"Metal Chaos Ensemble was formed in early 2015 by PEK and Yuri Zbitnov as a working project to explore chaotic rhythms on metallic instruments. I had started to amass the Evil Clown Arsenal of percussion, electronic and wind instruments...

"The pandemic forced me to focus on solo works for its duration. It was fun to explore the world of overdubbing and multichannel recording for a year or so, but I am more than ready to resume ensemble playing. When the hammer came down ...

Turbulence, the extended horn section for the Boston-based free improvising ensemble Leap of Faith Orchestra, here with leader PEK, plus Michael Caglianone, Zack Bartolomei, Bob Moores, and Eric Dahlman, all playing instruments from their arsenal of percussive instruments and devices, including recently added electroacoustic devices expanding the band's sound.

A meditative and expansive improvisation from the Boston-based collective Turbulence, a precursor to Leap of Faith Orchestra led by Evil Clown leader David Peck, here performing on a variety of clarinets, saxophones, flutes, winds and percussive devices, in a quartet with Bob Moore on trumpets and percussion, Duane Reed on baritone horn and Melanie Howell-Brooks on contrabass clarinet.

Reissue of the 1994 double LP from NYC's Painkiller--avant-jazz grindcore meets dark ambience--the album aptly titled Execution Ground from a band led by saxophonist John Zorn, drummer Mick Harris and bassist Bill Laswell, with contributions from Boredom's Yamatak Eye, guitarist Haino Keiji, vocalist Makigami Koichi, guitarist Justin Broreick and bassist GC Green.

"Paris is a live album and the recording debut of the international quartet Diaphane. The band's lineup is: Frantz Loriot on viola, Raphael Loher on piano, Carl Ludwig Hübsch on tuba and Carlo Costa on percussion. The group, which i...

"In his third release on Neither/Nor Records Flin van Hemmen pushes further into the world of post-production and processing of recorded sound. Treating recorded sound as a found object or as malleable clay with which he assembles and m...

10 years after drummer Han Bennink, pianist Misha Mengelberg, and saxophonist Willem Breuker formed the ICP co-op, Bennink & Mengelberg formed this 10-piece "Tetterettet", an all-star international group including Peter Brotzmann, Tristan Honsinger, John Tchicai, this their first incredible and far-ranging album, remastered and available on CD for the first time.

Authoritative and playful free improvisation in the European Free Jazz style, this 1978 album on Misha Mengelberg and Han Bennink's Instant Composers Pool (ICP) label, included the pianist and drummer along with Peter Brotzmann, Peter Bennink and Evan Paker on sax, Paul Rutherford on trombone, and Derek Bailey on guitar, in a much-need reissue of this seminal album.

Recorded at the ICP Jubileum festival in Uithoorn, Holland, in 1978, this concert brings together the core of the Instant Composers Pool--pianist Misha Mengelberg and drummer Han Bennink--with legendary South African alto saxophonist Dudu Pukwana (Blue Notes), Bennink also playing trombone, clarinet, and viola, in a lyrical and unpredictable set filled with humor and astounding playing.

An unusual quintet of prominent New York improvisers--Peter Evans on trumpet, Tim Dahl on bass violin, Matt Nelson on tenor saxophone, and Ron Stabinsky on bass--performing Nandor Nevai's compositions: two Quintets and the two part "Sap Gloves"--Nevai performing on tenor sax, voice and conducting, blurring modern improv, chamber jazz and bizarre spoken word moments; outstanding and unsettling.

The Necks 16th release layers polyrhythmic material to form seething blocks of sound, in two long pieces, one more stripped back to the live trio, the other featuring multiple strata of swirling Hammonds, noise-guitar and electronics.

A series of collaborative electracoustic improvisations recorded remotely during the pandemic by long-time associates, electric guitarist Charles K. Noyes and multi-instrumentalist Elliott Sharp, here performing on arches h line (a 9-string double neck instrument), violinoid, triple course bass pantar, analog synthesizers, sax & bass clarinet.

The Norwegian trio Ballrog, which started as the duo of Klaus Ellerhusen-Holm on clarinet and Roger Arntzen on double bass, then expanded with guitarist Ivar Grydeland, who is replaced by guitarist David Stackenäus, a perfect choice for the lyrical chamber approach of intertwining lines and fluid melodic statement, with a sense of "free chamber americana"; beautiful.

