Georg Graewe & Sonic Fiction Orchestra:
In Concert, Bochum 2022 (Random Acoustics)

A remarkable solo concert from German pianist George Graewe, performing at Kunstmuseum Bochum in 2022, presenting intricate and expansive free improvisations that showcase his dynamic range, rhythmic precision, harmonic sophistication, and the lyrical abstraction that has defined his work across contemporary jazz and modern improvisation. ... Click to View

NOUT (w/ Mats Gustafsson):
Live Album (Trost Records)

Flute, electric harp, and drums become fierce tools of sonic exploration in the French trio Nout, whose riotous live performances blend jazz, noise, metal, and groove with fearless originality; joined by baritone saxophonist Mats Gustafsson on three tracks, the expanded quartet erupts with raw energy, wild textures, and a thrilling disregard for genre. ... Click to View

Sven-Ake Johansson Quintet:
Stumps: Second Version (Trost Records)

Drummer Sven-Åke Johansson leads his quintet of long-time collaborators and younger improvisers through his "Stumps" compositions in a live recording at Jazzfest Berlin in 2022, schematic works of shifting rhythmic and melodic variations that provide a vibrant foundation for spontaneous solos and ensemble interplay, showcasing Johansson's unique percussive drive and concise thematic structures. ... Click to View

Franz Hautzinger / Ignaz Schick / Sven-Ake Johansson:
Rotations + (Trost Records)

Recorded live at KM28 in Berlin in 2023, trumpeter Franz Hautzinger, turntablist Ignaz Schick, and percussionist/accordionist Sven-Ake Johansson create fragile yet dynamic collective improvisations focused on color, texture, and interplay, moving between structured rhythmic support and delicate free forms in an elevated and nuanced spontaneous sound sculpture. ... Click to View

Jonathan Segel / Chaos Butterfly:
Hall of Mirrors [2 CDs] (Demagnetized)

Drone-based electroacoustic improvisations led by Jonathan Segel on Halldorophone, guitar, and Buchla synth, joined by an expanded Chaos Butterfly ensemble in longform, time-dilating works where evolving feedback, percussion, winds, and electronics blur structure and narrative into immersive, densely active yet often beautifully delicate sonic landscapes. ... Click to View

Sophie Agnel / Joke Lanz:
Ella (Klanggalerie)

An exciting meeting of French pianist Sophie Agnel, known for her extended and prepared piano techniques, and Swiss turntablist Joke Lanz, renowned for his work in noise, experimental music, and performance art, presenting a dynamic and playful duo of spontaneous improvisation blending percussive textures, sonic collage, and energetic interaction revealing a sense of humor and awe. ... Click to View

Udo Schindler / Max Arsava / Gunnar Geisse :
Sightings And Stratifications - 2nd Investigation For Trio (Creative Sources)

A live document of free improvisation from Udo Schindler (clarinets, cornet, soprano sax), Max Arsava (piano, tapes, sampler, objects), and Gunnar Geisse (laptop guitar, virtual instruments), in a performance of pointillistic exchanges and layered textures that blend intricate acoustic and electronic timbres into a cohesive, exploratory sonic tapestry. ... Click to View

Cecil Taylor Quintet (w/ John Coltrane / Kenny Dorham / Chuck Israels / Louis Hayes):
Stereo Drive + 2 Bonus Tracks (limited Edition) [VINYL] (SoundsGood)

The only album pairing pianist Cecil Taylor and saxophonist John Coltrane, recorded in 1958 with Kenny Dorham on trumpet instead of Taylor's preferred Ted Curson, creating a tense studio dynamic that fueled extraordinary performances, reissued with two bonus tracks from 1957 and 1961 sessions featuring Archie Shepp, Roswell Rudd, Steve Lacy, Charles Davis, and Billy Higgins. ... Click to View

Leap Of Faith:
Prior Credences (Evil Clown)

A drummerless quartet of woodwinds, brass, strings, and electronics from the Evil Clown collective core ensemble Leap of Faith, navigating expansive free improvisations, shifting through dense and dynamic sonic transformations with a broad instrumental palette that emphasizes suspended textures, chamber-like interplay, and moments of controlled chaos. ... Click to View

Magical:
The Gift Of Today (Love Earth Music)

A visceral plunge into the depths of experimental noise from Massachusetts sound artist Magical, this release juxtaposes brief, deceptively titled tracks with relentless sonic assaults and divisive vocal moments, creating a disorienting yet compelling experience that shifts between the brutal and the mysterious. ... Click to View

