Covering favorite compositions, drummer Tyshawn Sorey arranges works from artists recent and classic, including McCoy Tyner ("Peresina"), Joni Mitchell ("A Chair in the Sky"), Brad Mehldau ("Bealtine"), or Vividry ("Your Good Lies"), performed with double bassist Harish Raghavan and pianist Aaron Diehl and recorded in the studio after developing each piece in live performance at The Village Vanguard.

After their 2022 tour, the quartet of Michael McNeill on piano, Susan Alcorn on pedal steel guitar, Dave Ballou on trumpet, and Shelly Purdy on vibraphone and percussion recorded seven studio improvisations composed by McNeill, using a compositional framework inspired by the black and white keys of the piano (the 'barcode') to fuel their poetic and expressive impulses.

Showcasing Buffalo-based percussionist Bob Fullex and Jason Bauers' innovative mastery as Crossfire Duo in an album that features Jacob Gotlib's "Portrait Sequence", performed without striking objects, Matt Sargent's "Small Stones" played entirely on metallophones, Richard Richard Festinger's high-speed "Crossfire", and Christian Wolff's "Flutist (and) Percussionist" as an intricate rhythmic dialogue.

Opening with an adaptation of Cornelius Cardew's "Red Flag", the Buffalo-based new music ensemble Wooden Cities Brendan Fitzgerald introduces the first of a trilogy of albums, a set of narrative works that confront topics of work, labor, commodity, and justice through a blend of composition and improvisation, including works by Cardew, Julius Eastman, and Frederic Rzewski.

Each volume of Nandor Nevai's musikbook series merges four CDs of genre-focused music — folk, industrial, jazz, or hard rock — with autobiographical text and vibrant images, creating a multi-sensory journey through evolving sub-genres, as Nevai's narration and Alex Theoret's mastering bring pristine studio works and raw recordings into a cohesive, powerful experience.

Each volume of Nandor Nevai's musikbook series merges four CDs of genre-focused music — folk, industrial, jazz, or hard rock — with autobiographical text and vibrant images, creating a multi-sensory journey through evolving sub-genres, as Nevai's narration and Alex Theoret's mastering bring pristine studio works and raw recordings into a cohesive, powerful experience.

Each volume of Nandor Nevai's musikbook series merges four CDs of genre-focused music — folk, industrial, jazz, or hard rock — with autobiographical text and vibrant images, creating a multi-sensory journey through evolving sub-genres, as Nevai's narration and Alex Theoret's mastering bring pristine studio works and raw recordings into a cohesive, powerful experience.

Each volume of Nandor Nevai's musikbook series merges four CDs of genre-focused music — folk, industrial, jazz, or hard rock — with autobiographical text and vibrant images, creating a multi-sensory journey through evolving sub-genres, as Nevai's narration and Alex Theoret's mastering bring pristine studio works and raw recordings into a cohesive, powerful experience.

In 1971 as Sun Ra's deal with ABC Impulse! introduced him and his Arkestra to a wider audience, Sun Ra, aka Herman Poole Blount, accepted a lectureship at University of California, Berkeley, teaching a class titled "The Black Man and the Cosmos" heard in this half hour lecture with a solo piano rendering of "Love in Outer Space," and a 16 minute wild Moog solo.

Returning to the electronic jazz approach of his album Multifariam, cellist Christopher Hoffman, composing with the core trio of Frank LoCrasto on keyboards and Bill Campbell on drums, is joined by luminaries such as Henry Threadgill, Ryan Scott, Anna Webber, and Alfred Colón on select tracks, releasing a lyrically compelling album that draws on a diverse range of influences.

With an ear to detail, Michaël Attias spent a year mixing and refining these four tracks, recorded after a post-pandemic concert at Barbes in Brooklyn, bringing to light four intricately melodic compositions performed with Michael Attias on alto sax, Santiago Leibson on piano & Wurli, Matt Pavolka on bass, Mark Ferber on drums and Christopher Hoffman on cello.

Brooklyn-based saxophonist, composer, and bandleader Alfredo Colon's debut album presents an engaging set of enthusiastic works rooted in the blues tradition, featuring a cover of Delta blues singer Son House and performed with his Brooklyn quartet: Lex Korten (piano, Klavins Una Corda), Steve Williams (upright bass), and Connor Parks (drums), blending lyrical expression and balanced dynamics.

