Two ensemble works and two solo pieces by Christian Wolff's favourite contemporary composer, Cassandra Miller, who is blazing a very personal trail through the experimental music world, with brilliant performances by Apartment House, Mira Benjamin, Philip Thomas, and Charles Curtis with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Ilan Volkov.

Four fragile and mostly minimal works by Victoria-based composer Alex Jang, performed by the Apartment House ensemble, with solo pieces by Heather Roche on clarinet + field recordings, one with Cristian Alvear on guitar, an acoustic quintet, and "any three players" designed for any mix of instrumentation, here on melodica, vibraphone & cello.

A disc of extraordinary string works by Canadian composer Cassandra Miller, presenting four string quartets superbly played by the Quatuor Bozzini quartet of Clemens Merkel on violin, Alissa Cheung on violin, Stephanie Bozzini on viola, and Isabelle Bozzini on cello, including the large work "About Bach", awarded the Jules Leger Prize for New Chamber Music.

Commissioned by Coastal Jazz and Blues and premiered at the 2016 Vancouver International Jazz Festival, cellist Peggy Lee's suite for ten players includes some of the most interesting improvisers on the Vancouver scene, the music multi-layered, texturally varied and melodically rich, with beautiful melodic passages, driving rhythm, and incendiary improv; outstanding!

Two dense, 20-minute tracks of physical, visceral playing from prepared electric guitarist Simeon Abbot with the Bent Spoon Duo: percussionist Chris Dadge and viola/trombone player Scott Munro.

Longtime collaborators Abbott and Dadge release their first album together, a dizzying array of ideas and sounds recorded live at the monthly Calgary based Bug Incision concert series.

AIMTorotono Orchestra under the direction of Kyle Brenders was formed in 2007 to perform the music of Anthony Braxton, here in their first studio album of original compositions for their own sophisticated repertoire.

The Architek Percussion ensemble is a Montreal quartet performing works by Canadian composers, using percussion, drums, sampling, electronics and synth in wonderfully odd ways, here with two guest performers presenting works composed and mixed by Elliot Britton.

A series of 20 short tracks by cellist Melanie Auclair that combine music with ambient sound with players such as Lori Freedman, Antoine Berthiaume, Luc Sicard, etc.

Bassist Babin's Benzene band mixes free improvisation with rock overtones, tight changes giving way to excellent solos from all members of this exceptional quartet.

Composer and improviser Antoine Berthiaume in a compilation of guitar duos with Derek Bailey and Fred Frith exploring the full range of guitar improvisation.

Toronto's Xmas series with an amazing lineup Jean Martin, Christine Duncan, John Southworth, Tania Gill, Kyle Brenders, Justin Haynes, Julia Hambleton, DB Boyko, &c. &c.

Barnyard Drama continues their Christmas Singalong series, here in the 7th volume with an amazing lineup of Jean Martin, Christine Duncan, John Southworth, Justin Haynes, John Oswald, &c. &c.

The 8th eclectic Christmas Singalong from Toronto's Barnyard Drama with performers and guests including Jean Martin, Christine Duncan, John Southworth, Justin Haynes, Paul Dutton, Jim Lewis, Scott Thomson, &c.

Toronto's amazing husband & wife team drummer Jean Martin and unusual vocalist Christine Duncan with guest guitarist Justin Haynes and Bernard Falaise, recommended!

Drummer and electronic artist Jean Martin joins forces with amazing vocalist Christine Duncan for an album of rhythmic soundscapes and free vocal improvisation.

Electroacoustic improv from the quartet of trumpeter Philippe Battikha, laptop artist Matthew Wadell, drummer Sam Vipond and trombinist/saxophonist Etienne Lebel.

Seeking to extend the guitar trio into new and unique territory, the Quebec trio of Eric Normand on electric bass, Louis Beaudoin-de-la-Sablonniere on electric guitar, and Louis-Vincent Hamel on drums, reference performers like Jim Hall, Sonny Sharrock, John Abercrombie, & Bill Frisell while focusing on harmolodic force and unusual melodic lines.

