"The opening moments of "Stream of Consciousness"are disorienting. Awash in reverb, as in an empty warehouse or a bounded public square, Maria Radich's vocals mingle with those of an audience of unknown size. Camera shutters click, men ...

"Although humanity's most in-demand and pervasive instruments the popularity of drums and guitars - or their equivalents - is so universal that there's no sanctioned method to play either. This is especially true with Free Music where adven...

"The Uliben Duo's CD Shared Memory (Creative Sources CS 327 CD) more accurately describe the performance of French bassist Benoit Cancoin facing the live processing of German Ulrich Phillipp. In other circumstances Phillips also plays b...

"Argentinian pianist (by way of Amsterdam) Nicolas Chientaroli delivers a solo performance that demonstrates the piano's architectural sound beyond the usual demarcation points of its 88 keys. Cada Fuego Es El Primero opens with plucked str...

"Rumor is a studio session by four musicians who had recently performed together for the first time during the 2014 MIA improvisation festival in Lisbon. It joins two international visitors - Brazilian Marco Scarassatti on sound sculptu...

Mexican composer and vibraphonist based in Berlin since 2012, Emilio Gordoa in a duo with guitarist Nicola L. Hein, using preparations to their vibraphones, percussion, and guitar, in an 8 part composition of diverse approaches to improvisation, from exuberant interaction to Reich-like minimalism to cantankerous experimentation, a well-rounded and interesting album.

"On "Pip", we get another fabulous performance, now by Norwegians Fredrik Rasten on guitar and Torstein Lavik Larsen on trumpet. Their acoustic music is minimal, repetitive, slow and with an eery intensity. It is less dark than some of...

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1 Incidental Projections 25:28

Three label leaders come together for an album of free electroacoustic improvisation--Thanos Chrysakis (Aural Terrains); Kurt Liedwart (Mikroton); Ernesto Rodrigues (Creative Sources), with Nuno Torres on sax--for an extended dialog built of exotic and microscopic sound, string aberrations, and reed abnormalities; exceptional.

A large work for cello, viola, sinewaves and electronics from the quartet of Guilherme Rodrigues, Ernesto Rodrigues, Ferran Fages, and Barriere, the first two foundation members for Creative Sources, the latter two frequent collaborators, Barriere bringing a mathematical background to the improvisation that blends acoustic and electronic sources in compatibly sinister ways.

One of the Boston area's incredible, eclectic collective organizations from David PEK's Evil Clown is Turbulence Doom Choir, a quintet with three brass players, drums, reeds, and a variety of percussive, wind instruments, game calls, &c., presenting large scale improvisations of uniquely evolving approaches, instrumentation, and heavy rhythms, a powerful brew.

The Leap of Faith Orchestra is a large improvisation ensemble comprised of 5 ub-units--Leap of Faith, Metal Chaos Ensemble, String Theory, Turbulence, and the New Language Collaborative--all assembled here for a massive and far-ranging experience, scored with time indices and English language descriptions by leader David Peck; dense and spectacular.

A massive and metallic improvisation from the Boston area trio of David Peck, Andria Nicodemou, and Yuri Zbitnoff, using metal, drums, bells, aquasonic, daxophone, guzheng, vibes, bells, sax, clarinet and reeds in an intense journey that absorbs the listener and then draws them into a turbulent world of active sound, receding again at journey's end; amazing.

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"As always, the geometry is of the n-dimensional sort. The number of dimensions that vary is impressive: membership, instrumentation, location, duration, and so on. Certainly, the overall shape of each VGO performance is highly variable...

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"An interesting title to begin with. The situation of feeling like an extraneous body in a system that works according to peculiar principles. Or, in a more "mental" acceptation, the priceless condition of being completely delivered fro...

"In Gerald Murnane's Barley Patch, he writes of a character who, listening to music in an old timber building, would hope to find "the crowd of dust-motes that he sometimes saw swirling or drifting in a shaft of sunlight." As he listene...

As the album cover displays, basalto are the black rocks resulting from lava, here represented in the slowly flowing, hard toned electro-acoustic improv of the Portuguese trio of Ernesto Rodrigues onoctave viola & baritone violin, Abdul Moimeme on electric guitar, and Antez on percussion.

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"Although their developments took place in parallel, jazz-funk-rock and free jazz shared little, if not perhaps Miles Davis's "Live-Evil" period, due to the open "jam" character The music of the trumpeter took at the time - even when Te...

