The Lucaciu 3--Antonio Lucaciu (sax), Simon Lucaciu (piano) and Rober Lucaciu (bass)--are joined at Studio Loft in Koln, Germany by legendary Euro Free Jazz drummer Gunter Baby Sommer to record this exceptionally joyful and sophisticated album of creative jazz, with distinctive compositions from band members, alongside text from Hugo Ball and an adaptation of a Béla Bartók motiv.

The fourth album from pianist Matthew Shipp's Trio with Michael Bisio on bass and Newman Taylor Baker on drums, a well-sequenced studio recording from short lyrical works leading to diverse moods of creatively unique abstractions and powerfully grooving passages, a wealth of styles and magnificent playing from one of the most interesting piano trios active.

A new piano-less trio led by a modern giant of jazz--saxophonist David Murray--who composed the lyrically upbeat and swinging compositions for this Brave New World Trio with bassist Brad Jones and drummer Hamid Drake, two incredible and innovative players who expand each piece with enthusiastic playing of free and inventive approaches to Murray's music.

Founded in 2008, the Berlin-based Lisbeth Quartett under the direction of saxophonist and composer Charlotte Greve with core members Manuel Schmiedel on piano, Marc Muellbauer on bass and Moritz Baumgartner on drums, present nine lyrically cultured and beautifully fluid pieces through Greve's clever and sophisticated compositions of creative modern jazz.

Following her duo albums on Intakt with pianists Aki Takase and Kris Davis, New York saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock collaborates with pianist Andy Milne (Dapp Theory, M-Base Collective) for ten beautifully empathetic, delicate and sophisticated dialogs, Laubrock performing on tenor & soprano saxophones and Milne at times using preparations.

The eccentrically named group "Jones Jones" is the trio of Lithuanian drummer Vladimir Tarasov, NY/West Coast bassist Mark Dresser and Rova Saxophone Quartet saxophonist Larry Ochs, since 2008 expressing humor and vexation at the world in sometimes meditative and sometimes explosive collective free improvisation, here in their 4th outstanding album and their 1st in the studio.

Recorded at Vision Festival XXIV in June of 2019, legendary drummer Alvin Fielder's friends and long time partners Kidd Jordan on tenor saxophone, Joel Futterman on piano and William Parker on contrabass are joined by drummer/percussionist Hamid Drake for an emotional and potent swinging free jazz tribute to Fielder, who passed away in January of that year.

The Consort in Motion ensemble of Samuel Blaser on trombone, Joachim Badenhorst on bass clarinet, clarinet & tenor saxophone, Drew Gress on double bass, Russ Lossing on piano, Rhodes & Wulitzer and Gerry Hemingway on drums & percussion adapt the late medieval court music of Guillaume de Machaut and Guillaume Dufay into arrangements for modern creative improvisation.

A solid album of buoyant collective improvisation led by NY drummer Chad Anderson, with vibraphonist Warren Smith adding an optimistic voice to the quintet of relative newcomer, sax and flute player Zoh Amba and bassist Barry Stephenson, the sophisticated and generally upbeat sound of the group taking a stinging tone on two tracks with the sharp observations from The Ankhitek.

Led by Ivo Perelman on tenor saxophone, (D)ivo brings four of New York City's finest improvising saxophonists together for an outrageous quartet session, with Tony Malaby on soprano saxophone, Tim Berne on alto saxophone and James Carter on baritone saxophone, their unique styles and masterful skills creating a thrilling and intricate weaving of profound reed expression.

Four of New York's most versed free jazz players--Eri Yamamoto on piano, Chad Fowler on stritch & Saxello, William Parker on bass and Steve Hirsh on drums--aim for a form of Spontaneous Folk Music through post-bop/free jazz idioms, recording in the studio for naturally lyrical music that builds from a beautiful glimmer to a passionate fire of masterful interaction.

The first duo collaboration between pianist Joel Futterman and saxophonist Chad Fowler, performing on stritch--a straight alto saxophone--in a nine-part studio journey drawing on a history of jazz styles, from blues to free, in lyrical and actively introspective dialogs, building to an intense conclusion of rapidly cathartic interaction and a final, pensive release.

