Bug Incision's Bent Spoon Duo, in a release as part of the Micro Editions Series, in a performance of Chris Dadge and Scott Munro live in Vancouver, Feb 2008.
The 2nd volume in trumpeter Don Cherry's live date at the Cafe Montmarte, Paris, 1966, in a quintet with Gato Barbieri & Karl Berger, playing a Suite for Albert Ayler, &c.
The first release on the pianist and composer Tonino Miano's new Impressus label is a like-minded, far-ranging and imaginative duo with trumper Mirio Costonnin.
Unusual experimental and highly charged improvisation on electric guitar, trumpet, saxophone, trumpsaz, sheng, tubes from the duo of Sascha Demand & Hannes Wienert.
Drake & Bindu brings the rhythmic world of Drake, William Parker and Josh Abrams together with Joe Morris and Dee Alexander on works based on Ramprasad poems.
NYC trumpeter Peter Evans and bassist Tom Blancarte play very experimental improvisation pushing the boundries, density and speed of free improv interaction.
The debut studio recordings from Calgary, Canada's Mark Fleischhaker and Scott Munro, electronically manipulated vocals with a loose sense of the word.
London Improviser Orchestra peer Jacques Foschia in a double CD of solo clarinet works extending the instrument's range, performed in the studio & live in Brussels & London.
Satoko Fujii Orchestra in original compositions, an amazing lineup of mostly New York players including Steven Bersteain, Herb Robertson, Briggan Krause, etc.
8 remarkable and collaborative duets from pianists Satoko Fujii and free jazz legend Paul Bley, and 3 lovely solo pieces of extended technique and color.
Triple CD of electro-acoustic improvisers The Hub (Bischoff/Brown/Perkis/&c), a document covering 3 decades of activity with photos, tech diagrams and writings.
Unusual acoustic improvisations from this double trumpet and acoustic guitar trio, creating music with electronic impressions and odd sound organization.
Recorded at Graham Lambkin house, the duo treated the entire building and surrounding grounds as a studio in "musical settings for common environments and domestic situations".
Reissue and remaster of this 1973 album from Frank Lowe with William Parker, Joseph Jarman and "The Wizard", restoring 15 minutes of material thought to have been lost.
European improvisers & associates with an amazing international network of well-known performers, in an improvising quartet of profound acoustic interaction.
Swiss trumpeter Manuel Mangis and his Gruppe 6 in 4 extended original compositions of post-Bop acumen and rollicking audacity in intrepid improvisation.
EA-improv minimalist Toshimaru Nakamura with English (Joe Foster/Bonnie Jones) in a recording made in Tokyo while the three were touring South Korea and Japan in 2007.
Unorthodox vocalist and electroacoustic composer Maja Solveig Kjestrup Ratkje, half of FE-Mail, in a collection of compositions from chamber music to works for electronics and voice.
Shipp's Right Hemisphere project is a powerful and expressive quartet of improvisers in abstract compositions based on intuitive, right brain processes.
Free and unusual improvisation with the strange vocal stylings of Jean-Michel Van Schouwburg, bassist Demey, and percussion and bicycle pump player Vanderstraeten.
Book 9 of Zorn's Book of Angels, arrangements of Masada compositions by mad alchemist Trey Spruance (Secret Chiefs 3) drawing upon an astonishing array of musical styles.
The 3rd Clean Feed Guitar Series brings Elliott Sharp and Scott Fields together for a mixture or conventional notation, graphic notation, and structures for improvisation.
Portuguese violinist Carlos "Zingaro" in a string trio work committed to reinventing chamber music through improvisation that bridges contemporary classical music.
Using mostly unprocessed electric guitars, the duo of Elliott Sharp and Scott Fields' latest release presents eight dueling guitar works using dynamic, angular tones and textures, from extremely aggressive work to clean avant-jazz with twisted technical intent.
The quartet of Cosottini, Melano, Pisani, Miano (EAQuartet Electroacoustic) in compositions referring to the 4 cardinal map points using graphic scores, games, open readings, &c.
