Better known for his work in avant compositional forms, both his own and as an interpreter of Xenakis and Toru Takemitsu, pianist Yuji Takahashi joined Japanese free jazz legendary percussionist Sabu Toyozumi in 1998 for this fully improvised live concert at C・S・Aka Renga, in Yamaguchi City, Japan, released in a collaboration with the Chap Chap label.

Better known for his work in avant compositional forms, both his own and as an interpreter of Xenakis and Toru Takemitsu, pianist Yuji Takahashi joined Japanese free jazz legendary percussionist Sabu Toyozumi in 1998 for this fully improvised live concert at C・S・Aka Renga, in Yamaguchi City, Japan, released in a collaboration with the Chap Chap label.

Under the inspiration of Japanese painter Katsushika Hokusai, Berlin-based improvising pianist Aki Takase recorded these impressive works over two days at the Sendesaal Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg, some live during an award ceremony where she was awarded The Berlin Jazz Prize, some in the studio, including a duo with pianist Alexander von Schlippenbach.

Reissuing and remastering the two PSF albums from Japanese improvising guitarist Masayuki Takayanagi's New Directions group of bassist Motoharu Yoshizawa, saxophonist Mototeru Takagi and drummer Sabu Toyozumi, plus a previously unreleased side-long "Mass Projection" recording, presented in a deluxe 3 LP box set with images by Yuji Itsumi and liner notes in English and Japanese.

A 1990 concert at Jazz Inn Lovely, in Nagoya, Japan in configurations of duos and trios, from free improvising legends Masayuki Takayanagi on guitar, Nobuyoshi Ino on bass, and Masabumi Kikuchi on piano, with a 16 page booklet of photos from private collections and a detailed essay from Kohjiro Tanaka in English & Japanese providing background on the performance.

Furious free improvisation fueled by dual electric guitars from Masayuki Takayanagi, leader of New Direction Unit, and Akira Iijima who provides walls of chaotic feedback, pushed on at high intensity by drummer/percussionist Hiroshi Yamazaki, captured in a 1983 live performance at Kid Ailack Hall in Toyko, remastered and reissued as a double 45RPM 12" gatefold album.

Reuniting after their acclaimed Mantle album, trumpeter Natsuki Tamura, pianist Satoko Fujii, and drummer Ramon Lopez return with Yama Kawa Umi (Mountain River Sea), a powerful exploration of musical landscapes where wild seas crash into cliffs, rivers flow with melodic clarity, and peaceful mountains rise in serene, introspective moments, reflecting the deep, dynamic interplay from years of collaboration.

"Koki" translates to "rare in ancient times," referring to ones 70th birthday, a milestone that trumpeter Natsuki Tamura achieves this year, providing proof that such an age is no longer rare, nor that it has affected the tremendous creative and physical powers that Tamura applies to his playing, as heard in this inventive solo album on trumpet, piano, voice and even pots & pans!

Right out of the gate one feels the energy and excitement between Japanese trumpeter Natsuki Tamura and NY drummer Jim Black, each pushing the other through strong instrumental character and outrageous technique over nine Tamura compositions recorded in the studio in Switzerland, their first recording in 25 years since their 1999 Buzz Records album White and Blue.

While on a tour of Japan in 2019, Japanese pianist Satoko Fujii and Spanish drummer Ramon Lopez asked trumpeter Natsuki Tamura to join them, and to join in a challenge to write a new piece of music for the trio each day while on tour; this studio album selects the finest of those compositions, performed with nearly telepathic control in a mix of fire and lyrical beauty.

An album of duets between trumpeter Natsuki Tamura and pianist Satoko Fujii, the husband & wife core of Libra Records, recorded as a DIY effort during the 2020 pandemic in their own home recording space and mixed by themselves, a diverse album of intimate and impressive improvisations that find the two in uniquely deep and expressively concentrative conversations.

