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The duo of saxophonist Christoph Erb, best known for his work with the Manuel Mengis Group 6, and French-Japanese violist Frantz Loriot, for five open-minded, technically fascinating and musically unique duos recorded in the studio in Switzerland, 2015.

Two string players, Swedish acoustic guitarist and banjo player Niklas Fite, and German double bassist Alexander Frangenheim, recording in the studio in Berlin in 2017 for 10 succinct improvisations ranging from quick interactive discourse of a pointillistic nature to near silent meditations using unusual and extended techniques, a quirky and informed album.

The cosmological concept of the aeon, the conflict between matter and spirit, is explored in eight "Chronicles" of collective free improvisation using impressive technique and concentrative interaction from the Portuguese quartet of Flak on acoustic guitar, Guilherme Rodrigues on cello, Bruno Parrinha on bass clarinet and Ernesto Rodrigues on violin.

Arizona based percussionist Flinn, who has worked with Tim Perkis, Noah Phillips, in a solo work for drums, percussion and voice.

Double bassist Alexander Frangenheim, peer to Phil Durrant, Evan Parker, Phil Wachsman, Thomas Lehn, Roger Turner, &c., in a 17 part solo work of gripping and exhilarating playing.

Nine improvisations between Italian trombonist and tubes player Carlo Mascolo (Kerlox Dynamic Band) and guitarist Andreas Fulgosi (By-Spiel Project) on baritone guitar, recording in Lisbon in 2017 for calmly developing dialog using unusual techniques and approaches to both instruments.

A suite in seven parts named in Latin with abstract spiritual connotations from the Portuguese free improvising trio of Paulo Galao on clarinet & bass clarinet, Guilherme Rodrigues on cello, and Nuno Morao on percussion, each movement using subdued yet detailed and active motion, a confident and adept meditation of powerfully controlled communion.

A play on the Percaso band name "Day & Taxi", the trio of Christoph Gallio on soprano & alto saxophones, Dominique Girod on double bass and Dieter Ulrich on drums & bugle recorded this extended improvisation, a combination of scrambling, determined expression and post-bop creative jazz, part of the series "Life At The Zoo" at Studio the Zoo in Berne, Switzerland.

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Joing Portuguese and Spanish improvisers for four recordings in Bilbao, Spain, this sextet presents sound works using unusual orchestration--piano harp, viola, guitar, metals, electric organ, paper, contact mics, and electronics--balancing spacious exploration with assertive moments of percussive and caustic sound, evolving bold sonic and timbral combinations.

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Recording at Studio CCAM Scene Nationale de Vandaeuvre-les-Nancy in France, the freely improvising duo of contemporary saxophonist Violaine Gestalder and double bassist Louis-Michel Marion approach the five improvisations on Marges with an ear to patient sonic interaction through extended and unusual techniques on their instruments.

A subtle album of soundscape from the French trio of Violaine Gestalder on saxophones, Louis Michel Marion on double bass, and Stefania Becheanu on field recordings, depicting 3 virtual aural views of a single landscape, the field recordings conveying a sense of location as the bass and sax use extended techniques and subliminal playing to create their vista.

"Both Giesriegl and Gratkowski are responsible for the sound in the gearbox. It deals with an extreme range of vocalisms, which are often composed of elements of spoken language, which are part of the sound ensemble. He draws from an al...

Four trios perform selections from composer and reedist Phillip Greenlief's BARBEDWIRE - 37 Graphic Scores For Trio, featuring John Bischoff, Kyle Bruckmann, Mark Clifford, Evelyn Davis, Tim Decillis, Gabby Fluke Mogul, Jane Rigler, and Tim Perkis, each composition a unique sonic sculpture, creating a diverse set of unique recordings realized by consummate performers.

Though listing four tracks, this is an indexed continuous concert from the German Grid Mesh quartet of Christof Thewes on trombone, Frank Paul Schubert on alto & soprano saxophones, Andreas Willers on electric guitar and Willi Kellers on drums & percussion, performing at Spielraum Schiffweiler-Heiligenwald in Germany in 2020 for a wildly buidling concert of free collective force.

A statesman of the French free improvisation scene, Sylvain Guerineau, who has performed with Sunny Murray, Joëlle Léandre and more recently as part of a trio with Didier Lasserre and Paul Rogers, joins with next-generation double bassist Fred Marty integrating advanced techniques into lyrical contexts, for five satisfying improvisations, the last a reference to Sonny Rollins.

