Containing the majority of minimalist composer Morton Feldman's compositions for solo piano, 3 CDs of short works and 2 for the magnificent "For Bunita Marcus" and "Triadic Memories", performed by one of the foremost interpreters of Feldman's work, Philip Thomas, and presented in a sturdy 5-CD box set with a 52 page booklet of notes from the performer and artwork.

Composed for and performed by pianist Jack Yarbrough, Timothy McCormack's mine but for its sublimation is a resonant and formally immersive solo piano work that explores gesture, vulnerability, and transformation through precise touch, spatial decay, and evolving harmonic tension, revealing a deeply personal and physical engagement with the piano's sonic possibilities.

With 20 years of performance history, the "Eventless Plot" trio of Thessaloniki, Greece — Vasilis Liolios (Psaltery, percussion, electronics), Yiannis Tsirikoglou (electronics) and Arias Gatas (piano, percussion, electronics) — present three chamber works, performed with other other Greek instrumentalists; extraordinary works of embracing creativity and depth.

Two works for voice and chamber orchestra performed by the UK Explore Ensemble under the direction of Nicholas Moroz, and a multi-tracked vocal work by Lotte Betts-Dean, rich and understated works of rich harmonics and atmospheric overtones composed by Catherine Lamb, placing phonetic vocals in space and ambiance, eschewing words for tone, texture and motion; mesmerizing.

Inspired by the geometric and illusory work of artist Bridget Riley, Catherine Lamb's "Curva Triangulus" borrows from Renaissance music that she "warps" by interjecting geometric musical figures, performed by the Proton Ensemble of Bern using traditional, new and historic instruments, all underpinned by the 16th century microtonal Vicentino arciorgano organ.

Finnish composer Antti Tolvi's 72-minute realization of Morton Feldman's Intermission 6 transforms the brief 1953 piano score into an extended meditation on sound and silence, his patient, quietly unpredictable interpretation revealing the work's subtle randomness and serene depth, evoking Feldman's later explorations of duration and near-stillness.

Inspired by the broadcast performance by The Apartment House ensemble of three works by Morton Feldman, Another Timbre requested that they record the exceptional late work of the minimalist composer, Piano and String Quartet, captured at Henry Wood Hall two months later in a stunning interpretation of this enigmatic work of sensually dissipating motion.

The UK ensemble Apartment House commissioned this work from composer & experimenter Jim O'Rourke based on their performance of other O'Rourke works, here interpreting a new graphic score designed like a sonic mobile, creating a minimal yet episodic piece of flexible interpretation as the performers whistle, hum and quietly sing in combination with bowed harmonics.

Three extended improvisations documenting the first meeting of an exciting and unexpected electro-acoustic quartet with a unique sound and instrumentation.

The UK avant ensemble Apartment House performs three of John Cage's later works: Two (1987), a number piece using randomly-determined time brackets specifying pitch & dynamic; Hymnkus for up to 14 instrumental parts each of 17 elements blending the concepts of a hymn and a haiku; and Thoreau Drawings, the score twenty unnumbered pages on which Cage drew shapes onto a grid of six systems, each divided into 5+7+5 parts, following the form of a haiku.

Eight sophisticated chamber pieces composed by Linda Catlin Smith and realized by the Canadian Apartment House ensemble, including a solo piano performed by Philip Thomas, a piano duo with Thomas and Mark Knoop, and works for percussion & cello, 2 quintet pieces for strings, percussion and winds, and two 7-piece conducted works with two percussionists, strings and brass.

A double CD of UK's experimental music ensemble Apartment House performing 14 chamber pieces composed by and under the supervision of Laurence Crane, beautiful and informed minimal work from a unique voice in modern composition.

A work for voice, piano and electronics from experimental composer Laurence Crane, working with the closely associated UK ensemble Apartment House, Natural World is in three sections--"Field Guide", "Chorus" and "Seascape"--with vocalist Juliet Fraser and pianist & electronic artist Mark Knoop, Crane's work describing the natural world and portending the fragility of our ecosystems.

A double CD with five beautiful pieces that engage with the work of the extraordinary French-Swiss poet Gustave Roud, with performers including Dante Boon, Stefan Thut, Andrew McIntosh and Jurg Frey himself, 10 compositions that Frey wrote in the manner that Roud would, roaming with a sketchbook and developing the pieces based on impressions of his surroundings.