A stunning album of solo trumpet performance from Natsuki Tamura, who's name in Japanese translates as 'Natsu' meaning 'summer' and 'Ki' means 'tree', performed as layers of remarkable technique led by clarion playing over trumpet drones, sonic turbulence and percussive interaction on a wok, each layer using his extended vocabulary without studio manipulation.

Ruins drummer Yoshida Tatsuya and Tipographica guitarist Imahori Tsuneo in fiery and dense improvised power rock taken at high speed, edited and overdubbed in the studio.

The meeting of Martin Tetreault and Otomo Yoshihide, two turntable master manipulators, in a studio recording from Montreal, in a collection of 21 improvisations that explore different themes.

Turntable duo of Martin Tetreault and Otomo Yoshihide in a collection of improvised recordings taken for a Spring tour in 2003 around parts of Europe.

Picking up where 1. Grrr leaves off, this album is the second addition of the turntable duo of Martin Tetreault and Otomo Yoshihide in a collection of live, improvised recordings.

Following 1. Grrr and 2. Tok, this is the third and final part of a series of live recordings from the improvising turntable duo of Martin Tetreault and Otomo Yoshihide.

Circumventing pandemic lockdowns, the trio of husband & wife, pianist Satoko Fujii and trumpeter Natsuki Tamura, recorded this album at their home in Kobe, Japan using an internet connection to perform in real time with drummer/percussionist Takashi Itani in Tokyo, their joyful and sophisticated improvisation a testament to close listening and magnificent communication.

Part of pianist Satoko Fujii's "Kanreki" (60th Birthday) tour and monthly album release, the "This Is It!" Trio with trumpeter Natsuki Tamura and drummer/percussionist Takashi Itani is heard at Koendori Classics, in Tokyo, Japan, in January 2018, for an incredible album of Fujii's compositions that include quirky asides in coherent and effusive playing.

A remastered edition of percussionist Masahiko Togashi's 1979 trio album with trumpeter Don Cherry and bassist Charlie Haden, bridging free jazz with Eastern influences in both dynamic and introspective playing, released with the original artwork plus an 8-page booklet of new photographs, liner notes in English & French and a biography of Togashi by Paul Bowler.

The duo of Japanese improvisers, pianist Satoko Fujii and drummer Tatsuya Yoshida, continue their collaborations which includes many albums with the Satoko Fujii Quartet, their duo "Erans" record on Tzadik, and the original "Toh-Kichi" album on Victo, here in a new studio album of intricate, energetic and ebullient improvised dialogs, named for the aquatic flower "Baikamo".

Also known as "Improvisations for Kulintang", this live album of energetic and informed free jazz occurred between legendary Japanese percussionist Sabu Toyozumi and Philippine-based saxophonist Rick Countryman in Dec 2018, with featured guest Tusa Montes performing on prepared Kulintang percussion, a set of horizontally laid gongs that add tympanic melody.

Two live sets at Tago Jazz Cafe in the Philippines in 2018 from the trio of master percussionist Sabu Toyozumi on drums, American ex-pat Rick Countryman on alto saxophone, and Simon Tan on acoustic bass, this their 3rd album of solid free improvisation of extended and masterful discourse, unusual percussive devices, and powerful rhythmic foundation.

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.

The collaboration of American alto saxophonist living in the Philippines Rick Countryman with legendary Japanese free improvising drummer Sabu Toyozumim, also performing on Erhu, continues with this outstanding performance at the LIMBO Art Gallery in Makati, Philippines in 2020, joined by Malaysian tenor saxophonist Yong Yandsen for a burning set of free jazz.

A duo between Japanese free improvising drummer Sabu Toyozum and Swedish baritone saxophonist & wind player Mats Gustafsson, also performing on his own fluteophone (a mouthpiece attached to the flute), capturing five live improvisation at their 2018 performance at Jazz Spot Candy, in Chiba, Japan for an extremely inventive set of potent playing.

