The Squid's Ear Magazine
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  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.



Morton Feldman / GBSR Duo w/ Taylor MacLennan: Trios [6 CD BOX SET] (Another Timbre)

Spanning Morton Feldman's three expansive trios for flute, piano, and percussion, these performances by the GBSR Duo with Taylor MacLennan immerse the listener in an extended temporal field where quiet intensity, precise timbral balance, and fragile rhythmic relationships unfold with hypnotic patience, transforming duration itself into an expressive element of listening, presence, and sustained attention.



John Cage / Apartment House: Number Pieces [4-CD BOX SET] (Another Timbre)

A 4-disc box-set with a 44-page booklet of extensive notes, presenting John Cage's Number Pieces which he wrote in the last five years of his life, adapted for mid-size ensembles and performed by the London-based ensemble Apartment House, compositions 'Five' to 'Fourteen' along with alternative versions of three of the pieces; significant and essential.



Butcher / Charles / Dorner - The Contest of Pleasures: Tempestuous (Another Timbre)

Live recordings of this incredible improvising trio as influenced by a 'tempestuous' storm buffeting & rattling the windows of the church in which the performance took place.



Agnel / Gauguet / Neumann: Spiral Inputs (Another Timbre)

Pianist Agnel, saxophonist Gauguet, and electronic/piano frame artist Neumann in 4 beautifully crafted pieces recorded using a spatialised sound system developed by Benjamin Maumus.



Klaus Lang / Golden Fur : Beissel (Another Timbre)

A collaboration between Austrian composer/organist Klaus Lang and the Golden Fur ensemble of Samuel Dunscombe on clarinet, Judith Hamann on cello & James Rushford on viola & harmonium, reworking a hymn from 18th century composer Johann Conrad Beissel, using an algorithmic system to reinterpret the piece through orchestration, dynamic movement, harmonic density & harmonicity.



Eva-Maria: Houben Together On The Way (Another Timbre)

A brooding work for pipe organ, piano and percussion, created by composer Eva-Maria Houben and the GBSR Duo of Siwan Rhys & George Barton, commissioned by the 2021 Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival and recorded in concert in the resonance of of Huddersfield's St. Paul's Hall using the organ built by Wood's of Huddersfield.



Evan: Johnson L' Art De Toucher (Another Timbre)

Five works from US composer often based in Amsterdam, Evan Johnson, in solo, duo and trio settings including a triptych titled "L'art de toucher" in three configurations, demonstrating his unique approach to writing using disparate musical influences from modern to Baroque, mated to anarchic experimentalism and a Wandelweiser sensibility; fascinating!



Jurg: Frey Outermost Melodie [2 CDs] (Another Timbre)

Contemporary percussionist Ian Antonio (Wet Ink, Talujon Percussion Ensemble, Zs, Yarn/Wire) performs seven works for percussion by composer Jürg Frey written between 1994 and 2022, joined by members of the Talujon for one piece, though mostly a solo and very personal album for the percussionist, who has been influenced by Frey's approach to stillness and harmony.



Steve Swell Quintet (Swell / Moondoc / Burrell / W. Parker / Cleaver): Soul Travelers [VINYL + DOWNLOAD] (RogueArt)

A great set of Downtown NY players led by trombonist Steve Swell, with Jemeel Moondoc on alto sax, Dave Burrell on piano, William Parker on double bass and Gerald Cleaver on drums, a heartfelt and masterfully soulful album of excellent modern jazz in a limited LP.



Derek Bailey / Han Bennink / Evan Parker: Topographie Parisienne (Dunois, April 2nd, 3d & 4th, 1981) [4 CDs] (Fou Records)

The second edition of this essential box set corrects the recording date and resequences the performances, as the trio of guitarist Derek Bailey, saxophonist Evan Parker, and drummer/multi-instrumentalist Han Bennink are heard in an amazing evening of performance at 28 rue Dunois, in Paris, France, in duo and trio configurations, exploring material similar to Parker's "Topography of the Lungs".



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.



Gratkowski / Uchihashi / Heather / Sundland: Frank Gratkowski's Entrainment (Klanggalerie)

A stunningly powerful quartet of electric jazz captured live at the 2022 Freejazz Festival in Saarbrucken, Germany between German alto saxophonist Frank Gratkowski (Skein), Japanese guitarist Kazuhisa Uchihashi (Ground Zero, Altered States), electric bassist Dan Peter Sundland and drummer Steve Heather, performing four assertive, charged and cathartic collective improvisations.



Columbia Icefield (Wooley / Alcorn / Mendoza / Sawyer): A Silence Opens (Out Of Your Head Records)

A deeply elegiac final statement from Nate Wooley's Columbia Icefield, with Susan Alcorn's pedal steel, Ava Mendoza's guitar and voice, and Ryan Sawyer's drums joining Wooley's trumpet, amplifier, voice, whistling and footwork in music shaped by grief, memory and gratitude, responding to the deaths of Ron Miles and Alcorn through expansive, emotionally weighted improvisation.



Tomas: Fujiwara Dream Up (Out Of Your Head Records)

Recorded at Roulette Intermedium in Brooklyn, drummer and composer Tomas Fujiwara introduces his Percussion Quartet with Patricia Brennan on vibraphone, Tim Keiper on African strings and percussion, and Kaoru Watanabe on Japanese drums and flute, blending global traditions into vivid, imaginative works that traverse groove, texture, and color with striking originality and depth.



Michael Formanek and Peter : Dyads (Out Of Your Head Records)

Since 2017 the father/son duo of double bassist Michael Formanek and woodwind player Peter Formanek have performed, recorded and toured together, here recording in the studio in 2019 with the wind player on tenor saxophone and clarinet, the familial history and life of collaboration showing in the warmth and easy discourse between the two, heard in 13 succinct improvisations.