Both members of the Didier Lasserre Trio, French double bassist Jean Rougier and legendary French free free jazz multi-reedist Sylvain Guerineau performing on tenor sax & bass clarinet, distill their work into a duo formation for six innately lyrical free improvisations, a beautiful complement to Guerineau's 2022 duo album with double bassist Fred Marty, Parodies.

Dutch improviser van Heumen (N Collective, OfficeR, &c.) in a dynamic and shifting solo work of laptop electronics, noise textures, and text.

With discographies reaching back to the 80s, the trio of Beat Unternahrer on trombone and Furst-Pless-Horn, Jan Schacher on contrabass, objects and voice, and Pelayo Arrizabalaga, known for his reed work, on turntables and sine-generator, create 16 mostly improvised, succinct works that are influenced by free jazz, ea-improv, and sonic composition.

Electronic improviser Carlos Santos, whose sound work started with VITRIOL in 1989, a laboratory for experimental sound actions, also studied painting and works as a graphic designer; here he joins with cellist and sound artist Ulrich Mitzlaff for two extended works taking their cue from the visual arts as they study and sonically reflect subtle modulations in color fields.

With references to "Robinson Crusoe" and titles referencing islands, the sea and shipwrecks, Argentinian guitarist living in Brooklyn, NY, Luis Ianes (Parias Ensemble) records his album that roughly translates to "Useful Ancient Constructions", using effects to create percussive, accompanying, and aquatic sounds, sometimes idiosyncratic, always interesting.

Ernesto Rodrigues leads a 16 piece orchestra of strings, reeds, winds, voice, brass, accordion, electric guitar, electronics and percussion through the elaborately restrained work "Chelodnis Nigra", rewarding the careful listener with fascinating layers of sound.

The large IKB electroacoustic ensemble of diverse orchestration led by violist Ernesto Rodrigues, where each release is characterized by an animal, here with the long-snouted seahorse in an extended improvisation recorded at CreativeFest XIII at O'Culto da Ajuda, Lisbon, 2019, building to undulating cycles of intense interaction of absolutely precise control.

IKB, a ten-piece reductionist electroacoustic ensemble of strings, reeds, guitar, computer, percussion, piano, drums & objects, continues their exploration of exotic animal species with this 2020 live performance at O'Culto da Ajuda in Lisbon, Portugal, detailing the long-billed shore bird Limosa through intricate, restrained and remarkable expression.

Referencing the work of French artist and composer Yves Klein, this large group of Creative Sources regulars perform the 4 part Monochrome Bleu Sans Titre, a subtle and rich work of acoustic and electronic improvisation.

Recording at the 12th CreativeFest at O'Culto da Ajuda, in Lisbon, Portugal, the IKB ensemble is represented by 20 musicians for this performance, merging acoustic and electronic instruments including strings, brass, winds, self-made instruments, and percussion in a concert of intense constraint & patience, seething with detail and replete with consummate skill.

One of Portugal's most interesting large scale lowercase ensembles led by violist Ernesto Rodrigues, with frequent Creative Sources collaborators including Nuno Torres on alto sax, Carlos Santos on electronics, Guilherme Rodrigues on cello, Miguel Mira on bass, 14 musicians move with subtlety in a tapestry of electroacoustic resonance and mystique.

Post-pandemic, the electroacoustic IKB ensemble returned to the stage in 2021 at O'Culto da Ajuda in Lisbon with some of Portugal's finest improvisers performing under the direction of violist Ernetso Rodrigues, to express in sound the large rainforest beetle Titanus Giganteus, represented in an extended collective improvisation of restraint fueled by masterful and creative skill.

Portugal's IKB Ensemble is an electracoustic improvising ensemble with a strong string and wind section, balanced with electric guitar, electronics, and percussion, each album focusing on an object--an art work, Dracaena Draco (Dragon Tree), Chelonoidis Nigra (Giant Tortoise)--and here taking on the Ornithorhynchus Anatinus, or platypus, in 3 fascinating movements.

With two magnificent albums and more than 100 concert performances, the masterful dialog from this working string trio of Canadian, European and American players--Tristan Honsinger on cello and voice; Joshua Zubot, on violin; Nicolas Caloia on double bass--is evident in their thrilling exchanges and dynamic approaches to both rapid and reflective improvisation.

Led by Sydney, Australia double bassist and composer Elsen Price, the Inlay Ensemble with violist Carl St. Jacque and violinist Susie Bishop merges contemporary composed and improvisational styles in an album with each piece reflecting a distinct mood based off a single motif, creating unique perspectives that the ensemble develops through improvisation.

