The Squid's Ear Magazine
Jan 8-1, 2026: Winter Hat Sale: January 9 - January 11

  Recently Restocked

Albums which we have recently restocked, listed in most recently restocked order. Some quantities will be limited, particularly for older albums. This page is updated after every catalog refresh, typically Tuesdays & Thursdays.



Schindler / Rodrigues / Rodrigues / Torres: Conspiratorial And Fulminate Things Happen [2 CDs] (Creative Sources)

The quartet of Udo Schindler on reeds, Ernesto Rodrigues on viola, Guilherme Rodrigues on cello and Nuno Torres on saxophone are heard in Munich, first in a wildly interactive live performance at Schindler's Salon successor: BASIS_Soundscape at MUCCA; then live in the studio for 7 improvisations with track titles borrowed from and under the influence of the poetry of Allen Ginsberg.



Variable Geometry Orchestra: L'Heure Derniere du Silence (Creative Sources)

L'Heure Dernière du Silence stands as a testament to VGO's ongoing exploration of the interplay between silence and sound, solidifying their position as a leading force in contemporary improvised music as heard in this live recording captured during the cycle "A Hora Derradeira do Silencio" at St. George's Church, in Lisbon, Portugal in 2024.



String Theory [PORTUGAL]: Gravity (Creative Sources)

A sense of both lightness and weight drawn from Portuguese viola player's Ernesto Rodrigues' 18-piece String Theory, in a large and detailed improvisation using an incredible array of string sources, including viola, harp, violin, cello, viola da gamba, double bass, classical, acoustic and 12-string guitars, mandolin, zither, harpsichord, and piano.



Ernesto Rodrigues / Miguel Mira / Flak / Tiago Varela / Manuel Guimaraes: Genius Loci (Creative Sources)

Continuing Rodrigues' post-Cage series of single-track acoustic improvisations, this 2025 quintet with Miguel Mira, Flak, Tiago Varela, and Manuel Guimaraes blends viola, cello, electric guitar, fan organ, melodica, and piano in an evolving tapestry of mysterious breath, subtle continuity, and fragile sonic space recorded live in Lisbon with profound delicacy and restraint.



AGogol / NaabtalDeath / Ernesto Rodrigues / Guilherme Rodrigues: Mistika Jpeg Oscillations (Creative Sources)

In a surreal electroacoustic encounter recorded live in Hannover, the quartet of AGogol, NaabtalDeath (Jerome Noetinger), Ernesto Rodrigues, and Guilherme Rodrigues deconstructs chamber music into a visceral, alchemical performance of modified strings, electronics, and crackling noise, blending absurd vocalizations, brutal textures, and delicate atmospheres into a raw, dreamlike sound theater.



Ernesto Rodrigues / Ana Albino / Hernani Faustino / Carlos Santos: A Glimpse To An End Of A Cycle (Creative Sources)

Recorded live in Lisbon in 2025, this quietly immersive quartet session from Ernesto Rodrigues, Ana Albino, Hernani Faustino, and Carlos Santos unfolds as a single extended movement of enigmatic timbral interplay, blending modular synth, electric guitar, viola and bass in a sparse, introspective soundscape shaped by mystery, fluidity, and subtle dynamic shifts.



Udo Schindler / Olaf Rupp : HerzAtmungen (Creative Sources)

Quoting Piet Mondrian — 'I believe that the destructive element in art is neglected too much' — the duo of Udo Schindler (bass clarinet, alto saxophone, cornet, tuba) and Olaf Rupp (electric guitar) deliver a compelling 2023 live performance at MUCCA [BASIS-Buchsalon] in Munich, Germany, in the six-part collective conversation "HerzAtmungen," loosely translating to "Heart Breathings".



Tristan Honsinger & The House Of Wasps: Noisy Sadness (Creative Sources)

A personal and evocative suite written during the isolation of the COVID-19 period, bringing together the legendary Tristan Honsinger (cello, vocal, narration) with his long-standing Tokyo-based ensemble, The House of Wasps — Yuriko Mukojima (violin, voice), Takashi Seo (double bass), and Shuichi Chino (piano) — in a performance that seamlessly blends chamber improvisation, storytelling, and emotional intensity.



Jean-Michel Van Schouwburg / Nuno Torres / Ernesto Rodrigues / Joao Madeira / Carlos Santos : La Rambarde Des Songes, Les Congruences Des Soupirs (Creative Sources)

A hushed and enigmatic quintet improvisation featuring Jean-Michel Van Schouwburg's extended vocal techniques alongside Nuno Torres (alto saxophone), Ernesto Rodrigues (viola, crackle box), João Madeira (double bass), and Carlos Santos (modular synthesizer), unfolding in reductionist, pointillistic interplay that explores subtle texture, utterance, and resonance.



Baltschun / Dorner / Fagaschinski: No Furniture (Creative Sources)



Kerbaj / Ulher / Sehnaoui: 3:1 (Creative Sources)

Unusual acoustic improvisations from this double trumpet and acoustic guitar trio, creating music with electronic impressions and odd sound organization.



Rodrigues / Abdelnour / Dorner: NIE (Creative Sources)

A beautiful and subtle album presenting 3 extended improvisations from the patient and masterful hands of trumpeter Axel Dorner, violist Ernesto Rodrigues, and alto saxophonist Christine ABdelnour.