An intimate sax and piano duo from two improvisers with a 30-year friendship--Chad Fowler and Christopher Parker--both living in the same block of Park Hill, Staten Island, forming a close musical bond that is heard in their confident exchanges, both playing together and in providing space for each to express themselves; a lovely album of warm and informed conversations.

Known first as one of New York's finest audio engineers running Park West Studios, Jim Clouse is also a drummer and saxophonist, this his first recorded foray into free jazz partnering with legendary multi-instrumentalist Daniel Carter on sax, trumpet, piano & drums, for seven diverse and extremely well informed improvisations as each follows their natural inclinations.

Three MinneapolisÐSaint Paul/Twin City improvisers--Brad Holden on saxophones, Dick Studer on bass and Steve Hirsh on drums--active in a variety of groups come together as a collective, named for a Buddhist concept of the consciousness that underlies the everyday thoughts about the world around us, heard in 12 improvisations emphasizing deep listening and open-minded expression.

Celebrating the temerity and successes of the students known as the Arkansas "Little Rock Nine", who in 1957 set a precedent as they fought to enter a segregated high school, in six pieces written by pianist Christopher Parker and vocalist Kelley Hurt, who narrates the student's successes over the powerfully uplifting and reflective music of a six piece jazz band.

A tribute to avant jazz saxophonist and composer Frank Lowe by assembling players who had never previously played together as a group, but who had all individually performed and been influenced by Lowe: Chad Fowler on saxophones, Christopher Parker on piano, Bernard Santacruz on bass, Anders Griffen on drums & trumpet, Kelley Hurt on vocals and Bobby Lavell on saxophone.

Free jazz recorded one person at a time from the duo of saxophonist Chad Fowler and WC "Chad" Anderson who, constrained by pandemic, chose to create "simulated concerts" by exchanging solo recording, each starting the process for different pieces and surprised at how "live" the results felt, as they built up the twelve excellent, rule-breaking tracks of this album.

Two collaborations in a split LP, and the continuation of a series of duo pieces for piano and other instruments that pianist and keyboardist Eric Wubbels has been pursuing since 2006: first an intensive 3-part "Field Of Action" with vocalist and noise artist Charmaine Lee; then "Contraposition" with trombonist Weston Olencki in a duo with Wubbels on prepared piano.

The extended horn section of the Leap of Faith Orchestra, the core ensemble of the Boston collective led by multi-instrumentalist David Peck, here in a spacious and somewhat psychedelic and embraceable performance with Bob Moores on trumpet & brass, Eric Dahlman on trumpet and winds, Duane Reed on baritone horn, and all on percussion & electronic instruments.

Using David Peck's "Broad Palate" concept to introduce frequent variation in sonorities through changing instrumental combinations, this live performance of Turbulence, the extended horn section of the Boston collective Leap of Faith Orchestra, presents the largest assemblage of performers for the group yet, and introduces the 17-string bass to the Evil Clown arsenal.

Changing approaches to his music with new quartet of Jimmy Lyons on alto sax, Alan Silva on double bass and Andrew Cyrille on drums, pianist Cecil Taylor's incredible 1966 concert in Paris presented four extended compositions, here remastered and reissued with a track from a compilation LP--"With (Exit)"--extending his quartet with Bill Dixon on trumpet and Henry Grimes on double bass.

An offshoot of Metal Chaos Ensemble, this Evil Clown collective features David Peck on reeds, percussion and electronics, Bob Moores on space trumpet, guitar, and electronics, Eric Woods on analog synth and Joel Simches on real-time electronics, "synesthesia" a perceptual phenomenon where stimulation of one sensory pathway leads to involuntary experiences in a 2nd.

A working project to explore chaotic rhythms on metallic instruments, improvising with a rock-leaning edge and exploiting a large part of the Boston Evil Clown collective's percussion arsenal, along with analog synth, drum & Chos kit, reeds & winds and bass, manipulated in real-time through signal processing, with occasional narration from Dante's Inferno.

The first Leap of Faith set in a quartet lineup expanding the core of David Peck on reeds, winds & percussion and Glynis Lomon on cello & aquasonic with trumpeter Vance Provey and percussionist Michael Knoblach, in an introspective livestreamed set that balances the strings of Lomon against two horns while bringing out a wealth of unusual percussive interactions.

