Six beautiful, fragile and mysterious works for piano in combinations with other orchestral arrangements and solo, including pitch-based compositions and a graphic work directed by photographs, performed by members of Apartment House in duos, quintets & sextets; works initially commissioned by Another Timbre and Philip Thomas and here performed on piano by Siwan Rhys.

Inspired by the broadcast performance by The Apartment House ensemble of three works by Morton Feldman, Another Timbre requested that they record the exceptional late work of the minimalist composer, Piano and String Quartet, captured at Henry Wood Hall two months later in a stunning interpretation of this enigmatic work of sensually dissipating motion.

Four clarinet-based works in trio, duo and solo from UK composer and musicologist Martin Iddon, performed by Heather Roche on bass and contrabass clarinets, Juliet Fraser on voice for "Muses", Anton Lukoszevieze on cello and James Opstad on double bass; music with intricate, interweaving lines, the title piece a mesmerising work for multi-tracked clarinets and field recordings.

Intended to be played continuously without a break, composer and violinist Andrew McIntosh's long-form composition features field recordings of pine woods in his home state of California in performance with violin, viola, piano, wine glasses, slate and electronics, an ethereal work combining improvisation, open tunings, just intonation and sympathetic resonance.

Eight chamber works of interestingly structured and exquisitely restrained character, composed between 2016 and 2021 by UK composer Georgia Rodgers, performed by the Apartment House ensemble in configurations of acoustic duos, trios & quartets, one solo piece for piano & electronics, one solo work for electronics and the title piece in 3 parts by a quintet.

The first recorded document of longtime collaborators performing as a duo, Dave Rempis (alto & tenor saxophones) and Avreeayl Ra (drums & percussion), in a thoughtfully building and muscular sax/drum pairing of both meditative and joyful free playing, captured at Constellation in Chicago after months where both players were unable to perform in person; exceptional!

One of a series of pianist Thollem McDonas' Astral Traveling Sessions, this unique duo configuration with NY saxophonist Hafez Modirzadeh uses a sonic palette of eight re-tuned pitches for piano and saxophone in an attempt to expand harmonic empathy, bringing Eastern pitch relationships to Western improvisation through a series of extraordinary solo and duo recordings.

One of a series of pianist Thollem McDonas' Astral Traveling Sessions, a 25-album series of concerts from around the globe, performing concerts in varying configurations with 70 musicians, here with two collaborations: in Kingston, NY with the great vibraphonist Karl Berger for 3 improvisations, and in Toronto with pianist Michael Snow for an extended piano duo.

As part of Thollem McDonas' Astral Traveling Sessions concert series, the pianist met Chicago legendary drummer Avreeayl Ra and and highly active improvising bassist Matthew Lux for this exceptional concert of two extended improvisations, followed by 8 duo studio improvisations as "Sunken Cages" recorded in Philadelphia with electroacoustic drummer Ravish Momin.

An epic journey in free vocal improvised music from the trio of vocalist Anna Gadt with Zbigniew Chojnacki on accordion & live electronics and Krzysztof Gradziuk on drums, performing live in the studio in Nieport, Poland, with arrangements, deconstructions and original music by Anna Gadt, along with the theme from "Monumentum pro Gesualdo" by Igor Stravinski.

A series of real-time improvised performances from Athens, Georgia guitarist Killick Hinds, made with strings and occasional computer augmentation, an album he describes as to date his fullest expression of the Appalachian Trance Metal/Piedmont Shaman Rock concept that he has been developing for years, these works inspired by Zaila Avant-garde, Paolo Angeli and Bali.

The collaboration of saxophonist Yedo Gibson and Vasco Trilla, heard as a duo on Multikulti Project and together in projects released on Emanem, NoBusiness and Creative Sources, are heard in this second Fish Wool trio album with trumpeter Susana Santos Silva, a uniquely voiced band of two horns and versatile percussion, captured live at the 24th Jazz Cerkno in 2018.

Meeting regularly since 2018, these three Luzern, Switzerland improvisers have developed a shared language of collective creative improv, the best known of the three being drummer & percussionist Gerry Hemingway working with two younger generation musicians, acoustic & electric guitarist Florestan Berset and vocalist Vera Baumann, here in their first wonderfully paced album.

Sonic exploration and studio composition from Kobe, Japan-based, Canadian sound artist Tim Olive, using amplified objects, cast-off electronics and home made instruments including metal teeth, tuning forks, clockwork motors, electromagnets, cassette playback heads and magnetic pickups, recording each and layering them in the studio to create corrosively captivating aural journeys.

With a history of both improvisation and rock, NY saxophonist and sound artist (Creature Automatic, Love As Laughter) concentrates on the sopranino saxophone in this solo album, performing acoustic feats of impressive technical skill, and on many tracks performing with tuning forks and live electronics, sequenced in a compelling journey of contrasts and wonder.

The fifth in the An Ayler Xmas series from saxophonist Mars Williams, mashing holiday classics with works by saxophonist Albert Ayler, with the amazing sextet of Josh Berman on cornet, Jim Baker on piano, viola & Arp Synth, Brian Sandstrom on bass, guitar & trumpet, Steve Hunt on drums, Peter Maunu on violin and Kent Kessler or Krzysztof Pabian on bass.

