Wandelweiser member and composer Anastassis Philippakopoulos has twelve of her compositions for solo piano performed and realized by French composer/pianist ​Melaine Dalibert, each built around slow moving melodic progressions that resonate through patient performance, each fragment and note ringing beautifully, mysteriously, and dramatically.

"Actions For Free Jazz Orchestra" was originally written by Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki for the New Eternal Rhythm Orchestra, assembled by Don Cherry for the occasion and conducted by composer himself; this new extended reading and conduction of the score from 2018 was originated and directed by Mats Gustafsson, a powerful update and expansion of the original work.

Parker's definitive document of his Curtis Mayfield songbook project with Hamid Drake, Dave Burrell, Sabir Mateen, Darryl Foster & Amiri Baraka, promoting Mayfield's positive messages of hope and fortitude.

Apartment House play five chamber pieces by American outsider composer Luiz Henrique Yudo, most of whose works are transcriptions into sound of existing artworks, including three short pieces with dedication, the 5 part and quirky "Five Palindromes" and followed by an extraordinary long work based on the patterns in colour artworks, "The Donald Judd Harmonies".

French composer/musician Emmanuel Holterbach was invited to work with the Italian ensemble Blutwurst founded in 2011 by Marco Baldini (trumpet), Edoardo Ricci (reeds) and Daniela Fantechi (piano & accordion), creating this epic 45-minute work focused on tone and sound, in which dense clouds of sound swirl in varying shades from near silence to thunderous intensity.

2 CDs of works for violin, piano & vibraphone, composed and performed by two young American composers and members of the ensemble Ordinary Affects, who have recorded music by the Jurg Frey, Magnus Granberg, Michael Pisaro, Eva Maria Houben, &c.; the 1st disc presents the Feldman-esque work of JPA Falzone, while the 2nd contains an exquisite new work by Morgan Evans-Weiler.

The 2nd album in guitarist Joe Morris' "Instantiation" series, where each part is composed with specific notated and operational components such that it is impossible to perform any part the same way twice, performed with the quintet of Daniel Klingsberg on bass, Alex Quinn on trumpet, Michael Sabin on trombone, Raef Sengupta on saxophone.

The follow-up to trombonist Steve Swell's Soul Travelers album with his quintet of saxophonist Jemeel Moondoc, pianist Dave Burrell, bassist William Parker, and drummer Gerald Cleaver, performing Swell's compositions, four instrumental pieces and two textual songs originally commissioned for Tom Buckner's Interpretation Series, with voice from Leena Conquest.

The long-running trio of saxophonist Kidd Jordan, pianist Joel Futterman and drummer Alvin Fielder, established in 1994 and together until Fielder's passing in 2018, are heard in this incredible 1997 studio recording from New Orleans, 7 collective tracks that start as an invocation and then build in intensity & excitement with a strong spiritual connection; profound.

"Distant Radio Transmission" was originally recorded as an improvisation by Roscoe Mitchell, Craig Taborn, and Kikanju Baku in 2013, then transcribed by Stephen P. Harvey in 2016, extended for strings by John Ivers in 2017, and then fully orchestrated by Roscoe Mitchell himself in 2017; the album also includes "Noonah Trio", "Cutouts for Woodwind Quintet" and "8/8/88".

Oud player Gordon Grdina's Vancouver/NY project adapting Arabic and Persian forms to a modern jazz approach, in their 2nd release, a wonderfully rich and lyrical album infused with Middle Eastern melodies and rhythms, performed with his excellent The Marrow quintet Joshua Zubot on violin, Hank Roberts on cello, Mark Helias on bass, and Hamin Honari on tombak, daf & frame drum.

IST, configured as the duo of double bassist Simon H. Fell and cellist/percussionist Mark Wastell, performing a virtual quartet at London's Cafe OTO, using using pre-recorded fragments of solo work from late guitarist Derek Bailey and tap dancer Will Gaines, combined with sections of silence of unforeseeable length, and then combined with the live musicians; amazing.

Starting in 2012 as a quartet with Oscar Noriega (reeds), Matt Mitchell (piano), and Ches Smith (drums/vibes), then expanded with guitar, saxophonist Tim Berne's Snakeoil now moves to the Swiss Intakt label, swapping guitarists for Marc Ducret, and releasing this fantastically intricate album of Berne compositions + 1 Hemphill piece, launching points for extraordinary soloing!

