Exploring diverse landscapes and moments of extreme behavior changes through a single acoustic viola, composed and performed by Jordan Dykstra, in four pieces that vary his approach to the instrument through overlapping tones, drones, extended techniques and rolling cycles, performed in California at the California Institute of the Arts and at the Cathedral of Saint Vibiana.

Using only their right arms and never fingering the strings with their left hand, this recording of Alvin Lucier's "One Arm Bandits" was recorded in Lucier's own dining room, the hour-long piece in four parts exploring the relationship between bow direction changes and shifts in phase, scored for four cellists and performed by Tyler J. Borden, Laura Cetilia, Charles Curtis and Judith Hamann.

Restoring and remastering the 1979 Atlantic album Mingus at Antibes from bassist & composer Charles Mingus, an extraordinary concert from the 1960 Antibes Jazz Festival with the masterful sextet of Eric Dolphy on alto sax & bass clarinet, Ted Curson on trumpet, Booker Ervin on tenor saxophone, and Dannie Richmond on drums, with Bud Powell or Mingus himself on piano.

Born from a project from the "Jazz in Chur" association where Swiss jazz musicians team up with a musical partner from a country with a different language and cultural region, here between Swiss saxophonist Hans Koch and Lebanese saxophonist Christine Abdelnour, the two recording their half of the duo independently, joined in the studio and split left & right for a stunning and unanticipated collaboration.

Calato, the quartet of Javier Areal Vélez, Jorge Espinal, Agustín Genoud and Pablo Verón based in Buenos Aires, formed in 2010 as an improvisation and experimental composition group exploring music notation and graphic scores in convergence with free improvisation, performing on prepared electric guitars, drums, sampler and amplified voice, here taking on two works by John Cage: Variations I-III, and Four6.

Reissuing and remastering two seminal albums on the Riverside label from pianist and composer Bill Evan's trio with double bassist Scott LaFaro and drummer Paul Motian — Sunday At The Village Vanguard and Waltz for Debby — yielding jazz standards and helping define the modern jazz trio through impressive technical underpinnings and lyrical sophistication.

Reissuing three essential album from trumpeter Bill Dixon's work in the 60's, first his 1962 album with saxophonist Archie Shepp in configurations of trio & quartet; then Dixon's septet album from 1964 in two compositions; and his orchestra album from 1967, showing the evolution of the trumpeter's work, approach to soloing, and his unique sense of orchestration.

Taking the title from Brandon Sanderson's book series The Stormlight Archive, where a soulcaster is an instrument that transforms one object or life form into another; Joanna Mattrey transforms her viola and a tromba marina, aka a nuns' fiddle, with preparations, objects and unusual approaches through technique, creating a remarkable set of 11 unique and inventive improvisations.

Recording at the Chamber of Commerce in Brooklyn in 2021, the duo of Sandy Ewen on prepared guitar and Jason Nazary on drums & percussion take a nearly pugilistic approach to their improvisations, building aggressive sections of intense pummeling, then slipping back to catch their breath before the next round, each filled with curious elements and energetic determination.

Releasing their first studio work in 2020, this album presents the first two live concerts in Brooklyn and Saugerties for the ea-improv trio MAW of Frank Meadows on upright bass, Jessica Ackerley on electric guitar and Eli Wallace on prepared piano & synth, in two 2-part improvisations: the darkly heavy "Mise-en-Place" and the brighter experiments of "Opus 40".

This album was developed to present Daniel Carter, typically a wind/reed/trumpeter player, on an album that included his piano playing, which then advanced by adding the goal of both Carter and long-time collaborator, drummer Federico Ughi, to record with bassist William Parker, who rounds out this excellent trio on bass, tuba and shakuhachi.

The first release on his new imprint, Right Brain Records, French guitarist Guillaume Gargaud improvises on acoustic guitar on the seven part Kōenji, a district in Japan known for its temple and falconry, here envisioned through creatively dexterous and inventive passages, recorded live in Le Havre, France in the spring of 2023.

An alluring album of piano trio music from the NY trio led by drummer Tyshawn Sorey with Aaron Diehl on piano and Matt Brewer on bass, allowing the excitement of a first meeting between the players as they perform compositions from the American Songbook, and some songs that Sorey feels should be included in the Songbook; lyrical, sophisticated, virtuosic, beautiful.

The 2nd volume of the UK/US West Coast quintet of legendary AMM drummer Eddie Prévost, guitarist Henry Kaiser, N.O. Moore on "guitarisism", Blinker Golding on saxophone and Olie Brice on double bass, merging free jazz and free improvisation in a rollicking album of electric jazz recorded in London, adding two more exhilarating "Doors" of quick shifting improv.

The latest album from the NY-based Telepathic Band of Daniel Carter on saxophones, trumpet & flute, Patrick Holmes on clarinet, Matthew Putman on keyboards, Hilliard Greene on bass and Federico Ughi on drums, explores spontaneous themes and aural landscapes through studio improvisations recomposed to create five fascinating compositions of perceptive, ecstatic jazz.