Creative Sources collective Isotope Ensemble led by Ernesto Rodrigues performed with a large electroacoustic group continues their investigation of isotopes, focusing on Lanthanum, a soft metal used in flints, through subtly-developing interplay the band, moving as one body, reaching several highly controlled periods of passionate improvisation, contrasting with beautifully serene sections; impressive.

Recorded at CreativeFest#12 in Lisbon at O'Culto de Ajuda, the 21-piece electroacoustic ensemble Isotope takes on the chemical element Radium in a gripping piece of evolving improvisation, intensely restrained and extremely detailed, orchestrated with cello, baroque violin, double bass, acoustic & electric guitars, zither, psaltery, winds, brass, keys, electronics and percussion.

The Hamburg-based performing quartet of Lorena Izquierdo on free improvised voice, Aziz Lewandowski on cello & voice, Kris Kuldkepp on double bass and Felix Mayer on trombone are heard in these eight studio recordings of quietly creepy conversation, generally slow motion and reflectively introspective work that occasionally rises in throttled crescendo.

Norwegian jazz vocalist Guro Gravem Johansen (Soyr, Crazy Moon, and vocalist for Helge Hurum's orchestra), in a duo with Colombian cellist based in Helsinki, Sergio Castrillon, performing on a prepared microtonal cello, as the two improvise over five dialogs, from the extended "Primo" to the succinct "Quintuple", blending unusual technique with unique creative impulse.

Saxophonist Paulo Alexandre Jorge leads his Improbable Trio with Tom Wheatley on double bass and AMM/Matchless legendary percussionist Eddie Prevost in a six part album of ardent free improvisation on titles about Sex, Love, Death, Friendship, Art Beauty, Power Law, &c.

Jason Kahn brought Olivia Block, Mark Trayle, and Ulrich Krieger together to create this work for the 2008 Cal Arts Center for Experiments in Art, Information and Technology Festival.

This string and reed quintet presents a fluid approach to chamber-oriented improv with dexterous melodic and harmonic motion, utilizing contemporary and jazz idioms as they create something masterfully unique; from Anna Kaluza on alto sax, Edith Steyer on alto sax & clarinet, Ernesto Rodrigues on viola, Guilherme Rodrigues on cello and Ulf Mengersen on double bass.

Free improvisation from the Norwegian trio of Dorothea Okland (voice), Ferdinand Bergstrom (guitar), and Olav Abildgaard (percussion), in 7 non-idiomatic interactions of quirky dialog, Okland's fragmented language interacting with Abilgaard's quick, scrabbly approach to nonspecific objects and Bergstrom's acoustic guitar abstract progressions or chord structures; enjoyably odd.

Austrian violinist and composer Irene Kepl met French double bassist Fred Marty joined in the studio in France in 2018 to record this lively album of string interactions, both players showing masterful skills informed by classical and improvisational training, shown through impressive and mischievous technique and dialog that "Pirouettes", "Rolls", "Skids" and even takes a "U-Turn".

Solo improvisation from Stefen Keune performing on sopranino and alto saxophones, intense playing that focuses on hard-blowing and extreme performance, wringing a singularly desperate yet astute language from the horn.

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The trio of Portuguese cellist Guilherme Rodrigues, Japanese percussionist Naoto Yamagish currently residing in France, and Japanese violinist Naoki Kita, active in improvisation and contemporary fields in Portugal and Berlin, met in Saitama, Japan at Barber Fuji to record these open conversations integrating extraneous noise and incidental instrumental sounds.

The trio of Hans Koch on clarone and soprano sax, Thomas Rohrer on rabeca, soprano and c-melody sax, and Antonio Panda Gianfratti on percussion; open-ended and active improvisation.

A diverse set of conversations between Austrian improvisers, drummer/percussionist Fredi Pröll (Trio Now!, Lull) and free vocalist Mara Kolibri, recording in the studio for seven concise and far-ranging dialogs, from cantankerous interactions to controlled incoherence of absurdly implied vocalization punctuated with creative percussive reaction, often returning to lyrical jazz-influenced moments.

Four German saxophonists are heard in three sophisticated and extremely creative chamber-oriented improvisations recorded at Kulturzentrum Hufeisen: Andreas Krennerich on soprano, sopranino & baritone saxophones; Frank Paul Schubert on alto & soprano saxophones; Hartmut Osswald on tenor sax & bass clarinet; and Nils Fischer on baritone sax & contrabass clarinet.

