Distilling their ensemble to its original duo configuration, New York improvisers Zeena Parkins and Ikue Mori reflect on the stories of Japanese author Izumi Suzuki through ten mysteriously eclectic and beautifully developed compositions of harp (acoustic and electric), electronics, percussion, harmonium, ondes martenot, and much more; wonderful, imaginative and evocative work.

Celebrating 50 years, percussionist Kahil El'Zabar's Ethnic Heritage Ensemble as the trio of El'Zabar, Corey Wilkes (trumpet) and Alex Harding (bar. sax), joined on tracks by James Sanders (violin) and Ishmael Ali (cello), reinterpret classics including "Great Black Music", "Ornette" and Aretha Franklin's "Compared to What", along with Miles' "All Blues" and McCoy Tyner's "Passion Dance".

Documenting six live performances with Anthony Braxton's Lorraine Trio featuring trumpeter Susana Santos Silva, accordionist/vocalist Adam Matlock, and Anthony Braxton, plus four studio recordings featuring Braxton, saxophonist James Fei, and bassists Zach Rowden and Carl Testa, in a solid box set of 10 CDs in five gatefold wallets with a 28 page booklet of notes by Anthony Braxton.

A new ensemble emerging out of the Boston collective band Expanse with David Peck on reeds, percussion and innumerable instruments, Count Robot on voice & tapes, DNA Girl on guitars & mandolin, Tim Mungenast on guitar, and Michael Caglianone on reeds & winds, all adding percussion and electronics from the Evil Clown arsenal, exploring aspects of group improvisation.

Joining the Boston duo Leap of Faith, the core duet of David Peck on reeds, percussion, the kitchen sink and everything in between, and Glynis Lomon on cello, aquasonic & voice, is bassist Scott Samenfeld from Turbulence Orchestra, drummer Jared Seabrook, and brass player John Fugarino, with Joel Simches capturing the recording and manipulating the stream in real time.

Three label leaders come together for this extraordinary 2023 concert at Elastic Arts in Chicago--Aerophonic's Dave Rempis on alto, tenor & baritone saxophones; Driff Records' Pandelis Karayorgis on piano; Amalgam Records' Bill Harris on drums--along with bassist Jakob Heinmann, this exceptional free jazz performance cementing the bond between Boston and Chicago with a hope for more!

Two Portuguese saxophonists of different generations both playing on alto sax--Bruno Parrinha, an established and extraordinary player involved with many projects on Clean Feed and Creative Sources, and João Gato, leader of Apophenia Quartet--present 11 improvisations recorded in the studio, their voices intertwining amid masterful technique and creative impulse.

After recovering from heart surgery, Portuguese guitarist Jorge Nuno (Ensemble MIOA, Isoptope, Voltaic Trio, &c) records this solo improv album to show his resilience, performed primarily on acoustic guitar in a balanced journey of assertive and introspective playing, accompanied by an insert of a text work by Rui Baião.

A trio of all-star European jazz performers from three generations — drummer Daniel Humair (85), bass player Heiri Kanzig (66) and trombonist Samuel Blaser (42) — in their second album after 2020's album 1291, for a mixture of original compositions and standards including Monk's "Jackie-ing" & "Bemsha Swing", Ellington's "Creole Love Song" & "Tiger Rag".

Five extended improvised piano solos from Joel Futterman recording in his home base of Virginia Beach, each an incredible journey in free playing that quotes and comments on the history of jazz piano, living up to the album's title through insight, perceptiveness, wit and intuition, Futterman's technique and mastery expressing narratives of amazing confidence and solid direction.

Four improvisations that start as dense and scrabbly electroacoustic improv and then transport into beautiful sonic interaction from the Chicago collaborative quartet of Chris Dammann (Scott Clark) on double bass, Kevin Davis (Jason Stein's Locksmith Isidore) on cello, John Niekrasz (Poor School, The Naked Future) on drums and Toby Summerfield (Larval, Algernon, Scott Clark) on guitar.

