The 2nd Code Girl release from guitarist Mary Halvorson presents an embraceable and ambitious set of songs from 8 poetic forms for which Halvorson composed words & music, 3 of which are sung by Robert Wyatt, the others by Amirtha Kidambi, in a band with Thumbscrew members Michael Formanek (bass), Tomas Fujiwara (drums), plus Maria Grand (sax) and Adam O'Farrill (trumpet).

Two Downtown NY guitarists, both masterful players with unique approaches to their instrument, come together to present extraordinary and brilliant interpretations of an eclectic set of standards and compositions, titled for Claude Debussy's 1910 solo piano work, and including pieces by Hoagy Charmichael, Johnny Smith, Willard Robinson, and a number of traditional works.

Always open to new approaches, NY guitarist Mary Halvorson takes her trio with drummer Tomas Fujiwara and bassist Michael Formanek, adds trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire and, in a twist of the thumbscrew, vocalist Amirtha Kidambi, for a mix of song and instrumental pieces that balance jazz and rock sensibilities with lyricism, intricate lines, and creative spirit.

Brooklyn-based guitarist/composer Mary Halvorson's second recording with her amazing working quintet of trumpeter Jonathan Finlayson, saxophonist Jon Irabagon, bassist John Hebert, and drummer Ches Smith.

Drawing from two live performances, one at Salao Brazil in Coimbra, the other at SMUP Parede in Lisbon, from the trio of Norwegian multi-reedist Klaus Ellerhusen Holm (Ballrog), and Portuguese double bassist Hernani Faustino (Red Trio) and drummer/percussionist Nuno Morao (The Selva), for four spontaneous improvisations of great depth and mastery.

An influence on the next generation of small band and bop players, vibraphonist and Band Leader Lionel Hampton's programs included both crowd-pleasers and sophisticatedly complex sections, heard here in this 1958 studio recording from Stuttgart, Germany while touring Europe, Ghana and Israel with his exceptional band expanded by three German jazz musicians.

Three solo piano works from three composers--Mark Hannesson, Dante Boon, and Anastassis Philippakopoulos--are performed by Dante Boon in this studio album recorded in Berlin; three extremely compatible works that prove to be quintessential examples of Wandelweiser minimalism finding melody, progression and abstraction in subtle and elusive ways; sublime.

"Undeclared" refers to a 2006 drone attack in Pakistan that struck a school, killing more than 80 civilians including 70 children, which took place on a day that was intended for a peace agreement; Hanneson pays homage to the victims by finding a sound for each of them, rendering the piece 3 times by himself via electronics, by Rene Holtkamp on guitar, and by Antoine Beuger on children's glockenspiel.

Following the success of "Enter the Continent", Masashi Harada dance-conducts a somewhat larger group of mostly Boston-based musicians, including Greg Kelley and Bhob Rainey, among others.

Both eight and six-piece ensembles are conducted by Masashi Harada dancing. Artists include Greg Kelley, Tucker Dulin, Christian Pincock, Eric Carlson, Bhob Rainey, Aleta Cole, Dan Levin, Mike Bullock and Phil Tomasic.

"The quality of an album roughly depends on material for 75 percent; the other 25 percent is pacing. Rub Harder scores a hundred. The Hard Rubber Orchestra's first CD (Cruel Yet Fair, 1998) suffered from improper inclusions, a lack of fo...

An album of jazz poetry between long-time collaborator, bassist Michael Bisio and poet Paul r. Harding, with former Jimi Hendrix percussionist Juma Sultan joining on half of the tracks, for thirteen narrative poems and utterance that provide incisive observation on ourselves and our country, the bass and percussion weaving around expression that slams, swings, and pulls no punches.

Australian sound poet and vocalist Sage J Harlow aka Sage Pbbbt, whose innovative vocal work takes inspiration from Tuvan and Mongolian overtone singing and Inuit throat singing, created this mysterious set of electroacoustic compositions on the unceeded lands of the Whadjuk People of the Noongar Nation, developing four works of spellbinding spectral ambience.

Joyfully assertive and somewhat twisted, the first of three improvisations on this live album at Wels Unlimited 2020 is the duo of Austrian pianist Elisabeth Harnik and drummer Didi Kern, starting at high speed then shifting to unusual approaches in a quirky dialog, made quirkier with Jaap Blonk adding wonderfully nonsensical vocalizations on the last two pieces.

The extended and absorbing live performance between Austrian pianist Elisabeth Harnik and Chicago drummer Michael Zerang at Španski Borci,in Ljubljana, Slovenia in 2019 begins in restful interaction, Harnik often inside the piano and Zerang scraping and coaxing sound, building to a disruptive dream of intense interaction that ends in a turbulent awakening.

