Taking a turn into the Caribbean and the music of Don Drummond, trombonist Samuel Blaser assembled a new group with Alex Wilson on keys, Ira Coleman on bass, Dion Parson on drums, Michael Blake on tenor sax and Soweto Kinch on alto and vocals, with guest performances by Carroll Thompson, dubs by the late Lee 'Scratch' Perry, and a multi-bone section including Steve Turre & John Fedchock.

Assembling a masterful set of New York jazz luminaries including Michael Attias, Ben Goldberg, John Hebert, Thomas Heberer, Sam Ospovat, Chris Speed, Omar Tamez and Kenny Warren, pianist Angelic Sanchez tailors her compositions to these players through nine original compositions, along with Ellington's "Lady of the Lavender Mist" and "Tristeza" by Amarndo Carvajal.

Recording in the NY Metropolitan area, this superb 2-CD collection of studio recordings begins with a series of duos between trombonist Samuel Blaser and pianist Russ Lossing performing lyrically and structurally interesting compositions from both performers, then joined by drummer Billy Mintz for a mix of original compositions plus 1 each from Blind Willie Johnson and John H. Mercer.

A series of intimate duets between Syrian-born, Vancouver-based oud, ney, flamenco guitar and singer Emad Armoush with aA series of intimate duets between Syrian-born, Vancouver-based Emad Armoush performing on oud, ney, flamenco guitar and song, with clarinetist Francois Houle, violinist Jesse Zubot, trumpeter JP Carter, drummer/percussionist Kenton Loewen and cellist Marina Hasselberg--Houle, Zubot and Carter also adding electronic layers--as Armoush reinvents Arabic tradition alongsie original compositions. Francois Houle, violinist Jesse Zubot, trumpeter JP Carter, drummer/percussionist Kenton Loewen and cellist Marina Hasselberg--Houle, Zubot and Carter also adding electronic layers--as Armoush reinvents Arabic tradition alongside original compositions.

Discovered in the archives of guitarist and free improv innovator Derek Bailey's Incus Records label are these two live performances between Bailey and percussionist Paul Motian, mastered by Jim O'Rourke and presented as a vinyl LP with a 1990 performance at JazzMarathon at De Oosterpoort, in Groningen, and as a download with a concert in 1991 at New Music Cafe, NYC.

Reflecting on the loft-oriented NYC free improvisation scene, this 2006 concert at Zebulon, in Brooklyn has keyboardist Alon Nechushtan bringing together a spectacular sextet with Roy Campbell on flute & trumpet, Daniel Carter and Sabir Mateen on reeds, William Parker on bass and Federico Ughi on drums, taking flight on two seemingly boundless Nechushtan compositions.

An album of jazz poetry between long-time collaborator, bassist Michael Bisio and poet Paul r. Harding, with former Jimi Hendrix percussionist Juma Sultan joining on half of the tracks, for thirteen narrative poems and utterance that provide incisive observation on ourselves and our country, the bass and percussion weaving around expression that slams, swings, and pulls no punches.

UK saxophonist Andy Sheppard joins again with pianist Espen Eriksen's Trio of drummer Andreas Bye and bassist Lars Tormod Jenset, for a lyrical set of seven richly melodic original compositions, the trio's 7th release together since 2010 and marking 16 years together as a group, evident from their confident communication and seemingly effortless interaction.

UK saxophonist Andy Sheppard joins again with pianist Espen Eriksen's Trio of drummer Andreas Bye and bassist Lars Tormod Jenset, for a lyrical set of seven richly melodic original compositions, the trio's 7th release together since 2010 and marking 16 years together as a group, evident from their confident communication and seemingly effortless interaction.

Ethnic folk flavors of traditional Polish dance music and song merge with modern jazz in the Polish Lumpeks quartet, researching the history of their music and working with musicians of multiple generations as they update their antecedents through free improvisation, and augmenting their repertoire with exotic instrumentation including bird calls, cabasa, baraban, basy, and drone box.