Cornetist Josh Berman, drummer Bill Harris, and cellist Ishmael Ali meet with NY pianist Eli Wallace in Chicago, recording live in the studio for a session that focuses on acoustic interplay using unusual techniques, inside piano playing, textural percussion with scrapes & drags and melodic & harmonic fragments, Fitting quite well in a set of interesting moods and motion.

An international electroacoustic improvising trio of German trumpet player Birgit Ulher, also on radio, speaker & objects, and two Chicago outside improvisers--Carol Genetti on voice & objects, and Eric Leonardson on his unique self-built instrument the springboard, objects & electronics-- heard in a live performance at Elastic Arts, in Chicago, Illinois in 2018.

The third release for the Chicago collective improvising trio of Jeff Kimmel on clarinet & electronics, Ishmael Ali on cello & electronics and Bill Harris on drums & feedback, acoustic interplay in the foreground with electronics adding layers of intriguing sonic pressure as their playing evolves through clear and cohesive conversation over punctuated & textural foundations.

Formerly known as J@K@L, this Chicago trio has explored hard hitting improvisation since 2014, the band name an amalgamation of the performer's names--Keefe Jackson on tenor & sopranino saxophone & tube, Julian Kirshner on drums and Fred Lonberg-Holm on cello, tenor guitar and electronics--in a dynamic and exciting 2022 concert at Elastic Arts, in Chicago.

Three performances of Pauline Oliveros' compositions for two or three instruments, performed by the same trio who premiered the work in 2017 at the commission of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's MusicNow Series--Mars Williams on reeds, Katinka Kleijn on cello and Rob Kassinger on bass--these versions performed live in 2018 at Elastic Arts along with two collective improvisations.

Combining acoustic drums, percussion and electronics, the third solo album from Chicago drummer Bill Harris delves deeper into the sonic aspects of his improvisations while providing them in discrete segments through eleven succinct recordings, a diverse set demonstrating unique approaches to rhythm and sound, enhanced on some pieces through studio techniques.

Merging members of Ensemble SuperMusique with a subset of the ensemble Chorale Joker, Joane Hétu presents four premieres that explore our experiences during the pandemic, SuperMusique focused on electronics and synthetic instruments and offset by a wind quintet, the music and vocal interactions often explosive, reflecting on our mental states during an overwhelming cultural malady.

Since 1997 the duo of Montreal sonic experimenters Christof Migone and Alexandre St-Onge, both members of Klaxon Gueule, have performed under the name "Undo", here declaring themselves "undone", presenting nine tracks of of live & studio recordings from 1997-2013 of often bizarre yet ever innovative cracked electronics, acoustics, voice, and inexplicable sound; weird and wonderful!

A fascinating work dedicated to improvising cellist Remy Belanger de Beauport written by Montreal composer Joane Hétu and performed by the large Ensemble SuperMusique with Jean Derome, Lori Freedman, Scott Thomson, Diane Labrosse, Danielle Palardy Roger, Pierre Tanguay, &c., commissioned and performed for the Ensemble's 40th anniversary and expanded for this studio edition.

Recording with the legendary rhythm section of bassist Reggie Workman and drummer Andrew Cyrille, tenor saxophonist Ivo Perelman and stritch & saxello player Chad Fowler perfectly complement each other as they play off and complete each other's lines and phrases under the support of astute foundational support, an exemplary album of collective, cross-generational free improvisation.

Highlighting the parallel to changes in birdsong in urban areas because of anthropogenic ambient noise, this diverse ensemble demonstrates the evolution of improv approaches through unique origins and backgrounds; with Chad Fowler (stritch, flute), Shanyse Strickland (French Horn), Sana Nagano (violin), Melanie Dyer (viola), Ken Filiano (bass) and Anders Griffen (drums).