New York trumpeter Kenny Warren leads a trio with cellist Christopher Hoffman and drummer Nathan Ellman-Bell through eighteen Warren compositions that draw on diverse musical elements from around the globe — without being 'world music' — crafting succinct, creatively engaging works marked by eclectic references, unconventional time signatures, and a free-flowing lyrical spirit.

Two string improvisers in an insistent dialog of quick-witted playing using every inch of their instruments under impressive technique, between Polish-born German cellist Günter Christmann, whose legacy hails from early European Free Jazz groups including Rudiger Carl Inc, and younger generation Finnish guitarist Niklas Fite, whose playing reminds of John Russell or Derek Bailey.

Active since 2016, The "Bone" in PorchBone is heard in the three trombonists who join the trio of bassist Nate McBride, drummer Eric Rosenthal, and saxophonist Jorrit Dijkstra, who composed 7 of the 8 pieces on this album (Duke Ellington is the 8th, and the inspiration for their sound along with Sun Ra), with trombonists Jeb Bishop, Michael Prentky & Bill Lowe.

Axioms is based around the core trio of Boston multi-reedist, percussionist and composer David Peck, and Cecil Taylor associates Albey onBass (on bass) and poet Jane SpokenWord, here in a performance with collective core cellist & aquasonic performer Glynis Lomon, and guest improviser from New Orleans, Chris Alford on guitar, stomp box and percussion.

Since 2020 this trio of Amsterdam-based improvisers have worked together to develop a unique free improvisational language, fueled by but not contained to jazz forms, as heard in this debut album recorded in 2022 between three ex-patriots residing in Amsterdam: German bass & contrabass clarinetist Tobias Klein, Polish pianist Marta Warelis and Chicago drummer Frank Rosaly.

Sculpted sonics through prepared guitars, electronics, synthetics, drums, gongs, metal and percussion, the Chicago duo Gleaming Shards of guitarist Da Wei Wang and drummer Jerome Bryerton, both veterans of improvisation, experimental and avant rock groups, evoke the album title and group name through shimmering and subtly shifting expanses of sound and punctuated movement.

Born in São Paulo, Brazil and working in Amsterdam and Lisbon, and also part of the London Improvisers Orchestra, Yedo Gibson unleashes an album of solo improvisation on the soprano and tenor saxophones, his "conic tubes" which he uses to express the potential to change environment and energy through technically impressive, expressive playing.

Berlin-based, Buenos Aires-born saxophonist Sofia Savlo takes listeners on a tour of eight improvisations performed on the low pitched baritone saxophone, using great control & tone augmented by multiphonics and extended techniques, "rotating" through unusual approaches while engaging listeners through expressive narratives, including emulating a drunken revery.

A collection of sonic poems & images that are inspired by her search for a 'real world' — more tangible and less virtual — presented by Argentinian saxophonist based in Amsterdam, Ada Rave, performing on tenor, soprano & sopranino saxophones with differing preparations for each improvisation, while also being influenced by the native music of the Mapuche people and Argentinian folk music.

Metal Chaos Ensemble was formed in 2015 by reedist & percussionist David Peck and drummer Yuri Zbitnov as a working project to explore chaotic rhythms on metallic instruments with a rock sensibility; drummer Steve Niemitz now holds the drum chair, and the band is a prolific sextet with saxophonist Michael Caglione, trumpeter Bob Moores, synth player Eric Woods and guitarist Mike Gruen.

The debut of Andrew Weather's label Editions Glomar, releasing the work of the artists he collaborates with, here in a set of electroacoustic improvisations from his Wind Tide studio in West Texas with Gretchen Korsmo on electric piano & electronics, Nathan McLaughlin on modular synth, Cody Yantis on bass clarinet, piano & synth, and Weathers on guitar, lap steel & electronics.

A beautifully contemplative collection of vignettes performed on solo Hardanger d'amore, a sympathetic-stringed relative of the Norwegian Hardanger fiddle, from Brooklyn improviser and composer Zosha Warpeha, in 13 works of thoughtfully spacious playing utilizing the resonance and rich texture of the Hardanger fiddle, seemingly suspending time despite beguiling momentum.

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.

