Experimental electronic studio recording from the duo of Rene Lussier on acoustic and electric guitar and Martin Tetreault on turntables that sits outside all norms.

A profound contemporary work integrating improvisation into composed forms from Montreal composer and percussionist Isaiah Ceccarelli and performed by an ensemble of 16 Musique Actuelle improvisers and performers, beautifully balanced between diverse instrumental passages and texts inspired by different poetical and musical forms of the past; sublime.

Ensemble Supermusique, Montreal's premiere open-minded improvising ensemble, here led by saxophonist & vocalist Joane Hetu and conducted by percussionist Danielle Palardy Roger, present a live concert of graphic scores dating back to 1920, with works from Fred Frith (Stone, Brick, Glass, Wood, Wire), Luigi Russolo, Maxime Daigneault, Emilie Girard-Charest & Anestis Logothetis.

The collective ensemble Supermusique featuring key performers from Montréal's musique actuelle scene, including Jean Derome, Isaiah Ceccarelli, Joane Hetu, Danielle Palardy, &c. perform "Sounding the Image", three animated scores composed through the creation of moving images and rendered live in a remarkable concert at Amphiteatre de Gesu, in Montreal in 2019.

Quartetski--the Montereal quartet of Isaiah Ceccarelli on percussion & synthesizer, Bernard Falaise on electric guitar, Philippe Lauzier on bass clarinet & synthesizer and Pierre on Yves Martel on electric bass, perform John Cage's 1992 Numbers work "Four6" and "One7", a variation on "Four6", an incredible and insightful interpretation of this fascinating work.

Four compositions written between 2000-2019 from Joane Hétu: a duo between bassist Nicolas Caloia & bass clarinetist/vocalist Lori Freedman; a work with Hétu & Jean Derome plus the Quaturo Bozzini string and Quasar saxophone quartets; a composition for 20 electric guitars; and one movement from "Préoccupant, c'est Préoccupant performed by Ensemble Supermusique.

The Canadian free improvising duo of accordionist Robin Servant (GGRIL, P.O.W.E.R., Danielle Palardy Roger) and drummer Mathieu Bec (Dubovnik, Michel Doneda) are heard in this 2019 performance at la Maison de la Culture du Pic Champlain, in a gripping set of dialogs using preparations and extended techniques to create unusual sonic approaches to both instruments.

The Montreal duo of trumpeter Ellwood Epps and Josh Zubot on violin and low octave violin for 9 upbeat, technically superb and intricate instant improvisations, what they refer to as "foot-tapping for ghosts, seeing the northern lights from underwater".

An album of quiet improvisation focused on timbre, rhythm and pensive pacing from the duo of bass clarinetist Philippe Lauzier and bassist Éric Normand, also using objects to create mysterious tones and acoustic sonics, released as a limited 300g paper card hand-printed by Normad with an accompanying download code, 1 of 2 art cards initiating an 8-card series.

Lyrical and sophisticated improvisations performed on just a ukulele and a suitcase from these Toronto musicians playing the compositions of lap steel player Myk Freedman

Despite using traditional instrumentation, the Montreal trio of pianist Lisa Cay Miller, guitarist Vicky Mettler, and bassist Raphael Foisy-Couture avoid sounding anything but traditional, through preparations and a mischievous attitude transforming their instruments and applying them to a highly interactive and darkly optimistic set of very unique dialogs.

Features: The Expanding Universe of Yamantaka // Sonic Titan; Yamantaka // Sonic Titan; The Retro Aesthetic of Le Revelateur; JOYFULTALK (Drip Audio); Muuixx; Hard Rubber Orchestra; Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville; Allison Cameron and Contact; plus live and recorded reviews.

Two large compositions by Montreal bassist Éric Normand, the first in a quintet with Camille Brisson, Antoine Simard, Marc-Antoine Mackin and Sébastien Maltais, using electronics, objects and motors; the second an acoustic work performed by the Quasar saxophone quartet of Marie-Chantale Leclerc, Mathieu Leclerc, André Leroux & Jean-Marc Bouchard.

