Recorded over a 3 year period, the trio of Portuguese string improvisers Ernesto Rodrigues on viola and Guilherme Rodrigues on cello met with New Haven, Connecticut double bassist & synth player Daniel Barbiero, developing this detailed, two part lowercase acoustic improvisation with a spacious, patient feeling that interacts with its ambient environment.

Composed using an "exquisite corpse" method during the pandemic, where each player provided a partially complete track with instructions to expand their concept, enlisting an incredible set of musicians across the US & Europe, directed by Moe! Staiano, including Jesse Quattro, Fred Frith, Carla Kihlstedt, GW Sok, Amy X Neuburg, Darren Johnston, &c &c.

One of the largest ensembles associated with Creative Sources, merging acoustic and electronic improvisers, this conduction by violist Ernesto Rodrigues at Torre Do Tombo in Lisbon in 2023 was the opening for an exhibition about the struggle of college students against the Portuguese dictatorship during the years 1970-74, leading to the Carnation Revolution.

Their familiarity honed from work together in the Impetus Group and in Tonus, viola improviser Benedict Taylor and archtop guitarist Dirk Serries (Vidna Obmana) are heard in seven free improvisations recorded in 2023 at the Kapel Oude Klooster in Brecht, Belgium, their strings in plucked, bowed and curious consonance through unusual technique and expression.

One of the core Creative Sources trios of Ernesto Rodrigues on viola & crackle box, João Madeira on double bass and Jose Oliveira on percussion, is extended to a quartet with Netherland's New Wave of Jazz/Vidna Obmama archtop guitarist Dirk Serries, presenting the 9-part "Dripping" series of free chamber-oriented lowercase improvisation.

Working together in a variety of setting and ensembles--Variable Geometry Orchestra, Suspensao, groupings with Hernani Faustino & Jose Oliveira, with Michel Stawicki, and with onsieur Trinite--the core trio of Ernesto Rodrigues on viola, Bruno Parrinha on bass clarinet and Joao Madeira on double bass, is heard in three studio improvisations of dark woods explorations.

While theremin & synth specialist Andrew Levine was on a 2023 tour of Portugal he met with a core trio of Creative Sources improvisers--Ernesto Rodrigues on viola & Crackle Box, Bruno Parrinha on bass clarinet & objects, Flak on electric guitar & effects--meeting in Flak's countryside studio for one detailed, extensive improvisation and 6 short works of differing sonic characters and colour.

Two unique string players--Lisbon's Ernesto Rodrigues on viola and Chicago's Fred Lonberg-Holm on cello--with pianist Andre Hencleeday and percussionist Jose Oliveira, in an exhilarating concert of dynamic free improvisation captured live in 2023 at Lisboa Incomum in Lisbon, presented as two "Statements", an apt description of their confident and declarative interplay.

A profoundly patient extended improvisation referencing the pensive and strategic decisions made in a game of chess, creating a dynamic interplay of sounds through unconvential technique in this live recording at Werkhalle Wiesenburg, Berlin from the quartet of trumpeter Axel Dorner, cellist Guilherme Rodrigues, tenor saxophonist Jung-Jae Kim and percussionist Stephen Flinn.

A double opus of improvised String Quartets in four movements each, using impressive technique and exquisite pacing in this live recording captured at the Offene Ohren, in Munich, Germany, 2023 by Dietrich Petzold on violin, tenor violin, clavichord & bowed metal, Ernesto Rodrigues on viola, Guilherme Rodrigues on cello and Matthias Bauer on double bass.

Pointillistic, scrabbly and playful improvisation from the duo of Polish double bassist Marcin Bozek, known for creating and as the conductor of the Gdynia Improvisers Orchestra, and viola improviser and baroque musician Marie Takahashi of Reanimation Quartet; together their five improvisations show remarkable technique, momentum and determination in a wonderful confluence of strings.

Two improvisations by saxophonist Jean-Luc Guionnet & violinist Dan Warburton recorded in Paris & Melbourne parking garages 14 years apart, registering the behavior and characteristics of environmental and instrumental sound within these unique spaces, edited by Eric La Casa and Philip Samartzis as a 4-channel master by synchronizing two sets of independent stereo recordings.

