Percussionist Sheldon Suter steps out from groups including Musique Brute, Big Bold Back Bone, Marco von Orelli 6 or Jurg Wickihalder Orchestra for a seductive album of solo percussion, using zithers, portable turntables, a shruti box and harmonica in immersive works intermixing six pulsing and serene lullabies with five ominous nocturnal environments.

Percussionist Sheldon Suter steps out from groups including Musique Brute, Big Bold Back Bone, Marco von Orelli 6 or Jurg Wickihalder Orchestra for a seductive album of solo percussion, using zithers, portable turntables, a shruti box and harmonica in immersive works intermixing six pulsing and serene lullabies with five ominous nocturnal environments.

Recorded during the 2019 Kraków Jazz Autumn Festival, NY trombonist Steve Swell leads a series of small groups and a large ensemble, recording at Radio Kraków and at Alchemia with some of Europe's most active improvisers: Gebhard Ullmannm, Elisabeth Harnik, Niklas Barno, Paal Nilssen-Love, Jon Rune Strom, Carlos Zingaro, Mikolaj Trzaska, Signe Emmeluth, Hanne de Backer, Elisabeth Coudoux, & Per Ake Holmlander.

The second release from the duo of Spanish percussionist Vasco Trilla and Chicago reedist Mars Williams, the latter performing both on reeds and on toy instruments, each using extraordinary and extended technique to create exotically energetic conversations and beautifully meditative environments, in five creative, playful and impressively informed dialogs.

Remastering previously unavailable and vital performances from three configurations of saxophonist Albert Ayler's bands, including their 1967 Newport Festival concert with Milford Graves, their performance at John Coltrane's 1967 Funeral at St. Peter's Lutheran Church in NYC, and an incredible 1962 concert with Cecil Taylor's group with Jimmy Lyons and Sunny Murray in Copenhagen.

Recalling his Sun Quartet album, UK saxophonist Paul Dunmall's new sextet pivots off the jubilant rhythm section of drummer Hamid Drake, double bassist Dave Kane and vibraphonist Corey Mwamba, with three saxophonists--Dunmall on tenor & c-soprano saxophones, Xhosa Cole on tenor and Soweto Kinch on alto & tenor saxophones--in a truly joyful bright celebration of free flowing jazz.

Creating structured works from real time improvisations, Guy Seger's (Univers Zero) large ensemble of absolutely impressive players breaks down to smaller grouping to record the layers of each piece, which Seger then uses as raw material for each finished piece, as elements of rock, jazz, composed, and experimental forms merge into accomplished and engaging compositions.

A piano sax and bass trio led by Argentinian pianist Nataniel Edelman with Michael Formanek on bass and Michael Attias on alto sax, recording in the studio in Berlin for a mix of five Edelman compositions, one by Attias, and four collective improvisations, recorded in a single day for a consistently lyrical, flowing set of elegantly informed, magnificent playing.

The second box set from Slovenia-born pianist Miha Gantar, named for his adopted city of Amsterdam, through five CDs presenting the many aspects of chamber-oriented, refined jazz that he composes and improvises around, with one CD each of trio and quartet settings, a CD of duos with Michael Moore, an extended solo improvisation, and a dual piano work.

A first encounter between Swiss drummer Fritz Hauser and Portuguese marimba master Pedro Carneiro, the title translating roughly to "step of two", implying a dance heard in elusively minimal yet highly active interactions between the two, each progressively numbered work borrowing from improvisational and contemporary approaches; fascinatingly sophisticated and often joyful work.

Joining pianist Simon Nabatov's trio with bassist Stefan Schönegg and drummer Dominik Mahnig are Leondhard Huhn on saxophone & clarinet and Philip Zoubek on synthesizer, this Cologne-based 3+2 quintet expanding Nabatov's space as the group performs six collective improvisations interpreting a series of semantics signal that influence tempo, pitch, tone and timbre; extraordinary.

Reflecting on the 60th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech "I Have a Dream", pianist Aruan Ortiz is influenced by King's concepts of form and structure, assembling an incredible quintet including Don Byron on reeds, Pheeroan akLaff on drums, Yves Dhar & Lester St. Lousi on cello and narration by Mtume Gant, for a 7-song cycle musically depicting the turbulence of the time.

