Mary Halvorson continues her string of excellent modern jazz albums with this octet release with fellow guitarist Susan Alcorn, Jonathan Finlayson (trumpet), Jon Irabagon & Ingrid Laubrock (sax), Jacob Garchik (trombone), John Hebert (bass) and Ches Smith (drums).

The incredibly creative EUPHORIUM_freakestra as a mid-size ensemble performing at naTo in Leipzig, Germany are joined by legendary free jazz players, Wadada Leo Smith on trumpet and Barre Phillip on double bass, extending the incredible assemblage of players including Oliver Schwerdt, Axel Dorner, Ernst-Ludwig Petrowsky, Urs Leimgruber, Christian Lillinger, Gunter Baby Sommer & Michael Haves.

Four European pianists--Nicolas Horvath, Melaine Dalibert, Stephane Ginsburgh, Wilhem Latchoumia--perform New York legendary and radical avant composer Julius Eastman's powerful works for four pianists: the provocatively titled "Crazy Nigger" and "Evil Nigger", reflecting the biased culture he faced, written around 1980 using his organic principle of composition.

"Jim" is US drummer & composer Jim Black working in Berlin, and The Shrimps are the trio of bassist Felix Henkelhausen and the two-sax front line of Germans, Asger Nissen on alto and Julius Gawlik on tenor, finding a rapport and common approach to free improv, they formed to perform & record Black's assertive compositions influenced by the tradition of Black American jazz.

A tour-de-force solo concert from the masterful improvising French double bassist Joëlle Léandre, performing at Kunstraum Walcheturm in Zurich in 2022, mostly performed through an astounding bowing exposition, accompanied at times by her worldless vocal improvising, the five parts of this concert evoking passion, power, and a lifetime of profound expression.

Reissuing two essential, major works from improviser, conceptualist, accordionist and composer Pauline Oliveros--The Well & The Gentle--recorded in 1984 with participation including fellow accordionist Guy Klucevsek, The Well recorded in the studio in Pennsylvania, The Gentle using the resonance of the drinking watertank Severin of Cologne in West Germany.

The French Dedalus Ensemble render three works from the ground-breaking ambient work of Brian Eno--Discreet Music (1975), Music for Airports (1978), and Thursday Afternoon (1985)--performed as an 11-piece acoustic ensemble and remaining faithful to the introspectively intelligent intention and peaceful elegance of Eno's original electronic works.

The French Dedalus Ensemble render three works from the ground-breaking ambient work of Brian Eno--Discreet Music (1975), Music for Airports (1978), and Thursday Afternoon (1985)--performed as an 11-piece acoustic ensemble and remaining faithful to the introspectively intelligent intention and peaceful elegance of Eno's original electronic works.

Arriving in NY in 1959, saxophonist, flute & bass clarinetist Eric Dolphy joined some of the finest avant jazz players, releasing his 1st album as a leader in 1960--Outward Bound--with Freddie Hubbard, Jaki Byard, George Tucker & Roy Haynes; subsequently tagged as an anti-jazz musician, it would be 4 years before his masterwork Out To Lunch would be released, both albums here reissued & remastered.

Reissuing and remastering two Impulse! albums from saxophonist Ornette Coleman: 1969's Ornette At 12 with Dewey Redman, Charlie Haden and his then 12-year-old son Denardo on drums; 1972's Crisis adding Don Cherry on trumpet; and a lesser-known 1969 EP, Man On The Moon, with electronics from Dr. Emmanuel Ghent and Ed Blackwell on drums.

Circumventing pandemic lockdowns, the trio of Brandon Seabrook on guitar, banjo & tapes, Mike Pride on drums, marimba, glockenspiel, bells & organ and Mike Watt on bass recorded their contributions in separate studios and file-shared to create this genre-merging album of free improv, rock, experimental and inexplicable forms; an inspired and seriously unique album of challenges overcome.

Covering a vast landscape sonically & stylistically, the quintet of saxophonist Paul Dunmall, guitarist Philip Gibbs, keyboardist Tony Hymas & drummer Mark Anderson were captured live in the studio.

