Four distinct pieces for solo viola and effects from NY composer/improviser Jessica Pavone, each piece using electronic elements to blur wave motions interacting with minimalist motifs, merging folk elements with avant elements, using extended bowing techniques to blend unlikely matches of acoustics and electronics in unconventional and appealing performance.

Long-time collaborators, guitarists Henry Kaiser and Eugene Chadbourne perform the compositions of trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith, starting with their recording from 1977 of his "Wind Crystals", then improvising over 5 other Smith compositions, ending the album with an updated, 2017 version of "Wind Crystals"; an excellent refresh and retrospective from two incredible improvisers.

This smoking album of free jazz leads the New York trio of Steve Baczkowski on saxophone, Brandon Lopez on bass, and Chris Corsano on drums to fiery playing as they burn up the stage at Hallwall, in Buffalo, New York in 2018, over seven concise collective conversations expressing both passion, restraint, and profoundly masterful skill.

Through extended approaches to their instruments, Lebanese saxophonist Christine Abdelnour and NY drummer and slide clarinetist Chris Corsano create anomalous and unorthodox sound environments, Abdelnour making acoustics sound electronic through growls, smears and odd harmonics, while Corsano abuses an impressive palette of sound from every inch of his drums.

Guitarist Fred Frith performed 80 concerts at NY's The Stone between 2006-2016, in diverse configurations of duos, trios, quartets and large ensembles with some of the planet's finest improvisers, of which 23 recordings, titled from NY Times headlines of each concert's day, are presented in this essential 3-CD package, which includes a 24 page booklet detailing the collection.

After last year's release of "The Berline Concert", Cologne-based saxophonist Angelika Niescier returns to New York to record in the studio with the quartet of bassist Christopher Tordini, with whom she's recorded before, plus trumpeter Jonathan Finlayson and drummer Gerald Cleaver, the excitement of their playing unmistakable in 8 Niescier compositions.

Swiss pianist and composer Yves Theiler's Trio with bassist Luca Sisear and Lukas Mantel in a lyrical and upbeat album of contemporary jazz, balancing free playing with optimistic melodic arrangements leaving himself and his players plenty of room for expression, their association since 2012 bringing a nearly telepathic rapport in their enthusiastic interaction.

Italian composer and bass-player Massimo Pupillo (ZU) and Australian drummer Tony Buck (The Necks) collaborate in a beautifully haunting, absorbing ambient set, taking in electronic abstraction and free improvisation, released in two distinct editions--"Time Being" on vinyl LP and "Unseen" on compact disc, each with two different improvisations.

The Quebec ensemble GGRIL of eclectic instrumentation, acoustic and electronic, with an open-minded approach to developing large-scale works bringing together approaches to improvisation and contemporary composition, here presenting three works from residencies with John Butcher, Isaiah Ceccarelli and Xavier Charles recorded from 2016 through 2018.

Two works for solo percussion from French drummer Peter Orins, a member of the Circum collective and Circum Grand Orchestra, and peer of Jean-Luc Guionnet, Satoko Fujii, &c.: the 6 part "Happened by Accident", a work of subtle, building percussive work using unusual techniques and sources; and James Tenney's "Having Never Written A Note For Percussion".

Don Redman was an American big band leader popular in the 1930's, responsible for work on animations, sound tracks, and recordings of pre-swing hot jazz arrangements of popular tunes; here the French Umlaut Big Band under the direction of Pierre-Antoine Badaroux pays homage to his music in rich orchestration showing the melodic, inventive, and complexities of Redman's music.

Exploring new ways of interplay within a classic jazz trio setting, "Zyklus 1" or "Cycle 1" is the 3rd album from the trio of Bertrand Denzler on tenor saxophone, Joel Grip on double bass, and Sven on Ake Johansson on drums, a double CD + poster of four improvisations that reference "Time" through masterful technique and superb collective free jazz.

Longtime leader in New York's downtown jazz scene, drummer William Hooker's trio with Joel Peterson on bass and Mark Kirschenmann on trumpet is perhaps his most experimental, Hooker using heavy cymbals to create a dramatic environment (indexed in 8 sections) that slowly unfolds as the bass and mutated horn cry and extoll, building slowly into cathartic excitement.