Two compositions, one by composer Michael Pisaro-Liu and performed by the electroacoustic ensemble "Ordinary Affects" including violinist Morgan Evans-Weiler, then an acoustic composition from Evans-Weiler himself performed with violin, clarinet, cello, harpsichord and piano; both exquisite works that draw out tone and time in patiently unfolding fluidity.

Four tracks produced by file-exchange from 2010-2012 between sound artist Lee Patterson in Austin, Texas and Manchester, UK-based Vanessa Rossetto, impressive works on a large geographic and sound scale.

Expanding to a sextet, Swedish guitarist Finn Loxbo's Kommun deepens its exploration of cyclical time and collective improvisation, weaving acoustic steel-string guitar, piano, strings, and percussion into evolving, harmonically rich phrases that merge individual lines into fluid, slow-burning forms — meditative, intricate, and poised between structure and dissolution.

Swedish composer Erik Klinga crafts radiant electroacoustic works from Buchla synth, pipe organ, drum machine, and field recordings, weaving melodic ambient vignettes that shimmer with warmth and light, moving through celestial textures, gliding rhythms, and bird-like flourishes in a richly detailed debut recorded at Stockholm’s Royal College of Music, the first of a planned trilogy on Thanatosis.

Joyfully assertive and somewhat twisted, the first of three improvisations on this live album at Wels Unlimited 2020 is the duo of Austrian pianist Elisabeth Harnik and drummer Didi Kern, starting at high speed then shifting to unusual approaches in a quirky dialog, made quirkier with Jaap Blonk adding wonderfully nonsensical vocalizations on the last two pieces.

This Heat and Camberwell Now drummer, songwriter, vocalist, experimenter and sociological observer Charles Hayward steps away from his drums for an intimate album of song, performing on piano with minimal accompaniment as he presents new songs and new versions of songs including pieces from Camberwell Now; powerfully fragile, insightful, fascinating.

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.

More typically a solo performer, Japanese bluesman Kan Mikami has created a distinctive path for his voice, guitar and poetic lyrics; here he is propelled in an improvisational setting with two powerful UK players--John Edwards on bass and Alex Neilson on drums--captured live at London's Cafe Oto for a growling concert of finesse and brusque attitude.

The UK Decoy trio of John Edwards (bass), Steve Noble (drums) and Alexander Hawkins (keys) joins forces with pocket trumpet and saxophone player Joe McPhee during McPhee's residency at London's Cafe OTO, recording these two huge sets of brilliant free improv, Hawkins performing on organ adding a unique and soulful tone to a set that balances powerful energy with innate lyricism.

Bringing together the rhythm section of frequent collaborators, percussionist Hamid Drake and bassist William Parker, with London's improvising duo Black Top of Orphy Robinson on marimba and electronics & Pat Thomas on piano & electronics, plus improvising vocalist Elaine Mitchener, for a passionate and often ecstatically cathartic live concert at Cafe OTO.

Reflecting on a magnificent career as an improviser, vocalist & organizer, including Spontaneous Music Ensemble, Les Diaboliques and the Feminist Improvising Group, Maggie Nichols releases two related CDs of solo vocal improv: a set of intimate & expresive songs performed on voice and piano; and a set of overdubbed free improvisations applying techniques going back to John Stevens/SME.

Celebrating three decades of collaboration, Loren Connors and Alan Licht performed at Café OTO in 2023, captured in their first set with Connors on piano before shifting to guitar, their improvisation unfolding with spacious warmth, melodic restraint, and shimmering textures that evoke Rothko-like hues, blending blues abstraction and lyrical fragments into a calm, luminous dialogue.

Recorded live at Cafe OTO, the formidable trio of pianist Sophie Agnel, bassist John Edwards, and drummer Steve Noble delivers an explosive set of collective free improvisation, deconstructing their instruments into raw sound materials through playful intensity, percussive collisions, and a fearless, physical approach that dissolves the line between instrument and expression.

One of Peter Brötzmann's final recordings, captured live at Cafe OTO with vibraphonist Jason Adasiewicz, bassist John Edwards, and drummer Steve Noble, presenting two nights of emotionally charged and fiercely expressive performances that blend power, lyricism, and deep intergenerational connection in a fitting and resonant farewell to the legendary saxophonist.