Paura: The Construction Of Fear (Creative Sources)

Excellent, fun and slightly twisted free improvising quintet with Dennis Gonzalez, Mark Sanders, Alipio Netom, and father/son team Ernesto Rodrigues and Guilherme Rodrigues.



Guionnet / Rodrigues / Rodrigues / Murayama: Noite (Creative Sources)

Saxophonist Guionnet guides this quartet of sax, viola, cello, & percussion, including label leader Ernesto Rodrigues, delicate yet detailed improv of a high order.



Stephen: Flinn Architect of Adversity (Creative Sources)

Arizona based percussionist Flinn, who has worked with Tim Perkis, Noah Phillips, in a solo work for drums, percussion and voice.



James Lewis Brandon Quartet: Molecular Systematic Music: Live [2 CDs] (Intakt)

The first live recordings from 2021 in Switzerland of NY saxophonist James Brandon Lewis' Molecular concept of composition, inspired by molecular biology and yielding lyrical and sophisticated structures for his players, heard in nine compositions performed with the exemplary quartet of Brad Jones on bass, Chad Taylor on drums, Aruán Ortiz on piano and Lewis on tenor sax.



James Lewis Brandon Quartet : Transfiguration (Intakt)

With a rare ability to play hard-hitting jazz while maintaining a lyrical sense to his compositions, tenor saxophonist James Brandon Lewis' new studio album from his quartet of Aruan Ortiz on piano, Brad Jones on bass and Chad Taylor on drums is the fourth album from this working band, demonstrating their strong group affinity that invokes impressive soloing from all four.



Ingrid Laubrock (w/ Jon Irabagon / Zeena Parkins / Tom Rainey): Monochromes (Intakt)

Saxophonist & composer Ingrid Laubrock's quartet with Jon Irabagon on sopranino sax, Zeena Parkins on electric harp and Tom Rainey on drums, in a work of conventional and graphic notation with text instructions, accompanied by fixed media tape pieces (monochromes), from Nate Wooley, Adam Matlock, Tom Rainey, and by JD Allen, David Breskin & Ingrid Laubrock manipulating Harry Bertoia sculptures.



Fred: Frith Guitar Solos/Fifty [VINYL 2 LPs] (Week-End Records)

While still a member of Henry Cow, guitarist Fred Frith released his first solo album simply titled Guitar Solos in 1974, a remarkable album of expression through preparations, treatments and effects; 50 years later Frith expands on that album with new compositions using a similar setup as the original, paired in this 2-LP release with the remastered original album.



Wooley / Corsano / Yeh: The Seven Storey Mountain II (Important Records)

Turbulent and ecstatic electronic improvisation in the 2nd installment of Seven Storey Mountain with Nate Wooley on amplified trumpet and tape, drummer Chris Corsano , and violinist C. Spencer Yeh.



Wolf Eyes / Anthony Braxton: Live At Pioneer Works, 26 October 2023 (ESP)

A monumental meeting between legendary saxophonist and composer Anthony Braxton and noise pioneers Wolf Eyes (Nate Young & Johnny Olson), recorded live at Pioneer Works in Red Hook, NY, merging Braxton's expansive approach with the duo's visceral electronics, hypnotic textures, and raw energy in a collision of free improvisation, structured chaos, and uncompromising sonic exploration.



Fennesz: Venice 20 (20th Anniversary Edition) (Touch)

20th anniversary reissue of Fennesz's 2004 release Venice, as a deluxe version remastered by Denis Blackham, with new and extra tracks not on the previous CD or vinyl versions, in a DVD-format with a booklet of texts by Fennesz, Denis Blackham, and Jon Wozencroft, photographs from the 2004 sessions, and David Sylvian's original handwritten lyrics for "Transit."



Zoh Amba / Chris Corsano / Bill Orcutt: The Flower School (Palilalia)

An enthusiastic and well-balanced studio recording in San Francisco from the trio of Zoh Amba on tenor saxophone, Chris Corsano on drums and Bill Orcutt on electric guitar, following Amba & Corsano's duo tour of the West Coast; this is a first meeting between Amba & Orcutt, who perform as a duo on two tracks, including a guitar duo with Amba on acoustic.



Full Blast & Friends: Sketches & Ballads (Trost Records)

The Full Blast trio of reedist Peter Brotzmann, bassist Mario Piakas and drummer Michael Wertmueller are joined by Ken Vandermark, Thomas Heberer and Dirk Rothbrust for an excellent concert at Donaueschinger Musiktage, 2010.



Hedvig Mollestad Trio: Bees In The Bonnet (Rune Grammofon)

Reuniting after four years, guitarist Hedvig Mollestad with Ellen Brekken and Ivar Loe Bjørnstad deliver six tracks that fuse hard rock riffing, progressive jazz, and psychedelic exploration, balancing raw power with nuanced improv, from searing grooves and shifting meters to poignant balladry, in seamless interplay of exhilaration and deep expression.



Jean Jones Claude (JC) / and friends: Nucleous (Kadima)

The fifth in bassist, guitarist and Kadima label-leader JC Jones "Distance Series", works assembled through virtual sessions with associated artists, Jones performing on Spanish guitar which he plays as a lap guitar, on Nucleous creating a set of five unusual vocal works with internationally reknown vocalists Meira Asher, Esti Kenan-Ofri, Anat Pick and Josef Sprinzak.