The second album from New York trumpeter Peter Evan's band Being and Becoming stretches out his concepts in five extended works that dovetails superb contemporary jazz — integrating extended techniques and solid vibraphone work — with beautifully rich and explorative passages, masterfully performed with Joel Ross (vibes), Nick Jozwiak (bass) and Michael Shekwoaga (drums).

The second album from New York trumpeter Peter Evan's band Being and Becoming stretches out his concepts in five extended works that dovetails superb contemporary jazz — integrating extended techniques and solid vibraphone work — with beautifully rich and explorative passages, masterfully performed with Joel Ross (vibes), Nick Jozwiak (bass) and Michael Shekwoaga (drums).

A meeting between two percussive collaborators from legendary UK improviser Tony Oxley and long-time collaborator and member of Oxley's Celebration Orchestra, Stefan Holker, the latter on acoustic percussion while Oxley performs in his inimitable style of close miking and effecting percussive objects, as the pair perform six Oxley compositions of tightly ringing, energetic activity.

This ensemble features 3 core Evil Clown members--David Peck on reeds, winds, percussion & electronics; Eric Woods on analog synth; and Bob Moores on space trumpet, guitar & electronics--with guests Michael Caglianone on reeds & percussion, Robin Amos on electric zither and keyboards; Faruq Hassan on samplers & keys; Albey OnBass on bass; and Michael Knoblach on military devices.

Winter 2024 issue of Canada's premiere new music magazine, with Saxophonist Andrew MacKelvie on the cover; plus features on Indonesia's Music Subculture; Sonny-Ray Day Ride; Solidaridad Tango; A History of the Canadian Electronic Ensemble; plus album reviews, essays and a CD of tracks from artists covered in the magazine.

A wild and adventurous concert and one of the highlights of the 39th Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville from the electric improvising quartet of Elliott Sharp on electric guitar & electronics, Colin Stetson on bass, alto & tenor saxophones, Billy Martin on drums & percussion and Payton Macdonald on marimba, vibraphone & African xylophone.

Documenting the 1994 avant music drama composed by pianist Alexander von Schlippenbach and accordionist Sven-Ake Johansson, uber Ursache und Wirkung der Meinungsverschiedenheiten beim Turmbau zu Babel (on the cause and effect of the disagreements over the building of the Tower of Babel) through a double LP, DVD, libretto and 16-page booklet in a solid box set.

A collaboration that goes back 30 years, French improvising bassist Joëlle Léandre and avant accordionist Pascal Contet in their fifth album together, turning from their more typically extended conversations to a series of 10 "Miniatures", shorter and diverse dialogs recorded live in 2022 at the beautiful Arsenal Concert Hall in Metz, France.

Zeitkratzer director and pianist Reinhold Friedl meets with Martin Siewert (Radian, Fake the Facts, Dry Thrust) for three improvised explorations on piano, guitar and electronics, through the course of powerful transitions building from deep introspection into prickly, bellicose interaction, yielding to a brooding finale of subtle electronics and punctuation; profound.

Presented in two versions--a stereo mix and a binaural mix for headphones--flugelhorn improviser and composer Franz Koglmann leads his septet of exceptional players through 10 original Koglmann compositions, sophisticated works that show influences from Ellington to Franz Joseph Haydn or Johann Strauss, in pieces influenced by or tipping the hat to modern artists, musicians and writers.

Three sides of Charles Mingus in this remastered reissue set: the 1961 Candid album Mingus Presents Mingus with the classic quartet of Eric Dolphy, Ted Curson and Dannie Richmond; then the Mercury release Pre-Bird from the same year, in ensembles performing the music of or influenced by Duke Ellington, along with the ambitious and brilliant through-composed work, "Half Mast Inhibition".

The second trio release from clarinetist Guillermo Gregorio, double bassist Damon Smith and Jerome Bryerton on gongs, selected metal & cymbals (but no drums), in a sophisticated album of eight collective improvisations numbered as "The Planar Effect" and two Gregorio compositions, an absolutely impressive set that obscures the line between "spontaneous" and "composition".

