A stunning second album from Swedish bassist and composer Vilhelm Bromander's Unfolding Orchestra, expanding on his acclaimed debut with richly textured, spiritually resonant compositions inspired by political urgency and environmental reflection, featuring a 13-piece ensemble delivering lush orchestrations, patient development, and profound, hopeful expression.

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The Norwegian guitar trio led by Roland Galewicz on drums, Henrik Sandstad Dalen on double bass, and Havard Nordberg Funderud on guitar, free improvisers with a dark intent captured live at Kafe Haerverk, in Oslo in 2018 as they perform Galewicz's rhythm-heavy three part "Death Machine Suite", Funderud's spacious "Nice Things" and Dalen's searing "Holmenkollekspressen".

Taking ironic inspiration from StockhausenÕs conceptual extremes, cellist Tyler J. Borden and guitarist Steve Flato fuse cello, microtonal guitar, modular synth, Gizmotron, and electronics in an absurdist yet introspective performance score, immersively weaving subtle textures and just-intonation harmonies shaped by physical and psychological excesses around food and discomfort.

Recorded at Monhegan Community Church on a remote Maine island, this environmental work by Evan Lindorff-Ellery captures the interplay between improvised percussive textures and the resonant acoustics of the space, using frame drum, piano, acoustic guitar, bells, and found objects to leverage the church's natural reverb, while ambient sounds filter through its windows.

A rare solo outing from percussionist Jordan Glenn, weaving an adventurous and dynamic series of improvised drum and percussion explorations, shifting between deep grooves, cymbal rushes, and near-musique concrète textures, with playful yet tenacious pacing that balances free-jazz intensity, experimental soundscaping, and custom-instrument innovation in a cohesive and captivating sonic journey.

An electrifying fusion of diverse musical traditions, this evening-length composition showcases the dynamic interplay of guitarists Karl Evangelista and David James, bassist Lisa Mezzacappa, vibraphonist Mark Clifford, percussionist Robert Lopez, drummer Jon Arkin, and Val Esway, seamlessly blending composed structures with spontaneous improvisation to capture the ensemble's innovative spirit.

For the first time on record, Yoko Ono's seminal 1964 conceptual text Grapefruit is sonically realized in a full album, as Stockholm's Great Learning Orchestra interprets 20 of Ono's event scores through ensemble performances, environmental recordings, and experimental sound actions, bringing her visionary work into vivid and imaginative musical form.

Two extended performances from Los Angeles and Colorado Springs by the West Coast ensemble of Andrew Weathers (tenor saxophone, mixer), Angel Lin (percussion), Ethan Marks (trumpet), and Mar Perez (trombone), freely improvising with resonance and experimental techniques to craft immersive soundscapes that blur the line between instrumental performance and environmental noise.

An engaging meeting recorded in the studio in New York in 1991, bringing together vocalist Ellen Christi, saxophonist & bass clarinetist Carlo Actis Dato, trombonist Masahiko Kono, bassist Enrico Fazio, drummer Fiorenzo Sordini, and text artist Michael Vecchio, blending adventurous contemporary jazz, spontaneous composition, and spoken word in a strikingly dynamic and generally lyrical session.

Recorded at Przeswit in Warsaw, Poland, Voiceact brings together Polish vocalists Anna Gadt, Natalia Kordiak, Marta Grzywacz, and Gosia Zagajewska in an avant exploration of the art of the voice, blending ancient music, contemporary classics, and folk influences across eleven improvised pieces that showcase a captivating range of vocal styles and possibilities.

Honoring Agustí Fernández's 70th birthday, this 7-CD box set captures his innovative artistry through live and studio collaborations with performers including Barry Guy, John Butcher, Lucía Martínez, &c., recorded across global venues, showcasing his mastery of the piano, free improvisation, and profound creative dialogue with fellow improvisers.

London clarinetist Tom Jackson, active in both free improvisation and contemporary classical music, meets with cellist Tyler J. Borden, who concentrates on the extremes of his instrument through unusual and extended techniques, interpret one of London's "lost rivers"--Parr's Ditch--in three extended, interpretative improvisations of powerful impressions.

The second of two volumes in celebration of legendary saxophonist Charlie Parker's 100th birthday, here remastering his landmark recordings for the Savoy label in New York City between 1945-48, performing with jazz greats including Bud Powell, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, John Lewis, Curley Russel, Max Roach, &c. for some of be-bop's finest and best known compositions.

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.

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.

Featuring distinctively voiced collective free improvisation, this transatlantic quartet recording on the West Coast brings together legendary musicians Frode Gjerstad on alto saxophone and clarinet, and Bobby Bradford on cornet, alongside contemporary classical and improvising tuba virtuoso William Roper and drummer Alex Cline, delivering five dynamic improvisations with remarkable direction.