Pivoting between his home base of Chicago for 25 years and his current home in New York City, Argentina-born clarinetist and improviser Guillermo Gregorio presents two concerts, the first at the 2018 Edgefest Festival with Chicago luminaries Fred Lonberg-Holm on cello and vibraphonist Carrie Biolo; then in New York with Ivan Barenboim on contralto clarinet and Nicholas Jozwiak on cello.

The duo of pianist Borah Bergman and violinist Stefano Pastor performing live at the Fuori Tema Festival in Tortona, Italy in 2007, fascinating parallel dialogs.

The first live album from pianist Espen Eriksen's Trio with bassist Lars Tormod Jenset and drummer Andreas Bye, expanded to a quartet with UK saxophonist Andy Sheppard, performing at Nasjonal jazzscene in Victoria, Oslo in 2018 & 2020, at an intimate concert at Propeller Music Division in Oslo 2020, and at Era Jazzu/Czas Komedy, Poznan Poland in 2021.

John Butcher mastered this live recording immaculately captured by Alex Ward at the Vortex in London in 2022 between two exceptional free improvisers, Dominic Lash on electric guitar and Ståle Liavik Solberg on drums & percussion, their three-part dialog sliding in and out of jazz, non-idiomatic and experimental modes in quick-witted and masterful exchanges.

Double bassist Jonas Gerigk invited two Berlin-based musicians--pianist Anaïs Tuerlinckx and percussionist Burkhard Beins--for a week of musical experiments and exploration at the venue Saxstall in Pohrsdorf/Tharandt, Germany, culminating in a well-recieved live performance; these two recordings are the result of their week of sonic investigation and improvisations.

The first duo recordings from fellow New York jazz musicians, trombonist Steve Swell and pianist Matthew Shipp, having brushed shoulders together with Whit Dickey, Dom Minasai, Jemeel Moondoc, Allen Lowe &c., they bring a wealth of familiar knowledge and language to their binary concentration, through twelve concise dialogs themed around the dark expanse of space; masterful and intimate.

As part of the transatlantic network The Bridge connecting creative musicians for performance, the quartet of Jaimie Branch on trumpet, synthesizer & electronics, Isaiah Collier on soprano & tenor saxophones, Gilles Coronado on electric guitar and Tim Daisy on drums, recorded this wildly building live performance after a 2022 tour across Chicago and the Midwest.

Dual double bass dialogs shifting between energetic and introspective dialogs, from Portuguese improviser Gonçalo Almeida (LAMA, Albatre, The Attic) and Belgium bassist Peter Jacquemyn (EARR, BaggerBoot), recorded in three exhilarating concerts, first in an "Encounter" & "Exchange" at JazzBlazzt in Belgium, then at Jurgen Moortgat's living room series for a powerful "Enrapture".

More uncommon than than the sax/drum duo format, reedist Michael Moore performs on clarinet and Paul Berner on contrabass, releasing this double CD of intimately recorded duos, an eclectic mix of standards and original compositions in a lovely and engaging set of lyrical and succinct expression from two eloquent and passionate improvisers.

Captured as a live stream recording in 2023 at Tonehouse Studios in Singapore, after 26 days of touring South East Asia by the 12 year collaborative trio of Swiss drummer Christian Bucher, American ex-pat living in the Philippines Rick Countryman on alto sax and Filipino bassist Johnny Gaerlan, a great free jazz session summing up a satisfying tour.

Marking their 40th anniversary with this 8th album, London's lyrically sophisticated Delta Saxophone Quartet in varying sax configurations of Christian Forshaw, Graeme Blevins, Howard McGill, Kathryn McGuiness, Andy Tweed, Tim Holmes and Chris Caldwell, reflect on their history in a diverse set of pieces including covers of Joy Division, David Bowie, The Durutti Column, &c.

An alliterative title for the expressive interactions between French soprano and sopranino saxophonist Michel Doneda and German double bassist Alexander Frangenheim, heard recently with Roger Turner on NAIL in Ulrichsberg (Concepts of Doing), and here concentrated as a duo recording studio improvisations of remarkable techniqueÊand concentrative focus through six fascinating dialogs.

