The sophomore release from this Norwegian instrumental rock band, with all members of the quartet coming from an improvisation/jazz background that fuels their diverse interests in the rock format, from blistering runs, dark blues grooves and even a nod to Swedish folk jazz; a dynamic album of great technical playing but more importantly, a strong commitment to rock.

A tribute to legendary audio engineer George Belle (1948-2019) who worked with a who's who including Horace Tapscott, Jimmy Smith, Gene Rodenberry, &c., in a set of compositions from Mal Waldron, Albert Heath, Herbie Nichols plus original work from leader James Bennigton, saxophonist Dustin Laurenzi, saxophonist James Cook, and group improvisations.

Chicago drummer and composer Jimmy Bennington is heard live at Andy's Jazz Club in 2018 in a solid straight-ahead set with his Colour and Sound sextet of Fred Jackson, Jr. on alto & soprano saxophones, Artie Black on tenor saxophone, Dustin Laurenzi on tenor saxophone, Dan Pierson on piano, Mike Harmon on bass, with compositions from band members and arrangments from Bennington.

Thematic improvisations pairing synthetic sounds and effects with acoustic bass, sax and drums, recorded in the studio by the Chicago quartet of Jimmy Bennington on drums & percussion, Phil Hunger on synth, guitar & effects, Dvi Priest on acoustic bass & effects, Brian Seyler on tenor saxophone, augmented by field recording from a Syrian marketplace, Jackals and Hyenas.

Wandelweiser composer and performer Antoine Beuger reflects, or more correctly, laments, in nine solo vocal works of profound emotional depth, utterances first on the dearth of time and the vicissitudes and intersections we face; then on mourning and grief, a requiem that extolls the listener to use our voice to confront sadness that we may gain strength from it.

Excerpting part of an eight-hour performance recorded over an amplified live environment of a text score for two pianists using one piano, each positioned at the opposite registers of the piano, one player creating a block of note phrases using intervals of a 2nd or 3rd with each note allowed to decay before the next, repeated by the other player following a set of rules.

Variations of a score incorporated within a choreographic performance presented at the Archeological Museum of Thessaloniki in 2019 from the Greek experimental band Eventless Plot, the core trio of Vasilis Liolios (psaltery & bow), Yiannis Tsirikoglou (electronics) and Aris Giatas (analog synth) extended with Chris Cundy (bass clarinet), Nefeli Sani (piano) and Eva Matsigou (flute).

"Trios" refers to the relationship of two keyboards and the pedals of an organ, as performed by accomplished American composer Carson Cooman as he patiently unfolds Eva-Maria Houben's three minimal compositions exploring the relationships between three melodic lines or three-tone chords, presented on the Organ Probsteikirche St. Ludgerus, in Billerbeck, Germany.

A series of eight "voices" for piano, extended minimal works slowly unfolding in the performance of composer Carlo Inderhees' "8 stimmen" composition for solo piano, expressed by Guy Vandromme as the piece answers the questions "what is music made of?" with the word "voices: a sequence of sounds and silences, with its own consistency".

Four compositions for strings from German composer Hannes Lingens, including the three-part "Triptych" work performed by the Ensemble CoÔ, a septet directed by bassist Félicie Bazelair that emphasizes bowed strings; and two solo works performed by Bazelair: "Methods and Materials" & "Solo for String Instruments" employing advanced approaches to the double bass.

Since 2017 the father/son duo of double bassist Michael Formanek and woodwind player Peter Formanek have performed, recorded and toured together, here recording in the studio in 2019 with the wind player on tenor saxophone and clarinet, the familial history and life of collaboration showing in the warmth and easy discourse between the two, heard in 13 succinct improvisations.

Two renditions of two sound works from Massachusetts composer currently based in NYC, Eli Neuman-Hammond, both pieces using slide whistles in scores for multiple performers, captured in the open air in Ridgewood, NY, Washington Square Park, and in Marblehead, MA, each performance a minimal configuration that varies the fingerings or breathwork of the performers.

