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.

The Quebec project Brulez Les Meubles (Burn the Furniture) was conceived by long-time friends and contemporary jazz fans, bassist Eric Normand and guitarist Louis Beaudoin-de la Sablonniere, each collaboration inviting other musicians to join their warm & relaxed approach to modern jazz, here with Jean Derome on saxophone & flute and John Hollenbeck on drums.

Bringing decades of experience from far-reaching careers as leaders and in collaboration with some of the most luminary improvisers in creative jazz, this first meeting between bassist Mark Helias and pianist Matthew Shipp evokes nine inspired dialogs from two consequentially compatible jazz musicians, beautifully captured in the warmth of the Park West Studios in Brooklyn.

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.

Expanding the rhythmically exuberant Natural Information Society led by Chicago bassist & guimbri player Joshua Abrams with core members Lisa Alvarado (harmonium), Mikel Patrick Avery (drums) & Jason Stein (bass clarinet), are Hamid Drake (percussion), Josh Berman & Ben Lamar Gay (cornets), Nick Mazzarella & Mai Sugimoto (alto sax & flute), Kara Bershad (harp) and Ari Brown (sax).

Part of Peter Brötzmann's 80th birthday concerts in his hometown of Wuppertal, the saxophonist assembled a trio from his typically duo partner, pedal steel guitarist Heather Leigh (Charalambides, Dream/Aktion Unit) and Chicago cellist and electronic improviser Fred Lonberg-Holm, performing the extended title track at INSEL | Kultur im ADA, along with two succinct improvisations.

Working with sound and the relationship to food, crops, and the culinary identity of communities, Beta Vulgaris, (the latin name of the common beet) was composed by Bogota, Columbia born David Velez, a PhD graduate in Sound Art from the University of Huddersfield, who used these specific tones to stimulate the growth of beetroot in the garden of the Modern Art Museum in Medellin.

A journey through an uncharted jungle island from NY electronic composer David Lee Myers, aka Arcane Device, using field recordings in rhythmic environments with synthetic sounds buzzing and whirling around and electronic tones and textures rising and falling, composing detailed song structures that are embraceable and awe-inspiring at the same time.

Two percussionists--vibraphonist Sergio Armaroli and drummer/percussionist Roger Turner-- and two brass players--trombonist Giancarlo Schiaffini and trumpeter Phil Minton, who doubles on voice improvisation--are heard in these studio recordings from Udine, Italy for nine "Dreams" that turn introspective slumber into restless visions through profoundly paced playing.

Between his work with Charlie Parker and before his own personal success, trumpeter Miles Davis joined the influential ensemble of pianist, composer and arranger Tadd Dameron, heard in six large ensemble pieces at New York's Royal Roost in 1949, and then in a quintet at the Paris Festival International De Jazz the same year, in both hearing a unique and confident facet to Miles' playing.

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."

Sonic explorer and feedback pioneer David Lee Myers in a collection of eight pensive electronic ambience works recorded at Pulsewidth in the spring of 2022, meditating on the mysteries of time and eternity through Apophis, a demon serpent of darkness whom Ra, as sun god, destroys every morning at dawn.

The second of NY electronic explorer David Lee Myers', aka Arcane Device, N28 series, an album of excited electronics, field recordings, inexplicable sound and rotating, splintering and otherwise lovingly mangled sound, not so much a noise collection as instead a controlled chaos with moments of cavernous beauty in a journey of mercurial rummaging.

A live set of electronic recordings from New York sound explorer David Lee Myers, aka Arcane Device, using modular synths under masterful control to create coherent excursions into territories both terrestrial and cosmic, each piece carefully evolving without histrionics or overt noise through warmly vivid and uniquely diverse works of sound.

Aural Terrains label-leader, composer and sound artist Thanos Chrysakis presents six new pieces merging electronic composition with field recordings and other electro-acoustic sources, in five rich and beautifully paced works of a diverse nature, evolving a consistent sound world where each piece draws the listener into the composer's detailed and engaging concepts.

Taking the dual role of soaring guitar lines and savagely deep string foundations, Susan Alcorn joins clarinetist Patrick Holmes and drummer Ryan Sawyer for this invigorating 2022 concert at Union Pool in Brooklyn, their unique instrumentation providing clarity to each performer's contribution through their dynamic and often wildly energetic collective interplay.

A muscular album of free improvisation from the quartet of Mette Rasmussen on alto saxophone, Paul Flaherty on alto & tenor saxophones, Zach Rowden on contrabass and Chris Corsano on drums & percussion, recording live at Firehouse 12 in New Haven, starting like an Albert Ayler hymn and evolving through overlapping lines of controlled and sometimes wonderfully chaotic collective conversation.