The debut for young Slovenian pianist Rebeka Rusjan Zajc, living and working in Amsterdam, brings forward a new voice in lyrically elegant and virtuosically confident solo piano improvisation, her extended piece "Illusion" divided in natural segments that allow her progressions to develop through accomplished, lively runs and moments of suspended beauty.

Old Mountain is the Portuguese duo of pianist Pedro Branco and drummer João Sousa, drawing on melodic jazz of the past with a venturous twist, here in their 3rd album, dedicated to Misha Mengelberg, Masabumi Kikuchi, Thelonious Monk and Paul Motian, extended as a quintet with double bassists João Hasselberg & Hernani Faustino and tenor saxophonist Tony Malaby.

Merging jazz organizations, Norwegian trumpeter & composer Thomas Johansson brings together the third stream large band Scheen Jazzorkester with the electric jazz band Cortex (Kristoffer Alberts (baritone & tenor saxophone), Ola Høyer (double bass) and Dag Erik Knedal Andersen (drums)), for a rousing, exciting and diverse live concert at Hamar Teater in Norway.

Commissioned by Norway's Motvind festival, Belgian-born, Oslo-based composer & keyboardist Jonas Cambien takes a sly approach to his compositions, incorporating contemporary & experimental forms with solid free jazz playing, performed with drummer Andreas Wildhagen, bassist Ingebrigt Haker Flaten, saxophonist Signe Emmeluth and guest trombonist Guro Kvale (Scheen Jazzorkester).

Having worked together in other collaborations, this was the first meeting as a trio by Giuseppe Doronzo on baritone sax & Iranian bagpipe, Andy Moor on electric guitar and Frank Rosaly on drums, performing live at BIMHUIS in Amsterdam for a contemplatively charged set of unorthodox instrumental approaches using contemporary improv attitudes through structured and collective playing.

An exuberant album of modern jazz from the Norwegian quintet of Andre Roligheten on tenor saxophone, Thomas Johansson on trumpet, Oscar Gronberg on piano, Jon Rune Strom on double bass and Tollef Ostvang on drums & percussion, their 6th full album of lyrically rich, energetic free jazz taking the 60's & 70s New Thing movement into new modern directions; excellent!

In September of 2002, Szilard Mezei performed a series of 5 consecutive, unaccompanied solo concerts in Hungary improvising on viola, this album presenting two of these captivating and magnificent performances, balancing impressive technique with his ability to captivate through stunning passages of exquisite lyricism and thematic development, an incredible achievement.

While NY trombonist Steve Swell and alto saxophonist Rob Brown were in Paris, flutist Michel Edelin, who has recorded and performed with Swell over more than a decade, organized this session with Paris-based American ex-pats, drummer John Betsch and bassist Peter Giron, recording three Swell compositions, two by Brown, one from Edelin and four collective improvisations; magnifique!

The Swiss guitar trio of Florestan Berset on electric guitar with Norbert Pfammatter on drums and Francesco Losavio on double bass perform a mix of lyrical compositions from Berset, along with lyrically inclined collective improvisation from the group, each player bringing unique approaches to their instruments in a highly compatible set of conversations.

The 2nd album from the Polish guitar trio of Marek Malinowski on guitar, Robert Rychlicki-Gasowski on double bass & bass guitar, and Wojciech Zadruaynski on drums, performing Malinowski's embraceable mix of lyrically inclined modern jazz compositions with an explorative side, balancing structure with free space for sprightly spontaneity, a beautiful followup.

A series of electroacoustic improv "Ballads" and "Blues", beautiful and chimerical works at the intersection of strings and a miscellany of percussion, patiently and unhurriedly unfolding under the deep listening ears from the Polish trio of Patryk Zakrocki on prepared electric guitar & granular delay, Maciej Garbowski on double bass and Krzysztof Gradziuk on multipercussion, objects & toys.

The concluding opus of a trilogy that began with "Through This Looking Glass" and followed with "In Praise Of Disorder", Portuguese pianist Joana Sa merges acoustic piano with well-balanced electronics and resonance, using preparations and fragments of previous recordings to create a uniquely expressive solo performance: forceful, fragile, and captivatingly fascinating.

