Powerful free improvisation led by the words of poet K. Curtis Lyle, known for his work with Julius Hemphill, part of a sextet with trumpeter George R. Sams, a member of United Front, two double bassists — Adi Bu Dharma Joshua Weinstein and Damon Smith — and two percussionists — Henry Claude and Ra Kalaam Bob Moses — in a gatefold CD with a 10-page booklet of related poems from K.Curtis Lyle.

Taking their titles from the avant poetry book "Tent Posts" by author Henri Michaux, this concert of collective free improv at Ziggy's Ypsilanti in Michigan between double bassist Damon Smith and reed & wind player Piotr Michalowski is an active and impressive set of dialogs, Michalowski switching between bass & contralto clarinets, sopranino & soprano saxophones, and Japanese Shinobbue flute.

Four sets of recordings from September, 1964 in Copenhagen, Denmark from a week performing live at Club Montmarte, and a recording in Hilversum, The Netherlands for VARA Radio, collecting and remastering these vital recordings from tenor saxophonist Albert Ayler's most vital free jazz quartet with Don Cherry on cornet, Gary Peacock on double bass and Sunny Murray on drums.

Performing in the liminal space between free improv, jazz & chamber-oriented improvisation, the trio of American cellist Daniel Levin with long-time Portuguese collaborators Sei Miguel on pocket trumpet and Fala Mariam on alto trombone, come together for these authoritative recordings in Lisbon, captured in the studio and at a live performance of solos & duos at Galeria Ze dos Bois.

Dedicated to his wife Francesca, David Murray shows his powerful ability to play both lyrically and free, with an impressive quartet of young musicians--Marta Sanchez on piano, Luke Stewart on bass and Russell Carter on drums--performing Murray compositions and one from Don Pullen, blending a variety of influences with modern sensibility and commanding soloing from all players.

Following his 2017 trio album with guitarists Marc Ribot and Mary Halvorson, New York guitarist Elliott Sharp returns to his Manhattan studio with two different guitarists--Bhutan guitarist Tashi Dorji living in Asheville, and New Zealand guitarist living in New York Sally Gates--for ten far-ranging improvisations of inspired technique and creative intent.

Austrian pianist Elias Stemeseder and German percussionist Christian Lillinger expand their partnership into a quartet with brilliant New York trumpeter Peter Evans and double bassist Russell Hall, in this all-acoustic follow-up to their 2023 album Umbra in 13 avant jazz compositions, inventively lyrical and unpredictably impressive, recorded in the warmth of the Van Gelder studios.

During double bassist Barry Guy's time in Porto Portugal with the Blue Shroud Band, he also took time to join in the studio with a quintet of like-minded improvisors — Savina Yannatou on vocals, Julius Gabriel on tenor & baritone saxophones, Agusti Fernandez on piano, and Ramon Lopez on drums — to record this exceptional collective improv session.

Bringing together as a trio two improvisers who have both worked previously with bassist Joëlle Léandre in various configurations--drummer Zlatko Kaučič, and pianist Elisabeth Harnik--for a magnificent concert of innovative expression through intent conversation of impressive and unusual technique, captured live at the 2023 ARTACTS Festival in Tirol, Austria.

Finnish saxophonist and improviser Harri Sjöström assembles this quartet with some of the most innovative and in-demand players in Europe, the UK & Australia--Tony Buck from The Necks on drums & percussion, John Edwards on double bass, and Elisabeth Harnik on piano--captured live at Panda Platforma in Berlin in 2023 for a stellar concert of collective improvisation.

An energetic set of collective studio improvisations between three transatlatic travelers — Brazilian-born / New York-based tenor saxophonist Ivo Perlman, Cuban-born / Brooklyn-based pianist Aruán Ortiz and Spanish-born / French-based drummer Ramon Lopez — recording in Barcelona for eight substantial conversations of vivacious and expressive free jazz.

An "auditory exploration of the fragile balance between creation and destruction, echoing the forces that sculpted Earth's geological history" from the collective free improvising trio of two New York luminaries--Taylor Ho Bynum on cornet, flugelhorn & trombone and Joe Morris on guitar & effects--with Boston double bassist Brad Barrett, also on cello & effects.