Crossing styles, generations and approaches to improvisations, multi-reedist and composer Ned Rothenberg's quartet of Rothenberg on clarinets & alto sax, Sylvie Courvoisier on piano, Mary Halvorson on guitar & effects and Tomas Fujiwara on drums perform five Rothenberg compositions and one by Rothenberg & Courvoisier, of spectacular timbral, rhythmic and melodic intersections.

Joining the long-running Trespass Trio of Per Zanussi on double bass, Martin Küchen on baritone & sopranino saxophone and Raymond Strid on drums for their performance at the 2018 Blow Out Festival in Oslo was Portuguese trumpeter Susana Santos Silva, performing Küchen compositions and a unique group take on Charlie Parker's "Koko", in a concert of both ardent and exuberant improvisation.

Two unfolding, extended sets from a 2022 concert at Cafe OTO by AMM legendary percussionist Eddie Prévost and French pianist based in London, Marjolain Charbin, the pianist playing inside and out her of instrument augmented by objects, Prévost creating sonic environments through cymbal bowing and scraping, as the duo evolve into high motion and withdraw into suspenseful beauty.

Long-time collaborators and iconoclastic improvisers, drummer Eddie Prévost and saxophonist John Butcher, met at All Hallows Church, in High Laver, Essex in 2023, using the natural ambience of the space to capture these three improvisations, Prévost playing primarily on a drum kit and both in a more jazz-oriented sax and drum duo, extended by both players' exceptional technique.

The 2nd volume of the UK/US West Coast quintet of legendary AMM drummer Eddie Prévost, guitarist Henry Kaiser, N.O. Moore on "guitarisism", Blinker Golding on saxophone and Olie Brice on double bass, merging free jazz and free improvisation in a rollicking album of electric jazz recorded in London, adding two more exhilarating "Doors" of quick shifting improv.

Drawing inspiration from the same set of Cy Twombly drawings as her previous release, For The Love Of Fire And Water, and with nearly the same ensemble — Myra Melford on piano, Mary Halvorson on guitar, Ingrid Laubrock on tenor saxophones, Tomeka Reid on cello and here Lesley Mok on drums — Melford presents five brightly original and sophisticated compositions.

Reissuing and remastering this exceptional 1969 album from avant-garde jazz pioneers Art Ensemble of Chicago as Lester Bowie (trumpets, horns & bass drum), Joseph Jarman saxophones, reeds, winds keys), Roscoe Mitchell (saxophones, reeds, winds, sirens, bells & whistle), and Malachi Favors (bass, banjo & sitar), adding two bonus tracks: "Tthinitthedalen" Parts 1 & 2.

An enthusiastic and well-balanced studio recording in San Francisco from the trio of Zoh Amba on tenor saxophone, Chris Corsano on drums and Bill Orcutt on electric guitar, following Amba & Corsano's duo tour of the West Coast; this is a first meeting between Amba & Orcutt, who perform as a duo on two tracks, including a guitar duo with Amba on acoustic.

A remarkable trio of active players on the Lisbon free improv scene -- José Lencastre (alto sax), Hernâni Faustino (double bass) and Vasco Furtado (drums) -- and the debut release for the Phonogram Unit label, in six collective improvisations recorded in the studio, evenly proportioned between boppish free jazz and abstract, almost chamber sonic expression; beautiful.

Six permutations on motion from the Kinetic duo of Portuguese pianist Rodrigo Pinheiro (Red Trio) and Pedro Carneiro performing on marimba with quarter tone extension, the duo emerging from "shadows and resonance" and ending with "inertia and collision", as they explore the interactions of keys and percussion in improvisations executed with the precision of composed music.

An exemplary album of thoughtful free improv from the trio of tenor saxophonist Pedro Alves Sousa with 2/3's of Red Trio--pianist Rodrigo Pinheiro and drummer Gabriel Ferrandini--recorded after a five day residency at the Goethe-Institut Lisbon, the band finding new approaches to playing to distance themselves from the typically fast & energetic music they are often associated with.