Part of a series at Birmingham, UK's East Jazz Club by saxophonist Paul Dunmall with some of the UK's finest improvisers, here in a quartet of two string players—Olie Brice on bass and Faith Brackenbury on violin—plus long-time collaborator Tony Bianco on drums, the title Prema referring to divine love or higher love, as heard in this tremendous, extended performances.

The debut as a leader for Chicago double bassist and composer Jakob Heinemann, in a series of peacefully sophisticate, through-composed compositions of acoustic orchestration with subtle field recording & object accents from Heinemann, each piece leaving room for improvisation, performed in a quartet with Ishmael Ali on cello, Jeff Kimmel on clarinet and Molly Jones on flutes.

The first four pieces of a concert at Splendor Performance Space in Amsterdam in 2019 by the free improvising trio of Michael Moore on alto sax, clarinets & bird whistles, Barre Phillips on bass, and Gerry Hemingway on drums & percussion, three open-minded and masterful improvisers who balance free jazz forms and non-idiomatic approaches with a chamber sensilbility.

A wild odyssey in collective free jazz referencing the 16th century trade ships "La Nao de la China" from four players improvising in the studio in Mexico City for three extended, energetic exchanges of acoustic and electric excitement, from Philippine-based alto saxophonist Rick Countryman, Jalisco guitarist Juan Castanon, and Mexican bassist & drummer Itzam Cano & Gabriel Lauber.

Swiss pianist, composer and producer Marie Kruttli, who splits her time between Switzerland and Berlin, steps away from her trio with bassist Lukas Traxel and drummer Jonathan Barber for a sophisticated solo album of original composition and improvisations, in thirteen succinct, emotional and introspectively elegant works.

Joining again after their 2016 Szilard Mezei Flute & String Trio album White Flower with the collaborative duo of Serbian guitarist Maja Radovanlija and flautist Svetlana Novakovic, violist Mezei brings an enchanting set of compositions with sophisticated arrangements, flowing melodic passages and tonal colors, particularly the title track in memory of his father.

The first vinyl re-issue of the 1980 duo between UK saxophonist Evan Parker and US trombonist George Lewis, captured live at the Art Workers Guild in London, using the natural resonance of the space and phenomenal technique in an intense set of dialogs showing the mastery of each player and the forceful voice each of them brings to free improvisation.

A much-needed reissue of saxophonist Evan Parker and drummer/percussionist Paul Lytton's first duo album, recorded in London at the loft of The Standard Essenco in 1972 and originally released on the Incus label, the duo approaching their instruments in fantastic and unusual ways in a dialog far ahead of its time, augmented with recordings and eccentric assemblages.

The long-standing duo of German multi-reedist & brass player Udo Schindler and drummer Eric Zwang Eriksson are joined by percussionist Erwin Rehling (HAMMERLING) for the 4-part free and eclectically authoritative improvisatory work "Ritual Sound Exposure", recorded live at the music venue and bookstore BASIS_Klangraum at the Munich Community Arts Center.

The last concert with late German saxophonist and wind-player Ernst-Ludwig Petrowsky, aka Luten Petrowsky, and his decade-long run with the New Old Luten Trio of younger generation improvisers, pianist Elan Pauer (aka Oliver Schwerdt) and drummer/percussionist Christian Lillinger, for a nearly 1-hour energetic performance at naTo, in Leipzig in 2016, "... And A Cutie for Good Bye".

Punctuated with a Prelude, Interlude and Epilogue, the core Unknown Shores trio of Portuguese improvisers, bass clarinetist João Pedro Viegas, pianist Silvia Corde and double bassist Adriano Orru, are joined by guests Carlos Zingaro on violin and Helena Espvall on cello for a 10-part work of spontaneous composition, a conceptual collection of exquisite chamber jazz.

A rare setting for tenor saxophonist Ivo Perelman in a larger ensemble: an exemplary sextet with trumpeter Nate Wooley and vibraphonist Matt Moran over a string section of Fred Lonberg-Holm on cello, Joe Morris on bass and Mat Maneri on viola, recording a ten-part work sans drums or piano, allowing fascinating new orchestral possibilities performed with utmost creative mastery.

