A dark and gritty album of experimental improvisation from the Portuguese trio of Jose Bruno Parrinha on reeds, Luis Lopes on electric guitar, and Ricard Jacinto on cello and electronics, dense yet restrained playing that occasionally emerges to moments of beauty.
A remarkable album of free improvisation from the Scandinavian quartet of Isak Hedtjarn on clarinet, Lisa Ullen on piano, Elsa Bergman on double bass, and Erik Carlsson on drums, captivating the listener with active and detailed interplay of strong intention and technical skill.
NY Saxophonist Tony Malaby's Paloma Recio with Ben Monder on guitar, Eivind Opsvik on double bass, and Nasheet Waits on drums in a studio album performing Malaby's 4-part "Incantation Suite", lyrically free improvisation with a shimmering essence invoking dreamlike states.
Scandinavian and American musicians join together to form this quartet, with Kristoffer Berre Alberts on saxes, Jamie Saft on organ and keys, Ingebrigt Haker-Flaten on electric bass, and Gard Nilssen on drums & electronics, for an album of spacey and groove oriented jazz.
Drawing on several years and many shared projects, the duo of Ingrid Laubrock (sax) and Tom Rainey (drums) recorded this excellent album of sophisticated improvisation at the end of a 17-date tour, performing for a studio audience at Audio for the Arts in Madison, Wisconsin.
Assembling a wide range of percussive instruments accumulated through world travels, from Korean gongs to scrap metal sheets from Ethiopia, Paal Nilssen-Love presents an intense and wide-ranging solo percussion tour-de-force, recorded in Oslo by frequent collaborator Lasse Marhaug.
Japanese Koto virtuoso Michiyo Yagi joins the longstanding duo of drummer Paal-Nilssen-Love and electronics wizard Lasse Marhaug for a session of extended improvisations, driving the traditional Japanese instruments into non-idiomatic and percussive extremes.
Drummer Paal Nilssen-Love's Large Unit recorded this ecstatic, Brazilian influenced material in 2015 after a mammoth European and North-American tour, hours after their performance at the 2015 Oslo Jazzfestival with an extended line-up with Brazilian percussion players.
A live recording from the Casa Del Popolo club in Montreal, Canada, named because Gjerstad was upset that Air Canada had messed up his sax in transit, which he played regardless; his frustration pushed him into an overwhelmingly amazing set of smoking free jazz!
Playful, joyful and absolutely commanding performances from the duo of German pianist Uwe Oberg and Silke Eberhard on alto sax and clarinet, performing both live and in the studio on original compositions and pieces by Carla Bley, Jimmy Giuffre, and Annette Peacock.
Albert Mangelsdorf Award-winning pianist Achim Kaufmann and multi-reedist Gebhard Ullmann met in the studio for the first time in Berlin, Germany to record these upbeat free improvisations, intricate collective playing covering a wide range of moods and styles.
The Berlin-based trio of free improvising vocalist Almut Kuhne, pianist Achim Kaufmann and reedist Gebhard Ullmann for ten originals, on-the-edge, informed improvisation of great skill and melodic invention, taking their music into uncharted and unconventional territory.
Married and working as a duo since 1987, Swiss pianist Hildegard Kleeb and trombonist Roland Dahinden have a rare telepathic link in their freely improvised duos, informed by their work with Anthony Braxton, Alvin Lucier, John Cage, Pauline Oliveros, Christian Wolff, &c. &c.
Serbian violist Szilard Mezei trio with double bassist Ervin Malina and drummer/percussionist Istvan Csik, in two extended works that blend seemingly chaotic approaches to improvisation with subtle and spacious playing, a tremendous achievement.
Using electronics and voice, composer & sound artist Gtanit Elyakim presents a diverse set of compositions in collaboration with other acoustic, voice and electronic artists, a superb debut for an artist interested in aspects of the human and the digital paradigm.
A beautifully evolving set of duos, or "paths" from Philadelphia saxophonist Keir Neuringer and Polish bassis Rafal Mazur, using monumental technique to support a dialog that's technical and intensely focused while remaining lyrically sophisticated and imaginative.