A beautiful and contemplative performance of "Raga Marwa", a a hexatonic Indian raga and the eponymous raga of the "Marva thaat", peformed by Dutch-Czech master vocalist Marianne Svašek, and recorded in Stockholm, with Svašek and Swedish bass player Vilhelm Bromander both performing on the tanpura, a long-necked plucked string instrument used to create a sonic canvas behind the raga.

A surprising trio for percussionist Paal Nilssen-Love and wind player Frode Gjerstad, who more typically play assertive free jazz of enthusiastic character and technical skill, but here joined by fellow Norwegian, accordionist Kalle Moberg, they instead turn in a beautifully reflective set with Paal primarily playing gongs, using the resonance of Oslo's Gamle Aker Kirke.

One of a pair of albums--New Map and Clusterfuck--recorded in the studio in Oslo, Norway by percussionist and composer Paal Nilssen-Love's Large Unit, a 15-piece, incredibly flexible and open-minded ensemble, here improvising over a work of graphic notation where the composed structures are balanced with blocks of improvisation, allowing for quick dynamic shifts in direction.

One of a pair of albums--New Map and Clusterfuck--recorded in the studio in Oslo, Norway by percussionist and composer Paal Nilssen-Love's Large Unit, a 15-piece, incredibly flexible and open-minded ensemble, here performing a work where the improvisers are provided with a series of open-form "cells"--concrete ideas, notes and directions--to which they must respond.

Expanding their instruments into sonic sculpture, this first meeting between acclaimed Japanese improvisers Satoko Fujii, performing inside and out of the piano, and electric guitarist Otomo Yoshihide, demonstrates their incredible compatibly as heard in these live recordings at Tokyo's Pit Inn, part of an annual festival organized by Fujii & trumpeter Natsuki Tamura.

Taking on another set of compositions from John Zorn's Masada Songbook, the New and electrified Masada quartet of Kenny Wollesen on drums, Julian Lage on guitar, Jorge Roeder on bass and Zorn himself on alto saxophone releases their second volume, seven melodically rich and intricate works that lead to incredible, often burning soloing and group interchange.

Each track in this beautiful pairing of strings through cello and electric guitar is named after nature, the title referencing a brown-eared bat, as the Berlin duo of guitarist Olaf Rupp and cellist Ulrike Brand intertwine in an unhurried series of dialog that prioritize natural fluidity, reflecting the confidence that nearly ten years working together has imbued to their improvisations.

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58 Compositions for Cello as part of a sound investigation process from Portuguese cellist based in Berlin, Guilherme Rodrigues, recording in 11 locations with interesting resonant properties, capturing several brief improvisations at each space, the architecture, delay, decay, and interaction affecting his approach and the sonic response to his playing.

The third Spiegel, or mirror, takes the Portuguese acoustic octet led by violist Ernesto Rodrigue through an extended improvisation and its reflection, captured live at the 2021 CSFest XV, at O'Culto da Ajuda, by performing and recording their performance in a first pass, and then playing over the first improvisation, layering and extending their work.

Far from the reductionist/minimal improvisation often associated with the Creative Sources label and the work of both violist Ernesto Rodrigues and cellist Guilherme Rodrigues, this quartet session with double bassist Joao Madeira and Jose Oliveira is a highly charged and energetic affair, improvising through a suite of eight tightly controlled conversations of "Chaos".

Eight aquatic themed works from the Berlin-based quintet of Hui-Chun Lin and Uygur Vural on cello, Matthias Müller on trombone, Klaus Kurvers and Ulf Mengersen on bass; also known as Ensemble Discoveries, this album collects work from 2020-22, described as "improvised music and Echtzeit Compositions and the ideas of deep sea, their special living conditions: big pressure, eternity darkness".

Eight studio compositions recorded in Kingston, London in 2022 between FMR label-leader Trevor Taylor on percussion and electronics, and violinist Philipp Wachsmann, also processing his sound through electronics, the two finding common ground and great compatibility in reserved pacing that seemingly allows each note and gesture to express itself fully.

Some of the finest London and Birmingham improvisers, the free improvising quartet of saxophonist Paul Dunmall with pianist Liam Noble, drummer Mark Sanders and bassist John Edwards, continue their work together with this exceptional live performance at the Eastside Jazz Club, Birmingham Conservatoire in an extended, far-ranging and engaging collective concert.

Originally formed in 1985, this free improv ensemble continues in a new rendition of the Örchestrü, with original members Mark Charig (cornet), Paul Lytton (percussion), Alfred Zimmerlin (cello) and Phillipp Wachsmann (violin) joined by new members including Axel Dorner (trumpet), Phil Minton (voice), and Melvyn Poore (tuba), for two exceptional examples of advanced collective and cooperative improvisation.

Two live performances at Sala Castello di Sannicandro di Bari and at Sala Auditorium Accademia Cinema Ragazzi in Bari, Italy from violinist & violist Stefania Ladisa's trio Strutture with drummer Marcello Magliocchi and saxophonist Adrian Northover (LIO, Remote Viewers, Runcible), using the resonance of the performances spaces in spacious free interaction.