Featuring distinctively voiced collective free improvisation, this transatlantic quartet recording on the West Coast brings together legendary musicians Frode Gjerstad on alto saxophone and clarinet, and Bobby Bradford on cornet, alongside contemporary classical and improvising tuba virtuoso William Roper and drummer Alex Cline, delivering five dynamic improvisations with remarkable direction.

With two reeds--Paul Dunmall on tenor & soprano saxophones & clarinet, and tenor saxophonist & clarinetist Tobias Delius--and the masterful rhythm section of Olie Brice on double bass and Mark Sanders on drums, this superb collective quartet leverages the long relationships between players, particularly the trio of Sanders/Brice/Delius and Dunmall & Sanders' extensive work together.

Axioms is based around the core trio of Boston multi-reedist, percussionist and composer David Peck, and Cecil Taylor associates Albey onBass (on bass) and poet Jane SpokenWord, here in a performance with collective core cellist & aquasonic performer Glynis Lomon, and guest improviser from New Orleans, Chris Alford on guitar, stomp box and percussion.

Keefe Jackson on tenor & bass clarinets, Raoul Van Der Weide on bass & cracklebox, and Frank Rosaly on drums are heard in this 2022 live performance at De Roze Tanker in Amsterdam, reuniting the Chicago reedist with Rosaly, who is now based in Amsterdam, for six free jazz tunes: two Jackson compositions and four superb collective dialogs.

The third chapter in Cuban-Born, New York-based drummer Francisco Mela's tribute to his legendary mentor and bandleader Mccoy Tyner, in a trio with William Parker on bass and Leo Genovese on piano, celebrating the avant side of Tyner's work with Coltrane and his own bands, and the influence he had on Mela in encouraging him to push the boundaries of his playing.

The third chapter in Cuban-Born, New York-based drummer Francisco Mela's tribute to his legendary mentor and bandleader Mccoy Tyner, in a trio with William Parker on bass and Leo Genovese on piano, celebrating the avant side of Tyner's work with Coltrane and his own bands, and the influence he had on Mela in encouraging him to push the boundaries of his playing.

Metal Chaos Ensemble was formed in 2015 by reedist & percussionist David Peck and drummer Yuri Zbitnov as a working project to explore chaotic rhythms on metallic instruments with a rock sensibility; drummer Steve Niemitz now holds the drum chair, and the band is a prolific sextet with saxophonist Michael Caglione, trumpeter Bob Moores, synth player Eric Woods and guitarist Mike Gruen.

An impressive live performance at Exploratorium Berlin in 2024 as part of the international symposium Musicians' Perspectives on Improvisation, which explores the practices, ideas, visions and theories of improvising musicians, from the trio of John Butcher on saxophones, Luigi Marino on cymbals, zarb, zarb e zurkhaneh & feedback devices, and Mark Wastell on percussion.

The trio of Barry Chabala on acoustic guitar, objects & radio, David Forlano on laptop, EWI & live sampling and Drew Gowran on drums & percussion are heard in a set of four experimental soundscapes and improvised dialogs of great detail and diverse momentum, captured live at Juno Brewery + Cafe, in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

An unusual and engrossing concert of free dialog using tightly controlled technique between two legendary free jazz improvisers: percussionist Paul Lytton performing on tabletop percussion and "bits and pieces", and saxophonist Georg Wissel performing on augmented alto saxophone and tenor saxophone, from reserved intricate detail to forcefully passionate expression.

For her third album as a leader, NY vibraphonist and composer Patricia Brennan expands her band to a septet with bassist Kim Cass, drummer Marcus Gilmore, percussionist Mauricio Herrera, saxophonists Jon Irabagon and Mark Shim and trumpeter Adam O'Farrill also on electronics, for an exciting, widely embracing and fully modern album of compelling modern jazz, bound to be a 2024 top 10!

