Having just formed the prior year, the San Francisco Bay Area saxophone quartet Rova of Jon Raskin, Larry Ochs, Andrew Voigt, and Bruce Ackley met with Italian percussionist Andrea Centazzo during his 1978 US tour, recording this exceptional album demonstrating creative approaches to thematic and structural jazz forms, particularly the nearly side-long "Trobar Clus".

Drawn from the same period around 1976 which produced legendary free jazz saxophonist Steve Lacy's albums Clangs and Trio Live, the collected recordings in the two volumes of Ictus Record's Archives series were recorded while touring Italy with percussionist Andrea Centazzo, this 2nd volume from a concert in Udine presenting duos with Centazzo and a trio with bassist Kent Carter.

Drawn from the same period around 1976 which produced legendary free jazz saxophonist Steve Lacy's albums Clangs and Trio Live, the collected recordings in the two volumes of Ictus Record's Archives series were recorded while touring Italy with percussionist Andrea Centazzo, this first volume presenting a concert in Udine with Lacy performing solo and in duos with Centazzo.

Following NY saxophonist Michael Foster's interest in free jazz, noise and the pre-AIDS era of sexual freedom in the gay community, expressed in a sax-bass-drums trio with Philadelphia double bassist Jared Radichel and drummer Joey Sullivan, drawing on pre-composed structures, melodies, samples, and improvisation to reflect both the joy and anxiety of the queer experience.

A sax & piano duo from German saxophonist Silke Eberhard and French pianist Céline Voccia, recording in the studio in Berlin as they draw from free jazz and contemporary compositional sources in quick-witted exchanges of powerful technique and creative drive, or contemplative environments of unusual concepts; an extremely well matched and complementary pair.

Reissuing Blume record's 2018 double album of New York avant composer Julius Eastman's "N****r Series" "Evil N****r" (1979) "Gay Guerilla" (1980) and "Crazy N****r", now in a deluxe wooden box set edition with a 12-page booklet with the original liner notes by Mary Jane Leach and Bradford Bailey, a new 2500 word essay by Bailey, as well as unseen pictures and a poster.

An energetic concert at Area Sismica, in Forli, Italy from the dual saxophone and dual drums Italian quartet of Marco Colonna on baritone & sopranino saxes, Edoardo Marraffa on tenor & alto saxes, Fabrizio Spera on drums, percussion & bow, and Marco Zanotti on drums, percussion & kalimba; a wonderfully explosive concert, the first live post-pandemic performance for all four.

Five concerts from percussionist and Ictus label leader Andrea Centazzo's 1978 US tour, performing in a duo with percussionist Alex Cline; in a trio with LaDonna Smith (violin) and Davey Williams (guitar); and in a quintet with John Zorn (saxophone), Tom Cora (cello), Toshinori Kondo (trumpet), Eugene Chadbourne (guitar) and Polly Bradfield (violin).

The soundtrack to the 2022 German documentary film This Stolen Country of Mine directed by German filmmaker Marc Wiese about Ecuadorian resistance fighters and journalists opposed to the sale of the country's resources to Chinese investors, in 19 subtle, elegantly passionate electronic works from sound artist Carsten Nicolai, aka Alva Noto.

Performing solo on the Hardanger fiddle, a Scottish folk instrument for which Sarah-Jane Summers holds a masters degree from the Norwegian Academy of Music, the composer and improviser entered the studio to develop these nine experimental pieces, reworking each piece into its fascinating blend of modern contemporary music that harkens back to folk tradition.

Two works written for a group of Australian performers living in Berlin--Jon Heilbron, Rebecca Lane, Jess Aszodi & Sam Dunscombe--by Australian composer and pianist Anthony Pateras, A Dread Of Voids developed for a residency at the Archipel Festival in Geneva after enduring a pandemic quarantine; and Patterned Language, composed for the Astra Chamber Music Society.

A single-movement work for sho, Hammond organ and cello, jointly realized by Berlin-based collaborators, Tokyo contemporary and experimental musician & composer Michiko Ogawa, and British cellist & composer Lucy Railton, whose work bridges experimental electronic and electroacoustic practice, here exploring the combinations of different tuning systems inherent in their instruments.