Six years of songs and compositions reflecting the life and travels of the Montreal quintet of Geraldine Eguiluz (voice, guitar, compositions), Marie-Lys Trudel (violin & viola); Julie Babaz (cello), Sheila Hannigan (cello) and Stephane Diamantakiou (bass).

Using a diatonic accordion and electronics, Robin Servant from Rimouski, Canada explores the acoustics of the places he visits by making them vibrate with his accordion and electronics, presenting 3 recordings from concerts in PiedNu in Le Havre, France, the Old Theater of St-Fabien, in Quebec, Canada, and at the Beaulieu Culturel du Temiscouata, in Quebec.

An energetic trio of Serbian free improvisers from Tibor Takacs Faki on reeds, Laslo Lenkes on guitar and Goran Grubisic on drums, Tibor Takacs Faki and Goran Grubisic both part of the rock band Wooden Ambulance, that energy translating into their indefatigable approach to collective improvisation, just keeping a lid on their rambunctious interaction.

Bay area trumpeter and bandleader Johntson in a set of original compositions performed with Ben Goldberg, Sheldon Brown, Devin Hoff and Smith Dobson.

An evening of free improvisation recorded in Berlin at au Topsi Pohl in 2020 from the Swedish trio of Euro Free Jazz legend Sven-Ake Johansson on drums, Niklas Fite on acoustic guitar and Joel Grip on double bass, performing two extended and dynamic improvisations, and then settling into jazz standard form for "Isn't It Romantic" and "Out of Nowhere" sung by by Johansson.

Recording in Cologne, Germany, the quartet of Arne Deforce on cello, Deborah Walker on cello, Erik Drescher on flute, and Dafne Vicent Sandoval on bassoon realize NY composer Phill Niblock's work of acoustic drone, using long sustained notes to create a seething combination of harmonic interactions with an ominous tone, ending somewhat abruptly to reveal its layers.

Eight powerful and often cinematic pieces for organ and percussion, jointly composed and performed by long-time collaborators, Montreal composers and improvisers Katelyn Clark and Isaiah Ceccarelli, these 8 compositions developed around improvisations on the historic instruments continuo & portative organs, with percussion including a 40" bass drum, bell plates, and almglocken.

The remarkably creative flutist & saxophonist Jean Derome often incorporates unusual instruments into his improvisations and compositions, including bird calls, harps, kalimbas, sirens, flower plastic wrappings, bells, &c &c.... on this album Derome focuses on those unique instruments and noise makers through 23 surprising pieces illustrating his incredible collection.

Drawing on the work of Steve Lacy's quintet, Montreal saxophonist Jean Derome pays homage to the late saxophonist through a selection of 9 Lacy pieces with lyrics from Brion Gysin, Lao Tseu, Herman Melville, &c, in a quintet with Derome on alto sax, bass flute & voice, Karen Young providing vocals, Alexandre Grogg on piano, Normand Guilbeault on bass, & Pierre Tanguay on drums.

4th Dangereux Zhoms 4th release, mixing scored music, improv, polyphony, polyrhythms, irregular meters, rich harmonies and polymodalism with humor and imagination.

Ensemble SuperMusique devotes itself to Montreal's "Musique Actuelle" and free improv community in assemblages of some of their finest players, here in a live concert in 2016 at Amphitheater du Gesu in Montreal with a stunning set of performers presenting the work of 4 composer.

Montreal's true supergroup since 1998 with many of the city's essential Musique Actuelle performers and composers, directed by Danielle Palardy Roger and including Jean Derome, Joane Hetu, Scott Thomson, Lori Freedman, Alexander St. Onge, &c. &c., as they take on a piece by Quebec composer Symon Henry, performed in an exceptional concert in the Chapel in Bon-Pasteur.

The counterpart to Montreal bass clarinetist Lori Freedman's album "Excess" of recordings from her 11-city North American solo tour "The Virtuosity of Excess", this CD "Solor" was developed after that tour allowing Freedman to focus on her past and current creative work, presenting 5 of her solo compositions, 3 of which were written for the album, plus two improvisations.

Sporadic sonic exchanges exploring guidelines, graphic scores, or completely improvised, with an expansive instrumentorium from the sextet of Magali Babin, Andrea-Jane Cornell, Martine H Crispo, Anne-Francoise Jacques, Emilie Mouchous, and Erin Sexton.