Reprising their 1972 duo album recorded in a loft in London and employing electronics, the duo of saxophonist Evan Parker and drummer John Lytton revisit that collaboration in this studio album recorded in Chicago, a purely acoustic encounter of remarkable dialog that shows the wealth of experience, skill, and camaraderie developed through the last 50 years.

Cuban pianist Aruán Ortiz reflects on his upbringing in Santiago de Cuba, evoking the cascades of daily sound and rhythm he heard there, through compositions performed with the trio of fellow Cuban Mauricio Herrera on percussion & marimbula, and drummer Andrew Cyrille, Emeline Michel and Marlene Ramirez-Cancio providing vocals on the powerful opening invocation.

The core members of NY saxophonist Ohad Talmor's Newsreel Sextet are Jacob Sacks (piano), Miles Okazaki (guitars) and Dan Weiss (drums) along with Matt Pavolka on acoustic bass and Shane Endsley on trumpet, performing Talmor's adventurous modern jazz compositions, merging jazz, North Indian traditional and contemporary compositional forms in lyrically embraceable ways.

The trans-Atlantic Tipple Trio of David Watson on guitar & smallpipes, Kevin Norton on percussion & drums, and Frode Gjerstad on saxophone, clarinet & alto flute in their 5th album since 2010, a studio recording from the NY area of 15 succinct and diverse approaches to free improvisation, each player shining uniquely and in extraordinary group interplay.

A tour de force saxophone duo between two masterful New York players--alto saxophonist Tim Berne and drummer Nasheet Waits--recording live at The Sultan Room in Brooklyn NY in 2019, in two impressive dialogs: "Tensile" for nearly 40 minutes of articulate expression and powerful rhythmic interaction; and the more introspective "5See" of impressive technique and intention.

Japanese saxophonist living in NYC Tamio Shiraishi, an associate of Keiji Haino, has a unique approach to his solo work, often playing outdoors in concert with nature, or using the natural resonance of his performance space, recreating the sounds of wind, birds, water, and any other natural "noise" sounds, here in a live performance at Issue Project Room & 6 studio recordings.

Chicago percussionist Frank Rosaly relocated to Amsterdam in 2016, but his 20+ year collaboration & friendship with Chicago saxophonist Dave Rempis continues, as evidenced in this live performance at Elastic Arts in 2018 during Rosaly's visit back to the Windy City, rewarding listeners with 2 CDs experiencing the two reacquaint through beautifully paced, adventurous dialog.

Reedist and mutli-instrumentalist Udo Schindler's first instrument was a soprano sax, and this solo concert at Atelier Ekkelancj Götze in Munich in 2018 brings to the foreground his 40 years of experience, advanced technique, and creative approach to this capricious and demanding instrument, performing a 2-part free-form "PNEUMA-Sax+Erde" and an encore.

Working their way backwards from "Five" in 2017 to the new "Three" in 2020, the UK creative improvising quintet of Daniel Thompson on acoustic guitar, Adrian Northover on saxophones, John Edwards on double bass, Marcello Magliocchi on drums, and Neil Metcalfe on flute are heard live at London's Iklectik in 2019 for three profoundly exploratory free improvisations.

A tightly integrated group that balance strongly melodic material and fully free and spacious improv from the Melbourne, Australia quartet of Hiroki Hoshino on double bass, Miles Henry on drums, Theo Carbo on guitar, led by trumpeter Paul Williamson, presenting four lyrical modern jazz compositions from both Williamson & Hoshino, and 4 collective improvisations.

The long-running UK collaboration of Paul Dunmall on tenor sax & alto flute and drummer Mark Sanders, is joined by NY pianist Angelica Sanchez to record five superb collective trio compositions, Sanchez and Sanders providing outstandingly active rhythmic foundations over which Dunmall passionately soars, then adding unusual foundations over Sanchez's astute solo sections.

Recorded during a series of concerts reuniting alto saxphonist Rick Countryman with mentor and friend, drummer Sabu Toyozumi, this live concert at Tago Jazz Cafe in Philippines includes acoustic bassist Simon Tan and free improvising Malaysian tenor saxophonist Yong Yandsen, in an adventurous set of extended performances of intertwining reeds and rhythm; superb!

The second album between the late saxophonist Giuseppi Logan and guitarist Ed Pettersen after the former learned of the Logan's reappearance in the early 2000s, is this collective session with Logan on sax & piano, Jessica Lurie on sax & flute, Larry Roland on double bass, and Ed Pettersen on guitar, originally released in 2013 on the Improvising Beings label.