La Sprezzatura Ensemble: Jones, Jean Claude (JC) / Esti Kenan Ofri / Oren Fried: Abstract Formative Discourse (Kadima)

Evocatively drawing on the exotic sounds and rigorous tenacity of the Middle East, The Sprezzatura Ensemble of Esti Kenan Ofri on voice, Jean Claude Jones on lap-style Spanish guitar and Oren Fried on drums and percussion, particularly classical & traditional drums & ringing tambourine bells, present five freely improvised chants recorded in Jerusalem between 2017-18.



Jean Jone Claude (JC) / Raymond Boni: Visions of Sound (Kadima)

Twelve studio improvisations between Kadima-label leader JC Jones playing on a lap-steel plugged in Spanish guitar and French guitarist & improviser Raymond Boni, also performing on harmonica and electronics, where Jones, leveraging his history of work as a double bassist, often takes on the role of percussive/rhythmic foundation against Boni's incredible explorations.



Meira Asher / JC Jones: Myelination 2 (Kadima)

Spontaneous organic interactions over sounds from the vibrations of the myelin sheath, the protective insulating cover of the nervous system, from bassist JC Jones and vocalist, no-input mixer and Doepfer synthesizer player Meira Asher.



Ariel: Shibolet Live at The Total Music Meeting (Kadima)

Solo saxophone recordings from Israeli artists Ariel Shibolet, performing at Berlins Total Music Meeting in 2007, joyful and complex work in the vein of Evan Parker.



Ariel Shibolet / Haggai Fershtman: Happiness for Things Unseen (Kadima)

A live concert from soprano saxophonist Airel Shibolet performing with drummer Haggai Fershtman live in Tel Aviv, 2010, part of Kadima's Cy Twombly live performance series.



Denman Maroney / Dominic Lash: All Strung Out (Kadima)

Double bass and hyperpiano meet in a transatlantic collaboration between pianist Denman Maroney and bassist Dominc Lash, a combination of exhilarating technique and invention from two remarkable players.



Golia / Phillips / Leandre / Turetzky / Mezzacappa: The Ethnic Project (Kadima)

Multi-reedist Vinny Golia playing ethnic woodwinds including danso, kaval, moxeneo, marori bone flute, &c. in a series of duets with Barre Phillips, Joelle Leandre, Bert Turetzky, and Lisa Mezzacappa.



Joelle: Leandre Solo: Conversations With Franck Medioni [BOOK + CD + DVD] (Kadima Triptych)

Frank Medioni interviewed bassist Joelle Leandre over two years at her home in Paris to create the narrative of this book; also included is a CD and DVD of two solo performances in Piednu and Guelph.



Mark: Dresser Sonic Brotherhood: DTFP by Five - Israel 2009 (Kadima)

Kadima's and Dresser's beautiful Deep Tones for Peace project, bringing bass players together to perform live at remote locations, here in configurations from solo to a 5 bass ensemble.



Rothenberg / Jauniaux / Phillips: While You Were Out (Kadima)

A fantastic trio of multi-reed and shakuhachi player Ned Rothenberg, avant vocalist Catherine Jauniaux, and bassist Barre Phillips recorded live in France, 2008.



Leandre & Cappozzo: Live aux Instants Chaivres` Monreuil (Kadima)

Bassist Joelle Leandre and Globe Unity Orchestra trumpeter Cappozzo performed these spontaneous and insightful dialogs live at Instants Chavires early in 2009.



Kowald / Golia: Mythology (Kadima)

Studio recordings from the late innovative bassist Peter Kowald and multi-wind phenomenon Vinny Golia, with both performers changing instruments for each improvisation.



JC: Jones Hosting Myself (Kadima)

Solo bass from acoustic and electroacoustic artist JC Jones, a distillation of his language in free improvised music incorporating electronic sound and noise.



Mark Dresser & Denman Maroney: Live in Concert (Kadima)

The duo of Denman Maroney on prepared piano and Mark Dresser on contrabass at the 2008 Vision Festival in NYC, and at the Storefront Theater, Chicago in 2001.



Joelle: Leandre Live in Israel (Kadima)

Double CD of bassist Joelle Leandre perforing Solo in Israel, then in duos, trios and a sextet with JC Jones, Assif Tsahar, Albert Beger, Ariel Shibolet, &c.



Joelle Leandre and Barre Phillips: A L'Improviste (Kadima)

Beautifully recorded and packaged duo of these two great bassists and improvisers performing live at Radio France for Anne Montaron's radio show.



JC: Jones ReComp (Kadima)

Recomposing works from improvised sessions around the world, bassist JC Jones works with an excellent set of players including Ned Rothenberg, Ayal Maoz, Harold Rubin, &c.



Jason Alder / Thanos Chrysakis / Caroline Kraabel / Yoni Silver: Music for Baritone Saxophone, Bass Clarinets & Electronics (Aural Terrains)

Exploring the low end of the clarinet family with Jason Alder on bass, contra bass, B flat & E flat clarinets, Yoni Silver on bass clarinet, plus Caroline Kraabel on baritone saxophone & voice, Thanos Chrysakis expanding the sonic space with laptop & synthesizers, in a 5-part series of beautifully paced, absorbing and subtly detailed collective improvisations.