Conceived by saxophonist Kirstoffer Berre Alberts and Lasse Marhaug, who composed this large acoustic work for strings, percussion, blowing instruments, pipes (organ and accordion) and vocals, soliciting solo recordings created in isolation during the pandemic which they layered and blocked in the studio to create these two remarkable works of eccentric timbre, motion & pitch.

Referencing 60s free jazz (the band's name is from an Ornette Coleman album) and structuring their tunes with melodic heads that develop into intricate structures giving the players room for impressive soloing, in the 5th album from the Scandinavian quintet of Andre Roligheten (winds), Thomas Johansson (trumpets), Oscar Gronberg (piano), Jon Rune Strom (bass), and Tollef Ostvang (drums).

"By this time, Martin Küchen's name is familiar to all those interested in the Clean Feed catalogue, because of the Swedish saxophonist releases by this Portuguese label of his various Angles formations and bands like Trespass Trio ...

L.U.M.E., aka the Lisbon Underground Music Ensemble directed by pianist Marco Barroso, is a big band with a chamber ensemble feeling, Barroso's upbeat and melodically sophisticated compositions driving the band by borrowing from a variety of jazz, funk and even cartoon-like styles to create a richly complex and compelling set of tunes that twist, turn and surprise.

Exploring dream-like instrumental states in electrified modern creative jazz, drummer and composer João Lencastre leads an octet featuring saxophonists Albert Cirera & Ricard Toscano, guitarists André Fernandes & Pedro Branco, pianist Benny Lackner and bassists João Hasselberg & Nelson Cascais through six original compositions of fascinating free-flowing forms.

Presented as a a tribute to past jazz masters John Coltrane, Albert Ayler, Don Cherry and Charlie Haden, Rotterdam's Ritual Habitual trio led by double bassist Gonçalo Almeida with drummer Philipp Ernsting and Riccardo Maronga on tenor sax, bass clarinet & synthesizers, create a sense of ritual through deep repetition of modern creative jazz rooted in free jazz tradition.

The first duo album by pianists Sten Sandell and Lisa Ullén, recorded in their home country of Sweden, performing eight freely improvised piano works which include the two-part "Double Music" and two-part "Onyx", each recording contrasting complex interplay of discord and harmony with beautiful passages of introspection and intellectual depth; a remarkable merging of masterful talent.

"Six years after the internationally acclaimed GETTING ALL THE EVIL OF THE PISTON COLLAR!, the uncontested masters of jambacore - André B. Silva, Pedro Melo Alves and Filipe Louro - strike again with a powerful new album in which ...

The collective Who Trio of pianist Michel Wintsch, bassist Bänz Oester and drummer Gerry Hemingway take on the music of Billy Strayhorn & Duke Ellington in eight studio recordings and one live performance, interpreting in a collective fashion rather than straight readings of each work, allowing a unique level of freedom to be applied to these essential jazz compositions.

Translating to "Eulogy of the Shadows", the free improvising duo of violinist Carlos Zingaro and percussionist Pedro Carneiro performing on marimba with a damper pedal, structure their work as though emerging out of the dark night, each step subtly increasing the glow of luminescence through intensity of interaction until receding again into obscurity; sublime.

"From someone working on the free jazz/noise rock side of things as the Portuguese guitarist Luís Lopes, the Love Song project came at first as a bizarre surprise. At its third appearance in record we finally understand: even the ...

"At first impression, it is ambiguous whether the name Moon-Liters/Millennium Development Goals signifies a band or even two connected concepts. Philadelphian poly-instrumentalist (vocals, guitars, drum machine, electronics) D. Liedel, c...

Blurring abstract electronics with folk improvisation in gently evolving music with an experimental edge, the London Panang Food Tigers duo of Stephen Lewis and Spencer Grady use keyboards, guitars, dobro, charango, field recordings and electronic sources to create contemplative atmospheres, a sort of ambient-folk music drawing out forgotten daydreams and moods; beautiful.

An extended improvisation performed live at Kuhlspot Social Club in Berlin from the Takatsuki Trio of Rieko Okuda on piano, Antti Virtaranta on bass and Joshua Weitzel on guitar & shamisen (a 3-stringed traditional Japanese instrument), captured at their monthly series expanding the trio to a "Quartett" for fresh perspective, here with alto saxophonist Silke Eberhard.