Including musicians involved with the Canterbury scene (Sophia Domancich), Magma (Simon Goubert) and Henry Cow's own John Greaves narrating, French flutist Michel Edelin's Quintet takes on the music of Rock in Opposition legendary band Henry Cow, ten inventive "echoes" of their music as it has transformed performers and listeners over time; exceptional.

Spring 2019 issue of Canada's premier new music magazine, with articles on Montreal's Dominique Fils-Aime; Composer Linda Catlin Smith; Strasbourg-based Canadian composer and heckelphonist Samuel Andreyev; Camae Ayewa and Carmel Farabakhsh; plus a 10-track various artists CD with tracks from the above, including a work by Wadada Leo Smith, &c. &c.

After introducing his new trio with pianist Paul Bley and double bassist Steve Swallow in two 1961 albums on Verve, clarinetist Jimmy Giuffre embarked on a tour of Europe, this recently discovered, well-recorded concert in Graf, Austria the perfect example of his unique concepts yielding intensely focused, harmonically challenging, rhythmically abstract, and exquisite chamber jazz.

Taking on one of Shakespeare's most famous and frightening female characters, Lady Macbeth, in an 11-piece ensemble that include luminaries Liudas Mockunas, Samuel Blaser, and French guitarist Marc Ducret himself, using operatic form to focus his compositions on the emotional depth of his character, blending composed, improvised and sonic material into an exciting and unsettling work, drawing incredible performances from his players.

Guitarist Electric Bird Noise, aka Brian Lea McKenzie, continues his string of slightly off-center rock albums, primarily instrumental work, this album including a muscular quartet with Jason Hearn on drums, Bradley Wayne Roberts on bass, Steve Strong on drums, plus an Alan Watts narration; 8 dramatic tracks using loops, effects, backward tracking and other aural trickery.

Performing live at Lily Pad in Cambridge, MA, the trio of free jazz piano legend Burton Green in a trio with bassist Damon Smith and drummer Ra-Kalam Bob Moses, in 6 collective improvisations, with impressive playing from all three as they segway through the three part "Life's Intense Mystery", taking exploratory moments and even some "Kid Play" inbetween.

Reissue of Pauline Oliveros' album of recordings from 1989-90, commissioned by Mamou Mines of the NY based experimental theater collective, for their production of Shakespeare's "Lear", with Panaiotis, co-founder of the Deep Listening Band, providing processing to expand Oliveros' solo accordion and her own pitch-modulated delays to create the sound of a full accordion ensemble.

Two drums and two saxophones merge to create this epic 2-part free jazz trek - "Right Eye Sun" and "Left Eye Moon", the album title taken from a sun deity in Kurt Vonnegut's novel "Cat's Cradle", who mated with the moon; this pairing is realized by West Coast masterful musicians Patrick Shiroishi & Vinny Golia (sax) and Dylan Fujioka and Alex Cline (drums & percussion).

Performing in concert at Iklectik in London in 2017, the UK and Norwegian free improvising trio of Pat Thomas on Moog Theremini & IPad based electronics, John Butcher on saxophones, and Stale Liavik Solberg on drums & percussion impress through a mix of masterful free playing and eclectic electroacoustic conversations, an adventurous and wonderfully unpredictable set.

Exploring the low end of the clarinet family with Jason Alder on bass, contra bass, B flat & E flat clarinets, Yoni Silver on bass clarinet, plus Caroline Kraabel on baritone saxophone & voice, Thanos Chrysakis expanding the sonic space with laptop & synthesizers, in a 5-part series of beautifully paced, absorbing and subtly detailed collective improvisations.

The 2nd album for East/West Coast double bassist and composer Mark Dresser's Seven band, in a diverse set of lyrically intricate Dresser compositions using unusual and compelling rhythmic structures, with Nicole Mitchell on flute, Marty Ehrlich on clarinets & sax, Keir GoGwilt on violin, Michael Dessen on trombone, Joshua White on piano, and Jim Black on drums.