An album of heavy electric jazz denoted by legendary free jazz saxophonist Paul Flaherty on alto & tenor, with long-time collaborators through a variety of settings, Jim Matus on electric & baritone guitars and Larry Derdeyn on keyboards; a collective trio of serious sonic force and momentum, complementing each other by welding illumination into dark spontaneous composition.

A first time issue for these 2009 studio recordings between Paul Dunmall on tenor & soprano saxophones and bass & b-flat clarinets, Paul Rogers on 7 string acoustic bass and Tony Levin on drums, bringing to light both a great trio session that's sat on the shelf too long, and a superb example of the late great drummer Tony Levin's important contribution to UK free improv.

"Two Views of Steve Lacy's The Wire re-imagines a historic moment: that time when the American composer and soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy went into a Tokyo recording studio with some freshly made Japanese friends, where they recorded a...

Meticulously remastered, these twelve "lost" studio recordings from the Arkestra in 1986 find Sun Ra performing with the Outer Space Visual Communicator (OVC), which used light to create kaleidoscopic visuals during performance, as seen in still pictures in the included booklet, which also has extensive liner notes and an in-depth interview with OVC inventor Bill Sebastian.

The seventh solo percussion album from Barcelona-based Vasco Trilla, here investigating the symbolic and historical use of bells in different regions and cultures around the world through ten unconventional observations of vibration, resonance, and rich tones performed on timpani, flat tuned bells, transducer speakers, snare drum and assorted percussions.

Ten numbered Ballads from the pen of John Zorn, writing for the trio of Brian Marsella on piano, Jorge Roeder on bass and Ches Smith on drums, his third album with this same Downtown New York piano trio and by far the most lyrical and lovely collection to date, as the trio settles into Zorn's inventive structures with improvisational passion and adroit interaction.

"Zorn's first appearance at the world renowned Venice Biennale was a spectacular one. Invited to perform The Hermetic Organ at the famed 17th century Palazzo Pisano, he was surprised to find two small antique organs opposite one another...

A diverse, upbeat and embraceable album of brass-heavy jazz from New York trumpeter Frank London's ensemble, from funky rhythms to material that would be at home in Miles Davis' Birth of the Cool, flavored with London's Klezmatics background and performed with three percussionists, taking a wide view on the role of brass, particularly trumpet, trombone & tuba, in the history of jazz music.

Taking his cues from the electronic music of his Detroit roots, free jazz drummer Gerald Cleaver presents an album of synthetic rhythms and sonic landscapes, each piece composed in detailed arrangements of compelling and adventurous structures, from propulsive grooves to sinuous soundscapes, a surprising and exciting twist showing Cleaver's strong compositional skills.

The followup to their 2020 album titled BleySchool, the trio of Pat Thomas on piano, Dominic Lash on double bass and Tony Orrell on drums revisit and further explore the music of Paul and Carla Bley, here in a 2022 live performance at London's Cafe OTO focused on early Bley compositions, and also a cover of "Monk's Mood" which Bley included on his solo album Basics.

Their first time playing together as a trio despite many permutations in various projects over the years, the trio of Robert Mitchell (F-IRE Collective) on piano & percussion, Neil Charles on double bass and the remarkably collaborative drummer Mark Sanders, are heard in this 2nd part to their 2022 concert at London's Cafe OTO for three extended, free and very informed collective improvisations.

Inspired by a poem Daniel Carter wrote about the transience and motion of modern life, the quartet of Daniel Carter on saxophone, Leo Genovese on piano, William Parker on bass, Gralla & Shakuhachi and Francisco Mela on drums & voice, turn in an ecstatic album of exotic collective improvisation in this second of two volumes from an excellent studio session.

Brooklyn Saxophonist and Park West Studios founder is the common thread to this quartet with Steve Hirsh on drums, Steve Swell on trombone and William Parker on bass, all frequent collaborators in innumerable projects, here in three extended improvisations beautifully recorded, showing the wealth of experience each has alone and in collective expression.

Recordings from the Berlin club Au Topsi Pohl where the [ism] piano trio of Pat Thomas on piano, Joel Grip on double bass and Antonin Gerbal on drums played 4 nights in a row, May 18-21, 2022, Thomas performing on a Bösendorfer grand piano, creating an omnipresent and precise sound that drove the band to great heights of interactive, warmly diverse playing.