A patiently evolving collective performance at Chicago's Hungry Brain from the trio of New Yorkers--trumpeter Russ Johnson and bassist Max Johnson--and Chicago drummer Tim Daisy, whose arsenal of percussive devices adds unexpected asides to the trio's confident free jazz explorations, Johnson adding lyrical lines as the band moves as one through two extended improvisations.

An explorative album of collective free improvisation from the transatlantic duo of German pianist Elisabeth Harnik and New York trombonist Steve Swell, following up on their 2020 album Tonotopic Organisation, this 2022 live concert at Offene Ohren, in Munich brings listeners current to both improvisers immense creative drive, masterful skill, and their mutual, exuberant rapport.

Originally working together in avant percussionist Evelyn Glennie's improvisation Core-tet Project, Serbian violist and composer Szilard Mezei comes together again with his quartet of Bogdan Rankovic on reeds, Ervin Malia on double bass and Ivan Burka on vibraphone to present this 2022 meticulous chamber improvisation concert at Gradska Koncertna Dvorana / City Concert Hall.

A unique 1995 studio album from bassist Joe Fonda, remastered reissued to bring to life this septet with Anthony Braxton on reeds & winds, Herb Robertson on trumpet, Grisha Alexiev on drums, Vickie Dodds on vocals, and integrating tap dancer Brenda Bufalino as a full percussive voice into the ensemble's unique merging of jazz and dance, and of the healing arts and the performing arts.

Meeting in the studio in Chicago, the quartet of Oakland guitarist Karl Evangelista, UK pianist Alexander Hawkins, midwestern bassist Tatsu Aoki and Chicago drummer Michael Zerang combine Evangelista's open-ended compositions with a series of dialogic free improvisations around the concepts of music and family, instrumentally answering the question posed by the album's title.

The DUOT pairing of Argentinian, Barcelona-based sax player Albert Cirera and Spanish drummer Ramón Prats is joined on their 6th album by the Portuguese string quartet ZARM Ensemble of Carlos Zingaro on violin, David Alves on violin, Ulrich Mitzlaf on cello and Alvaro Rosso on double bass for a dynamic concert at Igreja do Espírito Santo in Caldas Da Rainha, Portugal.

The full performance of legendary improvising guitarist Derek Bailey's 2001 exhilarating duo with bassist Simon H. Fell at Sound 323, originally released as a mini-CD and voted record of the year in 2002 by The Wire, then released on CD and now as a deluxe 2 LP set on 180gm White Vinyl.

Confirming their place in Chicago's improv legacy, the second album from the Artifacts Trio of Nicole Mitchell on flute & electronics, Tomeka Reid on cello and Mike Reed on drums & percussion expand the AACM canon with compositions from each member, plus several insightful and lively collective improvisations and one piece each from Roscoe Mitchell and Muhal Richard Abrams.

An expressive piano trio from Steve Beresford on piano, Italian-born, UK-based drummer/percussionist Valentina Magaletti, and Italian Bassist Pierpaolo Martino, Beresford using piano preparations, electronics & toys to expand the palette of their instrumentation, all three bringing a wealth of experience in jazz, free improv and experimental sound to their solid conversations.

Surprises abound with Lucas Niggli's approach to improvised composition, using 40 playing cards that his ten-piece ensemble interpret, drawing on inspired performers from improvised, experimental and contemporary classical music, their game performed over three rounds, allowing an incredibly diverse set of approaches to reveal themselves on each unique track.

The title referring to roots alongside the subtitled comment "agricultural improvisations" in this 2022 free improv recording from the Bêche ta motte (dig your mound) trio of Quebec luminaries Bernard Falaise on guitar, Michel F Cote on percussion & synths and Thomas Gaudet-Asselin on double & electric bass, in twelve succinct experimental improvisations of unusual rhythmic and sonic natures.

5th anniversary LP reissue of bassist Adam Hopkins' 2018 album, a great example of the Downtown / Brooklyn scene, using jazz as a jumping-off point to merge free playing, fusion, and rock into an enthusiastic and technically brilliant album of original compositions performed with the sextet of Anna Webber, Ed Rosenberg, & Josh Sinton on sax, Jonathan Goldberger on guitar, and Devin Gray on drums.

