The perfect foils for each other, German saxophonist Urs Leimgruber and French AKS sysnthesist Jean-Marc Foussat are heard in two complete concerts, one at the WIM in Zurich and one at the Kunsthalle in Lucerne, both exploring sound, timbre, momentum and atmosphere through extended techniques and extreme playing, and an amazing display of soundscape and sonic force.

The sophisticated compositions of New York pianist Matt Mitchell on piano, also performing on synthesizer, are heard in this quintet with Miles Okazaki on electric & acoustic guitars, Patricia Brennan on vibraphone & marimba, Kim Cass on bass, and Kate Gentile on drums & percussion, a challenging album that rewards through intensity and incredible detail.

Fellow Canadians, Montreal's Ambiances Magnetiques collective member, turntablist and electronics artist Martin Tetrault meets Japan-based electronic explorer Tim Olive performing on magnetic pickups, in their first album despite having performed sporadically across three decades: 4 rich improvisations minimally edited, shaping sound in compelling ways.

Recording in Saskatoon in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan the day before their performance at the Sounds Like Festival, audio explorer Tim Olive brings his magnetic pickups in a first meeting with Doreen Girard performing on a prepared tsymbaly, a Ukranian hammer dulcimer, for a single, unusually evolving, and wonderfully rich improvisation.

An excellent example of modern fusion as drummer G. Calvin Weston (Ornette Coleman, James Blood Ulmer), also on pocket trumpet, joins the Phoenix Orchestra, a Philadelphia-based string & electric octet, for a funk driven album of spectacular playing with melodic force and compelling rhythm, showing shades of Cobham or Mahavishnu but with its feet fully in the present.

Led by Chicago percussionist and AACM member Kahil El'Zabar and founded in 1981, Ethnic Heritage Ensemble releases this album of Afro-centric spiritual jazz, El'Zabar's voice drawing us into the compelling rhythms and grooves he and cellist Ian Maksin provide as foundations for baritone saxophonist Alex Harding and trumpeter Corey Wilkes' profound soloing.

Led by Chicago percussionist and AACM member Kahil El'Zabar and founded in 1981, Ethnic Heritage Ensemble releases this album of Afro-centric spiritual jazz, El'Zabar's voice drawing us into the compelling rhythms and grooves he and cellist Ian Maksin provide as foundations for baritone saxophonist Alex Harding and trumpeter Corey Wilkes' profound soloing.

Three compositions for solo guitar from Canadian composer Mark Hannesson performed in Saint-Petersburg by Russian guitarist Denis Sorokin and recorded by saxophonist and sound artist Ilia Belorukov; "Each Thing" and "If I Appear Comfortable" using space and a subtle development in extended works; "Triste" using progressions of distorted tones and decay.

Two works from German composer Andre O. Moller: 9 Dances for Natalie Bohrer, a visual artist and painter, in a work deriving pitches and durations from a transformation of numbers, using Christoph Schiller's album "spinet" as sources; and "ungerarde" exploring pitch relations from a recording of radio static with durations in a proportional canon structure.

Three detailed and fragile compositions from German minimalist composer Eva-Maria Houben reveal themselves over two CDs, performed by the Boston-based experimental music ensemble, Ensemble Ordinary Affects, with Houben herself on organ recording at Memorial Chapel, in Wesleyan University, CT: three movements from "echo fantasy"; "gesang XI"; and "unter anderen".

When the Zeitkratzer Ensemble was asked to perform a late ensemble work by John Cage, director Reinhold Friedl turned to composer Burkhard Schlothauer, who reworked one of Cage's Number Pieces to create this rich piece using Cage's methods; plus a composition for the dance piece "Bewegte Bauhausbilder"; and an octet commissioned for the Klangzeit-Festival Time Is On My Side.

Several of late Swiss composer Hans-Jurg Meier's works are performed in duo, trio and quartet settings, whose compositions merged baroque forms with translations of architecture, «qEndeavoring to make physically tangible the sensual qualities of the musical material (tones, intervals, texture) while exploring the interaction of nature, form and beauty.

