Swiss pianist Sylvie Courvoisier and legendary trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith meet in a deeply focused duo session, their through-composed material unfolding with stunning restraint, architectural clarity, and a quiet but potent freedom, as each phrase, gesture, and interval feels acutely calibrated in a shared space of mystery, immediacy, and poetic intent.

Uniting from different continents and generations, guitarist and vocalist Fred Frith and drummer, percussionist, and vocalist Maria Portugal meet in Cologne for four improvised stretches that blend song form, rhythmic invention, exploratory textures, and creative voice work, revealing a shared musical language that dissolves genre boundaries into a vivid, unpredictable exchange.

Expanding her Amaryllis ensemble with the addition of saxophonists Immanuel Wilkins and Brian Settles, guitarist and composer Mary Halvorson presents eight new works, balancing spectral beauty and sly unease as vibraphone, layered brass, flexible grooves, and her singular harmonic distortions cohere into a richly orchestrated and restlessly inventive large-ensemble statement.

Born from weekly sessions in Oakland, this adventurous sextet of winds, cello, drums, and electronics channels old-school improvisational spirit into a modern orchestral sound that feels both cosmic and grounded, as spontaneous grooves, abstract textures, and Zachary James Watkins' remix work expand their collective language into a vibrant, deeply inventive debut.

Five years after their debut, co-leaders Anna Webber and Angela Morris return with a 19-piece large ensemble recording that showcases their next-level compositional voices, unfolding through the "Just Intonation Etudes for Big Band" suite and a series of richly orchestrated works that balance drones, contrapuntal density, rhythmic blasts, and lyrical themes in an adventurous exploration of sound and structure.

Reinventing his compositional voice, Clevenger charts a reflective and lyrical suite for a deep Bay Area ensemble, the writing balancing chamber-like colour and improvisational space as reeds, low flutes, brass, cello, vibes, marimba, drums and bass articulate an expansive journey of personal discovery and renewed purpose.

Improvised live at Evil Clown HQ in Massachusetts this chamber-sized quartet + live processing version of Leap of Faith spins from airy quietude to dense noise, each multi-instrumentalist shifting timbres and extended techniques through a fluid electro-acoustic soundworld of horns, reeds, percussion, signal processing and inventive instrumental colour.

Centred on improvised spoken absurdism about science and monsters, this Boston septet's playful humour drives a sprawling electro-acoustic free improvisation, each player shifting between wild sonorities, noise sources, rubber chickens and synthesised colour as PEK steers the Neurodivergent Orchestra through a gleefully chaotic sonic experiment.

Drawing inspiration from rediscovered 1998 Ornette Coleman rehearsal tapes and the spirit of Dewey Redman, tenor saxophonist and composer Ohad Talmor opens a new artistic cycle with his core trio of Chris Tordini and Eric McPherson plus a remarkable array of guests, creating kaleidoscopic variations that merge composed forms, liberated improvisation, and subtly deployed electronics.

Conducted by PEK using an expanded system of graphic signs, cue windows and directional frames, this large Turbulence Orchestra realises a continuous narrative of shifting density, guided entrances and exits, and evolving instrumentation, the players responding in real time to PEK's visual triggers to create a vivid, shape-shifting electro-acoustic improvisation.

Through 64 succinct works, the trio of Sergio Armaroli (vibraphone), Steve Piccolo (electric bass, voices, electronics), and Elliott Sharp (guitars, soprano saxophone) unravels and reimagines the jazz tradition in fascinating fragments where familiar melodies, riffs, and harmonic cues flicker through an inventive, experimental interplay that blurs memory, abstraction, and improvisational wit.

Recorded across two sessions eight years apart, Nels Cline and Elliott Sharp forge a vivid acoustic-guitar dialogue that blends crisp articulation, percussive attack, spectral overtones, and patient, boundary-pushing interplay, creating a set of inventive, empathetic improvisations that expand the guitar-duo tradition with wit, texture, and fearless curiosity.

Alone with his newly acquired 1947 Steinway Model M, Downtown New York pianist Anthony Coleman crafts an intimate set of solo explorations that probe touch, resonance, and the piano's physical poetry, transforming his long-fraught relationship with the instrument into a deeply personal study of sound, nuance, and the possibilities revealed by playing at home.

An extraordinary collective improvisation uniting David Peck, Michael Caglianone, John Fugarino, Robin Amos, Jonathan LaMaster, and Michael Knoblach, merging woodwinds, brass, strings, percussion, and electronic instruments in a fluid and intricately balanced dialogue that juxtaposes turbulence and calm, unfolding with expansive textures, measured intensity, and vivid sonic interplay.