An overview of Montreal's Ensemble Supermusique celebrating their 40th anniversary, drawing on works from founders Joane Hétu, Diane Labrosse, and Danielle Palardy Roger and their projects including Wondeur Brass, Les Poules, Justine, &c., realized by 40 instrumentalists in 8 groups of 3 to 8 players; masterful sophistication with a sense of humor and wonder — exceptionnelle!

The first album under 577 label leader and drummer Federico Ughi's name in five years brings together the incredible bass skills of Brandon Lopez and expansive Argentinean keyboard sonics of Leo Genovese, the first of two planned volumes recorded in the studio for a boundary-less album of acoustic and electric improv influenced by the music and philosophy of Sun Ra.

The first album under 577 label leader and drummer Federico Ughi's name in five years brings together the incredible bass skills of Brandon Lopez and expansive Argentinean keyboard sonics of Leo Genovese, the first of two planned volumes recorded in the studio for a boundary-less album of acoustic and electric improv influenced by the music and philosophy of Sun Ra.

Joining the Boston free improvising duo of David Peck on clarinets, saxophones, clarinets & flutes, and Glynis Lomon on cello, aquasonic & voice--the core duo of Leap of Faith Orchestra--are Bonnie Kane on tenor sax, flute & electronics, and John Loggia on drums and percussion, capturing the extended title track and a brief, "possible outcome" as a summation.

Concepts of community, dialog, sharing and transmission, or "recontre", are the linking ideas between these four works commissioned of Montreal composer and wind player Jean Derome, developed for four Quebec ensembles, these pieces combine contemporary and improvisational forms, the scores shaped by constraints from the combinatorial mathematics of Marin Mersenne.

Often performing together as a duo after their initial 2004 Chicago Tentet encounter, drummer/percussionist Paal Nilssen and multi-reedist Peter Brötzmann typically released albums of live performances, this 2015 studio date in Antwerp unique in their catalog, an exemplary set of recordings, particularly with Brötzmann on a new contra-alto clarinet and Paal adding gongs to their improvisations.

Often performing together as a duo after their initial 2004 Chicago Tentet encounter, drummer/percussionist Paal Nilssen and multi-reedist Peter Brötzmann typically released albums of live performances, this 2015 studio date in Antwerp unique in their catalog, an exemplary set of recordings, particularly with Brötzmann on a new contra-alto clarinet and Paal adding gongs to their improvisations.

The NC Tragic Assembly free improvising trio of Charles Chace on guitar, Crowmeat Bob on reeds and Phil Venable on upright bass are joined for this 2022 concert at Carrboro, NC's ArtCenter by improvising percussion powerhouse Tatsuya Nakatani, adding sonic expansion and rhythmic punctuation to this trio's typically drum free configuration, heard in four striking improvisations.

Eftsoons (defined as "soon after") is the 1981 duo album from NRG Ensemble leader Hal Russell with ensemble saxophonist and Chicago mainstay saxophonist Mars Williams, who also performs on slide whistle, bells and "lots of other stuff", Russell also performing on cornet, vibraphone and toys; an exciting and energetic album of truly free, inspired playing!

Part of the split series from Swedish label FRIM (Association For Free Improvised Music), this album presents the two solo concerts from an evening at Rönnells Antikvariat during the 2022 Sound of Stockholm festival, first from drummer Henrik Olsson performing on turntables & objects; then from Aviva Endean on clarinets, electronics, voice & plastic pipes.

A collection of arboreal pieces for solo acoustic guitar--wood transformed into a resonator with the help of metal oscillators and digital manipulation--performed in the studio by NY guitarist and improviser Elliott Sharp, developing the works around trees, "austere and intense", each piece unfolding like delicate branches of acoustic and ethereal framework.