Norwegian composer Fredrik Rasten, a guitarist who himself has recorded pieces by pianist/composer Johan Lindvall, sees Lindvall beautifully perform 15 of his works for solo equal tempered piano, minimal pieces developed under the influence of Debussy and Bartok's Mikrokosmos compositions along with adaptations of his own microtonal/just intonation work.

A collaboration with German soprano vocalist Irene Kurka from London-born composer currently working in China, Toby Charles Roundell, seven works for unaccompanied solo voice, who have worked for several years exploring psalms, antiphons and books from the minor prophets, in seven contemplative works of spiritual, resonant vocal progressions.

The third solo saxophone record from Brooklyn improviser Josh Sinton, and his first recorded solely on the baritone saxophone, an instrument for which Sinton explains he has dedicated half his life, heard in this remarkably diverse set on the lower horn that he approaches lyrically, technically, emotionally and with startling singularity.

Concentrating on the lower reeds, baritone saxophone and bass clarinetist Josh Sinton's Predicate Trio brings the best of New York's Downtown improv scene through drummer Tom Rainey and cellist Christopher Hoffman, the album opening with a submerged baritone solo leading to seven original Sinton compositions and two uniquely mischievous and informed collective improvisations.

Originally recorded in 2005 for a small 100-copy release, the single extended track on Mahogany Rain offers an hour of mesmerizing improvisational sound, sparsely composed and deeply experimental and performed by Keith Tippett on piano & percussion, Julie Tippetts on xylophone & voice, Philip Gibbs on guitars, and Paul Dunmall on soprano & tenor saxophones.

Four unique interpretations of David Henri Thoreau's essay "Walking", "a transcendental essay that analyzes the relationship between man and nature, trying to find a balance between society and our raw animal nature." (Wikipedia), performed by Antoine Beuger, Marianne Schuppe, Stefan Thut, Sylvia Alexandra Schimag and Marie-Cecile Reber.

Using a metasynth, a software instrument that allows the user to draw or paint music, and a photograph of a small tree observed at a former train station in the German town of Kranenbur, composer Florian Wittenburg generates complex sound structures from the simple structures of the tree's branches used as a template for four rich sonic sketches.

Four mysteriously untitled and extended works of electronics subtitled Impressions From the Next Era, using feedback, aberrant sound, glitch, rich synthetics, bi-directional sound and indescribable sonic sources to fuel David Lee Myer's latest in his long-running and essential listening project Arcane Device; shimmering, inscrutable, and awe-inspiring.

Dovetailing and combining the rich harmonics of Michel Doneda's soprano and sopranino saxophone with Pascal Battus' rotating surfaces--mechanisms from small consumer electronics and their like put in motion and in contact with resonators and vibrators--this French improvising duo create fascinatingly shifting, unusual textures and sonic environments.

An overlooked chapter in Ornette Coleman's recording career, these two Blue Note albums recorded in NY in 1968 and issued in '68 & '71 feature the innovative alto saxophonist joined by West Coast tenor saxophonist recently moved to NYC, Dewey Redman, and Coltrane sidemen, drummer Elvin Jones & bassist Jimmy Garrison, for two sessions of inventive and accomplished free jazz.

An extraordinary solo double bass set recorded at Saint-Jacques church of Cales, Lot, France in 2021 as part of the Souillac en Jazz festival from Joëlle Léandre, reaching into the depths for an incomparable and intensely concentrated display of technical skill and passion on the deep strings; captivating, visceral and cathartic.

The darker side of David Lee Myer's Arcane Device project, six lettered works from his Noisewall Sessions 2020-2021, using feedback and controlled glitch, delicate noise and drone in long-form extended improvisations; six incredible sonic journeys, each copy of the 2-CD album a in an individual and numbered monoprint package, each copy unique from the other.