Two works from Austrian pianist and composer Elisabeth Harnik sharing a subtle and complex aesthetic balancing acoustics & electronic instruments through extended approaches while accommodating composed and improvisation sections: Holding Up A Bridge commissioned by Viennese ensemble Studio Dan; and Superstructure performed by ALL Ears Area Ensemble.

Released in 1984 on Hal Wilner's Shemp records, this is the 1st reissue for late drummer Beaver Harris' 360-degree Experience with pianist Don Pullen on piano, in a stellar band with saxophonists Ricky Ford, Hamiet Bluiett, bassist Buster Williams, percussion from Candido & steel drummer Francis Haynes, and four french horn players, a truly forward-thinking jazz album.

An extension of his prior solo record, ONOMAT, Chicago drummer & percussionist Bill Harris also uses a prepared floor tom and feedback in this unedited 25 minute live performance at Music Garage in Illinois, notated for six track section as he explores unique rhythmic concepts augmented with encompassing environmental sonics and unusual disruptive elements.

A remarkable, intense and startlingly virtuosic solo performance from Berlin violinist Sarah Saviet in a long-form extension of an originally 15-minute work commissioned by Saviet of UK composer Bryn Harrison, developed together to allow the score to be variable in length through performer choices to re-sequence the events and repetition of the composition.

Extreme improvisation from the West Coast, using dissonance, dynamics, harmonics, conversational interaction, extended techniques and energy, new viewpoints inspired by a mix of contemporary classical and jazz.

Two distinct session, the first CD presenting free improv trio perfomances in St. Louis, MO between Paul Hartsaw on soprano & tenor saxophones, Damon Smith on double bass and Jerome Bryerton on percussion, the 2nd CD finding Hartsaw and Smith in the studio in Oakland CA for a more experimental session, Smith adding laptop & field recordings and both employing extended techniques.

Unusual improvisational forms from the quartet of saxophonist Paul Hartsaw, guitarist Kristian Aspelin, bassist Damon Smith and percussionist Jerome Byrerton, recording in Oakland, CA in 2006.

Primarily a bass and guitar duo between Portugese natives Joao Hasselberg, on double bass and electric, and electric guitarist Pedro Branco, here in their second album together of delicately sophisticated string improvisations, joined by a a great set of collaborators to expand the duo to trio and quartet.

Swiss accordionist Hans Hassler stands above the (small) crowd of improvising accordionist in the breadth of his career, his ability to balance both lyrical, abstract, serious, and humorous aspects in his approach to the instrument, a true original in intent and ability to engage his listeners, in 15 original and diverse compositions recorded in 2017.

Chicago tenor saxophonist Gerrit Hatcher, known for his duos with Anton Hatwich and with Julian Kirshner, the improvising trio Devouring the Guilt with Eli Namay & Bill Harris and a trio with Mars Williams & Lia Kohl, is heard here in three extended solo improvisations, with strong tone riffing on grooves, exuding warm melodies, and running demanding technical passages on his horn.

Chicago-based tenor saxophonist, improviser, and composer Gerrit Hatcher (Devouring the Guilt, duos with Anton Hatwich, duos with Julian Kirshner) in a solo album of seven succinct statements, diverse expressions from scrabbling determination to pensive reflection, all informed by masterful skills that add nuance and intrigue to each track.

Active since 2010, the German/Swiss duo of classical guitarist Christian Buck and improviser Christian Wolfarth occupies a space between music and sound art, as they perform two works each by Ed Haubensak and Tomas Korber, pieces that make use of time, microharmonies, multiphonics, unusual tuning systems, interference patterns, and other conceptual approaches to music.

Berlin-based saxophonist Boris Hauf's sextet with Keefe Jackson (sax), Jason Stein (bass clarinet), Frank Rosaly (drums), Steve Hess (drums & electronics) and Michael Hartman (drums) in 4 extended pieces of boiling intensity.

Having originally met in 2016 when Viennese trumpeter Franz Hautzinger and Quebec electric bassist Éric Normand formed Torche! with Michel F Cote, Philippe Lauzier and Xavier Charles, the two improvisers developed this collage during the pandemic from asynchronous recordings, creating six dramatic and explorative compositions of incredible and unusual technique.

A quartet of four excellent young improvising musicians based in London and Oxford, none of whom have ever been to the outer London suburb of Barkingside.

Oxford-based keyboardist and composer Alexander Hawkins balances free improv and lyrical jazz forms in a quartet with bassist Neil Charles, drummer Stephen Davis, and vocalist Elaine Mitchener, with both Hawkins compositions and pieces from Archie Shepp, Jeanne Lee, and Patty Waters, a beautiful balance that appeals to modern listeners steeped in the history.