Referencing the poem "Star-splitter" by Robert Frost, Italian improviser Gabriele Mitelli on cornet, soprano sax & alto flugelhorn, and Chicago improviser Rob Mazurek on piccolo trumpet, both using electronics, objects & voice, create a spiritually rich and warm series, "gazing" at four planets through immersive, unique and authoritative performance; exceptional.

Saint Petersburg alto saxophonist Ilia Belorukov and Lisbon drummer Gabriel Ferrandini in a studio album uniting two continents through exploratory free improvisation of exemplary skill and intense concentrative discourse, bringing Belorukov's creative approach to the instrument in close conversation with Ferrandini's powerful technique and clever interventions.

Turning to one third of his more familiar Red Trio setting, percussionist/drummer Gabriel Ferrandini enlists bassist Hernani Faustino and tenor saxophonist Pedro Sousa (Sousa/Berthling/Ferrandini, PeterGabriel Duo) to perform 9 Ferrandini compositions named after streets in Lisbon leading from Ferrandini's house to his studio and then to ZDB.

Performing live at The Vortex in London and live at the DKDM studio in Copenhagen, legendary UK saxophonist Evan Parker joins Swedish pianist Jacob Anderskov's trio Kinetics with Adam Pultz Melbye on bass and Anders Vestergaard on drums, recording these four masterful improvisations of full-force momentum, concentration, exploration and exultation.

Norway's Scheen Jazzorkester in their 7th album, commissioning works in their goal to make a large conventional jazz orchestra more spontaneous through composition, here recruiting trumpeter Thomas Johansson, co-founder of Cortex and Friends and Neighbors, to compose this set of six ardent works incredibly executed by this 13-piece band; breathtaking creative jazz.

Now a distinct edition of saxophonist Martin Kuchen's concept, the Angles 9 ensemble is captured live at the Zomer Jazz Fiets Tour in The Netherlands in 2018, performing Kuchen's embraceable and lyrical compositions, allowing his masterful band--including Magnus Broo, Johan Berthling, Mattias Stahl, &c.--great opportunities for collective playing and profound soloing.

The perfect foils for each other, German saxophonist Urs Leimgruber and French AKS sysnthesist Jean-Marc Foussat are heard in two complete concerts, one at the WIM in Zurich and one at the Kunsthalle in Lucerne, both exploring sound, timbre, momentum and atmosphere through extended techniques and extreme playing, and an amazing display of soundscape and sonic force.

With only an electric guitar, Luis Lopes (Humanization 4tet) Love Song presents the mostly composed work "Post-Ruins", recorded live at Teatro Maria Matos, in Lisboa, using notes, intervals and chords chosen with the intention of transmitting the perception of an eternalized moment occupying the space like a sculpture, full of emotions, infinite in itself.

An absurdly paced and spectacular album of electronic improvisation, percussion and voice, as the West Coast improvising trio Monopiece of Nathan Corder on electronics, Matt Robidoux on guitar, and Timothy Russell on percussion meet legendary improvising vocalist and electronics artist Jaap Blonk, recording at The Center for Contemporary Music, at Mills College.

New works for the accordion composed by Vinko Globokar, Toshio Hosokawa, Youghi Pagh-Paan, Rolf Riehm, and Salavatore Sciarrino and performed by Teodoro Anzellotti.

Using a participatory compositional process, the NY trio of Brad Barrett on bass & cello, Joe Morris on guitar, and Tyshawn Sorey on drums, follow a framework to make choices based on density, rhythmic ratios, register, melody, and timbre, encouraged to employ small particles of sounds and blend timbres with an awareness of implied pulse and an inclination to disrupt it.

A 6-CD boxset of recordings from the DKV Trio of Hamid Drake (drums), Kent Kessler (bass), and Ken Vandermark (reeds), plus guest Joe McPhee, the box dedicated to James Baldwin, recorded during the quartet's 2017 tour in Europe, and at shows in Chicago and Milwaukee that year, documenting six concerts with performances including Joe McPhee's "Nation Time".

Radical masters of free jazz--Spanish pianist Agusti Fernandez and British bassist Barry Guy--meet young(er) radical trumpeter Peter Evans at the Moscow Cultural Center DOM for this 2017 concert of free improvisation, a fiery and informed concert of two sets, each in three parts, and an encore, showing technical mastery, inventive interaction, and sheer excitement in performance.