A duo between Japanese free improvising drummer Sabu Toyozum and Swedish baritone saxophonist & wind player Mats Gustafsson, also performing on his own fluteophone (a mouthpiece attached to the flute), capturing five live improvisation at their 2018 performance at Jazz Spot Candy, in Chiba, Japan for an extremely inventive set of potent playing.

The trio of Sabu Toyozumi, Richard Allan Bates, and Rick Countryman delve into a contemplative exploration anchored by Bates's electric upright bass, whose resonant tones foster rich harmonic dialogues between Toyozumi's textured percussion and Countryman's fluid alto saxophone, emphasizing the nuanced interplay of sound and space.

Recorded during Sabu Toyozumi's first collaboration with Rick Countryman in 2017, this album features music from the same nights that produced Jya-Ne and Center of Contradiction: 6 tracks from an August 11th quintet performance with voice and trombone, and electric bass; plus 2 tracks from the following night in a trio format with acoustic bass.

Four configurations of free jazz recorded live during a 2017 visit by Japanese drummer Sabu Toyozumi to Manila: first in a duo with alto saxophonist Rick Countryman; then in a trio with Toyozumi on erhu and Simon Tan on acoustic bass; then a quintet with Simon Tan on electric bass, vocalist Stella Ignacio and trombonist Isla Antinero; and last as a trio with Countryman, Tan, and Toyozumi.

Three extended free improvisations recorded in 2017 in Cubao Quezon City from the trio of Rick Countryman on alto saxophone, Simon Tan on acoustic bass, and Japense first generation free improviser Sabu Toyozumi on drums & Erhu (a 2-stringed Chinese instrument), as the trio take their listeners on a marathon session of inspired and playing.

A live recording from Quezon City, Philippines of the free improvising trio of Sabu Toyozumi on drums, Rick Countryman on alto saxophone, and Simon Tan on acoustic bass, bring the first generation Japanese free improviser together with some of the Philippines' brightest free players for two extended improvisations of lyrical excursions and solid and often surprising rhythmic response.

After 3 consecutive nights performing in trio & quartet formats at Balete at Kamias, in Quezon City, Philippines, the duo of drummer Sabu Toyozum and alto saxophonist Rick Countryman performed the final set as a duo, their many collaborations evident in the freedom and flexibility each provides to the other, delivering an exemplary example of a free jazz sax & drum duo.

The fourth and final night of a series of concerts after three nights of trios and quartets, this live recording captures the duo of legendary Japanese drummer Sabu Toyozumi and American alto saxophonist living in the Philippines Rick Countryman, freely improvising four impresseive and creative conversations of both intricate and reflective dialog.

The longstanding relationship between US alto saxophonist living in the Phillipines, Rick Countryman, and legendary free improvising Japanese percussionist Sabu Toyozumi, heard in two previous albums, is here captured live in concert in the Phillipines in 2018, revealing active and thoughtful dialog of great expression and skill, an inspired encounter of free playing.

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!

Malaysian tenor saxophonist Yong Yandsen joins the working trio of Sabu Toyozumi, Simon Tan, and Rick Countryman for a lively set of performances, Sabu and Countryman having met Yandsen in Kuala Lumpur several times the previous year for unrelated projects, bringing confident familiarity to their improvisations, captured here as a trio and quartet from a 3-night engagement in Manila.

The Swedish trio of South Korean tenor saxophonist Jung-Jae Kim, Joel Haag on guitar and Henrik Wartel on drums, recording in the studio for a mix of five original compositions from Jung-Jae Kim, often based around a motive or idea which is developed and expanded upon by each member of the trio, and five collective improvisation borrowing from a variety of styles.

Thirteen realizations of sound artist Rubén Turba and violist Minami Saeki's concept for two musicians or more, where each performer chooses five sounds as a "gift" to one of the others, played up to three times during the realization before moving to the next sound; these recordings were made independently in Tokyo & Madrid and then combined without editing.

Performing live in a virtual festival performance at his home studio as an extension of his work at erstwhile's 2011 Amplify festival, Japanese sound artist Taku Unami recorded these three extended works using cardboard boxes and small robots, creating the curious sounds of their interactions and capturing them on binaural microphones to recreate their dynamics as exactly as possible.