Adam O'Farrill (O'Farrill / Rogers / Stinson / Holzman): Elephant (Out Of Your Head Records)

Leading his new quartet Elephant, trumpeter Adam O'Farrill presents a forward-looking jazz session of original compositions that shift fluidly between rhythmic drive and abstraction, where contrasting textures, layered structures, and expressive interplay animate a dynamic ensemble sound shaped by subtle electronic elements and a contemporary, cross-genre sensibility.



Tomas: Fujiwara Pith [VINYL] (Out Of Your Head Records)

Drawing on the same trio heard on his RogueArt release, 7 Poets Trio, Boston-born Brooklyn-based composer and drummer Fujiwara presents a set of six sophisticated works along with one collective improvisation, utilizing the unique orchestration of vibraphonist Patricia Brennan and cellist Tomeka Reid to create a diverse set of highly rewarding recordings.



Alan: Shorter Mephistopheles To Orgasm - Revisited (ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)

An exemplary set of explorative hard bop compositions from composer/trumpeter Alan Shorter, first Mephistopheles from Wayne Shorter's The All Seeing Eye in an octet with legends Wayne Shorter, James Spaulding, Freddie Hubbard, Grachan Moncur III, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter & Joe Chambers; and then Alan Shorter's own Orgasm with Gato Barbieri, Charlie Haden, Reggie Johnson, Muhammad Ali & Rashied Ali.



Pierre Favre Trio (Favre / Schweizer / Mraz): Bird Food (Songs)

Captured in 1968 in Zurich and long shelved before its recent discovery, this early trio session brings Pierre Favre, Irene Schweizer, and George Mraz together in a concise, fiery set of attentive free jazz, balancing Ornette Coleman's title piece with Schweizer's compositions, where dynamic interplay and acute listening reveal a nascent yet fully engaged collective voice.



Jacobo: Vega-Albela Un-Belonging (577 Records)

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.



John Butcher : Away, I Was [CD + DOWNLOAD] (Relative Pitch)

UK saxophonist John Butcher presents a diverse collection of solo performances across tenor and soprano saxophone, ranging from expansive live improvisations to intimate studio explorations, feedback-driven textures, and multitracked works, with several pieces referencing artists including Derek Bailey, Keiji Haino, Eliane Radigue, Lester Young, and Joe McPhee.



Lazro / Leandre / Lovens: For Baritone Sax, Double Bass and Drumset (Relative Pitch)

Uniting three masterful improvisers — baritone saxophonist Daunik Lazro, bassist Joëlle Léandre, and drummer Paul Lovens — this Paris concert presents deeply attentive free improv where resonant timbral exploration, fractured lyricism, and highly responsive interplay unfold through spontaneous collective forms of sparse abstraction, visceral expression, and nuanced rhythmic detail.



Evan Parker & Sylvie Courvoisier: Either Or And (Relative Pitch)

A powerful duo recorded in the studio after their 2013 performance at The Stone in NYC from NY pianist Sylvie Courvoisier and UK saxophonist Evan Parker, with extraordinary playing over eight pieces presenting an inspired range of technical and impressionistic styles.



Tyshawn: Sorey Monochromatic Light (Afterlife) (DaCamera Editions)

Composed and conducted by Tyshawn Sorey, this expansive work presents a luminous, long-form meditation inspired by Morton Feldman's Rothko Chapel, blending voice, strings, keyboards and percussion into a deeply contemplative soundscape of spiritual fragments, sustained tonal color and quiet emotional intensity, realized by soloists Davóne Tines, Kim Kashkashian, Sarah Rothenberg, Steven Schick and the Houston Chamber Choir.



Arcana: Bill Laswell / Tony Williams: Arc of the Testimony (Mod Reloaded)

Extended reissue of the 1997 album bringing jazz and rock artists from 5 decades of ground-breaking work into a mysteriously lyrical band presenting 9 powerful compositions of jazz/rock fusion, led by drummer Tony Williams and bassist Bill Laswell with the stellar personnel of Pharoah Sanders, Buckethead, Nicky Skopelitis, Graham Haynes, Peter Apfelbaum, & Byard Lancaster.



John Zorn / The Gnostic Trio (w/ Frisell / Wollesen / Emanuel): Sing Me Now Asleep (Tzadik)

Reuniting Bill Frisell, Kenny Wollesen, and Carol Emanuel as The Gnostic Trio, John Zorn presents a refined set of compositions that blend chamber minimalism, early music influences, and ambient textures, where delicate interplay, spacious forms, and a touch of electronics from Ikue Mori yield a serene, introspective, and subtly cinematic exploration of tone and atmosphere.



Manuel Valera New Cuban Express Big Band: Distancia (Greenleaf Music)

Composer, pianist and band leader Manuel Valera presents his second album with New York-based New Cuban Express Big Band, a large ensemble performing Valera's compositions that fuse the music of Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Brazil to forge innovative sounds and textures, leaving room for outstanding solos from vocalists and instrumentalists.



Ran: Blake Voices (Tzadik)

Ran Blake, in his 90s and still one of American music's most singular pianists, performs a solo program of jazz, folk, gospel, film noir and even holiday music, bringing his darkly lyrical, deconstructive approach to melodies reshaped through memory, silence and shadow, in a profound late-career statement of mystery, tenderness and deep patience.



Zeena: Parkins Modesty Of The Magic Thing (Tzadik)

Harpist and composer Zeena Parkins, a defining voice in the Downtown NY experimental music scene for four decades, presents an extended work inspired by fearless Beat-era visual artist Jay DeFeo, performed with percussionist William Winant on an array of resonant bells and gongs, their collaboration weaving bold textures and hypnotic patterns into a richly expressive and deeply imaginative sound world.