The Calgary duo of Chris Dadge on violin and acoustic guitar, and Scott Munro on violin and partial trombone, performing live in Edmonton, Canada.

Chris Dadge and Scott Munro (aka the Bent Spoon Duo) recorded this album at Weeds Cafe in Calgary in 2012 as a duo, extending their set to a trio with the compatible style of Allison Camera on amplified & mangled banjo and kalimba.

Formed in 2002 as a quartet, then in 2005 as the trio of Chris Dadge (percussion, trumpet, bass), David Laing (bass & trombone), and Scott Munro (sax, melodica, &c), then as the duo of Dadge & Monro in 2008; 2016 found the trio together again in Calgary for the closing of the Emmedia performance space, their entire set of unique collective improv captured for this CD.

The trio of Antoine Berthiaume (guitar, percussion), Quentin SirJacq (piano, percussion) and Norman Teale (electronics) mix jazz, contemporary, and rock in an improvisational context.

Two guitarists from New York's Downtown and Montreal's Actuelle scenes in 11 guitar improvisations, experimental sounds constructed and deconstructed.

Antoine Berthiaume (guitar, effects) and MaryClare Brzytwa (flute, laptop, electronics) in twelve pieces of intriguing improvisation.

Guitarist Antoine Berthiaume leads the trio of Michel Donato (bass) and Pierre Tanguay (drums) in this lively album of eleven original compositions.

EVIYAN is Iva Bittova, Gyan Riley & Evan Ziporyn - 3 unique composer/performers merging into a singular sound, an intimate, acoustic blend of world roots, post-minimalism, jazz, rock, and cabaret.

An eclectic assortment of old-fashioned entertainment, pre-harmonic bop, and Canada's new wave of avant garde mariachi from Jean Martin, Nick Fraser, Justin Haynes, &c..

Rosco Blur's groove-based jazz album with a great set of players including Paul Plimey (piano), Dylan van der Schyff (drums), spirited music with the occasional sung-spoken lyric, an album that harkens to the world of Roland Kirk with a modern edge.

An unusual mix of instruments from the Montreal trio of percussionist Michel Bonneau on congas & balafon, John Heward on drums, and Scott Thomson on trombone, all members of Ratchet Orchestra and Heward's Murray Street Band, in an album of active and uniquely layered confident rhythmic floors over which Thomson freely plays with remarkable technique.

Chris Dadge (drums, percussion) and Andre Bourgeois (saxophones) play two sets of mostly straightforward free jazz with reasonably fixed outlines throughout the structure of each piece.

Subtle exploration of the jazz trio from this Montreal based group whose music is driven by Middle Eastern influences melodies and the exotic percussive work of Ziya Tabassian.

Tim Brady in an extraordinary collaboration mixing his rhythmic, jazz-influenced chamber music with Australia's dynamic and virtuosic Topology ensemble.

Tim Brady with Bradyworks and Quatuor Molinari in a CD/DVD release of four synchronized musical, video & theater works, ambitious and fascinating compositional pieces.

Montreal creative guitarist Tim Brady and his Bradyworks (Lori Freedman, Karen Young, &c) performing 6 duos for electric guitar with other instruments, and 12 compositions for electric guitar (with and without effects pedals).

Putting together two releases from Montreal guitarist and composer Tim Brady's "24 Frames" project: "Trance" (CD + DVD) and "Scatter" (2 CDs), performed solo and with his Bradyworks ensemble.

CD & DVD of Tim Brady's first installment in a triptych documenting a series of 24 pieces for guitar, here presenting Frames 19-24 for electric guitar, electronics and video.

Composer and guitarist Tim Brady in an ambitious project for a symphony in 5 movements for solo electric guitar, sampler, live electronics and a virtuoso chamber ensemble of 15 musicians.

A chamber opera that tells the story of the life of the Canadian doctor and humanitarian Norman Bethune by interweaving extracts from Bethune's own letters with poetry of the 1930s.

Making extensive use of sampling and computer electronics, composer and guitarist Tim Brady combines a major work for 20 guitars on his debut record for Ambiances Magnetiques.

Five original chamber works for saxophone and ensemble by composer and saxophonist Tim Brady for his second release on Ambiances Magnetiques.