A half composed, half improvised album for solo electric guitar from composer and improviser Justin Lepany, known for his work with musicians like Sven-Ake Johansson and his composition "Ringing Peace" premiered during the 2014 Peace Nobel Prize ceremony: three diverse pieces using effects to create both density and spacious sonic fields.

Violist, performance, installation and sound artist Ayelet Lerman presents a meditative voyage through silence on solo viola, a sinuous and fascinating journey pairing melody and unusual harmonic strategies, with Kadima label leader Jean Claude Jones joining on double bass, one of the last sessions that he played on that instrument.

Italian and Portuguese musicians meet in the studio in Berlin for a set of studio free improvisations, from Creative Sources father/son collaborators Ernesto Rodrigues on viola and Guilherme Rodrigues on cello meeting trombonist Davide Piersanti and vocalist Ligia Liberatori for twelve exceptionally open, informed and unusual conversations.

A fascinating confluence of improvisation and contemporary compositional approaches from this Spanish ensemble led by composer and drummer Nasim Lopez Palacios, using 5 reeds, trumpet, flute, piano, electric guitar, harp, double bass, drums and electronics in an extended work exploring space, tension and motion, with a beautiful build to catharsis.

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The Lisbon String Trio of Ernesto Rodrigues on viola, Miguel Mira on cello, and Alvaro Rosso on contrabass continue their recent string of collaborations with a fourth player, Portuguese tuba player Gil Goncalves joining to addd a unique complement to their strings, as Goncalves adds bass, blats, growls and unique timbres of upper register low brass.

Isotropy - having a physical property which has the same value when measured in different directions - is the collaboration between the Lisbon String Trio of Ernesto Rodrigues (viola), Miguel Mira (cello) and Alvaro Rosso (double bass) with Luis Lopes, here on acoustic guitar, in a 2 part extended improvisation recorded live at the 2020 Small Format Materials Festiva.

Adding a fourth string to the collaborations of Portugal's Lisbon String Trio of Ernesto Rodrigues on viola, Miguel Mira on cello, and Alvaro Rosso on contrabass, Portuguese violinist Carlos Zingaro adds an additional level of delicately complex interplay to the trio's exceptional free improvisation, as they pay tribute to the Greek goddess of light and extent.

Portugal's Lisbon String Trio of saxophonist Nuno Torres, electric guitarist Abdul Moimeme and violist Ernesto Rodrigues, are joined by Red Trio/ Rodrigo Amado Motion Trio drummer Gabriel Ferrandini for this concert performance at O'Culto da Ajuda, in Lisbon, Portugal as part of the CreativeFest XIII, finding inspired balance in introspective sections and periods of exciting activity.

One of five live collaborations with The Lisbon String Trio of violist Ernesto Rodrigues, cellist Miguel Mira, and bassist Alvaro Rosso, Quebec pianist Karoline Leblanc accompanying on the piano as the 4th string in this open-minded equation of slowly intersecting improvisation creating an unusual tapestry of sound that ebbs and flows in exceptional ways.

A fascinating Italian project using improv techniques on voice, bass clarinet, prepared guitars & banjos and live electronics, allowing each musician to generate sounds by using their senses to listen and reflect on the world around them, from Elio Martusciello (live electronics), Chiara Liuzzi (voice), Francesco Massaro (reeds & electronics) & Adolfo La Volpe (guitars & objects).

The string duo Bobun celebrates ten years of creative collaboration with this six piece suite, a studio recording of diverse improvisations that runs the gamut from lowercase minimalism to dense and technically exuberant interaction.

Pianist and accordionist Joao Lucas' music for Andresa Soares' choreography "It was a very abstract thing", structured acoustic improvisation with a slight electronic edge.

Visual artists Maria Lucchese is also a multi-instrumentalist and voice performer based in Berlin, working with Gio Kaptra, a filmmaker, visual artist and scientist based in Urbino, take their listeners on a 7 part cosmic exploration using tibetan bells, theremin, voice, modular synth, breath and sound processing, the title translating to "through hardships to the stars".

A strangely agitated garden sculpted from melody, dissonance and instrumental abberation through profound technique and unusual approaches to their instrument, by French double bassist Louis-Michel Marion and pianist Françoise Toullec, bringing a sense of wonder and turbulent environment through a shared passion balancing ominous space with astute activity.

A unique take on this large brass instrument from Italian trombonist and Free Flow Festival director Carlo Mascolo, using preparations, focusing on components of the instrument, and using extreme techniques to create a startlingly diverse set of sounds, vocalisations, microtonal output and simply bizarre utterances as Mascolo brings new language to horn.