Originally released in 1964 on The Sonet label as Volumes 1 & 2, this CD remasters this exceptional 1963 concert of original material and pieces by Ornette & Monk, complete in sequence as performed at Jazzhaus Montmarte in Copenhagen with Archie Shepp on tenor saxophone, Don Cherry on cornet, John Tchicai on alto saxophone, Don Moore on double bass and J.C. Moses on drums.

An intense concert of collective European Free Jazz in two extended improvisations recorded at naTo in Leipzig, German in 2019 from the quintet of Peter Brotzmann on tenor saxophone, clarinet & tarogato, Oliver Schwerdt on grand piano, percussion & little instruments, John Edwards and John Eckhardt on double bass, and Christian Lillinger on drums & percussion.

Alarmed by the warning signs of social deterioration, political overreach and planetary damage warning of an imminent need for revolutionary change, composer and sound artist Michael Pisaro-Liu sought and plundered references in sound from historic and current sources, producing 53 tracks that are arranged to tell a story in a mosaic form; an incredible achievement.

Three distinct compositions from the collaborative work of sound artists Vanessa Rossetto and Lionel Marchetti, the first a wonderfully complex work of musique concrète and acousmatic sources guided by the composers' instincts; "The Tower" expands their concepts through the addition of 18 voices, while the final track features the violin of Anouck Genthon.

The second collaboration between pianist Sylvie Courvoisier and guitarist Mary Halvorson, six years after Crop Circles and a product of their tours together and the result of their both writing compositions specifically for their duo project, showing a level of communication that allows incredible inventiveness and moments of poignant exchange; exceptional.

A document of bassoonist Sara Shoenbeck's collaborations recorded between 2019-2021 in recording studios across North America, showing the inspired curiosity she brings to improvisation through a diverse set of duos performed with Harris Eisenstadt, Nicole Mitchell, Nels Cline, Roscoe Mitchell, Matt Mitchell, Mark Dresser, Wayne Horvitz, Peggy Lee and Robin Holcomb.

Drummer and composer Chess Smith in a 2-CD set of pieces merging jazz and traditional vodou rhythms, the band featuring Matt Mitchell (piano), Miguel Zenón (saxophone), Nick Dunston (bass), Sirene Dantor Rene (lead vocals), with Daniel Brevil, Markus Schwartz and Fanfan Jean-Guy Rene all on Haitian tanbou drums & vocals, released in a hardshell box with booklets.

A 2nd season from composer, improviser & bassist William Parker, after his 2000 Thirsty Ear release Painter's Spring, this new trio album with drummer Hamid Drake, wind player Daniel Carter performing on trumpet, flute and reeds, and Parker himself on bass, trombonium & shakuhachi, paint the season with sound as they celebrate the winter through visionary jazz music.

New York free jazz master bassist and composer in his first electric guitar trio album as a leader, performed with the innovatively inventive and solid rhythms of Gerald Cleaver on drums and the blazing deep blues work Ava Mendoza on electric guitar, presented as part of Parker's Tone World chronicle of instrumental suites, here following Sun Ra's Space Way.

Named after an Ornette Coleman composition from his album of the same name, alto saxophonist Tim Berne leads his duel-saxophone quartet with Chris Speed on tenor saxophone and the rhythm section from The Bad Plus, drummer Dave King and bassist Reid Anderson, through twelve melodic free jazz works honoring the legacy of Coleman, Redman, Haden & Hemphill.

An exemplary collective piano trio from Stephan Crump on acoustic bass, Kris Davis on piano and Eric McPherson on drums, their 2nd album as Borderlands Trio, recording in the studio for four exceptional, extended improvisations with an innate sense of lyricism and free flowing exchange of confident interaction, developing elegantly warm grooves and melodic progressions; beautiful.

