An essential asset of the NY Downtown scene since the 70s, trombonist Steve Swell leads and composes for an exemplary and uniquely orchestrated sextet bridging generations: Jason Kao Hwang on violin, viola & electronics, Ariel Bart on harmonica, Fred Lonberg-Holm on cello & electronics, Robert Boston on piano & organ, and Andrew Cyrille on drums & percussion.

One of the pioneers of live computer music, Carl Stone and guitarist, multi-reedist and electronic artist Elliott Sharp have had a long association sharing concert stages together, heard here in 2019 at Bar Ishee in Tokyo for a unique concert of syncretic improvisation, merging instrumental music with unusual concrete and acousmatic sonic manifestations.

Using Gato Libre's music as the direction for his first solo album since 2004, trumpeter Natsuki Tamura releases an album of powerful and personal playing with a surreal flow of ideas, impish humor, and restrained joy.

"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!

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.

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.

The Chicago trio of Jason Stein on bass clarinet, Ben Cruz on guitar, and Emerson Hunton on drums perform compositions from Cruz & Hunton, informed works of free improvisation that blend style and approach from textural beauty to avant aggressive fury, controlled in quick pivots or enticing in brooding atmospheres, a well-balanced and thoroughly engaging album.

As though an elegy for the departed pianist and composer, Keith Tippett does not perform on this work, which was commissioned for the 2004 Norwich and Norfolk Festival, but conducts an ensemble that includes Julie Tippetts on voice, a saxophone octet that includes long-time collaborator Paul Dunmall, and the polyphonic choir of the BBC Singers; an exquisite and stirring work.

Exploring long tones and harmonic interactions of consonance & dissonance through a slowly rotating and patiently evolving series of tones with each of the players in the Tonus trio doubling on wind instruments, as performed by Dirk Serries on soprano melodica & accordion, Martina Verhoeven on concertina & cello, and Colin Webster on clarinet & alto saxophone.

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.

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 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.

American pianist John Snijders performing the music of European composers Christopher Fox, Ivo Van Emmerik, Richard Rijnvos, James Rolfe, and Luca Francesconi.

A dramatic set of improvisations performed on timpani and gongs from Spanish percussionist Vasco Trilla, from the quietest of moments to massively profound and encompassing events, Trilla's timing evoking both meditative passages and moments of power, in a rich and spiritual album that impresses by both technical ability and by the sense of story he reveals.

The debut album of the New York Trio Caveat of Jonathan Moritz on tenor and soprano saxophones, John McLellan on drums, and James Ilgenfritz on bass, in an unusual Christmas album taking understated and obscure approaches to tunes like "Blue Christmas" and "Dreidel", where only the attentive listener discovers the melodic and harmonic basis for each tune.

Performing a set of UK bass clarinetist Chris Cundy's compositions, along with one collective improvisation, TrioFolio is complemented with the father/son team of double bassist Paul K. Scott and drummer Saul Scott, exploring the borders between classic modern jazz and free forms of improvisation, all heard in the lower instrumental spectrum through rich lyrical jazz.

A member of the Paul Dunmall Quintet and Ed Gauden's Crux, Birmingham UK pianist, composer and band leader Steve Tromans presents an album of original work, lyrical and introspective pieces improvised in the studio as a response to the duress of the global pandemic, motivated to record on a great piano in the great Sansom Studio based on recent life experiences.

For their 2nd collaboration, sound artists Toshiya Tsunoda & Taku Unami present a series of acoustic experiments, each track using a single field recording — fishing spots, birds, a hiking trail, &c, — recording and manipulating those recordings using specific processes, seeking to emulate the way our minds process the senses that we encounter to create our perceived reality.

A building and extended set of fully free improvisation using unusual techniques, from the trio of Birgit Ulher on trumpet, radio, speaker & objects, Damon Smith on double bass and Chris Cogburn on percussion & electronics, Ulher using the trumpet as a sound source as much as a conventional instrument, as the trio builds from near silence to intensely controlled interaction.

Translating to "Little Trumpet Music", the duo of trumpeters Birgit Uhler and Franz Hautzinger, Uhler also performing on radio & objects, use extreme techniques and approaches to their improvisations, focusing on extraneous sounds from their instruments in enigmatic and captivating ways, expansively defining reductionism in masterfully idiosyncratic ways.

A live performance at Fridman Gallery in New York City as part of erstwhile's AMPLIFY 2015 festival from sound artists Taku Unami & Devin DiSanto, using electronics, concrete sounds, and spoken word to create diverse active environments of narratives and pure sound.