Aural Terrains label-leader, composer and sound artist Thanos Chrysakis presents six new pieces merging electronic composition with field recordings and other electro-acoustic sources, in five rich and beautifully paced works of a diverse nature, evolving a consistent sound world where each piece draws the listener into the composer's detailed and engaging concepts.

Some of the finest London and Birmingham improvisers, the free improvising quartet of saxophonist Paul Dunmall with pianist Liam Noble, drummer Mark Sanders and bassist John Edwards, continue their work together with this exceptional live performance at the Eastside Jazz Club, Birmingham Conservatoire in an extended, far-ranging and engaging collective concert.

Documenting the continued growth and evolution of the longer than a decade collaboration between American alto saxophonist living in the Philippines Ricky Countryman and Swiss drummer Christian Bucher, performing in the Strawberry Jams studio in Quezon City for thirteen succinct improvisations titled with stellar analogies, from pensive music to excitingly dynamic interplay.

Confidently forceful German free improvisation with an eccentric approach, from multi-instrumentalist Udo Schindler on clarinets, cornet & tuba and artist & improviser Etienne Rolin on basset horn, Glissotar (a continuous wind instrument) & a Bansuri flute, as they improvise over Schindler's poem (jetzt/now) from his cycle frequenz schaukelt / frequency swings.

A journey through an uncharted jungle island from NY electronic composer David Lee Myers, aka Arcane Device, using field recordings in rhythmic environments with synthetic sounds buzzing and whirling around and electronic tones and textures rising and falling, composing detailed song structures that are embraceable and awe-inspiring at the same time.

Originally released in 2001 on the Magaibutsu label, the 3rd studio album from Japan's Koenjihyakkei led by drummer/vocalist Yoshida Tatsuya energetically blends progressive rock, chamber rock, fusion and composed forms, here revisited for the 2nd time with the 2009 expanded reissue remixed again with new additions, plus three bonus tracks from a 2020 concert.

Originally released in 2001 on the Magaibutsu label, the 3rd studio album from Japan's Koenjihyakkei led by drummer/vocalist Yoshida Tatsuya energetically blends progressive rock, chamber rock, fusion and composed forms, here revisited for the 2nd time with the 2009 expanded reissue remixed again with new additions, plus three bonus tracks from a 2020 concert.

New generation New York tenor saxophonist Zoe Amba, a Tennesse transplant whose spirit is illuminated with free styles that harken back to Ayler, recording in the studio with a trio of luminary players--William Parker on bass and Francisco Mela on drums--performing three Amba compositions, one featuring Amba on flute; the CD edition contains one bonus improvisation.

Complementing their 2022 release Kind Of Light, recorded the same day at Agnieszka Osiecka Polish Radio Concert Hall in Warsaw in 2021 after their performance at the Ad Libitum Festival, the quartet of Izumi Kimura on piano, Artur Majewski on trumpet & electronics, Barry Guy on bass and Ramon Lopez on drums & percussion release this magnificent 11-part improvisation.

Starting each day in the Australian studio with a 20-minute improvisation, The Necks trio of Chris Abrahams on piano & keyboards, Tony Buck on drums and Lloyd Swanton on bass developed this, their 21st album, as a collection of "shorter" and varied improvisations, released with minimal overdubs to present their music closer to their exceptional live performances.

Starting each day in the Australian studio with a 20-minute improvisation, The Necks trio of Chris Abrahams on piano & keyboards, Tony Buck on drums and Lloyd Swanton on bass developed this, their 21st album, as a collection of "shorter" and varied improvisations, released with minimal overdubs to present their music closer to their exceptional live performances.

A remastered edition of percussionist Masahiko Togashi's 1979 trio album with trumpeter Don Cherry and bassist Charlie Haden, bridging free jazz with Eastern influences in both dynamic and introspective playing, released with the original artwork plus an 8-page booklet of new photographs, liner notes in English & French and a biography of Togashi by Paul Bowler.

The 2nd album collaboration between French music concrète composer Lionel Marchetti and the Australian chamber ensemble Decibel directed by flute and wind player Cat Hope, performing two works by Marchetti--"Inland Lake" and "La Patience"-- works for strings, winds, piano, percussion and radio, integrated in the studio with Marchetti's synthetics, tape and electronic manipulations.