Four sets of recordings from September, 1964 in Copenhagen, Denmark from a week performing live at Club Montmarte, and a recording in Hilversum, The Netherlands for VARA Radio, collecting and remastering these vital recordings from tenor saxophonist Albert Ayler's most vital free jazz quartet with Don Cherry on cornet, Gary Peacock on double bass and Sunny Murray on drums.

Legendary AMM drummer/percussionist and Matchless label leader Eddie Prévost meets with Earshots co-label leader and improvising synthesist Daniel Kordik for five remarkable dialogs, both using a full range of creative techniques that complement through alternating percussive and sonic approaches to their instruments, taking listeners into unforseen territories.

Expanding the enduring free improvising trio of Netherlands tenor saxophonist and clarinetist Luc Houtkamp, British pianist and player of electronics and objects Steve Beresford, and German drummer and percussionist Martin Blume, with Italian trombonist Sebi Tramontana for this exceptional concert captured live in 2023 at LOFT, in Cologne, Germany.

Bassist Kyle Motl organized this 2018 studio session with pianist Anthony Davis and drummer Kjell Nordeson in San Diego, Nordeson and Motl having worked together for several years, their session with Davis focused on the pianist's literary-influenced compositions, the synergy in their trio playing of energetic and introspective interaction absolutely exemplary.

Recorded at Przeswit in Warsaw, Poland, Voiceact brings together Polish vocalists Anna Gadt, Natalia Kordiak, Marta Grzywacz, and Gosia Zagajewska in an avant exploration of the art of the voice, blending ancient music, contemporary classics, and folk influences across eleven improvised pieces that showcase a captivating range of vocal styles and possibilities.

London clarinetist Tom Jackson, active in both free improvisation and contemporary classical music, meets with cellist Tyler J. Borden, who concentrates on the extremes of his instrument through unusual and extended techniques, interpret one of London's "lost rivers"--Parr's Ditch--in three extended, interpretative improvisations of powerful impressions.

27 concise poems written and read by saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist Joe McPhee, punctuated by 9 musical interludes between McPhee on soprano sax and Chicago reedist Ken Vandermark on clarinet and bass, fortifying McPhee's captivating words that mix life observations among jazz references to Dolphy, Monk, Brötzmann, Coleman, &c.; a truly embraceable "book" of poetry.

Inspired by the memoir from Swedish poet Tomas Tranströmer, this first album from the ORD quintet uses text from Tranströmer and original work from pianist & composer Karin Johansson and vocalist Jenny Willén, with trombonist Niclas Rhyd, reedist Gunnel Samuelsson and bassist Hasse Westling, in an exquisite set of introspective songs that bridge composed and improvised forms.

Inspired by the memoir from Swedish poet Tomas Tranströmer, this first album from the ORD quintet uses text from Tranströmer and original work from pianist & composer Karin Johansson and vocalist Jenny Willén, with trombonist Niclas Rhyd, reedist Gunnel Samuelsson and bassist Hasse Westling, in an exquisite set of introspective songs that bridge composed and improvised forms.

Seven years into their collaboration, the creative and innovative piano trio initiated by bassist Stephan Crump with pianist Kris Davis and drummer Eric McPherson explore spontaneous free playing on a double CD of lyrically inclined, inventive interplay, borrowing from jazz, contemporary forms and sometimes funky grooves with a patiently rewarding approach to conversation.

Focused around a poem by Adelaide Anne Procter titled "A Lost Chord", West Coast guitarist Henry Kaiser invokes the spirit of Procter's words through a stunningly beautiful album of both contemplative and technically excellent work, his first solo album performed on the lower tuned baritone guitar, in 10 tracks inspired by Frith, Xenakis, Evan Parker, Ligeti, &c.
Includes a free copy of Trouble with the Treble while quantities last!

Essential radio and live recordings from saxophonist Albert Ayler's European tour in 1964 with Don Cherry on cornet, Gary Peacock on double bass and Sunny Murray on drums, a quintessential grouping for Ayler's compositions, here in outstanding renditions of classic works including "Spirits", "Ghosts", "Vibrations", "Mothers", "Childrens", plus Don Cherry's "Infant Happiness".

An exquisite recording of composer Anthony Donofrio 1972 work for solo vibraphone captured at the University of Nebraska where Donofrio teaches and directs their new music ensemble, this extended work for solo vibraphone performed by Donofrio himself, living up to its title in a delicate advancement from clear playing to unusual vibraphone timbres and technique.

The first of two volumes in celebration of legendary saxophonist Charlie Parker's 100th birthday, here remastering his landmark recordings for the Dial label on the US West Coast between 1946-47, performing with jazz greats including Miles Davis, Lucky Thompson, Erroll Garner, Barney Kessel, Red Calender, JJ Johson, Max Roach, &c. for some of Parker's best known and essential compositions.