An amazing collection and reflection on the work of percussionist, composer and connector Chris Cutler of Henry Cow fame and founder of the highly influential Recommended Records label and distribution service, through 10 CDs, 1 DVD and two books of documentation, artwork, photographs, published and unpublished texts in a sturdy box, with over five hours of unreleased materials.

With a septet of women improvisers and contemporary performers, composer and violinist Jessica Pavone's long-form collective improv compositions are titled after innovations made by women throughout history to circumvent obstructions to their freedoms, revealed through string and bassoon orchestration that balances harmony, dissonance, drone and disruptive experimentation.

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.

A stunningly beautiful suite from Richmond, VA drummer and composer Scott Clark, poetic songs rendered by Laura Ann Singh in a sextet with Bob Miller on trumpet, flugelhorn, J.C. Kuhl on bass clarinet, tenor saxophone, Michael McNeill on piano and Adam Hopkins on bass, in four sublimely passionately compositions presented in studio recording and live versions.

A stunningly beautiful suite from Richmond, VA drummer and composer Scott Clark, poetic songs rendered by Laura Ann Singh in a sextet with Bob Miller on trumpet, flugelhorn, J.C. Kuhl on bass clarinet, tenor saxophone, Michael McNeill on piano and Adam Hopkins on bass, in four sublimely passionately compositions presented in studio recording and live versions.

Working with German jazz and "third stream" musician, vibraphonist & composer Gunter Hampel, New York alto saxophonist Marion Brown is heard in two live recordings from 1968 & 1969 in Munchen, Germany and Wurzburg, in quintet and sextet configurations with superb supporting musicians including Steve McCall (drums), Ambrose Jackson (trumpet), Daniel Laloux (bass) and Jeanne Lee (voice).

The debut of Vancouver & Montreal violinist Joshua Zubot's string ensemble with fellow violinists Jesse Zubot & Meredith Bates, cellist Peggy Lee and acoustic bassist James Meger, performing ten Zubot compositions informed by his involvement in diverse musical styles, each allowing room for improvisation as he takes the string ensemble into unique and unorthodox territory.

A wild improvising band from Vancouver in their 3rd release of episodic compositions based around instrumental rock forms, six "sick" and wide-ranging pieces that blend rock, jazz, chamber music and inventive forms in magnificent way, from JP Carter on trumpet, Joshua Zubot on violin, Peggy Lee on cello, Cole Schmidt on guitar, James Meger on bass, synths and Dan Gaucher on drums.

Vancouver mainstay, guitarist and composer Tony Wilson leads Longhnad, performing the energetically twising and turning, genre-spanning music of composer and saxophonist Peder Long, a mentor to Wilson while studying at Malaspina College, in a band with Vancouver collaborators Russell Sholberg (bass), Skey Brooks (drums), Jesse Zubot (violin) and Joshua Zubot (violin).

Two works for voice and chamber orchestra performed by the UK Explore Ensemble under the direction of Nicholas Moroz, and a multi-tracked vocal work by Lotte Betts-Dean, rich and understated works of rich harmonics and atmospheric overtones composed by Catherine Lamb, placing phonetic vocals in space and ambiance, eschewing words for tone, texture and motion; mesmerizing.

Reworking a piece for string trio originally commissioned by the Concertgebouw Brugge and premiered by the Goeyvaerts Trio as part of the 2019 SLOW Festival, this new version expands on the original composition to bring elegant calmness and clarity to the work, performed by UK's Apartment House members Mira Benjamin on violin, Bridget Carey on viola and Anton Lukoszevieze on cello.

Following his collaboration with Montreal's Quatuor Bozzini, British Columbia-based composer Christopher Butterfield draws on members of Aventa Ensemble and the Victoria Symphony to perform four works of "knotty contrapuntal figures and an ever-changing instrumental palette", mischievous works of interesting progression and percussive punctuation.

The second volume from the wonderfully warm and innately lyrical free jazz quintet that grew organically from weekly jam sessions in Harlem starting in 2019, comprised of tenor saxophonist Ayumi Ishito, pianist Eric Plaks, bassist Zach Swanson, and drummer Jon Panikkar, and later, multi-instrumentalist Daniel Carter, Ishito the driving force in the project and this beautiful recording.

