Great post-bop free playing from the Swedish trio Apuh! of Adrian Asling Sellius on saxophone, Hampus Ohman-Frolund on drums & percussion, and Mats Dimming on doublebass, recording in the studio in New York for 6 pieces that balance lyrical jazz with fully free improvisation, always captivating with adept playing and engaging approaches.

The Danish/Norwegian trio of Thomas Eiler on drums, Niklas Adam on electronics & guitar, and Danielle Dahl on sax and electronic wind instrument draw inspiration from early electronic minimalism, punk rock, noise and free jazz in the full-length debut, surprising the listener as the music shifts from abstract reductionism to full-on assault.

A collaboration between American sound artist Jeph Jerman and Italian percussionists Paolo Sanna and Giacomo Salis, twelve intriguing short improvisations using extended techniques and lowercase approaches that include minimal textures, field recordings, abstract atmospheres and organic sounds.

A new trio at the time, TIN is trumpeter Axel Dorner, bassist Dominic Lash, and drummer/percussionist Roger Turner, captured live in three locations during their 2015 UK tour, presenting masterful avant improvisations of sound-oriented work using an immense technical vocabulary to creative inventive and captivating dialog.

Starting from John Cage's Zen quote--"Every day is a good day"--the trio of Rachael Wadham on piano, Philippe Lenglet on acoustic guitar and cithar (a type of harp), and contrabass, recorded these improvisations approaching their instruments not for melodies but as tools for experimentation, from which this trio finds a wealth of inventive sound.

A lyrical outing from the Chicago working trio of Nick Mazzarella on alto saxophone, Matt Ulery on doublebass, and Jeremy Cunningham on drums, performing live at the Whistler in Chicago, Illinois in 2016, recorded for this debut album of Mazzarella compositions, flexible pieces that balance jazz traditions with avant options for the players.

Bizarre, disruptive, aberrant sound from twisted experts in the field Lambs Gamble, comprised of George Cremaschi on bass & electronics, Fritz Welch on drums, percussion and voice, and Eric Boros (Vialka) on electronics and voice, recording in Switzerland for a fantastic album of intelligent abnormality.

Composer Burkhard Schlothauer, co-founder of Editions Wandelweiser and a member of Zeitkratzer and the Wandwelweiser Composers Ensemble, in a five part work conceived as a single part, combining previous works into various possible versions as "events", working with spatial distribution, slow beats, noise, and pulse, superimposed from their origins.

The transatlantic string trio of Amsterdam-based cellist Tristan Honsinger (also on voice) with Montreal free improvisers violinist Joshua Zubot and double bassist Nicolas Caloia in an album of informed improvisation that bring an upbeat approach to authoritative dialog which is both sharp-witted and irreverent, but never less than engaging.

Roman philosopher Titus Lucretius Carus named "Clinamen" the unpredictable (in time and space) swerve of atoms falling in the void, which aptly describes the unexpected directions taken in subtle free improvisation from this French trio, led by bassist Louis-Michel Marion, with Jacques Di Donato on clarinet, and Philippe Berger on viola.

Live recordings at Exploratorium, in Berlin, Geremany in 2010 from the quartet of Klaus Kurvers on double bass, Andrea Sanz Vela and Ernesto Rodrigues on violin, and Micha Rabuske on dlute, bass clarinet, and soprano sax, collective improvisation with complex interplay and a bright spirit as the group follows their instincts in interesting dialog.

Double bassist and composer Carlos Bica's Azul with guitarist Frank Mobus and drummer Jim Black in their 5th album, bringing jazz and elements of rock together into a lyrical and alluring set of recordings.

24 miniature works from the fantastic and intense improvising trio of Joane Hetu, Diane Labrosse and Danielle Palardy Roger, inspired by the eternal revival of the legendary Phoenix.

Lokomotive's "Labyrinths" with bassist Baretto at the top of his game in playing and scoring this driving and unorthodox set of pieces, performed with two of Portugal's most in-demand players.

Electric jazz from the trio of Swedish born Greek Jiannis Pavlidlis on guitar, Greek organist Giorgos Kontrafouris, and American jazz/fusion drummer Adam Nussbaum, funky melodic and superb improv from an international group looking forward and back.

ist (The Improvising String Trio) of Rhodri Davies (harp), Simon H. Fell (bass) and Mark Wastell (violincello) performing at The Natural Music Club in London, 1997, using unorthodox techniques in indeterminate systems and free improvisation for fascinating results.

The Montreal free improvising trio Still of Nicolas Caloia on bass, Peter Valsamis on drums, and Yves Charuest on saxophone is joined in the studio by visiting Spanish pianist Agusti Fernandez for a superb set of detailed and energetic free jazz, 6 pieces titled "(un fold)" I - VI, making an album of first rate and exciting collective music.