New Pricing April 2019: Recordings from the Berlin Inventionen Festivals for New Music 2005 and 2006 featuring compositions by Edgar Barroso ("ODD"); Mario Verandi ("Comme un jeu des images"); Paul Wilson ("Trhough the Rain"); Ricardo Climent ("Wallwoodpeckers"); Vladimir Djambazov ("The Secret Life of a Snare Drum"); and Ludger Brummer ("Glasharle").

The second volume of this excellent German sound magazine and audio CD, 9 artists working in sound art, electroacoustic composition; a "listenable exhibition" of modern compositional approach.

A series of improvised performances with the central idea of acoustic and electronic artists experimenting with the electronic medium in a live setting with musicians with whom they have never played with before.

A survey of French and Australian Sound Art recorded in 2011 at Les Instants Chavires, Montreuil during Parisonic, with artists including Eric La Casa, Philip Samartzis, Marc Baron, Jean-Luc Guionnet, &c. &c.

Swiss pianist/composer Luzia von Wyl and her Ensemble of jazz and classical performers presents von Wyl's compositions that borrow from modern and early jazz, chamber music and world sources, in works that draw on her experiences traveling and performing through the world.

UK guitarist Alex Ward's quartet featuring his compositions for improvisers, performed with a set of younger players on London's free improv scene--Charlotte Keeffe on trumpet & flugelhorn, Otto Willberg on double bass, and Andrew Lisle on drums--heard here in two intricately exciting 2018 concerts in London at Set Dalston Lane and at Cafe Oto Project Space.

Five chamber works from UK composer James Week performed by Explore Ensemble, developing works extending the poetic idea of a piece as an imaginary or remembered space by exploring combinations of instruments such as the mixed instrumental duos, the use of slow-moving or static background harmonics, and intimate instrumental idioms based on long, breath-length sounds.

Mike & Kate Westbrooks 1986 album of Gioacchino Rossini interpretations, with Lindsay Cooper on sopranino sax, huge works that impart improv and humor into magnificent compositions.

1. Liquid Metal Dreaming In Ely 6:44

2. Seghill Ballad 3:24

3. Pythagoras Clocks Off And Heads For The Ruperra Arms 6:49

4. Pythagorean Ground 5:31

5. The Alchemists Of East Moors 3:47

6. Texting Robbie Burns 4:03

7. Pressure 15:44

8. Release 3:50

9. Bhopal Thoughts 18:48

Two like-minded experimenters and improvisers meet in Berlin to extract a fascinating mixture of both unusual and traditional tones & textures on their trumpets, energetically disassembling their instruments in aberrant ways to create clicks, clacks, airy hisses and other inexplicable sounds, revealing a dialog of solid ideas that captivate and surprise their listeners.

With an obvious pleasure at their pairing, both in the studio in Belgum in 2019 and at a live concert at A New Wave Of Jazz festival at the Hundred Years Gallery in London, 2020, acoustic guitartist Dirk Serries and multi-reedist Alan Wilkinson explore a range of styles and techniques through diverse melodic and abstract expression in pursuit of new forms of expression.

Working with Liminar, one of the premier new music ensembles in Mexico, German/US composer Michael Winter wrote this dynamic and extended work pursuing a method of enumerating all ways of articulating a 6-note chord with 7 instruments bound by certain constraints, using the computer science concept of "Gray Code" switches to create shifts within the piece's progressions.

Innovative and idiosyncratic Swiss pianist Michel Wintsch in a set of original compositions that combine ambient sound and intentionality, displaying great technical skills and a unique mind that embraces melody and the unexpected aspects of improvisation.

An absorbing album of percussion and voice from the working duo of Christian Wolfarth on drums and percussion, and Jason Kahn on voice, for two extended improvisations of cathartic vocal expression and assertive rhythmic and reflective percussive accompaniment, balancing eccentric and mesmerizing sound in gripping and compelling ways.

Early works from avant-garde composer Christian Wolff, including pieces for prepared piano influenced by John Cage's ideas for the same instrument.

Pianist and composer Daniel N. Seel plays four pieces from four generations of different composers including Stefan Wolpe, Morton Feldman, Walter Zimmerman, and his own work.

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.

Eclectic and playful jazz from the trio of Tom Abss on bass instruments, Stephen Rush on keyboards, trombone and toys, and Geoff Mann on drums, percussion and trumpet.