Continuing the connections from prior Mahakala Music albums Warp & Weft, (Futterman/Hirsch) and Two Five None (Fowler/Hirsch) this album brings the three together as a dynamic trio recording the two-part "Ebb & Flow", a spectacular convergence that, true to the title, shows tremendous momentum and moments of great introspection, an incredible collective free encounter!

Sounding as though they'd played together for decades, this 1st meeting between pianist Joel Futterman, bassist William Parker, saxophonist Chad Fowler and drummer Steve Hirsh is a single 52-minute free jazz exposition as the four immediately fall into an invigorating conversation that continues through diverse moods from pinnacles of activity to reflective tone worlds; masterful!

Signifying a devotional worship, Bhakti is tenor saxophonist Zoe Amba's expression of heart-felt commitment to the music of free jazz that changed her life at a young age, heard in three energetically passionate improvisations performed with the exceptional quartet of New York improvisers, Micah Thomas on piano, Tyshawn Sorey on drums and Matt Hollenberg on guitar.

Keeping the momentum going from Ornette Coleman's 60s quartet, the 1st "Old and New Dreams" from 1977 with Don Cherry on pocket trumpet, Dewey Redman on tenor sax & musette, Charlie Haden on bass and Eddie Blackwell on drums & gong, performed new compositions of burning free jazz from each of Cherry, Redman and Haden, alongside Coleman's "Handwoven".

Splitting the album between two ensembles, UK composer Eden Lonsdale's beautifully languid compositions are performed first by Apartment House, and then by the young Rothko Collective, the four pieces showing Lonsdale's development of writing for harmony, timbre and resonance into works focused on the passing of time and the integration of prominent melodic elements.

First recordings of composer Frank Denyer's "Melodies" series from the mid-1970s, arising from his ethnomusicological studies that explored the concept of what makes up a melody, or a note, creating a series of compositions with melodies of one note, then two, building up to a final work of 14- and 15-note melodies; includes a 24 page booklet by Denyer detailing the concept.

Influenced by the seemingly contradictory sources of 16th century Italian composers and their polyphonic compositions, Eliane Radigue, and North Indian classical, Italian composer Marco Baldini's beautifully dark works employ a slow, rarefied pace and subdued dynamics with a fascination for pianissimo playing, heard in eight chamber compositions for low strings and marimba.

The improvising duo light.box of Alex Bonney (trumpet) and Pierre Alexandre Tremblay (bass), using expansive electronic processing at the intersection of dark ambient, gestural improv and electronic environment, is expanded through the drums and percussion of Norwegian improviser Emil Karlsen, heard in these 2021 recordings at University of Huddersfield, UK.

One of a pair of albums--New Map and Clusterfuck--recorded in the studio in Oslo, Norway by percussionist and composer Paal Nilssen-Love's Large Unit, a 15-piece, incredibly flexible and open-minded ensemble, here performing a work where the improvisers are provided with a series of open-form "cells"--concrete ideas, notes and directions--to which they must respond.

One of a pair of albums--New Map and Clusterfuck--recorded in the studio in Oslo, Norway by percussionist and composer Paal Nilssen-Love's Large Unit, a 15-piece, incredibly flexible and open-minded ensemble, here improvising over a work of graphic notation where the composed structures are balanced with blocks of improvisation, allowing for quick dynamic shifts in direction.

A unique concert even by the standards of Victoriaville from The Growlers, a vocal ensemble who interpret heavy metal, known for their epic work "Hate.Machine" and "The Dayking" with participation from poet Fortner Anderson, performed here along with a comprovisation backed by an electronic track originated from electric guitar recordings.

A surprising trio for percussionist Paal Nilssen-Love and wind player Frode Gjerstad, who more typically play assertive free jazz of enthusiastic character and technical skill, but here joined by fellow Norwegian, accordionist Kalle Moberg, they instead turn in a beautifully reflective set with Paal primarily playing gongs, using the resonance of Oslo's Gamle Aker Kirke.

Between his work with Charlie Parker and before his own personal success, trumpeter Miles Davis joined the influential ensemble of pianist, composer and arranger Tadd Dameron, heard in six large ensemble pieces at New York's Royal Roost in 1949, and then in a quintet at the Paris Festival International De Jazz the same year, in both hearing a unique and confident facet to Miles' playing.

