The Squid's Ear Magazine
  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.



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.



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: 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.



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.



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.



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!



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.



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.



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.



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.



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.



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.



Hilary Jeffery (w/ Delius / Dunmall / Jeffery / Poulou): Green Prism: Music by Keith Tippett (Discus)

Rooted in Keith Tippett's late brass suite Winter's Welcome, Hilary Jeffery reimagines the material through multi-tracked brass, computer and improvisational expansions with Julie Tippetts' voice, Tobias Delius' tenor saxophone and clarinet, Paul Dunmall's saxophones and Eleni Poulou's synthesizer and music box, creating a prism-like tribute of resonant harmony, memory, song and exploratory transformation.



Orchestra Of The Upper Atmosphere: Theta Seven (Discus)

The seventh and final release from Orchestra Of The Upper Atmosphere blends krautrock pulse, psychedelia, textural improv, and free jazz into a vibrant studio construction, where Martin Archer and Jan Todd shape live ensemble recordings through collage, editing, and overdubs, guiding the music from luminous delicacy through darker passages before resolving in celebratory light.



Cecil Taylor / Tony Oxley: Being Astral And All Registers - Power Of Two (Discus)

Taken from the personal archives of UK drummer/percussionist Tony Oxley, this extremely well recorded duo session with frequent collaborator, iconoclastic NY pianist Cecil Taylor, are heard in a live performance at the Ulrichsberg Festival, Austria in 2002 for a brilliantly frenetic and masterfully controlled, creative set of two jaw-dropping extended dialogs.



Orchestra of the Upper Atmosphere: 02 (Discus)

An absolutely impressive album blending advanced/progressive rock forms with improvisation, starting from collective improvisation and layering in the studio to create a sophisticated psychedelic music, the second album from this ensemble that is headed by Martin Archer (reeds & keys), Chris Bywater (keys & synth), and Steve Dinsdale (drums & percussion).



Orchestra Of The Upper Atmosphere: Theta Four (Discus)

Declaring Terry Riley, Magma, Krautrock, and Sun Ra as influences, this is the fourth album from wind and keyboard player Martin Archer's Orchestra Of The Upper Atmosphere, an augmented six-piece UK ensemble whose rock affinities also embrace improvisation and minimalism, a heady mix of virtuosic playing with melodic intention and extremely detailed tapestries of sound; dreamy and elegiac.



Orchestra Of The Upper Atmosphere: Theta Five (Discus)

The 5th album from the UK collective improvising progressive rock band of reedist Martin Archer, drummer Steve Dinsdale, bassists Lorin Halsall & Terry Todd, percussionist Walt Shaw, keyboardist Andy Peake, violinist Yvonna Magda and string player & vocalist Jad Todd, merging acoustic and electronic instruments in rich and often dreamlike forms that flow with spirited refinement.



Anthropology Band: Scald - Live 2022 [3 CDS] (Discus)

Recording at London's Cafe OTO, and at the 2022 Newcastle Festival Of Jazz And Improvised Music, saxophonist and composer Martin Archer's exceptional 8-piece line up of his exuberant avant-electric jazz band blurring lines between 70's Miles and AACM abstractions, is heard across three CDs of fiery soloing, contemplative transitions, and spectacular group interplay.



Greg Kelley / Yoona Kim : Distractions for Trumpet & Ajaeng (Relative Pitch)

Bringing together Greg Kelley's extended-technique trumpet with Yoona Kim's non-traditional approach to the ajaeng, this Boston duo explores breath, bow, friction, resonance, and near-silence through taut improvisations where fragile tones, coarse strings, microscopic air bursts, and sudden ruptures forge a focused, unpredictable shared language.



Camila Nebbia / Chris Corsano: Six or Seven Ways Towards Becoming Undone (Relative Pitch)

A fierce, spontaneous duo of Camila Nebbia on tenor saxophone and Chris Corsano on drums, recorded in Berlin in 2025, merging Nebbia's searching lines, breath-driven textures and unstable lyricism with Corsano's explosive, highly detailed percussion language, moving between delicate abrasion, surging intensity, fragmented melody and raw improvised exchange.



Matthew Shipp Trio: Root Of Things (Relative Pitch)

Pianist Shipp's long-standing trio with bassist Michael Bisio and drummer Whit Dickey, complex and inspired compositions that makes modern creative approaches to jazz beautifully accessible and essential.