Performing at St. Ann's Church in Dublin, Ireland, the trio of Japanese pianist living in Ireland, Izumi Kimura, is joined by London bassist Barry Guy and Swiss based drummer Gerry Hemingway for 8 superb improvisations, including renderings of Guy's "Blue Horizon", "Ancients" and "Finding It" and Agusti Fernandez' "How to Go Into a Room You Are Already In".

The Catalan free improvising trio Phicus of Alex Reviriego on double bass, Ferran Fages on electric guitar, and Vasco Trilla on drums, continue their pursuit of 4th partners, here joined by Swedish saxophonist Martin Kuchen on tenor & alto saxophones for a studio album of collective improvisation with elements of ea/lowercase playing balanced with dynamic language.

Reissue and fresh master of saxophonist Lee Konitz, pianist Don Friedman and guitarist Attila Zoller's great 1995 Hat release, original compositions of live melodic interplay.

The long-running duo of Norwegian saxophonist Kasper Skullerud Vaernes and drummer Andreas Wildhagen, who also work together in Nakama's KNYST! trio with bassist and Nakama founder Christian Meaas Svendsen, and the Paal Nilssen-Love Large Unit, in an album of five freely improvised dialogs of great technical skill, intent listening and exchange, and dynamic energy.

Ritual and unveiling of Buddhist philosophy in a 3-CD exploration of the relationship between form and freedom, between modern Western culture and traditional Eastern culture, and between written and open musical material, from composer and bassist Christian Meaas Svendsen presented in 3 parts: (1) ensemble and a chant-choir, (2) ensemble, and (3) solo bass.

Brought together by dummer Paal Nilssen-Love for the 2018 Roskilde Festival in Denmark, this quintet merges Norwegians Nilssen-Love and long-time collaborator Frode Gjerstad on alto sax with the Brazilian trio of Felipe Zenicola on electric bass, Kiko Dinucci on electric guitar, and Paulinho Bicolor on cuica, for a thrilling and exuberant concert of energetic improvisation.

For their 10th album, the duo of multi-reedist Ken Vandermark and drummer Paal Nilssen-Love took inspiration from experimental cinema, enlisting producer Lasse Marhaug to scour YouTube for concerts from their past 10 years, extracting 60 seconds of audio from each and joining them into 2-minute segments, 21 of which create this unusual album of awe-inspiring performance.

The third album from the Arashi trio of Akira Sakata on alto saxophone, Bb clarinet & vocals, Johan Berthling on double bass, and Paal Nilssen on Love on drums & percussion, formed in 2013 at the Molde Jazz Festival in Norway and touring steadily since, here captured live at Pit Inn, in Tokyo for four intense free improvisations of inspired power.

Trimmed back to a mere 14 musicians, the Fire! Orchestra core trio of Mats Gustafsson, Johan Berthling, and Andreas Werliin and Orchestra original singers Mariam Wallentin and Sofia Jernberg add a string quartet, expanding their palette as they release their warmest and most embraceable album to date, from original material to covers of Robbie Basho and Chic.

Producer & bassist Marc Urselli devised this first meeting between himself and Sonic Youth guitarist Lee Ranaldo, filmaker/guitarist Jim Jarmusch, and drummer Balazs Pandi's, recording in Urselli's NY studio to capture these live analog recordings of improvisations using no overdubs, a twilight set of evolving and absorbing explorations merging rock & experimental approaches.

Cuban born NY pianist David Virelles documents the musicians of his birthplace, Santiago de Cuba, home to musical styles such as son, changui, nengon, and conga, in two distinct projects: Volume I, where Virelles introduces Orquesta Luz de Oriente tracing the roots of the Cuban big band tradition; and Volume II, reinterpreting the piano music of iconic pianist Antonio Maria Romeu.

This Heat and Camberwell Now drummer, songwriter, vocalist, experimenter and sociological observer Charles Hayward steps away from his drums for an intimate album of song, performing on piano with minimal accompaniment as he presents new songs and new versions of songs including pieces from Camberwell Now; powerfully fragile, insightful, fascinating.

