AMM's performance at the 2009 Freedom of the City Festival with AMM regular members Eddie Prevost and John Tilbury extended with John Butcher, Chritian Wolff and Ute Kanngiesser.
New perspectives in Portuguese jazz, a remarkable balance between folk elements and a unique vision for modern jazz, in eight original songs and two covers including one from Marc Ribot.
Pianist Bolleter has 5 "ruined" (abandoned & unpredictable) pianos set up in his kitchen so that he can play them simultaneously, as he does on these 14 night-time recordings.
Saxophonist Butcher on tenor and soprano saxophone meets inside and out pianist Claudia Ulla Binder in Switzerland for these beautifully recorded duo improvisations.
Two live dates from Crescendo and Glenn Miller Cafe in Sweden from the trio of Sebastian Bergstrom on piano, Joachim Nyberg on bass, and Emil Astrand-Melin on drums.
Taagi - which takes its title from the Apache word for "three" - is Dutch based pianist Clark's first trio recording with bassist Aaron Gonzalez and drummer Stefan Gonzalez.
10 new compositions from John Zorn's Book of Angels featuring the same band from "The Dreamers" & "O'o", seductive music drawing on exotica, surf, world music, latin jazz, rock, film music and more.
2 works for clarinet and string quartet, active compositions with a unique perspective in sound & texture; 2 versions of the 2 part 1961 work, and the larger 1983 composition.
Bassist Hebert's Trio with French pianist and synth player Benoit Delbecq and drummer Gerald Cleaver, expansive and spacious jazz with a beautiful spirituality.
Tenor saxophonist Keefe Jackson's quartet with trombonist Jeb Bishop, bassist Jason Roebke and drummer Noritaka Tanaka, creative Chicago jazz from an active set of windy city players.
Berlin based Annette Krebs and Tokyo sound artist Taku Unami bring together a variety of improvisation, compositional and unlikely sources for 5 part puzzle box of understated sound.
Early recordings from Lab Coast (Chris Dadge and David Laing) from an odd session of improvisation recorded to cassette and restored for the band's debut release.
Drummer Luther Gray's Lawnmower bridges jazz and rock with blues-tinged sonic underpinning from dual guitarists, with saxophonist Jim Hobbs lyrical and unique voice leading the way.
Spontaneous extraordinary compositions/improvisations by bassist Joelle Leandre, clarinetist Francois Houle and percussionist Raymond Strid from the annual Sons d'Hiver festival near Paris.
Bassist Lightcap's Bigmouth with Tony Malaby, Chris Cheek & Andrew D'Angelo on sax, Craig Taborn on keys and Gerald Cleaver on drums, NY jazz with remarkable rapport and prowess.
From 1972 to 1982 OM put rock music through improvisational processes with fascinating results; almost 20 years later the band is back with these superb studio recordings.
Eight jaw-dropping, inspired soprano saxophone solos from Evan Parker recording in his studio of choice, the marvelously resonant St. Peter's church in Whitstable, UK.
A live recording from the improvising trio of Gordon Allen, Michel F. Cote and Alexandre St-Onge, rendering acoustics and electronics in dark and unconventional techniques.
New York multi-reed and wind player Ned Rothenberg performing on the shakuhachi in orignal compositions performed with viola and spoken word in beautiful and nuanced performances.
Two extended improvisations from pianist Sten Sandell's trio with bassist Johan Berthling and drummer Paal Nillsen-Love, recorded live in Tokyo in 2008.
Portugal pianist Bernardo Sassetti's trio with Carlos Barretto (Lokomotiv) and drummer Alexander Frazao, delicate and exquisite jazz from an extraordinary composer.
A foundation of the Calgary scene, the trio of Janet Turner, Lyle Pisio, and Mark Dicey improvising live at Weeds on sax, percussion, voice and "oddities".
Pianist Takase's visit to North East England resulted in these recordings: duos with saxophonist Tchicai, and trios with John Edwards & Tony Levin, plus solos from the 2008 Music Outside Festival.
Much needed reissue of the incredible Vienna Art Orchestra directed by Mathias Ruegg performing live in Switzerland, 1985; commanding orchestral jazz thoroughly modern 30 years hence.
Cantankerous and brilliantly executed improvisation continuing the partnership of percussionist/live electronician Lytton and trumpet/amplifier player Nate Wooley.
News from Lulu with John Zorn, George Lewis, and Bill Frisell recorded live in 1989, Paris, applying Downtown NY extended techniques to 60s Blue Note jazz pieces with incredible results.
The long-standing duo of alto saxophonist John Zorn and guitarist Fred Frith continues with these "late works", improvisations in a unique language of formidable breadth and imagination.
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 trio of bassist Gary Peacock, pianist Paul Bley, and trumpeter Franz Koglmann interpret and improvise on the music of avant song-writer Annette Peacock.
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.
Legendary trumpeter, composer and educator Bill Dixon in a 17 piece orchestra playing original compositions live at the 12th Vision Festival in New York City.
Remixes of the entire "In Sea" album by Ramses III, Landing, ThisQuietArmy, Mason Jones, Keith Canisus (Rumskib), Yellow6, Declining Winter (Richard of Hood), Suckers, &c. &c.
Trio improvisations with guitar, violin, and an assortment of noise elements, thoughtful pieces that use space wisely as they prepare for vicious attacks of sound.
The New York duo of saxophonists Rudresh Mahanthappa and Steve Lehman in their co-led quintet with Liberty Ellman on guitar, Matt Brewer on bass and Damion Reid on drums.
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.
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.
Lokomotive's "Labyrinths" with bassist Baretto at the top of his game in playing and scoring this driving and unorthodox set of pieces, performed with two of Portugal's most in-demand players.
Fred Frith's West Coast Cosa Brava with Carla Kihlstedt, Zeena Parkins, and Matthias Bossi playing all Frith compositions driven by his love of the (improvised) rock format.
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.
Two basses and a lower-end saxophone from the trio of Damon Smith on double bass, Andrew Durham on electric bass, and Danny Kamins on baritone sax, Durham also adding effects and "Radio Manipulation" to their deep sound, Durham & Kamins the core of CARL with Damon Smith adding extra underpinnings to their slowly developing, sometimes pensive, sometimes cantankerous, profound improvisation.
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!
12 compositions from bassist Dahlgren in a quintet including Gebhard Ullman performing works using a compositional matrix system and narrative from critiques written against Bela Bartok.
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.
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).
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".
'Spilla' means 'to play' in the language of Neapolitan musicians, and playing here are NY guitarist and composer Elliott Sharp and Italian guitarist Sergio Sorrentino, presenting world premier recordings of 4 works recorded live in Vercelli, Italy: two improvisations and two graphic scores performed on electric guitar with incredible technique and passion.
Stochastic music for percussion and synthesizers from New York avant conceptualist and keyboardist Charlemagne Palestine, here on piano & electronics, with the Italian duo Trrma' of Giovanni Todisco on percussion and Guiseppe Candiano on synth, in two side-long works of irregular rhythm, complexity and dissonance that build and recede in a suspenseful journey.