Ten exceptional solo improvisations performed live without overdubbing on electric & acoustic guitars, using effects to expand the expressive capabilities of each guitar, as Henry Kaiser endeavors to sound like more than a single musician, inspired by improvisers like Evan Parker, Cecil Taylor or Derek Bailey, each improv providing a dedication or influence.

One of New York School minimalist composer Morton Feldman's later works, this extended composition spread across two CDs invokes waves of beautifully suspended, weaving strings from four violinists and cello, performed by the UK Apartment House ensemble violinists Mira Benjamin, Chihiro Ono, Amalia Young & Bridget Carey and cellist Anton Lukoszevieze.

The premiere of late composer Julius Eastman's work for an eclectically orchestrated chamber ensemble, presented in 1974 at Composers Forum in Albany, NY, a uniquely joyful and absorbing work rendered in this original inspired performance that continues to bring interest to Eastman's work, now remastered by Jim O'Rourke and released in a deluxe double LP gatefold edition.

Inspired by a poem Carter wrote about New York's interminable motion, the quartet of Daniel Carter on saxophone, Leo Genovese on piano, William Parker on bass, Gralla & Shakuhachi and Francisco Mela on drums & voice, turn in an ecstatic album of exotic collective improvisation in this first of two planned volumes from an excellent studio session.

The fourth collaboration between composer & saxophonist Ron Caines and arranger & saxophonist Martin Archer, recorded in Brighton between 2022 & 2023 with a cast of UK luminary improvisers--Charlotte Keefe, Chris Sharkey, Graham Clark, Gus Garside and Johnny Hunter--chosen for their applicability to each piece, in configurations from solo to full octet ensemble.

Adding bassist Jon Short to their lineup, the 4th album from Das Rad continues the band's genre-merging approach of rock & improv forms rooted in prog, kosmiche, and jazz rock, this post-pandemic album bringing the band back together for live interaction, their enthusiasm evident in their energetic intercourse, particularly in the extended suite "Expergefactor".

Recording at London's Cafe OTO, and at the 2022 Newcastle Festival Of Jazz And Improvised Music, saxophonist and composer Martin Archer's exceptional 8-piece line up of his exuberant avant-electric jazz band blurring lines between 70's Miles and AACM abstractions, is heard across three CDs of fiery soloing, contemplative transitions, and spectacular group interplay.

After The Work and his involvement with This Heat, guitarist Mick Hobbs formed Officer!, a shape-shifting RIO band that presented Hobb's unique, amusing and incisive songs, releasing three proper albums and, in 1989, a cassette on the Swiss label No Records that is here reissued, half of the album written for a stage play called Bandagen by Grazia Pergoletti.

A collection of Sun Ra recordings from the 1970s to 80s, from a small pressings on Sun Ra's own Saturn label and now public for the first time - "Just Friends" live (alongside an unreleased, intimate living room solo recordings of the same), plus "Under the Spell of Love" from the Just Friends album, and a previously unissued and Sun Ra's only known recording of "Cherokee".

The fourth book in New York improvising bassist William Parker's interview with other improvisers, here with 29 interviews, and 24 works of art by Jeff Schlangler; interviews include Peter Brötzmann, Darius Jones, Ava Mendoza, Zeena Parkins, Tom Rainey, Bobby Zankel, Evan Parker, James Brandon Lewis, Micheal Bisio, Mario Pavone, Taylor Ho Bynum, &c.

Once roommates in Rhode Island, guitarist Jeffrey Alexander of The Heavy Lidders, now living in Philadelphia, and guitarist/vocalist Ashley Paul, now living in London, come together again for a 3-song 7" release of idiosyncratic and informed free-form songs and instrumentals performed with a saxophone, clarinet, prepared guitar, prepared percussion, moog & electric piano.

A ritualistic narrative work from multidisciplinary artist Dorian Wood and percussionist Thor Harris (Swans), with Carla Bozulich and Jarboe contributing their voices in an ensemble of contemporary and experimental arrangement, alongside guests David Coulter, Heather Trost, Jeremy Barnes, Michael Corwin, Ignacio Carvajal, Andrea Calderon, Elizabeth Warren and Patrick Shiroishi.