"Determined to prove a point. Swedish double bass player Vilhelm Bromander, known from Jonas Kullhammar's The New Kids On The Rock quartet and the more experimental The Agg, as well as his collaborations with pianists Sten Sandell and K...

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"The pianist Christine Wodrascka and the percussionist Jerome Lacoste, in forty-eight minutes and thirteen pieces of remarkably well-constructed works, offer a whole panorama of sounds, articulations, vibrations, timbres, crazy pulsatio...

"Among the creative production of the label Creative Sources, I pointed this album, Thuya (the title's graphic on the cover uses a Y whose case is unknown on my Mac), because the music is played by a violin trio - cello - absolutely rem...

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"When an improvised recording presents itself as a meteor, some foreign object from another civilization, like Days Are Not Days does, we should rejoice that it has entered our atmosphere and like a bolide, exploded upon contact. Okay, ...

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"Although some improvisers deny that one of the main parameters that they deal in their projects is the language, this almost always ends (I would say until always) to happen. The interest of the music that results depends on what they ...

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"Ensemble MIA unites over 60 improvisers and experimental musicians from all over the world, who participated in MIA 2016 - 7th Encontro de Música Improvisada de Atouguia da Baleia (Improvised Music Encounter) festival. The event ...

1. History Of The Lisbon Chaplaincy 43:10

"A similar grounding of sound in silence characterizes Layering Time [cs435], an austerely beautiful piece for piano, field recording and viola by Eva-Maria Houben in collaboration with Rodrigues. Houben, who plays piano and provides a ...

An incredible example of Creative Sources/Ernesto Rodrigues' large electroacoustic ensembles, blending acoustic and electronic sources in slow moving and subtle improvised works of a large scale, here with 12 musicians layering string, brass, keys, percussion, synth and computer into a mysterious harmonic and hallucinatory convergence of powerful intention.

"[...] Blattwerk's two torrents of strings move like a waveform, cresting and dipping in volume and intensity. The quintet features an unusual line-up-violin, viola, two cellos, and Trilla's drums-and shifts between an indeterminate wor...

1. L'ennui 42:00

One of six Lisbon String Trio albums, each joining the core trio of Ernesto Rodrigues on viola, Alvaro Rosso on double bass, and Miguel Mira on cello with a 4th improviser, here with trombonist Carlo Mascolo, performing live at Mira's Palace in Lisbon, Portugal for one of the most harmonically unique albums of the set as the trombone weaves in and out of the strings.

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.

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.

The 4th collaboration for Portugal's Lisbon String Trio of Ernesto Rodrigues on viola, Miguel Mira on cello, and Alvaro Rosso on double bass, with Brazilian clarinetist based in Barcelona Luiz Rocha, all captured live at Casa dos Bicos, Fundacao Jose Saramago, in Lisbon in 2017 for free improvisation that maintains a calm center amidst seething and commanding playing.

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Recorded in Lisbon, Creative Sources core performers Ernesto Rodrigues on viola, Miguel Mira on cello and Carlos Santos on synthesizer are joined by renowned German free improviser Matthias Muche on trombone and Cologne based guitarist Nicola L. Hein for two extended improvisations of actively subdued dialog that ebb and flow in commanding ways.

The two-headed snake on the cover of this album aptly describes the sublimely sinuous and dark interplay between London free jazz drummer Steve Noble and bass clarinetist Yoni Silver, their 4-part improvisation taking on sinister elements of exceptional cymbal techniques, unusual drum tones, and extended lower register tones and high harmonics; excellent.

"[...] Trilla fits agreeably into the Creative Sources aesthetic, which values collective mood-building over individual displays of prowess. Nepenthes Hibrida was recorded live a few days before Christmas 2016, and features Trilla, viol...

Like the Lisbon String Trio, this trio explores strings in a viola, cello and double bass trio configuration, from Creative Sources core players Ernesto Rodrigues, Guilherme Rodrigues, and Alexander Frangenheim, exploring a classic trio concept towards new expressions and boundaries, through spritely interaction and sonic expedition.

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Drawing its name from the seven members making up this string ensemble led by violist Ernesto Rodrigues, String Theory complements the concurrent Lisbon String Trio albums by magnifying concepts in freely improvised string interactions, using unusual harmonics, melodic and percussive approaches to instruments, and quickly moving quietly intense interaction.