Meeting at Park West Studios in Brooklyn, the NY trio of Ivo Perelman on tenor saxophone, Mark Helias on bass and Tom Rainey on drums record seven collective free improvisations of great depth and expression, unhurried playing that concentrates on the group dialog, yielding space for exceptional soloing supported by perceptive interaction; masterful!

A series of electroacoustic improv "Ballads" and "Blues", beautiful and chimerical works at the intersection of strings and a miscellany of percussion, patiently and unhurriedly unfolding under the deep listening ears from the Polish trio of Patryk Zakrocki on prepared electric guitar & granular delay, Maciej Garbowski on double bass and Krzysztof Gradziuk on multipercussion, objects & toys.

A wildly explorative and masterful studio encounter for three of the UK's most well-known and well-recorded improvisers--Paul Dunmall on tenor & soprano saxophones, clarinet & flute; Paul Rogers on 7-string double bass; and Mark Sanders on drums--in four collective improvisations that run the gamut from explosive to introspective conversation; ferocious!

The 2nd album from the Polish guitar trio of Marek Malinowski on guitar, Robert Rychlicki-Gasowski on double bass & bass guitar, and Wojciech Zadruaynski on drums, performing Malinowski's embraceable mix of lyrically inclined modern jazz compositions with an explorative side, balancing structure with free space for sprightly spontaneity, a beautiful followup.

The Swiss guitar trio of Florestan Berset on electric guitar with Norbert Pfammatter on drums and Francesco Losavio on double bass perform a mix of lyrical compositions from Berset, along with lyrically inclined collective improvisation from the group, each player bringing unique approaches to their instruments in a highly compatible set of conversations.

Delicately forceful, the live concert at Real Art Ways, in Hartford, Connecticut as part of the ImprovisatioNOW concert series, is a perfect encounter between two legendary New York improvisers--trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith and guitarist Joe Morris--capturing five dialogs of impressive technique and creative expression, including references to Monk and Ma Rainey.

In the footsteps of the band for which she's the vocalist — Scott Thomason's The Rent paying homage to the music of Steve Lacy — Montreal vocalist and movement performer Susan Hood steps out on her own to merge the words of German poet Judith Malina, who influenced Lacy and Irene Aebi's "Cycle of Jazz Art Songs", with Steve Lacy's exuberant music, for a captivating and sincere pairing.

Featuring works premiered at the ESM concert "Zigzague and Colore" in November 2022 in Montreal at Escape Orange - Edifice Wilder - Espace Danse, this exceptional concert of Montreal's premiere improvising Ensemble SuperMusique presents the works of three female composers--Elizabeth Millar, Laura Kavanaugh, and Danielle Palardy Roger--through a variety of graphic scores.

While NY trombonist Steve Swell and alto saxophonist Rob Brown were in Paris, flutist Michel Edelin, who has recorded and performed with Swell over more than a decade, organized this session with Paris-based American ex-pats, drummer John Betsch and bassist Peter Giron, recording three Swell compositions, two by Brown, one from Edelin and four collective improvisations; magnifique!

In September of 2002, Szilard Mezei performed a series of 5 consecutive, unaccompanied solo concerts in Hungary improvising on viola, this album presenting two of these captivating and magnificent performances, balancing impressive technique with his ability to captivate through stunning passages of exquisite lyricism and thematic development, an incredible achievement.

From subtle dynamics to invigorating free exchanges, the collective improvising band Easter Quartet brings together New York luminaries Ken Filiano on bass with two drummer/percussionists--Lou Grassi and Todd Capp--and Leipzig, German pianist Simone Weissenfels, performing in the studio for three extended, forcefully confident, evolving improvisations.

The 1st of three archival albums from saxophonist Mars Williams' vaults, this 1996 concert in Utrecht with the NRG Ensemble--the band that Williams' carried forward after Hal Russell's passing in 1992--in an unrestrained concert of original material from Williams and fellow saxophonist Ken Vandermark, with Kent Kessler on bass, Steve Hunt on drums, and Brian Sandstrom on bass, guitar & trumpet.