The core duet of the Leap of Faith Orchestra (LOFO) comprised of PEK on clarinets, saxophones, clarinets & flutes, and Glynis Lomon on cello, aquasonic & voice, joined by the Reverend Grant Beale on guitar and Eric Woods on analog synth, subtly merging electronic elements into the primarily acoustic sound of the group as they amble through unusual soundscapes.

A new quartet lineup for the Boston-based Evil Clown Collective group Leap of Faith, expanding the core duet of David Peck (PEK) on clarinets, saxophones, clarinets & flutes, and Glynis Lomon on cello, aquasonic & voice with multi-reedists Melanie Howell and Todd Brunel, all four employing their extensive arsenal of percussive instruments.

A tongue-in-cheek album packaged like a Deutsche Grammophon release of a string quartet by fictional composer Frieda Bertelsohn Martholdys (1878-1907), which is instead a superb live ea-improv performance at the 2018 Music Unlimited Festival in Austria by Gaudenz Badrutt (electronics), Kai Fagaschinski (clarinette), Jonas Kocher (accordion) & Christof Kurzmann (electronics).

Featuring the poetry and words of Cecil Taylor-associated poets Albey OnBass and Jane SpokenWord, the Boston collective improvising band Axiom of David Peck on reeds, winds and percussion, Steve Niemtiz on drums & percussion and Glynis Lomon on cello & aquasonic + OnBass & SpokenWord, focus on "Discourse", wakefullness and freedom in an age of social unrest.

The last installment in Strut's Sun Ra reissue series is also the first time that Sun Ra Arkestra Meets Salah Ragab in Egypt album has been reissued, bringing to light these studio recordings between the Arkestra and Egyptian drummer Salah Ragab, recorded during Ra's 1983 Egyptian tour, and featuring two Ragab compostions from his Cairo Jazz Band.

A large work from Downtown New York improviser and innovator Ikue Mori, seven piece dedicated to women artists whose vision found them creating into their 80's & 90s, performed in an ensemble with Sylvie Courvoisier, Ned Rothenberg, Zeena Parkins, Satoko Fujii, Natsuki Tamura, Erik Friedlander, David Watson, Makigami Koichi, Charmaine Lee & Sae Hashimoto.

A new trio from NY bassist Max Johnson with Anna Webber on tenor saxophone & flute and Michael Sarin on drums, performing five lyrically inclined yet inventive compositions from Johnson, allowing distinction for each performer as they bridge sections between fluid straight-ahead playing and spaciously singular experimentation, keeping player and listener on their toes.

Beginning with a reimagining of the Civil Rights anthem "We Shall Overcome", trumpeter Dave Douglas' album is an emotional and powerful statement of human engagement towards justice--Racial justice; Climate justice; Voting justice; Gender justice--performed with Ryan Keberle on trombone, Fay Victor on voice, Camila Meza on voice, guitar, Jorge Roeder on bass and Rudy Royston on drums.

Trickster, the stellar quartet of New York guitarist Miles Okazaki with Matt Mitchell on piano, Fender Rhodes & synth, Anthony Tidd on electric bass and Sean Rickman on drums, in a sequel to The Sky Below, blending acoustic and electric jazz in four captivating compositions that Okazaki describes as striving towards something like collective dreaming.

Cuban/NY pianist David Virelles in his first solo album, 14 original compositions and 2 from Cuban composers, blending modern jazz with Cuban, African and European influences, a tour-de-force of clear and balanced, irrepresible rhythms and elegant ballads, an inspired album opening on marimbula and expanded with percussion from Julio Barreto on three tracks.

Recorded a year after Volume 1, alto saxophonist Steve Coleman's Five Elements band with Jonathan Finlayson on trumpet, Anthony Tidd on bass, Sean Rickman on drums and, replacing guitarist Miles Okazaki, improvising vocalist Kokayi credited as "wordsmith", performing at The Village Vanguard for a sophisticated, rhythmically fascinating and energetic concert; exemplary!

