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.

Bill Laswell on bass and drones and John Zorn on shofar and alto saxophone perform darkly evocative ambient music to readings by magus David Chaim Smith from selections of his mystical text "The Awakening Ground".

Drummer Roberto Rodriguez interprets John Zorn's "Book of Angels" in this 23rd volume from the series, recording in Israel with a wonderfully compelling ensemble emphasizing both rhythmic and melodic elements in nine exciting compositions.

A mix of sound art and improvisation from Quebec/Actuelle musician Helene Prevost, 10 minimal "Plages", or luminous surfaces, created with Eric Normand, Stephae Claude, and Mario Gauthier.

Montreal/Actuelle players Sylvie Chenard on guitar and voice, Alexander Dubuc on bass, Cathy Heyden on sax, and Miriodor's Remi Leclerc on drums, with all providing electronics, in an encompassing ea-improv journey that balances acoustics with sonic environments and wonderfully controlled chaos.

A live recording of two extended improvisations at Audio Rebel's Quintavant in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from the quartet of Arthur Lacerda on guitar and electronics, electric bassist Felipe Zenicola, guitarist Eduardo Manso, and drummer/percussionist Paal Nilssen-Love.

The fourth installment in Darius Jones' on-going "Man'ish Boy" epic, an a cappella presentation from his vocal quartet, The Elizabeth-Caroline Unit using Jones' fictional, mythological sacred language used in the alien birthing ritual of a new being.

Leo Records joins the celebration of Herman Blount, aka Sun Ra's, 100th birthday with this double CD, 100 minutes in 17 compositions of an 11-piece Arkestra performing live in Ulm, Germany in 1992, a great mix of classic Sun Ra pieces in a nearly continuous set.

Celebrating Ivo Perelman's 25th anniversary as a recording artist in a duo with legendary vibist Karl Berger (here on piano) for a special recording brimming with lyricism and a unique mix of virtuosity, wild abandon and romance.

After performing live at New York's Vision Festival in 2012, the trio of Thomas Buckner (voice), Joelle Leandre (bass) and Nicole Mitchell (flute) recorded this studio album of free improvisations in a free-flowing exchange of ideas and adroit improvisation.

The collaboration between Machinefabriek (Rutger Zuydervelt and Celer) continues with their 2nd 7" of textured electronic collage and sound, packaged with a postcard, a download code, and two download videos.

New York's brilliant band takes on Miles Davis' classic "Kind of Blue" in a note-for-note recreation, a head-scratching anomaly that is as close to performing a perfect replica as is imaginable.

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.

A 2 song EP from The Thing--Mats Gustaffson (sax), Ingebrigt Haker Flaten (bass) and Paal Nilssen-Love (drums)--reprising their "MONO" release, the title track a Bob Weston remix of that hard-hitting number; and "Bruremarsj" an abstract take on a traditional Norwegian wedding march.

Exploring Kyoto through a series of 37 compositions organized from field recordings of everyday sound in the city made during Jason Kahn's 3 month stay in 2012, creating unique audio memories evoking and commenting on the structure of Kyoto's social spaces.

An early example of the focus and encompassing direction of the 577 label run by Italian-born/NY-based drummer Federico Ughi, in a trio with trumpeter Kirk Knuffke and guitarist Chris Welcome, building from an introspective approach to free playing as they expand their group energy through shards of organic sound, finally releasing into a beautiful "Inner Void".

The quartet of Cosottini, Melano, Pisani, Miano (EAQuartet Electroacoustic) in compositions referring to the 4 cardinal map points using graphic scores, games, open readings, &c.

JC Jones on electroacoustic bass and live electronics performing duos with friends Harold Rubin, Ariel Shibolet, Maya Dunietz, Yuval Mesner, Josef Sprinzak, &c.

A live recording made in April 2014 at Mike Reed's Constellation in Chicago of pianist Karayorgis Quintet with Dave Rempis (sax), Keefe Jackson (reeds), Nate McBride (bass) and Frank Rosaly (drums), bridging post-bop and avant jazz in sophisticated and lyrical ways.