The Montreal-based Chorale Joker ensemble directed and conducted by Joane Hétu, Danielle Palardy, and Jean Derome, who are also participants, is one of the most unusual and fascinating improvising vocal ensembles active, heard here in a concert coordinated with Productions SuperMusique at Le Vivier, Amphiteatre du Gesu, Montreal in early 2020; indescribably fascinating!

A musical theatre in 3 acts using texts, songs, free improvisation and compositional textures, "an evocation of the fusion between opposite forces-tight and flexible, male and female".

An amazing journey in sound and voice from saxophonist/vocalist Joane Hetu with five singers/narrators/musicians/noise-makers and layered field recordings, a remarkable and sophisticated work about sex, loss, death, art, & politics.

Pieces in 4 movements - Snow; Never Cold; Gusts; Landscapes - performed by Ensemble SuperMusique: Joane Hetu, Jean Derome, Diane Labrosse, Pierre Tanguay, Scott Thomson & Alexandre St-Onge.

Joker brings together 12 vocalists, many core members of the Ambiances Magnetiques/Musique Actuelle collective including Joane Hetu, Jean Derome, Diane Labrosse, Michel F Cote, Lori Freedman, &c, performing unusual works of voice and narration composed by Joane Hetu.

Joane Hetu and Jean Derome formed Nous percons les oreilles 20 years ago, merging their expansive musical interests in idiosyncratic improvisation and orchestration using saxophones & wind instruments, objects, voice, melodica, and piano, here in their 4th astonishing album.

Active since the early 90's, the superb Montreal super-group Ratchet Orchestra under the direction of Nicolas Caloia with 19 performers presents 10 works including the title track, with soloists including Jean Rene, Lori Freedman, Jean Derome, Ellwood Epps, Sam Shalabi, Craig Petersen, Yves Charuest, Joshua Zubot, Scott Thomson, Isaiah Ceccarelli, &c.

Composer/percussionist Danielle Palardy Roger's musical satire about capitalism, performed with some of Montreal's finest improvisers using conventional & unconventional instruments and voice, captured live at the Gesu Amphitheater, in Montreal in 2018: Michel F Cote, Andre Duchesne, Joane Hetu, Elizabeth Lima, Isaiah Ceccarelli, Alexander St-Onge, and Ida Toniato.

The Montreal free improvising, experimenting duo "Not The Music" of bassist Eric Norman & bass clarinetist Philippe Lauzier invited UK saxophonist John Butcher for concerts in Ottawa and Montreal, recording the two impressive 5-part series heard on this album--"en consequence" (consequently) and "par irruption" (by bursting), of masterful and profoundly pensive prowess.

A tribute to controversial and outrageous Quebec sculptor and installation artist Rose Drummond, through a collection of unusual, diverse, absurdist and absolutely remarkable instrumental & vocal songs drawn from saxophonist and composer Jean Derome's musical career, performed with Musique Actuelle luminaries including Michel F Coté, Joane Hétu, and Éric Normand.

The Quebec project Brulez Les Meubles (Burn the Furniture) was conceived by long-time friends and contemporary jazz fans, bassist Eric Normand and guitarist Louis Beaudoin-de la Sablonniere, each collaboration inviting other musicians to join their warm & relaxed approach to modern jazz, here with Jean Derome on saxophone & flute and John Hollenbeck on drums.

With a common passion for the jazz guitar, from Jim Hall to Bill Frisell, from Rene Thomas to Brandon Ross, the core duo of Canadian improvisers, guitarist Louis Beaudoin-de la Sablonniere and bassist Éric Normand, are joined by drummer Tom Jacques for a set of original compositions plus a Paul Bley piece, one by Gilles Vigneault, and two collective improvisations.

Having originally met in 2016 when Viennese trumpeter Franz Hautzinger and Quebec electric bassist Éric Normand formed Torche! with Michel F Cote, Philippe Lauzier and Xavier Charles, the two improvisers developed this collage during the pandemic from asynchronous recordings, creating six dramatic and explorative compositions of incredible and unusual technique.

