A lyrical album of original compositions from New York pianist Zack Clarke, in an acoustic jazz piano trio with double bassist Kim Cass and drummer Dre Hocevar, recording in the Systems Two studio in Brooklyn for nine pieces of both optimistic and mercurial temperament, a great example mixing virtuosic form and perceptive communication in a classic configuration.

Massimo Pupillo (ZU, Laniakea), electronic artist Luciano Lamanna and string instrument virtuoso Roberto Zanisi combine to form Creta, creating sonic works that blend sci-fi ambient atmospheres with dark bass pulses and languid Mediterranean string instruments, an unusual yet surprisingly complementary set of approaches yielding a darkly lyrical album.

Legendary New York trumpeter Ted Daniel, whose skills were honed in the 70s Loft Scene, in his 4th Duology album with the trio of Michael Marcus on clarinets and Henry Grimes on bass and violin, the leader also performing on French hunting horn, an album of varied mood and intensity that sits firmly in the free jazz legacy of daring harmonies and melodies.

The 2nd release on Clean Feed by drummer Joao Lencastre's Communion, a shape-shifting ensemble here configured with 2 New York improvisers from Lencastre's associations over 15 years in NYC--pianist Jakob Sacks and bassist Eivind Opsvik--for 10 studio recordings which include the 4-part "Magnetic Frequency", blurring lyrical avant jazz and chamber forms; beautiful.

The long-running Chicago free-rock trio Mako Sica currently comprised of Przemyslaw Drazek (trumpet & guitar), Brent Fuscaldo (guitar) and Chaetan Newell (drums & piano) are joined by free improvising legend Hamid Drake on drum kit, tablas and frame drum for a beautiful and rich album of genre merging, spiritually warm, primarily instrumental music, inclusive and persuasive.

Recorded in 1975 at the Swiss Willisau Jazz Festival, Joe McPhee's trio with John Synder on synth and Makaya Ntshoko on drums, and McPhee on tenor and sopranox sax, was Hat Hut's 2nd release and has been out of print since; Corbett vs. Dempsey asked McPhee what unavailable album he'd like to see in print, and this suberb album was his first choice.

More typically a solo performer, Japanese bluesman Kan Mikami has created a distinctive path for his voice, guitar and poetic lyrics; here he is propelled in an improvisational setting with two powerful UK players--John Edwards on bass and Alex Neilson on drums--captured live at London's Cafe Oto for a growling concert of finesse and brusque attitude.

Live at the LOFT in Cologne, Germany, the trio of German-based Russian pianist Simon Nabatov with NY Downtown double bassist Mark Dresser and relative newcomer Dominik Manhig on drums, expressive collective improvisation using edgy techniques in impressive dialog.

Spinning an unusual story, the trio of saxophonist and pocket trumpeter Joe McPhee, guitarist and laptop artist James Keepnews, and drummer David Berger envision the first encounter between alien life and a delegation of earthlings, while giving a nod to jazz's original man from another planet, Sun Ra, with a side-long suite dedicated to him.

Born from rock bands like Cleric and Simulacrum, this NY instrumental, improvising rock trio blends avant-garde classical, free jazz, dissonant math metal, ambient and world music into a powerful new mix, with Nick Shellenberger on bass and synth, Matt Buckley on drums & percussion, and Matt Hollenberg on guitar; intricate, edgy, demanding and driven music.

The Thing "again" as Gustafsson on saxophones, Haker Flaten on electric and acoustic bass, and Nilssen-Love on drums & percussion present 3 extended blues-based, Ayler-inflected free jazz pieces, with Gustafsson's powerfully emotional playing over Haker-Flaten and Nilssen-Love's powerful polyrhythmic foundations; Joe McPhee joins for one track taking on a Frank Lowe piece.

Heavy free jazz in the 3rd release from the trio of Mats Gustafsson on tenor and baritone sax, Ingebrigt Haker-Flaten on bass, and Paal Nilssen-Love on drums, covering an eclectic set of punk and free jazz titles including covers of Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Sonics, White Stripes, Norman Howard and Brotzmann; thick and sick free improvisation.