Schlippenbach - Dorner - Mahall - Roder - Jennessen: Monk's Casino - The Complete works of Thelonius Monk [3 CD BOX SET] (Intakt)

European free jazz legend, pianist Alexander Von Schlippenbach, takes on the complete Monk oeuvre in a quartet with Axel Dorner (trumpet), Rudi Mahall (bass clarinet), Jan Roder (bass) and Uli Jennessen (drums)



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.



Akio: Suzuki NA-GI 1997 (Edition Rz)

Sound and installation pioneer Akio Suzuki in a work based on field recordings from the bay and caves of Takano, Tango-cho in the northern-most coast of Kyoto, Japan.



Giacinto: Scelsi Giacinto Scelsi (Edition Rz)

Six works by composer Giacinto Scelsi performed by groups including the Ensemble 2E2M, collected and remastered from the original recordings.



Morton: Feldman Piano Three Hands, Intermission 5, Vertical Thoughts 2, Extensions 3, Four Instruments, Intermission 5, Piano Piece 1956 A + B, Intersection 3, Instruments 1 (Edition Rz)

A collection of Feldman compositions primarily for piano as recorded by his earliest interpreters: Cornelius Cardew, John Tilbury, David Tutor, Cantilene Chamber Players, and Feldman himself.



Josef Riedl Anton : Klangregionen 1951-2007 (Edition Rz)

Two CD set of electronic and concrete compositions from German composer Riedl, with recordings from Siemens-Studio for elektronische Musik and Studio for konkrete Musik.



Harley: Gaber Indra's Net (Edition Rz)

A hybrid acoustic tape piece of solo violin on four track tape, and a work for four violins, composed in 1974 by Harley Gaber, delicate pieces that he considered complements to his large work "The Winds Rise in the North".



Luigi: Nono A Carlo Scarpa; A Pierre Dell'Azzurro Silenzio, Inquietum; Guai ai Gelidi Mostri [VINYL] (Edition Rz)

3 works by composer Luigi Nono: "A Carlo Scarpa" for orchestra; "A Pierre..." for bass flute, bass clarinet and live elektronics; and "Guai ai Gelidi Mostri" for ensemble, voices and live elektronics.



Emmett: Williams Poems 1950-2003 [VINYL] (Edition Rz)

Fluxus originator & member of the "Darmstadt Circle" of concrete poetry, Emmett Williams in a beatiful picture disc of poems written from 1950-2003 and recorded from 2000-2003.



Harley: Gaber The Winds Rise In The North (Edition Rz)

Composer Harley Gaber wrote this piece for strings as an emotional examination of the questions posed by Taoist philosopher Chuang Tzu, here performed by a quintet including violinist Malcolm Goldstein.



Clara Iannotta : A Failed Entertainment. Works 2009-2014 (Edition Rz)

Works from Italian composer Clare Iannotta recorded from 2012 - 2014, including a work for string quartet composed for the DAAD artist-in-Berlin program titled "A Failed Entertainment" commissioned by Quaturo Diotima; plus 6 works for contemporary ensembles.



Luigi: Nono Seguente [2 CDs] (Edition Rz)

Reissuing composer Luigi Nono's 1990 Edition Rz LP with the addition of 3 works, presenting 6 remarkable symphonic works combining live electronics and voice, intended to expand the technical possibilities of sound and the perceptive faculties of the listener.



Jakob: Ullmann Voice, Books and Fire 3 (Edition Rz)

A work resulting from Ullmann's reflections about the relationships between music and language: language as sound and language as text, and the numerous relationships between texts of different cultural and religious traditions.



Ryan: Scott 21st-Century Canadian Snare Drum [2 CDs] (Collection QB)

Toronto percussionist Ryan Scott premieres fourteen commissioned works by Canadian composers, revealing the snare drum's remarkable range through traditional and extended techniques, electronics, objects, cymbal, bass drum, metal plates, and voice, while presenting a vivid survey of contemporary Canadian percussion writing and expanding the instrument's solo repertoire.



Quatuor Bozzini, Orchestre de l'Agora, Plaisirs du clavecin: Alexandre David: Photogrammes (Collection QB)

Composer Alexandre David brings together Quatuor Bozzini, Plaisirs du clavecin, Orchestre de l'Agora, conductor Nicolas Ellis, and Innu poet and vocalist Natasha Kanape Fontaine in 3 works that balance concentrated string writing, voice & text, and vivid orchestral color, reflecting David's fascination with sonority, collaborative creation, and the transformation of personal musical memories.



Quatuor Bozzini: Jurg Frey: String Quartets (Collection QB)

Montreal-based Quatuor Bozzini records Jurg Frey's Streichquartett (1988) at Radiostudio Zurich, shaping spare scales, measured intervals, and quietly sustained tones into music of unusual clarity and concentration, where seemingly anonymous material reveals its own distinct character through space, duration, resonance, and the tactile presence of sound.



Quatuor Bozzini: Owen Underhill: Songs and Quartets (Collection QB)

Quatuor Bozzini performs works by Canadian composer Owen Underhill, joined by countertenor Daniel Cabena and sackbut player Jeremy Berkman in settings of 17th-century poetry, alongside two string quartets shaped by encounters with John Cage, quoted musical fragments, natural landscapes, specific places, and personal memory, balancing lucid formal design with vocal expression and finely detailed instrumental color.



Fred Frith Guitar Quartet: Ayaya Moses (Ambiances Magnetiques)

Fred Frith's leads a quartet of electric guitars (Rene Lussier, Nick Didkovsky, Mark Stewart) through 10 different journeys that explores the dynamic potential of this unique group composition.