From the fertile London free improv scene comes this substantial concert recorded at the Vortex Jazz Club in 2022 by the trio of Olie Brice on double bass, Rachel Musson on tenor saxophone and Mark Sanders on drums, three highly compatible players from two generations of improvisers in three extended improvisations of energetic free jazz balanced by contemplative exploration.

The first vinyl re-issue of the 1980 duo between UK saxophonist Evan Parker and US trombonist George Lewis, captured live at the Art Workers Guild in London, using the natural resonance of the space and phenomenal technique in an intense set of dialogs showing the mastery of each player and the forceful voice each of them brings to free improvisation.

The 2nd studio album from Daniel Carter's collective Playfield, which started with outdoor performances to allow NYC's auditory ambience to infiltrate and orchestrate their sound; here the octet ensemble brings in field recordings of diverse outdoor elements including cicadas, ice-cream trucks, &c., along with electronic effects to expand their take on free-flowing electric jazz.

Recording remotely in a call-and-response, vibraphonist Sergio Armaroli and saxophonist Evan Parker resolved an issue of recording in the same physical space by interleaving recordings of solo improvisations recorded in response to each other's sequential recordings, Armaroli with the 6-part "Two Rooms One Vibraphone" and Parker with the 5-part "Interludes".

Remastering and reissuing two vital Blue Note albums from alto saxophonist Jackie McLean: 1963's Let Freedom Ring in a quartet with Walter Davis (piano), Herbie Lewis (double bass) & Billy Higgins (drums); then 1964's Destination... Out! in a quintet with Grachan Moncur III (trombone), Bobby Hutcherson (vibes), Larry Ridley (double bass) and Roy Haynes (drums).

An exemplary set of explorative hard bop compositions from composer/trumpeter Alan Shorter, first Mephistopheles from Wayne Shorter's The All Seeing Eye in an octet with legends Wayne Shorter, James Spaulding, Freddie Hubbard, Grachan Moncur III, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter & Joe Chambers; and then Alan Shorter's own Orgasm with Gato Barbieri, Charlie Haden, Reggie Johnson, Muhammad Ali & Rashied Ali.

Evoking the passionate free improvisation of Kaoru Abe and influenced by Austrian poet Georg Trakl's "Nocturnal Song", the trio of Makoto Kawashima and Harutaka Mochizuki on alto saxophone and Michel Henritzi on lap steel & feedback recorded these three crepuscular works in separate locations, assembled by Henritzi into richly dreamlike and cathartic compositions.

Assembled by Portuguese saxophonist Rodrigo Amado, this stellar quartet bridges nations with German pianist Alexander von Schlippenbach, Norwegian double bass player Ingebrigt Haker-Flaten, and American drummer Gerry Hemingway, presenting the extended, masterful collective title track, along with two shorter works, particularly revisiting Albert Ayler's "Ghosts".

Three live performances in Greece, Italy and Brussels from saxophonist & multi-reedist Akira Sakata and his long-standing duo partner as Entasis — pianist Giovanni di Domenico — and based on location, with Giotis Damianidis on electric guitar, Petros Damianidis on double bass, and Stephanos Chytiris, Balazs Pandi or Aleksandar Skoric on drums.

Merging contemporary and traditional instruments, including the spilapipa (a fipple flute), hardanger fiddle, the Bilgoraj suka (a vertical fiddle), alongside prepared piano, organ, trumpet, tuba, baritone sax & voice, Mats Gustafsson's ensemble merges folk, experimental forms, improv & free jazz in a conduction shaped by the participants; absolutely unique & fascinating.

Recorded in 1998 but sounding absolutely modern, exuberant and often explosively inspired, this live recording at Jazzclub Fasching in Stockholm brings the then 10-year collaboration of drummer Raymond Strid, pianist Sten Sandel and saxophonist Mats Gustafsson to ecstatic heights, bridging free jazz forms and rendering Coltranes "Afro Blues" with intense passion.

