Drummer Tomas Fujiwara's sextet is actually two trios interacting, with fellow drummer Gerald Cleaver, both Mary Halvorson and Brandon Seabrook on guitar, and Taylor Ho Bynum on cornet and Ralph Alessi on trumpet, the pairings forming unisons and contrasts that add an unrestrained sense of enthusiasm and excitement to Fujiwara's sophisticated compositions.

The second of two live concerts on Christopher Erb's Veto label for the Chicago/Swiss trio of Tomeka Reid on cello, Keefe Jackson on tenor & sopranino saxophones & bass clarinet, Christoph Erb on tenor and soprano, here in Chicago's Hungry Brain for an album of radical free improvisation contrasting reeds and string through impressive technique and fascinating collective discourse.

The North Carolina improvising collective Polyorchard, wrote this set of unusual and diverse improvisation for the 8th {Re}HAPPENING at Black Mountain College on March 31, 2018, this album a studio recording of that music featuring saxophonist Laurent Estoppey, Michael Thomas Jackson on clarinet and radio, David Menestres on bass and objects, and Dan Ruccia on viola and piano.

The fourth ECM album from NY Saxophonist Tim Berne and drummer Ches Smith, here in a trio with textural guitarist David Torn in three extended compositions merging jazz, rock and ambient forms, the middle track augmented with the Scorchio String Quartet and Craig Taborn, as they ebb and flow intense energy, fascinating compositional turns, and superb playing.

The fourth ECM album from NY Saxophonist Tim Berne and drummer Ches Smith, here in a trio with textural guitarist David Torn in three extended compositions merging jazz, rock and ambient forms, the middle track augmented with the Scorchio String Quartet and Craig Taborn, as they ebb and flow intense energy, fascinating compositional turns, and superb playing.

The pairing of German trumpeter Axel Dorner, and NY-born experimental artist Jason Kahn living and performing in Zurich, brings the tradition of avant free jazz and nonidiomatic improvisation into an unusual merging of techniques and approaches, each applying their advanced virtuosity to this intense concert, recorded during Hamburg's Zoom In Festival, 2017.

Acid Mothers Temple guitarist Kawabata Makoto meets Henry Cow wind player, percussionist and sound artist Geoff Leigh, with Aogu Tanimoto on violin & synth, as they are captured live at Delsol Cafe, in Yahata, Japan, performing a spiritually psychedelic five-part improvisation merging acoustic and electronic instruments in unorthodox and fascinating ways.

A live recording of the first encounter between Henry Cow/Radar Favourites/Ex-Wise Heads reed, wind and electronic artist Geoff Leigh and Acid Mother Temple guitarist and solo artist Kawabata Makoto, performing at Urbanguild, in Kyoto, Japan, in 2014 for a set of electronic, psychedelic improvisation of great detail using a vast arsenal of experimental approaches.

Five concerts of exceptional free improvisation, recorded in London, the last at Cafe OTO, across 5 CDs of collective ensembles known as "The Seen", presenting of some of the UK & Europe's finest improvisers, including Mark Wastell, John Butcher, David Toop, Dominic Lash, Phil Durrant, Angharad Davies, Jason Kahn, Bertrand Denzler, Yoni Silver, Chris Burn, &c.

World instrumentation of shakuhachi, thai flute, shinobue, thai mouth organ, and shruti box blends with western orchestration of double bass, percussion and electronics as Clive Bell, Arild Andersen, and Mark Wastell come together in the studio after their well-received concert at Cafe Oto in London to develop these beautifully lyrical improvisations.

Delicate improvised interaction based around a day of meditative composing from London-based violinist Mandhira de Saram, a founding member and leader of the Ligeti Quartet, and French pianist Benoit Delbecq, an active improviser also involved in theater, dance, and visual arts; here the two use profound control and mastery to create intensity without excess.

A one-take improvisation recorded in Berlin by trumpeter Tom Arthurs, caught on New Year's Day 2018 using piccolo trumpet, mutes and binaural field recordings, intended for headphone listening, as he provides an incredible sense of location while stimulating his listener with subtle interventions that ultimately act as a backdrop for his distinctive and sly soloing.

Selected short pieces for C double bass clarinet from German multi-reedist Udo Schinder, recorded live at his performance space for avant, free, and sound-oriented improvisation, Salon fur Klang + Kunst, in Krailling, Munich; Schindler presents a diverse set of approaches recorded to give strength and warmth to both subtle and vociferous statements.

