Using members of the violin family augmented with effects, NY violinist Sana Nagano and violist Leonor Falcon pay homage to Prokofiev's Sonata for Two Violins and Bela Bartok's Etudes 1 & 2, reinterpreted for modern contemporary approaches, alongside new compositions from both Nagano & Falcon that show their virtuosic talents and playful attitude to performance.

Seeking to organize a group of musicians driven by an underlying pulse and a central energy, going beyond the abstract improvisations he has been familiar with for years, saxophonist Paul Dunmall assembled Steven Saunders on guitar, Dave Kane on bass and Miles Levin on drums, achieving these impressive improvisations, captured in the studio in Birmingham.

Four live recordings from Tokyo performances during 2021 & 2022 by No-Input Mixing Board performer Toshimaru Nakamura, the 11th in his series of albums featuring his unique approach to cross-wiring a mixer to harness the unexpected (and manufacturer's ill-advised) sounds of feedback & distortion, structuring the results into surprising and riveting sonic soundscapes.

A special edition of the Turbulence wind ensemble, part of the Leap of Faith Orchestra, in a live to 2-track recording with live processing, extending the core group of wind & brass players David Peck, Michael Caglianone, Dennis Livingston, Bob Moores and Duane Reeds with trumpeter John Fugarino and drummer percussionist, who brought flute & sax player Bonnie Kane of WOO fame.

A 2022 recording at Evil Clown Headquarters, in Waltham, MA of the duo offshoot of the Leap of Faith Orchestra--David Peck on reeds & flutes, and Glynis Lomon on cello, aquasonic & voice--with guests, trumpeter Vance Provey, saxophonist Michael Caglianone, modular synth player Eric Woods and Albey on bass, with Joel Simches performing real-time signal processing.

Seven forays into dark experimental electroacoustic improvisation from electric bassist and Tour de Bras label-leader Éric Normand and French clarinetist Xavier Charles, leveraging unlikely techniques on both instruments, eight dialogs both assertive and cautiously mysterious, employing harmonic overtones, remarkable reed techniques, and rich electronic foundations.

Part of a 2022 creative residency at the Abbey of Saint-Benoît-Labre, in Beauce at the invitation of the organization EXEcentrer, this duo recording captures the September concert of two magnificent Montreal sound artists: Érick d'Orion performing on electronics & synthesizers, and Martin Tétreault on turntables, vinyl records & synthesizer.

Five interpretations of works by contemporary composers Franco Donatoni, Iannis Xenakis, Xavier Bonfil, Thanos Chrysakis and Tim Hodgkinson performed by a stellar set of performers in varying configurations, including bass clarinetist Jason Adler, trombonist Christian Larsen, bass clarinetist Yoni Silver, clarinetist Hodgkinson, horn player Julian Faultless, &c.

Recorded after a three-day series of concerts at New York City's venue The Stone, the trio of Zeena Parkins on electric harp & objects, Mette Rasmussen on saxophone, objects & voice and Ryan Sawyer on drums & objects brought their dynamic and far-ranging approach to collective free improv into Brooklyn's Figure 8 studio to capture these 10 extraordinary recordings.

A brutal and complex concert of processed sopranino saxophone, electric guitar and electronics from the long-running Italian quartet Melting Mind of Virginia Genta, Michele Mazzani, David Vanzan and Matteo Poggi, recorded during a 2019 tour of France at Grnd Zero in Lyon, a 33 minute performance of thick noise & feedback layered with inexplicable detail.

Definitely of the Borbetomagus mold, the duo of tenor saxophonist Don Dietrich and cellist Camille Dietrich, his daughter who grew up under the influence of that band's relentlessly aggressive free jazz, here in a live performance at Tubby's in Kingston, New York for four burning improvisations that take apart a tree, leaving the audience to catch the fragments; terrifyingly intense!

Two powerfully intense 1969 free jazz recordings by American ex-patriots, saxophonist Arthur Jones and cornetist Clifford Thornton, recorded days apart in the same studio and released on BYG Records, Jones this reissue's connection with his own trio, and joining Thornton for four uniquely configured sessions that include Archie Shepp, Grachan Moncur III, Dave Burrell, and Sunny Murray.