Derome, Frith Tanguay, Boisen: All is bright, but it is not day (Ambiances Magnetiques)

Explosive, psychedelic music from the trio of Jean Derome, Fred Frith, and Pierre Tanguay recorded and mixed by Myles Boisen.



Fred Frith / Danielle Palardy Roger: Pas de deux nouveau (Ambiances Magnetiques)

Live recordings from this great pair of improvisors, selected from their performances at Festival des musiques de creation in Saguenay and at La Sala Rossa in Montreal.



Joelle, Leandre Quentin Sirjacq: Out of Nowhere (Ambiances Magnetiques)

An engaging encounter between bassist Leandre and pianist Sirjacq, delicate yet intense interaction from two sophisticated & listening players from different generations.



Mecha Fixes Clocks: Teoria dellelasticita di Girolamo Papariello (Ambiances Magnetiques)

Mecha Fixes Clocks' 3rd release with Michel F. Cote, Lori Freedman, Philippe Lauzier, Ellwood Epps, Josh Zubot, Martin Tetrault, Bernard Falaise, &c... a musique actuelle supergroup, and an amazing conceptual work.



Quatuor Bozzini: Steve Reich: Different Trains (Collection QB)

Quatuor Bozzini interprets Steve Reich's landmark three-part work for live quartet and prerecorded strings and voices, interweaving tightly pulsed patterns with documentary recollections of American rail travel and the Holocaust, contrasting Reich's childhood journeys between New York and Los Angeles with the radically different trains carrying European Jews during World War II.



Quatuor Bozzini: Alvin Lucier: Navigations (Collection QB)

Performing four of avant composer Alvin Lucier's works composed between 1991 and 2004, the Montreal-based Quatuor Bozzini (Clemens Merkel on violin, Alissa Cheung on violin, Stephanie Bozzini on viola, and Isabelle Bozzini on cello) focus on Lucier's works of sonic exploration, including the intensely harmonic interactions of the album's title work.



Quatuor Bozzini: Tom Johnson: Combinations (Collection QB)

The Montreal string quartet Quatuor Bozzini (Alissa Cheung-violin, Clemens Merkel-violin, Stephanie Bozzini-viola, Isabelle Bozzini-cello) continue their investigation of avant composers, focusing on American composer Tom Johnson through three works or minimalist precision: "Combinations for String Quartet"; "Tilework" and "Four-Note Chords in Four Voices".



Quatuor Bozzini: Eliane Radigue : Occam Delta XV (Collection QB)

Translating her concepts from the electronic realm into acoustic, composer Eliane Radigue used an oral compositional process with the Montreal string quartet Quatuor Bozzini, for whom this work is dedicated, allowing each performance a uniqueness through sustained tones, microbeats and emerging harmonies, creating a profoundly meditative and rich work.



Quatuor Bozzini: Jurg Frey: String Quartet No. 4 (Collection QB)

The third string quartet that Swiss composer Jürg Frey has written for the Montreal string quartet Quatuor Bozzini of Alissa Cheung on violin, Clemens Merkel on violin, Stephanie Bozzini on viola and Isabelle Bozzini on cello, a beautiful work in five movements of illusory motion, slowly evolving through furtive and seemingly feigned momentum.



Samuel Blaser Quartet: Rosina (Blaser Music)

Drawing on Italian folk melodies, family memory, and the legacy of Blaser's maternal grandmother, Resistance fighter Rosina Pierina Scarpioni, trombonist Samuel Blaser joins Russ Lossing on piano, Masa Kamaguchi on bass, and Billy Mintz on drums in a deeply personal quartet session of open spaces, raucous interplay, lyrical intimacy, and contemporary improvisation shaped by heritage, song, and identity.



Samuel Blaser Quartet: Rosina [CASSETTE + DOWNLOAD] (Blaser Music)

Drawing on Italian folk melodies, family memory, and the legacy of Blaser's maternal grandmother, Resistance fighter Rosina Pierina Scarpioni, trombonist Samuel Blaser joins Russ Lossing on piano, Masa Kamaguchi on bass, and Billy Mintz on drums in a deeply personal quartet session of open spaces, raucous interplay, lyrical intimacy, and contemporary improvisation shaped by heritage, song, and identity.



TRAC (Teddy Ryles / Alexander Cooper): Heavy Nano Ream Aria [2 CDs] (Bu Lang Tribute Cake)

Extending their TRAC debut Cylinder Plus, Teddy Ryles and Alexander Cooper shape a 90-minute two-CD computer-music composition developed with custom source-filter modeling and cepstral-based transfer methods, transforming digital artifacts, modeled resonance, spectral detail, and unstable electronic textures into a long-form electro-acoustic study of timbre, residue, structure, and abstraction.



Tony Orzano / Bryan Rohmer / Jeremy Wexler: Blown Fuse (Sonic Index Works)

Returning after their 577 Records debut, Long Island improvisers Tony Orzano on alto saxophone and clarinet, Bryan Rohmer on guitar, and Jeremy Wexler on drums deliver ten volatile, unedited performances, rapidly shifting between abrasive free jazz, fractured punk momentum, distorted noise, skewed grooves, and spacious textural exchanges on the inaugural release from Orzano and Rohmer's Sonic Index Works imprint.



Simulacrum: Natural Language Processing (Evil Clown)

Simulacrum's expanded lineup brings David Peck, Michael Caglianone, John Fugarino, Cyrus Shauoul, Robin Amos, Jonathan LaMaster, and Michael Knoblach together for a dense electroacoustic improvisation, layering reeds, brass, violin, bass, synthesizers, spoken-word interludes, signal processing, and unusual percussion into a continuously shifting field of tightly coordinated textures and sonorities.