A powerhouse debut from the improvising trio of drummer JT Lewis, guitarist & reed player Elliott Sharp, and guitarist Marco Cappelli, blending spontaneous composition with structured narrative in an inventive interplay of amplified classical, electric, and bass guitars, clarinet, electronics, and percussion that spans modern jazz, experimental, and avant-garde sound worlds.

Exploring a vivid spectrum of sound, the duo of Ayako Kanda (voice) and Elliott Sharp (baritone guitar, electronics) pairs Kanda's kaleidoscopic shifts between linguistic and nonverbal expression with Sharp's baritone guitar textures and electronic detail in an improvisational dialogue that moves fluidly between abstraction, color, and visceral intensity.

Joined by bassist Mark Helias and drummer Eric McPherson, pianist Russ Lossing presents a deeply intuitive trio performance that balances structure and freedom, unfolding through intricate yet unforced improvisations that reveal profound emotional depth, rhythmic sensitivity, and melodic imagination, affirming his mastery of spontaneous musical dialogue and expressive subtlety.

Featuring David Peck, John Fugarino, Bob Moores, Eric Woods, and Mike Gruen, this edition of Metal Chaos Ensemble merges horns, electronics, and metallic percussion in a dense improvisational landscape where shifting textures, resonant drones, and abstract rhythmic interplay create an evolving sound world of raw intensity, shimmering atmosphere, and inventive sonic dialogue.

Returning to its core quartet, Natural Information Society — Joshua Abrams, Lisa Alvarado, Mikel Patrick Avery, and Jason Stein — unfolds a single continuous composition of hypnotic polyrhythms and evolving textures, merging minimalism, modal jazz, and dub-inspired production into a richly layered soundfield that pulses with meditative intensity, collective focus, and transcendent rhythmic flow.

Elliott Sharp unites six electric guitarists in a powerful, overtone-rich work built from droning harmonies, graphic scores, shifting rhythms, and open improvisation, transforming his long-running compositional ideas into a vibrant, resonant soundscape that channels the tension of our present moment into bold, electrifying musical energy.

Reimagining sounds from his past collaborations with Nels Cline, Pauline Oliveros, William Parker, Terry Riley, and Michael Wimberly, Thollem transforms their performances into new sonic landscapes through real-time improvisation using samples from their improvisations, blending organic and electronic textures into a kaleidoscopic exploration of memory, transformation, and infinite creative possibility.

An eight-piece horn and electronics ensemble featuring David Peck, Hilary Noble, Cliff White, Dennis Livingston, John Fugarino, Bob Moores, Eric Dahlman, and Duane Reed, creating a vividly shifting chamber improvisation where reeds and brass intertwine with auxiliary percussion and electronics, generating dynamic waves of color, density, and resonance in a constantly evolving acoustic spectrum.

A profoundly personal solo recording from Ken Vandermark on tenor and baritone saxophones and clarinets, captured live at Corbett vs. Dempsey in Chicago in March 2025, performing a suite dedicated to Joe McPhee that interlaces composed and freely improvised works — each named for symbolic flowers — into a deeply expressive tribute of melody, emotion, and inventive clarity.

A vinyl-only sampler spanning 1970-2007, showcasing Joe McPhee's fiercely inventive spirit through funk-driven grooves, spiritual jazz depth, fiery collaborations with Cato Salsa Experience and The Thing, and intimate duo interplay with Paal Nilssen-Love - a defiant, time-jumping portrait of one of improvised music's most dynamic voices.

An extraordinary solo piano album from UK pianist Pat Thomas, recorded at London's Fish Factory Studio, presenting eight deeply focused improvisations and compositions reflecting Thomas's lifelong engagement with Sufism and spiritual expression through sound; a luminous, exploratory work that unites the traditions of jazz and mysticism into a transcendent, profoundly human statement.

An extraordinary solo piano album from UK pianist Pat Thomas, recorded at London's Fish Factory Studio, presenting eight deeply focused improvisations and compositions reflecting Thomas's lifelong engagement with Sufism and spiritual expression through sound; a luminous, exploratory work that unites the traditions of jazz and mysticism into a transcendent, profoundly human statement.

A fascinating double album uniting guitarist Gene Torchia on amplified classical guitar and John Stowell on electric guitar, recorded in the studio between 2023 and 2025, blending composed works written for modern classical guitar and flute with Stowell's improvisations to create a rich and stylistically diverse dialogue spanning blues, Latin, Irish, baroque, and avant-garde forms.

Seventeen years after their last recording, the New York trio of Steve Lehman (alto saxophone), Vijay Iyer (piano, Rhodes), and Tyshawn Sorey (drums) reunite with dense, high-impact compositions and fearless interplay, blending complexity with groove as they reaffirm their status as one of the most vital ensembles in contemporary improvised music.