The trio of Daunik Lazro on baritone and tenor saxophone, Jean-Luc Cappozzo on trumpet & flugelhorn and Didier Lasserre on drums, alternate jazz standards from Duke Ellington (Sophisticated Lady; Hop Head), John Coltrane (Lonnie's Lament), Albert Ayler (Angels), with original compositions and the 3-part "Garden", all in the varied traditions of jazz.

An unusual and captivating work from the trio of saxophonist Alexandra Grimal, double bassist Benjaim Duboc, and cellist Valentin Ceccaldi, leading their album with tracks from "Respirer l'ombre" by Giuseppe Penone "spontaneously used without permission but with great admiration," leading to powerful and unpredictable directions in free improvisation; excellent.

After studying jazz and classical music, pianist Satoko Fujii became interested in Min-Yoh, which means folk music in Japanese; this is her 2nd lovely and powerful release with her Min-Yoh Ensemble.

Tim Barnes on snare drum and amplification and Mark Wastell on amplified textures, tuned metal, making small, mostly unidentifiable sounds with a Cage-style open flair.

Japanese vibraphonist and marimba player Taiko Saito is a contemporary classical player well established in the field of improv, joined by long-time collaborator, pianist Niko Meinhold, and here expanded with Tobias Schirmer on clarinet and bass clarinet for an album that uses solid compositional foundations for lyrical and contemplative modern music.

The Snus trio of Niklas Barno (trumpet), Joel Grip (bass) and Didier Lasserre (drums) return for their second album, an addictive mix of free jazz and free improv, subtle to skronking music of great beauty and power.

A series of miniatures from the trio of pianist Bourne, drummer Davis and bassist Kane, intensely focused works ranging from lovely to slightly disturbed while never failing to impress.

Re-issue of one of the earliest Confront releases, the trio of trumpeter Matt Davis, violinist Phil Durrant and cellist Mark Wastell performing subtle and sophisticated free improvisation at St. Michael's and All Angels church, Chiswick, London in 2000.

8 duos recorded in the studio between bassist Damon Smith and free vocalist Carol Genetti, and 4 trio tracks adding Fred Lonberg-Holm on violoncello and performing live at Chicago's Empty Bottle.

Tiptons saxophonist Sue Orfield's Band performs original music that spans many genres from blues rock and funk to jazz and bluegrass with a little ethnic vibe thrown in.

NY's Talibam! team up with artist graphic artist Sam Kulik to tell the absurd and fantastic story of a young teen named Franklin who gets abducted by a revolutionary jazz fish into the undersea world of Atlantis.

Sax and flute player/Ambiances Magnetique label leader Jean Derome's excellent jazz trio with bassist Normand Guilbeault and drummer Pierre Tanguay, in their 4th release, with three Derome originals and 4 standards including a Dolphy number.

Swiss voice artist Isa Wiss with Marc Unternahrer on tuba in a surreal set of alphabetized improvisations in a Minton-esque mode with Unternahrer taking the tuba into untold territory.

Two improvising duos that share one person and joined as a trio -- Berlin musician Miako Klein on recorders -- Warble being Klein and NY/Berlin trumpeter Brad Henkel, the two exploring their instruments through close amplification; Mduo is Klein & NY/Berlin percussionist Michael Weilacher using extended techniques and strange actions.

A studio album between three UK master improvisers -- John Butcher on sax, John Edwards on double bass, and Mark Sanders on drums -- the trio pushing the envelope in technique and dialog in nearly telepathic playing that transports the listener into their environment, as the music builds and releases in effortless ways that are stunning and exulant; highly recommended.

A free jazz session recorded in Brussells between trumpeter Nate Wooley and half of the Daniele Martini Quartet--saxophonist Martini himself and drummer Joao Lobo--stepping in and out of modal jazz with a contemplative approach, using extended techniques to great effect, Lobo handling the foundation and rhythm in absolutely impressive ways.

The debut album of Rudiger Carl is an assertive studio session of brilliant free jazz from 1972, with Carl on tenor saxophone, Gunter Christmann on trombone, and Detlef Schonenberg on drums, presenting a great example of early European Free Improv, remastered from the original tapes and issued on CD for the first time, with a 2nd CD of previously unreleased bonus tracks.

A wonderfully balanced example of melodic free improvisation from the UK trio of Mark Hanslip on tenor saxophone, Colin Somervell on bass, and Ed Gauden on drums, frequent collaborators with an interest in both lyrical and free/collective improvisation, with an approach that uses technique and conceptual approaches in accessible and embraceable ways.