Emulating the sounds and intentions of cranes through string improvisation and unusual techniques, the quartet of Estonian violinist Elo Masing, German violinist Dietrich Petzold, and Portuguese violist and cellist Ernesto and Guilherme Rodrigues name each of 8 tracks on the behavior of cranes, from forming a flock, migration, fighting, ritual dancing, to nesting.

A co-production between BeCoq Records and Creative Sources, the quartet of saxophonist Mathhiew Lebrun with 3 guitarists--Leo Rathier, Paul Menard, and Thomas Coquelet--use preparations, feedbacks, glass, cymbals, microswitches, and unusual sax techniques to create unusual sonic environments that ebb and flow in introspective and disquieting ways.

The 2nd release from this Sydney, Austrlian acoustic sextet, creating subtle yet dynamic improvisations influenced by the musical concepts of John Cage and Morton Feldman, balancing contemplative sections with building surges, these works developed on their 2019 Europe tour, which included performances at Copenhagen Jazz Festival as well as shows in Berlin and Stockholm.

Sharing common ground in improvisational language and extended techniques but approaching these materials in diverse and disparate ways, alto saxophonists Tim O'Dwyer and Georg Wissel, both using preparations on their sax and distinguished in separate stereo channels, present a singular concert of reed interactions live at the Peter Kowald Ort in Wuppertal, Germany

Using Edvard Munch's famous painting "The Scream" as his muse, German cellist living in Portugal, Ulrich Mitzlaff, presents 10 acoustic miniatures from just over a minute to 4 1/2 minutes in length, including wildly interactive moments of delirium to darkly melodic bowed passages, using his impressive technique to create vivid depictions of Munch's work.

Strange monsters indeed, two creative improvising vocalists--Mascha Corman from Germany and Thea Soti from Serbia--join with Czech prepared saxophonist Salim Javaid, each using their instrument both as a voice and an unusual sound source, presenting 16 short works that explore harmonic and unexpected outcomes from their unique conversations.

Spanning three generations of improvisers, the duo of violist Ernesto Rodrigues and cellist Guilherme Rodrigues join with tenor saxophonist Gonçalo Mortágua and legendary percussionist Gunter Baby Sommer to record eleven diverse improvisations in the studio in Berlin, naming the quartet "Not Bad", an extreme understatement for their unique chamber influences of European Free Jazz.

An acoustic trio using ea approaches in a set of distinct tracks using trombone, prepared piano and double bass, a fascinatingly diverse set of improvisations that alternately lull and jar the listener.

Spontaneous compositions of freely improvised music performed on piano, synth, whistles, electroacoustic guitar, percussion, live electronics and effects from this trio who hail from Moscow and Siberia, recording their unique and adventurous dialog in the studio.

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A concise and essential concert from the Octopus octet, recorded in performances at O'Culto da Ajuda, in Lisbon, Portugal during the Creativefest XII, the ensemble of mostly acoustic instrumentation (cello, viola, flute, clarinet, classical guitar, piano, percussion and synthesizer) carefully evolving a shade of blue in subtle details of tense restraint.

Correctly configured, the Portugese ensemble Octopus is an octet, and though named after the most common of the breed, this 8-tentacled orchestration of strings, flute, trumpet, piano, guitar, electronics and percussion, all using extended techniques, slides deftly and with incredible restraint through a large, detailed dark-water work of electroacoustic improvisation.

Since 2005 Italian guitarist Tommaso Colafiglio has led the Omegatre trio, composing and arranging all works on this album with drummer & percussionist Leo Cicala, peformed with Paolo Romano on double bass and electric bass, presenting seven electric jazz compositions that flow with the sophistication and grace each brings through years of collaborative and independent evolution.

Unusual glitch and extreme electronics improvised by the duo of New York artist Dominic Cole and Chicago/NY artist Hunter Brown (Sound Tribe Sector Nine), using approaches including glitch, noise & circuit bending in 9 pieces with tongue-in-cheek titles, balancing erratic moments with exploratory sections and near silence, an interesting and enigmatic album of aberrant electronics.

Pianist Nico Chientaroli leads this 9-piece Dutch ensemble, based around free improvisation but merging rock & experimental music from funky to abstract, in generally energetic and slightly unhinged music in a Dutch improv kind of way, incorporating spoken word with texts from Jorge Luis Borges, William Burroughs, Martin Calegari, &c.; wonderfully embraceable and eclectic.