Jason Alder / Thanos Chrysakis / Charlotte Keeffe / James O' Sullivan: Inward Traces Outward Edges (Aural Terrains)

Embracing acoustic and electronic improvisation, this London-recorded session features Jason Alder's contrabass clarinet & sopranino sax, Charlotte Keeffe's trumpet & flugelhorn, James O'Sullivan's exploratory electric guitar and Thanos Chrysakis' laptop and synthesizers, collectively shaping a shifting, atmospheric soundscape of drone, spectral timbres, and dynamic textures.



Earle Brown / David Ryan / Christian Wolff / Morton Feldman / Thanos Chrysakis / Tim Hodgkinson: Music for Guitars, Bass Clarinets & Contrabasses (Aural Terrains)

Recorded live at London's Café OTO in December 2023, this extraordinary collective of guitarists, bass clarinetists, contrabassists, and trumpet interprets works by Earle Brown, David Ryan, Christian Wolff, Morton Feldman, Thanos Chrysakis, and Tim Hodgkinson, capturing a single evening of adventurous performances that merge contemporary composition with improvisatory spirit.



Evan Parker / Joelle Leandre: Long Bright Summer (RogueArt)

Drawing on decades of fearless improvising, saxophonist Evan Parker and bassist Joëlle Léandre engage in an intense and unfiltered acoustic dialogue recorded live in France, their shared language enabling lightning reactions, extended techniques, surges of density and flow, hushed textural intimacy, and moments where Léandre's wordless voice merges seamlessly into their spontaneous interplay.



Jamie Branch / Isaiah Collier / Gilles Coronado / Tim Daisy: Stembells (The Bridge Sessions)

As part of the transatlantic network The Bridge connecting creative musicians for performance, the quartet of Jaimie Branch on trumpet, synthesizer & electronics, Isaiah Collier on soprano & tenor saxophones, Gilles Coronado on electric guitar and Tim Daisy on drums, recorded this wildly building live performance after a 2022 tour across Chicago and the Midwest.



Rupp / Kneer / Fischerlehner : Puna (Klanggalerie)

A new improvising trio from Berlin by Meinrad Kneer on double bass, Rudi Fischerlehner on drums & percussion and Olaf Rupp on electric guitar, an energetic project that borrows from free jazz with electroacoustic elements and clamorous intersections from Fischerlehner, as the trio runs the gamut from nearly chaotic interaction to deep contemplation in four diverse movements.



Sun Ra And His Arkestra: Saturn XIII [10-inch VINYL] (Presspop)

A collection of Sun Ra recordings from the 1970s to 80s, from a small pressings on Sun Ra's own Saturn label and now public for the first time - "Just Friends" live (alongside an unreleased, intimate living room solo recordings of the same), plus "Under the Spell of Love" from the Just Friends album, and a previously unissued and Sun Ra's only known recording of "Cherokee".



Dave Liebman (w/ Peter Evans / Leo Genovese / John Hebert / Tyshawn Sorey): Lost In Time, Live At Smalls (Cellar Live)

Part of the SmallsLIVE Living Masters series, masterful saxophonist Dave Liebman leads the stellar quintet of Peter Evans on trumpet, Leo Genovese on piano, John Hebert on bass & Tyshawn Sorey on drums through three Liebman compositions titled for their ordinal position, relaunching a highly focused Liebman post-pandemic with this stunning live concert at Smalls Jazz Club.



Steve Swell's Kende Dreams (Swell/ Brown / Crothers / Parker / Taylor): Hommage A Bartok (Silkheart)

Trombonist Steve Swell presents an homage to composer Bela Bartok, applying jazz techniques to the composer's music to find something new and unexpected, in an amazing quintet with Connie Crothers (piano), William Parker (bass), Chad Taylor (drums) & Rob Brown (sax).



Sun Ra: Sub Underground Series Vol 1 & 2 - Cosmo Earth Fantasy (Art Yard (ReR TYARD))

A Saturn release from the 1960's featuring a wide-range of pieces from studio recordings, rehearsals, and live concerts that are all heart-felt and made in the traditional Sun Ra style.



Sun Ra: Disco 3000 (Art Yard)

Sun Ra's highly sought after 1978 small ensemble live recording from Milan, originally released on his Saturn label.



Fred Frith / Zorn, John: The Art of Memory II (Recommended Records)

Idiosyncratic improvisation with a strange set of tools from two master musicians, fascinating recordings from 1983-85 in the blossoming downtown NY scene.



Art Bears: Winter Songs (Recommended Records)



Slapp Happy/Henry Cow: Desperate Straights (Recommended Records)



Joshua Abrams' Cloud Script: Cloud Script [VINYL] (RogueArt)

Double bassist Joshua Abrams provides the compositions for this studio album performed with Ari Brown on tenor sax, Jeff Parker on guitar and Gerald Cleaver on drums, an exceptional quartet of master improvisers who balance lyrical and soulful playing with explorative impulse, fueled by an empathetic responsiveness that only a long history of collaboration can engender.



Joey Baron / Bill Frisell: Just Listen (Relative Pitch)

The duo of long-time collaborators guitarist Bill Frisell and drummer Joey Baron, two of Downtown NY's finest players, performing 9 tracks of original numbers and work by Sam Cooke, Ray Noble, Ron Carter, and Charlie Parker.



Jemeel: Moondoc The Zoopkeeper's House (Trio/Quartet/Quintet) (Relative Pitch)

A series of exceptional compositions by saxophonist Jemeel Moondoc plus one by Alice Coltrane, performed in a variety of group settings, from duos to quintet, with sidemen Matthew Shipp, Roy Campbell, Steve Swell, Hilliard Greene, and Newman Taylor Baker.