The latest album from the NY-based Telepathic Band of Daniel Carter on saxophones, trumpet & flute, Patrick Holmes on clarinet, Matthew Putman on keyboards, Hilliard Greene on bass and Federico Ughi on drums, explores spontaneous themes and aural landscapes through studio improvisations recomposed to create five fascinating compositions of perceptive, ecstatic jazz.

A prime example of the saxophone and drum duo from Cuban/NY drummer/percussionist Francisco Mela, and Israeli saxophonist Jonathan Reisin performing on tenor and soprano saxophones, in five distinct free improvisations recorded at Berklee College Of Music in Boston, demonstrating profound technical skill and an exploratory attitude to their seismic interactions.

The 2nd studio album from Daniel Carter's collective Playfield, which started with outdoor performances to allow NYC's auditory ambience to infiltrate and orchestrate their sound; here the octet ensemble brings in field recordings of diverse outdoor elements including cicadas, ice-cream trucks, &c., along with electronic effects to expand their take on free-flowing electric jazz.

Long-time collaborators Daniel Carter, here performing on trumpet, alto saxophone and piano, and drummer Federico Ughi, met Mexico City bass player Adriana Camacho during a Sounds of Freedom international music residency, forming the descriptively titled "Energy Workers" trio and recording these two expressive improvisations balancing moody post-bop with contemplative conversation.

Originally named The Third World Energy Ensemble, Ted Daniels' Loft-era ensemble eventually became simply "Energy", and this 1978 recording at Ali's Alley in NYC of the 23-piece ensemble shows both Daniel's skill as a band leader & improviser, and as a document of the urgent free jazz scene of the time; ensemble includes Byard Lancaster, Joseph Bowie, Sam Furnace, &c. &c.

Referencing their influences as The Pop Group, This Heat, Naked City, and Eric Dolphy, this collective trio from Vicenza, Italy features Tiziano Pellizzari on reeds & electronics, Geoffrey Copplestone on noise & vocals and Giampaolo Mattiello on percussion, in an insightful and sometimes socially charged, sometimes simply quirky mix of free jazz, noise and narrative vocals.

Formed at Michael Attias's Washington Heights, Manhattan apartment by three improv compatriots, the trio of Kenneth Jiminez on bass, Michael Attias on saxophones and Francisco Mela on drums & voice incorporate free and experimental jazz forms with heartfelt tradition, in five collective improvisations captured in the studio, plus Paul Motian's "From Time to Time".

A collection of original songs recorded in NY & Paris from vocalist Hélène Breschand, also performing on acoustic and electric harp, in a duo with Elliott Sharp, who creates grooves and instrumental environments on guitar, analog synth, bass, toy piano and drum programming; unusually structured and richly detailed, from idiosyncratic to sensuous.

An often raucous and always informed debut from the dual reed & drums Chicago trio Near Miss of Rob Magill on tenor & soprano sax and bass clarinet, Gerrit Hatcher on tenor sax and Bill Harris on drums, Magill and Hatcher having collaborated previously on Triplet Fawns with Patrick Shiroishi, and Whole Abandoned Star, while Hatcher & Harris are a part of Devouring the Guilt.

The third album from the genre-merging quintet The End of of Sofia Jernberg (vocals), Kjetil Moster (clarinet and tenor saxophone), Mats Gustafsson (flutes, baritone saxophone and electronics), Anders Hana (baritone and bass guitar) and Borge Fjordheim (drums), an experimental song-based project influenced by avant rock, jazz and soundscape in seven nuanced pieces.

The third album from the genre-merging quintet The End of of Sofia Jernberg (vocals), Kjetil Moster (clarinet and tenor saxophone), Mats Gustafsson (flutes, baritone saxophone and electronics), Anders Hana (baritone and bass guitar) and Borge Fjordheim (drums), an experimental song-based project influenced by avant rock, jazz and soundscape in seven nuanced pieces.

The duo of guitarist Killick Hinds on stringed instruments, bells & electronics, and Italian/NY drummer Francesca Remigi on acoustic & electronic drums, percussion, and credited with Delene Porter for performing on "symbiote"; an "eclectic, ecstatic and exploratory duo strives for sonic research and for breaking the barriers of the conventional process of music making."

The second of two volumes of studio improvisations between Brooklyn trumpeter & flugelhorn player Michael Sarian and keyboardist Matthew Putman, recorded in Sarin's home studio during the 2020 pandemic, allowing freedom in exploration as they sought out cadences, rhythms and melodies, this 2nd volume presenting the most interesting of their investigations.

Three live guitar improvisations from Swedish guitarist Kasper Agnas performing at Stockholm's New Music and Intermedia Art venue Fylkingen, each piece uniquely approached, starting with a lap guitar dulcimer-like approach of rapid rhythmic attacks, to a warm sound world using mallets on the guitar neck, and finally a work of decaying chords that evolve in complexity, strength and skew.

Expanding on pianist/composer Matt Mitchell's 2013 duo album Fiction with Ches Smith is this double-duo release over 2 CDs, one CD with Smith performing on drums, gongs, percussion, vibraphone, glockenspiel, tam-tam & timpani, and one CD with drummer/percussionist Kate Gentile, performing Mitchell's fascinatingly convoluted works that integrate composition with improvisation.