Pushing the envelope on minimalism, Manfred Werder's 3 scores for "2003" present just 6 tones, the instructions telling 3, 2 or 1 performers to play a pitch or sound for 3-7 seconds twice during the performance; realized by Erik Carlson, Stephanie Richards, and D. Edward Davis.

Bringing together two groups of spectacular improvisers versed in free and electroacoustic improvisation for a live transatlantic performance, one group of seven musicians primarily from The UK & Europe performing from The Hot Tin venue in Faversham, Kent, UK, the other group of six musicians performing from Roulette, New York City, for this stunningly impressive group improvisation.

The debut of the Chicago quartet of Dave Rempis on alto, tenor & baritone saxophones, Jason Adasiewicz on vibes, Joshua Abrams on bass and Tyler Damon on drums, recorded after a year of performances to develop their propulsive and expansive force, as heard in this concert at Elastic Arts, which was also the last of the weekly Thursday night series Rempis curated for 21 years.

Having worked together as sidemen in various bands but never together as a duo, Ayler Records brought electric guitarists Noel Akchote and Philippe Deschepper together to record in the studio in Zurich, choosing an informed selection of jazz repertoire that includes works by each performer, and compositions from Paul Motian, Henri Texier, Steve Swallow and Ornette Coleman.

Also known as Metal Moves, Welsh improvising drummer/percussionist and instrument-maker Steve Hubback creates metallic sculptures that he performs on alongside drums, gongs, bells & cymbals, this new album presenting three extended recording for sound sculpture and percussion, particularly the mesmerizing title track featuring a mobile sound sculpture made of aluminium.

A fascinating free improvising string duo of textures and sonic interaction from UK harpist Rhodri Davies and Belgian guitarist Pierre Gerard, Davies performing on pedal harp and Gerard on acoustic guitar, though the results feel downright electronic through masterful control of their instruments, eliciting sustain, pitch & amplitude changes as they weave unique and compelling tapestries.

This album of resonant electronics with spacious pacing is beautifully rendered by Mexican electronic artist and composer Juan Sebastian Lach, who performs on computer, and Chilean electric guitarist Cristian Alvear, presenting a 2015 composition by French composer, saxophonist, and organist Jean-Luc Guionnet titled "One for One for any pitched instrument and electronics."

Paris-based musician Seijiro Murayama (percussion, voice) and French alto sax and organ player Jean-Luc Guionnet continue their collaboration with this 2023 recording of a 50-minute performance at the Taborkirche church in Berlin, using the resonance of the space to expand Murayama's snare drum, cymbal and voice in tandem with Guionnet's improvisation on the pipe organ.

A 4-part series of collaborative improvisations between US guitarist Barry Chabala and Canadian-born, Sweden-based electroacoustic improviser Lee Noyes, Chabala performing on acoustic & electric guitars and objects, Noyes on piano & percussion, and both on prepared piano, for elegantly diaphanous interactions that employ a score influenced by The I Ching and Albert Camus.

Legendary Japanese free jazz saxophonist Akira Sakata joins with frequent collaborator, younger generation sound and installation artist Rie Nakajima, for a live concert at Ftarri's Tokyo venue in 2023, Sakata performing on alto sax, clarinet, bells, singing bowl and vocals, Nakajima on objects and motor, capturing two sets of unique detail and expressive restraint.

Two itinerant and unique performers in solo and small group configurations--Japanese saxophonist Katsura Yamauchi, who has recorded & performed with Voice Crack, Tatsuya Nakatani, Otomo Yoshihide, &c. &c., and Swiss electroacoustic improviser Jason Kahn--meet during Kahn's 2023 visit to Japan, recording these perceptively subtle duos live at HALL, in Oita and at IAF SHOP, in Hakata.

Taking his cues from the electronic music of his Detroit roots, free jazz drummer Gerald Cleaver presents an album of synthetic rhythms and sonic landscapes, each piece composed in detailed arrangements of compelling and adventurous structures, from propulsive grooves to sinuous soundscapes, a surprising and exciting twist showing Cleaver's strong compositional skills.