Two like-minded electronic sound & feedback artists, David Lee Myers, aka Arcane Device from NYC and Toshimaru Nakamura from Japan, use feedback matrices & modular electronicsÊ(Myers) and No-input Mixing Board (Nakamura) in a remote collaboration of alien overlays, sonic extensions and disruptive digressions through 12 complex and varying compositions.

Brilliantly unusual approaches to jazz scores from Chicago bassist Jason Roebke in a quartet with legendary saxophonist and clarinetist Edward Wilkerson Jr., pianist Mabel Kwan and drummer Marcus Evans, all four also performing on metronome, and Roebke providing low-fi cassette interruptions, a fascinating merging of jazz forms and methods of making the music stop.

Titled for the film by Rob Christopher — Roy's World: Barry Gifford's Chicago, — whose soundtrack includes segments of this album, vibraphonist and composer Jason Adasiewicz's lyrically upbeat album is performed in a quintet with Chicago mainstays, Jonathan Doyle on saxophones, Josh Berman on cornet, Joshua Abrams on bass and Hamid Drake on drums.

Recording in Altes Wannenbad Gera, in Gera, Germany, an ensemble of performers associated with Ensemble Open Music Gera and Ensemble Zeitkratzer perform James Tenney's work exploring concepts of tuning systems, sound/noise, consonance/dissonance, sound/silence, and organisation of time, in three pieces that use a climax-oriented form Tenney refers to as "swell pieces".

A previously unreleased, excellent improvised piece with two soprano saxophones from a concert in June 1977 in Basel, Switzerland when Steve Lacy invited Joe McPhee to join him to close his set.

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!

The full two-hour performance of Cornelius Cardew's entire 193-page legendary Treatise graphic score, performed at Iklectik in London, England on January 28, 2017 in an 11-member ensemble of some of London's most interesting improvisers including participants in Scratch Orchestra, in a double CD release with liner notes by AMM founder Eddie Prevost.

Recorded a month after Outspan No 1, this album was captured live at 1974 Ost-West-Festival in Nurnberg, Germany from the legendary, masterfully amusing and absolutely serious trio of Peter Brötzmann on alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, clarinet, Fred Van Hove on piano, Han Bennink on drums, clarinet, homemade junk, everything, anything.

Peter Blegvad expands his trio with Henry Cow alumni, drummer Chris Cutler and bassist John Greaves, this time with Karen Mantler on keys and chordal instruments, and Bob Drake on guitar, voice and percussion, reworking songs from his solo career and work with Slapp Happy, alongside new numbers of classic Blegvad wordplay, wit, depth and humor; like the label, Recommended!

Seven powerful improvisations recorded live at the jazz club AMR in Genèva between double bassist Joëlle Léandre and percussionist Rodolphe Loubatière performing on snare drum, both using impressive technique and every inch of their instruments, Léandre bowing and plucking and Loubatière eking out unusual sonic elements through a variety of objects.

Extending the duo of British improvisers, legendary vocalist and leader of London's The Gathering, Maggie Nicols, also performing on taps and percussion, and Confront label-leader, percussionist Mark Wastell performing on cymbals and frame drum, with Swedish percussionist Matilda Rolfsson on bass drum, captured in a captivating concert at All Ears in Oslo in 2023.

Pushed on by new approaches to jazz as the be-bop era ended, alto saxophonist and composer Jackie McLean assembled a new quintet including soon-to-be Miles drummer Tony Williams to record One Step Beyond, here remastered and matched with his 1967 quintet album New and Old Gospel that included Ornette Coleman on trumpet and Coleman drummer Billy Higgins; two exceptional albums "revisited".

With incredible skill and nuance, using extended and stunning technique, and through intent listening of nearly telepathic communication, the trio of Florian Stoffner on guitar, John Butcher on tenor & soprano saxophones and Chris Corsano on drums & half clarinet, perform seven subtle and detailed improvisations live at Le Singe, in Biel/Bienne, Switzerland in 2022.