A New York trio of musical friends from Chris Pitsiokos on alto saxophone, Luke Stewart on electric & acoustic basses and Jason Nazary on drums, an elegantly impactful album of organic free jazz expanded through electronic textures from all three members as they enthusiastically explore new approaches to energetic, creative, contemporary improvisation; extraordinary!

A delicate work of experimental chamber music from UK composer Jack Oliver Cooper (Modern Nature) performed by pianist Alexander Hawkins, cellist Anton Lukoszevieze and clarinetist Heather Roche, Arrival is delineated into twelve dovetailed parts that explore minimalism, patience and restraint; thoughtful music that rewards in close contemplation.

Ngayon, the Filipino tagalog word for "Now" or "Today", effectively describes the immediacy of the second release from Bay Area guitarist and composer Karl Evangelista and his exceptional Apura band, performing five sophisticated original works.

A previously unreleased archival recording of drummer Drew Gardner's 1995 Bay Area quintet with a stellar set of free jazz collaborators--John Tchicai on tenor & soprano saxophones, Marco Eneidi on alto saxophone, Roberto De Haven on alto saxophone and Vytas Nagisetty on bass, beautifully recorded in the studio in Oakland, CA by Myles Boisen; exceptional!

A subset of the Andreas Røysum Ensemble, the trio of Norwegian clarinetist Andreas Roysum on Bb& Bass clarinets, Nakama Label leader Christian Meaas Svendsen on double bass and Danish drummer Kresten Osgood recorded these collective free improvisations on the title's date in an unnamed location, for four assertive dialogs of impressive expression.

Recording in the studio in Barcelona, the duo of two drummer/percussionists, New York-born Ra Kalam Bob Moses and Spain's Vasco Trilla, present a stunning collection of diverse and inspired improvisations using a vast collection of instruments including native flute, congas, dumbek, melodica, metallic instruments, timpani, flat bells, clock chimes, vibrators and magnetic tape.

Taking what he describes as a road he's never been on, percussionist and improviser Gerry Hemingway turns in an astute album of original songs, Hemingway's voice expressive on work he explains was originally influenced by Dylan, Geeshie Wiley, Lou Reed or Monroe Brothers, the album developed over four years with a cast of collaborators including Ralph Alessi, Earl Howard, Michael Moore, &c.

Taking what he describes as a road he's never been on, percussionist and improviser Gerry Hemingway turns in an astute album of original songs, Hemingway's voice expressive on work he explains was originally influenced by Dylan, Geeshie Wiley, Lou Reed or Monroe Brothers, the album developed over four years with a cast of collaborators including Ralph Alessi, Earl Howard, Michael Moore, &c.

Working together many years in various formations--saxophonist Michel Doneda & drummer Roger Turner with John Russell; bassist Alexander Frangenheim & Turner in quartets with Pat Thomas or Phil Wachsman; Doneda & Frangenheim's own duo--this concert at Jazzatelier Ulrichsberg recorded during their European tour shows their incredible compatibility and seemingly telepathic conversations.

A new trio setting from New York alto saxophonist Tim Berne with accordionist & multi-instrumentalist Aurora Nealand and long-time associate, cellist Hank Roberts, a warmly orchestrated band that allows fluid and relaxed approaches to their playing, Berne's compositions evoking exquisite tonal color and diverse conversations from pacific to tempestuous.

Unique approaches to the piano trio format, alerted to the listener by merging synthetics and samples into the opening, bubbling carnival-esque "Rapture", then settling into more recognizable yet innovative approaches to creative, modern jazz through Hawkin's fascinating compositions, electronics drifting in and out at times but generally adhering to great, modern jazz.

Formed in 1972 and releasing their first album in 1975, the enduring quartet OM of Urs Leimgruber on soprano saxophone, Christy Doran on electric guitar, Bobby Burri on double bass and Fredy Studer on drums & percussion, celebrate 50 years of intense genre-blurring creative jazz leveraging rock music's energy with this exhilarating album of structured collective improv.

Celebrating 20 years since his recording debut as a leader and his own 50th birthday, Cuban-born, New York-based pianist Aruán Ortiz presents his 6th album on Intakt in a trio with bassist Brad Jones and drummer John Betsch, opening with a Gillespie/Parker number then taking us on a spectacular journey through contemporary jazz influenced by Afro-Cuban/Haitian traditions.