Expanse Percussion Edition: Clash Of The Clompers (Evil Clown)

Expanse Percussion Edition assembles 10 improvisers for a long-form work balancing reeds, brass, fretless bass, electronics, drum sets, membrane percussion, and an immense array of auxiliary instruments, using rapid doubling and constant instrumental changes to create organic transformations through shifting densities, layered rhythms, broad contrasts, and continuously evolving electroacoustic sonorities.



Neurodivergent Orchestra (aka The Wacky Banter Orchestra): On The Evilness Of Clowns (Evil Clown)

The Neurodivergent Orchestra combines reeds, brass, guitar, bass, drums, electronics, toys, clown horns, and real-time processing with fully improvised "wacky banter," framing a mock academic presentation on evil clowns that moves through history, popular culture, and surreal invention while balancing theatrical humor, spontaneous storytelling, and the broad-palette electroacoustic improvisation of the Evil Clown aesthetic.



Charles Downs Quartet (w / Paz / Saft / Morris): Inner (ESP Disk)

A long-overdue first sole-leader album from drummer Charles Downs, formerly Rashid Bakr, bringing his deep history with Cecil Taylor, Jemeel Moondoc, Other Dimensions in Music, and the New York avant-garde into a collective quartet with Hery Paz on saxophone, Jamie Saft on piano, and Joe Morris on bass for five improvisations of fire, lyricism, angular reflection, and seasoned rapport.



Michael Marcus Quartet (Marcus / Williams / Rodriguez / Mednard): Next Stop Down (ESP Disk)

Bringing Michael Marcus' reeds and tarogato into a quartet with pianist Rod Williams, bassist Ricky Rodriguez, and drummer Allan Mednard, this ESP-Disk release extends Marcus' post-bop and avant-jazz language through compositions shaped by funky Monk-like angles, tight rhythmic interplay, lyrical woodwind clarity, and the seasoned drive of players versed in blues, free jazz, and modern creative music.



Jon Irabagon : Raw Dog (solo for contrabass saxophone) (Corbett vs. Dempsey)

Returning to Chicago with a fierce solo recital for contrabass saxophone, Jon Irabagon explores the instrument's cavernous depth, reverberant resonance, and agile extremities through unaccompanied improvisations and lesser-known works by Julius Hemphill and Anthony Braxton, revealing both the deep blues gravity and structural ingenuity of their music.



Josh Berman Trio: Everybody Else's Life, Too (Corbett vs. Dempsey)

Cornetist Josh Berman's trio with Jason Roebke on bass and Chris Corsano on drums brings Chicago's jazz lineage into sharp contemporary focus, balancing compact composition and expansive interaction through playful, adventurous music that draws on early jazz, AACM-rooted invention, melodic swing, textural abstraction, and volatile rhythmic exchange.



Henry: Kaiser Gateway To Strangeness (solo guitar) (Metalanguage)

A limited artist-released solo guitar recording from Henry Kaiser on acoustic guitar, electric guitar, harp guitar, and seven guitars laid across a table, presenting concise to medium-length explorations of resonance, distortion, extended-string sonority, tabletop texture, and improvisational invention from one of creative music's most idiosyncratic and restless guitarists.



Henry Kaiser / Rome Yamilov: The Lenoir Investigation (Little Village)

The Little Village Foundation run by keyboardist Jim Pugh assembled this band through Indian blues harmonica player & singer Aki Kumar, who brought drummer June Core and guitarist Rome Yamilov, deciding to make the release a "crazy guitar album" by adding Henry Kaiser; along with vocalist Lisa Leuschnet they hit the mark in an exuberantly diverse set of blues performing the music of J.B. Lenoir.



Audrey Lauro / Christian Pruvost / Peter Orins: Dans-sons as we are (Tour de Bras / Circum-Disc)

Audrey Lauro's alto saxophone, Christian Pruvost's trumpet and Peter Orins' drums develop a finely balanced language of breath, resonance, friction and unstable pulse, transforming granular textures, acoustic accidents and fleeting gestures through attentive collective improvisation, where silences, tensions and shifting densities continually reshape the trio's shared sonic space.



Virginie: Reid Mille Soleils A L'oeil Nu [VINYL] (Virginie Reid )

Montreal composer Virginie Reid layers piano, synthesizers, samples, voice, Jeremi Roy's resonant double bass, and Erika Angell's spectral vocals into five patient electroacoustic works, moving from fragile melodic gestures through cavernous drones and luminous choral textures in an intimate, nocturnal meditation on grief, vulnerability, memory, and the persistent search for light.



Joelle Leandre / Remy Belanger de Beauport: Jeux De Mains [VINYL] (Tour de Bras)

Joelle Leandre on double bass and Remy Belanger de Beauport on violoncello engage in eight finely attuned live improvisations, moving between visceral arco attacks, percussive pizzicato, string scrape, fragile micro-gestures, resonant drones, and sudden silences, dissolving conventional instrumental roles through an alert, risk-taking dialog that balances raw intensity with spaciousness, textural detail, and quietly unfolding form.



Expanse: Amplitudes (Evil Clown)

Returning Expanse to its quieter, more spacious origins, David Peck, Kelsey Gallagher, David Welans, Eric Dahlman, and Michael Knoblach shape a lower-dynamic session of reeds, flutes, trumpet, overtone voice, electronics, bells, gongs, found percussion, and invented objects, allowing subtle textures, restrained sonorities, and eccentric timbral details to speak with unusual clarity.