Seeking new methods of performing real-time collective composition through improvisation, composer & guitarist Moss Freed developed a language of hand signals that could be used among a large ensemble with instructions to guide players towards particular activities, heard in this spectacular set of seven improvisations, each named for an iconic improviser or composer.

Expanding their instruments into sonic sculpture, this first meeting between acclaimed Japanese improvisers Satoko Fujii, performing inside and out of the piano, and electric guitarist Otomo Yoshihide, demonstrates their incredible compatibly as heard in these live recordings at Tokyo's Pit Inn, part of an annual festival organized by Fujii & trumpeter Natsuki Tamura.

Part of the SmallsLIVE Living Masters series, masterful saxophonist Dave Liebman leads the stellar quintet of Peter Evans on trumpet, Leo Genovese on piano, John Hebert on bass & Tyshawn Sorey on drums through three Liebman compositions titled for their ordinal position, relaunching a highly focused Liebman post-pandemic with this stunning live concert at Smalls Jazz Club.

Expanding on the history of Henry Cow in new recordings discovered after the 19-CD Cow Redux box, including: a well-recorded concert at the the first Glastonbury Fayre in 1972, the earliest recordings of the quartet of Martin Ditcham, Fred Frith, John Greaves and Tim Hodgkinson; a 1978 grouping with Phil Minton; unrecorded compositions from 1977 in Bilbao; and a 1976 Chaumont Concert.

An excellent 50 year overview of the work of drummer & composer Chris Cutler, best known for his work with Henry Cow and his label ReR Megacorp, but also heard here in groupings including Art Bears, Cassiber, News From Babel, Aqsak Mabou, Duck and Cover, Peter Blegvad, Rene Lussier, The Work, Pere Ubu, The (ec) Nudes, Domestic Stories, Cutler/Frith, Cutler/Parkins, &c.

An immersive and often explosive set of dark compositions from Seth Nehil & Bruno Duplant, blending field recordings, electronics, percussion and percussive objects into a controlled chaos of inexplicably murky and uncategorizable sounds, at times like a surreal firework display, or inserted into a complex machine on the verge of collapse, all imbued with a consistent resonant hue.

Describing their improvisation as a chemical reaction of positive and negative ions, the central trio of the ensemble Skein--Achim Kaufmann (piano), Frank Gratkowski (winds) and Wilbert de Joode (bass)--are heard in this incredible 2018 concert at Konfrontationen Festival as a septet with Tony Buck (drums), Richard Barrett (electronics), Liz Allbee (trumpet) and Uchihashi Kazuhisa (guitar).

Trying to strike a balance between composition and the challenges of being a young parent, Rutger Zuydervelt, aka Machinefabriek, created a series of short tracks that could be developed quickly with invited collaborators, a concept that worked so well that in little time he found 52 enthusiastic and diverse musicians to develop the expanse of this impressive collection.

Virtually unprecedented for the time, Evan Parker's 1976 solo soprano saxophone album captures Parker's prowess and unusual harmonic approach to the saxophone in a 1975 concert at the Unity Theatre in London and in the FMP studio the same year, using the instrument in startling ways as he captivates his listeners through a unique revelation of logic, drama and staggering skill.

The final portion of the live recording at Free Music Market, in Berlin in 1970 from the trio of tenor saxophonist Peter Brotzmann with Fred Van Hove on piano, Han Bennink on drums, and joined by trombonist Albert Mangelsdorff for three extended and fiery improvisations.

Focusing on the compositions of Swedish pianist Per Henrik Wallin, the energetic piano trio of Simon Sieger on piano, Joel Grip on double bass and Michael Griener on drums puts new life into Wallin's 1998 trio album Coyote with the intention of putting Wallin's music in front of a new audience while clearly reveling in his compositions amid their own impressive mastery.

Taking the dual role of soaring guitar lines and savagely deep string foundations, Susan Alcorn joins clarinetist Patrick Holmes and drummer Ryan Sawyer for this invigorating 2022 concert at Union Pool in Brooklyn, their unique instrumentation providing clarity to each performer's contribution through their dynamic and often wildly energetic collective interplay.