Recording in real-time during the pandemic, UK improvisers, baritone saxophonist Cath Roberts (Favourite Animals, Madwort Sax Quartet) and double bassist Olie Brice (Olie Brice Quintet, Tobias Delius, &c) recorded these extended improvisations simulateously at their homes, beautifully paced and intently listening as they keep the conversation going despite a world of restrictions.

Recorded using the natural resonance from the base of a stone double spiral staircase in the Castle of Chambord, France, improvising soprano saxophonist Alexandra Grimal explores her own personal language and the affect the ambience brings to her adept playing, through beautifully melodic lines, long arpeggiations, or short bursts of penetrating utterance.

Working inside and out of the piano and sometime evoking wild sounds that seem to have no relationship to the instrument, Polish-born and Amsterdam-based pianist Marta Warelis explores the concepts of realities beyond our perception, and a thought that we are a part of a big organism where everything goes endlessly bigger and smaller in scale of size, time and speed.

Inspired by Miles Davis, particularly his album On The Corner and Davis' respect and interest in the work Karlheinz Stockhausen, LaPlante wrote Wild Tapestry as a commission from Seth Knopp of Vermont's The Yellow Barn Music Festival in 2021, exploring how direct inspiration between musicians is translated into musical composition and strategy.

A determined set of electric jazz from the Brooklyn, NYC trio of Nathaniel Morgan (Buckminster) on alto saxophone, Dustin Carlson on guitar & bass and Kate Gentile on drums & vibraphone, bringing driving rock and experimental music approaches to their improvisations, a uniquely voice and tenacious trio of unorthodox improvisers.

Drawing on previous collaborations between Amsterdam pianist Kaja Draksler and wind player Ab Baars, here on tenor sax, clarinet & shakuhachi, and two duo albums between Baars and guitarist Terrie Ex, this meeting as a trio took place at the 2018 Konfrontationen Festival in Nickelsdorf, Austria for a diverse journey from uniquely introspective to wildly energetic conversation.

An incredible solo concert from legendary New York pianist Cecil Taylor in October, 1968 at the Sala Kongresowa (Congress Hall, Palace of Culture and Science) in Warsaw during the Jazz Jamboree, recorded by Polski Radio and remastered in 2021, an excellent example of the nimble mind and quick technical skills of Taylor's personal take on improvisation; stunning!

The Polish piano trio RGG of Lukasz Ojdana on piano, Maciej Garbowski on bass and Krzysztof Gradziuk on drums & percussion are joined by vocalists Marta Grzywacz, trumpet player Artur Majewski and block flutes virtuoso Dominic Strycharski to close out the 2020, 15th Ad Libitum Festival in Warsaw Poland, presenting seven improvisations in a beautifully informed journey.

Blurring free improvisation and compositional strategies in this encounter at the "First Meeting Series" at FAB Music Studio Chicago between New York violinist Mark Feldman and Chicago cellist Katinka Kleijn, a remarkable concert in two parts showing imaginative skills of phenomenal technical expertise and experience, instant compositions of the highest order.

Joyfully assertive and somewhat twisted, the first of three improvisations on this live album at Wels Unlimited 2020 is the duo of Austrian pianist Elisabeth Harnik and drummer Didi Kern, starting at high speed then shifting to unusual approaches in a quirky dialog, made quirkier with Jaap Blonk adding wonderfully nonsensical vocalizations on the last two pieces.

Six potent duo improvisations for cello and piano by composer & pianist Ernstalbrecht Stiebler and fellow-Berlin resident Tilman Kanitz, who have been developing their dialog together for several years in studio, focusing much of their momentum on pitch and harmony, their work all the more remarkable for Stiebler only having begun improvising in his mid-80s.

Borrowing from traditional music notation, Jessica Pavone's compositions for her string ensemble with Aimée Niemann and Abby Swidler alternates between metered and time-based scores allowing the performers freedom to move between long tone sounds and clusters at the performer's chosen rate, responding to each other while creating a "collaboratively sewn musical fabric".

An album of raw and emotional "love songs", 17 unique solo violin improvisations and vocal utterance as the New York improviser runs her bow with passionate openness and intimacy through raspy edges, ardent plucking, introspective aching, and moments of beauty, all displayed through immense technique and powerful control over her instrument.