Leap Of Faith Orchestra: Fitness Payoffs (Evil Clown)

Leap of Faith's core duo of David Peck on reeds, electronics, strings, percussion, and invented instruments with Glynis Lomon on cello, aquasonic, voice, and percussion expands to an eight-piece Evil Clown Orchestra with brass, reeds, guitar, bass, drums, electronics, and real-time processing, creating a high-energy improvisation of horn frenzy, dense counterpoint, shifting sonorities, and collective transformation.



Tyshawn Sorey (w / O'Farrill / Shim / Korten / Allen II / Victor): Members... Don't! [2 CDs] (Pi Recordings)

Reimagining Max Roach's 1968 call for perseverance through a contemporary lens, drummer and arranger Tyshawn Sorey leads Adam O'Farrill on trumpet and electronics, Mark Shim on tenor saxophone, Lex Korten on piano, Tyrone Allen II on bass, and Fay Victor on vocals in an expansive live suite of turbulent intensity, patient development, and shattering release.



Henry: Threadgill Listen Ship (Pi Recordings)

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.



Henry Threadgill 14 or 15 Kestra: Agg: Dirt... And More Dirt (Pi Recordings)

Composer, saxophonist and flutist Henry Threadgill presents 2 full-length works for his 15 piece band "14 or 15 Kestra: Agg", as he explores new ways of integrating composition with group improvisation, here using an entirely new system of improvisation based on preconceived series of intervals realized in multi-layered counterpoint, rigorous polyphony, and timbral contrasts.



Henry Threadgill Zooid: Poof (Pi Recordings)

The sixth album in saxophonist and composer Henry Threadgill's Zood small ensemble project Zooid, a quintet with guitarist Liberty Ellman, tuba & trombonist Jose Davila, cellist Christopher Hoffman and drummer Elliot Humberto Kavee, following Threadgill's serial intervallic language compositions to create an amazingly intricate yet warmly embraceable avant jazz; exceptional!



Henry Threadgill Ensemble: The Other One (Pi Recordings)

Composed by Henry Threadgill based on his observations of the exodus of people from New York City during the Covid pandemic and the debris left behind, this work titled "Valence" and dedicated to percussionist Milford Graves, is a chamber jazz piece in three movements was taken from recordings at Roulette of the second of two performances entitled "One" and "The Other One".



Kim Cass (w/ Mitchell / Sorey / Cocks / Dotson): Levs (Pi Recordings)

Performing the unique compositions of Brooklyn-based bassist & composer Kim Cass with the technically superb quintet of Matt Mitchell on piano & synthesizer, Tyshawn Sorey on drums, Laura Cocks on flutes and Adam Dotson on euphonium, Cass' intricate and unconventional works, influenced by 20th century contemporary classical, are complex structures that require precision and wit; impressive!



Jason Kahn / Phil Durrant / Mark Wastell / Caius Williams: Where The Stars (Editions)

An electroacoustic quartet of Phil Durrant on amplified objects and electronics, Jason Kahn on voice, Mark Wastell on percussion, and Caius Williams on double bass, recorded in London in 2025, unfolding four extended improvisations where breath, resonance, friction, signal, and acoustic weight interact through restrained intensity, microscopic detail, and unstable collective form.



Dionee (Beriault / Normand / Servant): Mille-feuilles [VINYL] (Tour de Bras / Circum-Disc)

Quebec trio Dionee creates an expansive, cinematic sound from Clarisse Beriault's oboe, acoustic bass and effects, Eric Normand's electric bass, beatbox and oscillators, and Robin Servant's diatonic accordion and synthesizers, layering chamber lyricism, heavy pulses, post-rock clarity and fragmented electroacoustic textures across two extended works of orchestral scope.



Hajstra (Ilnicka / Doskocz / Trilla): In The No Time (Tour de Bras)

Formed from the evolving duo of electric guitarist Pawel Doskocz and drummer Vasco Trilla and expanded in 2023 with flutist Zofia Ilnicka, Hajstra creates a responsive trio language of free improvisation, drones, ambient collage, extended instrumental technique, and richly shifting soundscapes, where each gesture is transformed into fluid, abstract narrative.



TOC / Paulina Owczarek: Psychedelic Jelly [VINYL] (Tour de Bras)

The first live recording from French trio TOC, for this live 2023 recording TOC joins Polish saxophonist Paulina Owczarek to improvise desynchronized layers of raw energy, blending free improv with elements of pop punk, post-rock, and jazz-core, resulting in a complex and mesmerizing performance where suggested rhythms and autonomous temporalities converge into an unpredictable kraut maelstrom.



Nils Wohlrabe / Karin Johansson / Hasse Westling: Sonic Waves (OUTERDISK)

Drawing on drone, ambient sound, and free improvisation, guitarist/electronics player Nils Wohlrabe joins Karin Johansson on piano, prepared piano, and toy piano, with Hasse Westling on double bass, shaping electronically processed ocean waves, resonant strings, and acoustic depth into an unpredictable, atmospheric soundscape of pulsing motion, shifting timbre, and expansive, wave-like momentum.



Le GGRIL + DDK: Diffraction (Tour de Bras / Circum-Disc)

Bringing together Swiss-German trio DDK — Jacques Demierre on piano, Axel Dorner on trumpet, and Jonas Kocher on accordion — with Quebec's large improvising ensemble Le GGRIL, this expansive collaboration uses the ensemble as living material for a collective work of juxtaposition, superposition, sonic individuality, and shared compositional energy across a broad electroacoustic terrain.



Alister Spence / Satoko Fujii: Intelsat (Alister Spence Music)

Continuing her monthly releases for her 60th birthday, Japanese pianist Satoko Fujii meets Australian keyboard and electronic artist Alister Spence for their second meeting, touring Japan and recording this spellbinding album merging bells, gongs, electronics, and acoustic piano, inside and out, in a passionate album that balances melodicism and sound.