Steve Rush, Tom Abbs and Geoff Mann take the trio format to new heights in music inspired by Sun Ra, the Art Ensemble of Chicago as well as Miles Davis.

John Zorn brings together Downtown New Yorkers, Marc Ribot on guitar, Trevor Dunn on bass and Tyshawn Sorey on drums, for 12 instrumental miniatures combining atonal lyricism with rock intensity; scronky, demanding and exciting hybrids of improv and rock.

Turning to one third of his more familiar Red Trio setting, percussionist/drummer Gabriel Ferrandini enlists bassist Hernani Faustino and tenor saxophonist Pedro Sousa (Sousa/Berthling/Ferrandini, PeterGabriel Duo) to perform 9 Ferrandini compositions named after streets in Lisbon leading from Ferrandini's house to his studio and then to ZDB.

Blending live improvisation with studio composition & production, NY-based Dutch drummer, pianist and composer Flin van Hemmen spent 3 years making recordings with guitarist Todd Neufeld, double bassist Eivind Opsvik and himself, transforming them with layering, studio effects, processors and field recordings to create these intensely fascinating compositions.

The Gnostic Trio of guitarist Bill Frisell, vibraphonist Kenny Wollesen and harpist Carol Emanuel, one of composer John Zorn's most lyrical, sophisticated and embraceable bands, takes on the 7th volume of Zorn's "Book Beri'ah", presenting the final 92 compositions of his Masada songbook in a multi-volume set, here with 9 enchanting pieces of rich melody and dialog.

Brooklyn-based composer, bassist, and writer Nick Dunston in his debut album, blending jazz, contemporary, chamber and avant forms, in a uniquely voiced quintet with Louna Dekker on Vargas on flutes & piccolo, Ledah Finck on violin & viola, Tal Yahalom on guitar, and Stephen Boegehold on drums, in a sophisticated album of concisely fascinating compositions.

Recording in Toronto, the core trio of drummer Nick Fraser, saxophonist Tony Malaby and pianist Kris Davis are joined on four tracks by tenor saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock and trumpeter Lina Allemano, in an album of composed and collective improvisation, merging Toronto, NY and European influences in an accomplished album of diverse approaches and orchestrations.

Montreal-area's Mystery and Wonder Records duo of Elizabeth Millar on clarinet and Craig Pedersen on trumpet met sound artist Tim Olive in Tokyo's famed Gok Sound studio to record these absorbing electroacoustic improvisations, employing hand-made microphones in metal and wooden tubes, corrupted consumer sound devices, and electro-magnetism through analog circuits.

Using toys and handmade instruments alongside guitar, bass, synths, plundered recordings and electronics, the French Toys'R'Noise trio are a live performing group that borrows from electro-beat rock forms with overtones of IDM/ambient forms, building extended sections and then amusing with quick-witted sections that bridge a clear love of the music.

After their Doubtmusic CD "Live at Hall Egg Farm", capturing the trio of Masahiko Satoh on piano, Otomo Yoshihide on electric guitar & whistle, and Roger Turner on drums & percussion in Fukaya City, this new chapter in the trio's activities finds them live at Shinjuku Pit Inn, in Tokyo the following year, for two energetically active and captivating conversations.

Six compositions by pianist Matthew Shipp for his String Trio with violist Mat Maneri and double bassist William Parker, their first Trio record since 2001's "Expansion, Power and Release" (Hat), their long history of working together in a variety of configurations creating a near-telepathic link between the players over Shipp's sophisticated frameworks.

Their aptly titled "Fourth" album since they first performed together in 2015, Japanese pianist Satoko Fujii and NY bassist and flutist Joe Fonda have toured and developed an intuitive, almost telepathic, relationship--naturally melodic, intelligent yet emotional-- heard here in two concerts in Japan, with trumpeter Natsuki Tamura joining as a guest on two pieces.