Often performing together as a duo after their initial 2004 Chicago Tentet encounter, drummer/percussionist Paal Nilssen and multi-reedist Peter Brötzmann typically released albums of live performances, this 2015 studio date in Antwerp unique in their catalog, an exemplary set of recordings, particularly with Brötzmann on a new contra-alto clarinet and Paal adding gongs to their improvisations.

Often performing together as a duo after their initial 2004 Chicago Tentet encounter, drummer/percussionist Paal Nilssen and multi-reedist Peter Brötzmann typically released albums of live performances, this 2015 studio date in Antwerp unique in their catalog, an exemplary set of recordings, particularly with Brötzmann on a new contra-alto clarinet and Paal adding gongs to their improvisations.

Giusto Chamber Orchestra performs three works for twelve strings by German composer and visual artist Nikolaus Gerszewski, whose music of shifting pitches, vibrations and volumes--compared with experimental sound & noise work--is influenced by composers Radulescu and Dumitrescu's spectral music, James Tenney's "swell form" and Cornelius Cardew's graphic scores.

Zeitkratzer director and pianist Reinhold Friedl meets with Martin Siewert (Radian, Fake the Facts, Dry Thrust) for three improvised explorations on piano, guitar and electronics, through the course of powerful transitions building from deep introspection into prickly, bellicose interaction, yielding to a brooding finale of subtle electronics and punctuation; profound.

A collaboration that goes back 30 years, French improvising bassist Joëlle Léandre and avant accordionist Pascal Contet in their fifth album together, turning from their more typically extended conversations to a series of 10 "Miniatures", shorter and diverse dialogs recorded live in 2022 at the beautiful Arsenal Concert Hall in Metz, France.

Documenting the 1994 avant music drama composed by pianist Alexander von Schlippenbach and accordionist Sven-Ake Johansson, uber Ursache und Wirkung der Meinungsverschiedenheiten beim Turmbau zu Babel (on the cause and effect of the disagreements over the building of the Tower of Babel) through a double LP, DVD, libretto and 16-page booklet in a solid box set.

A meeting between two percussive collaborators from legendary UK improviser Tony Oxley and long-time collaborator and member of Oxley's Celebration Orchestra, Stefan Holker, the latter on acoustic percussion while Oxley performs in his inimitable style of close miking and effecting percussive objects, as the pair perform six Oxley compositions of tightly ringing, energetic activity.

Since 2021 Swiss composer Felix Profos and drummer Peter Conradin Zumthor have performed as the duo Grund, Profos performing on harmonium and on the 1973 Italian organ Bontempi Pop3, Zumthor on bass drum, gong, bells & snare, their extended work on this self-titled album a tranquil and meditative work of slow transitions with moments of terse activity, receding with grace and serenity.

Two "songs" from a series of works by Netherlands composer and pianist Danya Pilchen, exploring the possibilities of making and experiencing time through attentive listening, these works focused on creating a dialogue between two measures of time, performed with Anne La Berge on flute, Germaine Sijstermans on clarinet, Seamus Cater on harmonica and Koen Nutters on double bass.

An international electroacoustic improvising trio of German trumpet player Birgit Ulher, also on radio, speaker & objects, and two Chicago outside improvisers--Carol Genetti on voice & objects, and Eric Leonardson on his unique self-built instrument the springboard, objects & electronics-- heard in a live performance at Elastic Arts, in Chicago, Illinois in 2018.

"for two musicians, or more

each musician should think about the other (or one of the others, if you are more tan two) and choose five sounds. these sounds - mainly simple, mainly short - should be chosen having the other musician ...

Translating to "rain pattering", German-born international sound artist Florian Wittenburg uses a MetaSynth and the Kyma visual programming language for sound design to emulate the sounds of rain pattering from aperiodic to periodic in two parts, along with heating noises in two parts, and a clock ticking; compellingly structured accompaniment to your personal ambiance.

A trio of all-star European jazz performers from three generations — drummer Daniel Humair (85), bass player Heiri Kanzig (66) and trombonist Samuel Blaser (42) — in their second album after 2020's album 1291, for a mixture of original compositions and standards including Monk's "Jackie-ing" & "Bemsha Swing", Ellington's "Creole Love Song" & "Tiger Rag".