Two women in a duo of voice and amplified objects, Lali Barrier using a variety of devices that are clearly micro-amplifed and mixed in performance, as Marta Sainz intones vocal sounds, never speaking but creating innuendo and drama at a cautious pace, allowing Barrier's objects to interact, creating an unusual sonic environment of unpredictable and interesting discourse.

"The music that is created at the Amsterdam improvisation hall 100 will gradually be able to spread outside the capital. The debut album of the quintet Zwerv was recorded, and is filled with five free improvisations. Founder of the grou...

Solo double-bass improvisations from Mostly Other People Do the Killing bassist and leader Moppa Elliot, consisting of sequences of contrasting themes, or musical cubism in the spirit of Picasso and Braque, presenting 7 of 14 sequences where the improvisation is a series of disparate musical ideas that transition rapidly in an attempt to disrupt the linear progression of thematic development.

The first release by the piano trio configuration of Mostly Other People Do the Killing features bassist/composer Moppa Elliott, pianist Ron Stabinsky, and drummer Kevin Shea, with each composition named after a small town in Pennsylvania that contains a color, and the town of "Paint, PA" lent its name to the title, with one apt Duke Ellington cover.

An album of patience and concentrated listening from the lowercase trio of David Area on electronics, Tomas Gris on guitar and objects, and Ernesto Rodrigues on harp and objects, each player subtly coaxing sounds out of their instruments while the electronics act as environmental ambience over which tones slowly voice, recede and occasionally punctuate.

The trio of Kaja Farszky on marimba & percussion, Annette Giesriegl on voice and electronics, and Katharina Klement on piano for a gripping album of free/ea improvisation, splitting the release in 3 parts from a live concert in 2015 at Sonnenhang House Concerts Series in Kumberg/Austria, and 3 parts recorded at Croatian Radio in Zagreb in 2016.

Four strings, voice and trombone make up the multinational collective quintet of Davide Piersanti (trombone), Hui-Chun Lin (cello and voice), Sergio Andres Castrillon Arcila (cello), Ulf Mengersen (bass), and Klaus Kurvers (bass) who are captured live at "t-berlin" in 2016 for a set of inventive and active cooperative conversations named for Greek letters.

Autochthon refers to indigenous language or people, tied to their land; here the trio of Hartmut Osswald (reeds & things), Stefan Scheib (prepared double bass) and Wolfgang Schliemann (drums and objects) perform a native language of their own through improvisation in this interesting concert at Freejazz Festiva in, Saarbrucken, Germany in 2016.

Freely improvised music from the masterful duo of Canadian saxophonist Fracois Carrier and drummer/percussionist Michel Lambert, performing live at Ryan's Bar in Stoke Newington, London in 2015, seven tracks showing the depth of discussion between these two long collaborating musicians, supporting and pushing each other to great heights.

After his duo release with John Stevens, Norwegian saxophonist continues his series of partnerships by joining with saxophonist Sabir Matten for an album recorded in New York City, 10 improvisation that show how their complementary style propel each into unique territory of intertwining, propulsive, and creative playing.

Coordinated and composed by d'incise and Cyril Bondi, this incredible Swiss-based collective of 30 to 40 experimental musicians was founded in 2010 and has presented concerts and recordings since; this CD presents two works, "13 unissons" splitting the orchestra into 13 subgroups; and "27 times" where each musician plays 27 times in 30 minutes; phenomenal.

Recorded in Istanbul, Turkey, guitarist Thurston Moore teams up with Konstrukt guitarist Umut Caglar to record these three rich and twisting pieces, each guitarist extracting unique performances from the other over three pieces that draw on technique and effects to create fragile and heavy sonic environments, an impressive album of modern guitar potential.

Live recordings from Pollat-Pavillion in Munich, Germany in 2015 from this seriously fun spontaneous collective improvising trio of Udo Schindler on reeds, cornet, euphonium, and monophonic analogue synthesizer, Philipp Kolb on trumpet, tuba and live electronics, and Sebastiano Tramontana on trombone, voice and whistling; expect the unexpected!

A live recording from Kongsberg Jazzfestival in 2017 between frequent collaborators, Norwegian improviser Frode Gjerstad on reeds and Chicago improviser Fred Lonberg-Holm on cello and electronics, their second FMR album as a duo, alongside their work in the Cello Quartet and VCDC, showing the progression of their dynamic and fascinating dialog.

Recordings from the Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra Festival in Scotland recorded in 2013 & 2015, the 20+ piece orchestra blending acoustic, electronic and vocal instruments into incredibly diverse and rich compositions, here presenting "A Peculiar Slumber" I & II, and the impressive and large work "A Bit in the Air", both exploring words and loss of control.