The Quebec project Brulez Les Meubles (Burn the Furniture) was conceived by long-time friends and contemporary jazz fans, bassist Eric Normand and guitarist Louis Beaudoin-de la Sablonniere, each collaboration inviting other musicians to join their warm & relaxed approach to modern jazz, here with Jean Derome on saxophone & flute and John Hollenbeck on drums.

Collaborators in Montreal projects including Ensemble Supermusique and Ratchet Orchestra, bass clarinetist Lori Freedman (Queen Mab Trio) and trombonist Scott Thomson (Monicker) have also worked as a duo for more than 15 years, starting with the Barnyard Record album Plumb, their long history allowing flexibility in unusual dialog and utterance that captivates naturally.

The 35 poems found on Fortner Anderson's "Solitary Pleasures", performed with Michel F Cote, Sam Shalabi and Alexandre St-Onge, speak of the obsessions, phantasies and encounters of Anderson's life.

Vocalists DB Boyko and Christine Duncan turn gibberish into improvised poetry while accompanied by drummer Jean Martin who uses multi-timbered objects to create beautiful and absurd music.

Twelve pieces for guitar performed by Tim Brady, including three updated versions of previous pieces, new compositions by Brady, and four pieces composed by other artists.

Live recordings and Derome's first release under his own name, inspired by Japanese magic squares and haikus, and performed in a group including Actuelle collective members Pierre Tanguay and Pierre Cartier.

Mixing backgrounds from impprov, electronics, composition, noise & contemporary performance, Fenaison explore texturally driven dynamic improvisations.

Clarinetist Lori Freedman brought together 3 distinct trios over the course of 3 consecutive nights with a total of 6 other Montreal musicians for live encounters of improvisation.

A collection of narrative and experimental sound worlds for solo trumpet, born out of improvisation and organized through thoughtful collaborations with composers from Canada to Argentina.

Montreal multi-wind instrumentalist Pierre Labbe (Les Projectionnistes, L'Orkestre des Pas Perdus, Papa Boa) leads an insanely talented and quirky quartet with guitarist Bernard Falaise, drummer Pierre Tanguay, and narrator/storyteller Michel Faubert, creating a captivating album that transcends language in it's superb pacing, development, and artistry.

Vocalist Genevieve Letarte in a release with Normand Guilbeault, Pierre Tanguay, Ivanhoe Jolicoeur, Claude Fradette, Guillaume Dostaler, Ivanhoe Jolicoeur and Guido Del Fabbro.

The second album from Noma, an ensemble formed and directed by trombonist Tom Walsh, that was recorded live in 2000 and 2002.

A series of solos and duets between Kalimba player Rainer Wiens and an impressive set of improvisers including Jean Derome, Malcolm Goldstein, Frank Lozano, &c.

A specially priced box set bringing together 4 CDs from the Ambiances Jazz Trio Derome Guilbeault Tanguay: "10 compositions", "The Feeling of Jazz", "Danse a l'Anvers", and "Wow!".

An assertive duo of piano and trumpet from Canadian improvisers Marilyn Lerner playing inside and out of the piano, and trumpeter Nicole Rampersaud performing with powerful and unusually expressive technique, this the first meeting between the two in a set of seven studio recordings, creative interactions of wide-ranging and cohesive approaches to their dialogs.

In a nod to alto saxophonist Lee Konitz, Montreal trombonist Scott Thomson brings together four exceptional Canadian alto saxophonists with whom he has worked and who motivate his improvisational drive, heard here in four duos: two with Toronto alto saxophonists John Oswald and Karen Ng, and two with Montreal alto saxophonists Jean Derome and Yves Charuest.

The long-standing Montreal trio of saxophonist Jean Derome, here on alto & baritone sax, flute and voice, bassist Norman Guilbeault and drummer Pierre Tanguay, frequent collaborators through a vast set of creative improv/Actuelle projects, continue their research into the history of jazz with compositions including those from Ornette Coleman, Duke Ellington, Eric Dolphy, &c.

An exceptional album of widely-embracing collective improvisation recorded during Vertical Squirrel's 2019-20 residency at Silence as part of the You Are I Am series, the core quartet of Daniel Fischlin on guitars, monotron, flute & percussion, Ajay Heble on piano, Lewis Melville on bass & percussion and Ted Warren on drums & percussion are joined by cornetist and world instrumentalist Gary Diggins and vocalist & percussionist Dong-Won Kim.