Jemeel Moondoc / Hilliard Greene: Cosmic Nickelodeon (Relative Pitch)

Jemeel Moondoc's third release on New York's Relative Pitch label is this duo with bassist Hilliar Greene, a soulful album of bluesy free playing, Greene's solid finger and bow work anchoring Moondoc for beautiful, informed, quirky and sincerely heartfelt playing.



Rudi Mahall / Alexander von Schlippenbach: So Far (Relative Pitch)

Pianist Alexander von Schlippenbach and clarinetist Rudi Mahall have been exploring the music of jazz and free improvisation for decades in their own bands or together in Globe Unity Orchestra; here they are heard in their essential element as a duo, pushing their music in rapid runs and elegant and emotional moments with imposing technique and authoritative confidence.



Tipple (Gjerstad / Norton / Watson): Cartoon Heart (Relative Pitch)

The trans-Atlantic Tipple Trio of David Watson on guitar & smallpipes, Kevin Norton on percussion & drums, and Frode Gjerstad on saxophone, clarinet & alto flute in their 5th album since 2010, a studio recording from the NY area of 15 succinct and diverse approaches to free improvisation, each player shining uniquely and in extraordinary group interplay.



Ava: Mendoza New Spells (Relative Pitch)

A joint release between Astral Spirts and Relative Pitch, guitarist Ava Mendoza conjures five assertive and rugged "spells" performed on solo electric guitar, passionate works of raw technical skill and bold power as she improvises over two songs composed by herself, alongside pieces written for her from Devin Hoff, Trevor Dunn and John Dikeman.



John Butcher / Florian Stoffner / Chris Corsano: The Glass Changes Shape (Relative Pitch)

A remarkable concert in 2023 at The Loft in Cologne, Germany, a superb example of collective free improvisation using extraordinary and masterful technique between UK saxophonist John Butcher, Swiss guitarist Florian Stoffner and NY drummer Chris Corsano, also performing on half clarinet; nine conversations of sophisticated and astute communication.



Ben Bennett / Michael Foster / Jacob Wick: Carne Vale (Relative Pitch)

With alliterative titles beginning with "To blowe wyth the nose and to snorce", percussionist Ben Bennett, saxophonist Michael Foster, and trumpeter Jacob Wick create an uncompromising tapestry of extended techniques and visceral interplay, through raw and dynamic exploration of texture, space, and sound that blurs boundaries between energy, silence, and collective improv.



Jung-Jae Kim (Kim / Lee / Song / Kim): Shamanism [CD+DOWNLOAD] (Relative Pitch)

A powerful and ritualistic session from South Korea's free improvisation scene, with tenor and soprano saxophones (Jung-Jae Kim & Sunjae Lee) and dual drum kits (Junyoung Song & Sunki Kim) channeling ancestral Korean shamanic ceremony through raw, primal energy, breath-driven phrasing, and a spiritual aesthetic that bridges indigenous tradition and contemporary free jazz expression.



Paul: Dunmall Afraid To Speak (Discus)

Returning to a stripped-down free-blowing setting, Paul Dunmall leads a responsive group with Corey Mwamba on vibraphone, Steven Saunders on electric guitar, Dave Kane on double bass, Miles Levin on drums and Xhosa Cole guesting on flute and piccolo, creating five incisive yet finely detailed improvisations of saxophone fire, resonant texture, electric abrasion and collective momentum.



Stephen: Grew Pianoply (Discus)

Stephen Grew performs a completely improvised solo piano session on Sansom Studios' bright-toned Yamaha, recorded in three unedited sections divided only by tea breaks, using the studio setting to explore a different acoustic focus from his church and concert recordings, balancing clarity, momentum, lyric fracture and spontaneous structure, with the closing piece offered in tribute to drummer Tony Bianco.



Zoh: Amba Eyes Full (Matador)

Zoh Amba turns away from the ecstatic saxophone improvisations that first brought them attention, taking up voice and acoustic guitar for a raw singer-songwriter album of blues-tinged Appalachian folk, joined by longtime collaborator Kevin Hyland on electric guitar and Dirty Three drummer Jim White, whose loose, intuitive pulse supports songs of tenderness, hardship, and spiritual searching.