An absorbing album of solo drum work from French drummer/percussionist Antonin Gerbal, recording in the studio and demonstrating his profound sonic and technical approaches to the drums, isolated from projects like Peeping Tom, Bertrand Denzler/ONCEIM or Zoor.
Saxophonist Pierre-Antoine Badaroux and double bassist Sebastien Beliah formed Ensemble Hodos in 2008 to perform the music of composers who wrote scores that include freedom and/or improvisation for the players, here performing the music of Philip Corner.
Cologne pianist and composer Simon Russell wrote these compositions, melding jazz, classical, electronic, even tango music into lyrical and joyfully quirky works, performed by his ensemble with Goerg Wissel, Matthias Muche, Udo Moll, Carl Ludwig Hubsch, &c.
An intense and dynamic album of unusual electroacoustic improvisation from the duo of Pascal Battus performing on rotating surfaces, styrofoam, paper, plastic objects, and microphones, and Dafne Vicente-Sandoval performing on bassoon, microphones and mixing board.
A moody album of minimal improv, using space, innuendo, breath and a wonderful sense of darkness from the trio of Radu Malfatti (trombone), Kevin Drum (electronics) and Lucio Capece (bass clarinet & preparations), performing live at Q-O2 in Brussel, Belgium.
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.
Italian soprano saxophonist Gianni Mimmo meets Boston guitarist Garrison Fewell for 10 freely improvised duets of strong dialog balancing technical and lyrical skills with an ebullient intensity and warm spirit, engaging the listener in their joyful dialog.
Violinist Emanuele Parrini leads his quartet with Dimitiri Grechi Espinoz on alto sax, Giovanni Maier on double bass, and Andrea Melani on drums, performing Parrini's 3 part "The Blessed Prince", and original compositions from bassist Maier; lyrical and innovative modern jazz.
Long time collaborators, Italian saxophonist Daniele Cavallanti and drummer Tiziano Tononi, travelled to NYC to record with friends new and old, the results of which are this dynamic free jazz album recorded with Steve Swell (trombone), Herb Robertson (cornet) and Joe Fonda (bass).
Part of a series of 8 split release cassettes, hand-painted & numbered; Side A presents S27E152, aka Brisbane's Tristan Eyles, using field recordings and image synthesis; Side B is Chefkirk, aka Roger Smith, combining concrete sound with improvised drone and harsh electronics.
Part of a series of 8 split release cassettes, hand-painted & numbered; Side A presents dark soundscapes from Jeff Winter, aka Faint Glow, in slowly unfolding electronic works; Side B a variety of electronic approaches from arpeggiated to slowly abrasive grumbling.
Part of a series of 8 split release cassettes, hand-painted & numbered; Side A is Dog Hallucination (D. Petri) for manipulated guitars, textural element, and organized sound; Side B is Ichtyor Tides (Nikola Akileus) for synthetic ambience, glitches, hazy drones, & field recordings.
Part of a series of 8 split release cassettes, all hand-painted & numbered; this release presents the collaborative long-form improvisation noise project Amalgamated backed with Odd Person, the ongoing project of Bicephalic label leader August Traeger.
Sound artist Martin Kay focuses on the intimate and visceral symphony of domestic activity reverberating throughout a variety of shared courtyard spaces in Paris, using field recordings from various locations to examine their distinct acoustic characteristics.
Three soundtracks to movies from sound artist Eric La Casa, developed for directors Luke Fowler, Christian Jaccard and Marie-Christine Navarro, organizing sounds from field recordings, with Navarro's soundtrack complemented by organ recordings from Jean-Luc Guionnet.
The title of this work for a cross-wired analog DJ mixer from Goh Lee Kwang translates to "Internal Pleasures", as he finds unexpected sounds from the noise floor of his equipment, which he develops into 7 untitled sound works of hiss, hum, controlled feedback, and rich sound.