Kirk Knuffke / Ben Goldberg: Uncompahgre (Relative Pitch)

Two extraordinary players from two coasts--clarinetist Ben Goldberg from the West and cornetist Kirk Knuffke from the East--in an exuberant duo of lyrical and virtuosic free jazz that astonishes the listener with the ease of their interactions in both parallel and contrasting lines, supporting the other as they express themselves uniquely; an impressive achievement!



Tomeka Reid / Kyoko Kitamura / Tyler Ho Bynum / Joe Morris: Geometry Of Distance (Relative Pitch)

Following their debut album, "Geometry of Caves", the quartet of improvising musicians Joe Morris (guitar), Tomeka Reid (cello), Taylor Ho Bynum (cornet) and Kyoko Kitamura (voice) return for this album of passionate free improvisation, here even more attuned as a group as they employ their collective language using unusual technique and incredible expertise; spectacular!



Frode Gjerstad with Matthew Shipp : We Speak (Relative Pitch)

Meeting in the Park West Studios in Brooklyn in 2022, acclaimed Norwegian free jazz multi-reedist Frode Gjerstad, here performing on alto saxophone & Bb clarinet, joins with New York pianist Matthew Shipp to record eight discerning and warmly paced improvised dialogs, each titled through a wide range of topics, including "about music"; "about equality"; "about Conspiracies"; "about peace".



Tim Berne / Michael Formanek: Parlour Games (Relative Pitch)

With an extensive discography of collaboration together in a wealth of groupings, New York bassist Formanek and alto saxophonist Tim Berne are heard in this 1991 live duo performance at The Parlour in Providence, Rhode Island, a powerfully confident concert of informed dialogs captured seven years before their only other duo album from 1998, Ornery People.



Sophie Agnel / Michael Zerang: Draw Bridge (Relative Pitch)

French classically trained pianist Sophie Agnel and percussionist Michael Zerang explore unconventional techniques in nine captivating improvisations recorded at Chicago's Experimental Sound Studio, blending Agnel's prepared and extended piano methods with Zerang's nuanced percussion to create a strikingly compatible and dynamic sonic dialogue.



Michel Doneda / Frederic Blondy: Points Of Convergences [2 CDs] (Relative Pitch)

Recorded in the extraordinary resonance of Paris's Saint-Merry Church, this double album captures soprano and sopranino saxophonist Michel Doneda in duo with pianist Frédéric Blondy, their improvisations unfolding in deep dialogue with the architecture itself, as tones and textures expand into the vast acoustics, creating immersive, luminous soundscapes of remarkable depth and presence.



HobbyHouse (Mia Dyberg / Axel Filip): HobbyHouse [CD + DOWNLOAD] (Relative Pitch)

This self-titled debut from the Berlin-based duo of Danish alto saxophonist Mia Dyberg and Argentine drummer Axel Filip explores freely improvised jazz through spontaneous structures and shifting sonic playgrounds, with a sharp focus on timbral nuance, textural interplay, and an upbeat creative immediacy that unfolds into vivid, evolving sound narratives rooted in exploratory expression.



Kelsey Mines / Erin Rogers: Scratching At The Surface [CD + DOWNLOAD] (Relative Pitch)

This duo release pairs bassist Kelsey Mines and saxophonist Erin Rogers in a deeply interactive exploration of free improvisation, where resonant low-end textures and expressive reeds weave concise, atmospheric vignettes shaped by bold contrasts, emotional clarity, and an immersive sense of motion that balances raw energy with carefully sculpted space.



Camila Nebbia (feat/ Marilyn Crispell / Lesley Mok): A Reflection Distorts Over Water [CD + DOWNLOAD] (Relative Pitch)

Recorded at Nevessa Studio in New York, Camila Nebbia joins Marilyn Crispell and Lesley Mok in a fiercely intuitive trio session blending open scores and full improvisation, where elastic group interplay, textural sensitivity, and eruptive momentum allow the music to breathe as a single organism while leaving space for sharply defined individual voices to emerge.



Adia: Vanheerentals Taking Place [CD + DOWNLOAD] (Relative Pitch)

Asked to rethink the solo sax format, Adia Vanheerentals transforms this release into a series of site-responsive improvisations, engaging the soprano sax in active dialogue with surrounding environments — echoing spaces, incidental sounds, and ambient noise — using extended techniques, breath & texture to shape concise statements where location is a partner in an open improvisational framework.



Kelsey Mines / Vinny Golia: Collusion and Collaboration [CD + DOWNLOAD] (Relative Pitch)

Distilling their work from the Chamber Quintet, this intimate duo recording pairs Vinny Golia's varied woodwinds with Kelsey Mines' resonant bass and subtle vocalizations, unfolding a carefully balanced exchange of gentle and sharp gestures shaped by classical-leaning abstractions, where attentive interplay allows fluid musical forms to emerge with clarity inside open improvisational space.



Zeena: Parkins Lament For The Maker [CD + DOWNLOAD] (Relative Pitch)

Marking the closing of Mills College and the end of Zeena Parkins' long association with its experimental community, this solo release presents three commissioned works alongside the ongoing acoustic piece berlin bedroom, unfolding a deeply reflective exploration of harp and electronics that honors artistic lineage, collective devotion, and the Bay Area's enduring spirit of experimental music-making.