The 4th album from saxophonist & bass clarinetist Silke Ebherard with her long-running powerhouse trio of Jan Roder on bass and Kay Lübke on drums, presenting all Eberhard compositions showing her strong writing voice under the influence of jazz greats like Dolphy, Mingus and Coleman, through nine well-balanced pieces from bluesy introspection to burning freedom.

Two decades after his last solo album, Michael Formanek returned to the studio to record these nine solo bass improvisations, each a profound spontaneous composition realizing structures and melodic development that incorporate journeys from abstraction into logical narrative territory as we follow the muse of a one of modern jazz' greatest bassists.

Taking his Bay Area trio with bassist Jason Hoopes and drummer Jordan Glenn on the "Road", guitarist and improviser Fred Frith first presents the trio itself in a wonderfully diverse extended set at the Week-End Fest in Koln, Germany; then invites trumpeter Susana Santos Silva at Old Cabell Hall in University of Virginia; and then saxophonist Lotte Anker at Altes Kino in Ebersberg, Germany.

With a clarity in both improvising and in composing, NY tenor saxophonist James Brandon Lewis' second album with the rock solid quartet of Aruan Ortiz on piano, Brad Jones on bass and Chad Taylor on drums further explores his concepts of Molecular systematic music through powerfully solid compositions that lead to both lyrical and ardent soloing; exceptional.

This 1995 double CD presents the London Jazz Composer's Orchestra 1987 performances at Rote Fabrik, in Zurich, Switzerland and at the 1988 Taktlos-Festival, in a large ensemble that included Barre Philips, Dave Holland, Paul Lytton, Tony Oxley, Howard Riley, Evan Parker, Paul Dunmall, Trevor Watts, Paul Rutherford, Radu Malfatti, Jon Corbett, Phillip Wachsmann, &c.

After a series of performances in Europe in 2020, the duo of German saxophonist Angelika Niescier (Angelika Niescier sublim) and British pianist Alexander Hawkins recorded this passionately charged and intimate duo at the Loft in Koln, Germany, finding the two in a high-speed dance of weaving notes and ardent expression, a brilliant set from two virtuoso players.

Perhaps one of the most complex piano trios active, Punkt.vrt.Plastik--Kaja Draksler on two different upright pianos, Petter Eldh on bass and Christian Lillinger on drums--explore unusual rhythmic approaches to jazz in exciting exchanges that fracture melody with rapidly veering impulse, always pulling back to reveal the mastery of their inventive playing.

A collection of jazz standards performed with a modern approach to free playing, updating these essential melodies for the 21st century while adhering to their original warmth, from drummer Tom Rainey's exceptional New York Obligatto band of Ingrid Laubrock on saxophones, Ralph Alessi on trumpet, Drew Gress on bass, and Jacob Sacks on piano.

Having performed together a number of times in festivals both in Europe and Chicago, the duo of drummer Hamid Drake and pianist Irene Schweizer reveals the familiarity and confidence their history brings to their improvisations, both in intense exchanges and playful melodic passages, as heard in this exemplary 2019 concert at Jazzgallery, in Nickelsdorf, Austria.

An absolutely impressive album of solo clarinet improvisations from reedist Chris Speed, known well for his saxophone work, here he displays inventive and implicitly lyrical approaches to this challenging reed instrument through great discipline, tone & technical skill as he presents succinct works inspired by John Coltrane, Julius Hemphill, Eric Dolphy and Paul Motion, &c.

Informed by the traditions of creative jazz; an interest in unusual time signatures; the music of Hinudstani and Brazil; through drummer Dan Weiss the influence of Indian Classical music; through Steve Coleman and Five Element compatriot, guitarist Miles Ozaki, an urban electric edge; making for an album both technically interesting and musically absolutely rewarding.

Featuring two pianists--Judith Wegmann and Marlies Debacker--and two percussionists--Lukas Briner and Nicolas Wolf (a duo who play concerts in the dark under the name of Night Shadow Noise)--in collective improvisations of two pianists or as a quartet of duel pianists and drummers, for seven exciting and sophisticated recordings of instant composition.