A frequent collaborator with NY saxophonist and composer Tim Berne, French guitarist Marc Ducret takes on Berne's compositions, at times in multiple interpretations of the same work or by merging pieces together, performed with the superb support of trumpeter Fabrice Martinez, flutist Sylvaine Helary, trombonist Christiane Bopp and Ducret's son, cellist Bruno Ducret.

Translating her concepts from the electronic realm into acoustic, composer Eliane Radigue used an oral compositional process with the Montreal string quartet Quatuor Bozzini, for whom this work is dedicated, allowing each performance a uniqueness through sustained tones, microbeats and emerging harmonies, creating a profoundly meditative and rich work.

A well-balanced and often scorching performance at Igreja do Espírito Santo in Portugal from trumpeter Luis Vicente, presented as two long improvisations each comprised of two works inspired by childhood times in a rural environment and by everyday life at home during pandemic, performed with the outstanding quartet of saxophonist John Dikeman, bassist Luke Stewart and drummer Onno Goevart.

Recording in Brooklyn, the trio led by Venezuelan guitarist Juanma Trujillo, with Costa Rican bassist Kenneth Jimenez and New York drummer Gerald Cleaver, merge avant jazz, heavy rock grooves with a Sonny Sharrock flavor, and abstract almost chamber jazz, a fascinating combination of contrasts that keeps the boundaries of their contours flexible and masterfully unpredictable.

For 35 years saxophonist & composer Christoph Gallio has directed the exemplary Swiss jazz group Day & Taxi, here in a trio format with bassist Silvan Jeger and drummer Gerry Hemingway, Gallio on soprano, alto & C melody saxophones, heard in this 2021 live performance at Stadtbistro Isebahnli, in Baden, Germany for nine diverse, creative and delightfully quirky pieces.

The long-standing Montreal trio of saxophonist Jean Derome, here on alto & baritone sax, flute and voice, bassist Norman Guilbeault and drummer Pierre Tanguay, frequent collaborators through a vast set of creative improv/Actuelle projects, continue their research into the history of jazz with compositions including those from Ornette Coleman, Duke Ellington, Eric Dolphy, &c.

An assertive album of compositional jazz from clarinetist & guitarist Alex Ward's Item 4 with London improvisers Charlotte Keeffe on trumpet & flugelhorn, Otto Willberg on double bass and Andrew Lisle on drums, a dynamic album that elicits exciting solos from all players around unusual structures that surprise in quick turns and changes of mood; inspiring!

Italian electroacoustic composer and former directed of the French GMR studio Daniel Teruggi is heard in four major and spectacular acousmatic works from the 1980s into the 2000s: "Space of Mind (2004)" in four movements; "Birds (2006)" in five moments; "Transmutations (2009)" in five movements; and the earlier "Terra" exploring the four fundamental substances.

Translating to Paths of Light and Shadows, Argentine electronic composer Beatriz Ferreyra's 16-channel piece is inspired by astrophysics, the mystery of the pre-Big Bang era and uncanny motions of the unconscious mind; a major work of exploration through electronics and acoustic transformation, presented in two parts: "Abysmal Paths" and "Forgotten Paths".

The seventh album from the exceptional free improvising jazz trio Thumbscrew of Michael Formanek on double bass & electronics, Tomas Fujiwara on drums & vibraphone and Mary Halvorson on guitar, with compositions from all members as they refine and expand on their communal interplay fueled by the great chemistry forged over their near decade of recording and performing.

Their name a combination of magic and music, "Mujician" formed in the UK in 1988 as the quartet of Keith Tippett on piano, Tony Levin on drums, Paul Dunmall on sax & winds and Paul Rogers on bass, this extraordinary 2010 recording of two extended improvisations at the University of Bristol was the band's last, before the passing of drummer Levin and pianist Tippett.

The inventive Canadian electric improvising band releases their 10th studio album, continuing as the trio of guitarist Bernard Falaise, keyboardist Pascal Globensky and drummer/percussionist Remi Leclerc, presenting six masterfully lyrical pieces that take unusual twists and turns, adding unexpected "elements" to each pieces in clever, playful and inspired ways.

Stepping away from the Australian trio The Necks, drummer/percussionist Tony Buck meets pianist Alister Spence in the studio for seven distinct dialogs of "submerged rhythm, oblique extended forms, entwined interplay, and sound for its own sake", Spence at times using preparations on his strings, as both listen and respond deeply through a congenial approach to playing.