Exploring how a composition can provide a sense of weightlessness, and influenced by the music of gamelan, krautrock, Tony Conrad & Arnold Dreyblatt, composer Alex Zethson structured these works to influence the 13 performers in his ensemble into a state of intense focus and listening as they strike, bow and pluck their instruments, creating an ecstatic sense of infinite motion.

Exploring the sonic and visual territory of water, centering on concepts of metamorphoses and breathing underwater, pianist Joshua White and trumpeter & flugelhorn player Steph Richards also employ resonating water vessels and percussion as they present three fluid and introspectively fathomed works in multiple movements: "Sacred Sea"; "Sequoia"; and "Northern Lights".

Berlin trumpeter Liz Allbee's solo work focuses on the interaction of voice, extended approaches to her instruments, which includes her self-designed quadrophonic trumpet, electronics and acoustic homemade instruments, on Rille presenting four enigmatic works of dramatic pacing--environmental and rhythmic--guided by impressionistic spoken words and moments of tonal clarity.

A wonderfully warm and innately lyrical free jazz quintet that grew organically from weekly jam sessions in Harlem starting in 2019, comprised of tenor saxophonist Ayumi Ishito, pianist Eric Plaks, bassist Zach Swanson, and drummer Jon Panikkar, and later, multi-instrumentalist Daniel Carter, Ishito the driving force in the project and this beautiful recording.

Thirteen succinct improvisations pitting Gordon Grdina's swinging middle-eastern flavors on the oud offset by gritty, experimental guitar work against drummer Jim Black's well-chosen and rock-solid grooves, an engaging album that shifts and explores a tremendous range of ideas and adventurous attitudes that span jazz, rock and experimental genres with ease.

The Nick Mazzarella Trio, here configured as Mazzarella on alto saxophone & bells, Ingebrigt Haker Flaten on bass and Avreeayl Ra on drums, are heard live at Constellation in Chicago in 2019, bringing together two generations of Chicago improvisers with Norwegian/US drummer Haker-Flaten for seven pieces espousing both tradition and innovative creative approaches.

The Nick Mazzarella Trio, here configured as Mazzarella on alto saxophone & bells, Ingebrigt Haker Flaten on bass and Avreeayl Ra on drums, are heard live at Constellation in Chicago in 2019, bringing together two generations of Chicago improvisers with Norwegian/US drummer Haker-Flaten for seven pieces espousing both tradition and innovative creative approaches.

A perfect matching for a free jazz collective piano trio, bringing frequent collaborators Argentinian pianist Paula Shocron and drummer Pablo Diaz, part of the SLD trio heard on Listen! Foundation and Hatology, together with NY bass legend William Parker, recording in NYC for four powerful improvisations of great technical prowess and attentive explorative interaction.

An evening of free improvisation recorded in Berlin at au Topsi Pohl in 2020 from the Swedish trio of Euro Free Jazz legend Sven-Ake Johansson on drums, Niklas Fite on acoustic guitar and Joel Grip on double bass, performing two extended and dynamic improvisations, and then settling into jazz standard form for "Isn't It Romantic" and "Out of Nowhere" sung by by Johansson.

An evening of free improvisation recorded in Berlin at au Topsi Pohl in 2020 from the Swedish trio of Euro Free Jazz legend Sven-Ake Johansson on drums, Niklas Fite on acoustic guitar and Joel Grip on double bass, performing two extended and dynamic improvisations, and then settling into jazz standard form for "Isn't It Romantic" and "Out of Nowhere" sung by by Johansson.

Two major works of evolving acoustic soundscape from Swiss violinist & composer Patricia Bosshard realized by the 27-member Orchestra des Nouvelles Creations, which includes Bosshard, Stephane Rives, Bertrand Denzler, &c.; "Sillon" employs a percussive pulse over 27 independently transforming grooves; "Reflets" a harmonic composition for bowed strings, including three double basses.

Pandemic restrictions having cancelled their European tour, the Futari duo of pianist Satoko Fujii and vibraphonist Taiko Saito chose instead to develop a new collaborative album of improvisations exchanged by sound file, each intently listening to the other's recordings, their care and pensive responses creating an astounding and sublime album of stunningly beautiful music.

"French composer and guitarist Guillaume Gargaud releases 17 Compositions, a compilation of acoustic guitar works that are framed by pitch and intervallic restrictions. Gargaud has systematically liberated himself from the constraints o...