The fourth solo piano album from British improviser Pat Thomas on Otoroku, recorded at London's Fish Factory and drawing from his Sufi faith and the legacy of Arabic scientific innovation, as Thomas explores cosmic motion and spiritual resonance through dynamic inside-piano techniques, harmonic clusters, and deeply personal, rhythmically charged improvisations.

Recorded during cellist Okkyung Lee's 2019 residency at OTO Cafe, this album presents two duos: the A side with Jerome Noetinger performing on tapes & electronics, processing Lee's cello live to create a virtual trio of incredible technical skill; the B side with a master of the historic keyboard Ondes Martenot, Nadia Ratsimandresy, in an uncommon dialog of strings and synthetics.

An unusual sax and drum duo from saxophonist Seymour Wright and percussionist Paul Abbott, taking recordings from a dozen years of their work together and assembling, mixing and re-recording them into these two impressive works of "mutated multiphonics and triggered percussion" offset with periods of reflection; startling, unexpected, amusing, awe inspiring.

Virtually unprecedented for the time, Evan Parker's 1976 solo soprano saxophone album captures Parker's prowess and unusual harmonic approach to the saxophone in a 1975 concert at the Unity Theatre in London and in the FMP studio the same year, using the instrument in startling ways as he captivates his listeners through a unique revelation of logic, drama and staggering skill.

London's Otoroku label keeps this magnificent album in print with a 2021 reissue of the 1982 Incus release featuring Evan Parker performing solo on soprano saxophone, using the natural resonance of the Church Of St. Jude-on-the-Hill, in Hampstead London as he explores upper tones and high frequency split tones in a technically brilliant display.

2018 Reissue: A much-needed vinyl reissue of the seminal London & European Free Improv trio release from 1970, an amazing album showing the relationships between established jazz forms and the emerging modern language.

On the 30th anniversary of the Victo Festival Anthony Braxton took to the stage for a magnificent solo performance on the alto sax, performing 8 spontaneous compositions and an 8+ minute version of "Body and Soul", seamlessly crossing lyrical and complex approaches to the horn using his unique intervallic, trimbral and diagrammatic language, a stunning and embraceable accomplishment.

Double CD remaster of Braxton's incredible 1978 concert in Koln with a massive orchestra including Ned Rothenberg, Leo Smith, Marilyn Crispell, Bob Ostertag, Marty Ehrlich, JD Parran, &c. &c. &c.!

Anthony Braxton's and Ray Anderson's short-lived 1979 quartet interpreting seven of Braxton's compositions with amazing results.

Remaster of the exhilarating second set from saxophonist and composer Anthony Braxton's concert at the Kuumbwa Jazz Center in Santa Cruz, CA, 1993, one of 7 nights performing with the quartet of Marilyn Crispell on piano, Mark Dresser on bass, and Gerry Hemingway on percussion.

Reissuing and remastering saxophonist Anthony Braxton's stellar release documenting his 1993 live performance with Marilyn Crispell on piano, Mark Dresser on bass, and Gerry Hemingway on percussion & marimba, demanding collective improvisation from masterful players.

In 1988, on the spur of the moment, Blake and Braxton met to record this set of 8 standards, including pieces by Monk, Parker, Gillespie, Miles Davis, Mal Waldron, &c.

Anthony Braxton's 1989 recording of seven compositions (glued together into three performances) in a trio with bassist Adelhard Roidinger and drummer Tony Oxley.

Distributing the group--John Butcher, Angharad Davies, Lina Lapelyte, Lee Patterson, Pat Thomas, and Rhodri Davies--inside the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford, Butcher chose 4 shamanic objects from the museum's ethnographic collection, evoking water, air, earth, spirit, ritual and utility, used as a score orchestrating varying combinations of players; intense and profound improvisation.

Dark and beautiful improvisation from saxophonist and electronics artist John Butcher and harpist Rhodri Davies, an incredible display of timbre, technique, and pacing.

Dating back to the 13th century in Wales, the Telyn Rawn is a nearly forgotten horsehair harp; UK improvising harpist Rhodri Davies researched the instrument and its unique sound, commissioning the construction of a harp on which he performs 18 improvisations of impressive technique and sonority, launching his new Amgen Records label with this album named for the instrument.