A unique pairing of reeds, piano and spinet captured live at Le Singe Club in Biel, Switzerland in 2018 between multi-reedist Hans Koch and keyboardist Jacques Demierre, a wild ride from frenetic interaction to introspective experimental, both using unusual techniques and Demierre playing inside his keyboards, a truly excellent and thrilling concert.

Wind player and composer Anna Weber pays homage to 20th Century composers' works for percussion, using Xenakis, Feldman, Varese, Stockhausen, Babbitt & Cage as influences in compositions leaving room for improvisation from her septet of Jeremy Viner (sax & clarinet), Jacob Garchik (trombone), Christopher Hoffman (cello), Matt Mitchell (piano), Chris Tordini (bass), and Ches Smith (drums).

Marking 50 years for Chicago's most important and innovative ensembles, formed in 1969 to advance creative musicians as part of the AACM, is this tribute to and based on music written by late members Lester Bowie, Malachi Favors, and Joseph Jarman, performed by 15 innovative musicians young and old, and presented in 2 CDs: one in the studio and one live at the 2018 Edgefest.

The sophisticated compositions of New York pianist Matt Mitchell on piano, also performing on synthesizer, are heard in this quintet with Miles Okazaki on electric & acoustic guitars, Patricia Brennan on vibraphone & marimba, Kim Cass on bass, and Kate Gentile on drums & percussion, a challenging album that rewards through intensity and incredible detail.

A working subset of the UK saxophone-heavy band crossing composition with improvisation, The Remote Viewers led by David Petts, here as a trio with Adrian Northover on alto sax, Petts on tenor sax, and John Edwards on acoustic bass, present 15 new compositions, 10 penned by Petts and 5 collective improvisations, a mix of ferocious timbre and exciting interaction.

10 years after drummer Han Bennink, pianist Misha Mengelberg, and saxophonist Willem Breuker formed the ICP co-op, Bennink & Mengelberg formed this 10-piece "Tetterettet", an all-star international group including Peter Brotzmann, Tristan Honsinger, John Tchicai, this their first incredible and far-ranging album, remastered and available on CD for the first time.

Recorded at the ICP Jubileum festival in Uithoorn, Holland, in 1978, this concert brings together the core of the Instant Composers Pool--pianist Misha Mengelberg and drummer Han Bennink--with legendary South African alto saxophonist Dudu Pukwana (Blue Notes), Bennink also playing trombone, clarinet, and viola, in a lyrical and unpredictable set filled with humor and astounding playing.

Since 2015 Chicago's Experimental Sound Studio has hosted a series of concert followed by a discussion with the artist, with funding for the series assisted by Corbett vs. Dempsey; this CD collects recordings from the last year, including Susan Alcorn, Gerry Hemingway, Greg Kelley, Kris Davis, Wayne Horvitz, Ingrid Laubrock, LaDonna Smith, Sandy Ewen, Douglas Ewart, &c &c.

Caught live at Jazzklubb Fasching in his home of Stockholm, Swedish bassist Torbjorn Zetterberg's The Great Question band with Susana Santos Silva on trumpet, Mats Aleklint on trombone, Jonas Kullhammar on saxophone & flute, Alberto Pinton on reeds, and Jon Falt on drums, perform 6 inventive compositions in an amazing concert of modern, upbeat, innovative jazz.

Created by Felicie Bazelaire, CoO is a string ensemble drawn from the French new music ensemble ONCEIM; CoO develops new repertoire for strings, collaborating with composers like Bertrand Denzler, who wrote this innovative composition "Arc" in two parts, a work applying unusual techniques to bowed strings, particularly lower bass tones, for fascinating results.

French free improvising soprano saxophonist Michel Doneda, using profoundly unusual techniques on the reed instrument, meets percussionist Le Quan Ninh, performing on "surrounded bass drum", a large drum affected by various objects across the skin, for 5 dialogs at Montreuil-sous-Bois, France, and then joined by noh theater drummer Shunichiro Hisada in Tokyo's Shushinkan Hall.

A truly unique album of free improvisation and unusual narrative from the Berlin-based quartet of Tristan Honsinger on cello, Antonio Borghini on double bass, Axel Dorner on trumpet, and Tobias Delius on tenor saxophone, clarinet, a mix of Honsinger compositions and collective improv, since 2010 a working band combining music, movement and theater; masterfully idiosyncratic.