Antoine Beuger's piece merges compositional and improvised approaches, drawing on the text "the memories of RN", as he performs on flute, voice and objects with the electroacoustic improvising ensemble Colectivo maDam, merging long instrumental phrases with words, syllables or letters, using space and detachment to create numerous possibilities to resonate.

After a NY session for a Giuseppe Logan album, guitarist Ed Pettersen and pianist & instrument builder Cooper-Moore recorded their own acoustic quartet with Cooper-Moore on piano, then headed to Nashville to record acoustic and electric improv sets, then finally this gospel set with "Reverend Eddie Bones", all presented on 3 CDs in a keepsake tin in a printed cloth bag.

Recorded at the 2014 Ad Libitum Festival in Warsaw, pianist and composer Agusti Fernandez was invited to perform four concerts in celebration of his 60th birthday, choosing his working trio Aurora for once concert, a solo performance of "El Laberint de la Memoria", his electroacoustic Thunder trio, and a large ensemble conduction: "River, Tiger Fire".

Part of Evan Parker's 70th birthday in 2014, this album captures the super-charged quartet of Evan Parker on tenor saxophone, Mikolaj Trzaska on alto sax, bass clarinet, John Edwards on double bass, and Mark Sanders on drums, in two sets for two extended improvisations of both power playing and powerful communication, along with one shorter final statement.

As part of the Polish website Jazzarium.pl's 5th anniversary celebration, UK tenor saxophonist Evan Parker joined the Polish RGG free-improvising piano trio of Lukasz Ojdana on piano, Maciej Garbowski on bass, and Krzysztof Gradziuk on drums, for this four-part sophisticated collective improvisation recorded at the legendary Alchemia club in Krakow.

Radical masters of free jazz--Spanish pianist Agusti Fernandez and British bassist Barry Guy--meet young(er) radical trumpeter Peter Evans at the Moscow Cultural Center DOM for this 2017 concert of free improvisation, a fiery and informed concert of two sets, each in three parts, and an encore, showing technical mastery, inventive interaction, and sheer excitement in performance.

Three concerts from 2016 & 2017 of different string duos anchored by Leandre's double bass, starting at rue Victor Masse 75009 in Paris in a double bass duo with Bernard Santacruz; then a bass and cello duo at Le Triton Les Lilas, France with Gaspar Claus; and completing the set, a performances at DZIK, in Warszaw, Poland with violinist and violist Theo Ceccaldi.

Three astonishing concerts on 3 consecutive nights at the Ad Libitum Festival 2017 in Warsaw, Poland from British bassist Barry Guy in 3 configurations: 1st in a duo with Spanish pianist Agusti Fernandez; 2nd in a trio with US pianist Marilyn Crispell and British drummer Paul Lytton; and 3rd in a double bass duo with French bassist Joelle Leandre.

An awe-inspiring concert between two of London's free improvisation legends, recording at Pardon To Tu [Teatr Nowy Clubroom] in Poland--percussionist Eddie Prevost and saxophonist Evan Parker on tenor sax--in an hour-long performance that starts with Prevost's reverberant bowed metal, as the two build and recede with profound concentration and masterful skill.

Two trumpeters--Nate Wooley from New York City, and Torben Snekkestad from Norway, also performing on soprano sax--met in Copenhagen in 2015 for this live concert "KoncertKirken--Blagards Plads", a monumental meeting of exploratory and investigative improvisation, using unusual and unorthodox techniques on their instruments to present 3 unique and singular dialogs.

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.

Two works for solo percussion from French drummer Peter Orins, a member of the Circum collective and Circum Grand Orchestra, and peer of Jean-Luc Guionnet, Satoko Fujii, &c.: the 6 part "Happened by Accident", a work of subtle, building percussive work using unusual techniques and sources; and James Tenney's "Having Never Written A Note For Percussion".

The Quebec ensemble GGRIL of eclectic instrumentation, acoustic and electronic, with an open-minded approach to developing large-scale works bringing together approaches to improvisation and contemporary composition, here presenting three works from residencies with John Butcher, Isaiah Ceccarelli and Xavier Charles recorded from 2016 through 2018.

