that receives Ra's big band treatment. ... Click to View

John Zorn (Gosling / Hashimoto / Roeder / Smith):
Heaven and Earth Magick (Tzadik)

Zorn's compositions on this album bridge the worlds of contemporary compositional and fully improvised jazz, Zorn conducting a quartet with Stephen Gosling's piano and Sae Hashimoto's vibraphone parts fully notated, while drummer Ches Smith and bassist Jorge Roeder provide an improvisational rhythm section, bringing to life these dynamic and lyrical works. ... Click to View

John Zorn Gnosis Quartet:
Gnosis: The Inner Light (Tzadik)

John Zorn's Gnostic Quartet of Bill Frisell on guitar, Carol Emanuel on harp, John Medeski on organ, piano & Fender Rhodes, and Kenny Wollesen on vibraphone perform Zorn's melodic compositions dedicated to one of Zorn's earliest mentors, Ennio Morricone, through nine compositions of "beautiful harmonies, a driving rhythmic pulse and stunning lyricism." ... Click to View

John Zorn (Frisell / Riley / Lage):
Teresa de Avila (Tzadik)

The third and final CD in composer John Zorn's trilogy inspired by historic figures of Christian mysticism, following works for Francesco d'Assisi and Julian of Norwich, these 10 pieces are conducted by Zorn and written specifically for the acoustic guitar trio of Bill Frisell, Julian Lage and Gyan Riley; an album of breathtaking character and inspired playing. ... Click to View

Petra Haden (w/ John Zorn / Jesse Harris feat. the Julian Lage Trio):
Songs For Petra [VINYL] (Tzadik)

The songwriting team of John Zorn and Jesse Harris, who worked together on Zorn's The Song Project, wrote these beautiful melodies & lyrics that merge elements of rock and jazz for singer Petra Haden, performed in a quintet with Jesse Harris on acoustic guitar, keys & background vocals, Kenny Wollesen on drums, percussion, Julian Lage on guitar, and Jorge Roeder on bass. ... Click to View