Teiku, a Talmudic acronym that roughly translates to "unanswered question", was co-founded by pianist Josh Harlow and percussionist Jonathan Barahal Taylor to explore each of their family's unique Passover vocal melodies through improvisation and sonic exploration, performed in a quintet with Art Ensemble/Sun Ra bassist Jaribu Shahid and reedists Peter Formanek & Rafael Leafar.

St. Louis violinist Alex Cunningham and Brooklyn pianist Eli Wallace debut as a duo with five extended improvisations, engaging in dynamic conversations that explore rapid melodic passages, complemented by textural piano preparations, creating diverse soundscapes ranging from intense energy to moments of thoughtful, unhurried interaction.

Two acoustic improvisations from percussionist Kevin Corcoran and Andrew Weathers on soprano saxophone, recorded in an abandoned garage and using the structure's resonance to shape their playing, with the third and title track being an electroacoustic composition by Corcoran, incorporating field recordings from Mare Island, where they were working.

"Transoceanico" signifies the global reach of Rome, Italy-born improvising drummer Federico Ughi, celebrating 20 years since his first album recorded in London while residing there, leading to his current Brooklyn launchpad for many global tours and albums, this impressive LP realized in a superb free jazz trio with bassist Adam Lane and tenor saxophonist Rachel Musson.

The eighth album from the Thumbscrew trio of Tomas Fujiwara on drums & vibraphone, Michael Formanek on double bass and Mary Halvorson on guitar, developed during the trio's three-week residency in Pittsburgh for the community-based City of Asylum project, each member contributing three compositions, along with Charles Mingus' "Orange was the Color of Her Dress, Then Blue Silk".

Bay Area instrument inventor David Samas leads Pet The Tiger, a collective ensemble primarily of instrument inventors, augmented with original ceramic flutes and occasionally Samas' voice, the unique quality of their sound recalling Harry Partch or Harry Bertoia, here in four major works of multiple parts performed in a mixture of composed and improvised approaches; fascinating.

A series of 19 wide-ranging duets between Sergey Senchuk, aka Tungu, who performs on voice, acoustic bass, field recording & sampling, and an impressive set of international improvisers, including Fred Lonberg-Holm (cello), Jaap Blonk (voice), Gunda Gottschalk (violin), Susan Alcorn (pedal steel guitar), Sainkho Namtchylak (voice), Xavier Charles (clarinet & processing), &c.

The second duo release from J.J. Gregg on sitar and Pavan Kanekal on tabla, following their 2022 album re-cycling, is a rich work of sophisticated rhythm, sympathetic chords, and strong raga melodies, recorded at Steve Albini's Electrical Audio in Chicago, warmly capturing the duo's purposeful momentum and sincere joy in their playing.

Live improvisations from the North Carolina duo of Alexander Cooper and Joseph Schlam, a double album of eight extended journeys through textural sound, drone and veiled reference, influenced by Costin Miereanu, Jaap Vink, Lionel Marchetti, Luc Ferrari, and Dagar Vani, as the duo work in stereo using two amps for drums, voice, live electronics, and field recordings.

A tribute to six extraordinary female pianists — Geri Allen, Carla Bley, Marilyn Crispell, Angelica Sanchez, Sylvie Courvoisier & Renne Rosnes — through compositions from New York pianist Kris Davis and one by drummer Johnathan Blake, melodically rich and intricately challenging pieces as Davis stands shoulder to shoulder with those who inspired her.

Performing live in a virtual festival performance at his home studio as an extension of his work at erstwhile's 2011 Amplify festival, Japanese sound artist Taku Unami recorded these three extended works using cardboard boxes and small robots, creating the curious sounds of their interactions and capturing them on binaural microphones to recreate their dynamics as exactly as possible.

The second installment from New York saxophonist Ivo Perelman and trumpeter Nate Wooley demonstrates the strong affinity between the two players, highlighting their impressive mastery of their instruments with a creative drive and quick responsiveness that sparks unique dialogs, full of powerful and sometimes unconventional technique and expression; a truly gratifying and remarkable set of improvisations.

Ten improvisations in the 3rd release of New York trumpeter Nate Wooley and tenor saxophonist Ivo Perelman's Polarity series, their dialogs an incredible weaving of creative ideas and technical prowess that started in 2020 after recording a series of larger group albums, their affinity and cooperative approach to instrumental dialog exceptional and exemplary.

