Cosa Brava (Frith / Parkins / Kihlstedt / Bossi / Ismaily):
Z Sides (Klanggalerie)

Guitarist & vocalist Fred Frith leads the highly creative quintet of Zeena Parkins on keys & voice, Carla Kihlstedt on violin & voice, Mathias Bossi on drums and Shahzad Ismaily on bass, merging free improv, rock and experimental forms; drawn from live performances recorded by The Normal Conquest, this set of compositions captures the group's dynamic interplay and remarkable inventiveness. ... Click to View

AALY Trio (Gustafsson / Nordeson / Janson):
Sustain (Silkheart)

AALY Trio, named as a reference to Albert Ayler, is Mats Gustafsson (winds), Kjell Nordeson (bass), and Peter Janson (drums), who began their journey in Sweden in the 1980s, drawing significant influence from Chicago's creative scene in the 90s, and reuniting now with the same incendiary energy and deep rapport, captured in 11 composed and collective works. ... Click to View

Rob Mazurek Quartet (w/ Reid / Taylor/ Sanchez):
Color Systems (RogueArt)

Trumpeter Rob Mazurek dedicates these pieces to pianist Angelica Sanchez, cellist Tomeka Reid, and drummer Chad Taylor in a vibrant improvisation recorded in France, drawing on Mazurek's watercolor and ink creations as inspiration; the quartet's interplay channels visual art into melodic textures, freely merging influence and spontaneity through rich interaction. ... Click to View

Kenny Warren (Warren / Hoffman / Ellman):
Sweet World [VINYL] (Out Of Your Head Records)

New York trumpeter Kenny Warren leads a trio with cellist Christopher Hoffman and drummer Nathan Ellman-Bell through eighteen Warren compositions that draw on diverse musical elements from around the globe — without being 'world music' — crafting succinct, creatively engaging works marked by eclectic references, unconventional time signatures, and a free-flowing lyrical spirit. ... Click to View

Crossfire Duo (Fullex / Bauers):
Vellum (Infrasonic Press)

Showcasing Buffalo-based percussionist Bob Fullex and Jason Bauers' innovative mastery as Crossfire Duo in an album that features Jacob Gotlib's "Portrait Sequence", performed without striking objects, Matt Sargent's "Small Stones" played entirely on metallophones, Richard Richard Festinger's high-speed "Crossfire", and Christian Wolff's "Flutist (and) Percussionist" as an intricate rhythmic dialogue. ... Click to View

Erhard Hirt / Richard Scott / Klaus Kurvers / Willi Kellers:
Trails (Creative Sources)

Recording at Kuhlspot Social Club in Berlin, the quartet of Erhard Hirt (e-guitar & electronics), Richard Scott (live electronics), Klaus Kurvers (double bass), and Willi Kellers (drums & percussion) perform assertive and exploratory electroacoustic improvisations, taking listeners on 7 journeys that flow through dense forests, deep into watery worlds or traverse unearthly trails. ... Click to View

Ran Blake / Dave Knife Fabris:
Live Amsterdam 2006, First Visit [CD + POSTCARDS] (ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)

Ran Blake presents eleven solo performances at Amsterdam's Bimhuis, interpreting a captivating selection of tunes, including works by Duke Ellington and Abbey Lincoln; followed by eight duos with electric guitarist David 'Knife' Fabris, continuing their collaborative legacy from albums such as Horace is Blue and Something to Live For, along with their releases on Soul Note and NoBusiness. ... Click to View

Tadd Dameron:
Fontainebleau & Magic Touch, Revisited (ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)

Composer, pianist, and bandleader Tadd Dameron's first album, Fontainebleau (1956), and his final work, The Magic Touch (1962), are remastered to highlight his sophisticated hard bop compositions for large ensembles, featuring influential players like Bill Evans, Philly Joe Jones, and Ron Carter, and showcasing Dameron's lasting impact on jazz before his untimely passing. ... Click to View

Claudio Sanna:
Compositori Sardi Contemporanei II [2 CDs] (ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)

The second volume in pianist and composer Claudio Sanna exploration of composers, improviser and experimenters from Sardinia, in a wonderfully diverse set of works and performances from Sanna himself, Anna Zeriotto (double bass), Federico Nicoletta (piano), Leoardo Zunica (piano), Sandro Mungianu (live electronics), and Paolo Pastorino (live electronics). ... Click to View

Alfredo Colon (Colon / Korten / Williams / Parks):
Blood Burden (Out Of Your Head Records)

Brooklyn-based saxophonist, composer, and bandleader Alfredo Colon's debut album presents an engaging set of enthusiastic works rooted in the blues tradition, featuring a cover of Delta blues singer Son House and performed with his Brooklyn quartet: Lex Korten (piano, Klavins Una Corda), Steve Williams (upright bass), and Connor Parks (drums), blending lyrical expression and balanced dynamics. ... Click to View