Following the evolution in form and approach of composer and tenor saxophonist Wayne Shorter from his 1966 Blue Note album Adam's Apple with Hancock, Workman and Chambers (including a pre-Miles "Footprints") to the 1969 Weather Report precursor Super Nova with John McLaughlin, Sonny Sharock, Miroslav Vitous, Chick Corea, and Jack DeJohnette.

A mix of chaos, awe and humorously inspired improvisation from the quartet of Don Malfon on alto saxophone, Fernando Barrios on drums & objects, Marco Albert on voice and Misha Marks on latarra (a form of home-built guitar), recording in Colonia Buenavista de San Pedro Ixtlahuaca, Oaxaca, Mexico for 7 peculisar and absorbing improvisations.

Washington DC-area sound artist and Zeromoon label-leader Jeff Surak, creating audio environments since the 80's home taping days, in a set of sound recordings of electro-acoustic drones, tape generated musique concrete, "plus a heavy dose of weirdness"; five tracks of diverse approaches to sonic experimentation, particularly the epic "Parasite Lost".

Sound artist Charles Lareau, a member of Naturaliste with Bryan Day, Chris Fischer & Lonnie Methe, in six solo compositions of assertive electronics and noise, using recordings, found sounds and various electronics while often incorporating his environment to add aural excitement and unexpected moments between sections of slowly shifting, static textures.

A fascinating trio of West Coast sonic explorers exploring the isopleth, the zone of seawater that receives enough sunlight for photosynthesis to occur, from improvising trumpeter Tom Djll employing electronics with his horn, Bryan Day on invented instruments, and Cheryl Leonard using natural objects including driftwood, feathers, marsh reeds, penguin bones, &c.

Extremely active in the Downtown NY scene as a versatile double bassist in a wide variety of settings, Brandon Lopez presents a tour de force album of solo improvisations, developed to illuminate his abilities as a powerful string player but also as a mischief-maker on the strings through unexpected technique and the application of "RealBadVibes".

Extremely active in the Downtown NY scene as a versatile double bassist in a wide variety of settings, Brandon Lopez presents a tour de force album of solo improvisations, developed to illuminate his abilities as a powerful string player but also as a mischief-maker on the strings through unexpected technique and the application of "RealBadVibes".

An album of transporting drones and industrial soundscapes from Chicago experimental artist Kevin Drumm, drawing the listener into his soundspace slowly through distracted studio clatter and then journeying deep into textures and tones, maintaining a natural quality to synthetic and obscure sources in this fine addition to his expansive discography.

Recorded in Schloss Prinzendorf shortly after the passing of composer and artist Hermann Nitsch, this realization of his six-day play festival of the Orgien Mysterien Theater, an aesthetic ritual of the glorification of existence, merging art, photography and color together, the music an essential element derived from the interplay of sound and colour through harmony or dissonance.

Composed over a period of thirty years, the eleven absolutely remarkable recording from the duo of husband and wife virtuoso piano improvisers and composers Aki Takase and Alexander von Schlippenbach, performing together on two grand pianos or, as the title describes, performing with four hands, is a stunning achievement in style, complement, and nearly telepathic dialog.

Composed over a period of thirty years, the eleven absolutely remarkable recording from the duo of husband and wife virtuoso piano improvisers and composers Aki Takase and Alexander von Schlippenbach, performing together on two grand pianos or, as the title describes, performing with four hands, is a stunning achievement in style, complement, and nearly telepathic dialog.

A split LP from two electroacoustic composers: from France, Eve Aboulkheir presents a work inspired by an experience of perceptive disorientation, using modified, mutated and layered field recordings; and Norwegian sound composer Lasse Marhaug presents a work for modified tabletop guitar, field recordings, electronics & objects evoking a path through a forest avoiding large anthills.

A split LP from two sound and electroacoustic artists: Paris bassoonist Dafne Vicente-Sandoval deconstructs the instrument itself using an electro-acoustic device that generates feedback, developing compositions from those explorations; and Norwegian Lars Petter Hagen revisits Richard Strauss's Metamorfosen through decay and fragmentation of its musical lines.

Continuing the reissue series of Swedish drummer & accordionist based in Berlin, Sven-Ake Johansson, with this 1971 recording of an otherwise unrecorded quintet with Jeanne Lee on vocal, Gunter Hampel on vibes, flute & bass clarinet, Michael Waisvisz on synthesizer and Freddy Gosseye on electric bass, captured live in a then-radical concert at Berlin Jazztage.