Zoh: Amba Eyes Full [VINYL] (Matador)

Zoh Amba turns away from the ecstatic saxophone improvisations that first brought them attention, taking up voice and acoustic guitar for a raw singer-songwriter album of blues-tinged Appalachian folk, joined by longtime collaborator Kevin Hyland on electric guitar and Dirty Three drummer Jim White, whose loose, intuitive pulse supports songs of tenderness, hardship, and spiritual searching.



Pharaoh's Daughter: Songs of Desire (Tzadik)

Basya Schechter's Pharaoh's Daughter transforms the Biblical Song of Songs into an expansive multilingual cycle of sacred love and earthly desire, sung in Hebrew, English, Yiddish, Arabic, Spanish and French, with oud, guitar, ney, qanun, saz, trumpet, violin, bass, keyboards, percussion and layered voices shaping an 18-year project of devotion, sensuality and pan-Mediterranean resonance.



[ahmed] (Thomas / Grip / Gerbal / Wright): Sama'a (Audition) [VINYL 2 LPs] (Otoroku)

Reimagining and transforming Ahmed Abdul-Malik's Jazz Sahara in their first studio session, the [Ahmed] quartet of Pat Thomas, Joel Grip, Antonin Gerbal, and Seymour Wright ignite four compact, single-take explorations that fuse percussive intensity, kaleidoscopic group interplay, and a fearless reshaping of tradition into dizzying, future-leaning improvisation.



Peter Brotzmann / John Edwards / Steve Noble / Jason Adasiewicz: The Quartet [2 CDs] (Otoroku)

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.



Gerry Hemingway / Izumi Kimura / Frank Gratkowski / Christian Weber: Live At Bau 4 (ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)

Gerry Hemingway leads a site-specific quartet with pianist Izumi Kimura, multi-reedist Frank Gratkowski and bassist Christian Weber, weaving composed structures, extended techniques, improvisational formations and wood-scrap percussion from Bau 4 itself into a tribute to the venue's founders, balancing melodic fragments, rhythmic propulsion, microtonal color and vivid ensemble transformation.



The: Remote Viewers Winter Library Vol 1 (Remote Viewers)

The first volume in The Remote Viewers' Winter Library series, this live London quartet recording brings David Petts and Adrian Northover together with John Edwards and Steve Beresford, reworking material from The Remote Code into an acoustic chamber of tenor and soprano saxophones, resonant bass, objects and toys, balancing angular themes, brittle textures, oblique melody and free improvisational exchange.



Marion Brown / Burton Greene Quartet: Reference: Capricorn Moon, Why Not & With Burton Greene Quartet [2 CDs + POSTCARD] (ALAY)

Gathering key 1965-66 New York sessions, this 2-CD set traces alto saxophonist Marion Brown's emergence in the free jazz vanguard through Capricorn Moon, Why Not? and Burton Greene quartet recordings, with Alan Shorter, Bennie Maupin, Stanley Cowell, Henry Grimes, Sirone, Rashied Ali and others shaping music of lyrical urgency, open-form momentum and evolving collective freedom.



Albert: Ayler Reference: Albert Ayler, Spirits & Spirits Rejoice [CD + POSTCARD] (ALAY)

Uniting Albert Ayler's 1964 New York sessions for Spirits (Debut) and Spirits Rejoice (ESP, with Donald Ayler, Charles Tyler, Call Cobbs, Henry Grimes, Gary Peacock, Sunny Murray, Normand Howard and Earle Henderson, this remastered edition captures Ayler's volatile balance of spiritual song, sculptural horn lines, churning bass motion, ecstatic fanfare and free jazz intensity.



Miles Davis 3rd Quintet: Reference: Bitches Brew Live 1969 In Europe [2 CDs + 2 POSTCARDS] (ALAY)

Documenting Miles Davis' 1969 "lost" third quintet live in Berlin, Stockholm and Rotterdam with Wayne Shorter, Chick Corea, Dave Holland and Jack DeJohnette, this 2-CD set captures the post-In a Silent Way ensemble reshaping material headed toward Bitches Brew, balancing lyricism and abstraction through open forms, electric-piano clusters, volatile rhythmic invention and Davis' fiercely exploratory trumpet.