The free swinging Dutch piano trio of Michiel Scheen on piano, Raoul van der Weide on contrabass, cracklebox & objects and George Hadow on drums, in a set of buoyant and ebullient improvisations, a mix of composed and collective works that bring together tradition and freedom, melody and abstraction, while clearly enjoying their playful approach to creative jazz.

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

Drummer Gerald Cleaver's significance in NY free jazz can't be understated, and his influence and work with younger generation drummer Devin Gray as a teacher, friend and associate has shaped Gray's work, as heard here in this monumental encounter between the two drummers, a duet that started many years before, playing in the streets of NYC, and now properly captured in the studio.

A set of Eric Dolphy compositions and one Colonna composition in the style of Dolphy and a Dolphy-esque take on Billie Holiday's "God Bless the Child", from pianist Alexander Hawkins and Marco Colonna on clarinet, bass clarinet & sopranino saxophones, recorded live in Rome in 2020 for a spirited and tender hommage to one of the great and most singular figures in jazz history.

Active in various formats since 2005 when The London Musicians' Collective commissioned the ensemble from electric harpist Rhodri Davies, this album with John Butcher (sax & amplifier) and Lee Patterson on amplified devices is surprisingly their first release.

The Boston-based quintet Cutout of Jorrit Dijkstra on saxophones, Jeb Bishop on trombone, Pandelis Karayorgis on piano, Nate McBride on bass, & Luther Gray on drums, in a set of free jazz pieces and virtual suites from original compositions and "instant-arranging" techniques from all band members, applying fresh ideas to superb playing with great camaraderie.

Legendary players, drummer Alvin Fielder, bassist William Parker, and saxophonist Kidd Jordan joined younger generation players pianist Christopher Parker, vocalist Kelley Hurt, and saxophonist Chad Fowler in New Orleans to record this exceptional album of modern jazz compositions primarily from Fowler, plus a collective improvisation and a narrative from Hurt.

New York saxophonist Jon Irabagon, performing on alto and Swanee saxophone, joins alto & tenor saxophonist Paul Dunmall for a burning live performance at Sanson Studios in Birmingham in a quartet with bassist James Owston and drummer Tymek Jozwiak, the saxophones weaving and climbing over the powerful and adept rhythm section; formidable!

Two extended examples of free improvisation from UK stalwarts, tenor saxophonist Paul Dunmall, bassist John Edwards, and drummer Mark Sanders, joined by New York pianist Matthew Shipp, all captured live at Cafe Oto in 2010; set one is an unflagging example of energetic collective improv, set two more introspective yet vital and demanding; a superb concert!

A live recording of Julius Eastman's 1974 work "Femenine" performed by Apartment House led by cellist Anton Lukoszevieze, with Simon Limbrick on vibraphone, Kerry Yong on piano, Mark Knoop on keyboard, Mira Benjamin on violin, and Gavin Morrison and Emma Williams on flute, an ecstatic and intricate work using a repeating figure contrasted with both asynchronous and complementing backgrounds.

Brooklyn drummer Devin Gray leads 3 musicians with Baltimore ties--Ellery Eskelin (sax), Dave Ballou (trumpet) and Michael Formanek (bass)--the rhythm team of this chord-less quartet providing the perfect platform for the diverse song structures in Gray's compositions, through tight melodic interaction or unrestricted excursions for the horn section; superb modern jazz.

21 wild rides from the fully improvised duo of guitarist Kazuhisa Uchihashi on guitar & effects, and Tatsuya Yoshida on drums, voice & sampler, two CDs from four separate concerts at Japanese venues Akihabara Goodman in 2012 & 2014, Kichijoji FOXHOLE in 2014, and Okubo Hikarino-Uma in 2017; intensely exciting and magnificently masterful improv instrumental rock.

The Japanese Korekyojinn trio of Tatsuya Yoshida on drums, Mitsuru Nasuno on bass and Kido Natsuki on guitar continue their high energy approach to prog and jazz/rock with this, their 6th studio album over 20 years, in seven new pieces of extended instrumental works maintaining the effortlessly complex & joyful interplay amid quickly shifting time signatures and melodic changes.

Jemeel Moondoc's third release on New York's Relative Pitch label is this duo with bassist Hilliar Greene, a soulful album of bluesy free playing, Greene's solid finger and bow work anchoring Moondoc for beautiful, informed, quirky and sincerely heartfelt playing.