Recorded at Herbal International headquarters, Finders Art Space in Kuala Lumpur, Tim Bleichman and label founder Goh Lee Kwang reunite for this album of no-input mixer and laptop, an extended work of powerful sound, glitch, and indescribeable sonic environments.
A dynamic set of wind and object improvisations from multi-reedist Hans Koch, using extended techniques to elicit a diverse and astounding range of sounds from his instruments, and Thomas Peter creating indescribable sound on amplified objects and live electronics.
A fascinating collaboration from two minimalist/Wandelweiser figures: Christian Wolff on prepared piano, whistles, and stones, and Michael Pisaro-Liu on guitar, harmonica and stones, recording together in Caimbridge, MA for two extended works, "Looking East" and "Looking West".
Three extended compositions using field recordings and electronic processing from Vanessa Rossetto and Matthew Revert, using obscure references in song titles to mask subtle dovetailing and transitioning of concrete sound and mysterious tones.
Portuguese trumpeter Luis Vicente in a quartet with Amsterdam-based improvisers John Dikeman (sax), Wilbert De Joode (bass) and Onno Govaert (drums), captured during an energetic live performance at zaal 100 in Amsterdam in 2015 for superb free jazz.
Jazz Passengers leader and saxophonist Roy Nathanson in an album of duos recorded live during a series of concerts at The Stone in NY, with collaborators including Marc Ribot, Curtis Fowlkes, Anthony Coleman, Arturo O'Farrill, Myra Melford, and Lucy Hollier.
New York bassist Eric Revis' Trio with Kris Davis on piano and Gerald Cleaver taking over the drum position in an album that crosses the traditional piano trio concept with modern free parlance, for both lyrical and unconventionally creative moments.
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.
Alto saxophonist Julie Kjaer, a Denmark native living in the UK and active on the London Improv scene, in a trio with two of the most active London players - Steve Noble on drums and John Edwards on bass - for a live album at Vortex Jazz Club in 2015.
Using saxophone and electronics in unexpected ways, Warszawa composer Kamil Szuszkiewicz's 9 movement "Robot Czarek" is described as a "sound cartoon", using odd punctuation of voice and effected interactive instrumental interjections to tell his libretto's strange tale.
Polish conceptual composer Zygmunt Krauze meets pianist John Tilbury, who studied in Warsaw in the 1960s, and returned in 2015 for a residency; this delicate and beautiful work was recorded at the Concert Studio of Polish Radio in Warsaw with 4 pianos and a percussionist.
UK guitarist and vocalist Richard Youngs, also on zither, suggested performing his large song work "Parallel Winter" on the first day of his Warszawa tour of Poland, a piece that changes in length based on location and environment, here in an extended and contemplative version.
Two works from composer Frey performed by Montreal's string ensemble Quatuor Bozzini: "String Quartet No. 3", a minimal work of colors, sensations, shadows, durations; and "Unhorbare Zeit" exploring durations without sound, or empty volumes, to achieve lucidity and transparency.
Christian Wolff initiated his "Microexercises" series when the Miniaturist Ensemble asked for a piece with no more than 100 notes in it; he went on to create 21 more pieces, 13 of which are performed here by the South African duo of Beat Keller & Reza Khota on electric guitar.
Pianist Samuel Vriezen performs Tom Johnson's work presenting what Johnson describes as a natural phenomenon within a musical scale: progressions in 1 to 5 voices of all possible combinations of notes with each voice being limited to 3 steps, a perfect 4th or a perfect 5th.
John Cage's "Empty Words" (1974) is drawn from the Journals of Henry David Thoreau, written in four parts: Part I omits sentences, Part II omits phrases, and Part III omits words. Part IV, which omits syllables, leaves us nothing but a virtual lullaby of letters and sounds.
The duo Contour of Stephen Altoff (trumpet) & Lee Forrest Ferguson (percussion) perform Antoine Beuger's "dedekind duos" dedicated to mathematician Julius Wilhelm Richard Dedekind; and Jurg Frey's "22 Sachelchen" or "small things", 22 focused miniature compositions.