The second of three archival albums from late saxophonist Mars Williams' vaults, this 1996 recording is a rare duet with Chicago drummer Hamid Drake, and is also one of the first concerts of the Empty Bottle Jazz and Improvised Music series, a diverse set of four improvisations marked by energetic enthusiasm, doubling of reeds, and wild playing from both.

The concluding opus of a trilogy that began with "Through This Looking Glass" and followed with "In Praise Of Disorder", Portuguese pianist Joana Sa merges acoustic piano with well-balanced electronics and resonance, using preparations and fragments of previous recordings to create a uniquely expressive solo performance: forceful, fragile, and captivatingly fascinating.

Rooted in an approach to the piano trio attributed to Bill Evan's non-hierarchical improvisation, the trio of long-standing collaborators Jim Baker on piano and Steve Hunt on drums & percussion, with younger generation double bassist Jakob Heinemann, bring equal voice to their highly interactive conversations in a mix of live and studio performances.

An exuberant album of modern jazz from the Norwegian quintet of Andre Roligheten on tenor saxophone, Thomas Johansson on trumpet, Oscar Gronberg on piano, Jon Rune Strom on double bass and Tollef Ostvang on drums & percussion, their 6th full album of lyrically rich, energetic free jazz taking the 60's & 70s New Thing movement into new modern directions; excellent!

Having worked together in other collaborations, this was the first meeting as a trio by Giuseppe Doronzo on baritone sax & Iranian bagpipe, Andy Moor on electric guitar and Frank Rosaly on drums, performing live at BIMHUIS in Amsterdam for a contemplatively charged set of unorthodox instrumental approaches using contemporary improv attitudes through structured and collective playing.

Commissioned by Norway's Motvind festival, Belgian-born, Oslo-based composer & keyboardist Jonas Cambien takes a sly approach to his compositions, incorporating contemporary & experimental forms with solid free jazz playing, performed with drummer Andreas Wildhagen, bassist Ingebrigt Haker Flaten, saxophonist Signe Emmeluth and guest trombonist Guro Kvale (Scheen Jazzorkester).

Merging jazz organizations, Norwegian trumpeter & composer Thomas Johansson brings together the third stream large band Scheen Jazzorkester with the electric jazz band Cortex (Kristoffer Alberts (baritone & tenor saxophone), Ola Høyer (double bass) and Dag Erik Knedal Andersen (drums)), for a rousing, exciting and diverse live concert at Hamar Teater in Norway.

Old Mountain is the Portuguese duo of pianist Pedro Branco and drummer João Sousa, drawing on melodic jazz of the past with a venturous twist, here in their 3rd album, dedicated to Misha Mengelberg, Masabumi Kikuchi, Thelonious Monk and Paul Motian, extended as a quintet with double bassists João Hasselberg & Hernani Faustino and tenor saxophonist Tony Malaby.

The debut for young Slovenian pianist Rebeka Rusjan Zajc, living and working in Amsterdam, brings forward a new voice in lyrically elegant and virtuosically confident solo piano improvisation, her extended piece "Illusion" divided in natural segments that allow her progressions to develop through accomplished, lively runs and moments of suspended beauty.

Spanish pianist Eva Novoa leads the trio of Drew Gress on bass and Devon Gray on drums in her second 577 album, and the first of two volumes with this trio, in a solid and lyrical traditional piano trio album of melodic themes, masterly trio interplay, swinging touches and strong grooves, augmented at times with a subtle electronic tapestry of modular synthesis provided by Gress.

Spanish pianist Eva Novoa leads the trio of Drew Gress on bass and Devon Gray on drums in her second 577 album, and the first of two volumes with this trio, in a solid and lyrical traditional piano trio album of melodic themes, masterly trio interplay, swinging touches and strong grooves, augmented at times with a subtle electronic tapestry of modular synthesis provided by Gress.