An album of spoken word and sound, Jean-Francois Pauvros reads from Tristan Tzara's "L'homme Approximatif" (The Approximate Man) over flutes from Chicago producer and flautist Jamal Moss, AKA Hieroglyphic Being, and Jean-Marc Foussat on synth and voice, a mysterious album of subtle insinuation with an intriguing underpinning of electroacoustic sound.

Trumpeter Natsuki Tamura's Gato Libre in its 5th album brings a beautiful light-through-the-leaves melodic melancholy to their unhurried pace, now the trio of Tamura, Satoko Fujii on accordion, and Yasuko Kaneko on trombone, as the cats on the cover stop to find allure in the late day while bringing profound and introspective music to our ears.

The debut recording of the NY based trio of London-transplant saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock, drummer Tyshawn Sorey and pianist Kris Davis, refreshingly unconventional improvisation.

The first 2009 release for French The Swarming label is the trio of saxophonist Jean-Luc Guionnet, and electronic artists Eric La Casa and Philip Samartzis, using unusual procedures and investigations to create impressive and dynamic sonic journeys.

Translating to "Fever Counts" and "At Lightening", the trio of Jean-Luc Petit on bass clarinet and alto & sopranino sax, Fabrice Favriou on electric guitar, and Julien Touery on piano and objects create impressive improvisations, the first a disruptive piece of detailed electracoustic colective interaction, the second a swelling work of sonic landscape.

Extending the realm of reeds in improvisation, the trio of three clarinetists--Katharina Bohlen, Reinald Noisten, and Claudius Reimann--perform on clarinet and bass clarinet with a diverse set of approaches, opening their 12 movement work with a trio of bass clarinets, and then permuting bass, b-flat clarinets and sax with remarkable technique.

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A massive and metallic improvisation from the Boston area trio of David Peck, Andria Nicodemou, and Yuri Zbitnoff, using metal, drums, bells, aquasonic, daxophone, guzheng, vibes, bells, sax, clarinet and reeds in an intense journey that absorbs the listener and then draws them into a turbulent world of active sound, receding again at journey's end; amazing.

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"An interesting title to begin with. The situation of feeling like an extraneous body in a system that works according to peculiar principles. Or, in a more "mental" acceptation, the priceless condition of being completely delivered fro...

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"When an improvised recording presents itself as a meteor, some foreign object from another civilization, like Days Are Not Days does, we should rejoice that it has entered our atmosphere and like a bolide, exploded upon contact. Okay, ...

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The first release by the piano trio configuration of Mostly Other People Do the Killing features bassist/composer Moppa Elliott, pianist Ron Stabinsky, and drummer Kevin Shea, with each composition named after a small town in Pennsylvania that contains a color, and the town of "Paint, PA" lent its name to the title, with one apt Duke Ellington cover.

John Cage's 1957 composition in a visceral realisation for four pianos, played by John Tilbury, Philip Thomas, Mark Knoop and Catherine Laws, using chance procedures to assign each of the pianist's five of the twenty pages of the score, the pianists agreeing on an overall duration of 40 minutes and preparing their parts independently, performed without rehearsal.

An album of patience and concentrated listening from the lowercase trio of David Area on electronics, Tomas Gris on guitar and objects, and Ernesto Rodrigues on harp and objects, each player subtly coaxing sounds out of their instruments while the electronics act as environmental ambience over which tones slowly voice, recede and occasionally punctuate.

The trio of Kaja Farszky on marimba & percussion, Annette Giesriegl on voice and electronics, and Katharina Klement on piano for a gripping album of free/ea improvisation, splitting the release in 3 parts from a live concert in 2015 at Sonnenhang House Concerts Series in Kumberg/Austria, and 3 parts recorded at Croatian Radio in Zagreb in 2016.

Live recordings from Pollat-Pavillion in Munich, Germany in 2015 from this seriously fun spontaneous collective improvising trio of Udo Schindler on reeds, cornet, euphonium, and monophonic analogue synthesizer, Philipp Kolb on trumpet, tuba and live electronics, and Sebastiano Tramontana on trombone, voice and whistling; expect the unexpected!

Japanese steelpan player Yoshio Machida leads this pan-national pop band in their second album, blending electronics and popular forms of music referencing and using electronic and acoustic rock, funk, synthpop, and spoken word, with the majority of the band Serbian artists, and guest musicians including Tatsuhisa Yamamoto (Jim O'Rourke), Paranel, and Misha.