Gato Libre: KURO (Libra)

Natsuki Tamura and Satoko Fujii's Gato Libre in their fourth seductive album of jazz based on European folk melodies with some of the coolest accordion playing on the planet.



Gato Libre: Forever (Libra)

The 5th release from the Japanese quartet of trumpeter Natsuki Tamura, Satoko Fujii, here on accordian, the late bassist Norikatsu Koreyasu, and guitarist Kazuhiko Tsumura, beautiful free form improvisation performed live in concert in 2011.



Gato Libre: DuDu (Libra)

The first Gato Libre release since the passing of bassist Norikatsu Koreyasu, adding trombonist Yasuko Kaneko alongside leader Natsuki Tamura on trumpet, Satoko Fujii on accordion, and Kazuhiko Tsumura on guitar, for eight beautiful, melodic "free cat" recordings.



Gato Libre (Fujii / Tamura / Kaneko): Neko (Libra)

Trumpeter Natsuki Tamura's Gato Libre in its 5th album brings a beautiful light-through-the-leaves melodic melancholy to their unhurried pace, now the trio of Tamura, Satoko Fujii on accordion, and Yasuko Kaneko on trombone, as the cats on the cover stop to find allure in the late day while bringing profound and introspective music to our ears.



Gato Libre (Tamura / Fjuii / Kaneko): Koneko (Libra)

The 8th album from Gato Libre with compositions from trumpeter Natsuki Tamura in a trio with Yasuko Kaneko on trombone and pianist Satoko Fujii here on accordion, Koneko translating to "Kitten", as Tamura explores 8 new cats from strays to shop cats through deceptively simple pieces of melodic appeal of warm color, tone & texture; absolutely charming.



Ikue Mori / Satoko Fujii / Natsuki Tamura: Prickly Pear Cactus (Libra)

Extending their previous collaborations during the time of pandemic, NY electronic improviser Ikue Mori and Japanese improvisers Natsuki Tamura on trumpet and Satoko Fujii on piano developed this extraordinary ea-improv album via file exchange, starting with Fujii's piano improvisations to which Mori & Tamura added their layers, with Mori mixing the final, startling results.



Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii: Keshin (Libra)

An album of duets between trumpeter Natsuki Tamura and pianist Satoko Fujii, the husband & wife core of Libra Records, recorded as a DIY effort during the 2020 pandemic in their own home recording space and mixed by themselves, a diverse album of intimate and impressive improvisations that find the two in uniquely deep and expressively concentrative conversations.



Satoko: Fujii Bunker Ulmenwall Orchestra [2 CDs] (Libra)

A rediscovered 2014 live recording captures Satoko Fujii leading a specially assembled Bielefeld orchestra of professionals and young regional musicians through her monumental Shiki and works by Andreas Kaling, Natsuki Tamura, Luise Volkmann, and Fujii, blending conduction, written structure, collective improvisation, electronics, dual drums, and volatile large-ensemble energy.



Trio San (Fujii / Saito / Oshima): Hibiki (Jazz Door)

Uniting the intersecting musical worlds of Satoko Fujii on piano, Taiko Saito on vibraphone and marimba, and Yuko Oshima on drums, this live debut from Trio SAN draws on their histories in duos and first European tour to shape a delicate yet resonant collective language of shifting timbres, prepared piano colors, ringing percussion, and freely developing melodic forms.



Ballister + Luke Stewart: Clocking the Wheel (Aerophonic)

Joining Dave Rempis on saxophones, Fred Lonberg-Holm on cello, and Paal Nilssen-Love on drums with bassist Luke Stewart, this live Ballister performance from Roulette expands the trio's ferocious long-running rapport into a dense, high-velocity quartet, Stewart locking with Nilssen-Love in elastic propulsion as cello and saxophone surge through explosive, telepathic collective improvisation.



Rempis / Abrams / Ra: Aphelion (Aerophonic)

Showcasing the working trio of saxophonist Dave Rempis, Joshua Abrams on bass, guimbri and small harp, and percussionist Avreeayl Ra, in a uniquely voiced trio balancing beauty and power.



Dave Rempis / Darren Johnston / Larry Ochs: Spectral (Aerophonic)

Inspired by Larry Ochs' Rova and Darren Johnston's collaborations with Rempis, this free-improvising trio began life in 2011, developing an "invisible architecture" that guides their playing, as heard in these seven superb recordings.



Rempis / Abrams / Ra + Baker: Perihelion [2 CDs] (Aerophonic)

Following their 2013 release "Aphelion", the working trio of Dave Rempis on sax, Joshua Abrams on bass & clarinet, and Avreeayl Ra on drums release their 2nd collaboration in a 2-CD album of live and studio improvisations, adding Jim Baker on keys and electronics for the 2nd disc.



Rempis / Harnik / Zerang: Astragaloi (Aerophonic)

The 3rd release for the trio of Chicago saxophonist Dave Rempis, German pianist Elisabeth Harnik and Chicago percussionist Michael Zerang, performing live at the 2020 ArtActs Festival in St Johan Austria for five outstanding improvisations fueled by their previous trio & duo work and flavored with inside piano preparations, hand percussion and superb soloing from all three.



Amadou / Cambien / Rempis: On The Blink (Aerophonic)

After sharing a stage with Belgium bassist Farida Amadou--whose collaborations include Peter Brötzmann, Steve Noble, and Thurston Moore--Chicago saxophonist Dave Rempis and Amadou sought an opportunity to record together, joining with Amadou collaborator, pianist Jonas Cambien, to record these startling studio improvisations during a 2022 tour in Belgium and The Netherlands.