Sidelined by the pandemic in June of 2020, Downtown New York electric harp improviser Zeena Parkins began daily recordings in her home studio exploring new approaches to solo electric harp performance using pedals, objects & percussions, selecting ten of the most interesting improvisations for her contribution to Corbett vs. Dempsey's Black Cross Solo Sessions.

For three days in his own Discaholic Studios in Nickelsdorf, saxophonist Mats Gustafsson recorded the playing-card pieces of Peter Brötzmann--compositional prompts intended for a large group or for solo playing--performing on a cross-section of the saxophone family from sopranino to bass, and also one piece for saxophone mouthpiece, creating a set of stunning improvisations.

As prolific a drummer as Chicago-based international improviser Hamid Drake is, he has never released a solo drum album, which is finally put right with this release recorded at Experimental Sound Studio, developing strategies for these nine accomplished recordings, performed on a standard drum kit with each dedicated to prominent free jazz icon or group.

Capturing two exceptional concerts at London's Cafe OTO in 2021 & 2022, in the launch of a new quartet expanding the longstanding trio of NO Moore on electric guitar, John Edwards on double bass and Eddie Prévost on drums, with Alan Wilkinson on baritone & alto saxophones, and for one performance on each night, tenor saxophonist Nathaniel Catchpole joining.

After performing at the Ad Libitum Festival 2021, FSR's Maciej Karlowski organized this recording at Agnieszka Osiecka Polish Radio Concert Hall in Warsaw, bringing together four masterful improvisers from four countries: pianist Izumi Kimura (Japan/Ireland), cornetist Artur Majewski (Poland), bassist Barry Guy (The UK) and drummer/percussionist Ramon Lopez (Spain).

A first meeting between two incredible improvised pairings--Canadians Francois Carrier on alto saxophone and Michel Lambert on drums, and Euro/UK improvisers Alexander von Schlippenbach on piano and John Edwards on double bass-- recording live in the studio in Berlin for seven improvisations of profound creative intent and inventive conversation.

In 1966 tenor saxophonist Albert Ayler toured northern Europe with his ensemble of Donald Ayler on trumpet, Michel Samson on violin, William Folwell on double bass & Beaver Harris on drums, a stellar group performing some of Ayler's most substantial compositions, heard in concerts in Rotterdam and Helsinki, and in the soundtrack to a film recorded in Munich.

An outrageous interpretation of Alfred Jarry's fictional character Ubu performed with with the International Contemporary Ensemble and core Downtown New York performers Ikue Mori, Ches Smith and Zorn himself, using Zorn's quick cut approach to composition; presented along with a work inspired by French poet Charles Baudelaire and an elegy to painter Paul Gauguin.

An evocative album of sublime improvisation between guitarist Fred Frith and trumpeter Susana Santo Silva, recorded live for France Musique/Radio France at Motoco, Mulhouse as part of Festival Météo in 2021, the two inspiring remarkable force and assertive direction in a darkly spirited conversation of deep introspection and cathartic exorcism; magnificent!

Celebrating 50 years since formed as a quintet in Paris, original Art Ensemble members saxophonist Roscoe Mitchell and percussionist Famoudou Don Moye present this live concert at Maison des Arts de Creteil in France with an oustanding chamber jazz ensemble including trumpeter Hugh Ragin, flutist Nicole Mitchell, bassist Jaribu Shahid, cellist Tomeka Reid and violinist Jean Cook.

Celebrating 50 years since formed as a quintet in Paris, original Art Ensemble members saxophonist Roscoe Mitchell and percussionist Famoudou Don Moye present this live concert at Maison des Arts de Creteil in France with an oustanding chamber jazz ensemble including trumpeter Hugh Ragin, flutist Nicole Mitchell, bassist Jaribu Shahid, cellist Tomeka Reid and violinist Jean Cook.

The incredible first meeting between legendary saxophonist Joe McPhee and double bassist John Edwards is this performance at the 2019 Artacts festival in Austria, a powerfully reflective free jazz concert with McPhee speaking & preaching about the loss of giants John Coltrane, Albert Ayler and James Baldwin, as they stand upon their shoulders through free music.