Recording in electric harpist Zeena Parkin's office at Mills College in Oakland with Jon Leideker, aka Wobbly, performing on mobile phones, tablets, booper, and mixer, their output run through a series of simple listening devices, machines designed to sing along with the melodies they believe themselves to be hearing, though they are often wrong; singular and surprising!

Blending a punk rock sensibility with Sephardic tribalism via a taste of North African Gnawa magic, Abraxas is one of the most primal and rocking ensembles in the Masada family, here taking on the 5th edition of Masada Book Three, "The Book Beri'ah", recording in Bill Laswell's studio for 9 joyfully exuberant and intensely executed interpretations of Zorn's compositions.

Downtown bassist mainstay Trevor Dunn, a vital element of many Zorn projects, alongside his own improvisation and compositional work, in his first chamber music album: quartet and trio orchestrations with Trevor Dunn on contrabass, Carla Kihlstedt, Cornelius Dufallo or Jennifer Choi on violin, Vicky Chow on piano, Yves Dharamraj on cello, and Lev Zhurbin on viola.

Having played in trio settings before, pianist Satoko Fujii and Spanish drummer Ramon Lopez seized the opportunity to record as a duo in the studio in NY, bringing just two Fujii compositions to guide them, they began freely improvising, creating this stunning album of elegant interaction, peaceful yet detailed, intuitively beautiful and sophisticated music.

Guitarists Julian Lage and Gyan Riley take on John Zorn's third book of Masada, "The Book Beri'ah", here in the fourth volume performing the rich melodic music in 10 compositions of passionate interplay, from languid passages to rapid interplay, their familiarity lending itself to exceptional extended runs and tight synchronized playing.

John Zorn composed this suite of compositions drawing inspiration from the mystic world of the Tarot and its wide range of impressions, emotions and inferences, from breathtaking activity to introspective elegance, performed as a piano trio by a spectacular group of Downtown NY performers: Brian Marsella on piano, Trevor dunn on bass, and Kenny Wollesen on drums.

The UK ensemble Apartment House performs two works--Olivier Messiaen's "Quatuor pour la fin du Temps" in 6 movements; and Linda Catlin Smith's "Among the Tarnished Stars"--taking a fresh modern approach to the Messiaen, drawing out its experimental character, and the sense of drama and intricate gradations of sonority in Smith's rich and mysterious work.

Following up their 2017 album live at SMUP in Lisboa, the Attic trio of Rodrigo Amado on tenor saxophone, Goncalo Almeida on double bass, and Onno Govaert on drums are heard in this concert at the 2018 Summer Bummer Festival in Antwerp, Belgium, in a solid set of confidently exploratory improvisation and engrossing group dialog balancing pensive reflection and fire.

Exploring the intersection between freely improvised music and free-jazz, the UK collective quartet of Jose Canha on double bass, Trevor Taylor on drums, percussion, Dan Banks on piano, and Josh Ison on saxophone draw out energetic and subtle moments in their bright interaction, always radiating energetic and focused momentum through a full range of character.

UK percussionist and electronic artist Trevor Taylor's Circuit project in an extended electroacoustic version with Jon Seagroat on reeds & electronics, Tim Chatzigiannis on computer & electronics, Mathew Hutchinson on piano, Paul Medley on reeds, and Philipp Wachsmann on violin & electronics, in carefully controlled and sublimely detailed improvisation.

Two unique and exceptional studio albums with differing quartets from drummer Whit Dickey in a single set: "Peace Planet" with Matthew Shipp (piano), Rob Brown (alto sax) & William Parker (bass) in a thoughtfully flowing set of collective improvisations; and the more propulsive session "Box of Light" with Rob Brown (alto sax), Steve Swell (trombone), & Michael Bisio (bass).

The counterpart to the Dunmall session "Seascapes" recorded at the same Victoria Rooms at the University of Bristol's music department, this quartet sees Dunmall on soprano sax and flute joined by three string players--Benedict Taylor on viola, Ashley John Long on bass, and guitarist Phil Gibbs--for six detailed collective improvisations leaning toward chamber jazz.