Don Redman was an American big band leader popular in the 1930's, responsible for work on animations, sound tracks, and recordings of pre-swing hot jazz arrangements of popular tunes; here the French Umlaut Big Band under the direction of Pierre-Antoine Badaroux pays homage to his music in rich orchestration showing the melodic, inventive, and complexities of Redman's music.

Combining the work of 18 artists chosen to interpret a series of sacred rites that took place deep within the woods by an elite shaman of an Amazon tribe, including Squidco's own Carl Kruger & phil zampino, Cheval Gris (Ryan Lewis) weaves an incredible story in sound, a virtual soundtrack of rich aural environments, concrete elements, and ritualistic sound.

Performing at St. Ann's Church in Dublin, Ireland, the trio of Japanese pianist living in Ireland, Izumi Kimura, is joined by London bassist Barry Guy and Swiss based drummer Gerry Hemingway for 8 superb improvisations, including renderings of Guy's "Blue Horizon", "Ancients" and "Finding It" and Agusti Fernandez' "How to Go Into a Room You Are Already In".

Splitting his time between Portugal and NY, tuba and euphonium player Ben Stapp's association with guitarist Joe Morris and cornetist Stephen Haynes started in 2011, including participating in their Improvisations series, leading to this trio performing Stapp's compositions with musical forms based on the narrative structure of his novel "Mind Creature Sound Dasein".

A complete, powerful performance at London's Vortex club from the indefatigable quartet led by Canadian saxophonist Francois Carrier, featuring one of the finest European young piano virtuosos, Alexander Hawkins, one of the most in-demand bass players on the Euro/London free improv scene, John Edwards, and long running partner to Carrier, drummer Michel Lambert.

Using a participatory compositional process, the NY trio of Brad Barrett on bass & cello, Joe Morris on guitar, and Tyshawn Sorey on drums, follow a framework to make choices based on density, rhythmic ratios, register, melody, and timbre, encouraged to employ small particles of sounds and blend timbres with an awareness of implied pulse and an inclination to disrupt it.

The Catalan free improvising trio Phicus of Alex Reviriego on double bass, Ferran Fages on electric guitar, and Vasco Trilla on drums, continue their pursuit of 4th partners, here joined by Swedish saxophonist Martin Kuchen on tenor & alto saxophones for a studio album of collective improvisation with elements of ea/lowercase playing balanced with dynamic language.

Two lives sets at Tago Jazz Cafe in the Philippines in 2018 from the trio of master percussionist Sabu Toyozumi on drums, American ex-pat Rick Countryman on alto saxophone, and Simon Tan on acoustic bass, this their 3rd album of solid free improvisation of extended and masterful discourse, unusual percussive devices, and powerful rhythmic foundation.

Downtown bassist mainstay Trevor Dunn, a vital element of many Zorn projects, alongside his own improvisation and compositional work, in his first chamber music album: quartet and trio orchestrations with Trevor Dunn on contrabass, Carla Kihlstedt, Cornelius Dufallo or Jennifer Choi on violin, Vicky Chow on piano, Yves Dharamraj on cello, and Lev Zhurbin on viola.

John Zorn composed this suite of compositions drawing inspiration from the mystic world of the Tarot and its wide range of impressions, emotions and inferences, from breathtaking activity to introspective elegance, performed as a piano trio by a spectacular group of Downtown NY performers: Brian Marsella on piano, Trevor dunn on bass, and Kenny Wollesen on drums.

Virgin vinyl gatefold remastered issue of Zorn's 2015 Dreamers album with Cyro Baptista on percussion, Joey Baron on drums, Trevor Dunn on bass, Marc Ribot on guitars, Jamie Saft on keyboards, and Kenny Wollesen on vibes, a lyrical album of tuneful compositions and superb soloing, with beguiling compositions inspired by the imaginary worlds of fantasy literature.

Blending a punk rock sensibility with Sephardic tribalism via a taste of North African Gnawa magic, Abraxas is one of the most primal and rocking ensembles in the Masada family, here taking on the 5th edition of Masada Book Three, "The Book Beri'ah", recording in Bill Laswell's studio for 9 joyfully exuberant and intensely executed interpretations of Zorn's compositions.