Two complete live performances in Munich at Galerie arToxin, and at Udo Schindler's Salon fur Klang + Kunst Krailing in 2018, with Schindler on bass clarinet, soprano saxophone and cornet, Ernesto Rodrigues on viola, and Guilherme Rodrigues on cello, balancing active and introspective dialog of advanced harmonics, (a)rhythmic approaches, and extraordinary technique.

Guitarist Olaf Rupp recorded this trio session with violist Ernesto Rodrigues and cellist Guilherme Rodrigues, capturing five improvisations from around 8 minutes to 18 in length, the first three demonstrating intense interaction with an overall sense of restraint, closing with two more reflective works, a beautiful balance of reductionist sensibility amid superb technique.

Austrian improvisers Ulit Winter (cello) and Fredi Pröll (drums) meet Greek-born pianist Villy Paraskevopoulos at Artacts '19, in St. Johann in Tirol, Austria in 2019 for these two superb extended free improvisations with a chamber/non-idiomatic approach, Paraskevopoulos performing inside and out of the piano, in technically impressive and well-balanced dialogs.

Distilling a trio from Paal Nillsen-Love's Large Unit results in Fish & Steel, the trio of Mats Aleklint on trombone, Per Ake Holmlander on tuba, and Paal Nilssen-Love on drums & percussion, an unusual brass & drum orchestration in two extended improvisations with an experimental bent that veers in and out of jazz forms with a mischievous attitude and masterful playing.

Two pianists--Vadim Neselovskyi and Craig Taborn--take on the 11th volume of composer John Zorn's 3rd book of Masada compositions, The Book Beri'ah, in settings from solo piano, piano duos, and three pieces for piano, bass and drums, performed with bassist Dan Loomis and drummer Ronen Itzik; beautifully lyrical work merging contemporary compositional and improvisation forms.

Recorded during Thollem's 2017 residency at Brooklyn's multi-discipline center Pioneer Works, the trio of Nels Cline on electric guitar and Michael Wimberly on drums apply treatments, alterations and processes to acoustic-electro improv, their unusual approach often inviting the listener to discover organization under a wonderful commotion of sound.

With cellist Marika Hughes (2 Foot Yard, Anthony Braxton's Trillum) and saxophonist Darius Jones (Little Women, Darius Jones Trio), vocalist Fay Victor introduces her Fay Victor Chamber Trio, the open instrumental foundation highlighting Victor's expressive songs and insightful lyric content, developed with Victor and Jochem van Dijk; a great example of creative contemporary jazz song.

Two compositions from Berlin-based Australian composer-instrumentalist Jon Heilbron scored for two double basses and two hardanger fiddles--violins with extra sympahetic strings-- in his two part "Puma Court", a slowly-evolving work that develops uniquely rich acoustic environments of interacting harmonies & timbres, punctuated with subtle percussive elements.

The Field/Vidic duo of Slovenian saxophonist based in Switzerland Gregor Vidic and London born drummer Niclas Field is expanded with Japanese free improvising guitarist Tetuzi Akiyama, recording at Gok Sound in Tokyo in 2017 for three exceptional and suspenseful and electroacoustic improvisations, merging melodic and abstract approaches in uniquely detailed ways.

This is the 2nd release by this trio on Clean Feed, with Tobias Klein (alto saxophone, bass clarinet, contrabass clarinet), Goncalo Almeida (double bass) and Martin van Duynhoven (drums) captured live at Bimhuis in Amsterdam in 2017, taking on compositions by Ornette Coleman alongside original compositions from all three players in a free jazz mode.

The 4th album from German saxophonist Peter Van Huffel's Gorilla Mask, the 3rd on Clean Feed, is another powerful blending of jazz and rock forms in restless and profoundly determined music, energetic but intelligently structured, with great riffs and melodic grooves from Roland Fidezius (electric bass) and Rudi Fischerlehner (drums and percussion).

Three active Norwegians musicians based in Oslo-- guitarist Karl Bjora (Yes Deer, Megalodon Collective), drummer Dag Erik Knedal (Saka, Akode) and saxophonist Karl-Hjalmar Nyberg (Left Exit, Megalodon Collective)--in their debut album as a performing trio, showing both assertive collective playing in a free jazz mode and deeply introspective exploration.