A curious and remarkably enjoyable collection of works from Jorrit Dijkstra (sax, lyricon and electronics) in a quintet with Phillip Greenlief (reeds), Kyle Bruckman (double reeds & electronics), Frank Gratkowski (reeds), and Jon Raskin (sax & electronics).

The Boston-based BOLT quartet of Jorrit Dijkstra (sax), Eric Hofbauer (guitar), Junko Fujiwara (cello), Eric Rosenthal (drums) chose the 19 pieces on this release from 36 improvised pieces, ranging from "energy-orgies of free jazz [to] sparse electronic soundscapes".

Recorded during their 2014 tour, Jorrit Dijkstra (sax), Pandelis Karayorgis (piano), Jeb Bishop (trombone), Mary Oliver (violin), Jason Roebke (bass) and Han Bennink (drums) recorded this new set of inspired Steve Lacy & Monks tunes primarily in Padova, Italy.

Zorn's Gnostic Trio (Bill Frisell-guitar; Carol Emanuel-harp; Kenny Wollesen-vibes) in an album drawing inspiration from the Biblical Song of Solomon, intended as a companion to Zorn's vocal masterpiece Shir Hashirim, creating a beautiful blend of classical, jazz and folk music.

Reedist Cory Wright's 5-piece Outfit from Oakland, CA, in an album featuring eight tracks of advanced compositions featuring remarkable improvising with Evan Francis (sax), Rob Ewing (trombone), Lisa Mezzacappa (bass), and Jordan Glenn (drums).

The Oakland-based Ton Trio II featuring Aram Shelton on alto saxophone, Scott Brown on bass, and Alex Vittum on drums, perform avant sophisticated jazz weaving through melody, rhythm, and texture while allowing for spacious improvisations.

A 4-part suite from oboe/english hornist Kyle Bruckman based on Thomas Pynchon's early novels, exhilarating jazz performed with Jason Stein (bass clarinet), Darren Johnston (trumpet), Jeb Bishop (trombone), Tim Daisy (drums), Jen Paulson (viola) and Anton Hatwich (bass).

Zorn's "Nova Express" quartet (Joey Baron-drums, Trevor Dunn-bass, John Medeski-piano, Kenny Wollesen-vibes) dedicates an album of lyrical contemporary jazz to poet Walt Whitman, a rich and beautiful album from some of Downtown NY's finest.

The 22nd edition of John Zorn's Masada intrepretations, "The Book of Angels" comes from guitarist Jon Madof blending Afro-pop stylings of the legendary Fela Kuti with the Jewish tradition in an 11 piece all-star band.

Anne-F Jacques performs on rotating devices, small electric motors which are modified, manipulated and amplified, and Tim Olive plays magnetic pickups, here recording 3 studio works of unusual and inspired improvisations.

The first-ever session from this Calgary supergroup, using drums, saxes, clarinets, flutes, trombones, basses, voices, noise, objects, and a bunch of other stuff.

Four Norwegian jazz musicians--Thomas Johansson (cornet), Kristoffer Alberts (reeds), Ola Hoyer (double bass) and Gard Nilssen (drums)--representatives of a new generation of Scandinavian jazzmen playing creative music with the tools and forms of the older generation.

A joyful and sophisticated performance from bassist and leader Adam Lane's Full Throttle Orchestra, an 8-piece band including Nate Wooley, Susana Silva, Reut Regev, David Bindman, Avram Fefer, Adam Lane & Igal Foni performing live at the 53rd Ljubljana Jazz Festival.

Joe Morris reunites his NY quartet as their last configuration from 2000, with violist Mat Maneri, bassist Chris Lightcap, drummer Gerald Cleaver, and Morris on guitar, bringing us an update on the intently informed collective improvisation that defines this great- band.

A New York-born trio of European free improvisers, bassist Pascal Niggenkemper, clarinetist Joachim Badenhorst, and viola player Frank Loriot present a unique orchestration that blends contemporary compositional forms with free improvisation in sublime ways.