Recorded live in Paris in 2019 as a celebration of improvising keyboardist Alan Silva's 80th birthday, and released with a dedication to the memory of trumpeter Itaru Oki, the quartet completed with guitarist Richard Comte and drummer Makoto Sato, in a 3-part improvisation that is sadly the final recording for Oki, standing as a great example of his voice.

Six raw instrumentals bridging free jazz and free rock forms, clearly influenced by both Brötzmann and Sunn O))) (as referenced in the track "SunnA)))") from the French Hippie Diktat trio of Antoine Viard on amplified baritone sax, Julien Chamla on drums and Richard Comte on guitar, recording at l'Ecluse, in Reims in 2013 for six ruggedly inspired tracks.

The long-standing duet of guitarist Richard Comte and tenor saxophonist Julen Pontvianne (Onze Hours Onze) is a conversation of introspective and resonant repetition around silence, tonal decay, slow call and response and submerged themes, here symbolically immersed as they explore four sunken islands from around the world: Vordonis; Lohachara; Semionovski and Elugelab.

A fully acoustic set of creative free improvisation from the Survival Unit III trio of Fred Lonberg-Holm on cello, Joe McPhee on tenor saxophone & pocket trumpet and Michael Zerang on percussion, performing at the 2018 The Instigation Festival in New Orleans in a set of concerts that also was drummer Alvin Fielder's last concert, to whom this album is dedicated.

An active and creatively absorbing duo between Chicago drummer Quin Kirchner and French-based pianist Rob Clearfield, recorded spontaneously during the sessions of The Shadows and The Light, with one extended improvisation per side, alternating between percolating rhythms of quick witted exchanges to gorgeous lyrical moments of hanging piano figures.

The Summer 2022 issue of Canada's essential music magazine exploring improvised, compositional, experimental and other musical hybrids, this issue with composer Gayle Young on the cover, articles on violist Ig Henneman, composer Du Yun, Mark Ellestad, plus reviews, interviews and a 10-track CD with music from artists covered in the magazine.

Quartet, the masterful grouping of Rachel Musson on tenor sax, NO Moore on electric guitar, Olie Brice on double bass and Eddie Prévost on drums, an improvising ensemble of wonderfully unpredictable momentum, from passages of quiet introspection to thunderous density, but always with attentive listening and imaginative responses, heard in this spectacular 2021 concert at Iklektic.

Two sessions from the free improvising electroacoustic trio of Philipp Wachsmann on violin & electronics, Martin Hakett on synthesizer and Emil Karlsen on drums & percussion, first for three studio recordings in 2019, and then in concert at the 2020 "Sounds Like This" festival at Leeds College for two wonderfully idiosyncratic and masterful conversations.

Determined and ardent playing like the powerful creep of lava flow as the Brazilian & Portuguese trio of Felipe Zenicola (Chinese Cookie Poets, Paal Nilssen-Love) on bass, Jose Lencastre (Lencastre Nau Quartet) on saxophones and João Valinho (Creative Sources) on drums evolve their tumultuously articulate journey through a molten world of smoldering free jazz.

Live recordings of two sessions of fully free and uniquely creative duo improvisations by Udo Schinlder on clarinets, saxophone and brass, and Peter Jacquemyn on double bass & voice, recorded on November 29th, 2019 at the 98th Salon für Klang+Kunst Kralling/Munich by Udo Schindler (part one) & on the next day at Galerie arToxin by Gottfried Düren (part two).

"The Demon of Analogy", reedist Udo Schindler on clarinets & saxophone and Michel Withsch performing on a Pleyel piano, take inspiration from the concepts of French symbolist poet Stéphane Mallamé (1842-1989), who considered his texts as instruments of harmonic complexity and ambiguity, interpreted in eight improvisations recorded live at Krailing, in Munchen, Germany in 2016.

A stellar collective collaboration between British and Australian improvisers recorded at the Kazz Lab/Jazz Club, in Melbourne, Australia as part of a joint recording project between MONASH and RMIT Universities, with performers Raymond MacDonald on alto sax, Robert Burke on tenor sax, Paul Grabowsky on piano, Nick Haywood on double bass and Antony Floyd on drums.

