Cecil Taylor:
Corona (Corbett vs. Dempsey)

Beginning with an 8-member vocal incantation led by Taylor himself, this incredible reunion concert between pianist Cecil Taylor and drummer Sunny Murray was recorded by the FMP label in 1996 at the Total Music Meeting in Podewil, Berlin, an incredible display of pyrotechnical playing with an exultant excitement through three "sector" improvisations; extraordinary! ... Click to View

Rudiger Carl / Joel Grip / Sven-Ake Johansson:
In Early November (Corbett vs. Dempsey)

Two European Free Improvisation legends--Prussian clarinetist Rudiger Carl and Swedish drummer Sven-Ake Johansson--join with younger double bassist Joel Grip (Umlaut Records) for three improvised "Inflections" performed live at Au Topsi Pohl in Berlin, superb examples of the historical depth of free jazz across Europe and the continuing energy each new generation brings. ... Click to View

Tom Prehn Quartet:
Centrifuga & Solhverv (Corbett vs. Dempsey)

Two early free jazz masterpieces from 1964 never released in their day, from Danish pianist Tom Prehn and his Kvartet with Poul Ehlers on bass, Fritz Krogh on tenor saxophone and featuring drummer Finn Slumstrup, the close mic recording bring their swinging and enthusiastic music to the foreground in an adventurous album that absolutely demands to be heard! ... Click to View

Frode Gjerstad / Kent Carter / John Stevens:
Detail-90 [VINYL] (NoBusiness)

The second incarnation of the Detail trio of saxophonist Frode Gjerstad and drummer John Stevens, with Kent Cart taking the role of double bass, is heard in this studio recording from 1990 at NRK-studio in Stavanger, Norway, a superb example of the nearly telepathic freedom four years of playing together afforded them, as heard in two extended, energetic improvisations. ... Click to View

Le GGRIL:
Sommes [3 CDs] (Tour de Bras / Circum-Disc)

A magnificent triple-CD set from the Quebec creative ensemble GGRIL performing the works of Frederic Blondy, Robert Marcel Lepage, Lisa Cay Miller, Malcolm Goldstein, Caroline Kraabel, Allison Cameron, Martin Arnold, Lori Freedman, Michel F. Cote, Jean Derome and Gus Garside, a significant and beautifully packaged release from one of Canada's most important new music groups. ... Click to View

Chris Pitsiokos :
Carny Cant [VINYL] (Eleatic Records)

In the spirit of Downtown NY by merging forms of jazz, rock and experimental music, Chris Pitsiokos bookends his album with two solo pieces, joining forces with NY electric guitarist Rick Eye for 4 tracks, drummer Jason Nazary the third on 3 of those, as Pitsiokis performs on alto & baritone sax, harmonica, electric bass, guitar & drums, electronic instruments & voice. ... Click to View

Giovanni di Domenico :
L'inutile [CASSETTE w/ DOWNLOAD] (Tsss Tapes)

Recorded at Elektronmusikonstudion EMS, Stockholm and Studio W, Brussels between 2017 & 2019, Giovanni Di Domenico presents two extended compositions for solo piano and electronics, melodically evolving piano figures taking the foreground over unusual rhythmic and percussive interactions, building in complexity and releasing in exquisite ways. ... Click to View

Laplanet / Nazary:
Tunnel To light [CASSETTE w/ DOWNLOAD] (Tripticks Tapes)

After 16 years of collaboration this duo album between tenor saxophonist Travis Laplante and drummer/percussionist/electronic artist Jason Nazary was recorded in two sessions after the long break of pandemic lockdown, the enthusiasm of in-person playing showing through intimate and confident exchanges, building and weaving a textural landscape of informed dialogs. ... Click to View

Chris Moore / Adam Shead:
The Flower Of Paradise (Amalgam)

Two Chicago compatriots--established drummer/percussionist Adam Shead and newcomer to the Chicago improvised scene, saxophonist and multi-reedist Chris Moore, in an expressive album of sax & drum interaction, thoughtful interactions in twelve succinct dialogs that focuses on depth of their conversation through clear expression and response. ... Click to View

Regler:
Regel #5 (Classical Music) (Nueni)

An actualization of Manfred Werder's text score, "2015³", taking a quote from Walter Benjamin, "through excessive fatigue I had thrown myself on my bed in my clothes in the brightly-lit room, and had at once, for a few seconds, fallen asleep", the Regler trio present an abstract interpretation through location recordings of the band setting up and falling asleep. ... Click to View

Jennifer Allum / John Butcher / Ute Kanngiesser / Eddie Prevost:
Sounds of Assembly (Meenna)