An acoustic septet edition of the Leap of Faith, the core duet of David Peck on clarinets, saxophones, double reeds & flutes, and Glynis Lomon on cello, aquasonic & voice, joined by Michael Caglianone on saxophones, flute, clarinet, melodica & water bottle, John Fugarino on trumpet, slide trumpet & flugelhorn, Tom Swafford on violin, Kit Demos on bass, and Eric Rosenthal on drums.

A tour-de-force exposition of the mandocello, acoustic and electronic, an instrument evolving out of the 18th century mandalone into a louder instrument intended to take the bass role in mandolin ensembles, which Sharp demonstrates through strings that ring with powerful resonance as he performs original compositions with references to Derek Bailey, Kinshi Tsuruta, and Harry Partch.

Led by pianist Brian Marsella, the sonic theater supergroup iMAGiNARiUM unites a remarkable cast from the Downtown NY scene for a wildly creative 3-CD set that blends jazz, fusion, psych, experimental, and contemporary forms with a sense of awe, humor, and effortless ingenuity, resulting in a captivating journey filled with wonder and, yes, imagination.

The third volume in John Zorn's New Masada Quartet — Zorn on alto sax, Jorge Roeder on bass, Kenny Wollesen on drums, and Julian Lage on guitar — captures a packed 2024 concert at Roulette in Brooklyn, where fervent interplay and exceptional soloing bring six Zorn compositions to life in a single, seamlessly indexed track before an enthusiastic audience.

The debut album of NY composer & pianist Matt Mitchell's long-running trio with bassist Chris Tordiniand and drummer Dan Weiss, an adventurous and accomplished group that brings an optimistic buoyancy to Mitchell's complex compositions, exploring multiple asynchronous cycles using polyrhythm and polymeter through multiple lines that the players have freedom to choose and improvise around.

Covering favorite compositions, drummer Tyshawn Sorey arranges works from artists recent and classic, including McCoy Tyner ("Peresina"), Joni Mitchell ("A Chair in the Sky"), Brad Mehldau ("Bealtine"), or Vividry ("Your Good Lies"), performed with double bassist Harish Raghavan and pianist Aaron Diehl and recorded in the studio after developing each piece in live performance at The Village Vanguard.

Honoring the courage of the survivors of atrocities experienced in China during World War II, including that of his own father, New York improvising violinist Jason Kao Hwang presents twelve solo pieces performed on the pizzicato violin, works that embrace the struggle of his antecedents with a narrative sense of presentation and extraordinary technique.

Performing the unique compositions of Brooklyn-based bassist & composer Kim Cass with the technically superb quintet of Matt Mitchell on piano & synthesizer, Tyshawn Sorey on drums, Laura Cocks on flutes and Adam Dotson on euphonium, Cass' intricate and unconventional works, influenced by 20th century contemporary classical, are complex structures that require precision and wit; impressive!

Emerging from a series of improv gigs and sessions, the trio of Sally Gates on guitar, Steve Hirsh on drums, and Daniel Carter on saxophones, flute, and trumpet present five studio recordings of spontaneous composition, weaving together a diverse range of sounds with intricate detail and complexity, transitioning seamlessly from fluid, flowing passages to sharp, jagged explorations.

AALY Trio, named as a reference to Albert Ayler, is Mats Gustafsson (winds), Kjell Nordeson (bass), and Peter Janson (drums), who began their journey in Sweden in the 1980s, drawing significant influence from Chicago's creative scene in the 90s, and reuniting now with the same incendiary energy and deep rapport, captured in 11 composed and collective works.

An intimate duo at Brooklyn's IBeam performance venue in November 2023 between visiting Argentine-born, Berlin-based tenor saxophonist Camila Nebbia and New York pianist Angelica Sanchez, performing six freely improvised and sophisticated dialogs that highlight the implicit lyricism of each player and the finesse of their virtuosic skills in subtle expression.

Two phenomenal string players improvising remotely across two continents using SonoBus real-time streaming software: former Downtown NY pioneering double bassist Mark Dresser, now located in San Diego, and Australian violinist Jon Rose positioned between the Australian deserts at Alice Springs, presenting eight recordings from their animated and inspired intertwining.