Having met in William Parker's Little Huey Orchestra, long-time collaborators Rob Brown (saxophone & flute) and Steve Swell (trombone), along with Brown's longest improvising partner, double bassist Chris Lightcap, join with drummer Chad Taylor for an exemplary album of modern creative jazz through five Brown compositions and 4 collective improvisations.

A new trio from Norwegian improvising rock guitarist Hedvig Mollestad with Supersilent/Elephant9's Ståle Storløkken A new trio from Norwegian improvising rock guitarist Hedvig Mollestad with Supersilent/Elephant9's Ståle Storløkken on bass and drummer Ole Mofjel, in a well-balanced album that brings to mind Crimson, ECM fusion or Mahavishnu/Miles, through a six live performances throughout Norway of burning interaction around introspective sonic environments.and drummer Ole Mofjel, in a well-balanced album that brings to mind Crimson, ECM fusion or Mahavishnu/Miles, through a six live performances throughout Norway of burning interaction around introspective sonic environments.

A gorgeous album of acoustic improvisation from Anthony Pateras performing on a prepared piano and Stephen O'Malley on steel string acoustic guitar, recorded live with no overdubs during O'Malley's residency at La Becque on Lake Geneva in the summer of 2021, slowly interacting through resonant harmonics and percussive tones that glide and fill the air with contemplative sound.

The Thessaloniki trio Vasilis Liolios, Aris Giatas and Yiannis Tsirikoglou, aka Eventless Plot, pays great attention to sonic details through experimental sound and sonic expression, here in a two-part work performed on percussion, analog modular synth, tapes/Revox A-77, field recordings, electromagnetic mic & objects, joined by double bassist Antonis Argyriou for the 2nd part.

Originally commissioned to transcribe a few works as a surprise for Roscoe Mitchell's 2023 art exhibition at Corbett vs. Dempsey, vibraphonist Jason Adasiewicz expanded the project, recorded in his new home studio (dubbed "Hot Juice") to include 10 Mitchell compositions & favorite works, Adasiewicz performing solo as he brings new approaches to the important Mitchell song-book.

Three expansive works from composer and keyboardist/pianist Alex Zethson, developing concepts from themes and motifs developed over more than a decade, recorded over two years with exceptional care as he and his collaborators create subtle and beautifully evocative sonic environments that seamlessly incorporate acoustic, electronic, drone and feedback elements.

Three expansive works from composer and keyboardist/pianist Alex Zethson, developing concepts from themes and motifs developed over more than a decade, recorded over two years with exceptional care as he and his collaborators create subtle and beautifully evocative sonic environments that seamlessly incorporate acoustic, electronic, drone and feedback elements.

Never before issued, this stunning concert between long-time collaborators, Japanese drummer Sabu Toyozumi and German multi-reedist Peter Brötzmann performing on tenor saxophone and tarogato, was captured live at OHM, in Koiwa, Tokyo in 1987, in an energetic and enthusiastic free concert of impressive skill and expression, a vital addition to the discography of both.

Two suites recorded in 1978 from the French improvising quintet of Jouk Minor on baritone saxophone & contrabass clarinet, Josef Traindl on trombone, Jean Querlier on alto saxophone, Christian Lete on drums and Dominique Regef on hurdy gurdy, two journeys guided by waves of drone from Regef's hurdy-gurdy as each player emerges and subsides in billows and surges of collective expression.

A superb album of 80's free jazz with a warmly lyrical loft influence and filled with jazz reference, from the trio of late trumpeter Roy Campbell, also performing on flugelhorn & flute, late Japanese/NY drummer Takeshi Zen Matsuura and bassist William Parker, in a never-before issued performance at Boston-area Brandeis University for five expansive conversations.

The latest album from the NY-based Telepathic Band of Daniel Carter on saxophones, trumpet & flute, Patrick Holmes on clarinet, Matthew Putman on keyboards, Hilliard Greene on bass and Federico Ughi on drums, explores spontaneous themes and aural landscapes through studio improvisations recomposed to create five fascinating compositions of perceptive, ecstatic jazz.

A composition for at least three musicians and processed field recordings from Adam Zuckerman, here configured as a quintet eliciting a poem by Paul Celan, organizing the lines of the poem into multiple movements, exquisitely performed by Kanoa Ichiyanagi (viola), Zaq Kenefick (harmonica), Juan Marroquin (flute), Dylan Marx (guitar) and Kristyna Svihalova (percussion).