Recorded and mixed on analog tape, MOPDtK combines historical jazz lineage and the 21st century perspective of MOPDtK's members (Jon Irabagon; Ron Stabinsky; Moppa Elliott; Kevin Shea), with each piece dedicated to an individual who influenced their compositional process.

After "Exta", where saxophonist John Butcher and electronics artist Thomas Lehn met with pianist John Tilbury, the duo now meet with New York pianist Matthew Shipp for a distinct improvisational entanglement of Butcher's dense streams, Lehn's rich sound floor, and Shipp's thick repetitions.

Drawing on the same trio heard on his RogueArt release, 7 Poets Trio, Boston-born Brooklyn-based composer and drummer Fujiwara presents a set of six sophisticated works along with one collective improvisation, utilizing the unique orchestration of vibraphonist Patricia Brennan and cellist Tomeka Reid to create a diverse set of highly rewarding recordings.

Three CDs in a beautifully constructed fold-out cross with liner notes and recording data from NY drummer Kate Gentile, in a set of 41 studio recordings with her working band of Matt Mitchell on piano & keys, Kim Cass on acoustic & electric bass and Jeremy Viner on reeds, each disc exploring a distinct yet connected approach to her fascinating compositions and group interaction.

The second volume of powerful free playing and intimate conversation bringing together two New York-based improvisers, Cuban native drummer/percussionist Francisco Mela and Tennessee native reed & wind player Zoh Amba, both sharing a mountain region upbringing that brings a uniquely reflective quality to their playing, fortified by the exploratory NY improv scene.

The second volume of powerful free playing and intimate conversation bringing together two New York-based improvisers, Cuban native drummer/percussionist Francisco Mela and Tennessee native reed & wind player Zoh Amba, both sharing a mountain region upbringing that brings a uniquely reflective quality to their playing, fortified by the exploratory NY improv scene.

Unofficial jazz documentarian Boris Rose captured these recordings on reel-to-reel tape of the Bill Evans Trio in 1960, an artistically fulfilling concert at Birdland in NYC and a rare recording of this particular trio with bassist scott LaFaro and drummer Paul Motian; originally issued in 1992 on the Cool & Blue label, here properly restored and remastered.

A trio of leaders in their own right performing pianist Satoko Fujii's demanding compositions, bassist Takashi Sugawa and drummer Ittetsu Takemura rise to the challenge in a set of six exciting works that push and pull this remarkable piano trio in unexpected directions, responding to the twists and turns of Fujii's intense and intricate directions; superlative!

The result of two formidably versatile improvisers--pianist Joel Futterman and drummer/percussionist Michael Wimberly--meeting in Futterman's home city of Virginia Beach for a session of collective, spontaneous improvisation, is this magnificent two-part work released as the unedited live first takes, an epic journey through masterful technique and compelling expression.

Joining with two of London's finest free improvisers, Swiss saxophonist Christoph Gallio of DAY & TAXI fame and performing on alto, soprano & c-melody saxophones, meets drummer Mark Sanders and double bassist Dominic Lash at London's Cafe OTO for a remarkable concert of free collective playing in two large works: "Wildlife" in three parts, and "Homelife" in two parts.

The Kaze quartet of trumpeter Natsuki Tamura, pianist Satoko Fujii, trumpeter & flugelhorn player Christian Pruvost and drummer Peter Orins, continues its avant-embracing and uniquely voiced project with this live performance at Lille, France, an episodic and spontaneously diverse set of three collective improvisations of intuitive, adventurous interaction.

Compressing his Exploding Star Orchestra to a sextet, Chicago trumpeter Rob Mazurek presents two expansive works of ecstatic, exploratory electric and groove-oriented jazz, performed with Damon Locks (voice, electronics), Tomeka Reid (cello), Angelica Sanchez (Wurlitzer electric piano), Ingebrigt Haker-Flaten (double bass) and Chad Taylor (drums).

In Tibetan Buddhism a terton is a person who is a discoverer of ancient hidden texts or terma, an apt description of the masterful, exploratory free jazz heard in the New York City band Terton of Trevor Dunn on bass, Louie Belogenis on tenor & soprano saxophones and Ryan Sawyer on drums, in ten powerfully assertive studio improvisations.