Peter Evans / Mike Pride : A Window, Basically [CD + DOWNLOAD] (Relative Pitch)

Concentrating their work from the Pulverize the Sound trio, trumpeter Peter Evans and drummer Mike Pride reveal a ferocity that pushes free improvisation to its extremes, balancing explosive virtuosity with kaleidoscopic percussive interaction through dense sound clusters, fractured grooves, unexpected silences, and wild exploration, in seven high-risk dialogs tempered by moments of striking clarity.



Eliane: Radigue Asymptote Versatile (1963-64) (Amgen Records)

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.



Various Artists: Evil Clown Shorties Vol 6 (2025) (Evil Clown)

A lively sampler of Evil Clown's expansive improvisational universe, this collection assembles fourteen concise, high-energy performances drawn from livestream sessions across multiple ensembles, where shifting instrumental combinations, dense textures, and spontaneous interaction distil the label's long-form aesthetic into sharply focused bursts of collective invention.



Axioms: Fundamental Statements (Evil Clown)

A tightly focused and interactive trio session pairing spoken word with expansive instrumental color,bringing Jane's incisive poetry into close dialogue with Albey onBass's grounded sonorities and David Peck's wide-ranging reeds, electronics, and resonant objects, revealing an articulated improvisational language where text, texture, and collective intuition lock together.



Simulacrum: Replicants (Evil Clown)

A densely layered electro-acoustic ensemble improvisation in which expanded electronics, tightly integrated horns, and richly colored percussion generate a constantly evolving sonic field, balancing muscular collective energy with intricate textural detail as shifting instrumental roles and deep ensemble cohesion drive a forward-moving exploration of sound and form.



New Monuments (Dietrich / Spencer / Hall): New Earth (Pleasure of the Text Records)

Burning free improvisation from the New Monument trio of saxophonist Don Dietrich (Borbetomagus), violinist/vocalist C. Spencer Yeh, and drummer Ben Hall ( Graveyards), their 3rd formal album after releases on Bocian and Important Records, as the trio tangle strings, reeds and drums in a turbulent set of improvisations that scorch the earth to make something new.



Paul: Lytton ?! (Pleasure of the Text Records)

The first solo electronics and percussion album by radical and legendary British improvisor Paul Lytton since 1979, recorded in the studio in Germany, and using a wealth of homemade instruments, laptop, percussive devices, objects, and electro-mechanical devices.



Nate: Wooley The Complete Syllables Music [4 CD Box Set] (Pleasure of the Text Records)

Composer, improviser, and trumpet player Nate Wooley continues to cement his place as an American iconoclast by releasing the complete recordings of his revolutionary solo [Syllables] compositions as a deluxe 4 CD set consisting of two reissues of out-of-print early works: 8 [Syllables] (2013) and 9 [Syllables] (2014) as well as the premiere recording of his 150 minute epic For Kenneth Gaburo.



Uneven Eleven (Segers / Hawyard / Kawabata): Live In Brighton (Discus)

A ferocious meeting of three seasoned innovators, this live set from Charles Hayward (drums, vocals), Guy Segers (bass), and Kawabata Makoto (guitar) channels decades of rock, punk, psychedelia, and free improvisation into an explosive power trio performance, where raw energy, shifting polyrhythms, and searing intensity collide in a fiercely immediate and unfiltered sonic assault captured on stage in Brighton in 2013.



Larry Stabbins / Mark Sanders: Cup & Ring (Discus)

Bringing together two major figures of UK improvisation, saxophonist Larry Stabbins - long associated with innovators like Mike Westbrook, Keith Tippett, and Robert Wyatt - and percussionist Mark Sanders (Paul Dunmall, John Butcher, Veryan Weston, &c) in 2024 Bristol sessions captured with stunning clarity, their 1st-take performances unfolding as thoughtful, exploratory dialogs of texture, rhythm, and timbre.



Paul: Dunmall Away With Troubles And Anxieties! (Discus)

Delivering his sixth Discus Music release in two years, saxophonist Paul Dunmall leads a dynamic nonet drawn largely from Birmingham's thriving scene, joined by guests Martin Archer, Corey Mwamba, and John Ball, their first-take performances balancing sharply honed compositions with spontaneous invention in a powerful suite that shifts between bluesy themes, lyrical reflection, and collective fire.



Tony: Oxley February Papers (Discus)

Reissuing percussionist and electronic innovator Tony Oxley's 1977 Incus album, collecting works from Oxley's evolving approaches, including a quartet with bassist Barry Guy and violinists David Bourne & Philipp Wachsmann; a trio with Barry Guy and Ian Brighton on electric guitar; and solo pieces including a piece for Evan Parker emulating his sound through electronics.



Tony: Oxley Unreleased (1974 to 2016) (Discus)

The second in Discus Music's "Unreleased" series selected from percussionist and electronics legend Tony Oxley personal collection, here in three configurations: a quintet with Barry Guy, Dave Holdsworth, Howard Riley and Paul Rutherford; a quintet with Howard Riley, Larry Stabbins, Phillip Wachsmann and Hugh Metcalfe; and a duo with Stefan Hoekler.



Keith Tippett / Julie Tippett: Couple In Spirit: Sound on Sound (Discus)

Planning a duo album since 2019, this was to be pianist Keith Tippett & vocalist Julie Tippett first new studio album in 30 years, but tragically pandemic and Keith Tippett's passing prevented that, Julie instead turning to unreleased live solo piano recordings from 1979 through 1996 to which she added new vocal performances in the studio, creating eight impressive virtual duos.