Bix: Beiderbecke Reference: Bix Beiderbecke, 1924 to 1928 [2 CDs] (ALAY)

Gathering 45 small-group recordings from 1924-1928, this restored 2-CD reference traces Bix Beiderbecke's singular cornet and piano artistry alongside Frankie Trumbauer, Miff Mole, Don Murray, Tommy Dorsey, Eddie Lang, Joe Venuti and others, revealing a poised, lyrical and formally lucid voice whose economy, harmonic curiosity and graceful invention helped shape early jazz beyond its dance-band conventions.



Joel Futterman / William Parker: Transcendent Universe (Burning Ambulance Music)

Joel Futterman and William Parker continue a collaboration of more than forty years in an hour of spontaneous composition, the pianist's heavy, high-energy approach meeting Parker's deeply grounded bass in two extended movements and a brief coda that balance ecstatic force, romantic beauty, collective listening and a rapturous sense of spiritual, improvised communion.



Tom Challenger / Evan Parker: May Spring Last a Lifetime (False Walls)

The first duo recording from tenor saxophonists Tom Challenger and Evan Parker, captured at Arco Barco in Ramsgate and later resequenced into six sections, reveals two deeply attuned improvisers using shared instrumental language to question control, memory, silence and exchange, expanding the sound of two tenors into a shifting field of breath, resonance, overlap and acoustic invention.



Doyeon Kim (w / Sorey / Maneri / Fraser): Wellspring (Tao Forms)

Seoul-born gayageum virtuoso and vocalist DoYeon Kim makes a striking bandleader debut with a quartet of Tyshawn Sorey on drums, Mat Maneri on viola and Henry Fraser on bass, merging Korean string and storytelling traditions with contemporary improvisation in a forceful, deeply expressive set of compositions and group interactions that move from bristling acoustic intensity to communal, humanist resonance.



The Bridge (Amado / von Schlippenbach / Haker-Flaten / Hemingway): Beyond the Margins [VINYL 2 LPs] (Trost Records)

Assembled by Portuguese saxophonist Rodrigo Amado, this stellar quartet bridges nations with German pianist Alexander von Schlippenbach, Norwegian double bass player Ingebrigt Haker-Flaten, and American drummer Gerry Hemingway, presenting the extended, masterful collective title track, along with two shorter works, particularly revisiting Albert Ayler's "Ghosts".



MAP (Halvorson / Nakatani / Radding): Fever Dream [VINYL] (TAIGA)

A beautifully produced 3-sided double LP from New York's MAP, guitarist Mary Halvorson, percussionist Tatsuya Nakatani and bassist Reben Radding, amazing contemporary improvisation.



Marion: Brown Awofofora [VINYL] (AGUIRRE RECORDS)

An overlooked 1976 session led by Marion Brown on alto sax with a rhythmically driven ensemble including Ambrose Jackson, Billy Patterson, Rene Arlain, Fred Hopkins, Ed Blackwell, Jumma Santos, and Chris Henderson, merging funk and Afro-Caribbean grooves with free jazz principles through layered rhythms, collective improvisation, and Brown's distinctive, lyrical tone.



Fred Frith / Karen Stackpole: Nature (Sub Rosa)

Bringing together Fred Frith's extended electric guitar vocabulary with Karen Stackpole's richly resonant world of gongs and metals, this intimate duo session unfolds as a deeply textural dialogue where harmonic overtones, shimmering percussion, and transformed string sonorities intertwine, blurring the boundaries between instrument and resonance in a fluid, exploratory program of free improv.



Bill Laswell / P.ST (w/Henry Kaiser, Graham Haynes, Peter Apfelbaum, &c): Mount Analogue [2 CDs] (Sub Rosa)

Recorded across three continents and completed in New York, this double-disc work led by Bill Laswell and conceptualist P.ST draws on René Daumal's unfinished allegorical novel to shape a richly textured electroacoustic narrative, where voice and instrumentation unfold alongside layered improvisation and cinematic abstraction, as Henry Kaiser contributes extended solo guitar meditations.



Sonic Youth: J'accuse Ted Hughes [VINYL] (Sonic Youth Records)

The seventh entry in Sonic Youth's SYR series documents a pivotal experimental moment from the band's 2000 All Tomorrow's Parties performance, with Kim Gordon, Thurston Moore, Lee Ranaldo and Steve Shelley expanding a 20-minute "New Drone" into the voice-inflected J'accuse Ted Hughes, paired with a 2003 Echo Canyon studio work featuring Jim O'Rourke's bass, electronics and sound processing.