A superb chamber jazz trio from NY improviser and violinist Sana Nagano, with Karl Berger on piano & vibraphone and Billy Martin on drums & percussion, Nagano having a long history with each through Berger's Improvisers Orchestra and with Martin through Creative Music Studio, their connections evident in their articulately energetic and confident collective conversations.

Evan Parker's Electroacoustic Ensemble, merging reeds, strings and percussion with live signal processing to create something indescribably transformative is further amplified with the addition of free improvising vocalist and Tuvan throat singer Sainkho Namtchylak, adding an unearthly layer of interaction and transmogrification to this incredible 1996 FIMAV performance.

Their 1st album released in 1977 on Spotlite Records label, the free jazz quartet led by PrŽvost on drums, Geoff Hawkins on tenor saxophone, Gerry Gold on trumpet & flugelhorn, and Marcio Mattos on double bass, released two live albums on the Matchless label before disbanding; this live album from Cata OTO in London in 2020 reunites the band for a solid concert 42 years after.

The 2nd live release from the duo of iconic American composer and minimalist pioneer Terry Riley and his guitarist/composer son Gyan Riley, comprised of spontaneous improvisations and compositions by both Terry and Gyan captured during three performances in Canada, Japan and the US, with Gyan performing on electric guitar and Terry Riley on piano, voice, melodica and electronics.

A beautiful and authoritative set of duo performances by London-born, Japanese-raised and now residing in NYC, saxophonist & clarinetist Yuma Uesaka, and pianist Marilyn Crispell, performing a program of Uesaka compositions, each based around a poem by Rushi Vyas, realized in confident dialogs of powerful yet sensitive expression; a satisfying and lyrical collection.

Drawing from four of the most active and prominent improvisers on the UK free improv scene, saxophonist Trevor Watts leads his quartet with pianist Veryan Weston, bassist John Edwards and drummer Mark Sanders through four free spirited, exhilarating and comprehensive collective conversations captured live at Cafe Oto in London in 2019.

Wild, nearly unprecedented and an exhilarating direction in European Free Improvisation heard in the 1st recordings from 1966 of pianist Alexander von Schlippenbach's Globe Unity band, a 14-piece ensemble that included young saxophonists Peter Brötzmann, Gerd Dudek & Kris Wanders, bassist Peter Kowald, bass clarinetist Willem Breuker, trumpeter Manfred Schoof, &c.

Swedish guitar improviser Jon Lipscomb (LOPLOP, Swedish Fix) takes his listeners on a rugged trip across the strings, using distortion, tremolo and rapid-fire technique as he mines territories between free improv, noise and rock, his nimble mind stopping to explore areas of interest then cascading into new, turbulent environments; frightfully powerful.

Each of the eight tracks on NY saxophonist Chris Pitsiokos' 2nd solo release for Relative Pitch is named for a type of stone--"Obsidian", "Feldspar", "Anthracite", &c.--each a unique take on its mineral counterpart through incredible technique and concentration, taking the alto saxophone into extreme or reflective territory complementing the nature of each element.

Relentlessly playing through the pandemic, the husband & wife duo of tenor & soprano saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock and drummer Tom Rainey honed their skills, developing this album of primarily composed pieces worked out through improvising; thirteen succinct, fascinating and sometimes quirky dialogs, displaying a depth that only two such close collaborators could achieve.

Fred Moten, prolific poet, theorist, critic, English Professor and 2020 MacArthur Fellow, provides the insightful and incisive text fueling the improvisation of New York drummer Gerald Cleaver and contrabass player Brandon Lopez, the synergy of Moten's words reminding of Gil Scott-Heron or Amiri Baraka; issued on LP by Reading Group, this CD edition adds two tracks.

Known for his resonant solo alto saxophone work, often recording with the New York City subways, this album presents ten unusual duos between Tamio Shiraishi and improvisers on piano, voice, cello, electronics, bass, guitar and sax, with Tim Dahl, Steve Baczkowski, Mico, Mike Sidnam, Austin Sley Julian, Nina Dante, Tara Fenamore, Leila Bordreuil, Chris Libutti, and Ami Yamasaki.

The second album from Argentinian cellist, composer and improviser Violeta Garcia, exploring the amplified, prepared, expanded and extended violoncello through 15 succinct solo expositions in an album that she describes as a "very hyper-sensitive monster", using unconventional, extended and sometimes terrifying technique amidst powerful creative expression.