Lisbon String Trio & Carlos Santos:
Cobra (Creative Sources)

The Lisbon String Trio — Ernesto Rodrigues (viola), Miguel Mira (cello) and Alvaro Rosso(double bass) — collaborates with Carlos Santos (electronics, modular synth) to create a sophisticated, assertive set that enriches the trio's soundscape with nuanced electronic textures, building on the trio's nearly telepathic coordination and harmonic depth, blending physicality and subtle electronics to evoke mysterious, wave-like motifs and dynamic subtlety. ... Click to View

Chemical Expansion League, The (Bohman / Lynch / Northover / Mengersen):
Salute To The Rabid Raspberry (Creative Sources)

The UK-based Chemical Expansion League of Adam Bohman (prepared strings, voice), Adrian Northover (sax, theremin, wasp synth), Sue Lynch (sax, clarinet, flute), and Ulf Mengersen (bowed & prepared double bass) present thirteen mostly succinct and eccentric improvisations that oscillate between sanity and absurdity, punctuated by industrial elements, bent tones, and surreal soundscapes. ... Click to View

Vasseur / Serries:
Floating Similarities (Creative Sources)

French guitarist Christian Vasseur, known for his explorative approach and use of unique instruments like the archlute and electric 10-string lap-steel guitar, joins Dirk Serries (A New Wave of Jazz, Vidna Obmana), who employs an archtop guitar with bow and objects in this live-recorded album at Kapel Oude Klooster in Belgium, featuring seven chamber-like duets that weave resonant, tension-filled acoustic textures with surreal and exotic elements. ... Click to View

Michael McNeill (w/ Susan Alcorn / Dave Ballou / Shelly Purdy):
Barcode Poetry (Infrasonic Press)

After their 2022 tour, the quartet of Michael McNeill on piano, Susan Alcorn on pedal steel guitar, Dave Ballou on trumpet, and Shelly Purdy on vibraphone and percussion recorded seven studio improvisations composed by McNeill, using a compositional framework inspired by the black and white keys of the piano (the 'barcode') to fuel their poetic and expressive impulses. ... Click to View

Wooden Cities:
WORK (Infrasonic Press)

Opening with an adaptation of Cornelius Cardew's "Red Flag", the Buffalo-based new music ensemble Wooden Cities Brendan Fitzgerald introduces the first of a trilogy of albums, a set of narrative works that confront topics of work, labor, commodity, and justice through a blend of composition and improvisation, including works by Cardew, Julius Eastman, and Frederic Rzewski. ... Click to View

Eddie Prevost:
Loci Of Change (Matchless)

Breaking from the AMM collective, British percussionist Eddie Prévost's 1996 solo debut showcases six studio-recorded works highlighting expressive momentum and textural nuance through innovative drumming and cymbal techniques, crafting layered and intense sonic landscapes with extraordinary skill and the inventive application of external objects. ... Click to View

AMM (Prevost / Tilbury):
Aura (Matchless)

Recorded in Turkey in 2016, this extended improvisation features a core duo from later AMM configurations — percussionist Eddie Prévost and pianist John Tilbury, who also performs on harpsichord — captured in the exceptional acoustics of The Sibelius Museum concert hall where the intimate setting elicits profound, beautifully recorded dialogue between these two masterful performers. ... Click to View

Kanngiesser / Prevost / Wright:
Splendid Nettle (High Laver Levitations Volume 3) (Matchless)

The third volume in the High Laver Levitations series that started with the duo of John Butcher and Eddie Prévost, continued with Silvan Schmid, Tom Wheatley & Prévost, now presents Ute Kanngiesser on cello, Seymour Wright on alto sax, and Eddie Prévost on drum kit, recording two extended improvisations that explore the resonant acoustics of All Saints Church in High Laver, Essex. ... Click to View

Axel Dorner / Oliver Schwerdt / Julian Sartorius:
Jul Fuel (Euphorium)

The title refers to the dynamic addition of drummer and percussionist Julian Sartorius, whose energy injects 'jet fuel' into this bassless, windless trio's live 2021 performance at naTo in Leipzig, Germany, with Euphorium label leader Oliver Schwerdt igniting the grand piano and Axel Dörner's thrillingly unconventional slide trumpet playing adding to the burn & mdash; exceptional! ... Click to View

Peter Evans / Petter Eldh / Jim Black:
Extra (We Jazz)

An exhilarating trio with bassist Petter Eldh and drummer Jim Black, recorded in Lisbon in 2023, capturing inventive synergy across eight original compositions by Peter Evans, ranging from the fiery intensity of "Freaks" and "Boom" to the surprising twists of "The Lighthouse", as their close-knit rapport fuels rhythmic depth and jaw-dropping improvisation. ... Click to View