Weasel Walter is the constant in the no-wave influenced free improvising band Flying Luttenbachers, formed in 1991 and on hiatus since 2007; Walter reassembled the concept in 2018 for a tour in France, then again in 2019 with this lineup of saxophonist Matt Nelson, guitarist Brandon Seabrook and bassist Tim Dahl, recording this startling, demanding and excellent album.

The original EML synthesizer player for the unique and forward-thinking Cleveland rock band Pere UBU, Allen Ravenstine presents an illustrated book with four stories written during his touring days and referring to those years, originally published in Cleveland Edition, The ReR Records Quarterly, and The Penguin Book of Rock and Roll Writing.

UK Tenor saxophonist and bassoonist Beck Hunter (Feet Packets, Gated Community) leads his trio with Anton Hunter on guitar and Johnny Hunter on drums, their second album of confident, self-possessed free improvisation with both an assertive edge and excellent exploratory moments, a sense of humor and a serious intent, a great example of collective improv.

The second album from multi-instrumentalist Frostlake (Jan Todd, also of Orchestra of The Upper Atmosphere), hallucinatory songs of layered vocals accompanied by the creative bass of Terry Todd, for rich atmospheres with warm instrumentation augmented by field recordings; absorbing music that draws its listeners into their beautiful, psychedelic dream states.

Reflecting on the Horweb Sax Quartet he was a member of during the 80s, UK improvising saxophonist Martin Archer uses AACM influences (and covers one Roscoe Mitchell piece) as he plays all parts of a series of "solo" saxophone recordings, layering his playing alone and in harmony, in call and response, and in insanely creative ways that never cease to engage his listeners.

Mujician pianist Keith Tippetts embarked on his first solo tour in 1979, capturing these concert recordings that were originally released in 1980 on vinyl on the Universe Label; long out of print, Discus has revived these extraordinary recordings, showing the incredible technical abilities, endurance, and quick-witted creative powers of this legendary improviser.

The second album of this Guy Segers (Univers Zero) project in an eclectic ensemble of improvisers, rock musicians and experimenters, a genre-defying project of primarily instrumental work with interventions of song, merging acoustic & electric instruments with electronics, live improvisation with studio manipulation, to find new forms of mesmerizing music.

Czech improviser and sound musician Tomislav Federsel started work on this project in 2002, remixing in experimental forms the songs of Czech folk musician Wabi Danek, a project Federsel scrapped and rebuilt three times, Jaroslav Tarnovski joining in this ultimate version of the rich, imaginative and well-considered renderings of Danek's music.

Two compositions--"Unbearable" and "Nauseating"Ð-from the synth & electronics trio of Ken Ganfield, Kurt Liedwart and Petr Vrba, starting with improvisations on three synthesizers and electronics brought to the extreme edge, the results remixed by Liedwart to create these outer limit tracks of sci-fi psychedelia and Gameboy nightmare; truly unique and disquieting music.

From Mnemonist Orchestra to Biota, with 18 albums in total, the Colorado collective Biota presents its 11th album on ReR, taking 4 years to complete this genre-defying album of gorgeous abstraction through free improvisation and composition, absorbing styles and reflecting them in a filtered ray of melody & song using unusual instrumentation and arrangment; absolutely recommended

A live album at Kunstraum Walcheturm from Swiss double bassist Daniel Studer's quintet of strings and piano, with Harald Kimmig on violin, Frantz Loriot on viola, Alfred Zimmerlin on violoncello, and Philip Zoubek on piano, performing an inventive set of Studer compositions extending string improvisation to extremes through unorthodox structures and techniques.

With a superb septet of improvisers also versed in contemporary music, trumpeter Franz Koglmann presents sophisticated compositions that interject the concept of "solitude" in the three-part title track, alongside Koglmann compositions and Jimmy Giuffre's "Finger Snapper", using striking orchestration of trumpet, sax, clarinet, bassoon, oboe, french horn, cello and double bass.

The long-running duo since 1987 of spouses, pianist Hildegard Kleeb and trombonist Roland Dahinden, are joined by Swiss-born/ Berlin-based percussionist & vibraphonist Alexandre Babel for an album of interweaving and contrasting instrumental lines, blurring the boundaries between contemporary music and improvisation through exceptional mastery and dialog.