Free string improvisations from Philipp Wachsmann on violin, David Leahy on double bass and Bruno Gustralla on cello, creating subtle and spacious intersections of strings that focus on unusual techniques, melodic fragments spliced over resounding bowing, plucking and instrument errata, while percussionist Trevor Taylor adds sparse punctuation; inscrutably authoritative improv.

Performing on tenor, alto and C-melody saxophones plus alto flute, Paul Dunmall's trio brings together drummer Taymotusz Joziwiak (heard on One Became Many, Unmasked and Awoto) and younger generation bassist James Owswon, for an album of expressive and lyrical free jazz, a well-paced example of tempered collective interplay highlighting all three musicians.

From the same 2017 session that was released as the album Estuary, this concert in the Philippines between American expatriate saxophonist Rick Countryman and visiting Swiss drummer Christian Bucher expands on the free playing of these two empathetic improvisers, presenting a mix of textural, conceptual, melodic and rhythmic interplay steeped in their personal histories.

A collective West Coast trio from double bassist Kyle Motl (Treesearch) with cornetist Dan Clucas, also on violin and moxeno (an Andean wind instrument) and drummer Nathan Hubbard, imbued with a spiritual and natural chamber jazz feeling, their improvisations influenced by concepts of daydreams, incandescence and zephyrs; a beautiful and open-minded album.

Recording in the studio in Hornchurch, UK in 2022, the open-minded, innately lyrical and freely improvising trio of pianist Dan Banks, long-time collaborator with drummer Trevor Taylor at the latter's Jazz825 club in Southend-on-Sea, and Portuguese double bassist Jose Canhas, are heard in five impeccable contemporary jazz recordings, warm collective conversations of adept skill.

The 2nd release from the UK collective quartet of Jose Canha on double bass, Trevor Taylor on drums, percussion, Dan Banks on piano and Josh Ison on saxophone, exploring the intersection between freely improvised music and free-jazz, drawing out energetic and subtle moments in lyrical interactions through energetic and focused momentum with a full range of character.

Dave Tucker, a one-time member of The Fall and long-time free improviser involved with the Alan Tomlinson Trio and his own School of Velocity quartet with Evan Parker, John Edwards & Steve Noble, in a duo with double bassist Pierpaolo Martino for 11 succinct and assertive dialogs titled "Melophobia" I - XI, diverse works from active Crimson-esque playing to dark & introspective ruminations.

A fully free improvisation of subtly disruptive, extended electroacoustic mastery, recorded during the Svensk Musikvår Festival at Aliasteatern, Stockholm in 2021, in a piece conceived by Mats Gustafsson who performs on saxophone & flute, with Anna Lindal on violin, Mats Lindstrom on electronics, effects & sampler and Joachim Nordwall on analog synths, effects & tapes.

Joining the Chicago ensemble of Dave Rempis on alto, tenor & baritone saxophones, bassist Joshua Abrams and drummer/percussionist Avreeayl Ra is pianist & synth player Jim Baker, performing at Elastic Arts in July 2021 as the venue reopened after pandemic shutdowns, the significance clear in the spiritual power and inspired performances of all 4 players.

Phil Venable, the Chapel Hill, North Carolina bass player known for his work in the free jazz outfit Tragic Assembly, pairs up with Tragic Assembly drummer Charles Chace for an excursion into the outer limits of improvisation, the album title a reference to a medicinal clay and a riff off of the Charles Mingus song "Moanin".

The 3rd album from the Oslo's Master Oogway quartet of Havard Nordberg Funderud on guitars, Lauritz Heitmann Skeidsvoll on sax, Martin Heggli Mellem on drums and Karl Erik Hornsdalsveen on bass, recorded at their monthly concert series at Kafa Haerverk, joined by flutist Henriette Eilertsen (Billy Meier and Andreas Roysum Ensemble) for four lyrical composed by bassist Hornsdalsveen.

An optimistic definition of "Defeat" through the exultantly dark and expressive work of Fire!, here as the quintet of Mats Gustafsson on flute, baritone sax & live electronics, Johan Berthling on electric bass, Andreas Werliin on drums, Goran Kajfes on quartertone trumpet and Mats Aleklint on trombone & sousaphone, in five works of richly creative and modern improv.