Composed by Henry Threadgill based on his observations of the exodus of people from New York City during the Covid pandemic and the debris left behind, this work titled "Valence" and dedicated to percussionist Milford Graves, is a chamber jazz piece in three movements was taken from recordings at Roulette of the second of two performances entitled "One" and "The Other One".

Looking to create a sound realm that would reflect more life and less process, NY guitarist/banjo player Brandon Seabrook takes his 8-piece ensemble Epic Proportions on a truly epic journey through "lyrical melodies, dynamic improvisations and manic counterpoint", showing great evolution and development as a contemporary composer and player; "Brutal is beautiful".

Improvising over strings, winds & percussion from the Portuguese quintet of Ernesto Rodrigues on viola, Guilherme Rodrigues on cello, Joao Madeira on double bass, Bruno Parrinha on flute & bass clarinet and Monsieur Trinite on percussion, in a studio session of active, often pointillistic interaction offset with periods of introspection, reflecting concepts of Baudelaire & The Surrealists.

The trio of violist Ernesto Rodrigues, cellist Guilherme Rodrigues and clarinetist Bruno Parrinha on alto & bass clarinets are captured live at Lisboa Incomum, during the 2022 Festival DME, performing two sophisticated chamber improv works, their titles translating to "The aging skies - it's all illusion" and "Pass The Bridges If It's Windy - The Flame Of The Solemnity".

An exceptional quartet of electroacoustic improvisers captured in concert at MUG Einstein Kultur in Munich, organized by the non-profit Offene Haken e.V. - Freunde der improvisierten Musik (Friends of improvised music), from Markus Eichenberger on clarinet, Carl Ludwig Hubsch on tuba, Philip Zoubek on synthesizer and Etienne Nillesen on extended snare drum.

The cosmological concept of the aeon, the conflict between matter and spirit, is explored in eight "Chronicles" of collective free improvisation using impressive technique and concentrative interaction from the Portuguese quartet of Flak on acoustic guitar, Guilherme Rodrigues on cello, Bruno Parrinha on bass clarinet and Ernesto Rodrigues on violin.

Spanning three generations of improvisers, the duo of violist Ernesto Rodrigues and cellist Guilherme Rodrigues join with tenor saxophonist Gonçalo Mortágua and legendary percussionist Gunter Baby Sommer to record eleven diverse improvisations in the studio in Berlin, naming the quartet "Not Bad", an extreme understatement for their unique chamber influences of European Free Jazz.

Following his previous Discus release Yes Tomorrow, UK saxophonist and composer Paul Dunmall expands his quintet to a septet with legendary vocalist Julie Tippetts and trumpeter Charlotte Keefe joining the exemplary ensemble of Martin Archer on sax, Richard Foote on trombone, Steven Saunders on electric guitar, James Owston on double bass and Jim Bashford on drums.

The 2nd release from the touring duo of Audrey Chen & trombonist Henrik Munkeby, Chen modifying her voice with amplification and performing on analog electronics, while Munkeby amplifies his trombone and also performs on analog electronics, feedback & sound files; often frighteningly intense improvisations that plays to the spectrum of sound in a mix of studio and live recordings.

Recording to 4 track cassette, this unusual and experimental Boston-area trio of active sound artists--Stella Silbert, Arkm Foam and Neil 'Cloaca' Young--improvise over abstract territory using turntables, a no-input mixer, objects, an open reel tape machine, contact mics, and cassette players, emerging with equally tongue-in-cheek and serious aural interactions.

Kingston, NY sound artist and media artist Evan Lindorff-Ellery recorded these two experimental improvisations in the summer of 2021 in a small cabin in West Saugerties, NY using electric guitar, contact mic, amp, recordings and various objects, while also repurposing recordings made while in Maine by running them through his electric guitar.

Red Trio drummer Gabriel Ferrandini joins alto saxophonist Ilia Belorukov for a three-part freely improvised set captured live at Masterskaya Anikushina, in St. Petersberg, Russia, the former workspace of architect Mikhail Anikushin, a large space that creates a unique resonance that the two improvisers take advantage of through insistent yet discerningly constrained dialog.