The 3rd Intakt release from NY multi-reedist and composer Chris Speed's Trio with bassist Chris Toridini and drummer Dave King, who is also a part of Speed's other working band The Bad Plus, this new album presenting eight original Speed compositions that, as Speed explains, get to the point of featuring the song, the sophisticated melodies around which this excellent trio pivot.

The other shaded region to their 2022 Penumbra album, keyboardist Stemeseder and drummer Christian Lillinger explore "utopias in sound production" through acoustic and electronic composition, creating evolving melodies and sonic tapestries in performance with Peter Evans on Piccolo trumpet, Russell Hall on bass, DoYeon Kim on Gayageum and Brandon Seabrook on banjo & guitar.

Recording at the Rudy van Gelder Studio, this is Cuban pianist David Virelles' debut on Intakt with his trio of bassist Ben Street and drummer Eric McPherson, performing eight Virelles compositions and his arrangement of a piece by Enrique Bonne Castillo; a joyful contemporary piano trio of great technical skill and passionate performance beautifully captured.

Magnificent and succinct compositions merging contemporary and improvised approaches in powerfully elegant ways from Swiss pianist Katharina Weber, performing solo in the studio in 2022, presenting seventeen original compositions and two by György Kurtág, including pieces dedicated to Kurtág and Marta Kurtág, along with dedications to Heinz Holliger, Roland Moser, Gertrud Schneider, &c.

After working with clarinetist Monika Bugajny on his + album, composer & electronic artist Rutger Zuydervelt, aka Machinefabriek, joined again with Bugajny for a set of eight reconstructions of classical works from Debussy, Messiaen, Brahms, Stravinsky, &c., each reinterpreted work cleverly composed from Bugajny's recording of the original composition.

Rutger Zuydervelt, aka Machinefabriek, returns to rhythmic electronic solo work with his fourth mini-CD release after Hinkelstap (2022), Tuimelval (2022) and Haast (2023), in this seven-part work Kadans (translating to "Cadence"), each track using a unique rhythmic foundation under warm electronics, plus a violin sample from collaborator Anne Bakker.

The Summer 2023 issue of Canada's finest music magazine covering contemporary improvised, composed and experimental music, with Simone Schmidt's Audible Songs of Defiant Meaning on the cover, plus features on Nicole Mitchell and Coco Elysses, Levy Lorenzo, Wayne Lavallee, along with recorded & live reviews, and a 10-track CD with pieces from the artist within.

Quirky in a masterful display of instrumental skill from the Swedish duo of soprano saxophonist Martin Küchen and trombonist Ola Rubin (Swedish Fix, Lazy Rude Monk), using every inch of their instruments along with mutes, percussion and percussive emanations, creating a virtual menagerie of animalistic sounds alongside dexterous lines.

Meeting in the Park West Studios in Brooklyn in 2022, acclaimed Norwegian free jazz multi-reedist Frode Gjerstad, here performing on alto saxophone & Bb clarinet, joins with New York pianist Matthew Shipp to record eight discerning and warmly paced improvised dialogs, each titled through a wide range of topics, including "about music"; "about equality"; "about Conspiracies"; "about peace".

Two western-US, like-minded sound artists and improviser who started their musical lives as drummer/percussionists, Jeph Jerman and Ted Byrnes present nine relatively succinct tracks of unusual and unidentifiable sources, typically formed around a rhythmic center and always actively engaging, finding logic in curious or even chaotic interaction.

Percussionist and electronic artist Matt Weston describes these four tracks as "songs", each demonstrating aspects of his compositional methods — multidimensional graphic scores, implied and aural notation, site-specific structures and frameworks, physical and otherwise — creating immersive and dramatic sonic environments revealing his increasing sophistication as a composer.

A new Free Jazz album inspired by Pharoah Sanders' Karma, from the North Carolina ensemble led by upright bassist, guitarist and Soul City Sounds label-leader Phil Venable with Crowmeat Bob on saxophone, Ken Moshesh on percussion and Tommy Jackson on drums, plus a work for spoken word with NC Poet Laureate Jaki Shelton Green and a song inspired by BLM with vocalist Jennifer Evans.