The ninth set from the Boston collective group Expanse led by Evil Clown label leader David Peck, combining improvisers with both a post-jazz and post-rock aesthetic, here as an electroacoustic septet with an extended and unusual percussion set, as performed by David Peck, DNA Girl, Eric Dahlman, DNA Girl, Count Robot, Tim Mungenast, and Michael Knoblach.

Two string improvisers in an insistent dialog of quick-witted playing using every inch of their instruments under impressive technique, between Polish-born German cellist Günter Christmann, whose legacy hails from early European Free Jazz groups including Rudiger Carl Inc, and younger generation Finnish guitarist Niklas Fite, whose playing reminds of John Russell or Derek Bailey.

With two guitarists split between the left and right sides of the head--Kazuhide Yamaji and Mitsuru Tabata, also on vocals--in a trio aTwo guitarists split between the left and right sides of the head--Kazuhide Yamaji and Mitsuru Tabata, also on vocals--in a trio with Ruins drummer and Magaibutsu label-leader Tatsuya Yoshida, for a an energetic album of mostly instrumental post-prog "no-wave" improvisations, nine wild tracks captured live from four 2024 concerts in Japan.with Ruins drummer and Magaibutsu label-leader Tatsuya Yoshida, for a an energetic album of mostly instrumental post-prog "no-wave" improvisations, nine wild tracks captured live from four 2024 concerts in Japan.

At the forefront of Chile's experimental improv scene, the Nichunimu trio of Benjamin Vergara on trumpet, Nicolas Carrasco on synthesizer and Matias Mardones on percussion are both lyrical in a style that adheres to traditional jazz of a relaxed unrushed intention, but warped through unusual rhythmic approaches and odd punctuations from synthetics and radio.

"SORBD brings together 5 musicians from the European improvised music and free jazz scene who have distinguished themselves as strong artistic personalities. The five instrumentalists and composers are characterized by their own sound l...

With prior albums on For4Ears and Matchless, the French electroacoustic (with an emphasis on "acoustic") free improvising quartet Hubbub of Frédéric Blondy (piano), Bertrand Denzler (tenor sax), Jean-Luc Guionnet (alto sax), Jean-Sébastien Mariage (guitar), and Edward Peraud (percussion) present two extended, perfectly paced improvisations of stunning interplay and incredible technique.

Her 5th solo viola album finds NY improviser & composer Jessica Pavone extending her exploration of music based on the pitches of the open strings, accentuating the natural sympathetic resonances of the instrument and expanded through the use of electronic effects to create a virtual duo, on one track performing on a Ken Butler hand-crafted hybrid instrument, the Sword Viola.

The next angle from the collective Geometry group of Tomeka Reid on cello, Taylor Ho Bynum on cornet & flugelhorn, Kyoko Kitamura on voice, and Joe Morris on guitar, exploring their "Geometry" first of "Caves", then "Distance", "Trees", and now "Phenomena", through highly attuned exploration of sonic complexities and intersecting approaches to their respective instruments.

A remarkable concert in 2023 at The Loft in Cologne, Germany, a superb example of collective free improvisation using extraordinary and masterful technique between UK saxophonist John Butcher, Swiss guitarist Florian Stoffner and NY drummer Chris Corsano, also performing on half clarinet; nine conversations of sophisticated and astute communication.

Two phenomenal string players improvising remotely across two continents using SonoBus real-time streaming software: former Downtown NY pioneering double bassist Mark Dresser, now located in San Diego, and Australian violinist Jon Rose positioned between the Australian deserts at Alice Springs, presenting eight recordings from their animated and inspired intertwining.

With an extensive discography of collaboration together in a wealth of groupings, New York bassist Formanek and alto saxophonist Tim Berne are heard in this 1991 live duo performance at The Parlour in Providence, Rhode Island, a powerfully confident concert of informed dialogs captured seven years before their only other duo album from 1998, Ornery People.