After recovering from heart surgery, Portuguese guitarist Jorge Nuno (Ensemble MIOA, Isoptope, Voltaic Trio, &c) records this solo improv album to show his resilience, performed primarily on acoustic guitar in a balanced journey of assertive and introspective playing, accompanied by an insert of a text work by Rui Baião.

Two Portuguese saxophonists of different generations both playing on alto sax--Bruno Parrinha, an established and extraordinary player involved with many projects on Clean Feed and Creative Sources, and João Gato, leader of Apophenia Quartet--present 11 improvisations recorded in the studio, their voices intertwining amid masterful technique and creative impulse.

A collection of works from Netherlands composer Michel Banabila, including a piece developed with saxophonist Dave Liebman and previously released only digitally; a work with Rutger Zuydervelt (Machinefabriek); a work with Pierre Bastien; and excerpts from scores for Yin Yue's choreography in two works: "Somewhere" for New York Live Arts and "Timeless Tide" for BalletMet.

Previously played Squidco store copy, used for cataloging and samples, in excellent condition.

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Previously played Squidco store copy, used for cataloging and samples, in excellent condition.

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Previously played Squidco store copy, used for cataloging and samples, in excellent condition.

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Previously played Squidco store copy, used for cataloging and samples, in excellent condition.

...

Previously played Squidco store copy, used for cataloging and samples, in excellent condition.

...

Singer, songwriter and pianist Nelly Klayman-Cohen, aka Rotem Geffen, explores the fringes of dreamy pop music with lyrics in German, English and Hebrew that explore themes of memory, love, grief, loss, and the night as a vibrating room, with collaborators including Alexander Zethson on keyboards, Isak Hedtjar on clarinets and winds, Vilhelm Bromander on double bass, &c.

Singer, songwriter and pianist Nelly Klayman-Cohen, aka Rotem Geffen, explores the fringes of dreamy pop music with lyrics in German, English and Hebrew that explore themes of memory, love, grief, loss, and the night as a vibrating room, with collaborators including Alexander Zethson on keyboards, Isak Hedtjar on clarinets and winds, Vilhelm Bromander on double bass, &c.

Commissioned for the 2021 Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, John Butcher's fantastic work for 14 improvisers of unique approach employs what Butcher refers to as "psychological orchestration"--imagining how each performer might respond to particular ideas & their sonic company--the score, which includes photographic imagery, directing specific solos, duos & small groupings.

Three expansive works from composer and keyboardist/pianist Alex Zethson, developing concepts from themes and motifs developed over more than a decade, recorded over two years with exceptional care as he and his collaborators create subtle and beautifully evocative sonic environments that seamlessly incorporate acoustic, electronic, drone and feedback elements.

The third collaboration between sound and electronic artists Bruno Duplant and Rutger Zuydervelt (Machinefabriek) is a darkly heavy and dramatic work of subtle motion that slowly unfolds and shifts through vast sonic environments, fueled by acousmatic sources that take the listener to the edge of darkness and then pulls them back in warm waves or rich ambiance.

"November 9, 2019 was first day of Ftarri Festival 2019 Week One, held at Sonorium, Tokyo. The closing group that day was a quartet headed by Magnus Granberg (who had come to Japan for the first time). The other members were Toshimaru N...

One of two albums capturing a May 15th, 2023 concert in Tokyo by composer Takahiro Kuroda at the Ftarri performance space, titled "Square of Thoughts Vol. 2: Eva-Maria Houben and Horn + x", this album presenting two Houben works for solo horn performed by virtuoso horn player Kei Kondo, and one solo piano piece performed by Kuroda on upright piano.

The second of two albums capturing a May 15th, 2023 concert in Tokyo by composer & pianist Takahiro Kuroda at the Ftarri performance space, titled "Square of Thoughts Vol. 2: Eva-Maria Houben and Horn + x", this album presenting a 2018 Houben composition for horn and piano titled "Echo Fantasy II", performed by virtuoso horn player Kei Kondo and Takahiro Kuroda on upright piano.