Never-before released recordings of tenor saxophonist Albert Ayler's 1966 band recording in his home town of Cleveland at club La Cave, recorded over two nights in a superb sextet with brother Donald on trumpet, Frank Wright on tenor sax, Michel Samson on violin, Clyde Shy on double bass and Ronald Shannon Jackson on drums, performing Ayler's compositions and Don Cherry's "D.C.".

Recorded in 2021, one of late New York bassist Mario Pavone's final studio albums sees the composer extending his Direct Trio of pianist Matt Mitchell and drummer Tyshawn Sorey with trumpeter Dave Ballou, a longtime collaborator who brings an additional level of lyrical excitement and sophistication to the group's work, in 9 substantial compositions and collective works.

An upbeat and energetic album of modern creative jazz compositions from Cuban-American saxophonist, woodwind player, and composer/improviser David Leon, leading his Aire De Agua with Sonya Belaya on piano, Florian Herzog on bass and Stephen Boegehold on drums, performing Leon's intricate compositions that elucidate each player's voice and great skill.

In a study of memory and the way we alter or prioritize what we remember, NY guitarist Wendy Eisenberg composed this intimately personal long form text score in four movements to be memorized and then performed using the nonlinear randomness of recollection, recorded in two performances at Firehouse 12 in 2019, once on acoustic guitar and once on banjo.

Recorded on the 7th of 8 concerts in a tour with the electroacoustic-improvising trio of Jason Kahn on percussion & electronics, Greg Davis on percussion & electronics and Jon Mueller on percussion & tape, an exemplary performance of close listening, highly textured and evolving ea-improv, each motion subtle and contributing to a richly diverse journey.

Known for his ensemble The Big Machine with Peter Evans, Carlos Homs, &c., NYC saxophonist Aaron Burnett steps out for a solo album of intense improvisatory exploration, demonstrating his background in classical saxophone studies that fuels an ardent intensity in personal expression, a tremendous balance between technique and passion.

Extending her interest in new forms for the solo viola, augmented by effects and voice, New York composer and improviser Jessica Pavone's fourth solo album of composed viola pieces is the result of years of concentrated long tone practice and an interest in repetition, song form and sympathetic vibration, a uniquely, sometimes quirky, and compelling album.

The second release from the New York-based OGJB Quartet of Oliver Lake on alto saxophone, Graham Haynes on cornet & electronics, Joe Fonda on double bass and Barry Altschul on drums & percussion, an exceptional band of masterful and legendary improvisers each contributing compositions for the album along with two collective improvisations; solid and superb.

Focusing on two collective improvisations for pianist Cecil Taylor, three renowned improvisers who worked with Taylor in his groups and ensembles--drummer Andrew Cyrille, double bassist William Parker and flugelhornist Enrico Rava--each bring original compositions alongside one jazz standard to this well-balanced album of consummate, creative jazz.

Solo bass from acoustic and electroacoustic artist JC Jones, a distillation of his language in free improvised music incorporating electronic sound and noise.

Solo saxophone recordings from Israeli artists Ariel Shibolet, performing at Berlins Total Music Meeting in 2007, joyful and complex work in the vein of Evan Parker.

A series of duo improvisation between long-time Downtown NY collaborators, alto saxophonist John Zorn and electric bassist Bill Laswell, recorded in the studio during pandemic lockdown and the first return for Zorn to the saxophone after 15 months, in a uniquely thoughtful set of recordings named for artists including Brion Gysin, W.S. Burroughs, Alejandro Jodorowsky, &c.

John Zorn remakes his Masada Quartet with the new quartet of Kenny Wollesen on drums, Julian Lage on guitar, Jorge Roeder on bass, and the leader and composer himself on alto saxophone, the band having honed the elements of the Masada Songbook through live performance in NYC since 2019, here captured in Bill Laswell's studio in 2021 for 8 lyrically ecstatic recordings.