A selection of works by the great musical pioneer Robert Ashley performed by the Dutch Ensemble MAE directed by Yannis Kyriakides, including pieces written for the Ensemble MAE.
Slowly unfolding soundwork from 2 experimenters using piano and computers, gentle and unfolding tranquil music that weaves assuredly in a Feldman-esque beauty.
DVD-audio disc of Cage's piano works "Chess Pieces" and "Sonatas and Interludes" peformed by Margaret Leng Tan, with 3 documentary videos, and Vittorio Rieti's "Chess Serenade".
A powerfully dense work, and a quiet and quirky piece for piano from pianist Demmier, whose song titles are quotations from the poem "One Island" by Robert Lax.
A masterful fountain of melodic ideas, intriguing rhythms, and exceptional technical skill from the duo of Hamid Drake on drums and frame drum, and Sylvain Kassap on clarinets and chalumeau, recording live at the France Musique at Studio Theatre dÕAlfortville and in the studio.
A live performance at Judson Church in Manhattan as part of the 20th Vision Festival from the NY/France free improvising trio of Joelle Leandre on double bass, Mat Maneri on viola, and Gerald Cleaver on drums and percussion, two tracks of steadily building, incredibly compatible dialog.
Roman philosopher Titus Lucretius Carus named "Clinamen" the unpredictable (in time and space) swerve of atoms falling in the void, which aptly describes the unexpected directions taken in subtle free improvisation from this French trio, led by bassist Louis-Michel Marion, with Jacques Di Donato on clarinet, and Philippe Berger on viola.
The Swedish duo of percussionist Andreas Pollak and prepared pianist Johan Graden (Adam & Alma) in an album of references and innuendo, clandestine and furtive sounds that evoke great mystery and drama in beautifully shaped sound; evocative music that deceives to emerge from the electronic realm while in actuality coming from all acoustic sources.
Live recordings at LOFT in Cologne, Germany from the trio of George Wissel on prepared saxophone, Achim Tang on doublebass, and Simon Camatta on drums & percussion, performing seven "Movements" that use prodigious technique with reserve and direction, revealing the structure of their work as the pieces build and recede in fascinating ways.
A telematic bass ensemble performing for peace in the Middle East, including Mark Dresser, Barre Phillips, Bert Turetzky, JC Jones, Thierry Barbe, Henry Grimes, Trevor Dunn, Lindsey Horner, &c.
At its core Jargon mixes strings, electric guitar, violin, cello and double bass, a modern and elastic sound exploring contemporary composed and improvised musics.
Having previously worked together with Joe McPhee and Kent Kessler, this album distills the Portuguese saxophonist Rodrigo Amado and NY drummer/percussionist Chris Corsano to a concentrated sax and drum duo of earnest and edgy playing, bending jazz, free and blues idioms to their will with magnificent technique and power, both clearly elated in their meeting.
Recorded live at Silence Sounds in Guelph Canada, the duo of Xavier Charles on clarinet and Eric Normand on electric bass & objects eschew idiom in favor of their unique natural language on their instruments, applying patient development of truly idiosyncratic and fascinating command through a single extended work punctuated in seven diverse passages.
From 2008-16 until drummer Frank Rosaly moved to Amsterdam, alto saxophonist Nick Mazzarella's Trio was an active part of Chicago's creative jazz scene; in early 2018 Rosaly returned for a visit and Mazzarella composed a suite of 6 new pieces to commemorate the trio's tenth anniversary, the exuberant result this excellent concert recorded at Co-Prosperity Sphere!
Swiss trumpeter Manuel Mangis and his Gruppe 6 in 4 extended original compositions of post-Bop acumen and rollicking audacity in intrepid improvisation.
Steve Rush, Tom Abbs and Geoff Mann take the trio format to new heights in music inspired by Sun Ra, the Art Ensemble of Chicago as well as Miles Davis.