A flowing twilight electro-jazz cover of the standard "Stardust" from Japanese guitarist Bun Itakura and vocalist Mishio Ogawa, expanding the melody and Ogawa's phrasing with encompassing electronics and percussion from Takefumi Kobayashi; backed with an experimental "Mystery Making Factory" using paint brush, harmonic tone guitar, and mbira.

The seventh album from the exceptional free improvising jazz trio Thumbscrew of Michael Formanek on double bass & electronics, Tomas Fujiwara on drums & vibraphone and Mary Halvorson on guitar, with compositions from all members as they refine and expand on their communal interplay fueled by the great chemistry forged over their near decade of recording and performing.

An exhilarating departure from saxophonist Paul Dunmall's Coltrane-esque approach to free improvisation with this electrified quintet of Steven Saunders on guitar, Richard Foote on trombone, James Owston on bass and Jim Bashford on drums, playing with upbeat urgency through a set of Dunmall compositions, often letting Saunder's riffs take the foreground around a first-rate set of solos.

Meeting in the studio with an open mind to approach, guitarist Justin Purtill and long-time friend, pianist Leo Genovese, are joined by bassist Sean Conly to record this set of original Purtrill songs, along with songs by John Hurt, Joe Price, and the title track by Bob Dylan, a relaxed and expressive session of jazz-based originals and interpretations.

Their first album after a 6-year break, the collaboration of vocalist Julie Tippetts and multi-reedist & electronic artist Martin Archer is heard in two distinct presentations: a large and stunningly complex suite with an ensemble of acoustic and electronic artists; and a sequence of 13 separate and contrasting songs, performed by various small groups drawn from the JTMA Ensemble.

The continuing collaboration from the collective free jazz trio of Philippines-based American alto saxophonist Rick Countryman, Philippines bassist Simon Tan and Swiss drummer Christian Bucher is heard in this studio session of eight lyrically inclined tracks of spontaneous interaction, a well-balanced mix of energetic grooves and contemplative group conversation.

Two 2022 live free jazz sessions from Malaysia, the first a saxophone duo between US ex-pat based in The Philippines, Rick Countryman on alto and Malaysian tenor saxophonist Yong Yandsen, appropriately recorded at The Saxophone Store in Kula Lumpur; then 5 trio improvisations recorded in concert at Live Fact in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia on the same tour.

Reissuing the limited 2003 release on saxophonist Paul Dunmall's DUNS label, this wonderfully sophisticated concert at Victoria Rooms in Bristols featured collaborators and jazz luminaries Philip Gibbs on guitar, Neil Metcalfe on flute, Andrew Ball on piano & celesta and Hilary Jeffrey on trombone, a quintet of tempered intensity and incredibly expressive power.

With shared background in Slovik groups and ensembles including work with Szilárd Mezei and the Olfamoštvo ensemble, the Lih Kadim sextet of electroacoustic improvisers is heard in an exceptional 2021 concert of innovative and exploratory interaction, each recording taken from a successive night performing at the Cultural Centre, Bistrica Ob Sotli in Slovenia.

A fascinating chamber jazz trio performing in a 2021 live concert in the Galerie at arToxin, in Munich, Germany from the collective free improvising trio of Udo Schindler on alto & sopranino saxophones & bass clarinet, Sebastian Gramss on double bass and Gunnar Geisse on laptop guitar, subtitled RESILIENT PERSPECTIVES... a real fact? [LowToneStudies#9+]

Udo Schindler follows his duo album with drummer Eric Zwang-Eriksson @ Salon fur Klang+Kuns, Poetry?? Ein Wurfelwurf with this recording at BASIS_Sound_Space at MUCCA - Munich Center of Community Arts in Munich, Schindler on sopranino & tenor saxophones and the deep TUBAX, interacting with Eriksson's rapid-fire and uniquely voiced drum & percussion work.

A 2022 concert of acoustic and electroacoustic interaction at The Jazz Centre UK from the Trans Map duo of Evan Parker on soprano saxophone and Matthew Wright on laptop processing, the "+" in Transmap+ being trombonist Robert Jarvis, a versatile collaborator since London Improvisers Orchestra and here a 3rd voice expanding their spectacular open collective free improv.

An incredible performance recorded at Roulette in NYC by a large ensemble of 16 jazz luminaries of various ages, cultures and musical backgrounds, led by composer and bassist William Parker, who explains that Universal Tonality is another name for love, the profusion of which is interpreted by vocalist Leena Conquest in a profoundly inspired concert of magnificent artistry.