Ensemble leader and tuba player Carl Ludwig Hubsch created this musical concept inspired by the guitar player Keith Rowe, exploring one static sound in the ensemble, maintaining it and in the same time interacting with utmost care and openness for any necessary change, in a 22-piece ensemble of exceptional players.

Taking two of Montreal's most vital musicians, guitarist Rene Lussier and clarinetist Robert Lepage, and joining them with the far-ranging string quartet Le Quatuor Bozzini for a stunning album that merges chamber music, noise music, and improvisation without leaving behind melody, intention and direction; magnificent!

Spring 2016 issue of Canada's premier music magazine, including a 10-track CD of musicians featured in this issue's magazine. Contents include: articles on Craig Aalders' el8dEra 3m; , Eighty-five scores celebrate Pauline Oliveros; Toronto label All-Set! Editions; Thin Edge New Music Collective; electronic composer John Mills-Cockell; and much more!

Two live recordings at Theatre au Clain, in Poitiers, France and at le Bistrot, in Bayonne, from the free improvising quartet of Christiane Bopp on trombone, Jean-Marc Foussat on synth & voice, Jean-Luc Petit on bass clarinet and sopranino sax, and Makoto Sato on drums, for submersive interchanges blending electronics and acoustics in remarkable ways.

"Three traditions, three musics? Hardly. This trio of improvisers -- Michel Doneda, soprano saxophone; Benat Achary, vocals, percussion; Kazue Sawai, koto -- forgoes all pretenses of speaking a universal language or separate ones, but i...

"Even for the avant-garde fan acquainted with the Far East Side Band's first CD, Caverns, Urban Archaeology cannot fail to surprise. The group's blend of Oriental and Occidental instruments and music forms provides quite a change of sce...

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A meeting in NY's Lower East Village between four improvisors--Robert Burke on saxes, George Lewis on trombone & electronics, Paul Grabowsky on piano & snare drum, and Mark Helias on acoustic bass--playing a pre-composed work, blending 21st century composition with modern jazz sensibility, enhanced by Lewis' computer-based "shapeshifts".

The stellar quartet of Paul Dunmall on tenor and soprano saxophone, John Edwards on bass, Liam Noble on piano, and Mark Sanders on drums performing 2 extended improvisations balancing energetic playing with contemplative conversation, captured live at the Vortex, in London, England, in 2016.

Virtuoso UK bassist Ashley John Long presents a startling array of approaches and techniques on the double bass over 11 improvisations, from concise shorter presentations to expansive displays of skill, excitement or introspection, all with an ear to captivating his listener.

An exciting album crossing free improvisation with chamber approaches and extended techniques from Serbian violist Szilard Mezei performing in a trio with pianist Marina Dzukljev and drummer/percussionist Vasco Trilla, recording in Novi Sad, Serbia in 2017.

These recordings of pieces by John Cage were made at a performance called Silence & Transmission led by Peter Upreth conducting an ensemble of four performers using radios and voice, held at An Lanntair Arts Centre, Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides on 20th September 2012, as part of the celebrations for Cage's centenary.

Originally developed for the soundtrack to Sean Martin and Louise Milnes 2011 documentary, "A Boat Retold", vocalist Maggie Nichols and pianist Peter Urpeth revisited the material for album release, creating this wonderful pair of extemporaneous, otherworldly narratives.

The Danish/Norwegian trio of Thomas Eiler on drums, Niklas Adam on electronics & guitar, and Danielle Dahl on sax and electronic wind instrument draw inspiration from early electronic minimalism, punk rock, noise and free jazz in the full-length debut, surprising the listener as the music shifts from abstract reductionism to full-on assault.

A compilation of sound artists within the 910 area code, the North Carolina coastal region including Wilmington, NC, the home of Squidco, with artists including Carl Kruger (Caucasians, Baby Daddy), Grant Stewart as subterrene, Ryan Lewis in Food World and Baby Daddy, Phil Zampino (CHANGES TO blind), Jason Ward, August Traeger, and Authorless.

A strong and enthralling set of dialogs captured live from the working duo of pianist Stephen Grew and saxophonist Trevor Watts on alto & soprano, intricate exchanges of great energy but also great compassion and introspection, a well-rounded set of adventurous exchanges that highlight the incredible skills of both players.

Violinist and percussionist Nick Smith, having access to St. Mary's Church at Great Baddow for music performance and rehearsals, made his first use of the space in 1996 in a duo with Mark Wastell on violincello, preparations and percussion, where they used the acoustics of the church to enhance their detailed and absorbing improvisations.

A combination of cyclical themes, made-up folk dances, and invented improvisations from UK reedist Chris Cundy, performing on bass clarinet at the Cheltenham Synagogue for 10 compositions developed specifically for this Confront recording as playful pieces intended as popular music for solo bass clarinet.