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.

The first meeting of tenor saxophonist Catherine Sikora and pedal steel guitarist Susan Alcorn was at the Zurcher Gallery in New York City in 2022, an inventive dialog of free improvisation split between three "Filaments", their interaction ranging from delicate dialog to asservite discourse in a wonderfully expressive concert of sincere affinity.

Three innovative cellists at the intersection of improvisation, contemporary compositional and experimental forms — Tomeka Reid from Chicago, Isidora Edwards from Chile and based in London, and Elisabeth Coudoux from Germany — meet in Wiesbaden to record these four multi-layered improvisations merging their unique perspectives with great concentrative expression.

Picking up from their last album in 2005, Lapis Exilis, alto saxophonist Jim Hobb's Fully Celebrated Orchestra joyfully returns with a new set of lyrical Hobb's compositions, Timo Shanko still creating a solid bass foundation and Luther Gray taking Django Carranza's place, extending the band with AYCH member Taylor Ho Bynum on cornet and Ian Ayers on guitar.

French free vocalist Isabelle Duthoit and world traveling improviser and Zeitkratzer trumpeter Franz Hautzinger continue their collaborations at GMEA Centre National de Creation Musicale, in Albi, France to record these 11 unusual duos, using outrageous technique and inexplicable intent to create aberrant accompaniments to your most subtle and frightening dreams.

The follow-up to their debut album, Orbital Decay, finds guitarist Phil Venable and drummer Tommy Jackson delving deeper into their free duo referencing free jazz, ambient, no wave, and other forms of experimental and avant-garde music, their often turbulent dialog inspired by a desire to find hope in the world despite a contemporary period of death and injustice.

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.

Their impetus motivated by the 60's & 70's London improv scene, epitomized by Derek Bailey's Company group, guitarist Dirk Serries leads this assemblage of quick-witted improviser as they challenge each other through pointillistic and sublime passages; from Tom Jackson (clarinet), Colin Webster (sax), Martina Verhoeven (piano), Dirk Serries (guitar) & Teun Verbruggen (drums).

Chimaera is the ensemble of Sylvie Courvoisier on piano, her core trio with Drew Gress on bass, Kenny Wollesen on drums & vibraphone, expanded by two trumpeters--Wadada Leo Smith & Nate Wooley--and affected by Austrian guitarist Christian Fennesz who provides sonic backdrops for the improvisations over Courvoisier's compositions, focusing on aura over pyrotechnics; absolutely sublime.

Saxophonist & composer Ingrid Laubrock's quartet with Jon Irabagon on sopranino sax, Zeena Parkins on electric harp and Tom Rainey on drums, in a work of conventional and graphic notation with text instructions, accompanied by fixed media tape pieces (monochromes), from Nate Wooley, Adam Matlock, Tom Rainey, and by JD Allen, David Breskin & Ingrid Laubrock manipulating Harry Bertoia sculptures.

With a rare ability to play hard-hitting jazz while maintaining a lyrical sense to his compositions, tenor saxophonist James Brandon Lewis' new studio album from his quartet of Aruan Ortiz on piano, Brad Jones on bass and Chad Taylor on drums is the fourth album from this working band, demonstrating their strong group affinity that invokes impressive soloing from all four.

A stunning album that effortlessly blends styles from jazz, electronics, minimalism and contemporary forms, rendered by an eclectic group of primarily NY artists including Nate Wooley, Jennifer Choi, James Brandin Lews, Oscar Noriega, Anna Webber, Shahzad Ismaily and Smith himself, in an exhilarating and well-balanced set of Smith compositions that inform and groove spectacularly!

Anna Webber's explorations of just intonation in a quintet of New York improvisers, with Webber herself on tenor sax & flutes, Adam O'Farrill on trumpet, Mariel Roberts on cello, Elias Stemeseder on synthesizer and Lesley Mok on drums, her approachable compositions blurring the lines between tuning systems while focusing on fascinatingly exotic tonal combinations.

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.