A singularly beautiful and quirky album of electroacoustic improvisation from long-time collaborators and organizers of Japan's "Meeting at Off Site", Tetuzi Akiyama on acoustic guitar and Toshimaru Nakamura on no-input mixing board, their second duo album since 2009's Semi-Impressionism on the Spekk label, here recording in the studio for five dialogs of lovely eccentricity.

Developed originally as a "remedy" to pandemic through a weekly discipline of composing and rehearsing new music, the trio of trumpeter Thomas Heberer, bassist Joe Fonda and drummer Joe Hertenstein return for the second in their series: eight studio recordings of magnificent collective interplay through intricate and implicitly lyrical compositions from each of the three performers.

An exquisite work for violin, cello, harp and prepared piano composed by Magnus Granberg, who also performs on piano, at the invitation of fellow Swedish contemporary performers Leo Svensson Sander (cello), Stina Hellberg Agback (harp) and Eva Lindal (violin), a complement to the version released on Another Timbre in 2022 and performed by Granberg's Skogen ensemble.

The trio of pianist Jacques Demierre, trumpeter Axel Dorner and accordionist Jonas Kocher recorded these live improvisations at Theatre Le Colombier in Les Cabannes, France, each performer then assembling a complete album selecting from the fourteen recordings, unique to each performer's aesthetic selection, sequencing and length, creating three distinct yet deeply attached albums.

The latest album from the NY-based Telepathic Band of Daniel Carter on saxophones, trumpet & flute, Patrick Holmes on clarinet, Matthew Putman on keyboards, Hilliard Greene on bass and Federico Ughi on drums, explores spontaneous themes and aural landscapes through studio improvisations recomposed to create five fascinating compositions of perceptive, ecstatic jazz.

Impeccably recorded inside the Brønshøj Water Tower, in Copenhagen, Denmark, a highly resonant space built 100 years ago, where UK tenor and soprano saxophonist John Butcher continues his investigations into spaces with natural delay and decay, through 11 improvisations of discriminating pacing as he finds incredible beauty in floating and shifting tones and instrument errata; exquisite.

Commissioned by the Vancouver artist-run center Western Front, NY saxophonist & composer Darius Jones developed this project during a succession of Western Front residencies between 2019 - 2022, culminating in this concert with fellow New Yorker, Gerald Cleaver (drums), and some of Canada's finest improvisers: Jesse Zubot (violin), Joshua Zubot (violin), Peggy Lee (cello) and James Meger (bass).

A collaboration between NY saxophonist & composer Steve Lehman and the French Orchestre National de Jazz (ONJ), performing compositions by both Lehman and ONJ's artistic director, Frédéric Maurin that blur the boundaries between jazz, experimental and composed forms, using spectral harmonies and real-time interactive electronics developed at IRCAM; powerful!

After three Luten and two Brotzmann quintets, pianist Oliver Schwerdt, drummer Christian Lillinger and two double bassists--John Eckhardt and Antonio Borghini--invite Japanese multi-reedist and vocal improviser Akira Sakata to join them in concert at naTo, in Leipzig for a wild concert, releasing a monumental improvisation in a full length CD and a 2nd set on 3" CD.

After three Luten and two Brotzmann quintets, pianist Oliver Schwerdt, drummer Christian Lillinger and two double bassists--John Eckhardt and Antonio Borghini--invite Japanese multi-reedist and vocal improviser Akira Sakata to join them in concert at naTo, in Leipzig for a wild concert, releasing a monumental improvisation in a full length CD and a 2nd set on 3" CD.

Compiling three essential albums from legendary Cleveland art rock band Pere Ubu--New Picnic Time (1979), The Art Of Walking (1980), and Song Of The Bailing Man, along with an album of out-takes and oddities, Architectural Salvage (1981), presented in a handsome four-disc 'bookback' with notes and memorabilia approved by the band.