Paul Dunmalll (Dunmall / Kinch / Cole / Mwamba / Kane / Drake): Bright Light A Joyous Celebration (Discus)

Recalling his Sun Quartet album, UK saxophonist Paul Dunmall's new sextet pivots off the jubilant rhythm section of drummer Hamid Drake, double bassist Dave Kane and vibraphonist Corey Mwamba, with three saxophonists--Dunmall on tenor & c-soprano saxophones, Xhosa Cole on tenor and Soweto Kinch on alto & tenor saxophones--in a truly joyful bright celebration of free flowing jazz.



Keith: Tippett The Unlonely Raindancer (Discus)

Mujician pianist Keith Tippetts embarked on his first solo tour in 1979, capturing these concert recordings that were originally released in 1980 on vinyl on the Universe Label; long out of print, Discus has revived these extraordinary recordings, showing the incredible technical abilities, endurance, and quick-witted creative powers of this legendary improviser.



The Locals (Thomas, Ward / Thomas / Lash / Hasson-Davis): The Locals Play The Music Of Anthony Braxton (Discus)

An upbeat and energetic performance at the Konfrontation Festival, Ulrichsberg in 2006, featuring six early compositions by Anthony Braxton, arranged by pianist Pat Thomas and performed by the quintet of superb improvisers and interpreters Alex Ward on clarinet, Evan Thomas on electric guitar, Dominic Lash on electric bass, and Darren Hasson-Davis on drums.



Tom Jackson / Daniel Thompson: Dark Kitchen (Confront)

An intimate, immersive duo recording in which Tom Jackson's finely articulated clarinet and Daniel Thompson's responsive, highly attuned guitar create a richly expressive terrain of spontaneous sound, channeling the spirit of free improvisation's pioneers in a deeply communicative exchange of timbre, space, and dynamic nuance.



Don Malfon / Vasco Trilla: Towers of Silence (Confront)

A deeply immersive duo performance from saxophonist Don Malfon and percussionist Vasco Trilla, this exploratory session unfolds as a richly textured dialogue of breath, resonance, and rhythm, where haunting tones, shifting densities, and subtle dynamics blur the lines between experimental jazz, ambient improvisation, and abstract sound sculpture, revealing a finely balanced interplay of intensity and restraint.



Cremaster & Sophie Agnel (Fages / Monteiro / Agnel): Isotopic (Confront)

The results of years of collaboration between the Cremaster electroacoustic improvising duo of Ferran Fages and Alfredo Costa Monteiro with pianist Sophie Agnel, in a remarkable album of fragile yet rich tones and tonal punctuations, a feast of timbral possibilities.



Phil Maguire / James L. Malone: Working Title (Confront)

Phil Maguire (Verz label) exchanges abstract electronics from a variety of lo-fi devices with glitch and aberrant guitarist James L. Malone, a London improviser who has worked with Eddie Prevost, Phil Durrant, Steve Beresford and Adam Bohman, as the two trade strange sonic disruptions, avoiding pandemonium, instead using noise in pointed discourse.



Nos Phillipe: Shh ... Camille (Confront)

Jonathan Webb and Robert Hopps combine processed field recordings with guitar, turntables, electronics, and found sounds in long form drone-oriented improvisations.



Joachim: Nordwall Concert (Confront)

Skull Defekts member and a part of Ocean Of Silver And Blood, Joachim Nordwal is captured in a 2008 concert in Oslo for this 17 minute lo-fi set of textured sound work, a grainy drone of howling sound.



Ist (Davies / Fell / Wastell): Consequences (of Time and Place) (Confront)

ist (The Improvising String Trio) of Rhodri Davies (harp), Simon H. Fell (bass) and Mark Wastell (violincello) performing at The Natural Music Club in London, 1997, using unorthodox techniques in indeterminate systems and free improvisation for fascinating results.



Horns (feat. Bertrand Denzler): Horns 1.2 (Confront)

Tenor saxophonist Bertrand Denzler's pseudo-drone piece for the ensemble of Pierre-Antoine Badaroux (alto sax), Fidel Fourneyron (trombone) and Luis Laurain (trumpet) where the players keep the sound alive while moving in a small, pre-established musical perimeter.



Taumatrop (Fages / Marquez): For John Ayrton Paris (Confront)

The duo of Ferran Fages on electronic devices and Eduard Maquez on percussion in a beautiful long-form drone, a drifting and haunting work that hangs off of slowly building crescendos which release to beautifully suspended sonic environments.



Matilda Rolfsson / Richard Sanderson / Mark Wastell: Live at l'Klectic (Confront)

The subtly complex trio of Richard Sanderson on amplified melodeon, dictaphones & small percussion, Mark Wastell on tam-tam & shruti box, and Matilda Rolfsson on percussion performing an extended improvisation live at The Horse Improv Club, l'Klectic, London.



Jason: Kahn For Voice (Confront)

Two concert improvisations for unamplified voice recorded in Canberra, Australia at the 2015 SoundOut Festival and in Tokyo, Japan at the Kid Ailack Art Hall in 2014, using extended vocal techniques and leveraging the room acoustics and social space between Kahn and the audience.