Assembled in London to improvise music for Stewart Morgan's film Eddie Prevost's Blood, this release adds much more material beyond the soundtrack, in a superb example of free and charged creative improvisation seeking unique combinations of expression, from Jennifer Allum on violin, John Butcher on saxophones, Ute Kanngiesser on cello and Eddie Prevost on percussion. ... Click to View

Luis Vicente / Vasco Trilla:
Made of Mist (577 Records)

Mist and mystery in pensive and meticulous improvisation from the Portuguese duo of trumpeter Luis Vicente and percussionist Vasco Trilla, their 2nd studio album after their 2019 Clean Feed release, exploring textures and timbres through extended techniques and detailed percussive interaction, as confident expressions rise and submerges in a wonderfully abstracted haze. ... Click to View

Peter Brotzmann :
Along The Way [BOOK] (Corbett vs. Dempsey)

A beautiful 228 page limited edition hardcover book chronicling the last decade of artwork by saxophonist Peter Brotzmann, created spontaneously while on the road or between tours using materials at hand; featuring essays by Brotzmann, Thomas Milroth, John Corbett, Markus Muller, Sotiris Kontos, Stephen O'Malley, Heather Leigh and Karl Lippegaus. ... Click to View

Un Poco Loco (Fourneyron / Beliah / Gesser):
Ornithologie (Umlaut Records)

Formed in 2014 to explore their own personal history with jazz music, the French trio of Fidel Fourneyron on trombone, Sebastien Beliah on double bass and Geoffroy Gesser on tenor saxophone & clarinet put their focus on the master of be-bop, Charlie Parker, updating, reinventing and making an inventive playground of Parker's music through thirteen classics. ... Click to View

Itaru Oki Quartet:
Live At Jazz Spot Combo 1975 [VINYL] (NoBusiness)

Late Japanese free jazz trumpeter and flute player Itaru Oki--one of the significant and early free jazz players in Japan in the 1970s, moving to France in the mid-70s to seek more opportunities to play--recorded this concert at Jazz Spot Combon as part of his farewell tour, performing with winds player Yoshiaki Fujikawa, bassist Keiki Midorikawa ad drummer Hozumi Tanaka. ... Click to View

Violeta Garcia / Chris Pitsiokos:
Uanmortaim (Relative Pitch)

From fractured and fragmented to assertively raw improvisation in the unusual pairing of saxophone and cello from Chris Pitsiokos on alto and Argentinian cellist Violeta Garcia, using intense approaches to their instruments in a reactive set of 11 concise dialogs, a well-matched meeting of innovative improvisers uniquely responding to and clearly enjoying an eccentric conversation. ... Click to View

Erin Rogers:
2000 Miles (Relative Pitch)

Focusing intently on multiphonics and long-form statements on the saxophone, the second solo album from Canadian-American saxophonist based in New York City, Erin Rogers, is a tour-de-force of unusual language on the instrument, exploring every inch from the reeds to the pads in manners uniquely harrowing, ingenious, awe-filled, unorthodox, and always inspired. ... Click to View

I/O: Carlos Santos / Ilrich Mitzlaff:
Studies on Colour Fields Modulation (Creative Sources)

Electronic improviser Carlos Santos, whose sound work started with VITRIOL in 1989, a laboratory for experimental sound actions, also studied painting and works as a graphic designer; here he joins with cellist and sound artist Ulrich Mitzlaff for two extended works taking their cue from the visual arts as they study and sonically reflect subtle modulations in color fields. ... Click to View

Nat Baldwin:
AUTONOMIA III: Endnotes [CASSETTE w/ DOWNLOAD] (Tripticks Tapes)

Extending his series of experimental works for solo double bass, NYC-based Nat Baldwin's 3rd "AUTONOMIA" release merges new music with noise in concentrated approaches through positioning the bass in unusual orientations to access the strings from below; using multiple bows, one prepared and one in agressive motion; and exploring the high harmonic range of the instrument. ... Click to View

Tim Olive / Kayu Nakada:
Entenka [CASSETTE w/ DOWNLOAD] (Tsss Tapes)

Applying techniques similar to those of the prepared piano, Japanese experimental artist Kayu Nakada uses circuit bending--circuit boards from electronic instruments short circuited for new effects--joining forces with Japan-based Canadian electronic instrument maker Tim Olive (845 Audio) for four works of intriguingly interactive glitch, hum, static and sonic inexplicables. ... Click to View

Binker Golding / John Edwards / Steve Noble:
Moon Day [VINYL - Limited Edition] (Byrd Out)