Dedicated to Chicago trumpeter Rob Mazurek's late father Henry Mazurek Sr., this is the second outing for Mazurek's outstanding quartet with Kris Davis on piano, Ingebrigt Haker Flaten on double bass and Chad Taylor on drums, Mazurek also on bells & electronics, the compositions presented as a suite in a moving tribute to the strengths and attributes his father passed on.

Analogized to a form of poetry known as the Projective Verse, Chicago trumpeter Rob Mazurek propels clarion exclamation and contemplation on the piccolo trumpet through eleven improvisations utilizing the natural resonance of each room that he performs in, captured in True Stereo through dual microphones resulting in this remarkable solo album.

Driven by a passionate intensity, this first meeting of drummer Tatsuya Yoshida (Ruins, Korekyojinn, Koenji Hyakkei, &c) and pianist Dario Suga at 7th Floor in Shibuya, Japan begins at high speed, the sheer technical brilliance of both players dazzling, their unbridled energy eventually yielding to passages of introspection that recur to fervor and fraternity; exceptional!

Borbetomagus's screaming 1986 live recording from Allentown, PA, revived from its cassette only obscurity, adding the entire second set, never previously released.

Long awaited reissue of this 1998 LP, originally of live performances at ABC No Rio in NYC and now expanded to include live performances at DC Space in Washington, DC.

Composer Andre O. Moller's work for solo double bass, performed by Hans Eberhard Maldfeld, was inspired by Moller's fascination in just tuning & rational frequency relations and an admiration for the work of Hans Eberhard Maldfeld, presented compositionally as a group of 7 pieces for 5-stringed double bass and pre-produced playback, creating a virtual double bass choir.

The third duo album focusing on the relationship between the bass and piano interplay of New York improvisers Michael Bisio and Matthew Shipp, whose long relationship as collaborators, particularly in the Matthew Shipp Trio and Quartet, afford them a nearly telepathic compatibility in their work together, heard in nine detailed recordings of superb dialog.

The enduring and innately lyrical collaboration of Japanese pianist Satoko Fujii and NY bassist Joe Fonda, first heard in 2016 with Duet, through 2019's Four with trumpeter Natsuki Tamura, continues despite the constraints of a pandemic in these 10 improvisations recorded separately in Kobe and at Fonda's home, with Fonda also performing on cello & flute.

One of Listen! Foundation's 2022 piano/bass duo series, German-based pianist Jordina Milla meets UK bassist Barry Guy for an album of uniquely discerning improvisation, Milla using inside preparations and gracefully energetic playing informed by her background in classical piano, complementing Guy's intensely melodic abstractions and technically advanced techniques; fascinating.

One of the most intense and unusual of the 80s Downtown NY groups merging rock and improvisation with strong attitudes and incredible musical concepts, these live recordings, including songs never before released, are taken from American and European concerts by the trio of guitarist Fred Frith, cellist Tom Cora, and either electric harpist Zeena Parkins or reedist Dave Newhouse.

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.

The 3rd meeting of the transatlantic quintet of Joe McPhee on alto & soprano saxophones and pocket trumpet, Daunik Lazro on tenor & baritone saxophones, Joshua Abrams on double bass & guembri, Guillaume Seguron on double bass and Chad Taylor on drums & mbira is heard in this exceptional 2018 concert at the International Jazzfestival Saalfelden in Salzburg, Austria.

Originally formed in 1988 as a quartet with the primary composer and instigator saxophonist Chistoph Gallio, the current configuration of this Swiss modern jazz group is the trio of Gallio, double bassist Silvan Jeger and drummer Gerry Hemingway, incorporating a wide array of styles that are reminiscent of Steve Lacy's work while being uniquely DAY & TAXI.