Montreal-based Composer-percussionist Isaiah Ceccarelli, well known through his Ambiances Magnetiques releases, in 7 compositions, a mix of timbrally-based music in which he himself performs, and through-composed pieces that focus on harmonic progressions, performed as string duos, trios, and quartets.

Part of a 2022 creative residency at the Abbey of Saint-Benoît-Labre, in Beauce at the invitation of the organization EXEcentrer, this duo recording captures the September concert of two magnificent Montreal sound artists: Érick d'Orion performing on electronics & synthesizers, and Martin Tétreault on turntables, vinyl records & synthesizer.

Organized by Miriodor drummer & composer Remi Leclerc, this experimental group features Canadian & European improvisers in a creative session with a sense of novelty and humor, from Pianist Andre Pelletier (Saint-Pascal), accordionist Robin Servant and guitarist Olivier D'Amours (Rimouski), bassist Alexandre Dubuc (Montreal) and saxophonist Cathy Heyden (Paris).

Bridging contemporary and improvised music, Montreal double bassist Nicolas Caloia wrote these pieces for textured and impossible rhythms; blending pieces by Nancarrow and Grand Master Flash; and manipulating poems by Genevieve Letarte; with supporting improv from Jean Derome & Lori Freedman.

Michel F Cote in a hybrid release of country and actuelle music that is unpredictable and funny with help from artists such as Bernard Falaise, Frank Martel, Billie Folliday, etc.

Sporadic sonic exchanges exploring guidelines, graphic scores, or completely improvised, with an expansive instrumentorium from the sextet of Magali Babin, Andrea-Jane Cornell, Martine H Crispo, Anne-Francoise Jacques, Emilie Mouchous, and Erin Sexton.

Sporadic sonic exchanges exploring guidelines, graphic scores, or completely improvised, with an expansive instrumentorium from the sextet of Magali Babin, Andrea-Jane Cornell, Martine H Crispo, Anne-Francoise Jacques, Emilie Mouchous, and Erin Sexton.

Written in 1998, Danielle Palardy Roger's game piece composition was performed at the first Ensemble SuperMusique concert, here in 7 versions recorded at various locations in bands including Joelle Leandre, Joane Hetu, Guido Del Fabbro, Jean Derome, &c. &c.

Sax and flute player/Ambiances Magnetique label leader Jean Derome's excellent jazz trio with bassist Normand Guilbeault and drummer Pierre Tanguay, in their 4th release, with three Derome originals and 4 standards including a Dolphy number.

The Quebec project Brulez Les Meubles (Burn the Furniture) was conceived by long-time friends and contemporary jazz fans, bassist Eric Normand and guitarist Louis Beaudoin-de la Sablonniere, each collaboration inviting other musicians to join their warm & relaxed approach to modern jazz, here with Jean Derome on saxophone & flute and John Hollenbeck on drums.

Eleven songs by Montreal trombonist Scott Thomson, settings of poems by P.K. Page (1916-2010), one of Canada's distinguished literary figures, in a band with Pierre Tanguay on drums, Yves Charuest on sax, Nicolas Caloia on double bass, and Susanna Hood on vocals.

Guitarist Falaise (Klaxon Gueule, Les Projectionnistes) in pieces that reference Aksak Maboul, Braxton, Beefheart, Donatoni, Les Granules, Nancarrow, Stravinsky, & Wyatt.

Sporadic sonic exchanges exploring guidelines, graphic scores, or completely improvised, with an expansive instrumentorium from the sextet of Magali Babin, Andrea-Jane Cornell, Martine H Crispo, Anne-Francoise Jacques, Emilie Mouchous, and Erin Sexton.

A musical theatre in 3 acts using texts, songs, free improvisation and compositional textures, "an evocation of the fusion between opposite forces-tight and flexible, male and female".

An amazing journey in sound and voice from saxophonist/vocalist Joane Hetu with five singers/narrators/musicians/noise-makers and layered field recordings, a remarkable and sophisticated work about sex, loss, death, art, & politics.