The second installment from New York saxophonist Ivo Perelman and trumpeter Nate Wooley demonstrates the strong affinity between the two players, highlighting their impressive mastery of their instruments with a creative drive and quick responsiveness that sparks unique dialogs, full of powerful and sometimes unconventional technique and expression; a truly gratifying and remarkable set of improvisations.

Guitarist Ribot in a gorgeous and contemplative album of adaptations of music he has written for films, for classic silent movies, and that he scored for his personal amusement and imagination.

After 25 years, saxophonist, flutist, and pianist Sam Rivers reunites his groundbreaking trio of Dave Holland on bass and Barry Altschul on drums for a fully improvised concert at Miller Theatre.

Marc Ribot's highly anticipated debut as a leader in a band with Henry Grimes on bass and Chad Taylor on drums, performing at the iconic Village Vanguard, with material including Albert Ayler, John Coltrane, &c.

Marking 50 years for Chicago's most important and innovative ensembles, formed in 1969 to advance creative musicians as part of the AACM, is this tribute to and based on music written by late members Lester Bowie, Malachi Favors, and Joseph Jarman, performed by 15 innovative musicians young and old, and presented in 2 CDs: one in the studio and one live at the 2018 Edgefest.

Guitarist/composer Liberty Ellman's album takes its name from the four deserts--Atacama in South America, the Gobi in China, the Sahara in Egypt, and the "White Desert" of Antarctica--in seven sophisticated compositions performed with Steve Lehman on alto sax, Stephan Crump on bass, Damion Reid on drums, Jonathan Finlayson on trumpet, and Jose Davila on tuba.

Using an unusual re-tuning of the piano, saxophonist Hafez Modirzadeh enlists three inventive pianists--Kris Davis, Tyshawn Sorey, and Craig Taborn--for a set of melodically-oriented duos, Modirzadeh using alternate fingerings and embouchure adjustments to achieve intervals between major and minor, together freeing the improvisers to explore new tonal possibilities.

Drummer Tyshawn Sorey's trio with bassist Christopher Tordine and pianist Cory Smythe in an album dedicated to Butch Morris and to his mother; intelligent and pensively restrained through-composed jazz influenced by modern composition as much as the history of the jazz trio.

Covering favorite compositions, drummer Tyshawn Sorey arranges works from artists recent and classic, including McCoy Tyner ("Peresina"), Joni Mitchell ("A Chair in the Sky"), Brad Mehldau ("Bealtine"), or Vividry ("Your Good Lies"), performed with double bassist Harish Raghavan and pianist Aaron Diehl and recorded in the studio after developing each piece in live performance at The Village Vanguard.

Drawn from two absolutely energetic and exciting concerts in France, saxophonist and composer Steve Coleman's Five Elements ensemble — Jonathan Finlayson on trumpet, Sean Rickman on drums, and new electric bassist Rich Brown — blend spontaneous rhythmic and tonal transformations with Coleman's inventive, biologically-inspired compositions; exhilarating!

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.

Recorded in Montreal during the 1994 Victoriaville Festival, this first solo album from Charles Gayle presents deeply spiritual improvisations for tenor sax, bass clarinet, piano, drums and voice, a raw and passionate outpouring where intense expression and prayerful conviction drive every sound.

Recorded in Montreal in 1992, pianist Paul Plimley, bassist Lisle Ellis, and drummer-vibraphonist Gregg Bendian shape a dark-hued free jazz session with strong compositional ideas, shifting between shadowy swing, turbulent energy, and adventurous textures, while Bruce Freedman’s sax adds sharp focus on select tracks.

Combining live recordings from Victoriaville and London with studio sessions in England, pianist Chris Burn explores inside-the-piano techniques and prepared textures, shaping cerebral yet inventive improvisations that reveal a wide sonic palette and a focused, exploratory approach to solo performance.

Recorded live at Victoriaville in 2007, banjo maverick Eugene Chadbourne teams with Kevin Blechdom for a wild set that blends roots riffs, fractured songs, satire and playful chaos, their banjos, piano and vocals colliding in irreverent, high-energy improvisation that is as sharp as it is unpredictable.