The French Le Bruit de la Musique festival is run by Le Quan Ninh and Martine Altenburger, who invited Simon H. Fell to perform a solo set on the doublebass, the result being this fantastic album that takes the largest of bass instruments through an astonishing array of approaches enhanced by the acoustics of the church of Toulx-Sainte-Croix.

A collaboration between American sound artist Jeph Jerman and Italian percussionists Paolo Sanna and Giacomo Salis, twelve intriguing short improvisations using extended techniques and lowercase approaches that include minimal textures, field recordings, abstract atmospheres and organic sounds.

A new trio at the time, TIN is trumpeter Axel Dorner, bassist Dominic Lash, and drummer/percussionist Roger Turner, captured live in three locations during their 2015 UK tour, presenting masterful avant improvisations of sound-oriented work using an immense technical vocabulary to creative inventive and captivating dialog.

Two cellists, Nikos Veliotis and Mark Wastell, employ a vast array of expansive techniques and approaches to an actively reductionist set of improvisations, using the natural reverb of All Angels church in Turnham Green, London as a third voice, as the duo listens attentively and advance their interchanges in intricate and riveting ways.

Starting from John Cage's Zen quote--"Every day is a good day"--the trio of Rachael Wadham on piano, Philippe Lenglet on acoustic guitar and cithar (a type of harp), and contrabass, recorded these improvisations approaching their instruments not for melodies but as tools for experimentation, from which this trio finds a wealth of inventive sound.

Guitarist Brian McKenzie is known best for his dramatic rock persona, where his multi-instrumental approach to song-writing shows great skill; on this album, McKenzie gets down to the guitar itself, with loops, effects and electronics creating a cohesive set of 9 pieces that maintain an edgy, discordant approach to enthralling sound.

Eric La Casa documents his home environment in Paris through audio investigation and field recordings, creating 3 large works that reveal the properties, singularities, banalities and features of his audio environment in perspective to his status as a citizen of the city, presented in a gatefold CD package with a color 60-page booklet of photos and text.

Saxophonist Martin Kuchen's amazing 9-piece Angles ensemble returns for an album titled for the grief of those who disappear due to war, crime and oppression, music that celebrates the tense balance in the challenge to confront and lead away from darkness and tyranny.

The Scandinavian quintet of Ole-Henrik Moe on violin, Kim Johannesen on guitar; Ola Hoyer on double bass; Erik Nylander on drums & drum machine; and Klaus Ellerhusen-Holm on alto saxophone and Bb on clarinet, in a daring album of mostly Ellerhusen-Holm compositions, arranged collectively into these creative and energetic gems.

Viola improviser and composer Mat Maneri leads this trio with British UK legend Evan Parker on soprano and tenor saxophone and Romanian ex-patriot and frequent collaborator Lucian Ban on piano, for ten compositions blending tradition, song, and improvisational tactics, recalling 20th century modern classical music in addition to jazz.

A lyrical outing from the Chicago working trio of Nick Mazzarella on alto saxophone, Matt Ulery on doublebass, and Jeremy Cunningham on drums, performing live at the Whistler in Chicago, Illinois in 2016, recorded for this debut album of Mazzarella compositions, flexible pieces that balance jazz traditions with avant options for the players.

The Californian saxophone quartet composed of Bruce Ackley, Steve Adams, Larry Ochs and Jon Raskin is extended with Henry Kaiser on guitar and Kyle Bruckmann on analog synth to perform the music of saxophone legend Steve Lacy in 7 compositions, putting an eclectic spin on the iconic composer and performer's music.

Rather than ancient Germanic alphabet letters, "Rune" Your Day is named for Norwegian composer and band-leader, double bassist Rune Nergaard [Bushman's Revenge], and his quartet with Jorgen Mathisen on alto & soprano sax & clarinet, Andre Roligheten on tenor & baritone sax, and Axel Skalstad on drums, for an album of concentrated, creative jazz.

The Portuguese trio The Selva of Ricardo Jacinto (cello), Goncalo Almeida (double bass) and Nuno Morao (drums) in an album building on world and historic music forms focused through modern improviser's ears, creating a hybrid approach that slowly reveals its jazz roots in an unhurried but cultured take on new creative music.

Swiss trumpeter Marco Von Orelli leads this trio with Max E. Keller on piano and Sheldon Suter on drums, heard live at JazzAmMittwoch, Theater an Gleis, in Winterthur, Switzerland in 2014 for a thoroughly modern jazz outing of creative and extended approaches to the trio's instruments and approach to free jazz.

Bizarre, disruptive, aberrant sound from twisted experts in the field Lambs Gamble, comprised of George Cremaschi on bass & electronics, Fritz Welch on drums, percussion and voice, and Eric Boros (Vialka) on electronics and voice, recording in Switzerland for a fantastic album of intelligent abnormality.