Focused on the music of Don Cherry and recorded at Corbett vs. Dempsey's gallery space on the closing day of an exhibit of art by Cherry's partner Moki Cherry (whose tapestry "Spirit" is the LP's cover) this concert finds drummer Hamid Drake, who lived with the Cherry family in Sweden, and Ken Vandermark on tenor sax, reworking medleys of Cherry's tunes from across his discography.

The Rempis Percussion Quartet in their French debut after 15 years of touring elsewhere through Europe, with Dave Rempis on sax, both Tim Daisy & Frank Rosaly on drums and Ingebrigt Haker Flaten on bass, performing an exuberant concert recorded at Le Petit Faucheux in Tours, with trumpeter Jean-Luc Cappozzo joining for one extended improv, plus a live workshop for young immigrants and a rare studio session.

A split LP from two sound and electroacoustic artists: Paris bassoonist Dafne Vicente-Sandoval deconstructs the instrument itself using an electro-acoustic device that generates feedback, developing compositions from those explorations; and Norwegian Lars Petter Hagen revisits Richard Strauss's Metamorfosen through decay and fragmentation of its musical lines.

Reissuing saxophonist, flutist, bandleader & composer Henry Threadgill's 1991 Black Saint album, introducing his then-new band Very Very Circus, uniquely configured with two tubas (Marcus Rojas, Edwin Rodriguez), two guitars (Brandon Ross, Masujaa, aka Hugh Riley), trombone (Curtis Fowlkes), and drums (Gene Lake), with Threadgill himself leading his fascinatingly layered compositions.

A monumental release from Fire! Orchestra led by Mats Gustafsson, Johan Berthling & Andreas Werliin, in an expanded ensemble of 43 international musicians, with new members including Joe McPhee, for a massive work organized into seven parts, presented in a solid box set spread across 3 vinyl LPs of music with titles inspired by Swedish author & poet Erik Lindegren; magnificent!

A split LP from two electroacoustic composers: from France, Eve Aboulkheir presents a work inspired by an experience of perceptive disorientation, using modified, mutated and layered field recordings; and Norwegian sound composer Lasse Marhaug presents a work for modified tabletop guitar, field recordings, electronics & objects evoking a path through a forest avoiding large anthills.

A remarkable feat of remastering, sound restoration and pitch correction from the tapes of this June 1950 radio broadcast at Birdland in NYC, finding the exceptional quintet of jazz pioneers led by alto saxophonist Charlie Parker in superb form, with Fats Navarro on trumpet, Bud Powell on piano, Curley Russell on double bass and Art Blakey on drums.

Three essential concerts remastered, from the legacy of be-bop trailblazers, trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie and alto saxophonist Charlie Parker, with Don Byas, Al Haig piano, Curley Russell, Max Roach & Sidney Catlett at Town Hall 1945; with John Lewis, Al McKibbon & Joe Harris at Carnegie Hall 1947; and with Bud Powell, Tommy Potter & Roy Haynes at Birdland 1951.

The second of two volumes from the quartet of John Dikeman on tenor saxophone, Pat Thomas on piano, John Edwards on bass and Steve Noble on drums, bringing the American saxophonist working throughout Europe together with this nearly telepathic collaborative grouping of UK frequent collaborators, captured in concert at Cafe OTO in 2019 for two absorbing improvisations.

A perfectly complementary pair of improvisers from the ever-inventive guitarist Fred Frith and instrument inventor Sudhu Tewari, Frith performing on home-made instruments as well-- string instruments he's developed since the 80s described as "planks of wood with strings"--as the two draw unexpected sonic environments and propulsive rhythmic passages through eight compelling dialogs.

Continuing his imaginative approach to percussion, Barcelona improviser Vasco Trilla's sixth solo album sees him expanding his rhythmic and tonal range through a fascinating collection of instruments, including bowed Russian flat bells, electrified music boxes, a zither processed through snare drums as resonators, Iranian round bells mixed with gamelan strips, &c.

A collection of six duo recordings from musician, composer, and improviser Peter Soderberg, investigating different tuning systems and the idea of hybrid instruments, recording with Katt Hernandez (violin), Stina Hellberg Agback (harp), Mats Persson (clavichord), Sten Sandell (piano), My Hellgren (cello) and Vilhelm Bromander (contrabass).