Michael Formanek (w/ Hawkins / Halvorson / Fujiwara / O'Gallagher / Doxas / Almeida): New Digs (Intakt)

Bassist and composer Michael Formanek leads a trans-Atlantic septet with John O'Gallagher, Chet Doxas, Joao Almeida, Mary Halvorson, Alexander Hawkins on Hammond B3 and Tomas Fujiwara, unfolding a bold contemporary jazz architecture where braided horns, off-axis guitar, organ-driven momentum and elastic rhythms move between dense collective force and sharply focused small-group interplay.



John Zorn (w/ Marsella / Roeder / Smith / Hashimoto): Alea Iacta Est (Tzadik)

With a title translating to The Die is Cast, this formidable piano concerto from composer John Zorn unfolds through abrupt shifts in mood, tempo, and texture, as Brian Marsella, Jorge Roeder, and Ches Smith navigate its exacting, volatile structures with precision and intensity, joined by Sae Hashimoto on vibraphone, adding a resonant counterpoint to this complex, dynamically shifting 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.



John O'Gallagher (O'Gallagher / Monder / Cyrille / Hart): Ancestral (Whirlwind)

Marking a pivotal artistic evolution for saxophonist John O'Gallagher, this session draws on his deep study of John Coltrane and recent personal transitions to unite guitarist Ben Monder with master drummers Andrew Cyrille and Billy Hart in a fluid program of mostly first-take performances that balance composed structures and open improvisation through an organic, system-aware approach to free jazz expression.



Dave: Douglas Showing Up / The Power of the Vote [7" VINYL] (Greenleaf Music)

2019 Record Store Day release, a 7" from trumpeter Dave Douglas in two different configurations: the lead track from his album "Engage" featuring guitarist Jeff Parker and cellist Tomeka Reid along with Anna Webber, Nick Dunston & Kate Gentile; and a B-Side from 2018's "Uplift" featuring Joe Lovano and Bill Laswell alongside Mary Halvorson, Julian Lage, and Ian Chang.



John Zorn (w/ Julian Lage / Gavin Riley): Seven Sonnets (Tzadik)

John Zorn continues his lyrical acoustic guitar writing with a Shakespeare-inspired book of seven intimate compositions for Julian Lage and Gyan Riley, whose long collaboration as interpreters of Zorn's music brings warmth, precision and conversational clarity to pieces that draw on early music, minimalism, contemporary classical forms, folk, jazz and soundtrack-like atmosphere.



Dave Douglas / GIFTS (w / Lewis / Bhatia / Chang / Reid): Transcend (Greenleaf Music)

Dave Douglas expands his GIFTS Quintet with Tomeka Reid on cello alongside James Brandon Lewis, Rafiq Bhatia and Ian Chang, drawing on the spiritual openness of Duke Ellington's Sacred Concerts in a powerful electro-acoustic jazz setting where trumpet, tenor, guitar, cello and drums merge lyricism, electronics and high-energy interplay into a reverent, forward-looking ensemble statement.



John Carter Trio: Echoes from Rudolph's [2 CDs] (NoBusiness)

Between 1973 and '76 Sunday afternoons at Rudolph's Fine Art Center hosted the superb John Carter Trio with son Stanley Carter on bass and Chris Carter on cymbals; these live recordings were originally released in a limited LP in 1977, now reissued with a rare '77 radio broadcast.



Sabu Toyozumi / Mats Gustafsson: Hokusai (NoBusiness)

A duo between Japanese free improvising drummer Sabu Toyozum and Swedish baritone saxophonist & wind player Mats Gustafsson, also performing on his own fluteophone (a mouthpiece attached to the flute), capturing five live improvisation at their 2018 performance at Jazz Spot Candy, in Chiba, Japan for an extremely inventive set of potent playing.



Bobby Bradford / Frode Gjerstad Quartet: The Delaware River [VINYL] (NoBusiness)

The longstanding collaboration of cornetist Bobby Bradford and reedist Frode Gjerstad (together since '86) with bassist Ingebrigt Haker-Flaten on bass and Frank Rosaly on drums, recording at Philadelphia Art Alliance in 2014, a powerful lineup of modern free players.