Rediscovered playing in NYC's Tompkins Square park in 2009, iconic saxophone player Giuseppi Logan enjoyed a second life in performing and recording up until his passing in 2020, heard here covering Coltrane, Ellington, and collective improvisation, in a quintet with Cooper-Moore (piano), Larry Roland (acoustic bass), Ed Pettersen (guitar) and Tracy Silverman (electric violin).

The collaborative Australian electric jazz trio of Simon Jeans on guitar, Johannes Luebber on keyboards, and Daniel Susnjar on drums, who create semi-composed sonic structures that are used for collective improvisation and also live film scores and contemporary dance works, present 3 "Artefacts" using multiple structures of passionate and melodically inspired playing.

Swiss prepared spinet player Christoph Schiller and Argentine guitarist-composer Tomás Cabado, whose work is found on the Wandelweiser label, met in Schiller's studio in Basel to perform compositions from both and to improvise, recording this wonderfully relaxed but compelling music that exists in the fertile grey area between composition and improvisation.

Comprised of Anglo-Russian pianist Vladimir Miller (Moscow Composers Orchestra), Italian double-bassist Pierpaolo Martino (Mondegreen, Howl and Machine3) and British saxophonist Adrian Northover (The Remote Viewers, London Improvisers Orchestra), this collective improv trio brings a lyrical and melodic approach to their performances of graceful and cultivated conversation.

NY pianist & composer Bob Gluck's band with Gluck on piano, Andrea Wolper on voice, Kinan Azmeh on clarinet, Ken Filiano on bass, and Tani Tabbal on drums, blends passionate songs of social justice with captivating improvisational interplay, balancing a love of beautiful melody and sonic innovation, powerful rhythms, and exhilarating interactions between players.

The entire first set and the final selection from the last set of a live concert at at Tago Jazz Cafe, in Quezon City, Philippines from the trio of Simon Tan on acoustic bass, Rick Countryman on alto saxophone, and Sabu Toyozumi on drums, including the full performance of material from their Chasing the Sun album; fluid, intelligent, captivating free jazz.

New York saxophonist Jon Irabagon, performing on alto and Swanee saxophone, joins alto & tenor saxophonist Paul Dunmall for a burning live performance at Sanson Studios in Birmingham in a quartet with bassist James Owston and drummer Tymek Jozwiak, the saxophones weaving and climbing over the powerful and adept rhythm section; formidable!

Assigning different times systems--standard time, decimal and hex time--to different musicians, harpist Rhodri Davies develops an electroacoustic improvisational environment of unusual perception and sensation, performed live in Cardiff in 2018 with Ryoko Akama, Sara Hughes, Sofia Jernberg, Pia Palme, Andre Parkinson, Lucy Railton, Pat Thomas, & Dafne Vicente.

Nine song pieces for piano, harp, and vocal by The Giving Shapes, a Vancouver-based collaborative project between harpist/vocalist Elisa Thorn and pianist/vocalist Robyn Jacob, lovely pieces that weave their two voices with two compatibly yet uniquely timbred strings, merging contemporary popular forms with modern compositional music.

"Distant Radio Transmission" was originally recorded as an improvisation by Roscoe Mitchell, Craig Taborn, and Kikanju Baku in 2013, then transcribed by Stephen P. Harvey in 2016, extended for strings by John Ivers in 2017, and then fully orchestrated by Roscoe Mitchell himself in 2017; the album also includes "Noonah Trio", "Cutouts for Woodwind Quintet" and "8/8/88".

The improvising string duo of stalwart London improvisers, Daniel Thompson on acoustic guitar and Phil Durrant on the octave mandola, are heard in two settings of texturally rich, intricate interactions, first at Cafe OTO in 2022 for an extended improvisation, then at Cable Street Studios two months later for six succint, impressively diverse dialogs.

19 years after the last Chicago Underground Quartet album, this session with Rob Mazurek on piccolo trumpet, electronics & bells, Jeff Parker on electric guitar, and Chad Taylor on drums, percussion and newcomer Josh Johnson on synth bass & keys is a warm reunion, with individual compositions from Taylor, Mazurek & Parker, and two solo pieces by Mazurek and Taylor.

A wide range of approach and style in the debut duo recording from Alex Cunningham (violin) and Claire Rousay (percussion), a free affair of expressive and well-matched interaction, from effusively sophisticated rapport to pointillist dexterity and drive, from moments of intense introspection to cantankerous conversation, a fascinating and unpredictable dialog.