Recorded live in Toronto and at Victoriaville in 2000, Paul Cram leads a vibrant large ensemble through groove-tinged themes, bold brass writing and energized improvising, blending playful funk elements with adventurous big band strategies for a spirited, contemporary orchestral sound.

Featuring J.A. Deane on trombone, bass flute, lap steel guitar, percussion and sampler, this 1992–93 studio project blends atmospheric grooves, ambient textures and loop-based soundscapes, presenting an accessible electroacoustic journey marked by evocative moods and spacious instrumental color.

Noted for its live 1999 recording in France, this trio of Michel Doneda (soprano sax), Erik M (turntables, MiniDisc, sampling), and Jean-Marc Montera (guitar, electronics, objects) creates an electrifying mix of acoustic intensity and electroacoustic texture, with Doneda's incisive phrasing pulling guitar noise and manipulated vinyl into agile, unpredictable dialog for sharp collisions and eerie convergences in cutting-edge free improvisation.

Recorded in Brooklyn in 2000, bassist Mark Dresser and hyperpianist Denman Maroney engage in a finely tuned duo of extended techniques and agile interplay, Dresser's resonant arcs meeting Maroney's prepared-keyboard timbres in inventive, exploratory conversations that balance subtle detail with adventurous improvisation.

Led by bassist Lisle Ellis with a fierce San Francisco contingent, this 1993 studio session brings together saxophonists Christopher Cauley, Joe McPhee, Glenn Spearman, and Larry Ochs with guitarist James Ruthier and drummer Donald Robinson, delivering energetic free jazz rooted in the 1960s tradition but propelled by raw interplay, bold horn lines, and committed group momentum.

Recorded live in Mexico in 1999, violinist Mari Kimura and multi-instrumentalist Roberto Morales Manzanares create a poetic and emotionally charged set of concise improvisations, shifting between violin, flute, piano, harp and electronics as they blend lyrical expressiveness with bold, exploratory interaction.

Recorded in a church in Novi Sad in 1994, saxophonist-composer Boris Kovac leads a chamber ensemble of voice, reeds, piano, strings and percussion through a solemn and meditative suite blending spiritual themes, modern classical elements and traditional dance inflections, shaping an evocative acoustic soundworld rooted in deep cultural reflection.

Recorded live at Victoriaville in 2008, Rene Lussier, Martin Tetreault, and Otomo Yoshihide collide guitars, turntables, and a spy-mic in a sharp, unpredictable set, shifting between searching interplay and bursts of tightly-locked exchange, their contrasting approaches sparking inventive textures and raw electroacoustic energy.

Recorded in February 1995, guitarist-composer Rene Lussier leads the massive Now Orchestra through a bold score that blends rock rhythms, free jazz blowouts and cinematic improvisation; across two days the ensemble of saxes, trumpet, cello, guitar, bass and drums navigates abrupt shifts, dense textures and playful detours, confirming a singular large-ensemble statement that remains vivid and unpredictable.

Recorded live at Victoriaville in 2006, Italian duo My Cat Is An Alien shape a stripped-down yet cosmic sound world, using droning guitars, fragile percussion, toys and voice to craft spacious, dreamlike improvisations that drift toward the outer edges of space without the cliches of space music.

Recorded between 1989 and 1994, New Winds showcases Ned Rothenberg, J.D. Paran, and Robert Dick in a richly inventive exploration of woodwind timbres, their fluid shifts between reeds and flutes creating agile counterpoint and striking sonorities that blend chamber precision with adventurous free improvisation.

"... I regard the NOW Orchestra as one of the finest large creative ensembles active in the last decade. The combinations of high levels of individual creativity and virtuosity with a strong sense of collectivity is a rare and treasured combination that the NOW Orchestra manifests very strongly..."-George Lewis, Earshot Jazz

Recorded live in 2004, Quartet Noir unites Urs Leimgruber, Marilyn Crispell, Joelle Leandre, and Fritz Hauser in deep long-form improvisations, where vivid detail and patient interaction shape evolving structures, balancing unpredictability with a cohesive, resonant group sound born of longstanding collaboration.

Recorded live at Victoriaville in 2003, this French-Japanese quintet of koto, saxophone, acoustic guitar, bass, and percussion explores quiet but intensely focused free improvisation, balancing silence and fine detail as shifting small gestures and subtle textures weave a deep, slow-unfolding dialogue of remarkable sensitivity.