Toronto creative improviser multi-reedist Kyle Brenders (AIMToronto, The Rent) in an unhurried and intuitive duo with the drummer & percussionist of his quartet Brandon Miguel Valdivia (Not The Wind, Not The Flag).

A Canadian quintet led by double bassist Bret Higgins (Zebrina) merging latin, R&B, soul, film soundtracks, jazz and more into moody and infectious grooves, lyrical and upbeat music that borrows freely from a variety of world and folk styles in exuberant ways.

Thirteen new compositions by Michel F Cote that are tightly linked together by a poetic text, with Jean Derome, Diane Labrosse, Claude Lamothe, Robert Marcel Lepage, Rene Lussier, Ikue Mori, and Claude St-Jean.

Nine pieces recorded live over the course of three days by a quintet of artists and composers (Derome, Boisvert, Fradette, Tetreault).

Arthur Bull (guitars) and Daniel Heikalo (guitars, percussion) in six guitar duets and five other tracks in which the guitars pair up with Heikalo's percussion.

The first release by the duo of guitarists Arthur Bull and Daniel Heikalo which is a series of free improvisations that are presented without any editing or post-processing.

Burro is the Calgary improvising trio of Whitney Ota (electric guitar), Stew Elton (bass) and Andrew Hume (drums), in a studio release of their intense and hard rock-oriented playing.

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.

Live recordings from Alchemia Jazz Klub in Krakow, Poland in 2015 of the freely improvising trio of Francois Carrier on sax and Chinese oboe, Michel Lambert on drums, and Rafal Mazur on acoustic bass guitar, uniquely intertwining interchanges of joyful dialog.

Canadian saxophonist Francois Carrier in a trio with bassist Pierre Cote and drummer Michel Lambert, plus pianist Bobo Stenson performing live at the 2002 Vancouver Jazz Festival.

A double CD set of fourteen songs based on the poetry of Yves Bonnefoy, composed by bassist Pierre Cartier and executed by two females voices, one man's, three brass instruments, two saxophones, one double-bass and two trap sets.

Inspired by jazz standards, bassist and composer Pierre Cartier combines the voice of Quebec's poets with new jazz to tackle the theme of love.

Pierre Cartier sings the epic and famous poem "Prose du Transsibérien" by the French poet Blaise Cendrars in this beautiful merging of music and poetry.

Melodic music recorded live in a Quebec church in 1989 with Jean-Denis Levasseur and Jean Derome on saxophones, Pierre Cartier on bass, and Pierre Tanguay on percussion.

Percussionist Isaiah Ceccarelli's work for percussion, two voices, two bass clarinets and viola da gamba, woven from the delicate fabric of the tension between darkness and light.

An exceptional free improvising quintet of Montreal & Quebec improvisers--bassist Eric Normand, drummer Michel F. Cote, and bass clarinetist Philippe Lauzier--with French clarinetist Xavier Charles and German trumpeter Franz Hautzinger, performing live during the 2016 Festival de Musique de Creation, creating fascinating commotion with incredible restraint.

Montreal/Actuelle players Sylvie Chenard on guitar and voice, Alexander Dubuc on bass, Cathy Heyden on sax, and Miriodor's Remi Leclerc on drums, with all providing electronics, in an encompassing ea-improv journey that balances acoustics with sonic environments and wonderfully controlled chaos.

A collection of duo recordings featuring guitarist Sylvie Chenard playing with Maryse Poulin (sax), Martin Tetreault (turntables), and Alexandre St-Onge (electronics).

2nd meeting from summer 2009 of Toronto improviser Eric Chenaux & Calgary's Bent Spoon Duo, forward-moving yet rambling improvisation with a folksy intuitiveness of harmony and complimentary rhtyhm.

An audio and acousmatic documentary of the sounds along the St. Lawrence River, above and below water, and the voices of the people living around the shore.

Violinist Mike Khoury and electronic artist Andrew Coltrane in an album of thick and blurry sonic environments and effected string interaction, a bit like a drive in an ancient auto on alien moons.