Dedicated to the late Mike Panico, who requested that viola player Ig Henneman develop a concept for the Relative Pitch label, this trio brings together the Amsterdam-based Henneman and flutist Anne La Berge with US trumpeter Jaimie Branch, three women in an eccentric and fearless trio of energetic interaction marked by masterful technique and exuberant delivery.

Recorded during Thollem's 2017 residency at Brooklyn's multi-discipline center Pioneer Works, the trio of Nels Cline on electric guitar and Michael Wimberly on drums apply treatments, alterations and processes to acoustic-electro improv, their unusual approach often inviting the listener to discover organization under a wonderful commotion of sound.

Recorded during Ken Vandermark's residency titled "The Unexpectable", in Krakow in 2017 at Klub Alchemia, plus concerts at Hevre and Black Box in Germany, with duos, trios and quartets in a variety of configurations with artists including Ken Vandermark, Nate Wooley, Ikue Mori, John Butcher, Kent Kessler, Steve Noble, Mette Rasmussen, Eddie Prevost, Joe McPhee &c.

Marilyn Lerner (piano), Ken Filiano (bass & effects) and Lou Grassi (drums & percussion) extend their trio work after their previous two NoBusiness releases with this album of profound collective improvisation, blending lyrical and abstract work in energetic but never frenetic conversation, in a range of mood performed with incredible technical and inventive skill.

An exciting trio recording of the creatively unorthodox and superb collective piano trio of German pianist Uwe Oberg, Spanish drummer & percussionist based in Berlin Lucia Martinez, and New York bassist Joe Fonda, also on flute, performing at the the 2019 Just Music Festival in Weisboden, the band's implicit joy of their performance clearly heard in these recordings.

Derek Bailey's impressive guests for his July 1982 "Company" concert at London's Institute of Contemporary Arts were pianist Ursula Oppens, singer Julie Tippetts and pianist Keith Tippett, violinist/electronics wizard Philipp Wachsmann, guitarist Fred Frith, trombonist George Lewis, harpist Anne LeBaron, bassist Motoharu Yoshizawa and sound artist Akio Suzuki.

The 2nd of 2 albums from Derek Bailey's July 1982 "Company" concert at London's Institute of Contemporary Arts with pianist Ursula Oppens, singer Julie Tippetts and pianist Keith Tippett, violinist/electronics wizard Philipp Wachsmann, guitarist Fred Frith, trombonist George Lewis, harpist Anne LeBaron, bassist Motoharu Yoshizawa and sound artist Akio Suzuki.

Amsterdam-based bass clarinetist Ziv Taubenfeld leads the Bones trio, performing Taubenfeld's compositions, with double bassist Shay Hazan and drummer Nir Sabag, three friends since their youth, as their improvisation emphasizes lower tones through slowly slinking, saurian improvisation that bridges tonal work and energetic scrabbling.

Three British free jazz giants, having worked in a number of configurations and as a trio over many decades, are caught live in the Russian Drama Theater during the 2017 Vilnius Jazz Festival--Evan Parker on soprano & tenor saxophones, Barry Guy on bass, and Paul Lytton on drums, for four improvisations of nuance and surprise, incredible mastery, and profound conversation.

Recorded during two nights at Underflow Records and Art Gallery in Athens, Greece in 2019, The Underflow trio of Mats Gustafsson (reeds, fluteophone, electronics) from Sweden, with Chicago-based Rob Mazurek (trumpet, electronics), and David Grubbs (electric guitar) present an album of wide-ranging, powerful, often explosively eccentric, and always informed improvisation.

Surprising, singular and unconventional interpretations of four pieces from John Coltrane--"The Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost", "Naima", "Improvisation For Mr. J.C.", and "Inspired by Seraphic Light"--from the Gdansk trio of Michael Gos (drums), Mark Tokar (bass) and Tomasz Gadecki (tenor & baritone sax), comissioned by and performed at the 2019 Jazz Jantar Festival.