Bobby Bradford / Frode Gjerstad / Kent Carter / John Stevens: Blue Cat [VINYL] (NoBusiness)

The 2nd in NoBusiness' archive series of the Norwegian Detail collective, here with Frode Gjerstad on alto sax, Bobby Bradford on cornet, Kent Carter on bass, and John Stevens on drums, captured live in London in 1991 during a UK record, in a 3-part work of informed free-jazz and free playing, exciting music with complex, swinging subtlety.



Billy Bang Survival Ensemble: Black Man's Blues [VINYL] (NoBusiness)

Never before released material from 1977 of Billy Bang's seminal NY loft band, Survival Ensemble: 1 LP and a 40 page booklet of essays, images and flyers - essential!



Convergence Quartet, The: Slow and Steady (NoBusiness)

The Convergence Quartet with Taylor Ho Bynum (cornet), Alexander Hawkins (piano), Dominic Lash (bass) and Harris Eisenstadt (drums) performing live at the Vortex Jazz Club in November, 2011 as part of the London Jazz Festival.



Evan Parker / Barry Guy / Paul Lytton: Live at Maya Recordings Festival [VINYL 2 LPs] (NoBusiness)

Superb improvisation from three masters - Evan Parker on sax, Barry Guy on bass and Paul Lytton on drums - performing at the Maya Recordings Festival, September 23 - 25, 2011 at Theater am Gleis, Winterthur, Switzerland.



Dave Burrell / Steve Swell: Turning Point (NoBusiness)

The 3rd in a series of 5 suites from pianist Dave Burrell commemorating the people and events of the American Civil War, a mature and passionate work performed in a duo with NY trombonist Steve Swell, performed live at the Rosenbach Museum and Library in Philadelphia.



Billy Bang / William Parker: Medicine Buddha (NoBusiness)

A 2009 concert at The Rubin Museum Of Art, New York, on the 8th May, 2009 from the duo of double bassist William Parker, also performing on shakuhashi, dousn gouni; and the late violinist Billy Bang, also performing on thumb piano; organic and deeply felt dialog.



Ted Daniel's Energy Module (feat. Oliver Lake and Daniel Carter): Innerconnection [VINYL 2 LPs] (NoBusiness)

Trumpeter Ted Daniel's Energy Module with Daniel Carter, Oliver Lake, Richard Pierce and Tatsuya Nakamura, a post-bop free improvising quintet from the mid-70s, here in an unreleased studio session showing raw power and superb playing.



Bobby Bradford / Hafez Modirzadeh / Mark Dresser / Alex Cline: Live At The Open Gate [VINYL] (NoBusiness)

West Coast cornetist Bobby Bradford captured live in 2013 for a superb set at the Center for the Arts in Los Angeles, part of the Open Gate Theatre Sunday evening concert series, in a quartet with Hafez Modirzadeh on alto sax, Mark Dresser on bass, and Alex Cline on drums.



Dave Burrell / Bob Stewart: The Crave Play the music of Jelly Roll Morton and Dave Burrell [VINYL] (NoBusiness)

Frequent collaborators, pianist Dave Burrell and tuba player Bob Stewart take on the early jazz music of Jelly Roll Morton alongside original compositions from Burrell, performed live at the Kolner Stadtgarten in Cologne, Germany in 1994 for a joyful look forward and back.



Paul Rutherford / Sabu Toyozumi: The Conscience (NoBusiness)

The 1st in a series of unreleased concerts from the 90s recorded in Japan by Chap-Chap Records, acquired by NoBusiness to bring them to light; this duo album brings the late and influential UK free improvising trombonist Paul Rutherford together with drummer Sabu Toyozumi for five far-ranging dialogs of both reflective and enthusiastical energetic playing.



Masahiko Satoh / Sabu Toyozumi: The Aiki (NoBusiness)

Working together often over decades, free improvising drummer Sabu Toyozumi and composer/improvising pianist Masahiko Satoh are heard here in a 1997 duo concert at C・S・Aka-Renga, in Yamaguchi City, Japan, for an engaging concert of energetic interaction, emphasizing Satoh's percussive approach to the keys and Sabu's inherent melodicism in his approach to drumming.





The Squid's Ear Magazine

The Squid's Ear Magazine

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