Delicately caustic interactions of reeds, piano and percussion using the natural resonance of the Borlunda Church in Eslöv, Sweden, from the freely improvising duo of Martin Küchen and Sophie Agnel, Küchen adding electronics and Agnel performing inside and out of the piano while supplementing her palette with objects, both using space and patience as their allies.

A collection of twenty musical aphorisms inspired by the writings and thought of French philosopher Gilles Deleuze (1925-1995), following Zorn's first Multiplicities volume performed by his electric jazz ensemble Chaos Magick, here in Volume 2 energetically performed by his acoustic Incerto ensemble of Brian Marsella on piano, Ches Smith on drums, Julian Lage on guitar & Jorge Roeder on bass.

Digitally restoring and expanding on Sun Ra's 1972 soundtrack for the film of the same name, in a solid box set with two audio CDs, a DVD and BluRay + bonus featuures of the original film, along with a previously unreleased album recorded at the same soundtrack sessions, The Mathematics Of The Altered Destiny, and a booklet with notes from multiple Afrofuturism scholars.

The second album from drummer Rudy Royston's chamber-like ensemble Flatbed Buggy, featuring John Ellis on woodwinds, Gary Versace on accordion, Hank Roberts on cello, and Joe Martin on bass, in a concept album of the typical ups and downs, joys and sadness, gratitude and dreads a typical day would bring, ultimately culminating in a celebration of life and healing.

Continuing the reissue series of Swedish drummer & accordionist based in Berlin, Sven-Ake Johansson, with this 1971 recording of an otherwise unrecorded quintet with Jeanne Lee on vocal, Gunter Hampel on vibes, flute & bass clarinet, Michael Waisvisz on synthesizer and Freddy Gosseye on electric bass, captured live in a then-radical concert at Berlin Jazztage.

A tribute to jazz trumpeter & composer Don Cherry--a spiritual world traveler and influential free jazz trumpeter--performed by Chicago's equally spiritual Ethnic Heritage Ensemble led by percussionist Kahil El'Zabar with Corey Wilkes, Alex Harding, Dwight Trible, and the son of Don Cherry, David Ornette Cherry; sadly also an unexpected tribute to David Ornette's sudden passing in 2022.

A tribute to jazz trumpeter & composer Don Cherry--a spiritual world traveler and influential free jazz trumpeter--performed by Chicago's equally spiritual Ethnic Heritage Ensemble led by percussionist Kahil El'Zabar with Corey Wilkes, Alex Harding, Dwight Trible, and the son of Don Cherry, David Ornette Cherry; sadly also an unexpected tribute to David Ornette's sudden passing in 2022.

Twenty two vignettes of improvised conversations named for desert fauna between alto saxophonist & flutist Biggi Vinkeloe, tuba & trombonist Mark Weaver, and double bassist Damon Smith, using a unique tuning choice for the band suggested by Vinkeloe, and applying a quality to the studio to create a uniquely orchestrated and resonant album of masterful playing.

The solo debut album from Dutch composer & clarinetist Germaine Sijstermans: seven recent contemplative works in a Wandelweiser vein, composed between 2017-2019 and performed with six exemplary and complementary performers: Antoine Beuger (concert flute), Rishin Singh (trombone), Johnny Chang (viola), Fredrik Rasten (guitar, ebow), and Leo Svirsky (accordion).

Reedist Udo Schindler continues his exploration into the double bass and low-tone reed instruments, here on bass & contrabass clarinets contrasted only with his soprano saxophone, in a 2022 live recording from MUCCA_Kommandozentrate in Munich of the five-part improvisation "Hybride Synergetic" in a trio with double bassists Peter Jacquemyn and Georg Karger.

Experimental chamber music from the German trio of Udo Schindler on tenor saxophone, bass saxophone & cornet, Eric Zwang Eriksson on percussion and Sebastiano Tramontana on trombone & voice, performing at BASIS_Klangraum in MUCCA, Munich, the title translating to "singing without words" from the poetry cycle "Il taccuino del vecchio" by Guiseppe Ungaretti.

The first album from 1982 by drummer Geoff Serle's band Research, combining free improvisation with rock forms, electric and acoustic, or as he described it: "an electro-funk industrial jazz unit", configured as the quartet of trumpeter Jim Dvorak, a member of Mujician & Brotherhood of Breath, bassist Dan Brown from The Fixx, and legendary pianist Veryan Weston.