The 2nd concert at Eastside Jazz Club for the quintet of Paul dunmall on saxophone & penny whistle, Percy Pursglove on trumpet, Steve Tromans on piano, Dave Kane on bass, and Hamid Drake on drums, in a powerfully passionate and profoundly masterful set of lyrical free jazz, the perfect example of Dunmall's skill at assembling inspired jazz bands; highly recommended!

Lawrence Casserley on percussion & processing, Philipp Wachsmann on violin, and Trevor Taylor on percussion & electronics, use the rings of Saturn as their guide in 2 recordings from Iklectick Arts Lab in London, and 3 recordings in the studio, using the mass of the moons around the rings as the durations of each track; subdued yet deeply spacious, superb interaction.

The second of two "Psychedelic Backfire"s, The Norwegian Elephant 9 improvising rock trio of drummer Torstein Lofthus, bassist Nikolai Haengsle, and keyboardist Stale Storlokken are joined by Dungen guitarist Reine Fiske for an exciting live concert at Kampen Bistro, in Oslo in 2019, the interaction of Fiske and Storlokken a fine example that prog rock is still a vital form.

The first of two "Psychedelic Backfire" concerts at Oslo's Kampen Bistro, taken from a 4 night residency by the Norwegian Elephant 9 rock trio of drummer Torstein Lofthus, bassist Nikolai Haengsle, and keyboardist Stale Storlokken, expanding on tracks from their excellent studio catalog in strongly lyrical and technically superb instrumental and improvised rock forms.

The second album from the trio of Ferran Fages (acoustic turntable), Ruth Barberan (trumpet), and Alfredo Costa Monteiro (accordion) expands on their first "Atolon" album with these two recordings of intense electroacoustic improvisation, a mixture of ritual, controlled chaos, mysterious and often disruptively provocative sound, and other inexplicable evolutions.

A composite of environmental sounds, electronics, and viola, recorded in Barcelona, Spain and Lisbon, Portugal from intrepid audio explorers Ferran Fages and Ernesto Rodrigues, the single long work taking the listener on a theoretical journey of transparent traffic, squealing wheels and indeterminate location, engrossing in its detail and the mystery it presents.

Slovenian drummer/percussionist Jaka Berger wrote 3 of the 4 pieces for this trio with guitar Samo Salamon and pianist Marina Dzukljev, also on objects, the 4th piece a collective improvisation, as the three apply experimental approaches to their playing while never leaving their collaborative conversation, making room for inspired soloing.

The GIO presents a magnificent work of music, text and concept by Maggie Nicols,based on the poem of Scottish bassist Lindsay L. Cooper, "A Madman's Approach to Music", with vocals from Tam Dean Burn, Cliona Cassidy and Maggie Nicols herself, a remarkably fun, somewhat twisted, and thoroughly insightful album capturing Lindsay's create contradictions.

A concert in 1995 at Cafe Amores, in Hofu, Yamaguchi of the duo of Japanese percussionist Midori Takada and alto saxophone Kang Tae Hwan, both using exceptional and unusual approaches to their music, applying their backgrounds in free jazz, theater and studies in traditional African and Asian percussion to create a unique hybrid, from hypnotic to frenetic; fascinating.

Drawing on double bassist David Leahy's "Musicians in Space" research and improvisation series, Leahy met up with free improvising violinist Philipp Wachsmann to record these twelve improvisations, collective conversation in a meeting of strings with influences from chamber and fully free approaches; tempered and detailed dialog of impressive virtuosity.

An absorbing album of free and electroacoustic improvisation from drummer/composer Joao Lencastre, introducing his Parallel Realities group of creative Portuguese avant jazz players Albert Cirera on sax, Rodrigo Pinheiro on piano, Pedro Branco on guitar and Joao Hasselberg on bass & electronics, composed for subgroups playing unique yet related passages in parallel.

Szilard Mezei's Tiszan Innen Ensemble is a chamber jazz ensemble of rare sophistication and talent, 11 musicians performing Mezei's compositions and arrangements based on Hungarian folk songs, in active and lyrical pieces with wonderful interplay between sections and individual players, and excellent moment of lively and passionate soloing.