Rinus van Alebeek plays a CD copy of the late composer Luc Ferrari's "Cycles Des Souvenirs" in Luc Ferrari's house, while his widow Brunhild Ferrari reads the liner notes and Van Alebeek makes recording inside the house and its surroundings.
Mauricio Kagel's 1970s avant cinema film "Ludwig Van" about Beethoven's music, is reinterpreted by pianist Frederic Blondy and turntablist DJ Lenar, improvising at Zacheta National Gallery of Art, in Warsaw, Poland, 2011, and assembled in studio.
The duo of Liz Allbee on trumpet and Anthea Caddy on cello in beautifully paced, mysterious improvisations using a minimal approach of extended and often disconcerting techniques augmented with subtle electroacoustic touches.
72 extractions of electroacoustic improvisation from saxophonist Christoph Gallio, and an accompanying DVD from director Beat Streuli, with music and sound coming from Dominique Girod (bass), Julian Sartorius (drums), Andrea Neumann (piano), and Ernst Thoma (synth).
The NY trio of saxophonist Stephen Gauci, cornetist Kirk Knuffke and bassist Ken Filiano in a set of group improvisations plus compositions from each player, great melodic and interactive playing from three exceptional players.
Clarinetist Theo Jorgensmann's quartet with double bassist Christian Ramond, drummer Klaus Kugel, and vibraphonist Christopher Dell recording in the studio in German, 1999.
Matthias Kaul performing percussion works recorded on using cymbalon, hurdy-gurdy, bicycle, telephone, voice, &c., with Stefan Romeyan providing and reciting his poetry on "Roma".
New York jazz vocalist Kosi in an album extending her duo format to a larger ensemble using lyrical jazz forms to create an intimate and emotional album of original and traditional songs.
The superb trio of Daunik Lazro on baritone sax, Benjamin Duboc on bass, and Didier Lasserre on drum & cymbals, in a live recording from Ecouter pour l'instant festival, a long open work inspired by poet Henri Michaux's writings on emptiness & tranquility.
An unusual set of pop compositions from Brussels-based Le Ton Mite, short vignettes blending compositional and folk elements into lovely miniatures, graced with a personal and idiosyncratic style reflected in the collage art covering the album.
Taking their name from the German Town Bad Fallingbostel, this album collects recordings from the 3 year collaboration of these two improvising sound artists: Gunnar Lettow on prepared bass guitar, electronics & objects; and Korhan Erel on computer & controllers.
A quintessential NY release from Brooklyn poet Steve Dalachinsky and saxophonist Dave Liebman with special guest pianist Richie Beirach, in 14 insightful works referencing and dedicated to Cecil Taylor, Billie Holiday, Jackson Pollock, Steve Lacy, &c &c.
A series of exceptional compositions by saxophonist Jemeel Moondoc plus one by Alice Coltrane, performed in a variety of group settings, from duos to quintet, with sidemen Matthew Shipp, Roy Campbell, Steve Swell, Hilliard Greene, and Newman Taylor Baker.
Originally released in 1984 on cassette by ADN tapes, these early works from Bernard Pruvost and Pierre Bastien use an unusual array of instruments to create irregular improvised music with a No Wave aesthetic.
Ergo Phizmiz reinterprets Robert Ashley's disturbing avant-classical work "Purposeful Lady Slow Afternoon", in a group with Ergo Phizmiz (voice, piano), Lula (voice), Maciej Cieslak (guitar), Julia Zietek (violin), Alessandro Bosetti (laptop), and DJ Lenar (turntable).
A DVD compilation of databending & video art from video and sound artists Raul Dominguez & Miguel A. Garcia, Muckrackers, loopool & Zara Kand, Kelly Donovan, Wayne Mason, Nipple Stools, CihanLucia, Third I, Carl Kruger, Meat Hands, Somnaphon, Regosphere.
Pianist Francois Raulin's trio with soprano saxophonist Francois Corneloup and double bassist Bruno Cheviloon, also providing vocals recording in the studio in France, 2000.
Sontag Shogun is the trio of pianist Ian Temple and sound artists Jesse Perlstein and Jeremy Young, setting the piano against intricately designed sonic textures and cut-ups of choral voice and acoustic guitar, as well as processed field recordings, here in a 10" 4 track EP.
Brooklyn's Sontag Shogun (Ian Temple-piano; Jesse Perlstein-electronics; Jeremy Young-tapes & electronics) in their debut album, compiling three years of composing and directed textural improvisations, presented in 9 rich musical works.