The peforming duo of Tokyo pianist Yoko Miura on conventional piano, toy piano and melodica, and free improvising vocalist Jean-Michel Van Schouwburg are recorded in the studio for 14 succinct and unusual improvisations, Fou Records leader Jean-Marc Foussat recording the affair and providing electronics on one track; wonderfully weird and informed.

London Jazz Composers Orchestra trombonist Alan Tomlinson, performing on tenor and alto trombone, with his trio of Dave Tucker on guitar and Phillip Marks on percussion, are caught live in Birmingham, Lancaster, London, and during the Harwich Festival, from 2009-16, demonstrating the strong rapport and exciting dialog these players have developed over years performing together.

The saxophone-heavy UK improvising band Remote Viewers returns to a trio format, with founders David Petts on tenor sax and Adrian Northover on soprano sax, plus John Edwards on double bass, as the stripped-down band employs signature harmonic territory and compositional approaches, making this a distinctively concentrated and welcome Remote Viewers album.

Sidney Bechet referred to fellow musician as "musicianers", the title for New York baritone saxophonist Josh Sinton's trio with Jason Ajemian on acoustic bass and Chad Taylor on drums and percussion, in an outstandingly creative and compelling album of modern jazz showing the strong links between these three, dating back to their work together in Chicago in the 80s.

Intense meeting of saxophone legend Parker and the remarkable Tuvan improvising vocalist Namtchylak performing live at Music Gallery in Toronto, 1996.

After percussionist and composer Gerry Hemingway migrated to Luzern, Switzerland he joined forces with the creative improvising community in that city, in particular with guitarist Manuel Troller and saxophonist and bass clarinetist Sebastian Strinning, the trio taking the name Tree Ear, blending free and idiomatic improv in bold, uncommon and spellbinding ways.

Mixing free jazz and and open-minded collective improv using unusual techniques from Argentinian-born, Amsterdam-based saxophonist Ada Rave and her trio with German prepared guitarist Nicola L. Hein and Netherland bassist Wilbert De Joode, blending lyrical formats as she seeks new paths in the combination of written composition and spontaneous improvisation.

Communion is Portuguese drummer and composer Joao Lencastre's project to bring musicians from the American and international jazz scenes together, here in his 3rd release presenting a piano trio with two New Yorkers--pianist Jacob Sack and Norwegian bassist living in New York, Eivind Opsvik--for 3 Lencastre compositions, 1 Ornette Coleman piece, and 6 collective compositions.

"Autres Paysages" or "Other Landscapes" pins the description on the rich, turbulent, and mesmerizing music this trio creates, with French violist Joao Camoes and Jean-Marc Foussat on the EMS Synthi AKS collaborating for their 3rd album, joined by trumpeter Jean-Luc Cappozzo, as acoustics and electronics subsume and survive seamlessly in an inspired set of recordings.

The trio of Paulo Curado, Paulo Chagas, and Joao Pedro Viegas on flutes and reeds, 11 pieces of mostly improvised music that blend idiomatic music from old and new approaches, while inventing a few of their own.

One of the most active albums from the set of Lisbon String Trio (plus one) albums released in 2017, saxophonist Blaise Siwula brings a unique virtuosity to this live album from Galeria Monumental in Lisbon, prompting at times a chamber jazz feeling, alongside very free improvisation with impressive transitions from spacious to highly detailed playing.

Active and exciting electroacoustic improvisation with a strong emphasis on the electronics from Richard Scott and his uniquely developed modular synthesizer, from this Berlin-based collective trio with double bassist Alexander Frangenheim and trumpeter Nikolaus Neuser, exploring Trialectics, a complex system of 21st century thought and formal logic.

Kern is the Berlin-based free improvising acoustic trio of clarinetist and saxophonist Edith Styer, trombonist Matthias Muller (Splitter Orchester, Xenon), and drummer Yorgos Dimitriadis (Fabric Trio, Glue), recording in the studio for 10 works of informed dialogs of great restraint and consummate control, from a mix of collective compositions and two from Steyer.

Four controlled improvisations from the New York City based trio of Michael Lytle on clarinet, Denman Maroney on piano, and Stephen Flinn on percussion, non-idiomatic collective improvisations that often have the feeling of electroacoustic improv through Flinn's use of percussion, Maroney's inside piano work, and Lytle's upper register playing.

Electroacoustic improvisation from the trio of Marc Vilanova on saxophone, Sergio Castrillon on cello, and pianist James Andean also performing on objects and electronics, in nine collective improvisations of close-knit dialog balancing intense activity and silent space, building tension and releasing it in unexpected and wonderfully eccentric ways.

With members from Angles, Universal Indians, Frode Gjerstad Trio, Friends and Neighbors, &c. the quintet of Martin Kuchen (sax), Thomas Johansson (trumpet), Mats Aleklin (trombone), Jon Rune Strom (bass) and Tollef Ostvang (drums) play modern, energetic jazz that kicks Satan's ass; highly recommended!

