The Ensemble fur Neue Musik Zurich plays seven pieces by Swiss composer Dieter Ammann, each made through a very slow creative process that contrasts the very lively and gestural music.

Live recordings from 1973-74 from the trio of drummer John Stevens, guitarist Derek Bailey, and saxophonist Trevor Watts, dynamic works performed "impromptu" with a wealth of ideas as these innovators demonstrate the skills that helped define them as masterful players.

Composer Clarence Barlow, like Beethoven, builds his own labyrinths, brick by brick, and then searches for an escape by creating conceptual forms to get around the traps of time, tonality, and style.

Known for his more abstract Memorize the Sky project, tenor saxophonist and clarinetist Matt Bauder's band Day in Pictures adheres to jazz traditions with the superb quintet of Nate Wooley (trumpet), Kris Davis (piano), Jason Ajemian (bass) and Tomas Fujiwara (drums).

A set of playful, upbeat duos from West Coast-born bassist Greg Cohen and NY guitarist Bill Frisell, celebrating Cohen's home state of California in 6 originals and 3 California covers.

Four composers - John Carisi, Eddie Sauter, Christian Wolff, and Stefan Wolpe - create a program of works with a measured balance in the interrelated and contrasting material.

West Coast trombonist and electronic artist Michael Dessen's electroacoustic trio with bassist Christopher Tordini and drummer Dan Weiss, balancing detailed compositions and radically open improvisation that equally embraces groove-based improv and soundscape.

Saxophonist & flutist Paul Dunmall continues his Atmospheres series with these 3 varied improvisations performed with Philip Gibbs on electroacoustic guitar and Trevor Taylor on acoustic and electronic percussion.

The trio of Carl Michael von Hausswolff, Jason Lescalleet, and Joachim Nordwall use extreme electronics with an industrial bent and processed field recordings in this dark yet riveting release.

A mixed work for ensemble revolving around the sequences of video and electronic composition, showing a series of Chilean and Argentine landscapes and cityscapes.

Two reed players, Frode Gjerstad from Norway and Luis Conte from Buenos Aires, in studio recordings of improvised interactions using unusual and extended techniques through eleven short and incisive tracks.

The large Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra, led by Raymond MacDonald, met trombonist George Lewis in 2012 at CCA in Glasgow to record this two part work based on a set of instructions presented graphically, plus an extended free improvisation.

Two amazing wind players - saxophonist, clarinetist and flautist Vinny Golia and saxophonist Urs Leimgruber - in a series of free improvising duos pushing their instruments into unusual and captivating territories.

Guillermo Gregorio produces a series of compositions that reinterprets the structural concepts of Constructivism, Concretism, and Madi, focusing on the physicality of sound.

Pianist Richard Grossman in a trio with double bassist Ken Filiano and percussionist Alex Cline, playing freely improvised jazz in a live setting.

Ensemble Recherche plays chamber music pieces by Polish composer Roman Haubenstock-Ramati that are dynamically explosive and allow for the free communicating of the musicians.

A series of musical "mobiles" from European composer Roman Haubenstock-Ramati, sonic transformations of the visual experiences of Alexander Calder's dynamic sculptures.

Bassist John Hebert continues to explore his Louisana/Cajun roots with his trio of Benoit Delbecq on piano (plus synth & electronics) and drummer Gerald Cleaver, challenging and enigmatic improvisation with a solid rhythmic center.

Pianist Stephen Clarke plays seven works for solo piano by Estonian-born, Canadian-naturalized composer Udo Kasemets that focus on specific designs of micro-detail.

German composer Bernd Konrad masterfully balances composed and improvised parts in these pieces of construction and decay that constantly change texture.

After many years collaborating together, New York saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock and drummer Tom Rainey present their debut as a duo in a series of improvisations, from subtle interaction to rousing interplay.

John Law (piano) in a quartet with Jon Lloyd (saxes), Tim Wells (bass) and Gerry Hemingway (drums) playing jazz compositions modeled on a baroque suite.

Although she has probably become known as one of Australia's best-known composers, Liza Lim's compositions undermine centuries-old Eurocentrism and are largely inspired by Asian culture.

Composer and saxophonist Jon Lloyd comes together for the first time as a quartet with Stan Adler (cello), Marcio Mattos (bass), and Paul Clarvis (percussion) in a series of loosely composed works with a lot of room for improvisation.

Composer and pianist Russ Lossing explores the eloquence of silence as his music grows out of silence and the space between thought and gesture in this trio with Ed Schuller (bass) and Paul Motian (drums).

After recording Stroomtoon in December 2011, electronic sound artist Rutger Zuydervelt wanted to capture more of the roughness and spontaneity of his live performances, so he recorded more material for this second installation.

Six musicians play along with Wolfgang Mitterer's one hour and fifty-four minute computer track which leaves ample room for free improvisation, mixing contemporary composition with electronic and jazz music.