Pianist-composer Satoko Fujii hasn't let the global pandemic slow her down. She's recorded solo and duet albums at home and made others by swapping sound files over the internet. Now comes Mosaic, her new album with her trio This Is It!, he...

Impressive experimental approaches to organized recordings of rhythmic and melodic percussion, a mix of quirky and curious samples & loops, spoken word, field recordings and inexplicable origins, captivating the listener in concise and diverse expositions and dynamic pacing, a journey in "pleasingly" upbeat passages and moments of awe and contemplation.

HOLE PUNCHED PROMO

A fierce free jazz concert recorded live at Levontin 7, in Tel Aviv by three players with a long history of collaboration and dynamic trio settings, from Israeli saxophonist formerly based in NYC Assif Tsahar, bassist William Parker and Chicago drummer Hamid Drake, in two extended, energetic and inventive improvisations and a concise closing "Stillness".

A fierce free jazz concert recorded live at Levontin 7, in Tel Aviv by three players with a long history of collaboration and dynamic trio settings, from Israeli saxophonist formerly based in NYC Assif Tsahar, bassist William Parker and Chicago drummer Hamid Drake, in two extended, energetic and inventive improvisations and a concise closing "Stillness".

Without bowing to genre restrictions, Gabriel Zucker's indie jazz orchestra The Delegation combines free jazz, chamber forms, avant song structures and experimental layering & transitions, as his large work in four sections of three movements each, explores time and the competing impulses of a backwards-looking nostalgia and a forwards-looking futurist belief in progress; innovative & stunning!

A 2004 quintet recording from Victoria Rooms in Bristol with the core of long-time collaborators Paul Dunmall on tenor sax, Paul Rogers on bass and Philip Gibbs, performing with two improvisers also well known for their work in compositional forms--Jonathan Impett on trumpet and Andrew Ball on piano--bringing unique perspectives to their far-ranging, advanced improvisation.

2021 reissue of this 2004 release on the DUNS label bringing together a uniquely voice quartet with Paul Dunmall on tenor & soprano saxophones, virtuoso concertina player Simon Thoumire, John Edwards on double bass and Philip Gibbs on guitar, with both Dunmall & Thoumire performing on bagpipes on two tracks; a welcome reissue to a distinctive and thought provoking album.

A live performance from London's I'klectik by British musicians John Edwards (double bass), N.O. Moore (guitar), and Eddie Prévost (drums), who have a long-standing history as a trio known for both energetic playing and extraordinary introspection, here expanded with saxophonist Alan Wilkinson for two outstanding performances of technical mastery and deep communication.

'I Insist' is the debut album from Brooklyn-based saxophonist and composer Kazemde George. The title is a shout-out to Max Roach's landmark 1960 protest album 'We Insist! Freedom Now Suite,' a statement of George's own determined dispositio...

"Elisabeth Harnik, an Austrian based pianist and composer has created a multi-faceted body of work by blurring genre boundaries through various collaborations in the field of improvised music, interdisciplinary projects and contemporary...

Drawing on compositions from black artists who have created something uniquely their own--Sun Ra, Ornette Coleman, Roscoe Mitchell, Georgia Anne Muldrow--alto saxophonist Darius Jones pulls from the depths of emotion and vulnerability in five solo tracks recorded in Portland, deeply felt blues reflecting the black experience in America and the pain of isolation.

Bringing together four masterful players into the studio in NYC--Joe McPhee on saxophones, Michael Bisio on double bass, Fred Lonberg-Holm on cello and Juma Sultan on percussion--for a set of with one composition each from McPhee, Sultan and Lonberg-Holm, two collective improvisations, Charlie Haden's "Human Being" and Henry Grimes "For Django".

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Canada's leading avant music magazine in their Fall 2021 issue, with articles on Understory (Nicole Rampersaud, Parmela Attariwala, and Germaine Liu), Frank Denyer, Taylor Brook, record & live reviews, plus a 14 track CD with pieces from Rocío Cano Valiño, Understory Show One: Gabriel Dharmoo/SlowPitchSound/Lan Tung, Frank Denyer, Nick Storring, &c.

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A new collective trio of New York luminaries from bassist Trevor Dunn, guitarist Miles Okazaki and drummer Dan Weiss, Okazaki and Weiss having collaborated in Weiss' own Large Ensemble and Dunn a part of Weiss' Starebaby, here in a set of unbridled and unorthodox collective improvisations, with alto saxophonist John Zorn joining the trio on two tracks.