Liam Hockley (Avram / Chrysakis / Dumitrescu / Radulescu): Pulse Tide (Aural Terrains)

Canadian clarinetist Liam Hockley, a dedicated advocate for new and experimental music, performs compositions on a relatively obscure member of the clarinet family, the basset horn, alone and in layers of up to seven horns, in pieces from Romanian spectral composers Ana Maria Avram, Iancu Dumitrescu, and Horatiu Radulescu, along with a contemporary work by Thanos Chrysakis.



The: Remote Viewers To The North (Remote Viewers)

Dave Petts' Remote Viewers, now a septet of 4 saxophonists, marimba, bassist John Edwards and drummer Mark Sanders, in 7 pieces blending rock and improvisational aesthetics in seductive ways.



Alister: Spence Always Ever (Alister Spence Music)

A solo work from Australian pianist and composer Alister Spence, performing on piano with preparations and percussion across 16 wholly improvised pieces that expand the instrument beyond the keyboard, using accidents, texture, resonance and spatial detail as compositional forces in a deeply personal exploration of sound, perception and the piano's boundless acoustic possibilities.



Aaron Russell / Sandy Ewen: Dissectologists [CASSETTE + DOWNLOAD] (Sedimental)

Longtime collaborators Aaron Russell and Sandy Ewen reunite on guitar and electronics for four works recorded between 2019 and 2025, merging abstract guitar approaches through synthesized drones, processed sound, feedback, and warm hypnotic fields, their distinct palettes unfolding in deftly paced textures that balance intimacy, resonance, and exploratory electronic abrasion.



Pisaura (Michael Pisaro / Zizia): Asteraceae (Sedimental)

A work composed from field recordings of performances around Los Angeles during the winter of 2018-19, the Pisaura trio of Michael Pisaro, Amber Wolfe Rounds & Jarrod Fowler (Zizia) used astrological charts to determine patterns of composing, performing, recording, and producing music with celestial and terrestrial rhythms; a mysteriously detailed and almost reverent work in sound.



Oliver Mann / Stefano Pilia: Precious Moments [CASSETTE + DOWNLOAD] (Tsss Tapes)

A tender, dreamlike collaboration between Stefano Pilia on guitars and Oliver Mann on vocals, expanded with Mick Turner's guitar, Zona MC's vocals and lyrics, and brass from Christopher Grace on trumpet, Freya Hombergen on horn and Jackson Bankovic on trombone, shaping nine intimate pieces where electro-acoustic texture, art-song fragility and experimental folk merge in a quiet meditation on friendship, memory and distance.



Benjamin Vergara / Eden Carrasco: Secuelas [CASSETTE + DOWNLOAD] (Tsss Tapes)

Austere and intensely focused, this Chilean duo of Benjamin Vergara on trumpet and Eden Carrasco on alto saxophone draws on more than 20 years of collaboration in experimental music, noise, minimalism, free jazz and site-specific performance, shaping four improvisations where breath, timbre, camouflaged melody, droning blues and submerged cool-jazz gestures blur into textured acoustic abstraction



Jeph Jerman / Ted Byrnes: Muir [CASSETTE + DOWNLOAD] (Tsss Tapes)

A tactile 12-part acoustic-object improvisation from Jeph Jerman and Ted Byrnes, using kalimba, snares, bells, broken cymbal, cans, concrete floor, pinecones, bowls, pot lids, water, hands and other found or homemade materials to build a restless sound world of rustle, scrape, metallic resonance, loose pulse and strange-beat movement, extending Jerman's found-sound practice through Byrnes' free percussion language.



Jeph: Jerman For Alvin Kelly [CASSETTE + DOWNLOAD] (Tsss Tapes)

A three-part solo cassette from Jeph Jerman, transforming found sounds, object textures, and electroacoustic detail into a patient study of friction, resonance, space, and decay, with the title possibly alluding to Alvin "Shipwreck" Kelly's 1920s flagpole-sitting endurance feats, suggesting suspended listening, precarious balance, and heightened attention to an exposed sonic environment.



Vienna FLAMMeS (Koglmann / Schiske / Donhauser / Buhlmann / Mautner / Rohrer): He Said Boler o' (ALAY)

Led by Franz Koglmann's cool-toned trumpet and flugelhorn with Michael Mautner's motifs and electronics, Vienna FLAMMeS joins Lukas Schiske, Andreas Donhauser, Silvia Deixler, Max Buhlmann, and Josef Ka in a post-jazz sound world of fractured grooves, Canterbury echoes, reed color, guitar abrasion, spoken elements, and egalitarian improvisation shaped by Viennese modernism and collective risk.



The Williams Tony Emergency w/ John McLaughlin / Larry Young: Emergency! (ALAY)

A restored edition of Tony Williams Lifetime's incendiary 1969 trio debut with John McLaughlin on guitar and Larry Young on organ, documenting one of jazz-rock fusion's earliest and most audacious statements, where Williams' radical rhythmic designs, Young's dense harmonic force, and McLaughlin's searing electric vocabulary collide in urgent, psychedelic, genre-defying improvisation.



Duke Ellington Orchestra: From Fargo Live 1940 (ALAY)

A legendary 1940 live document of Duke Ellington's Blanton-Webster orchestra, captured in Fargo by Jack Towers and Richard Burris, with Ellington on piano, Johnny Hodges and Otto Hardwick on alto saxophones, Ben Webster on tenor, Harry Carney on baritone, Barney Bigard on clarinet, Rex Stewart, Ray Nance and Wallace Jones in the brass, Jimmy Blanton on bass, Sonny Greer on drums, and Ivie Anderson and Herb Jeffries on vocals.





The Squid's Ear Magazine

The Squid's Ear Magazine

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