Montreal's six-piece Cordame and composer Jean Felix Mailloux arrange and interpret 18th century composer Erik Satie's work "17 Variations" in celebration of his 150th birthday, adding a lilting swing and beautiful features allowing the orchestration of piano, harp, violin, cello, double bass, and percussion to improvise over these enduring melodies.

A plethora of objects being struck and stroked from the meeting of drummers Cote (Bruire, Klaxon Gueule) and Ceccarelli, complex interactions of percussion, feedback and electronics.

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.

Jean Derome (sax, vocals), Normand Guilbeault (double bass), Michel F. Cote (drums, vocals) and Martin Tetreault (turntables) in a release that is ageless and archaic.

Unusual electronic improv that moves from light to dark with great grooves and unusual turns, from the core of Klaxon Gueule with Jesse Levine on organ.

Montreal Musique Actuelle turntablist Martin Tetreault and sound artist Erick d' Orion created this project as a tribute to the original explorers of electronic music and musique concrete -- GRM, Stockhausen, Henry, Oram, Schaeffer, &c. -- using historic sound recordings and new sources, presenting this incredible concert live at Au Mois in Quebec.

Percussionist Chris Dadge recorded these two drones using amplified cymbals, violin, and snare drum inside a replica of a Saskatchewan-prairies-style grain silo erected by artist Mark Lowe at the 2011 Calgary Folk Festival.

With a 15 year history of collaboration, Bug Incision label leader Chris Dadge joins with fellow Calgary free improviser Jonathon Wilcke on saxophone for an album of live performances in their home city, two performances from Parlour and one at Local 510, showing strong rapport in their duo of uniquely unconventional percussion and lyrically quirky sax.

Debut recordings and first recorded document of the duo of resonator guitarist Cody Oliver and drummer/percussionist Chris Dadge performing a live broadcast at CJSW studios in Calgary.

A live recording of a solo performance from percussionist/Bug Incision label leader Chris Dadge live at Weeds Cafe in Calgary on percussion, violin, and acoustic guitar.

Drummer and percussionist Chris Dadge plays a personal set that was recorded live and includes a variety of percussive stylings varying from minimal ideas to junk-oriented textural play.

The 3rd solo drumset album from Bug Incision operator Chris Dadge, an album of sharply focused workouts vascillating between a handful of densities, operating in simple, clear structures.

DarkBlueWorld is Elizabeth Fischer's essential rock vehicle for collaborations with noted Canadian musicians, including Tony Wilson, Peggy Lee, Amy Denio, Jesse Zubot, &c &c.

Intense and understated electro-acoustic improvisation from saxophonists Jim Denley and Philippe Lauzier, electronic artist Pierre-Yves Martel, guitaris Kim Myhr and bassis Eric Normand.

Ten new compositions by Jean Derome played by Trio Derome Guilbeault Tanguay on this first album of sophisticated group playing with ample room for improvisation.

Eleven jazz standards performed by the trio of Jean Derome (sax, flute, voice, Normand Guilbeault (double bass) and Pierre Tanguay (percussion).

With many participants from Ensemble Musique and the Montreal Musique Actuelle scene, composer and multi-instrumentalist Jean Derome directs an ensemble into the exploration of electricity and "Resistances", blending electronics, turntable, 60 Hz hums and other electronics into an orchestra of improvisers executing his dynamic 16 movement composition.

Part of Rencontres de musiques spontanees 2009, Jean Derome on bird calls, flute & sax met percussionist Le Quan Ninh playing objects over bass drum for a long work of unusual improvisation.

Having worked together in many projects for many years, this is the 1st trio record from Montreal improvisers Jean Derome, Malcolm Goldstein & Rainer Wiens, six free studio improvisations showing the subtle and sophisticated dialog that such long association yields.

Jean Derome (saxophones, vocals, wind instruments) and Pierre Tanguay (drums, percussion, vocals) play a captivating set of improvised music on this excellent release.

Two saxophones, two voices; two gargoyles, two satyrs; two forces of nature that agitate, whistle, squeak, scrape, blow, and bite, transforming music into a secular incantation and a banquet of sound.