Recorded in concert in 1988 and 1990, Slawterhaus brings Jon Rose, Peter Hollinger, Johannes Bauer, and Kietmar Diesner together in a jagged mix of avant rock, free improvisation, and deconstructed funk, with electric violin, trombone, drums, and electronics colliding in short, high-energy forms that shift between tight grooves and wild, unpredictable noise.

Recorded live at Victoriaville in 2007, the trio of Michael Snow, Alan Licht, and Aki Onda crafts a shifting electroacoustic soundscape where synthesizer, electric guitar and cassette manipulations collide in atmospheric textures and raw industrial edges, improvising form and surprise in a dense yet exploratory sonic environment.

Unreleased material from Joe McPhee's archives, three live settings of the saxophonist and pocket trumpeter in upstate NY: a quartet with vibraphonist Ernie Bostic and the rhythm section of Tyrone Crabb and Bruce Thompson live at Vassar College; live in New Windsor with saxophonist Reggie Marks; and an outdoor concert at Poughkeepsie's Lincoln Centre.

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.

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.

With more than a hundred albums behind them, Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso UFO unleash another ecstatic journey, a studio album blending swirling psychedelia, trance-inducing drones, cosmic synths, and Kawabata Makoto's searing guitar with hurdy-gurdy textures from Tomo Katsurada, heavy bass from Taigen Kawabe and soaring vocal layers, a kaleidoscopic ritual of boundless imagination.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Celebrating the profound compositional legacy of Julius Hemphill through inventive string adaptations of his saxophone quartet and sextet works, violinists Curtis Stewart and Sam Bardfeld, violist Stephanie Griffin, and cellist Tomeka Reid channel Abdul Wadud's expressive spirit, transforming Hemphill's blues-inflected jazz into vividly textured chamber improvisations with lyrical intensity.

An algorithmic composition for Elliott Sharp's Orchestra Carbon modeled on biological paradigms of growth and reproduction, recorded at Tonic in 2001 with a large ensemble of instrumentalists including Ned Rothenberg, Steve Swell, Jim Pugliese, Andy Laster, &c. and programmers and sampler performers including David Weinstein, R. Luke Dubois, and Zeena Parkins.

Elliott Sharp's 1998 Knitting Factory album finds the saxophonist, guitarist & electronic artist in a solo setting of rhythmic works using MAX/MSP and DSP applications to create rhythmic and sonic environments over which he improvises, with assistance on one track each from Zeena Parkin on "little green drone guitar" and Frank Rothkamm providing drums sequences.

A collection of arboreal pieces for solo acoustic guitar--wood transformed into a resonator with the help of metal oscillators and digital manipulation--performed in the studio by NY guitarist and improviser Elliott Sharp, developing the works around trees, "austere and intense", each piece unfolding like delicate branches of acoustic and ethereal framework.

Elliott Sharp's impressive series "Never Metaguitar" with releases on Clean Feed and Klanggalerie continues in this 6th volume of 18 remarkable and diverse approaches to the stringed instrument, effected and not, with contributors including Dougie Bowne, Wendy Eisenberg, Charles K. Noyes, André Cholmondele, Toto Alvarez, Zona Zanjeros, David Torn, &c. &c.

Referencing their influences as The Pop Group, This Heat, Naked City, and Eric Dolphy, this collective trio from Vicenza, Italy features Tiziano Pellizzari on reeds & electronics, Geoffrey Copplestone on noise & vocals and Giampaolo Mattiello on percussion, in an insightful and sometimes socially charged, sometimes simply quirky mix of free jazz, noise and narrative vocals.

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.

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.

Documenting the 1994 avant music drama composed by pianist Alexander von Schlippenbach and accordionist Sven-Ake Johansson, uber Ursache und Wirkung der Meinungsverschiedenheiten beim Turmbau zu Babel (on the cause and effect of the disagreements over the building of the Tower of Babel) through a double LP, DVD, libretto and 16-page booklet in a solid box set.

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.

The trio of Japanese art-folk singer Koh Yamabuki with pianist Satoko Fujii and accordionist Ted Recihment in emotional, inventive and delicately beautiful music.