Two trios, "Black" with cellist Chris Eubank and violist Dan Ruccia, and "White" with trombonist Jeb Bishop and saxophonist Laurent Estoppey, each with the foundation of bassist David Menestres, balancing experience in free improvisation and compositional music to create an exciting hybrid, a chamber collective of tumult and control.

Australian / Polish composer Dominik Karski presents several works for flute performed with collaborators Ewa Liebchen on piccolo, flute, alto flute, bass flute, tam tam, Rafal Jedrzejewski on flute, alto flute, bass flute and tam tam, and Zofia Dowgiatto Zynch on harp, including the 4-part "Veiled Voice", "Glimmer", and two parts of "Streamforms".

Recording at Jazz at the Fringe in Bristol in 2017, saxophonist Paul Dunmall shows his Coltrane influence in three extended improvisation with the trio of long-time collaborator Tony Orrell on drums and percussion, and bassist and trumpeter Percy Pursglove, in a concert that presents masterful playing, impressive creative asides, and insightful soloing.

Clarinetist and bass clarinetist Peter Kuhn defines his "intentions" with his trio of bassist Kyle Motl and drummer Nathan Hubbard, recording in the studio in 2017 for an album of determined, informed and demanding free improvisation, a reflection of Kuhn's life and his direction to create superb modern jazz music with power, release, and inventive joy.

The second album from this Norwegian electric improvising power trio, using dark rhythmic grooves over which guitar, electric piano, amplified objects, no-input mixing board, and pianet emerge, creating hypnotic states that lead to exultant moments through sinuous melody, building and releasing intensity while maintaining a consistent gauzy undertone.

Blending the acoustic aspects of his regularly performing trio with unusual electronics, trombonist Michael Dessen's NY trio with bassist Christopher Tordini and drummer Dan Weiss carve out a unique territory that balances lyrical, aggressive, and swinging aspects of free jazz with other-worldly interactions, in an album honoring late saxophonist Yusef Lateef.

Berlin saxophonist & bass clarinetist Silke Eberhard leads her trio with Jan Roder on bass and Kay Lubke on drums through a conceptual jazz album where tracks are connected by a fictional Inn, opening a literal door to the album and then introducing us to superb playing on Dolphy or Mahall-inspired free jazz, including a "Willisau Suite", "Towels", a "Wake-Up Call", &c.

Composer Eva-Maria Houben in a collaborative work with bass flutist Rebecca Lane and bass clarinetist Samuel Dunscomb, the composer performing on piano and orgran, for two renderings of "Observing Objects", a patient work of long notes and tones interspersed with silence, lower registers in the winds balanced by the piano or organ's upper register.

Composer Michael Winter uses the "maximally complex, incomputable number" known as Chaitin's Constant, plus text adapted from Gregory Chaitin's 1994 book "The Limits Of Mathematics", samples from 36 creative musicians, the voice of Muirgen Eleonore Gourgues, plus cello from Judith Hamann and piano from Winters, to create this curious and compelling narrative work.

A surprising joining of improvisers and composers from Japanese acoustic guitarist Tetuzi Akiyama playing with Swedish composers and performers, Magnus Granberg on clarinet and Henrik Olsson on percussion and electronics, the latter two part of the chamber ensemble Skogen, for five works of profound calm and center through slow harmonics weaving beautiful aural statements.

The french electroacoustic improvising trio of synth player and engineer Jean-Marc Foussat (Fou Records) with the father/son pair of saxophonist Quentin Rollet (Workshop De Lyon) and drummer/percussionist Christian Rollet (Rectangle Records, Bisou), in a rich, intensifying and often enthusiastically exploding set of extended and masterful improvisations.

The debut solo CD from in-demand pianist Kris Davis (Paradoxical Frog, Novela, Good Citizen, Anti-House), an absorbing and innovative album of original numbers and standards played inside and out of the piano.

Deux Maisons (Two Houses) is a chamber jazz quartet bringing together French and Portuguese players of the current generation: from France, 2 brothers, Theo & Valentin Ceccaldi (violin and cello); from Portugal, Luis Vicente (trumpet) & Marco Franco (drums).

The indefatigable Norwegian saxophonist Frode Gjerstad invites trombonist Steve Swell, with whom he collaborated in 2011 on the live album "At Constellation", to join his trio with Jon Rune Strom on double bass and drummer Paal Nilssen-Love, at Cleveland's Bop stop during their 2017 tour, recording this impressive concert of exemplary collective free jazz.