Referencing the unusual 1896 feat of catching a turnip dropped 270 feet from a bridge by a member of the troupe The Royal Zanettos, the duo of London pianist Liam Noble and Geoff Simkins perform the slightly less daring but equally fascinating feat of performing a lyrical jazz concert at The Vortex in Dalston in 2022, for a mix of originals, standards and traditional tunes.

On the last day of the 2021 Spontaneous Music Festival at the Dragon Club in Poznań, Poland, the trio of Berlin trombonist Matthias Muller was joined by younger generation Polish guitarist Pawel Doskocz on prepared electric guitar and fellow Berlin drummer and electroacoustic improviser Emilio Gordoa for these two extended sonic adventures recorded in near-darkness.

A remarkable concert as part of reedist Udo Schindler's LowToneStudies, referred to as "acoustronic" for the transformational aspects of each instrumentalist's playing, deceivingly electronic sounding despite being fully acoustic, captured live at Kulturschranne Dachau from the trio of Schindler, Gunnar Geisse on laptop guitar and Sebastian Gramss on double bass.

The second Interstellar Nao album recorded at No Somos Nada Distro Cafe in Mexico City presents the previous day's concerts from their first FMR album Live at No Somos Nada, expanding the trio of Philippine-based saxophonist Rick Countryman, Swiss drummer living in Mexico City Gabriel Lauber and Lauber's collaborator in the group Zero Point, Mexico City native double bass player Itzam Canois, with guitarist Juan Castañón, founder of Impromuzak Collective.

The core duo of Danish trance/noise artists, guitarist Lars Bech Pilgaard also on organelle & driftbox, and drummer Anders Bach, also on plumbutter (a drum and drama machine) join with Acid Mother's Temple modular synth wizard Ichiraku Yoshimitsu, aka Dora Video, for eight impressive works of free-form rhythm and sound, sonic collage with far-ranging influences.

Translating to League of Shadows, Swiss composer Jürg Frey's sublime twilight compositions for solo piano are performed by Dutch pianist Reinier van Houdt, presenting seven of Frey's works written from 1984-2018, including one previously unreleased composition, in all 20 movements spread over 3 CDs ranging in time from 1:47 to 40:34, a significant addition to both musician's oeuvres.

Two encompassing and tranquil works of sound from French composer Bruno Duplant, the album title translating to Ageless Landscapes as Duplant envisions two terrains through slow motion tones, piano and synthetics, evocatively described in an accompanying poem that conjures expansive fog, blurred trees, hawks slowly spiraling, a history in a hillside.

Known best for his extraordinary saxophone playing, UK reedist and wind player Paul Dunmall also is a first-rate clarinetist, one of the most challenging of the single reed instruments, heard here in four extended improvisations captured in the studio, performing with contemplative thoughtfulness and prodigious technique on four members of the clarinet family: C, A, Eb and Bb.

The title an excellent reflection of the work, Seattle-based, Turkish-born Deli Kuvveti developed these two works that flow into each other to create an absorbing impression of a serene summer evening with dark undertones, using a granular synthesis configuration that creates movement through textured sounds, creating two complex and highly detailed narratives.

The mysterious French audio collective The Dead Mauriacs led by Olivier Prieur in a 3-part work of electroacoustic compositions sourced from field recordings made during time spent in Brussels, developing these works based on daily recordings of audio observations at cafes, parks, churches, plus manipulated objects and some parakeets in a park; truly inspired collage work.

Powerfully rich sounds from two NY-based instrumentalists — John McCowen on contrabass clarinet & Carlo Costa on bass drum & percussion — in a three-part work of acoustic improvisations, McCowen sounding deceptively electronic through overtones and masterful harmonic technique, while Costa's bass drum provides deep foundations as he mysteriously layers percussive distractions; phenomenal!

Referencing the traditional dance of Salento named for the tarantula, this Italian 9-piece improvising ensemble spent several days developing the unique orchestration, melodies and themes of these eight pieces, recorded after the OSIMU festival held in Taviano, using an acousmatic recording device to optimize the details of their insightful and often biting conversations.