An absolutely idiosyncratic style in performance, Japanese alto saxophonist Masayoshi Urabe, also on harmonica and voice, is heard in a single extended performance at Sakedelic Space Shuyukan in Shiga, Japan, as the listener experiences the performance through his playing, physical motion, aberrant racket, arduous utterance, and inexplicable moments of silence and sound.

The first Wandering The Sound album in 2018 was the trio of Argentinian reedist Guillermo Gregorio, Spanish drummer Ramón López and Polish bassist Rafał Mazur, here extended to a quintet with pianist Satoko Fujii and trumpeter Natsuki Tamura for a 2019 concert at Alchemia in Poland, a masterful example of free improv based on a poem by Ikkyu Sojun, a Zen master from the 15th century.

Confronted and assaulted by Asian bigotry in NYC shortly after the start of the pandemic, pianist Eri Yamamoto adopted a wig, mask and sunglasses to hide her ethnicity, about which she sings in the title track of her album, a mix of the sophisticated jazz instrumentals with bassist David Ambrosio and drummer Ikuo Takeuchi punctuated with songs of Yamamoto's pandemic experience.

Composed for choir and jazz trio, pianist Eri Yamamoto and her trio with drummer Ikuo Takeuchi and bassist David Ambrosio present a 7-part work based on a traditional circle-dance song performed at festivals in the Shiga prefecture of Japan, emulating the vocal parts of that tradition with the choir Choral Chameleon, directed by Vince Peterson.

Two itinerant and unique performers in solo and small group configurations--Japanese saxophonist Katsura Yamauchi, who has recorded & performed with Voice Crack, Tatsuya Nakatani, Otomo Yoshihide, &c. &c., and Swiss electroacoustic improviser Jason Kahn--meet during Kahn's 2023 visit to Japan, recording these perceptively subtle duos live at HALL, in Oita and at IAF SHOP, in Hakata.

Two 60's collaborators of Japanese guitarist Masayuki Takayanagi--drummer Hiroshi Yamazaki and bassist Nobuyoshi Ino--formed this "Tryangle" to invite third improvisers for their performances, here joining forces with alto saxophonist Eiichi Hayashi (Catle Band, Aki Takase) for this exceptional live concert at Koen-dori Classics, in Tokyo, Japan in 2022.

Two extended pieces of solo free improvisation from Japanese alto saxophonist Homei Yanagawa, aka Yoshinori Yanagawa, who regularly performs solo, releasing this album 30 years after his first solo album in 1991, Ground and Figure, here recording in the studio for confidently active and diverse approaches to solo expression; engaging and absorbing work.

Bridging Chinese folklore and avant-garde exploration, yangqin innovator Liang YiYuan and multi-instrumentalist Li Daiguo conjure an entrancing tapestry of shadowy textures and melodic splinters on this long-form collaboration — recorded in Yunnan and blending traditional Eastern timbres with free improvisation and experimental form in a deeply narrative, otherworldly sonic journey.

Known for his band Blacksheep, along with Gatos Meeting, OKHP, Satoko Fujii Orchestra Tokyo, The Silence, and Missing Link, &c., Japanese baritone saxophonist steps out solo for twelve works — eight improvisations and four compositions — blurring the line between approaches, executed with Yoshida's rich tone, multiphonic accents, and powerful sonic pressure on the big reed.

A relentless duo of Japanese drummer, vocalist and electronic artist Tatsuya Yoshida (Ruins, Koenji Hyakkei), with Mexican saxophonist Martín Escalante on alto and voice, captured live in Tokyo in fourteen explosive improvisations of blistering energy, searing noise, and sudden precision shifts, balancing chaotic abandon with uncanny control.