Tenor, soprillo saxophonist & flautist Jonas Kullhammar's trio with Torbjorn Zetterberg (bass) and Espen Aalberg (drums) is extended to a quartet with tenor saxophonist Jorgen Mathisen, in the 3rd "Basement Sessions" release recorded live at the 5th Ljubljana Jazz Festival.

Live from Lisbon's Jazz em Agosto Festival, cornetist Rob Mazurek merges his Chicago and Sao Paulo Underground bands, adding bassist Matthew Lux and jazz legend tenor saxophonist Pharoah Sanders, for a potent blend of modern jazz, electronics, and free improvised music.

Expanding their duo into a sextet with the addition of strings (Sara Parkins, Maggie Parkins), piano (Sylvie Courvoisier) and voice (Maja Solveig Kjestrup Ratkje), Ikue Mori and Zeena Parkins have created a compelling and varied soundscape inspired by fairy stories the world over.

Sylvie Courvoisier's first recording for piano trio, performed with Drew Gress on bass and Kenny Wollensen, 9 passionate original compositions balancing melodic traditional work with through-composed and purely free playing; exceptional!

Tzadik's new Spectrum series begins with the collaboration of 3 legendary NY performers--Wadada Leo Smith (trumpet); George Lewis (trombone); John Zorn (alto sax)--in 8 technically superb and joyfully unique compositions and collective improvisations.

Limited color edition of guitarist Barry Chabala's interpretation of composer Pisaro's piece, instructing the performer on structure and pitch but allowing the precise timing and sound to the player; plus a reworking of Chabala's recording taking advantage of cassette hiss and sine tones.

Guitarist Barry Chabala's interpretation of composer Pisaro's piece, instructing the performer on structure and pitch but allowing the precise timing and sound to the player; plus a reworking of Chabala's recording taking advantage of cassette hiss and sine tones.

A single extended work in 6 parts from the trio of Ivo Perelman (sax), Matthew Shipp (piano) and William Parker (bass), emotional and masterful music from a trio that has developed their sound over years working together; superb!

The second collaboration between saxophonist Ivo Pereleman and violist Mat Maneri, pairing two single-melody instruments in a melding of sound, technique and personalities that captivates in exceptional unison and counterpoint playing.

The studio debut of drummer Federico Ughi and electric guitarist Adam Caine's project The Moon, a touring band crossing jazz based free improvisation with rock elements in free-flowing and driving music highlight the technical and melodic skills of both players.

The Downtown NY trio of Stephen Gosling on piano, Greg Cohen on bass, and Tyshawn Sorey on drums performs Zorn's lyrical jazz trio works blending classical and jazz forms into absorbing forms that are both intricate and enjoyable.

NY saxophonist Steve Lehman builds on his work with spectral harmony, expanding the harmonic palette with live electronics & a custom-built vibraphone, in an octet with Jonathan Finlayson, Mark Shim, Tim Albright, Chris Dingman, Jose Davila, Drew Gress & Tyshawn Sorey.

Piero Bittolo Bon's Lacus Amoenus featuring the leader on reeds & electronics, Simone Massaron on guitars, Glauco Benedetti on tuba, and Tommaso Cappellato on drums, is joined by trumpeter Peter Evans for an album of transatlantic improvisation of great dexterity and humor.

The Zagreb, Croatia free jazz/noise rock guitar-drums duo of Gordan Krajacic on guitar and Neven Krajacic on drums and vocals in their 3rd release, a suite blending melody with brutal atonality, hard groove and guitar-riffs with free playing.

The Toronto jazz quintet Drumheller with Nick Fraser on drums, Eric Chenaux on guitar, Brodie West on sax, Rob Cloutton on bass and Doug Tielli on trombone mix avant and traditional jazz with a variety of musical forms to create persuasive and thoroughly enjoyable music.

Bassist Nic Caloia (Ratchet Orchestra) with his Montreal based quartet of pianist Guillaume Dostaler, drummer Isaiah Ceccarelli and Jean Derome on baritone sax and bass flute, in an album of great compositional mood and creative playing.