Spanish sound artist and vocalist Mattin in his 6th "Songbook" album, performed with Farahnaz Hatam, Pan Daijing, Colin Hacklander, Werner Dafeldecker, and Dean Roberts, a vicious mix of essentially no-wave rock and experimental music, six songs at exactly six minutes each covering topics of the conflicts, confusion and frustrations of our modern age.

New York-based Italian percussionist and Neither/Nor label leader Carlo Costa in a solo percussion album of two pieces using drum set, concert bass drum, singing bowls, bells, triangles, wood blocks, tiles, styrofoam, cymbals, violin bows, marbles, chains, knives, and other objects, creating fascinating alien soundscapes of momentous activity without histrionics.

The North Carolina improvising collective Polyorchard is heard in this exceptional studio album, configured as a quintet with Michael Thomas Jackson on clarinet, David Menestres on double bass, Crowmeat Bob Pence on bass clarinet, Charles Phaneuf on clarinet, and Dan Ruccia on viola, for the 6 lettered "Sommian" suite of collective and far-ranging experimental improv.

Making something out of "nothing", audio explorers and sonic organizers Eric La Casa from France and Australian Eamon Sprod spent a week on the waste grounds in the North East of Paris along the Canal Ourcq, capturing field recordings which they used to develop these active compositions, captivating by morphing everyday sounds into something intriguingly mysterious and remarkable.

Studio recordings of two startlingly impressive compositions for orchestra and improvisers, with four soloists--Mary Halvorson (guitar), Kris Davis (piano), Nate Wooley (trumpet), and Laubrock (saxophone)-- presenting "Vogelfrei" written for the 2014 second Jazz Composers Orchestra Institute Reading, and "Contemporary Chaos Practices" written for the 2017 Moers Festival.

A masterful performance at Radio Studio Zurich in Switzerland in 2018 from London jazz pianist Alexander Hawkins, improvising over a wide range of interests from jazz & blues to avant compositional work, with impressive skill as he runs complex and diverging figures on each hand that are coherent and exhilarating to follow, balanced with beautiful reflective sections.

With two guitarists--Mary Halvorson and Susan Alcorn on pedal steel--and Ryan Sawyer on drums, New York trumpeter explores the Rocky Mountains Columbia Icefield, the largest icefield in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, through sophisticated compositions and superbly illustrative sound, an exceptional album of improvisation and intention from four modern masters.

In the 1980's guitarist and eccentric sound artist Eugene Chadbourne started a series of cassettes that ultimately became the LP "Country Music in the World of Islam"; this new and astonishing archive collection culls material from that and blends it in studio collage with live material from Elliot Sharp, Sun City Girls, Jon Rose, phone messages from Derek Bailey, &c &c.

In the 1980's guitarist and eccentric sound artist Eugene Chadbourne started a series of cassettes that ultimately became the LP "Country Music in the World of Islam"; this new and astonishing archive collection culls material from that and blends it in studio collage with live material from Elliot Sharp, Sun City Girls, Jon Rose, phone messages from Derek Bailey, &c &c.

Recorded the year before the first Shockabilly record in 1983, this live album with Eugene Chadbourne on electric guitar and vocals, plus Shockabilly-to-be and percussionist David Licht, and Tom Shepard taking Kramer's place on bass, as the trio take on country music, Hendrix, Beatles, Yardbirds, bring out The Rake, and otherwise twist up a set of great songs.

Doc Chad pays homage to classic horror flicks with this experimental album blending collages of spoken word from the original movies, with an emphasis on Vincent Price/Hammer Horror era epics, creating a new soundtrack to accompany them through effected guitar work in a Chad/Horror/Rake mode, a freakish and fun blend of improvised and planned performance.

Bringing together two New York percussionists for a wild ride of that finds drummer Jason Nazary performing exclusively on electronics against and alongside Neither/Nor label-leader Carlo Costa's percussion, using glitch and aberrant electronics in actively constrained ways as the two dart and weave around each other in an exciting and unique improvisational dialog.

Chicago and New York come together in Brooklyn to record this excellent encounter between pianist Matthew Shipp and flutist Nicole Mitchell, with Michael Bisio on bass and Newman Taylor Baker on drums, bridging exciting free playing with strong lyrical elements, balancing kinetically exuberant interaction with introspective and dark moments; inspired and masterful.

John Zorn's Masada Book Three, "The Book Beri'ah", continues in its second volume with this powerful and demanding album from the Philadelphia avant-metal band of Ludovic Beier on accordion & accordina, Timba Harris on violins, Matt Hollenberg on guitars & Oud, Dan Kennedy on bass, Larry Kwartowitz on drums, and Nick Shellenberger on keyboards & vocals.