Quick-witted and intensely detailed improvisations between Japanese drummer Tatsuya Yoshida and pianist Chihiro Owada (Karasutou!), who also performs on pianica, with both free vocalizing, in eleven recordings captured at live performances between 2021 and 2013 in Ogikubo, Maebashi and Youtsuya, Japan, plus a bonus studio composition combining unused sources.

The duo of drummer Tatsuya Yoshida and keyboardist Risa Takeda take to the road in a 2023 summer tour, their rock-based improvisations energetically wild and masterfully controlled as they run through 11 pieces in a concert at Environment 0g in Osaka, the title referencing the capacity for some proposition or theory to be proven wrong; in contrast, this concert is quite right!

Thirteen high-speed rock improvisations on drums, synth, piano & voice from the continuing collaboration of Magaibutsu label leader & drummer Tatsuya Yoshida and synthesist & pianist Risa Takeda, each track titled for Nordic mythology, the album title a reference to the World Tree, a giant ash supporting the universe; dramatic, amazing, unconventional instrumental music.

It started with a Mats Gustafsson's LP, for which Ozeki Mitkito created a polyvinyl chloride cutout, which Otomo manipulated on his turntable, recording this limited hand-numbered CD.

Core Anode is Otomo's roaring-sound project, 3 pieces recorded live at concerts in Tokyo (2002), Copenhagen (2006), and London (2006).

An intensively diverse and thrilling game of "cat and dog" between Norwegian percussionist Paal Nilssen-Love and Japanese guitarist Otomo Yoshihide, performing live at Dom Cultural Center, Moscow, Russia in 2016 for two extended improvisations that exemplify incredible technical skills, reflective and introspective dialog, and cathartic release; absolutely impressive.

Part of a concert to mark the 10th anniversary of the opening of Ftarri's physical store in Suidobashi, Tokyo, drawing on performers from the Improvised Music From Japan imprint, turntable and sonic legend Otomo Yoshihide performed this solo concert in two sets, first using a turntable and the Ftarri store's harmonium (pump organ), and then on the turntable alone.

A rare 1993 live duo between Japanese avant-garde pioneers Motoharu Yoshizawa on electric bass and Kim Dae Hwan on percussion, this profound and genre-defying recording explores sound itself, blending space, silence, and spontaneous interaction into a philosophical, boundary-pushing acoustic journey that evokes elemental, organic sonic landscapes.

The tenth duo recording from pianist Satoko Fujii and trumpeter Natsuki Tamura presents eight compositions of slow, lyrical beauty-seven by Tamura and one by Fujii-crafted with exquisite restraint and intimacy, as the long-time collaborators sustain a dignified atmosphere of quiet intensity and emotional depth, shaping silence and subtle detail into music of profound elegance.

Three "nonsensical" musical conversations between Malaysian experimental musician and Herbal International label founder Goh Lee Kwang, and Norwegian bass player and Nakama label leader Christian Meeas Svendsen; a first encounter between two different mindsets, nationalities and generations, packaged with a pencil to let you draw your own cover.

Recorded live at Victoriaville in 2008, Rene Lussier, Martin Tetreault, and Otomo Yoshihide collide guitars, turntables, and a spy-mic in a sharp, unpredictable set, shifting between searching interplay and bursts of tightly-locked exchange, their contrasting approaches sparking inventive textures and raw electroacoustic energy.

Both members of the Tokyo band SuperDeluxe, drummer Yoshio Mashida performing on steelpan, gamelan and metal-slit drums, and 5-string banjo player Cal Lyall, performing largely on a tabletop guitar setup augmented with electronics, have developed a lovely and relaxed, compelling language of improvisational forms using structural ideas-based on minimal scalar patterns.

"What Is the Difference Between Stripping and Playing the Violin? contains two compositions by West Coast avant-garde artist Miya Masaoka. Although an accomplished koto player, Masaoka does not play on this CD: her hands are full conduc...