Two legendary improvisers, Downtown New York multi-reedist and shakuhachi player Ned Rothenberg met Chicago drummer Hamid Drake at Ciagoty I Tesknoty, in Lodz, Poland in 2016 to record this effusive, extraordinary live concert of improvised music, demonstrating both enormous instrumental skill while imparting wonderfully upbeat energy; outstanding!

Eric La Casa and Jean Luc Guionnet recorded this conceptual work in Melbourne, Australia, combining different scales of time, space, & attention, with different working strategies to create a gallery installation, and this book & DVD package exploring the acoustic phenomenon of "standing waves" to engage with the physical relationship between sound and space.

The Korekyojin trio of Tatsuya Yoshida on percussion, Kido Natsuki on guitar and Mitsuru Nasuno on fretless bass, plus violinist Miyamoto Rei on several tracks, take their intricate and exuberant rock into acoustic territory with this impressive album, which includes acoustic takes on "Arabesque", "Careless Heart", "Four Holes in the Sky", &c.

A dramatic work for solo piano, exploring sound phenomena in fast repetitions that generate whirlpools of overtones, "Blood Stretched Out" is the primary track on composer & pianist Anthony Pateras' first solo album in 10 years, paired with "Chronochromatics", recorded live at The Loft in Cologne as part of the Plush Music Festival in 2013.

Anthony Pateras was commissioned to compose this work by Synergy Percussion for their 40th birthday in 2014, performed with a six piece ensemble including electronic artist Jerome Noetinger, using the same instrumentation as Xenakis' "Pleiades" of more than 100 orchestral percussion instruments, including Xenakis' 17-pitch microtonal metallophones.

An amazing solo CD of free improvisation from guitarit David Stackenaus, showing incredible technique and melodic intent, equally at ease when exploring tonality and melody or abstract noisy textures; compelling and impressive playing!

Norwegian / Swedish vocalist Andreas Backer in an album of impressive solo voice improvisations, applying stunning vocal techniques to generally non-articulate pieces, using his voice in astonishing, frightening, funny and simply bizarre ways over a diverse set of compositions, mostly acoustic, except on "Voicetronics"; weird and wonderful.

Sometimes frenetic, always exhilarating duo work between Portugese electric guitarist Antonio Chapparreiro and drummer/percussionist Pedro Alcada, succinct tracks, some as short as 36 seconds, where the two spar and unite over angular rhythms and abrupt changes, with a twisted sense of humor and a wealth of adventurous spirit.

Two CDs representing two extended improvisations of the IKB Ensemble with slightly different personnel, with each ensemble slowly unfolding an amazingly textured work of acoustics and electronics with strong intent and incredible technique, balanced by close listening and attention to detail; an excellent 21st century improvisation orchestra captured live.

A half composed, half improvised album for solo electric guitar from composer and improviser Justin Lepany, known for his work with musicians like Sven-Ake Johansson and his composition "Ringing Peace" premiered during the 2014 Peace Nobel Prize ceremony: three diverse pieces using effects to create both density and spacious sonic fields.

The trio of bassist Achim Tang, prepared pianist Philip Zoubek, and trombonist Matthias Muche extended with Sven Hahne on computer and Christian Thome on drums and electronics in a freely improvised electroacoustic album of subtle pacing and diverse approaches, with many of the rhythmic elements imparting a gamelan feeling.

A lowercase meeting of strings, objects, microphones and computer between core Creative Sources members Ernesto Rodrigues on viola and Guilherme Rodrigues on cello, and Karne Decorne (objects) and Simon Proffitt (microphones & computer), investigating microsound in four unhurried conversations that include moments of odd interjections, tones, and timbre.

An exceptional lowercase acoustic improvisation album from some of the finest of Europe's outside-technique free improv players, with frequent collaborators and label-mates Ernesto Rodrigues on viola, Nuno Torres on alto sax, and Guiherme Rodrigues on cello, in quintet with Red Trio pianist Rodrigo Pinheiro and French improv drummer Naoto Yamagishi.

The 2nd album for this quartet, with Daniele Martini on saxophones, Giovanni di Domenico on piano, Goncalo Almeida on doublebass, and Joao Lobo on drums, for an album of slowly building free improv starting in a Necks mode and developing into frenetically lyrical passages, a great blend of modern and traditional approaches to free jazz.

The duo of Carlos Santos and Jorge Valente developed this project around the metallics of a cymbal, recording it and digitally manipulating and transforming it into a musical structure using the maxmsp programming; this recording was captured live at the Hertzoscopio Festival in Fabrica da Polvora, Barcarena, Portugal in 2004.

Antoine Beuger performs composer Maria De Alvear's 1995 contemplative work "Besando El Tiempo" (Kissing The Time) written using an automatic script and originally composed for the flautist Caren Levine; after hearing Beuger's interpretation she requested that he record it, the result this rendition that takes the composition on an introspective journey.