John Zorn (Medeski / Marsella / Hollenberg / Grohowski):
Through The Looking Glass (Tzadik)

The sixth chapter in the Downtown NY quartet of Matt Hollenberg (guitar), Brian Marsella (piano), John Medeski (organ), and Kenny Grohowski (drums), performing John Zorn's compositions inspired by Chaos Magick — an individualistic practice that values personal experience over tradition — expressed through intricate, soulful, and powerfully imagined works. ... Click to View

John Zorn (Edgcomb / Greene / Hanes):
The Bagatelles Vol. 3 Trigger (Tzadik)

The third volume in John Zorn's Bagatelles series features the explosive trio Trigger — Aaron Edgcomb on drums, Will Greene on guitar, and Simon Hanes on bass — tearing through Zorn's intricate compositions with fierce precision and raw energy, delivering a searing and radical interpretation of these works drawn from Zorn's expansive 2015 collection of 300 pieces. ... Click to View

Ches Smith:
The Self (Tzadik)

A solo debut on Tzadik from Downtown NY percussionist Ches Smith, presenting eighteen concise works performed on drums, vibraphone, timpani, glockenspiel, and small percussion — an intimate and exploratory set of improvisations revealing Smith's deep command of rhythm, texture, and form across a dynamic and extended palette of percussive sound. ... Click to View

Sylvie Courvoiser / Mary Halvorson:
Bone Bells (Pyroclastic Records)

Their third album in collaboration, pianist Sylvie Courvoisier and guitarist Mary Halvorson deepen their intuitive musical dialogue in a set of alternately composed pieces — melding percussive piano, swirling guitar effects, and poetic abstraction into a haunting, fluid, and visceral soundworld shaped by mutual experience, instinct, and a sense of sonic adventure. ... Click to View

Ingrid Laubrock :
Purposing The Air [2 CDs] (Pyroclastic Records)

Drawing on poet Erica Hunt's sixty-part "Mood Librarian," composer Ingrid Laubrock presents a stunning 2-CD song cycle of miniature vocal duets — performed by an extraordinary ensemble including Fay Victor, Theo Bleckmann, Sara Serpa, and others — each piece a poetic and sonic fragment brought vividly to life with precision, emotion, and profound collaboration. ... Click to View

MouthWind (Van Schouwburg / Casserley):
Corps Et Biens - Hommage à Robert Desnos (Creative Sources)

A surreal and visceral homage to French poet Robert Desnos, this collaboration between Belgian vocal improviser Jean-Michel Van Schouwburg and British electroacoustic pioneer Lawrence Casserley transforms the human voice through expressive physicality and real-time electronic processing — fifteen vivid episodes unfolding as a dreamlike, humorous, and haunting exploration of language, body, and sound. ... Click to View

La Noed (w/ Carlos Mascolo):
De la liberte (FMR)

Inspired by Maggie Nelson's reflections on freedom, this intuitive and boundary-defying quintet — featuring saxophonists Simona Castria and Angelo Manicone, Carlo Mascolo on no-input trombone, Valerio Metteo on organismic synthesizers, and João Pedro Viegas on bass clarinet — explores collective improvisation as a form of resistance, creating a deeply expressive tapestry untethered from ego or hierarchy. ... Click to View

Liang Yiyuan / Li Daiguo:
Sonic Talismans [VINYL] (Full Spectrum)

Bridging Chinese folklore and avant-garde exploration, yangqin innovator Liang YiYuan and multi-instrumentalist Li Daiguo conjure an entrancing tapestry of shadowy textures and melodic splinters on this long-form collaboration — recorded in Yunnan and blending traditional Eastern timbres with free improvisation and experimental form in a deeply narrative, otherworldly sonic journey. ... Click to View

Various:
Evil Clown Shorties Volume 5 (2024-2025) (Evil Clown)

Spanning 14 compact improvisations drawn from nine shifting ensembles within the modular Evil Clown collective, this volume distills the creativity of PEK's longform sessions into concise sonic snapshots — each "Shortie" capturing a distinct moment from the various ensembles as a focused sampler of the label's wide-ranging free improvisation ethos. ... Click to View

Illusion Of Safety:
Float (Full Spectrum)

An immersive electroacoustic meditation from Dan Burke's Illusion Of Safety project, exploring the sonic essence of water through field recordings, granular synthesis, and processed textures — an evolving narrative that honors water's beauty and power, while reflecting on our fragile relationship with the natural world through deep listening and multichannel design. ... Click to View