A new trio from NY bassist & composer Nick Dunston, featuring Kalia Vandever on trombone & effects, and Do Yeon Kim on gayageum (a traditional Korean plucked zither), a uniquely orchestrated band performing Dunston's original (and humorously titled) compositions, on some of which each performer uses effects to create sonic environments; a creatively inventive configuration.

The 3rd stellar album of modern jazz recorded in the studio after a five-city tour from the quartet of Tomas Fujiwara on drums, Taylor Ho Bynum on cornet & flugelhorn, Mary Halvorson on guitar and Benoit Delbecq on piano, performing three compositions each from Halvorson, Fujiwara and Delbeq, illustrating their distinctive approach to creative improvisation.

A warmly lyrical, mostly instrumental album of modern jazz that surprisingly takes it's title from legendary punk band MDC, and its songs from their 1982 debut album Millions of Dead Cops, led by NY drummer Mike Pride and performed with Jamie Saft (keys), Brad Jones (bass), Mick Bar (guitars) and on a few songs, vocalists JG Thirlwell (Foetus), Sam Mickens (The Dead Science) and Dave Dictor from MDC itself.

Circumventing pandemic lockdowns, the trio of Brandon Seabrook on guitar, banjo & tapes, Mike Pride on drums, marimba, glockenspiel, bells & organ and Mike Watt on bass recorded their contributions in separate studios and file-shared to create this genre-merging album of free improv, rock, experimental and inexplicable forms; an inspired and seriously unique album of challenges overcome.

A remarkable feat of remastering, sound restoration and pitch correction from the tapes of this June 1950 radio broadcast at Birdland in NYC, finding the exceptional quintet of jazz pioneers led by alto saxophonist Charlie Parker in superb form, with Fats Navarro on trumpet, Bud Powell on piano, Curley Russell on double bass and Art Blakey on drums.

Three essential concerts remastered, from the legacy of be-bop trailblazers, trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie and alto saxophonist Charlie Parker, with Don Byas, Al Haig piano, Curley Russell, Max Roach & Sidney Catlett at Town Hall 1945; with John Lewis, Al McKibbon & Joe Harris at Carnegie Hall 1947; and with Bud Powell, Tommy Potter & Roy Haynes at Birdland 1951.

Having presented a solo version of Stravinksy's The Rite of Spring at Opera Bastille in Paris with avant-flamenco dancer Israel Galván, Courvoisier developed a new work for two pianos performed with Cory Smythe, merging composition & improvisation as they invoke impressions of The Rite in tandem with Stravinksy-like reharmonizations of previous Courvoisier works.

A foundational member of the early Downtown NY scene, now West Coast-based double bassist Mark Dresser expands the sonic properties of his instrument in 12 succinct and forceful improvisations, expanding 4- & 5-string basses through metal tines, bowed and plucked, along with magnetic pickups amplifying nearly inaudible sounds from the strings and the instrument; awe inspiring!

The debut for UK saxophonist John Butcher on 577 Records is this exemplary 2021 live recording at Cafe OTO in London by the quartet of Butcher on tenor and soprano saxophones, Pat Thomas on piano, Dominic Lash on double bass and Steve Noble on drums, four of the UK's leading free improvisers demonstrating their prodigious abilities in concentrated conversation.

The debut for UK saxophonist John Butcher on 577 Records is this exemplary 2021 live recording at Cafe OTO in London by the quartet of Butcher on tenor and soprano saxophones, Pat Thomas on piano, Dominic Lash on double bass and Steve Noble on drums, four of the UK's leading free improvisers demonstrating their prodigious abilities in concentrated conversation.

Starting as an electric jazz album, the UK trio of Mark Sanders on drums & percussion, Chris Mapp on bass & electronics and Andrew Woodhead on keys & electronics slip into moody and experimental ea-improv territory, fluctuating between acoustic and electronic material of masterful virtuosity, presenting two unconventional solo sections for drummer Sanders along the way.

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.

Jazz flutist and composer Joe Melnicove, Israeli-born and living in NYC, is joined by his mentor George Garzone on tenor & soprano saxophones, Ben Street on bass and Billy Hart on drums, with Jerry Bergonzi joining on piano for one piece, as the band performs a set of lyrical and upbeat Melnicove original compositions along with one from Garzone and one from Liana Catalano-Garzone.

With a booklet of images showing the riverside location of the first performances of French guitarist Marc Ducret's sophisticated compositions reflecting tidal river flows & fluctuations by season, the four meticulous recordings on this album were captured in the studio with Fabrice Martinez on trumpet, flugelhorn & tuba, Christophe Monniot on saxophones and Samuel Blaser on trombone.

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.

The title referencing police tactics used to subdue a suspect, the 2nd solo album from NY trumpeter Joe Moffett finds the imporoviser approaching the instrument with atypical technique and a sense of sonic power in five engrossing works of technical prowess and creative imagination, producing "mangled, oscillating, chittering noises, a collision of muscle, bone, and metal".

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.