"Performed live on the 16th of November 2022 at Stadtgarten Koln / Europaisches Zentrum fur Jazz und aktuelle Musik, Cologne, Germany, as part of the series "In Between Spaces," curated by Thomas Glasser and organized by Zentrum fur Akt...

While theremin & synth specialist Andrew Levine was on a 2023 tour of Portugal he met with a core trio of Creative Sources improvisers--Ernesto Rodrigues on viola & Crackle Box, Bruno Parrinha on bass clarinet & objects, Flak on electric guitar & effects--meeting in Flak's countryside studio for one detailed, extensive improvisation and 6 short works of differing sonic characters and colour.

Clarinetist Xavier Charles, accordionist Jonas Kocher and percussionist Toma Gouband join French improviser Joris Ruhl for this extended improvisation of multiphonics, textures and timbres, evolving from subtle harmonics into vast waves of sound, pausing to punctuate with pointillist interaction, then expanding into dramatic waves of sound before carefully fading away; sublime.

An enthusiastic and energetically powerful trio meeting between three masters--Oliver Schwerdt on grand piano & percussion, Barry Guy on double bass and Baby Sommer on drums & percussion--performing live in 2021 at naTo, in Leipzig for two extended improvisations of remarkable communication, incredible virtuosity, but most importantly, incredible and compelling creative drive!

One of the largest ensembles associated with Creative Sources, merging acoustic and electronic improvisers, this conduction by violist Ernesto Rodrigues at Torre Do Tombo in Lisbon in 2023 was the opening for an exhibition about the struggle of college students against the Portuguese dictatorship during the years 1970-74, leading to the Carnation Revolution.

The debut for young Slovenian pianist Rebeka Rusjan Zajc, living and working in Amsterdam, brings forward a new voice in lyrically elegant and virtuosically confident solo piano improvisation, her extended piece "Illusion" divided in natural segments that allow her progressions to develop through accomplished, lively runs and moments of suspended beauty.

A powerful, spiritual and warmly dynamic album of international and cross-cultural free improvisation meticulously recorded live at Jazzfest Berlin in 2022 from the trio of German reedist Peter Brötzmann on tenor saxophone and clarinet, Chicago drummer/percussionist Hamid Drake, and Moroccan guembri player and vocalist Majid Bekkas.

Nine freely improvised introspections as "enlightening spots on different forms of life in a rather muddy environment" from Lucerne, Switzerland based tenor saxophonist Elio Amberg and pianist Christoph Baumann, wonderful miniatures of great style and skill, a diverse exploration of their fictional pond that's quite spellbinding and exciting.

A masterful fountain of melodic ideas, intriguing rhythms, and exceptional technical skill from the duo of Hamid Drake on drums and frame drum, and Sylvain Kassap on clarinets and chalumeau, recording live at the France Musique at Studio Theatre dÕAlfortville and in the studio.

Three free improvisations from the Lisbon, Portugal trio of Jorge Nuno on electric guitar, Jose Lencastre on alto saxophone and Pedro Santo on drums, four pieces titled for the length of their dialog as they explore spacious sound sculpting and energetic free playing, a nicely balanced set of work that transition with finesse between ardor and tranquility.

Portugal's Lisbon String Trio with Ernesto Rodrigues on viola, Miguel Mira on cello, and Alvaro Rosso on double bass, in a series of releases adding one additional improviser, here joined by Etienne Brunet on soprano saxophone, for two extended improvisations of active counterpoint and beautiful open sections, an excellent and rousing collaboration.

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.

Norwegian percussionist Stale Liavik Solberg (Gjerstad, VCDC, &c) joins frequent collaborators Ernesto Rodrigues (viola), Nuno Torres (saxophone), and Carlos Santos (electronics) for a studio album of often pointillistic interaction, Solberg punctuating the unusual voicing and techniques of acoustic and electronic interactions as they permute the word "soon".

Electroacoustic improvisation from the trio of Marc Vilanova on saxophone, Sergio Castrillon on cello, and pianist James Andean also performing on objects and electronics, in nine collective improvisations of close-knit dialog balancing intense activity and silent space, building tension and releasing it in unexpected and wonderfully eccentric ways.