An intimate duo at Brooklyn's IBeam performance venue in November 2023 between visiting Argentine-born, Berlin-based tenor saxophonist Camila Nebbia and New York pianist Angelica Sanchez, performing six freely improvised and sophisticated dialogs that highlight the implicit lyricism of each player and the finesse of their virtuosic skills in subtle expression.

A 4-CD box set collecting 8 albums under Steve Lacy's name from 1957 to 1965, with sidement including Don Cherry, Mal Waldron, Kent Carter, Carla Bley, Louis Moholo, &c: Soprano Sax; Reflections; The Straight Horn of Steve Lacy; Evidence; Disposability; Jazz Realities; Sortie;The Forest and the Zoo.

ONCEIM is the French ensemble of over 30 distinguished musicians directed by Frédéric Blondy, drawing on jazz, free improv, experimental and contemporary music as they evolve impressively detailed works from subtle restraint to controlled swells, heard in live performances from 2018 at Eglise Saint-Merry in Paris and at La Muse en Circuit in 2020, plus a 3rd studio session from 2020.

Recording on a vintage reel-to-reel tape deck in his own warehouse living room during a lunar eclipse, saxophonist Steve Baczkowski (Brandon Lopez Trio, Buffalo Suicide Prevention Unit, Ensemble MIA) captures thirteen explorations on tenor and baritone saxophones, plus a homemade wind instrument, for an intimately challenging album of outrageous technique and overtones.

"Using 'everyday' objects to prepare the instrument in a simple way structures this " Prose Metallique ", in which each piece offers a poetic approach to language and textual references. Recorded in one day, these close-miked solo piece...

Appropriately recorded at Le Sauvage Cathedral in France, the region name dating to the legend of a wild woman who only ate raw meat, had a double row of teeth, lived under a rocky promontory and was buried by a landslide, as baritone saxophonist Jamison Williams darkly burns in an extended improvisation of outside technique while referencing the Lemegeton, a 17th century book of magic.

The second album of piano works from Japanese composer Jo Kondo performed by pianist Satoko Inoue--a noted interpreter of solo works by Feldman, Ferrari, and Cage--here presenting all of Kondo's works for solo piano written from 2001 to 2012, alongside two early works from 1975, exploring a wealth of harmonic, rhythmic, and conceptual ideas from a diversity of projects.

Trumpeter Marco von Orelli's piano-less quartet with Tommy Meier on tenor saxophone, bass clarinet, Luca Sisera on double bass, and Sheldon Suter on drums is caught live at Theater am Gleis, in Winterthur, Switzerland in 2018, and at Boudoir au Revoir, the same year, performing von Orelli's compellingly clever compositions, plus one each from Adam lane and Tommy Meier.

The long-running duo since 1987 of spouses, pianist Hildegard Kleeb and trombonist Roland Dahinden, are joined by Swiss-born/ Berlin-based percussionist & vibraphonist Alexandre Babel for an album of interweaving and contrasting instrumental lines, blurring the boundaries between contemporary music and improvisation through exceptional mastery and dialog.

With a superb septet of improvisers also versed in contemporary music, trumpeter Franz Koglmann presents sophisticated compositions that interject the concept of "solitude" in the three-part title track, alongside Koglmann compositions and Jimmy Giuffre's "Finger Snapper", using striking orchestration of trumpet, sax, clarinet, bassoon, oboe, french horn, cello and double bass.

A live album at Kunstraum Walcheturm from Swiss double bassist Daniel Studer's quintet of strings and piano, with Harald Kimmig on violin, Frantz Loriot on viola, Alfred Zimmerlin on violoncello, and Philip Zoubek on piano, performing an inventive set of Studer compositions extending string improvisation to extremes through unorthodox structures and techniques.

As part of her Colonial Piano Project, Australian pianist Gabriella Smart commissioned and performs "Kaps Freed" by Cat Hope, a contemplation of composer Percy Grainger's Free Music ideals, with Stuart James on electronics; and the alliterative "Two New Proposals for an Overland Telegraph Line ..." by Erkki Veltheim, inspired by the 1st piano to arrive in Alice Springs, AU.