Satoko Fujii's latest Junk Box with Natsuki Tamura and John Hollenbeck is an amazing jazz album of extended technique, instrumentation and expressive, dramatic ideas

Intricately melodic and wonderfully ecstatic duos from trumpeter Natsuki Tamura and pianist Satoko Fujii improvising on 9 Fujii compositions.

Satoko Fujii's 15-piece Orchestra New York with an all-star cast including Ellery Eskelin, Tony Malaby, Herb Robertson, Steve Berstein, Joe Fiedler, &c. &c.

Pianist-composer Satoko Fujii's Orchestra Tokyo formed in 1999 to perform her compositions, music that spans a wide range of styles and moods, complemented by a great set of soloists.

Satoko Fujii's amazing Orchestra New York returns with a composition that she describes as "a picture that extends beyond the canvas", performed with Oscar Noriega, Briggan Krauss, Ellery Eskelin, Tony Malaby, Andy Laster, Herb Robertson, Steven Bernstein, &c &c.

Pianist Satoko Fujii's Tobira ("door") expands the original trio configuration of Todd Nicholson on bass and Takashi Itani on drums, with trumpeter/husband Natsuki Tamura, playing inventive free improvisation with sophistication in melodic heads and superb soloing.

Joe Morris wrote this book to discuss aspects of free music, including responses to his questionnaire written by Joe McPhee, William Parker, Jamie Saft, Ken Vandermark, Marilyn Crispell, Nate Wooley, Jack Wright, Matthew Shipp, &c.

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.

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.

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.

In a study of memory and the way we alter or prioritize what we remember, NY guitarist Wendy Eisenberg composed this intimately personal long form text score in four movements to be memorized and then performed using the nonlinear randomness of recollection, recorded in two performances at Firehouse 12 in 2019, once on acoustic guitar and once on banjo.

Two collaborations in a split LP, and the continuation of a series of duo pieces for piano and other instruments that pianist and keyboardist Eric Wubbels has been pursuing since 2006: first an intensive 3-part "Field Of Action" with vocalist and noise artist Charmaine Lee; then "Contraposition" with trombonist Weston Olencki in a duo with Wubbels on prepared piano.

New York creative scene stalwarts drummer Andrew Barker, bassist William Parker, and saxophonist Jon Irabagon debut as a trio, delivering five collectively improvised explorations that emphasize call-and-response dynamics, weaving and reacting with technically impressive, extended, and unconventional techniques and expressions delivered with confident assertion.

Celebrating the profound compositional legacy of Julius Hemphill through inventive string adaptations of his saxophone quartet and sextet works, violinists Curtis Stewart and Sam Bardfeld, violist Stephanie Griffin, and cellist Tomeka Reid channel Abdul Wadud's expressive spirit, transforming Hemphill's blues-inflected jazz into vividly textured chamber improvisations with lyrical intensity.

Highlighting the profound skill and musical connection of alto saxophonist Tim Berne, drummer Tom Rainey, and guitarist Gregg Belisle-Chi, in a captivating journey through meticulously composed pieces, dynamic improvisation, and structured arrangements of spontaneous creativity in a studio recording that emphasize their exploratory artistry and evolution within creative jazz.

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.

Brooklyn trumpeter Adam O'Farrill leads a superb octet — Mary Halvorson (guitar), Patricia Brennan (vibes), Tomas Fujiwara (drums), and others — through dramatically inventive compositions inspired by the literature and arts of the 1930s, balancing angular rhythmic intensity, rich melodic lyricism, and expressive improvisational depth with adventurous sophistication.

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.

A stunning 1981 live performance at Internationales Jazzfestival Zurich, from pianist Irene Schweizer's short-lived but explosive quartet with Rüdiger Carl, Johnny Dyani, and Han Bennink, blending theatrical flair, fierce intensity, bold humor, and spontaneous surprises in a powerhouse set that channels the spirit of Mingus, the wit of Waller, and the raw energy of punk jazz.

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.

Chimaera is the ensemble of Sylvie Courvoisier on piano, her core trio with Drew Gress on bass, Kenny Wollesen on drums & vibraphone, expanded by two trumpeters--Wadada Leo Smith & Nate Wooley--and affected by Austrian guitarist Christian Fennesz who provides sonic backdrops for the improvisations over Courvoisier's compositions, focusing on aura over pyrotechnics; absolutely sublime.