Dougie Bowne:
The Stars Are Indispensable (Tzadik)

A formidable sonic duo of guitar, bass, electronics, prepared bass, and drums, featuring Downtown NY pioneer Dougie Bowne and Brooklyn-based experimental rock bassist Matt Nelson (tUnE-yArDs, Weasel Walter Large Ensemble), delivering twelve intense and startlingly inventive improvisations, using every inch of their instruments to create a heavy, captivating set of soundscapes. ... Click to View

Phill Niblock / Anna Clementi / Thomas Stern:
Zound Delta 2 (KARLRECORDS)

A posthumous realization of Phill Niblock's 2022 composition, this dense, resonant work of drone and sonic intensity, written for Italian vocalist Anna Clementi and shaped and developed with guitarist and bassist Thomas Stern of Einstürzende Neubauten and Crime & the City Solution, is presented in two monumental, haunting longform versions. ... Click to View

John Zorn:
Hannigan Sings Zorn Volume Two - Archival Series (Tzadik)

The second volume of John Zorn's vocal compositions, performed by virtuoso Barbara Hannigan alongside returning pianist Stephen Gosling, expands with orchestration for string quartet, a dynamic work for voice, cello, vibes, electronics, and drums, a lively piece for voice, piano, and rhythm, and Zorn's unique interpretation of the classic 'Pandora's Box. ... Click to View

Musicworks Magazine:
#149 Fall 2024 [MAGAZINE + CD] (Musicworks)

The Fall 2024 issue of Canada's premiere music magazine: On The Cover Brendan Grey and the Evolving Ethos of Super Duty Tough Work; avant-garde sound murals of Filipino composer José Maceda; Montreal-based composer and improviser Allison Burik; Kurt Gottschalk interviews Rita Ueda; Windsor-based post-classical guitarist Bilal Nasser; plus reviews and a CD of artists covered in this issue. ... Click to View

John Zorn (Roeder / Wollesen / Zorn / Lage):
New Masada Quartet, Volume Three (Tzadik)

The third volume in John Zorn's New Masada Quartet — Zorn on alto sax, Jorge Roeder on bass, Kenny Wollesen on drums, and Julian Lage on guitar — captures a packed 2024 concert at Roulette in Brooklyn, where fervent interplay and exceptional soloing bring six Zorn compositions to life in a single, seamlessly indexed track before an enthusiastic audience. ... Click to View

Parker / Costa / Ernstring:
Pulsar (NoBusiness)

Rotterdam-based collaborators, alto saxophonist Hugo Costa and drummer Philipp Ernsting, invite legendary bassist William Parker to join them in a Netherlands studio for threeimprovisations that emphasize emotional spontaneity and raw intensity, creating music that finds beauty in exploration and a transformative journey through expressive conversation. ... Click to View

Elephant9 with Terje Rypdal:
Catching Fire (Rune Grammofon)

Recorded live in Oslo, the Norwegian jazz-rock trio Elephant9 of Torstein Lofthus (drums), Nikolai Haengsle (bass) and Stale Storlokken (keys) join with legendary guitarist Terje Rypdal, channeling the intensity of bands like King Crimson and Mahavishnu Orchestra as they blend and evolve layered psychedelia with angular improvisation for a raw, electric fusion experience. ... Click to View

Elephant9 with Terje Rypdal:
Catching Fire [VINYL 2 LPs] (Rune Grammofon)

Recorded live in Oslo, the Norwegian jazz-rock trio Elephant9 of Torstein Lofthus (drums), Nikolai Haengsle (bass) and Stale Storlokken (keys) join with legendary guitarist Terje Rypdal, channeling the intensity of bands like King Crimson and Mahavishnu Orchestra as they blend and evolve layered psychedelia with angular improvisation for a raw, electric fusion experience. ... Click to View

Rodrigues / Sa / Rocha / Rodrigues / Silva / Varela / Goncalves / Flak / Trindade:
Mimesis (Creative Sources)

Primarily an acoustic ensemble of nine improvisers led by Ernesto Rodrigues on viola — including saxophonist Joana Sá, percussionist Monsieur Trindade, guitarist Flak, and pianist Luisa Gonçalves — performs a live, extended improvisation of tightly controlled, deeply detailed conversation as part of the 2024 Creative Sources Cycle in Lisbon. ... Click to View

Hunter Underwater (Rodrigues / Rodrigues / Kohn / Lin):
Archipelago (Creative Sources)

In their second release, the Hunter Underwater quartet of four cellists — Guilherme Rodrigues (Portugal), Gábor Hartyáni (Budapest), Guido Kohn (Buenos Aires), and Hui-Chun Lin (Taiwan) — record at Berlin's Zentrifuge, creating sound sculptures and landscapes with layered harmonics and dynamic interplay through composition and improvisation. ... Click to View