A 5 CD box set of compositions written by Michael Pisaro using field recordings captured along the Grosse Muhl River in Austria during the 2011-15 Flussaufwartstreiben project, now accompanying performances made along that river by Antoine Beuger (flute), Jurg Frey (clarinet), Marcus Kaiser (cello), Radu Malfatti (trombone), Andre Moller (guitar), and Kathryn Pisaro (oboe).

The Winged Serpents is a collective of solo pianist brought together by John Zorn to pay tribute to brilliant free jazz pianist Cecil Taylor, taking their name from his 1985 Soul Note album "Winged Serpent", Craig Taborn, Sylvie Courvoisier, Brian Marsella, Kris Davis, Aruan Ortiz, and Anthony Coleman each pay homage in original improvisations that invoke the spirit of Taylor's work.

Working together in tours and recording since 2005, the NY trio of multi-reedist and wind player Daniel Carter, bassis William Parker and drummer/percussionist Federico Ughi are joined by saxophonist Watson Jennison also on flute, recorder and keyboards for this enlightened album of modern and transcendent jazz in a limited, remastered LP edition with bonus material.

"Transoceanico" signifies the global reach of Rome, Italy-born improvising drummer Federico Ughi, celebrating 20 years since his first album recorded in London while residing there, leading to his current Brooklyn launchpad for many global tours and albums, this impressive LP realized in a superb free jazz trio with bassist Adam Lane and tenor saxophonist Rachel Musson.

A heavy album merging free improvisation, blues and rock forms from the French Killing Spree trio of Matthieu Metzger on alto saxophone & electronics, Sylvain Daniel on electric bass & effects, and Gregoire Galichet on drums, living up to the band name in dark malice captured live at Club Soto in Kyoto, Japan during their 2018 Japanese tour; vengeful.

Two meticulous works in two parts each using layered collage of acoustic instruments, objects, electronics, field recordings, voices, fragments of past compositions and early classical music samples, with A.F. Jones providing voice narration, from Venezuelan composer/artist Gil Sanson and Canadian-based composer/painter Lance Austin Olsen: "Pra Min" and "Meditations".

Brooklyn drummer Devin Gray leads 3 musicians with Baltimore ties--Ellery Eskelin (sax), Dave Ballou (trumpet) and Michael Formanek (bass)--the rhythm team of this chord-less quartet providing the perfect platform for the diverse song structures in Gray's compositions, through tight melodic interaction or unrestricted excursions for the horn section; superb modern jazz.

Masterful, fervent free jazz from trans-Atlantic trio of Mars Williams on saxophones, Kent Kessler on bass, and Paal Nilssen-Love on drums, captured live at Elastic Arts, in Chicago in 2017 for three impressive collective improvisations of intense energy, articulate and extended expression, and ecstatic improvisation in an exceptional and cohesive concert.

Blending two of the most unconventional voices on the planet--Ute Wasswerman and Jaap Blonk--with percussionist Michael Vorfeld, also on string instrument, light bulbs and electronic devices, Wasserman adding voice, whistles, kutu wapa, frog buzzer, and mirliton, and Blonk adding electronics; wonderfully eccentric while impressively informed and masterfully executed.

A stunning solo album working inside and outside of the piano and coaxing electronic response from the strings from pianist Satoko Fujii, caputered at Samurai Hotel in NY in September of 2018, and in the studio in Brooklyn three months later, during her prolific 60th "kanreki" birthday year, here in 15 dynamic and far-ranging improvisations revealing her depth and creative powers.

An intimate and unique collaboration between two far-ranging Japanese performers--Yoshino, also known for her work in Japanese underground rock, here on biwa (a short-necked fretted lute) and voice; and trumpeter Natsuki Tamura, Satoko Fujii collaborator and Gato Libre leader--presenting exotic narratives in song using instrumental intervention of ardent improvisation.

The Norwegian guitar trio led by Roland Galewicz on drums, Henrik Sandstad Dalen on double bass, and Havard Nordberg Funderud on guitar, free improvisers with a dark intent captured live at Kafe Haerverk, in Oslo in 2018 as they perform Galewicz's rhythm-heavy three part "Death Machine Suite", Funderud's spacious "Nice Things" and Dalen's searing "Holmenkollekspressen".