Steve Lehman Trio + Mark Turner:
The Music of Anthony Braxton (Pi Recordings)

Alto saxophonist Steve Lehman leads his trio with bassist Matt Brewer and drummer Damion Reid, joined by tenor saxophonist Mark Turner, in a vibrant live homage to Anthony Braxton's small ensemble works, blending intricate modern jazz interplay with searing emotional expression in a bold, high-energy celebration of Braxton's enduring influence. ... Click to View

Painkiller (Harris / Laswell / Zorn):
The Great God Plan (Tzadik)

The legendary Painkiller trio of John Zorn, Bill Laswell, and Mick Harris reunites to deliver two expansive tracks that blend heavy metal intensity with ambient textures and brooding lyricism, a significant evolution in the trio's sonic journey as they create two haunting tapestries inspired by Arthur Machen's gothic novella The Great God Pan.​ ... Click to View

Ikue Mori:
Of Ghosts And Goblins (Tzadik)

Electronic innovator Ikue Mori presents a captivating 9-part work drawing inspiration from Lafcadio Hearn's chronicles of Japanese folklore, through intricate laptop electronics and synthesizer work, conjuring a series of instrumental miniatures that evoke the ethereal presence of fox spirits, phantoms, and other spectral entities, a mysteriously enchanting and seductive work. ... Click to View

Jackie Myers:
What About The Butterfly (577 Records)

Pianist and vocalist Jackie Myers delivers a lyrically rich and microtonally innovative album recorded with an exceptional ensemble, including Bobby Watson, Rich Wheeler, Trent Austin, and members of the Fountain City String Quartet, blending spectral composition, soulful jazz vocals reminiscent of Billie Holiday, and detailed arrangements into an expressive and compelling release. ... Click to View

Vilhelm Bromander Unfolding Orchestra:
Jorden Vi Arvde (thanatosis produktion)

A stunning second album from Swedish bassist and composer Vilhelm Bromander's Unfolding Orchestra, expanding on his acclaimed debut with richly textured, spiritually resonant compositions inspired by political urgency and environmental reflection, featuring a 13-piece ensemble delivering lush orchestrations, patient development, and profound, hopeful expression. ... Click to View

Christer Bothen 3:
L'INVISIBLE (thanatosis produktion)

A deeply intuitive trio session from Swedish bass clarinetist Christer Bothen with bassist Kansan Zetterberg (aka Torbjourn Zetterberg) and vibraphonist/drummer Kjell Nordeson, balancing lyrically meditative spaciousness with surging energy through dreamlike, open-ended improvisations that reflect Bothen's lifelong pursuit of spiritual expression in sound. ... Click to View

Ernesto Rodrigues / Jung-Jae Kim / Alvaro Rosso :
Meari: Instant Waves (Creative Sources)

A live trio improvisation from violist Ernesto Rodrigues, tenor saxophonist Jung-Jae Kim, and bassist Alvaro Rosso, recorded at Lisbon's CreativeFest#18 at Casa do Comum, in Lisbon, unfolding as a 28-minute journey from hushed, lowercase textures to dynamic, scrabbly interplay, emphasizing timbral nuance and collective exploration in an intimate acoustic setting. ... Click to View

Tret Trio (Ron Hall / Tobias Weindorf / Phillipp Van Endert):
Crow Jam (FMR)

A beautifully lyrical and introspective trio recording from saxophonist Rob Hall, keyboardist Tobias Weindorf, and guitarist Philipp van Endert, sharing compositional duties across a set of chamber-like modern jazz works recorded in Germany, where nuanced improvisation, melodic sensitivity, and a refined sense of space define this elegant and democratic debut from the pan-European Tret Trio. ... Click to View

Turbulence Orchestra:
Strum And Drang (Evil Clown)

An octet of seasoned Evil Clown improvisers — led by multi-instrumentalist PEK — delivers a sprawling, electrified 70-minute session of free jazz intensity and ceaseless sonic transformation, with constant instrumental shifts and a broad palette of horns, percussion, electronics, and found objects creating a dynamic series of vividly contrasting textural episodes. ... Click to View

Unsub:
Ambitious Victim (Love Earth Music)

An intense and texturally rich album from the Los Angeles duo of Kevin Bernier and Steve Davis, blending heavy guitar drones, rhythmic pulses, post-rock structures, and synth atmospheres across six expansive tracks that oscillate between moody abstraction and beat-driven momentum, forging a dark yet melodic hybrid of noise, ambient, and industrial-infused experimentation. ... Click to View