Bourne / Davis / Kane: Broken Light (Confront)

A live recording at Belfast's Sonic Arts Research Centre during the Translating Improvisation: Beyond Disciplines Beyond Borders colloquium, from the intrepid improvising trio of Matthew Bourne (piano), Steve Davis (drums) and Dave Kane (double bass).



Steve Noble / Daniel Thompson: Sunday Afternoon (Live At The Hundred Years Gallery) (Confront)

A recording of two London based improvisers of different generations communing in the resonant surroundings of the 100 Years Gallery, with drummer Noble creating glittering bell and gong like tones over which guitar Thompson hangs fractured harmonics and strange bending chords.



Ilia Belorukov / Alex Riva: Wrestling For Futility [CASSETTE w/DOWNLOAD] (Notice Recordings)

A bristling electro-acoustic duo encounter in which Ilia Belorukov's restless modular synthesis collides and intertwines with Alex Riva's recorder work and effects, generating playful yet volatile improvisations that shift between lo-fi textures, glassy winds, and surging electronic fragments, as tension, friction, and timbral curiosity drive the music through constantly mutating sonic terrain.



John: Zorn The Song of Songs [CD + CD BOOK] (Tzadik)

A rich all-vocal rendering of the Bible's sensual Song of Solomon, featuring five distinguished female voices with narration by Barbara Hannigan and Mathieu Amalric, and guided by Jeremy Fogel's new translation, this lush limited-edition CD book highlights one of Zorn's most evocative and beautifully realized creations in a single extended work.



John Zorn (Marsella / Smith / Roeder): Nocturnes (Tzadik)

Exploring the tradition of night music with subtle, dreamlike elegance, Zorn's latest piano-trio work — the fourth in his series with Brian Marsella, Jorge Roeder, and Ches Smith after Suite for Piano, Ballades, and Impromptus — unfolds as a lyrical and expressive creation performed with seemingly telepathic, virtuosic, and finely nuanced interplay.



Amir ElSaffar / New Quartet : Live at Pierre Boulez Saal [VINYL] (Maqam Records)

Blending Arabic maqam with jazz-inflected improvisation, ElSaffar's new quartet — joined by Tania Giannouli, Ole Mathisen, and Tomas Fujiwara — delivers an intense and expressive live performance whose spontaneous, newly composed material unfolds with lyrical depth, microtonal color, and dynamic interplay, captured at Berlin's Pierre Boulez Saal with additional alternate takes.



Amir ElSaffar / New Quartet: Live at Pierre Boulez Saal (Maqam Records)

Blending Arabic maqam with jazz-inflected improvisation, ElSaffar's new quartet — joined by Tania Giannouli, Ole Mathisen, and Tomas Fujiwara — delivers an intense and expressive live performance whose spontaneous, newly composed material unfolds with lyrical depth, microtonal color, and dynamic interplay, captured at Berlin's Pierre Boulez Saal with additional alternate takes.



Jakob: Ullmann Solo I / Solo IV (Another Timbre)

Jakob Ullmann's Solo I and Solo IV are realised together as two ultra-quiet, long-form works in which graphic notation, fixed pitch sequences, and subtle performance choices guide quarter-tone flute and double bass through slowly shifting regions of colour and resonance, blending live sound with tailored playback to create a fragile, immersive acoustic environment.



Jurg Frey with ensemble]h[iatus: Je Laisse A La Nuit Son Poids D'ombre (Another Timbre)

A brooding work for ten musicians, Jürg Frey's crepuscular score intertwines Japanese haiku and poems by Anne Perrier through hushed voices, fragile instrumental colors, and suspended textures, inviting ensemble]h[iatus, led by Le Quan Ninh and Martine Altenburger, into a slowly unfolding landscape where uncertainty, breath, and quiet tension shape a haunting world on the edge of darkness.



Marja: Ahti Visiting Cloud (Two Translations) (Another Timbre)

Acoustic ensemble realizations of two electroacoustic works by Marja Ahti, in which members of the Italian ensemble Blutwurst translate her drifting textures, elemental timbres, and spatial sensibilities into slow, finely detailed instrumental environments, expanding the original works into patient, resonant soundworlds shaped by pitch nuance, breath, and sustained collective focus.



Santiago Fischer Diez : Songs (Another Timbre)

Blending acoustic trio writing, subtle electronics, and everyday vocal gestures, Argentine composer Santiago Diez Fischer's decade-spanning set of five works for Gyre Ensemble shapes a raw, sculptural, and "punk-poetic" sound world where baritone sax, accordion, and percussion merge with the composer's vocal and electronic interventions to reveal music poised deliberately between rough material and refined form.



Eldritch Priest : Dead-Wall Reveries (Another Timbre)

Three chamber works from Canadian composer Eldritch Priest trace his distinctive blend of lyric drifting and restless detail, from a fragile, noise-tinged string quartet to a reflective solo piano piece and a shifting, daydream-like ensemble work, each drawing on his interest in improvisation, ambiguity, and melodies that wander with deliberate aimlessness.



Morton Feldman (Philip Thomas): Piano [5 CD BOX SET] (Another Timbre)

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.



Eventless Plot (Vasilis Liolios / Yiannis Tsirikoglou / Arias Gatas): Parallel Words (Another Timbre)

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.



Catherine: Lamb Parallaxis Forma (Another Timbre)

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.





The Squid's Ear Magazine

The Squid's Ear Magazine

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