Schwarm, or "Swarm", 13 is a German ensemble performing instant compositions, directed by clarinetist Rudi Debrunner and saxophonist Max Stehle, who also provides conceptions for the band, which is comprised of reeds, guitar, violin, viola, cello, piano, percussion, double bass, and voice, presenting (appropriately) 13 improvisations captured live at Studioboerne45.

The Portuguese large improvising ensemble String Theory is heard live during the CreativeFest#12, at O'Culto da Ajuda, in Lisbon, Portugal in 2018, in an extended improvisation of incredible layering and restraint, making an amalgam of mostly acoustic string sources sound electronic and hallucinatory, an incredible achievement in string sonics.

Virgin vinyl gatefold remastered issue of Zorn's 2015 Dreamers album with Cyro Baptista on percussion, Joey Baron on drums, Trevor Dunn on bass, Marc Ribot on guitars, Jamie Saft on keyboards, and Kenny Wollesen on vibes, a lyrical album of tuneful compositions and superb soloing, with beguiling compositions inspired by the imaginary worlds of fantasy literature.

1st volume of bassist Carl Testa's Sway electroacoustic interactive software, taking the individual playing of Erica Dicker on violin, Junko Fujiwara on cello, Louis Guarino Jr. on trumpet, Andria Nicodemou on vibraphone, Carl Testa on bass & electronics, and Anne Rhodes on voice, Testa's software generating responses that push and pull the musician in unique directions.

2nd volume of bassist Carl Testa's Sway electroacoustic interactive software, taking the individual playing of Erica Dicker on violin, Junko Fujiwara on cello, Louis Guarino Jr. on trumpet, Andria Nicodemou on vibraphone, Carl Testa on bass & electronics, and Anne Rhodes on voice, Testa's software generating responses that push and pull the musician in unique directions.

Recorded at Cafe Oto in London in 2017, legendary NY free jazz saxophonist Charles Gayle is joined by masterful free improvisers John Edwards on double bass and Mark Sanders for two live sets, released here in a limited 2-CD album, presenting the fire and range of all three players, from full-on aggressive and confrontational playing to deeply introspective.

Smalltown Supersound's sublabel Actions for Free Jazz presents this live concert at Oslo's St. Edmund's Church from the duo of frequent collaborators Joe McPhee on pocket trumpet & tenor saxophone, and Paal Nilssen-Love on drums and percussion, featuring compositions by James Weldon Johnson, Thelonious Monk and Joe McPhee plus two by McPhee and Nilssen-Love.

After a NY session for a Giuseppe Logan album, guitarist Ed Pettersen and pianist & instrument builder Cooper-Moore recorded their own acoustic quartet with Cooper-Moore on piano, then headed to Nashville to record acoustic and electric improv sets, then finally this gospel set with "Reverend Eddie Bones", all presented on 3 CDs in a keepsake tin in a printed cloth bag.

A subtle album of acoustic interaction recorded at Berlin's Noiseberg from the quartet of Miriam den Boer Salmon on violin, Ernesto Rodrigues on viola & zither, Fredrik Rasten on acoustic guitar, and Guilherme Rodrigues on cello & percussion, sounding almost electronic in their frictional technique and harmonic overtones, ebbing and flowing from active interaction to tranquil discourse.

Swedish conceptual artist Leif Elggren developed this second album in his trilogy using "The Motor", a soundwork that he's built over many years from basic fragments of sound used in installations and performances, aggregated here in an expanded form as a continuous drone, harsh on the surface but complex in its layers and sonic collisions.

Two sets across two nights during CreativeFest #12 at O'Culto da Ajuda, in Lisbon, Portugal, in a septet of six acoustic sources--viola, cellos, flute, trumpet, piano and percussion--and electronics, an extended journey approached with quiet tension and incredible detail, the recording of the first set used as the basis for the 2nd to create a virtual ensemble.

An eruption of sound from the long-standing collaboration of violist Ernesto Rodrigues and Abdul Moimeme, here on prepared electric guitar, in a trio with unique percussionist Antez, whose intimate relationship with the percussive objects he uses creates a tectonic aural range of explosive flows and deeply churning cymbal vibration, caught live at Lisboa Incomum, in Lisbon.

The fourth release from the Portuguese lowercase electroacoustic ensemble Suspensao, merging viola, cello, bass clarinet, alto sax, electric guitar, piano, double bass, percussion and electronics in intensely detailed, slow moving improvisation, revealing impressive tension and suspension of time in impeccably concentrative collective conversation.

Thirteen emphatic "rituals" from the Argentinian duo of saxophonist Hernan Sama, recording in the studio as they employ an array of techniques including extended bowing and plucking approaches, saxophone smears, growls, vocal utterances, odd reed techniques, &c, to engage their listener's ears as they unfold dialog that merges jazz forms and fully free improvisation.

A single extended improvisation from the trio of Udo Schindler on reeds, brass & analogue synthesizer, Gunnar Geisse on laptopguitar & virtual instruments, and Anton Kaun on electronics, zeug & effects recorded live at Das Lihotzky/wagnis ART, in Munchen, Germany in 2017, a journey of odd intent, brilliant technique, eccentric attitude, and unorthodox dialog.

During the tour in support of their "Tse" release, the quartet of Cyril Bondi on Shruti box, pipe & harmonica, Christoph Schiller on spinet & effects, Pierre-Yves Martel on Viola da Gamba, pipe & harmonica, and Angharad Davies on violin, captured this performance at London's Cafe OTO, improvised over a sequence of pitches with astonishing creativity.

The history of the early Detail trio of Frode Gjerstad on tenor & soprano saxophones, Johnny Mbizo Dyani on double bass, and John Stevens on drums continues to be unearthed with this studio session at Staccato Studios, in Stavanger, Norway in 1982, in two extended improvisations demonstrating the impressive skill and direction the band possessed.

Fred Frith's solo performances are amongst some of his most fascinating, and this live album at Ateliers Claus in Brussels, 2018 does not disappoint, Frith using every inch of his guitar and an arsenal of objects, in tandem with his masterful creative intent, to present an extended and fascinating journey in sound, remarkable in its breadth and bold inventive power.

Three works from Italian composer and pianist Federico Pozzer in his "breathing" series, compositions where the musicians follow the concept of inhaling, exhaling, and pausing, set against certain fixed actions or interactions as they devise their own musical actions, the goal to overcome both the players' freedom in decision-making and strictness in the score.