With two magnificent albums and more than 100 concert performances, the masterful dialog from this working string trio of Canadian, European and American players--Tristan Honsinger on cello and voice; Joshua Zubot, on violin; Nicolas Caloia on double bass--is evident in their thrilling exchanges and dynamic approaches to both rapid and reflective improvisation.

Improvising Japanese guitarist Riuichi Daijo joins Spanish Bass & Sopranino saxophonist Ferran Besalduch for a series of non-idiomatic dialogs, from bright restrained to assertive interactions, unusual techniques from Besalduch and percussive asides on the guitar adding engaging ornaments to their conversation; a nice accompaniment to a bright day.

The debut for this acoustic free improvising Amsterdam trio of Ziv Taubenfeld on bass clarinet, Henk Zwerver on guitar, and Maya Felixbrodt on viola, in a set of abstract improvisations of an active nature using unorthodox and extended techniques, with an upbeat sense of excitement and enthusiasm that allows for solo forays amongst great collective discourse.

A trio of improvisers recorded live at Exploratorium in Berlin, 2018, from Zemun prepared pianist Dusica Cajlan-Wissel, European percussionist Etienne Nillesen on extended snare drum, and improviser/sculptur Georg Wissel on prepared alto saxophone, through extended technique and preparations creating unusual sonic interactions of detail and restrained idiosyncratic discourse.

A mysterious and absorbing composition in 8 parts with 8 independent themes, composed to accompany the narrative of an exhibition in January 2018 by the Portuguese artist Sandra Gil at Galerie 9 in Lille, France, Bramnk's score combining acoustic, electronic, and studio components, this rendering adding viola from Guenola Fatout on several parts.

The Netherlands quartet of Martin Tervoort on tenor & soprano saxophones and bass clarinet, Bert Kleijn on drums, Fons Sluijter on cello, and Bennie Timmer on guitars, in collective improvisation influenced by jazz, blues, salsa, pop, free improv and modern compositional music.

Recording live in Berlin at Werkhalle Wiesenburg, the quartet of Portuguese father/son string players Ernesto Rodrigues on viola, Guilherme Rodrigues on cello, Danish saxophonist Mia Dyberg on alto sax, and Polish double bassist Tomo Jacobson present a precisely controlled concert of subtly detailed free improvisation using impressive technique and momentum.

The NY trio of Stephan Crump on acoustic bass, Ingrid Laubrock on tenor & soprano saxophones, and Cory Smythe on piano follow-up to their "Planktonic Finales" album with this live album recorded at the Unerhort!-Festival in Zurich in 2017, in a lyrically free album of solid compositional structures that result in warmly creative and singular jazz.

A split 7": on one side Sleepytime Gorilla Museum percussionist/drummer/composer Moe! Staiano's West Coast rotating ensemble Surplus 1980 in a teaser for an upcoming release with G.W. Sok, Kyle Bruckmann, members of Fred Frith Trio and Total Shutdown; on the other side King Champion Sounds featuring G.W. Sok, formerly of the Dutch band the Ex.

The 6th in John Zorn's "Hermetic Organ" series of real-time improvisations performed by Zorn himself, this volume paying tribute to the 19th century suspense and horror writer Edgar Allan Poe, as Zorn evokes Poe's enduring and chilling imagination using the organ's immense power and implicit sense of foreboding, stretching the limits of the organ.

The second Masada book project from the adventurous London big band Spike Orchestra, whose interpretations of Zorn's Book of Angels compositions in their Cerberus album was a high point in that series by presenting lyrical strength, skill and power, heard again merging jazz, rock, & klezmer & more as they take on 9 compositions in Zorn's Book Beriah series.

Recording live in Berlin at Werkhalle Wiesenburg, the quartet of Portuguese father/son string players Ernesto Rodrigues on viola, Guilherme Rodrigues on cello, Danish saxophonist Mia Dyberg on alto sax, and Polish double bassist Tomo Jacobson present a precisely controlled concert of subtly detailed free improvisation using impressive technique and momentum.

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!

The duo of Scott Fields on guitar and Stephan Rath on the theorbo (a long necked stringed instrument) crosses new music with early music, performing works written for the 2007 Cologne Music Triennial.

Guitarist and composer Scott Fields presents the 3rd installment of his Beckett Trilogy, based on the writings of Irish novelist and poet Samuel Barclay Beckett (1906-1989), whose ironic black comedies Fields characterizes musically in instrumental compositions performed by his quartet with cellist Scott Roller, drummer Domnik Mahnig, and saxophonist Matthias Schubert.

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.