A superb 2009 concert at Command House, in Chatham, UK from the trio of saxophonist Evan Parker, double bassist John Edwards, and late drummer/percussionist Tony Marsh, a single 36 minute improvisation of cohesive and energetic free jazz where all three pull together as a nearly telepathic unit, plus two extended duo sections between Edwards and Marsh and a Marsh solo.

An unapologetically political album from double bassist William Parker in collaboration with poet Patricia Nicholson, confronting injustice and inequality through spoken word set over Parker's compositions, performed with James Brandon Lewis on tenor saxophone, Devin Brahja Waldman on alto saxophone, Francisco Mela on drums, vocals, Melanie Dyer on viola and Gerald Cleaver on drums.

The second duo collaboration of Chicago percussionist Hamid Drake (Fred Anderson, Peter Brotzmann, DKV Trio, &c) and guitarist Dan Phillips (Chicago Edge Ensemble, Quartet Next, Dan Phillips Trio, Dan Phillips Quartet), recording in the studio for 11 improvisations that present a variety of moods and intensity, in textures and melodies from minimal to intricate interplay.

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Concentrating on the lower end of their instruments, Udo Schindler and double bassist Wilbert de Joode improvise live at DasKihotzky_wagnisARt and at the 99th Salon für Klang+Kunstover in Munich, for 10 parts of their "[LowToneStudies]", Schindler performing on bass clarinet, f-tuba and tubax (a contrabass saxophone), occasionally complementing their lower end with soprano sax.

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An unusually contemplative solo record from New York pianist Matthew Shipp, belying the intricately subtle density of his inventive approach to solo piano improvisation, with an innate lyricism through unusual motive and direction; perhaps one of the most succinct and concise albums Shipp has released, and a beautiful reflection of his creative intentions.

After Bartok and Messiaen, trombonist & composer Steve Swell takes his sextet with Marty Ehrlich (winds), Sam Newsome (sax), Jim Pugliese (marimba), Ellen Christi (voice) and Gerald Cleaver (drums) into an exploration of Italian composer Luciano Berio with a diverse set of works reflecting Berio's vast curiosity and ovouer; a spectacular collection from a fantastic band.

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One of Corbett vs. Dempsey's Black Cross Solo Sessions, Ken Vandermark recorded these twelve succinct, insightful and technically superb solo recordings at his home during pandemic lockdowns, part of new book for compositions for solo reed instruments, each piece dedicated to an artist across multiple disciplines, including Joe McPhee, Anthony Braxton, Samuel Beckett, &c.

One of Corbett vs. Dempsey's Black Cross Solo Sessions, Joe McPhees approaches his album recorded during pandemic lockdown in his home through tenor sax, voice, water, objects and field recordings, the center of the album a cycle of compositions by Charles Mingus, alongside works by Carla Bley and influences by Joni Mitchell, and a virtual symphony of saxes on the title track.

Extremely personal and passionate, cellist Okkyung Lee recorded this album after separation from her instrument for months as she traveled to Korea to be with her dying father during pandemic; the 9 pieces are layered with strings, instrument sounds, voice and with profound timing, creating an intensely beautiful album reflecting anguish and loss of the time.

Two recordings from naTo in Leipzig, Germany, the first an energetic free jazz romp from the Big Bad Brötzmann Trio of Peter Brötzmann on tenor sax & taragato, Oliver Schwerdt on piano & percussion and Christian Lillinger on drums & percussion; then a furtively powerful double bass duo between John Edwards and John Eckhardt, a tour de force of extended technique and deep sound.

The first album from the amalgamated band name Herr Borrelgrip, a play on the names of alto saxophonist Pierre Borel and double bassist Joel Grip, developing their work in Stockholm, Berlin and Paris starting in 2008 as a performing duo, heard here in a beautiful gatefold double LP studio release with an extensive LP-sized booklet of text in French and images.

The first album from the amalgamated band name Herr Borrelgrip, a play on the names of alto saxophonist Pierre Borel and double bassist Joel Grip, developing their work in Stockholm, Berlin and Paris starting in 2008 as a performing duo, heard here in a beautiful gatefold double LP studio release with an extensive LP-sized booklet of text in French and images.