Founded in 2001 and reunited after their last album in 2007, the quartet of Satoko Fujii (piano), Natsuki Tamura (trumpet), Hayakawa Takeharu (bass), and Tatsuya Yoshida (drums) unleashes a high-energy blend of avant jazz-rock, shifting from atmospheric fragments to dense, electric-edged turbulence, driven by sharp contrasts, ferocious rhythms, and the group's volatile, genre-bending interaction.

Brooklyn pianist Eva Novoa joins saxophonist Daniel Carter and drummer Francisco Mela for the second volume of The Freedom Suite, a set of twelve pieces blending piano, Rhodes, harpsichord, gongs, and vocals with Carter's multi-reed brilliance and Mela's Cuban-inflected drumming, creating an urgent, intimate, and fluidly improvised dialogue of words, sound, and fearless imagination.

Composer Henry Threadgill conducts a suite for six acoustic guitars and two pianos, bringing together Bill Frisell, Miles Okazaki, Brandon Ross, Gregg Belisle-Chi, Jerome Harris, Stomu Takeishi, Maya Keren, and Rahul Carlberg in an intricately orchestrated work whose intervallic syntax and meticulous counterpoint entwine with unexpected timbres to reveal his singular and sublime vision.

Drummer and composer Dan Weiss brings together Peter Evans (trumpet), Patricia Brennan (vibraphone), and Miles Okazaki (guitar) in a set of compositions written for their distinct voices, shifting from meditative calm to intense peaks, weaving intricate contrapuntal textures and improvisations into a mysterious and transcendent collective sound.

An historic world-premiere recording of Éliane Radigue's earliest surviving work, performed at Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, where a stellar ensemble realizes her flexible "sonic proposition" through evolving textures, mathematical spirals and dynamic transformations that foreshadow her later visionary soundworld.

Continuing their ever-evolving duo series, tenor saxophonist Ivo Perelman and trumpeter Nate Wooley expand their intuitive, exploratory language with a bold new dimension, including the duo's first-ever use of overdubbing to create layered, prismatic improvisations that push their Polarity collaboration into strikingly multidirectional terrain.

An extended work for piano by Sarah Hennies, SOVT (Semi-Occluded Vocal Tract) transforms the instrument through putty-muted strings and resonant sympathetic vibrations, performed with rhythmic precision by Richard Valitutto in a hybrid piano-percussion sound world inspired by vocal-tract exercises and Hennies' exploration of voice, identity, and embodied resonance.

"Samuel Reinhard returns to elsewhere music with "For 10 Musicians," a four-part ensemble piece recorded in 2025 at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen. As in Reinhard's previous work, the players are instructed to play as q...

"The Siwnin Sails" is a solo album consisting of eight songs written and composed by Shoko Numao, an emerging Japanese singer-songwriter. Numao studied vocal and composition focusing on jazz at Dublin City University in Dublin, Ireland,...

'Composer, alone' is a collection of twelve solo piano pieces by Swiss composer Jurg Frey, performed by Dutch pianist/composer Reinier van Houdt. It is the sequel to the 2022 triple album 'lieues d'ombres' (elsewhere 020-3) and the thir...

""An exploration of buildings emptied of their activities, a crossing of spaces abandoned by their occupants, a drift through the ghostly trace of a vanished presence, a testimony to the general deterioration underway that also applies ...

"As the battle between the overly cerebral and doggedly hidebound continues to rage in the jazz landscape, a battle-tested warrior has returned, armed with whimsy and melody, to give succor to a populace starving for memorable sounds: D...

Rugged, experimental and avant jazz in the debut album from the SSWAN group of Patrick Shiroishi on saxophones, Chris Williams on trumpet, Jessica Ackerley on electric guitar, Luke Stewart on bass and Jason Nazary on drums, the group focused first on sound and velocity rather than pitch and harmonic information as they carve out a unique space between free jazz and free improv.

The second volume from the trio of Tennessee-to-NYC transplant Zoe Amba on tenor saxophone & flute, legendary double bassist William Parker and Francisco Mela on drums, performing three compositions by Amba recorded in the studio in NYC; emphatic free jazz with a powerful rhythm section elucidating Amba's spiritually fueled approach to compelling, lyrical improvisation.

An inventive and lyrical contemporary piano trio session from Dan Banks (piano), Trevor Taylor (drums) and José Canha (bass), where agile post-bop themes unravel into spacious free improvisations, balancing lyrical reflection with muscular rhythmic drive as the group twist melodies, textures and momentum through constantly shifting perspectives.

A collage of styles and experimentation developed over several years by bassist and multi-instrumentalist Evan Strauss, using long-form graphically notated conceptual compositions based on bird calls along with thematic material from Ursula K. Le Guin, expanded with narration and poetry from Daniel Carter and titled from an excerpt by Virginia Woolf.