Max Nagl (composer, saxophones), Otto Lechner (accordion, piano, voice) and Bradley Jones (double bass) play ten pieces inspired by Charles Mingus but with a unique signature that is Nagl's own.

Musician and composer Max Nagl in his first release that breaks away from his standard miniaturist compositions and is played with a broad-band ensemble.

Sound artist Annabelle Playe blends electroacoustic, experimental and electronic noise music in her debut album.

The duo of saxophonist Boris Hauf and pianist D Bayne team up with guitarist Martin Siewert in this collection of tracks inspired by different U.S. national parks and their representation in iconic posters.

Indian-born, currently Amsterdam-based American Rajesh Mehta expands the timbral and textural palette of the trumpet in twelve pieces with accompaniment by Paul Lovens on drums and cymbals.

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.

Since 1997 drummer Tim Daisy and saxophonist Dave Rempis have worked together as part of the vital Chicago improvising scene, heard here in these superb duo sessions of great technical, musical, and inventive skills.

A series of compositions by Richard Rijnvos that were inspired by an installation in the Hessisches Landesmuseum consisting of an arrangment of about 270 objects known as the 'Block Beuys'.

Franck Vigroux's performance at Museum de la Mine, Saint Etienne, France in 2012, performed without an audience, dramatic textural sound work in an impressive and twisted industrial setting.

Pianist Steffen Schleiermacher plays six spiritual pieces by composer Dane Rudhyar that are not meant to be analyzed and thought about, but to be felt and experienced.

The duo of Bryan Day (Eloine, Shelf Life) and instrument builder Jay Kreimer in what they describe as "confrontational gamelan theatre", a form of amplified metal/object-based improvisation.

Splatter's 3rd CD resulted from a meeting between the London-based quartet Splatter (Noel Taylor-clarinet; Anna Kaluza-sax; Tom Greenhalgh-drums; Pedro Velasco-electric guitar) and Polish bassist Rafal Mazur after their successful collaboration at Cafe Oto in 2010.

Concert and studio recordings of peace music organised by John Stevens for himself and Trevor Watts with numerous workshop musicians and audience people on saxophones, percussion and voices mostly contributing a flexible drone.

Composer Ernstalbrecht Stiebler presents three solo pieces, one for accordion (Teodoro Anzellotti) one for piano (Marianne Schroeder) and the third for organ (Huub Ten Hacken).

Prisme is the music for a sound installation by sound artist Franck Vigroux and a collaboration with Fabien Zocco in a live audiovisual performance.

Electronic sound artist Franck Vigroux uses electronics, guitar, percussion, and his voice in this dark release with vocalist Annabelle Playe.

An hour of improvised duo music by Per Henrik Wallin (piano) and Sven-Ake Johansson (drums) on one CD, and another hour of exceptional playing by the trio of Wallin, Peter Janson (double bass) and Leif Wennerstrom (drums) on the second CD.

Calgary's saxophonist Darren Williams, who has worked with Mats Gustafsson, Cody Oliver, Eugene Chadbourne, and Han Bennink, in a solo album of remarkable power using extended techniques in composed and improvised pieces that push Williams into astounding territory.

Wire's annual survey of the past 12 months, including their Top 50 Releases, Top 50 Archive Releases, and commentary from Simon Reynolds, Clive Bell, Agata Pyzik, &c. &c.

Pianist and composer Daniel N. Seel plays four pieces from four generations of different composers including Stefan Wolpe, Morton Feldman, Walter Zimmerman, and his own work.

Acclaimed free improvising saxophonist Jack Wright is joined by his son Ben on double bass for these exceptional duos that balance space and color through extended techniques and an impecable sense of timing.

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.

Guitarist Barry Chabala's interpretation of composer Pisaro's piece, instructing the performer on structure and pitch but allowing the precise timing and sound to the player; plus a reworking of Chabala's recording taking advantage of cassette hiss and sine tones.

Two slow-motion radio pieces by Swiss audio artist Herbert Distel that blur the threshold between the "real" sound world and the sonic realms of illusion and imagination.

A series of solos and duets between Kalimba player Rainer Wiens and an impressive set of improvisers including Jean Derome, Malcolm Goldstein, Frank Lozano, &c.

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.

Electric jazz from the trio of Swedish born Greek Jiannis Pavlidlis on guitar, Greek organist Giorgos Kontrafouris, and American jazz/fusion drummer Adam Nussbaum, funky melodic and superb improv from an international group looking forward and back.

An interesting mixture of sound and spoken word originally recorded as a DJ set by RLW for a birthday celebration that was remixed with help from Stephen Meixner.

The third release from the trio of Alessandro Bosetti (voice, electronics), Tony Buck (drums) and Kenta Nagai (guitar) with help from trombonist Hilary Jeffrey and Els Vandeweyer on vibes.

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.

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.