Croatian guitarist and electroacoustic musician Ame Zek in an album of electroacoustic improvisation using prepared guitars, acoustic percussions, self made objects, contact microphones, analog modular synthesizer, amplified feedback speakers, magnetic field microphones and digital midi machines; an album of raw, raspy, dark and dissonant sound.

The 12th album from Martin Küchen's Angles ensemble is expanded and developed with notations and string arrangements from Alexander Zethson, and the voice of Elle-Kari Sander, in an engrossing album of powerfully compelling jazz rhythms & soloing, orchestral swells and emphatic songs pivoting around the mythology of the nymph Calypso, woven into contemporary concepts; sensational!

The 12th album from Martin Küchen's Angles ensemble is expanded and developed with notations and string arrangements from Alexander Zethson, and the voice of Elle-Kari Sander, in an engrossing album of powerfully compelling jazz rhythms & soloing, orchestral swells and emphatic songs pivoting around the mythology of the nymph Calypso, woven into contemporary concepts; sensational!

Influenced by New York School composers, Fluxus, Oliveros Sonic Meditations, and Wandelweiser, Boston-based composer Nomi Epstein's fascinating scores take unique and experimental approaches to composition, heard here in three chamber works, two recorded by London's Apartment House, and a live recording from a 2019 concert in Berlin, "sounds for Berlin".

"I grunda vikar ar bottnarna mjuka" is inspired by August Strindberg's classic short story about a fortepiano being dropped into deep waters off an archipelago island, Stora grusharpan. The musical content is based partly on secret unde...

"in a rain forest of moments. the eye hears what the ear sees. through each moment of karin johansson's and finn loxbo's music runs the firm conviction that all points and layers of sound - in true democratic spirit, carry the same weig...

"in a rain forest of moments. the eye hears what the ear sees. through each moment of karin johansson's and finn loxbo's music runs the firm conviction that all points and layers of sound - in true democratic spirit, carry the same weig...

"Fine-veined Crinkle Weed, Wentletrap and The Two Lipped Door Snail are some of the poetically resonating titles on the pianist Karin Johansson and saxophonist Lisen Rylander Love's new album Arter (Species). The song titles are also na...

Inspired by the memoir from Swedish poet Tomas Tranströmer, this first album from the ORD quintet uses text from Tranströmer and original work from pianist & composer Karin Johansson and vocalist Jenny Willén, with trombonist Niclas Rhyd, reedist Gunnel Samuelsson and bassist Hasse Westling, in an exquisite set of introspective songs that bridge composed and improvised forms.

Inspired by the memoir from Swedish poet Tomas Tranströmer, this first album from the ORD quintet uses text from Tranströmer and original work from pianist & composer Karin Johansson and vocalist Jenny Willén, with trombonist Niclas Rhyd, reedist Gunnel Samuelsson and bassist Hasse Westling, in an exquisite set of introspective songs that bridge composed and improvised forms.

Multi-reedist Michael Moore presents works from his catalog with the powerfully flexible 19-piece NDR Big Band, drawing from the history of his Ramboy label, including a tribute to Stravinsky, expanding a trio for clarinets, rearranging an Ellingtonian piece originally written for Available Jelly, and the title track, written for his mother as the first recording for Fragile Quartet.

"Marking two decades of continuous, eclectic evolution, TGB - the Portuguese power trio boasting tuba ace Sergio Carolino, guitarist Mario Delgado and drummer Alexandre Frazao - take another captivating whirligig around their enigmatic ...

"Borne of jazz tradition, yet audaciously and extravagantly dismissive of its more fatigued conventions, comes the devilish Meandering Demons, the fantastic debut full-length from Peter Van Huffel's CALLISTO.

Largely eschewing...

"Since forming in March 2021, the Liba Villavecchia Trio have channelled a singular spiritual mien, borne of shared experience, reflection and reminiscence, with previous albums, Zaidin (2022) and Birchwood (2023) capturing the group's ...

"Eviscerating, deep soul-scouring, harnessing the harrowing score of a tragic-night obsidian shattering into billions of seething particles, Ficar Vivo is the long-awaited first instalment of the latest full-bore phase of Portuguese gui...