UK saxophonist Binker Golding (Binker & Moses) in a new trio with the powerful rhythm section of frequent collaborators, double bassist John Edwards and drummer Steve Noble, in a commanding album of free playing with titles referencing Coltrane, conveying a strong sense of both 60s and modern free playing throughout, propelled by tight and near-telepathic interaction. ... Click to View

Mako Sica / Hamid Drake (feat Tatsu Aoki / Thymme Jones):
Ourania [VINYL + DOWNLOAD] (Feeding Tube Records)

The core of Chicago's Mako Sica--Brent Fuscaldo (electric bass, voice, harmonica & percussion) and Przemyslaw Krys Drazek (electric trumpet, electric guitar & mandolin)--join forces with Hamid Drake on drums & percussion, Tatsu Aoki on upright bass & shamisen and Cheer-Accident's Thymme Jones on keyboards, trumpet, balloon & voice for a warmly spiritual album. ... Click to View

Phill Niblock:
NuDaf (XI Records)

An extended electroacoustic composition from composer Phil Niblock based on recordings captured at Marcus Schmickler's Piethopraxis studio in Koln of bassoonist Dafne Vicente-Sandoval, layering her playing and using multiphonics to create beautifully rich textures that slowly evolve, shifting in hypnotic ways as the pieces arches and descends through harmonic interaction. ... Click to View

Beatriz Ferreyra :
Canto+ [VINYL + DOWNLOAD] (Room40)

GRM alumnus and collaborator with Pierre Schaeffer & Francois Bayle, French electroacoustic, acousmatic and musique concrete composer Beatriz Ferreyra is heard in five works from 40 years of compositions, astonishing pieces of embraceable, radical, strange and inspired sound, including the amazing "Mad Man's Song" and works dedicated to Bayle & Bernard Bashet. ... Click to View

Bruno Duplant:
Deux Songes (Les Jours Sont Faits Pour Expliquer Les Nuits) (Meenna)

Two beautifully subtle works for an ensemble of strings and electric piano from French composer Bruno Duplant, realized by the Boston-based Ordinary Affects ensemble or Jordan Dykstra, Morgan Evans-Weiler, JPA Falzone, Luke Martin and Ashley Frith, the first a quintet and the second a string quartet, creating illusory affects of motion and space through abstraction. ... Click to View

David Birchall / Adam Fairhall / Michael Perrett / Yoni Silver / Otto Willberg:
Aggregate Glows In The Cold (Creative Sources)

Three fully free studio improvisations recorded in Manchester from the quintet of David Birchall on electric guitar, Adam Fairhall on accordion, Michael Perrett on bass clarinet, Yoni Silver on bass clarinet and Otto Willberg on double bass, all masterful performers using a wealth of creative approaches to create unusual motion in rich sonic interaction. ... Click to View

Mara Kolibri / Fredi Proll:
Primus 17 (Creative Sources)

A diverse set of conversations between Austrian improvisers, drummer/percussionist Fredi Pröll (Trio Now!, Lull) and free vocalist Mara Kolibri, recording in the studio for seven concise and far-ranging dialogs, from cantankerous interactions to controlled incoherence of absurdly implied vocalization punctuated with creative percussive reaction, often returning to lyrical jazz-influenced moments. ... Click to View

Fluke-Mogul / Liberatore / Mattrey / Mendoza :
Death In the Gilded Age [CASSETTE w/ DOWNLOAD (Tripticks Tapes)

Brought together by violinist Joanna Mattrey during the dark period of COVID lockdown, four NY free improvisers (Gabby Fluke on Mogul on violin, Matteo Liberatore on acoustic guitar, Joanna Mattrey on viola and Ava Mendoza on electric guitar) explore the implications of the pandemic through separation, loss and new life in 10 succinct and dynamic explorations. ... Click to View

Brainhack Musicbox (Bobrytsky / Lisovsky / Boldenko):
Brownarium (Brainhack Musicbox)

Each track named after a mythical Scottish character, the Ukrainian trio of Stanislav Bobrytsky on modular synth, Pavlo Lisovsky on tenor saxophone and Anton Boldenko on viola create a music merging free jazz principles with modular synthetic drone, creating an orchestral sound that still elucidates the detail of their uniquely orchestrated, rich sonic explorations. ... Click to View

Amalgamated (Bengsten / Newell / Klampe / Richards):
To (Aubjects)

Crossing experimental sound and rhythmic approaches that blend elements of electronic music, krautrock, noise, electronica and indescribable sonic environments, the quartet of Cory Bengtsen, Bob Newell, Phillip Klampe and Mike Richards are heard in their 6th full-length release, an embraceable and well-paced album of compelling beats and sonic surprises. ... Click to View