Through preparations, computers, contact microphones, gongs, feedback and other tools, Swiss pianist, composer & improviser Judith Wegmann's work transform the sound of the piano into an otherworldly instrument, set against more traditional acoustic pieces of a reflective nature, together creating a conceptual set of ten pieces in a uniquely flexible approach.

Active since 2010, the German/Swiss duo of classical guitarist Christian Buck and improviser Christian Wolfarth occupies a space between music and sound art, as they perform two works each by Ed Haubensak and Tomas Korber, pieces that make use of time, microharmonies, multiphonics, unusual tuning systems, interference patterns, and other conceptual approaches to music.

The innovative acoustic free improvising ensemble Polwechsel, bridging contemporary music and free improvisation in ways that sound deceptively electroacoustic and comprised of Michael Moser on cello, Werner Dafeldecker on double bass, and Martin Brandlmayr & Burkhard Beins on cymbals & percussion, are joined by Klaus Lang performing on the church organ of St. Lambrecht's Abbey.

Six compositions for solo piano written by English composer Christopher Fox between 1991 and 2015, performed by Netherlands pianist John Snijders at Abbey Road Studios in London, each work uniquely approached in both writing and performance, each a concept or style that brings something unique to Fox's music while still retaining his voice and character in composition.

The second of two volumes in celebration of legendary saxophonist Charlie Parker's 100th birthday, here remastering his landmark recordings for the Savoy label in New York City between 1945-48, performing with jazz greats including Bud Powell, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, John Lewis, Curley Russel, Max Roach, &c. for some of be-bop's finest and best known compositions.

Bassist Raoul van der Weide formed this sophisticated Dutch piano trio with pianist Frank van Bommel and drummer Wim Janssen (the latter two part of Guus Janssen's trio) exploring instant composition in a variety of conceptual approaches, including richly lyrical music, darkly mysterious environments, and spirited and inventive interplay; an accomplished and encompassing album.

Essential radio and live recordings from saxophonist Albert Ayler's European tour in 1964 with Don Cherry on cornet, Gary Peacock on double bass and Sunny Murray on drums, a quintessential grouping for Ayler's compositions, here in outstanding renditions of classic works including "Spirits", "Ghosts", "Vibrations", "Mothers", "Childrens", plus Don Cherry's "Infant Happiness".

DINGED CORNERS

Tenor saxophonist Albert Ayler's 1966 quintet brought a unique orchestration to his music, heard in these live performances in Berlin, Lörrach, Paris & Stockholm in November of 1966, four concerts presented chronologically as performed with the exemplary playing of brother Donald Ayler on trumpet, Michel Samson on violin, William Folwell on bass, and Beaver Harris on drums.

The 2nd volume from tenor & soprano saxophonist John Coltrane 1962 tour of Europe and Scandinavia, heard here in late November at Stefaniensaal, Graz with his quartet of pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Jimmy Garrison, and drummer Elvin Jones, the band playing classic numbers under the influence of Coltrane's expanding drive to transform his music toward greater freedom.

Two live recordings from Miles Davis in the 1960s, first from Stockholm in 1967 with the classic 60s quintet of Miles, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and Tony Williams; then two years later also in Stockholm with the "Lost Quintet" of Miles, Wayne Shorter, Chick Corea, Dave Holland and Jack DeJohnette, pushing new directions with tracks including "Bitches Brew".

Reissuing clarinetist Jimmy Giuffre's 1963 Columbia album Free Fall, presenting trio performances with bassist Steve Swallow and pianist Paul Bley recorded after their 1961 European tour, along with duos between Giuffre and Swallow and several solo tracks from the clarinetist himself, propelling himself and his band into his sophisticated, risk-taking chamber jazz compositions.

Seven works composed in the 21st century by Sebastian Gottschick, who arranges and conducts the Ensemble Fur Neue Musick Zurich, configured as an ensemble with percussion, a sextet, a chamber ensemble with baritone and soprano, and performing himself solo on viola; sophisticated and modern works that employ complex tonality, timbre and playing techniques.