The first release on Japan's Armageddon Nova, now reissued as a limited 180gm double vinyl LP, presenting a 2012 concert at Performing Arts Center, in Japan in 2012 by the duo of free improvising alto saxophonist Aishi Oyauchi, a peer of Karou Abe in the 60s, and contrabassist Deku, a member of the 70s free improvising group New Jazz Syndicate.

"Berlin trombonist Konrad Bauer has become a regular of the Victo label. News From Berlin, a studio session with compatriot pianist Aki Takase, is his fourth album for the Victoriaville (Québec) imprint. The chemistry between the ...

Two lives sets at Tago Jazz Cafe in the Philippines in 2018 from the trio of master percussionist Sabu Toyozumi on drums, American ex-pat Rick Countryman on alto saxophone, and Simon Tan on acoustic bass, this their 3rd album of solid free improvisation of extended and masterful discourse, unusual percussive devices, and powerful rhythmic foundation.

Recorded in Quezon City, Philippines during Typhoon Crising, the long-running trio of Christian Bucher (drums), Simon Tan (double bass), and Rick Countryman (alto saxophone) capture urgent and agile free improvisation between canceled gigs and storm delays, their 13 years of collaboration driving vibrant exchanges that balance volatility with poised, spontaneous form.

Exploring a vivid spectrum of sound, the duo of Ayako Kanda (voice) and Elliott Sharp (baritone guitar, electronics) pairs Kanda's kaleidoscopic shifts between linguistic and nonverbal expression with Sharp's baritone guitar textures and electronic detail in an improvisational dialogue that moves fluidly between abstraction, color, and visceral intensity.

Founded in 2001 and reunited after their last album in 2007, the quartet of Satoko Fujii (piano), Natsuki Tamura (trumpet), Hayakawa Takeharu (bass), and Tatsuya Yoshida (drums) unleashes a high-energy blend of avant jazz-rock, shifting from atmospheric fragments to dense, electric-edged turbulence, driven by sharp contrasts, ferocious rhythms, and the group's volatile, genre-bending interaction.

An album recorded on the 59th birthday of pianist-composer Satoko Fujii, the second recorded with bassist Joe Fonda on the Long Song imprint, this time in a trio with soprano saxophonist Gianni Mimmo, the focus of the album the 42 minute monumental improvisation "Birthday Girl", a sophisticated and engaging dialog of lyrical playing and great beauty.

Their aptly titled "Fourth" album since they first performed together in 2015, Japanese pianist Satoko Fujii and NY bassist and flutist Joe Fonda have toured and developed an intuitive, almost telepathic, relationship--naturally melodic, intelligent yet emotional-- heard here in two concerts in Japan, with trumpeter Natsuki Tamura joining as a guest on two pieces.

With commanding instrumental skills and a growing history of collaboration, bassist Joe Fonda and pianist Satoko Fujii are heard again in two live concerts as part of their 2017 European tour, two duos from Belgium and one in Germany, the CD taking its title from the Japanese word for "water" as the two converse in powerfully emotional and technically breathtaking ways.

Japanese alto-saxophonist Naoko Saito living in Tokyo presents a full solo effort, shaping airy subtones, soft breath, and tentative melodic fragments into a ghostly, introspective soundscape - a contemplative and quietly expressive improvisational voice that marks her emergence as a distinctive new presence on the Deathrash Armageddon roster.

Harnessing extreme tenor-sax techniques, Yong Yandsen - known for his collaborations with Christian Meaas Svendsen, Paal Nilssen-Love, Rick Countryman, Sabu Toyozumi, &c. - delivers a solo album that immerses listeners in wet, murky textures and grainy, pressure-driven timbres, shaping breath, multiphonics, and noise into an uncompromising sound world that deepens his distinctive improvisational voice.

Capturing their first UK appearance since 2016, the duo of Toshiji Mikawa and Fumio Kosakai unleash two blistering sets of "hard noise" at Cafe Oto, forging scorched-earth tape loops, feedback vortices, and pedal-chain eruptions into a ferocious, fire-music-level onslaught that channels pure chaos into a gripping, cathartic sonic upheaval.