Established players on the London and European Free Jazz scene from two generations, saxophonist Evan Parker and pianist Alexander Hawkins come together for a duo of remarkable insight, technical skill, and inventive dialog from two masterful players.

With intricate interplay and textural passages, Chicago improvising cellist Tomeka Reid and UK pianist Alexander Hawkins present their first collaboration, an exciting set of rapid interchanges of pointillistic playing and introspective playfullness, 9 collective dialogs alongside Leroy Jenkin's piece for "Albert Ayler (His Life Was Too Short)".

A masterful performance at Radio Studio Zurich in Switzerland in 2018 from London jazz pianist Alexander Hawkins, improvising over a wide range of interests from jazz & blues to avant compositional work, with impressive skill as he runs complex and diverging figures on each hand that are coherent and exhilarating to follow, balanced with beautiful reflective sections.

Unusual instrumentation and a very diverse set of improvising backgrounds from pianist Alexander Hawkins Ensemble, with Orphy Robinson on steel pan, Otto Fischer on electric guitar, Dominic Lash on double bass, Hannah Marshall on cello, and Javier Carmona on drums.

Pianist Alexander Hawkins' six movement composition is realized by the UK Riot Ensemble, known primarily for their work with notated contemporary music, adding Evan Parker's incredible soprano sax soloing, and filtered through Matthew Wright's live electronic processing, resulting in this amazing hybrid masterwork that bridges modern 21st Century forms.

Another wonderfully ambitious and superbly executed album from pianist and composer Alexander Hawkins, with nods to Anthony Braxton, Henry Threadgill and even Johann Sebastian Bach, expanding his core trio of bassist Neil Charles and drummer Stephen Davis with saxophonist & clarinetist Shabaka Hutchings, guitarist Otto Fischer and drummer Richard Olatunde Baker.

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.

DC electronic explorer Chester Hawkins releases this limited edition album of 50 copies shaped in a metal bullet that unscrews to reveal a USB drive with more than 4 hours of extended forays into psychedelic electronics, synth and tabletop guitar, journeys of hard drone & abstract concrete elements, in mp3 & wav format with a pdf, housed in a handsome black case.

This Heat and Camberwell Now drummer, songwriter, vocalist, experimenter and sociological observer Charles Hayward steps away from his drums for an intimate album of song, performing on piano with minimal accompaniment as he presents new songs and new versions of songs including pieces from Camberwell Now; powerfully fragile, insightful, fascinating.

This Heat/Camberwell Now drummer Charles Hayward's latest solo album after a long wait, an incredible and unique journey through drums, electronics and song, personal, pointed and brilliant statements from one or rock's master voices.

Meeting for the 1st time at the 2016 October Meeting in Holland, the quartet performance there of Susana Santos Silva on trumpet, Mette Rasmussen on alto sax, Ada Rave on tenor sax & clarinet and Kaja Draksler on piano, inspired the formation of Hearth to develop soundscapes focusing on moods and textures, as heard in these six rich, explorative collective improvisations.

With members of The Core, Angles 9, Cortex, &c. The Heat Death is a Norwegian quintet with dual reeds and winds from Kjetil Moster & Martin Kuchen, Mats Aleklint on trombone, Olay Hoyer on bass, and Dag Erik Knedal Andersen on drums, a blazing band of energetic, informed and joyful free improv in a long-anticipated releases presenting 3 CDs of extended play.

Bassist John Hebert continues to explore his Louisana/Cajun roots with his trio of Benoit Delbecq on piano (plus synth & electronics) and drummer Gerald Cleaver, challenging and enigmatic improvisation with a solid rhythmic center.

Six pieces for strings, wind and percussion, free improvisation using unusual and extended techniques from the quartet of Ernesto Rodrigues (viola), Chris Heenan (alto saxophone, contrabass clarinet), Alexander Frangenheim (double bass),and Ofer Bymel (percussion).

A hybrid of theater, music, sound poetry and political manifesto from Sylvaine Helary, focused on the "Arab Spring" in Egypt, using intertwining words and voices around the quartet performances of Hugues Mayot, Sylvain Lemetre, Antonin Rayon and Sylvaine Helary.

The literal album title belies the subtle interplay between Swedish improvisers, cellist My Hellgren and Peter Söderberg, the latter known for his work on classical lute but here on guitar, oud and theorbo (a long-necked lute that adds additional bass notes), recording an extended, warmly beautiful and intricate acoustic dialog of gentle tension and masterful skill.