The 1st live album from Norwegian pianist Espen Eriksen's Trio with bassist Lars Tormod Jenset and drummer Andreas Bye, joined by British saxophonist Andy Sheppard, for original compositions plus "Rosemary's Baby", captured at concerts from Oslo's Nasjonal Jazzscene in 2018 & 2020, a 2020 concert at Propeller Music Division in Oslo and a 2021 performance in Poznan, Poland.

Reissuing The Necks 18th album, finding the Australian trio of drummer/percussionist Tony Buck, bassist Lloyd Swanton and pianist/keyboardist Chris Abrahams in a vertiginous 44 minute dark excursion punctuated by cliff hanging moments through homemade instruments and unusual textures, one of the darker and more cathartic albums from The Necks large discography.

A dark trio of NYC heavyweights Tim Dahl and Trevor Dunn on bass and Nandor Nevai ( _ (Underscore)) on drums and conducting, in Nevai's fifth iteration of the _ ("UNDRSKOR") project, following a fusion of forms referred to as 'Neauxtheque' invoking "Danger Classical", the Martial Pop subgenre of Industrial and the virtuosic demands of Technical Death Metal.

Celebrating his 50 years, Norwegian bassist and composer Ingebrigt Haker Flaten assembles a band of diverse background and superb musical skill to tell his story as a tribute to the people, music and places that have shaped him, a work commissioned by Vossajazz and presented as six destinations including Trondheim, Chicago, Mexico City, &c.; a profound and amazing journey in music.

The fifth album on Leo Records for vibraphonist Sergio Armaroli, and his second with NY guitarist, saxophonist & electronic artist Elliott Sharp and bassist Steve Piccolo, using lyrical interpretations of jazz standards as a jumping off point for experimental and unusual approaches to improvisation, a unique balancing point in a fascinating collection.

An unusual blend of jazz tradition, spoken word and soundscape, presenting mostly as a jazz album with spoken narration from Steve Piccolo (Lounge Lizards) guiding the album with abstract comments that interject with Sergio Armaroli's virtuoso vibe playing, Elliot Sharp adding both acoustic sax elements and inventive sonic environments underpinning many moments; conceptually fascinating.

Including three previously unreleased live tracks, one of Downtown NY's supergroups of drummer Samm Bennett, reed & wind player Ned Rothenberg and guitar & bass player Elliott Sharp's 2nd album is reissued, bringing this collection of seemingly endless possibility in improvisation back to the foreground, sounding as modern today as it did in the percolating creativity of 1987.

Drummer Federico Ughi is heard in three duo configurations of three improvisations each with British improvisers Steve Buckley on alto saxophone and bass clarinet; Rachel Musson on tenor saxophone; and Matthew F. Morris on baritone saxophone, recording in the studio in London, 1998.

Recorded in Brooklyn in 2009 from the Downtown New York working band of David Moss on bass, Federico Ughi on drums, Matthew Putman on piano, Daniel Carter on saxophone and Demian Richardson on trumpet, this album was self-released by the artists, to Wake Up! the world through solid grooves and hard playing electric jazz of intensely spirited soloing.

One of a pair of complementary CDs (Navajo Sunrise and Navajo Sunset) this 2010 trio recording of a live performance at Area Sismica, Ravaldino in Monte, Italy between Daniel Carter on alto sax & piano, William Parker on bass & shakuhachi and Federico Ughi on drums, is a solid example of the sensitivity and collaborative power of the Downtown NY creative jazz scene.

Inspired by the work of Lennie Tristano, Brooklyn-based saxophonist and wind player David Schnug steps out as a leader in the first of three albums (along with Aella and Alan Bjorklund's Amygdala) in a trio with bassist Chris Tordini and drummer Max Goldman, each of the 7 amusingly titled pieces employing a different compositional concept.

After years of collaboration through New York's Downtown scene, multi-reed & wind player Daniel Carter (also on piano) and drummer Federico Ughi recorded this 2012 studio album, their 3rd duo album together and a great example of their spontaneously lyrical give and take, ability to anticipate each other's momentum, and the deep jazz roots that each brings to their music.