Documenting the continued growth and evolution of the longer than a decade collaboration between American alto saxophonist living in the Philippines Ricky Countryman and Swiss drummer Christian Bucher, performing in the Strawberry Jams studio in Quezon City for thirteen succinct improvisations titled with stellar analogies, from pensive music to excitingly dynamic interplay.

Referencing the Spanish galleons that sailed the Pacific Ocean between Acapulco in Mexico and Manila in the Philippine Islands, this meeting in Mexico city brings Philippine-based saxophonist Rick countryman together with Swiss drummer living in Mexico City Gabriel Lauber and Lauber's collaborator in the group Zero Point, Mexico City native double bass player Itzam Canois.

Confidently forceful German free improvisation with an eccentric approach, from multi-instrumentalist Udo Schindler on clarinets, cornet & tuba and artist & improviser Etienne Rolin on basset horn, Glissotar (a continuous wind instrument) & a Bansuri flute, as they improvise over Schindler's poem (jetzt/now) from his cycle frequenz schaukelt / frequency swings.

Performing at the Gallery arToxi in Munich, 2022 as part of clarinet & cornetist Schindler's LowToneStudies series, the free improvising trio of Schindler, Nikolaus Neuser on trumpet and Georg Karger on double bass perform four extended conversations of meticulous momentum and superb technique, at times repurposing, extending or modifying their instruments.

Zurich tenor saxophonist & composer Christoph Irniger in his fourth album on the Intakt label with his creative and cooperative band Pilgrim of Stefan Aeby on piano, Dave Gisler on guitar, Raffaele Bossard on bass and Michael Stulz on drums, performing Irninger's lyrical and thoughtful compositions, along with one from bassist Raffaele Bossard.

A leading statesman of free jazz drumming, Andrew Cyrille's approach is influenced by both the Blue Note era and the groundbreaking work he participated in with Cecil Taylor or Trio3, still going strongÊand perceptively wise as heard on these eleven succinct studio solo performances, featuring favored percussive instruments adding melodic elements to these solid rhythmic vignettes.

Starting each day in the Australian studio with a 20-minute improvisation, The Necks trio of Chris Abrahams on piano & keyboards, Tony Buck on drums and Lloyd Swanton on bass developed this, their 21st album, as a collection of "shorter" and varied improvisations, released with minimal overdubs to present their music closer to their exceptional live performances.

Starting each day in the Australian studio with a 20-minute improvisation, The Necks trio of Chris Abrahams on piano & keyboards, Tony Buck on drums and Lloyd Swanton on bass developed this, their 21st album, as a collection of "shorter" and varied improvisations, released with minimal overdubs to present their music closer to their exceptional live performances.

Trumpeter & composer Sei Miguel's second O Carro De Fogo De Sei Migue continues his merging of electric jazz with ea-overtones, in three live recordings with Fala Mariam on trombone & Rings, Nuno Torres on saxophone & Rings, Bruno Silva on electric guitar, Pedro Lourenco on electric bass, Andre Goncalves on organs & ATMOS and Luis Desirat & Raphael Soares on percussion.

A well-balanced and often scorching performance at Igreja do Espírito Santo in Portugal from trumpeter Luis Vicente, presented as two long improvisations each comprised of two works inspired by childhood times in a rural environment and by everyday life at home during pandemic, performed with the outstanding quartet of saxophonist John Dikeman, bassist Luke Stewart and drummer Onno Goevart.

Long-time collaborators, German reed & wind player Frank Gratkowski and pianist Simon Nabatov release their third collaboration as a duo, concentrating their playing from large bands including the Simon Nabatov Quartet to the essence of their personal and impressive dialog, here performing at the LOFT, in Cologne for the celebration of Nabatov's birthday.

Developing their language together since childhood, Norwegian brothers Lauritz Heitmann Skeidsvoll on saxophone and Isach Skeidsvoll on piano & melodica converse in a way that only two family members can, using their knowledge of each other's playing as a confident foundation for remarkable flights of technically challenging yet innately lyrical improvisations.

A relaxed and informed dialog between young generation Portuguese improvisers Tomás Marques on alto saxophone and Afonso Pais on guitar, demonstrating their experience from bands like L.U.M.E. and Joao Hasselberg / Pedro Branco, these five expressive and intuitively melodic improvisations were recorded by the artists in 2022 and are presented without edits.

For 35 years saxophonist & composer Christoph Gallio has directed the exemplary Swiss jazz group Day & Taxi, here in a trio format with bassist Silvan Jeger and drummer Gerry Hemingway, Gallio on soprano, alto & C melody saxophones, heard in this 2021 live performance at Stadtbistro Isebahnli, in Baden, Germany for nine diverse, creative and delightfully quirky pieces.