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.

The improvising string duo of stalwart London improvisers, Daniel Thompson on acoustic guitar and Phil Durrant on the octave mandola, are heard in two settings of texturally rich, intricate interactions, first at Cafe OTO in 2022 for an extended improvisation, then at Cable Street Studios two months later for six succint, impressively diverse dialogs.

Pointillistic, scrabbly and playful improvisation from the duo of Polish double bassist Marcin Bozek, known for creating and as the conductor of the Gdynia Improvisers Orchestra, and viola improviser and baroque musician Marie Takahashi of Reanimation Quartet; together their five improvisations show remarkable technique, momentum and determination in a wonderful confluence of strings.

A double opus of improvised String Quartets in four movements each, using impressive technique and exquisite pacing in this live recording captured at the Offene Ohren, in Munich, Germany, 2023 by Dietrich Petzold on violin, tenor violin, clavichord & bowed metal, Ernesto Rodrigues on viola, Guilherme Rodrigues on cello and Matthias Bauer on double bass.

A profoundly patient extended improvisation referencing the pensive and strategic decisions made in a game of chess, creating a dynamic interplay of sounds through unconvential technique in this live recording at Werkhalle Wiesenburg, Berlin from the quartet of trumpeter Axel Dorner, cellist Guilherme Rodrigues, tenor saxophonist Jung-Jae Kim and percussionist Stephen Flinn.

With artwork gracing the cover from percussionist Ramón López as part of his Jazz Paintings series, the trio of López, double bassist Paul Rogers and electric guitarist Santiago Quintans are heard in eleven succinct, highly interactive and energetic collective improvisations of dexterous interweaving and confident conversation.

Two unique string players--Lisbon's Ernesto Rodrigues on viola and Chicago's Fred Lonberg-Holm on cello--with pianist Andre Hencleeday and percussionist Jose Oliveira, in an exhilarating concert of dynamic free improvisation captured live in 2023 at Lisboa Incomum in Lisbon, presented as two "Statements", an apt description of their confident and declarative interplay.

While theremin & synth specialist Andrew Levine was on a 2023 tour of Portugal he met with a core trio of Creative Sources improvisers--Ernesto Rodrigues on viola & Crackle Box, Bruno Parrinha on bass clarinet & objects, Flak on electric guitar & effects--meeting in Flak's countryside studio for one detailed, extensive improvisation and 6 short works of differing sonic characters and colour.

Working together in a variety of setting and ensembles--Variable Geometry Orchestra, Suspensao, groupings with Hernani Faustino & Jose Oliveira, with Michel Stawicki, and with onsieur Trinite--the core trio of Ernesto Rodrigues on viola, Bruno Parrinha on bass clarinet and Joao Madeira on double bass, is heard in three studio improvisations of dark woods explorations.

One of the core Creative Sources trios of Ernesto Rodrigues on viola & crackle box, João Madeira on double bass and Jose Oliveira on percussion, is extended to a quartet with Netherland's New Wave of Jazz/Vidna Obmama archtop guitarist Dirk Serries, presenting the 9-part "Dripping" series of free chamber-oriented lowercase improvisation.

Their familiarity honed from work together in the Impetus Group and in Tonus, viola improviser Benedict Taylor and archtop guitarist Dirk Serries (Vidna Obmana) are heard in seven free improvisations recorded in 2023 at the Kapel Oude Klooster in Brecht, Belgium, their strings in plucked, bowed and curious consonance through unusual technique and expression.

One of the largest ensembles associated with Creative Sources, merging acoustic and electronic improvisers, this conduction by violist Ernesto Rodrigues at Torre Do Tombo in Lisbon in 2023 was the opening for an exhibition about the struggle of college students against the Portuguese dictatorship during the years 1970-74, leading to the Carnation Revolution.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.