Composed, constructed and mixed by bassist, improviser and composer David Menestres, this extended electroacoustic work features work from a tremendous set of performers: Jeb Bishop, Olie Brice, Sean Clancy, D. Edward Davis, Laurent Estoppey, Chris Eubank, David Grubbs, Michael Thomas Jackson, David Jordan, David Menestres, & Catherine Sikora.

Saxophonist Noah Howard's move from New Orleans to New York City brought him into the circle of early 60's free jazz players including Albert Ayler, joining Sun Ra's Arkestra, and performing at Slug's Saloon; this release reissues two ESP albums, his working band's 1966 Quartet album, and the extended and interestingly orchestrated sextet album, At Judson Hall.

A work for voice, piano and electronics from experimental composer Laurence Crane, working with the closely associated UK ensemble Apartment House, Natural World is in three sections--"Field Guide", "Chorus" and "Seascape"--with vocalist Juliet Fraser and pianist & electronic artist Mark Knoop, Crane's work describing the natural world and portending the fragility of our ecosystems.

Six sound-oriented compositions for acoustic ensemble performed by the UK ensemble Apartment House, beautifully reflective and rich works, the first six pieces being text scores for open instrumentation, along with Peace/Tree, a seven movement work for violin, cello and piano that specifies pitches while leaving room for interpretation and improvisation.

The second chapter in the duo of West Coast improvisers Chris Williams on trumpet, cornet, objects & mutes and Patrick Shiroishi on alto, soprano and tenor saxophones plus snare drum, essentially a free jazz outing of six fascinating dialogs, from call and response to pointillistic interaction, a masterful display of assertive playing through intensive listening.

The 2nd album as a leader from NY drummer's Chad Taylor's Trio with long-time collaborators and friends, saxophonist Brian Settles and pianist Neil Podgurski, in nine diverse compositions with contributions from all three players along with two works from late pianist Andrew Hill; a wonderfully balanced album of creative jazz, from meditative to joyfully upbeat and rhythmically compelling.

The third album in Chicago 6- & 12-string guitarist Elijah McLaughlin's numbered album series of original compositions, rich flowing works of lyrical textures augmented with environmental field recordings and tape loops, performed with Jason Toth on upright bass, Katinka Kleijn on cello, effects, Joel Styzens on hammered Dulcimer and Adler Scheidt on piano.

Exploring the crossing point of jazz and funky electro-beats, experimental electronics and dub grooves, the Chicago trio of Quin Kirchner on drums, percussion, sampler & electronics, Daniel Van Duerm on acoustic & electric pianos, organ, mellotron & electronics and Matthew Lux on bass & electronics dig more deeply into their engaging and upbeat approach to modern forms of fusion improv.

A collaboration between Montreal saxophnist Aaron Leaney (Ratchet Orchestra, Nebula) with legendary free jazz drummer and founder of Le Nouveau Jazz Libre de Quebec in 1967, Guy Thouin, performing on a wealth of winds, percussions and bells, their music infused with a rich spiritual and natural feeling of world elements, lyrical playing and folkloric rhythms.

The third volume in West Coast/Montreal/Kansas guitarist David Lord's series exploring the concept of what makes a jazz standard, in ten beautifully warm and lyrically rich Lord compositions performed with Chad Taylor on drums & percussion, Christine Tavolacci on flute, David Tranchina on double bass and Nathan Hubbard on vibraphone, marimba & percussion.

A new collaboration between keyboardist Brent Cordero and bassist Peter Kerlin, a gorgeous blurring of jazz, rock and Terry Riley-esque composition in a swirling collection of original work and a cover of Eddie Harris' "Freedom Jazz Dance", performed in a core trio with drummer Ryan Sawyer and prestigious guests including Daniel Carter, Jessica Pavone, James Brandon Lewis, &c.

Rich in lyrical playing and creative freedom, Vancouver cellist Peggy Lee's 6th album expands on her goal to explore different strategies for improvisation within composition, featuring the unique voices of her ensemble including Brad Turner (trumpet), Jon Bentley (sax), Jeremy Berkman (trombone), Ron Samworth & Tony Wilson (guitars), Andre Lachance (bass) and Dylan van der Schyff (drums).