An amazing example of extremely detailed collective free improvisation from the trio of Szilard Mezei on viola, Tim Trevor-Briscoe on alto & tenor saxophone, soprano clarinet, and bass clarinet, and Nicola Guazzaloca on piano, Mezei's strings adding a rapid-scatter of expressive playing, as the trio pitches forward and lays back for lyrical moments; astonishing!

The peforming duo of Tokyo pianist Yoko Miura on conventional piano, toy piano and melodica, and free improvising vocalist Jean-Michel Van Schouwburg are recorded in the studio for 14 succinct and unusual improvisations, Fou Records leader Jean-Marc Foussat recording the affair and providing electronics on one track; wonderfully weird and informed.

The quirky acoustic trio of German improvisers Udo Schindler on clarinet, saxophone, cornet, and Euphonium, Johannes Ollinger on acoustic guitar and toys, and Dine Doneff on double bass, waterphone, and toys, the odd instrumentation adding surprising textures and disorienting angles to really fine dialog, technically, melodically, and eccentrically.

London Jazz Composers Orchestra trombonist Alan Tomlinson, performing on tenor and alto trombone, with his trio of Dave Tucker on guitar and Phillip Marks on percussion, are caught live in Birmingham, Lancaster, London, and during the Harwich Festival, from 2009-16, demonstrating the strong rapport and exciting dialog these players have developed over years performing together.

Actually four quartet improvisations and two duets, London creative improvisers Peter Urpeth on piano, Olie Brice on bass, Terry Day on drums and Ntshuks Bonga on saxophone took to Cafe Oto in January, 2017, to record this excellent album of collective free improvisation drawing on decades of experience in an absorbing and engaging concert.

Piiptsjilling is the duo of guitarist Romke Kleefstra and vocalists Mariska Baars & Jan Kleefstra, joined here by Rutger Zuydervelt, aka Machinefabriek, combining poetry with vocals, guitars and electronics in improvisational settings, creating rich sonic environments over which the voice guides the listener, speaking in one of the Germanic Frisian languages.

On the 30th anniversary of the Victo Festival Anthony Braxton took to the stage for a magnificent solo performance on the alto sax, performing 8 spontaneous compositions and an 8+ minute version of "Body and Soul", seamlessly crossing lyrical and complex approaches to the horn using his unique intervallic, trimbral and diagrammatic language, a stunning and embraceable accomplishment.

Trombonist Jeb Bishop and North Carolina-based Out & Gone Collective member, violist Dan Ruccia, after touring and performing with Eugene Chadbourne, Dan Lilley, and David Menestres, found their sound so compatible that they recorded this duo album using the languages of free jazz, chamber music, and extended improvisations to create something unexpected and rare.

Drummer Tomas Fujiwara's sextet is actually two trios interacting, with fellow drummer Gerald Cleaver, both Mary Halvorson and Brandon Seabrook on guitar, and Taylor Ho Bynum on cornet and Ralph Alessi on trumpet, the pairings forming unisons and contrasts that add an unrestrained sense of enthusiasm and excitement to Fujiwara's sophisticated compositions.

Mary Halvorson continues her string of excellent modern jazz albums with this octet release with fellow guitarist Susan Alcorn, Jonathan Finlayson (trumpet), Jon Irabagon & Ingrid Laubrock (sax), Jacob Garchik (trombone), John Hebert (bass) and Ches Smith (drums).

Cornetist Taylor Ho Bynum draws on a variety of techniques from improvised conduction to big band orchestration to deconstructed fanfares, with a large 15 member ensemble of impressive improvisers embodying a diversity of generations, backgrounds, ethnicities, and gender, presenting three large scale compositions that are ambitious and wonderfully accomplished.

Two of Downtown NY's most innovative performers collaborate for an album placing the rich acoustic piano work of Craig Taborn beside the slippery electronics of Ikue Mori, the result of their live performances that started at New York's Village Vanguard in 2016 and leading to this album, which presents a set of 11 unique and sophisticated dialogs.

Ikue Mori's Obelisk project brings together her unique electronics with Downtown Scene key players, Jim Black on drums, Okkyung Lee on cello, and Sylvie Courvoisier on piano, an album driven by Mori's melodic compositions that take unexpected twists and turns in dramatic and lyrical playing, Mori's electronics bringing an exotic charm and ringing beauty to her works.