An expressive piano trio from Steve Beresford on piano, Italian-born, UK-based drummer/percussionist Valentina Magaletti, and Italian Bassist Pierpaolo Martino, Beresford using piano preparations, electronics & toys to expand the palette of their instrumentation, all three bringing a wealth of experience in jazz, free improv and experimental sound to their solid conversations.

Punctuated with a Prelude, Interlude and Epilogue, the core Unknown Shores trio of Portuguese improvisers, bass clarinetist João Pedro Viegas, pianist Silvia Corde and double bassist Adriano Orru, are joined by guests Carlos Zingaro on violin and Helena Espvall on cello for a 10-part work of spontaneous composition, a conceptual collection of exquisite chamber jazz.

Remastering previously unavailable and vital performances from three configurations of saxophonist Albert Ayler's bands, including their 1967 Newport Festival concert with Milford Graves, their performance at John Coltrane's 1967 Funeral at St. Peter's Lutheran Church in NYC, and an incredible 1962 concert with Cecil Taylor's group with Jimmy Lyons and Sunny Murray in Copenhagen.

The first collaboration between electroacoustic composers and performers, Graham Lambkin (The Shadow Ring) from Kent, England and Australian composer, improviser and concrète collagist James Rushford, the two developing a series of fascinatingly mysterious and detailed sound compositions that incorporate live playing; beautifully packaged.

A fascinating conceptual work on CD and printed score that attempts to sonically represent celestial events through guided improvisations, providing the performers an abstract of the main musical ideas and options on how to execute them, exploring microtonal sounds, harmonic interactions and sound as moments within physical boundaries, here in a studio realization in Zurich.

Four free players from the assertive history of French free jazz--Jean Querlier on alto saxophone & soprano oboe, Jouk Minor on baritone & sopranino saxophones, Rachid Houari (the original drummer for Gong) on drums and Joseph Traindl on trombone--are heard in this exceptional and determined set performing two compositions by Jouk Minor at the 1st Massy Independent Festival in 1975.

Drawing inspiration from the same set of Cy Twombly drawings as her previous release, For The Love Of Fire And Water, and with nearly the same ensemble — Myra Melford on piano, Mary Halvorson on guitar, Ingrid Laubrock on tenor saxophones, Tomeka Reid on cello and here Lesley Mok on drums — Melford presents five brightly original and sophisticated compositions.

Recorded in Brooklyn by Jordan Dykstra performing on viola, electronics, percussion & programming, this is the second release in his subharmonic series "Seeing the Forest in a Tree", exploring one conceptual idea with four radically different realizations through arrangements contrasting the acoustic sources of viola & bells with prepared speakers and sine-tones.

The original score composed by Brooklyn violist and multi-instrumental Jordan Dykstra for the documentary movie Globes directed by Nina de Vroome, exploring the relationship between bees and humans through their history and affect on the global economy and our cultures, realized in a diverse set of contemporary musical forms from orchestral to electronica.

A powerful set of succint compositions, themes and sea shanties for the soundtrack for Danielle Krudy and Bridget Savage Cole's film Blow the Man Down , scored through the collaboration of composers Jordan Dykstra, who also performs on viola, piano, prepared piano, vibraphone & percussion, and Brian Mcomber, who also performs on keyboards and percussion.

A fascinating conceptual work on CD and printed score that attempts to sonically represent celestial events through guided improvisations, providing the performers an abstract of the main musical ideas and options on how to execute them, exploring microtonal sounds, harmonic interactions and sound as moments within physical boundaries, here in a studio realization in Zurich.

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.

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".

To celebrate drummer/percussionist Eddie Prévost's 80th birthday, Café Oto hosted four concerts once a week in June, 2022, each a differing configuration from Prévost's history; this third concert presents combinations of improvisers from Prévost's weekly workshop series through diverse groupings from trio to septet.

Price Reduction: Clifford Allen frames the work of pianist Matthew Shipp and his collaborators through his work on the RogueArt label of 25 albums and a book with poet Steve Dalachinsky, providing insight and context into Shipp's music through photographs, essays and interviews with William Parker, Rob Brown, Whit Dickey, Joe Morris, Yuko Otomo, Michel Dorbon, and Jim Clouse.

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 3rd Intakt release from NY multi-reedist and composer Chris Speed's Trio with bassist Chris Toridini and drummer Dave King, who is also a part of Speed's other working band The Bad Plus, this new album presenting eight original Speed compositions that, as Speed explains, get to the point of featuring the song, the sophisticated melodies around which this excellent trio pivot.

Giving homage to creative musicians before them, the Berlin quintet of Koen Nutters (upright bas), Heather Frasch (flute), Carina Khorkhordina (trumpet), Han-earl Park (electric guitar) and Quentin Tolimieri (bass & soprano melodica)--explore the notion of integrating open improvisations around melody and modal harmonies into a post-musical, conceptual, and social framework.