The trio of Renato Grieco on bass, Francesco Gregoretti on drums, Carl Ludwig Hubsch on tuba in a studio album of dense, deep improvisation, using amplification and feedback with extreme technique and meticulously controlled playing to create slowly evolving sonic environments of profound depth and mystery, a shadowy and fascinating album fraught with suspense.

Performing together since 1989, at first frequently and now as very special events, this concert at Concertgebouw in Brugge of pianist Georg Graewe, cellist Ernst Reijseger, and drummer and marimba player Gerry Hemingway, is a superb example of the both telepathic and confidently confrontational interplay of their chamber-oriented and superbly paced improvisation.

Trombonist Steve Swell stands out in this trio of collective improvisation, recorded in the studio in Brooklyn with pianist Robert Boston, also on organ, and drummer Michael Vatcher, in a set of eleven outstanding dialogs that range from highly energetic to deeply introspective, with quirky and unusual technique from Vatcher and Swell adding unique qualities to their collective "brain".

The extended horn section for the Leap of Faith Orchestra from the Boston-area collective led by reedist/multi-instrumentalist David Peck, here with PEK on an assortment of saxophones, clarinets, flutes, game calls and percussion, the other horns from Michael Caglianone on sax, game calls, wind sirens and percussion, with drums, bells, bowls and other percussion from Yuri Zbitnoff.

Taking the improvising duo Bad Plus of electric bassist Reid Anderson and acoustic & electronic drummer Dave King and adding Craig Taborn on synthesizer, electric & acoustic pianos, for an accessible album of rhythmic and melodic tunes, electronics adding effervescence and a pop sensibility amongst sly rhythmic twists, strong grooves, and memorable themes.

New York bassist Michael Formanek's trio with Tim Berne on alto saxophone and Mary Halvorson on guitar, embraces free music with strong melodic intent through Formanek's solid compositions, providing interesting structures in time and texture through sublimely complex and sinuous pieces that lead to rewarding resolutions of profoundly authoritative improvisation.

In their second album the trio of saxophonist Ellery Eskelin, bassist Christian Weber and drummer Michael Griener revisit the music of jazz tradition through the modern ears of the free improvisation, alternating the music of Jelly Roll Morton, Scott Joplin, Harry Edison/Count Bassie, and Russell Robinson with original group compositions, a fascinating contrast in time and style.

Making complex rhythms comprehendible, drummer Jim Black and his trio with Thomas Morgan on bass and pianist Elias Stemeseder, present their 4th album, with 11 original compositions by the leader recorded in the studio in Switzerland, reckoning unusual pulses with swinging rhythms over which all three improvise with free and lyrical mastery for brilliant results.

Absolutely compelling rhythms and grooves from this trio bringing together Ivory Coast balafon player Aly Keita with Cameroon clarinetist and saxophonist Jan Galega Bronnimann and Swiss drummer Lucas Niggli, who was born in West Cameroon, the trio bringing strong African rhythms and melodic progressions to their propulsive and joyful improvisations.

Nicola L. Hein, performing on prepared guitar, and Etienne Nillesen on extended snare drum, present three trio recordings with three different pianists--Magda Mayas, Eve Risser, and Marta Warelis--each adding a different dimension to Hein & Nillesen's playing, as heard in these three live recordings from The Loft in Cologne, Germany in 2018.

In 2018 on their 2nd tour, the Kuzu trio of Dave Rempis on alto, tenor & baritone saxophones, Tashi Dorji on guitar, and Tyler Damon on drums, captured this, their 15th concert in the tour, at The Sugar Maple, in Milwaukee, an extended improvisation that lives up to its title in dark ruminations that reveal beauty and rare color through powerful and passionate playing.

With the essential sidemen to express his unique voice and approach to free jazz, saxophonist Albert Ayler, double bassist Gary Peacock, and drummer Sunny Murray, recorded these sessions in 1964 for the ESP label as "Prophecy", this excellent reissue & remaster also adding the live "Albert Smiles with Sunny" (inRespect) from the same concert; essential.