The French quartet or Quentin Biardeau on sax, Gabriel Lemaire on sax and clarinet, Valentin Ceccaldi on cello, Adrien Chennebault on drums and guest trumpeter Bart Maris in a set of composed, structured, and freely improvised pieces, with an ear to lyricism.

A diverse set of works from Australian composer Cat Hope, employing acoustic instrumentation--strings, keys, flutes, reeds & percussion--along with electronics and field recordings, in chamber configurations from duos to quintets, performed by the Western Australia Decibel new music ensemble for which Hope is both director and a performer.

Remastering & reissuing drummer Anthony Williams first two albums: Life Time was recorded for Blue Note shortly after joining the Miles Davis Quintet, employing two bassists--Richard Davis and Gary Peacock--along with mentor Sam Rivers and Davis alumni Herbie Hancock & Ron Carter; Spring reflects the new freedom of 60s jazz in a quintet with both Wayne Shorter & Sam Rivers.

Sharing members of the band F.A.T., the Lille, France on based quintet Eliogabal of Mael Bougeard & Sakina Abdou on saxophones, Paul Menard on guitar, Thomas Coquelet on bass and Pierre Pasquis on drums, declares themselves a free jazz rock progressif, performing complex and assertive music that takes time for contemplative musing among strong lyrical riffs, twists and turns.

The French Lunar Error Ensemble employ acoustic and electric instruments including reeds, piano, percussion, electric guitars, synth & computers to create complex drone and sonic environments, here performing Jean-Luc Guionnet's work for micro-variations and harmonic interference, a slowly building and massive work recorded in the resonance of the Protestant temple, in Reims.

Primal instrumental rock with an aggressive bent from the French trio of Antoine Viard on baritone saxophone, Julien Chamla on drums and Richard Comte on guitar, their large sound built on the persistent use of raw and primitive rhythms, and a monumental textures made out of amplified baritone saxophone and electric baritone guitar.

The Winter 2021/22 issue of Canada's premiere music magazine explores the creative ideas of artists engaged in beautiful, daring musical acts of innovation, celebration, and resistance--Alanna Stuard, Yves Charuest, Roxanne Nesbitt, New Age Doom & Lee Scratch Perry--plus Beny Esguerra, Jessica McMann, Juro Kim Feliz, Backward Music; and recorded & live reviews, features, &c. &c.

In 2019, the Ensemble Studio Dan commissioned Downtown New York composer and pianist Anthony Coleman for a new work, fluctuating in fascinating ways between contemporary music and jazz forms, premiered at the Saalfelden Jazz Festival and also presented in Vienna at the Jeunesse Special 2019, live at Porgy and Bess, from which this album was superbly recorded.

A chamber music piece for two harmonicas and an ensemble of strings, brass and drums, written by Austrian composer Christian F. Schiller, originally premiered at the Austrian Cultural Forum in New York in 2017 by the Austrian new music ensemble Studio Dan directed by Daniel Riegler, who perform the work again in the studio in Vienna in 2019 for this album release.

Originally commissioned by Music Traditions Inc. for the Paul Dresher Ensemble and premiered at Z Space in San Francisco in 2012, this adaptation of three numbered works by composer, improviser & multi-instrumentalist Fred Frith was part of Studio Dan's homage to Frank Zappa, written using strong rhythmic structuresÊand melodies associated with Frith's voice as a composer.

Based on the improvisations and sounds generated by soprano/sopranino saxophone player Michel Doneda, composer and Studio Dan director Daniel Riegler developed this work, at the intersection of Doneda's radical tonal language and Riegler's idiosyncratic music, performed live at Stanica Zilina in Slovakia in 2012 with an ensemble including Doneda himself.

Since 2010 the French band Drifting Box Celebration has blurred the lines between jazz, free improvisation and contemporary compositional music, led by drummer and composer Sylvain Marty and here with Stephane Arbon on double bass, Franck Pilandon on saxophones, Clement Gibert on clarinet & saxophone, David Audinet on trombone and Alexandre Peronny on cello.