The 2nd of two studio albums from the quartet of Daniel Carter on saxophone & flute, Matthew Shipp on piano, William Parker on bass and Gerald Cleaver on drums, recordings from the same sessions as the 1st volume with five shorter works, as the long-time collaborators and friends show their nearly telepathic rapport in adventurous and masterful modern jazz.

Longtime collaborators Daniel Carter, Patrick Holmes, Matthew Putman, Hilliard Greene, and Federico Ughi deepen their singular "telepathic" language in extended, impressionistic improvisations that merge chamber-like clarity, eerie lyricism, and freely shifting rhythms, creating one of the ensemble's darkest and most atmospheric explorations to date.

The second volume of this rich and exotic quartet in a sublime merging of jazz, electronics and compositional approaches yielding melodically dream-like music and environments, from reedist, flutist && trumpeter Daniel Carter, Tobias Wilner (Blue Foundation) on synth and keys, Wu-Tang Clan bassist Djibril Toure and Italian/NY drummer Federico Ughi.

Drawn from an experimental improv performance by drummer Gerald Cleaver and bassist Brandon Lopez at 577 Records' 2019 Forward Festival, electronic artist and producer Hprizm of the Antipop Consortium took those recording to reconstruct twelve works of illusory and often surreal music, from active beat-based electronica to hazy dreamlike ambience.

West Coast songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Coultrain, aka Aaron Michael Frison or Seymour Liberty, in a sequel to his Phantasmagoria album, a soulful, introspective and lyrical 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.

The first of two planned volumes from the quartet of John Dikeman on tenor saxophone, Pat Thomas on piano, John Edwards on bass and Steve Noble on drums, bringing the American saxophonist working throughout Europe together with this nearly telepathic collaborative grouping of UK frequent collaborators, captured in concert at Cafe OTO in 2019 for two absorbing improvisations.

The second of two volumes from the quartet of John Dikeman on tenor saxophone, Pat Thomas on piano, John Edwards on bass and Steve Noble on drums, bringing the American saxophonist working throughout Europe together with this nearly telepathic collaborative grouping of UK frequent collaborators, captured in concert at Cafe OTO in 2019 for two absorbing improvisations.

Led by tenor saxophonist James Brandon Lewis and poet Thomas Sayers Ellis, this 12-piece ensemble of pointed and ecstatic free jazz and spoken word are heard at the 2019 Sons D'Hiver Festival in Paris, 2019, their sound influenced by chamber elements and sharpened through insightful and demanding observations and the influence of Amiri Baraka (LeRoi Jones).

577 Records' experimental, electronic sub-label Positive Elevation releases this remix of Gerald Cleaver's Signs album, itself an innovative album of synthetic rhythms and sonic landscape, here reworked by producer Hprizm, aka High Priest of Antipop Consortium, channeling Cleaver's work into dream-like territory that re-thinks and re-paces the original.

A compelling and distinctive live solo recording from cellist Daniel Levin at Firehouse 12 in 2015, using extended bowing, percussive techniques, and resonant microtonal detail to explore the cello's outer limits, presented in Smeraldina-Rima's distinctive packaging with a handmade screen-printed fold-out poster and heavy-duty printed sleeve.

Having played together in a variety of settings, but never as a trio, saxophonist Sabir Mateen, clarinetist Patrick Holmes and drummer Federico Ughi met in a recording studio in Tuscany, Italy to record this album of wide-ranging free improvisation, Mateen's Farfisa playing and vocal declamations bringing a Sun Ra element to the vehement and profound dialog.

The second volume of Music Frees Our Souls, the trio of Francisco Mela on drums, Cooper-Moore on piano and William Parker on bass, recording in the studio in Brooklyn two extended, far reaching and powerful collective improvisations of music performed under the influence of Mela's work with, mentorship by and encouragement from pianist McCoy Tyner.

A member of pianist McCoy Tyner's Trio and Joe Lavano's Quartet, New York drummer Francisco Mela's own career as a leader is heard in this energetic trio album with two of NY's finest--pianist Matthew Shipp and bassist William Parker--recording in the studio in Brooklyn in 2020 for two extended and powerful collective improvisations and a brief "Dark Light".

The first of two planned volumes of studio improvisations between Brooklyn trumpeter & flugelhorn player Michael Sarian and keyboardist Matthew Putman, recorded in Sarin's home studio during the 2020 pandemic, allowing freedom in exploration as they sought out cadences, rhythms and melodies, this 1st volume presenting the finest of their investigations.

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.

Drawing on a cross-continental journey of change and discovery, drummer and composer Jacobo Vega-Albela debuts with an expressive set of trio, quartet, and quintet pieces blending contemporary jazz with post-bop, rock, Latin, and modern classical influences, offering a vivid and deeply personal statement shaped by close collaborators and heartfelt narrative drive.