Compiling two of the earliest and most essential albums from legendary Cleveland art rock band Pere Ubu--The Modern Dance and Dub Housing (1978), along with the 1995 compilation the Hearpen Singles and a 1977 live set in Manhattan, in a four-disc 'bookback' set featuring excerpts from the Pere Ubu scrapbook 75-82, written by David Thomas, including historical photos.

Commissioned by the Vancouver artist-run center Western Front, NY saxophonist & composer Darius Jones developed this project during a succession of Western Front residencies between 2019 - 2022, culminating in this concert with fellow New Yorker, Gerald Cleaver (drums), and some of Canada's finest improvisers: Jesse Zubot (violin), Joshua Zubot (violin), Peggy Lee (cello) and James Meger (bass).

Continuing his work with the Incerto quartet of Julian Lage on guitar, Brian Marsella on piano, Jorge Roeder on bass and Ches Smith on drums, the fourth album for the group from John Zorn's compositional pen explores the artwork of Spanish surrealist/irrealist painter María de los Remedios Alicia Rodriga Varo, whose life was influenced by Paris enlightenment and the terrors of war.

An alluring album of piano trio music from the NY trio led by drummer Tyshawn Sorey with Aaron Diehl on piano and Matt Brewer on bass, allowing the excitement of a first meeting between the players as they perform compositions from the American Songbook, and some songs that Sorey feels should be included in the Songbook; lyrical, sophisticated, virtuosic, beautiful.

Five stories of electric jazz from composer and violinist Jason Kao Hwang, who leads his trio with electric guitarist Anders Nilsson and drummer Michael T.A. Thompson through journeys of melodically fueled and lyrically realized original compositions, each showcasing the band's virtuosic talent and tight communication, with an ear to sonic excitement.

Drawing on ideas from the 60s and 70--Ornette Coleman, John and Alice Coltrane, Don Cherry, and Charlie Haden--bassist Vilhelm Bromander assembles an accomplished ensemble of Stockholm improvisers to perform three works of warmth and spiritual power, incorporating jazz, world and contemporary music in a stunning and rich album that exudes a wealth of experience and musical clarity.

Drawing on ideas from the 60s and 70--Ornette Coleman, John and Alice Coltrane, Don Cherry, and Charlie Haden--bassist Vilhelm Bromander assembles an accomplished ensemble of Stockholm improvisers to perform three works of warmth and spiritual power, incorporating jazz, world and contemporary music in a stunning and rich album that exudes a wealth of experience and musical clarity.

Bringing together a vast range of jazz, song form, theater, and experimental approaches into a joyfully exciting journey of musical forms from German pianist and composer Simon Rummel, recorded with an versatile 11-piece ensemble at LOFT in Cologne, including Georg Wissel and Joris Ruhl on reeds, Matthias Muche and Carl Ludwig Hubsch on brass, and Michael Griener on drums.

Two nights at the famed Village Vanguard from pianist Kris Davis' quintet with Terri Lyne Carrington on drums, Val Jeanty on turntables & electronics, Julian Lage on electric guitar and Trevor Dunn on basses; a thoroughly modern electric jazz group performing Davis originals, with references to Eric Dolphy, Conlon Nancarrow, Olivier Messiaen, Paul Bley, Sun Ra and Karlheinz Stockhausen.

An immersive collection of electroacoustic improvisation from the French duo of Jean-Marc Foussat performing on synth, piano, toys and voice, and Léo Remke-Rochard (Riverdog/Skuury) on electronics and ethnic instruments, in a mix of engulfing abstractions and fragmented narrative elements, six works of remarkable soundscape and inspired alien interaction.

Reissuing the 2002 Potlatch release of this exceptional free improvising quartet of Daunik Lazro on alto & baritone saxophones, Carlos Alves "Zingaro" on violin, Joëlle Léandre on double bass and Paul Lovens on percussion & musical saw, some of the most notable of European improvisers captured live during the 2001 "Banlieues Bleues" Festival.

Evan Parker and Matthew Wright are the core of Trance Map, the soprano saxophonist and live electronics duo expanding on their original 2011 concept with Trance Map+, adding guest musicians to their unique approach to electroacoustic improvisation, here in an exceptional quartet configuration with Peter Evans on trumpet & piccolo trumpet, and Mark Nauseff on percussion.

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.