Unusual "broken jazz" and ea-improvisation with strange interventions from the European trio of Jaka Berger (prepared drums), Jure Borsic (reeds) and Colin Petit (tape & electronics), with a sly sense of humor through track names like "Miles DeVice" and "Or Not Coleman" as they deconstruct free jazz with aberrantly excellent intentions; obscure great fun.

Rick Countryman on alto saxophone, Simon Tan on bass, and Christian Bucher on drums cover diverse territory while letting each player stand out in this studio album of collective improvisation, their frequent collaborations allowing them to evoke a strong degree of melodicism among spontaneous interaction, from energetic grooves to ballads to beautiful textural work.

Recordings from Stavanger, Norway in 1992 by a trio of legends--Derek Bailey on amplified guitar, John Stevens on percussion and mini trumpet, and Frode Gjerstad on alto saxophone--a trio that only performed three gigs on three consecutive days, this album captured on the last of those performances, a testament to their great compatibility and intent.

Rob Burke composed the first seven pieces for this experimental NY quartet, the multi-reedist joined by guitarist Ben Monder, drummer Tom Rainey, and Ben Grayson on electronics, the last "Discordat" a collective improvisation in 4 parts, as the band investigates emotional approaches to playing, using subtle distortion and Grayson's post-editing sonic additions.

The UK Decoy trio of John Edwards (bass), Steve Noble (drums) and Alexander Hawkins (keys) joins forces with pocket trumpet and saxophone player Joe McPhee during McPhee's residency at London's Cafe OTO, recording these two huge sets of brilliant free improv, Hawkins performing on organ adding a unique and soulful tone to a set that balances powerful energy with innate lyricism.

Free collective improvisation with an electronic edge from the trio of Nels Cline, double bassist William Parker and pianist Thollem McDonas, following up on their 2012 "Gowanus Session I" recorded in the same studio space, here expanding on the 1st session's shorter works with two large and evolving improvisations that balance reflective moments with intensive playing.

Merging heavy melodic jazz with tinges of heavy metal, John Zorn's Simulacrum trio of John Medeski on organ, Kenny Grohowski on drums, and Matt Hollenberg on guitar perform nine of Zorn's intense compositions in a beautifully recorded concert at the Firehouse 12 studio, the band's consummate playing and passion bringing power to Zorn's darkly exciting music.

Following up "Nove Cantici Per Francesco D'Assisi" with the three acoustic guitars of Bill Frisell, Gyan Riley and Julian Lage, "Virtue" is inspired by Julian of Norwich, one of the founders of Christian mysticism, portrayed through twelve succinct Zorn compositions of beautifully lyrical contrapuntal interplay and transcendental reflection.

A brilliant example of free improvisation from the performing trio of Barry Guy on double bass, Agusti Fernandez on piano and Torben Snekkestad on sax & trumpet, recording live at KoncertKirken Ð Blagards Plads in Copenhagen, merging shards of jazz and fully free playing using astonishing technique and creative intention that is as rewarding as it it intrepid.

Layered lowercase electroacoustic improv from the US / Mexico City / German trio of Chris Cogburn on percussion & electronics, Juan Garcia on double bass, and Ignaz Schick on turntables & electronics, eclectically informed by concrete sources and abstract electronics over Garcia's bass work and Cogburn's threshold-crossing acoustics & electronic percussion.

Layered lowercase electroacoustic improv from the US / Mexico City / German trio of Chris Cogburn on percussion & electronics, Juan Garcia on double bass, and Ignaz Schick on turntables & electronics, eclectically informed by concrete sources and abstract electronics over Garcia's bass work and Cogburn's threshold-crossing acoustics & electronic percussion.

ZNR, the French trio of Hector Zazou, Joseph Racaille, and Patrick Portella, in a deluxe box set combining both of the official ZNR releases, "Barricades III" and "Traite de Mechanique Populaire" along with 2 CDs of additional released and unreleased material and a book of memories, histories, reflections, photographs, documents, interviews and other memorabilia.