Jeremy Young, aka Szilard, in his debut full-length release as a solo performer on guitar and sine waves, with texts from Charles Baudelaire's "Les Fleurs Du Mal" (1857) read by Aki Onda, Ella Joyce Buckley, Liam Singer and Catherine Metayer.
Blending elements of punk, no wave and free improvisation reminding of Crass, The Ex, Gang of Four, &c., the cry of free jazz driven by strong bass lines and groove guitar riffs, this Italian band sings in English on a mix of socially conscious songs and observant themes.
Five works from composer James Tenney for solo percussion, performed by Matthias Kaul, plus one work for tape and percussion and one work for percussion and tape-delay-system with Rudiger Orth ("Deus Ex Machina").
Andrea Belfi (percussion), David Grubbs (guitar), David Maranha (organ), and Pete Simonelli (voice) perform "Ten Intrusions", following the model set by Harry Partch's 1949-1950 composition "Eleven Intrusions".
Legendary free improvising saxophonist Jack Wright in a duo with new generation free improvising drummer Ben Bennett, both part of the touring band Wrest Trio, in an album of interactive interchanges informed by unusual technique and masterful playing.
Four contemporary compositions separated by three transmissions from the past from the Xasax saxophone quartet of Jean-Michel Goury, Marcus Weiss, Pierre-Stephane Meuge and Serge Bertocchi.
Limited color edition of 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.
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.
A Record Store Day 7" release to accompany the LP edition of the LP of the same name from The Thing (Mats Gustafsson-bas sax; Paal Nilssen-Love-drums; Ingebrigt Haker Flaten-electric bass), adding 2 tracks: "Empty from Bawling" and "Bruises Without Contact".
Vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Sam Mickens (The Dead Science) leading an excellent band including drummer Mike Pride, bassist Shahzad Ismaily, vocalists Carla Bozulich, Jesse Quattro, &c, through 15 persuasive rock songs recorded in NYC.
The studio debut of drummer Federico Ughi and electric guitarist Adam Caine's project The Moon, a touring band crossing jazz based free improvisation with rock elements in free-flowing and driving music highlight the technical and melodic skills of both players.
A co-production between BeCoq Records and Creative Sources, the quartet of saxophonist Mathhiew Lebrun with 3 guitarists--Leo Rathier, Paul Menard, and Thomas Coquelet--use preparations, feedbacks, glass, cymbals, microswitches, and unusual sax techniques to create unusual sonic environments that ebb and flow in introspective and disquieting ways.
New works for the accordion composed by Vinko Globokar, Toshio Hosokawa, Youghi Pagh-Paan, Rolf Riehm, and Salavatore Sciarrino and performed by Teodoro Anzellotti.
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.
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.
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.
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".
'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.
Pianist Francois Raulin's trio with soprano saxophonist Francois Corneloup and double bassist Bruno Cheviloon, also providing vocals recording in the studio in France, 2000.
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.
Trumpeter Dennis Gonzalez merges his Yells at Eel project with bassist Aaron Gonzalez and drummer/percussionist Stefan Gonzalez, with Texas-based experimental rock band Pinkish Black--Daron Beck on keyboards and Jon Teague on drums & synthesizers--for a gripping and masterful hybrid of improvisation, dark synthetic rock and heavy moods; a riveting journey.
Exploring the lineage of the Dukes of Bedford, the Russell lineage in Bedford, England, in groupings of acoustic & electric guitarists John Russell, Ray Russell, and Henry Kaiser along with double bassist Ollie Brice, from duos to quartets, eight Duke "Russells" from 1680 to 2003 are explored through intricate and joyfully creative and technically amazing string improvisations.
Taking his title from a poem by Octavio Paz with titles from translations by Lysander Kemp of other Octavio Paz poems, this solo album from double bassist Damon Smith is his definitive statement on the instrument: 23 tracks from 46 seconds to 5 minutes 50, developed over 15 years and displaying Smith's incredible technique and creative intent; incomparable.
Using hard bop as his jumping off point, Swiss saxophonist Omri Ziegele Tomorrow Trio with Christian Weber on bass and Han Bennink on drums--musicians who have toured and performed together over years--went into the studio hot off of a 13 day tour to record these 6 Ziegele original compositions, lyrically balanced with room for exemplary soloing and group interplay.