A beautiful solo set of 12 improvisations, Michael Attias performing on alto sax with his left hand and piano with his right, captured in the natural reverberation of La Maison en Bois in Abeville-La-Riviere, France; surprisingly his 1st solo album, developed over 12 years yet played in under an hour with no retakes, a wonderful nuanced reflection in tone, melody & color.
A beautifully hypnotic album of saxophone, accompanied by Pan-Ney, Shruti Box and Organ, recorded in overdubs by composer/wind player Werner Durand in this 2nd chapter of his trilogy focused on the Pan-Ney, a self-built instrument for repetitive foundations, as Durand draws on elements of nature, mythology, dance, religion, literature and folklore.
Toronto-area saxophonist Colin Fisher, best known for his group I Have Eaten The City, with his collective quartet of NY players Daniel Carter on tenor, alto & soprano saxophones + clarinet & flute, Brandon Lopez on upright bass, and Marc Edwards on drums & percussion, for three extended and exploratory improvisations of exemplary creative insight.
Recording in Toronto, the core trio of drummer Nick Fraser, saxophonist Tony Malaby and pianist Kris Davis are joined on four tracks by tenor saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock and trumpeter Lina Allemano, in an album of composed and collective improvisation, merging Toronto, NY and European influences in an accomplished album of diverse approaches and orchestrations.
The 5th release from the trio of multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Keiji Haino, guitarist Jim O'Rourke and Oren Ambarchi on wineglass and percussion is an introspective and beautifully developed set recorded live at their March 2013 concert at SuperDeluxe.
An extended and rich confluence of strings from R Keenan Lawler and John Krausbauer, using resonator guitar and banjo, sustained tones that intertwine in a beautiful and optimistic drone, minimalistic yet drenched in a profusion of harmonic detail; a beautiful and elusive dream mixing between an Indian raga and an alien electronic environment.
Recorded in the mid-90s, Livebatts! was a project of John White (Cornelius Cardew, Scratch Orchestra) developed to exploit "toy" keyboards of the 80s--cheap battery-driven instruments that hold tremendous potential for "serious" music-making--used here in a playful quartet with vocalist MJ Coldiron, Andrea Rocca (guitar & samples) and Nancy Ruffer (electrified flute).
An excellent first meeting of two guitarists recording on a February afternoon and released in the sequence recorded with no edits or changes, from Jim McAuley on guitar and Scot Ray on lap steel slide guitar with effects, an innately lyrical blending of styles masking the strong technical skills and long histories of these two superlative players.
Quietly lurking as it prepares to attack, this Kobra is the free improvising quaret of Aurora Nealand on accordion, alto saxophone, voice & objects, Steve Marquette on acoustic & electric guitars, Anton Hatwich on bass, and Paul Thibodeaux on drums, captured live at Chicago's Hungry Brain during the Instigation Festival for a mysterious 2-part "New Omens" and some "Telly Attire".
While both improvisers were in New York City for the 2019 Vision Festival, multi-reedist and European Free Improv legend Peter Brötzmann met Chicago cellist and electronics artist Fred Lonberg-Holm to record their 3rd album together, their 1st album in the studio a diverse set of incredible concentration, with Brötzmann performing on tenor saxophone, woodwind, and clarinet.
A momentous 2020 concert at London's Cafe OTO, presented in two discs, the 1st with label leader Jean-Marc Foussat in a solo improvisation on synth and voice, the 2nd in a trio with Daunik Lazro on tenor & baritone sax, and Evan Parker on soprano sax, the 2 saxophones weaving and responding to Foussat's remarkable alien soundscapes and vocalization in an immersive extended improvisation.
German saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock and Vancouver pianist Kris Davis, both living and working in NY, and having worked together in a variety of groups including Laubrock's Anti-House, a trio with drummer Tyshawn Sorey, Tom Rainey's Obligatto, &c. &c., concentrate their sophisticated playing with this duo album of 7 original compositions and 2 free improvisations.