The second album of open-minded free improvisation of great drive, skill and and experimental determination from the Anticlan trio, a facet of the Albatre trio in the duo of Portuguese saxophonist Hugo Costa and German drummer Philipp Ernsting, along with Mexican guitarist residing in Rotterdamn, Josue Amador, recording in the studio in Rotterdam, 2019.

Portugal's Lisbon String Trio of saxophonist Nuno Torres, electric guitarist Abdul Moimeme and violist Ernesto Rodrigues, are joined by Red Trio/ Rodrigo Amado Motion Trio drummer Gabriel Ferrandini for this concert performance at O'Culto da Ajuda, in Lisbon, Portugal as part of the CreativeFest XIII, finding inspired balance in introspective sections and periods of exciting activity.

Two distinct improvisation from the trio of Japanese musician Rieko Okuda on piano & viola, Finnish musician Antti Virtaranta on double bass, and Russian musician Girilal Baars on voice & objects, the first with Baars primarily focused on free vocals in a Phil Minton-esque mode, the second all instrumental with Baars performing on "old wheel".

A trio of legendary Canterbury, avant improvisation and contemporary compositional players come together for an album recorded live in the studio over two days, from Alex Maguire on piano and Hammond organ, Martin Pyne on vibraphone, drums, percussion & electronics, and Mark Hewins on guitars & electronics; inventive, sophisticated, hallucinatory & virtuosic work.

Three musicians who are active members of the Lille-based collective Muzzix--Peter Orins on drums, Barbara Dang on grand piano, Sakina Abdou on saxophone & recorder--captured live at La Malterie, in Lille, France for two extended improvisations of minimalist conversation using extended techniques and unusual approaches to their instruments; fascinating.

Two Norwegians and a Geordie (ie, NE Englander), from drummer Stale Birkeland, saxophonist Petter Frost Fadnes, and guitarist Chris Sharkey, since 2007 creating epic works of rich electroacoustic improvisation, recording their third album after extensive touring through Europe and Japan, using the the natural resonance of the Chapel FM, in Leeds to enrich their sound.

Schizophrenically skronky improv of ea-cutups and semi-maniacal segments that resolve to near-stillness from the West Coast TONED trio of Nathan Corder on electronics, Leo Suarez on drums, and Tom Weeks on sax, using a nonlinear and nonhierarchical organizational process and multiple layers of compositional feedback loops to create unpredictably bizarre and overtly fun music.

Three extended improvisations from the three Australian improvisers Chris Abrahams (piano), Lloyd Swanton (bass), Tony Buck (drums/percussion) in their 21st album of mesmerizing music, from the dynamic opener "Bloom" to the introspective "Lovelock" dedicated to Damien Lovelock of The Celibate Rifles, ending in the lyrical and rich groove of "Further".

Renowned pianist and composer Burton Greene joins French composer and improvising guitarist Guillaume Gargaud performing on acoustic guitar, for four duo improvisations recorded at Tilo's Ark, in Weesp, The Netherlands in 2019, in crisp & often rapid dialog that uses space and reflective moments well, the duo joined by Tilo Baumheier on flute for three pieces.

Christoph Nicolaus began working with the stone harp around 2007, a block of granite with a slanted top that is deeply notched to create fins that resemble a loaf of bread, played by "bowing" the sides with wet hands causing each to vibrate in unique and beautiful tones; this album collects 13 compositions & improvisations performed between 2008 and 2018, in rich and uniquely evocative sound.

Pianist Danny Fox's trio with bassist Chris van Voorst van Beest and drummer Max Goldman in an album showing how the tight rapport this touring band has developed on the road, performing Fox's melodic and inventive compositions with a wealth of influences and style.

The duo of saxophonist Boris Hauf and pianist D Bayne team up with guitarist Martin Siewert in this collection of tracks inspired by different U.S. national parks and their representation in iconic posters.

The long-running trio of saxophonist Kidd Jordan, pianist Joel Futterman and drummer Alvin Fielder, established in 1994 and together until Fielder's passing in 2018, are heard in this incredible 1997 studio recording from New Orleans, 7 collective tracks that start as an invocation and then build in intensity & excitement with a strong spiritual connection; profound.