Each track named for the instruments used (aquaspring, overtone triangles, metronome & blowing tube, &c.) and inspired by a book from Elias Canetti, Spanish percussionist Vasco Trilla's creative improvisations reflect on the phrase: "every completely unknown language is a kind of acoustic mask; as soon as one learns it, it becomes a face, understandable and soon familiar."

A joint release between Astral Spirts and Relative Pitch, guitarist Ava Mendoza conjures five assertive and rugged "spells" performed on solo electric guitar, passionate works of raw technical skill and bold power as she improvises over two songs composed by herself, alongside pieces written for her from Devin Hoff, Trevor Dunn and John Dikeman.

Bringing to life the story of an event that changed the course of Finland's 1918 civil war, taking listeners on a narrative journey of haunting beauty and power presented through a layering of chamber composition and improvisation, from the duo of Pepa Paivinen performing on flutes, woodwinds & Seagull Merlin dulcimer and drummer/percussionist Jussi Miettola.

Given the chance to perform in the dark fresco-covered room of the Emmanuel Vigeland Mausoleum and museum in Oslo, Norway, guitarist Ed Petterson brought his 8-string Weissenborn guitar, various keyboards and a modular synth, using the pensive atmosphere of the location to trace spacious and exploratory works through 15 varied and succinct improvisations.

A tribute to legendary audio engineer George Belle (1948-2019) who worked with a who's who including Horace Tapscott, Jimmy Smith, Gene Rodenberry, &c., in a set of compositions from Mal Waldron, Albert Heath, Herbie Nichols plus original work from leader James Bennigton, saxophonist Dustin Laurenzi, saxophonist James Cook, and group improvisations.

Chicago drummer and composer Jimmy Bennington is heard live at Andy's Jazz Club in 2018 in a solid straight-ahead set with his Colour and Sound sextet of Fred Jackson, Jr. on alto & soprano saxophones, Artie Black on tenor saxophone, Dustin Laurenzi on tenor saxophone, Dan Pierson on piano, Mike Harmon on bass, with compositions from band members and arrangments from Bennington.

Thematic improvisations pairing synthetic sounds and effects with acoustic bass, sax and drums, recorded in the studio by the Chicago quartet of Jimmy Bennington on drums & percussion, Phil Hunger on synth, guitar & effects, Dvi Priest on acoustic bass & effects, Brian Seyler on tenor saxophone, augmented by field recording from a Syrian marketplace, Jackals and Hyenas.

Leveraging the rhythms of his Native American ancestry through deep tom drums, along with percussion focusing around clarion bells, Richmond, VA drummer/percussionist Scott Clark (Scott Clark 4tet, SCUO) brings his listener on a darkly diverse journey through six superb solo drum improvisations, laid out with resolute patience in an epic rhythmic journey.

The second of two volumes from legendary Downtown NY pianist Cooper-Moore and saxophonist Stephen Gauci, recorded after a seven-month residency at Happylucky No. 1 Gallery in Brooklyn, allowing the two players to develop a natural dialog of unique and idiosyncratic approaches to their instruments, resulting in these seven solid recordings freely improvised in the studio.

"Trios" refers to the relationship of two keyboards and the pedals of an organ, as performed by accomplished American composer Carson Cooman as he patiently unfolds Eva-Maria Houben's three minimal compositions exploring the relationships between three melodic lines or three-tone chords, presented on the Organ Probsteikirche St. Ludgerus, in Billerbeck, Germany.

A series of eight "voices" for piano, extended minimal works slowly unfolding in the performance of composer Carlo Inderhees' "8 stimmen" composition for solo piano, expressed by Guy Vandromme as the piece answers the questions "what is music made of?" with the word "voices: a sequence of sounds and silences, with its own consistency".

Four compositions for strings from German composer Hannes Lingens, including the three-part "Triptych" work performed by the Ensemble CoÔ, a septet directed by bassist Félicie Bazelair that emphasizes bowed strings; and two solo works performed by Bazelair: "Methods and Materials" & "Solo for String Instruments" employing advanced approaches to the double bass.

Since 2017 the father/son duo of double bassist Michael Formanek and woodwind player Peter Formanek have performed, recorded and toured together, here recording in the studio in 2019 with the wind player on tenor saxophone and clarinet, the familial history and life of collaboration showing in the warmth and easy discourse between the two, heard in 13 succinct improvisations.

Two renditions of two sound works from Massachusetts composer currently based in NYC, Eli Neuman-Hammond, both pieces using slide whistles in scores for multiple performers, captured in the open air in Ridgewood, NY, Washington Square Park, and in Marblehead, MA, each performance a minimal configuration that varies the fingerings or breathwork of the performers.

Norwegian composer Fredrik Rasten, a guitarist who himself has recorded pieces by pianist/composer Johan Lindvall, sees Lindvall beautifully perform 15 of his works for solo equal tempered piano, minimal pieces developed under the influence of Debussy and Bartok's Mikrokosmos compositions along with adaptations of his own microtonal/just intonation work.

The third solo saxophone record from Brooklyn improviser Josh Sinton, and his first recorded solely on the baritone saxophone, an instrument for which Sinton explains he has dedicated half his life, heard in this remarkably diverse set on the lower horn that he approaches lyrically, technically, emotionally and with startling singularity.

Concentrating on the lower reeds, baritone saxophone and bass clarinetist Josh Sinton's Predicate Trio brings the best of New York's Downtown improv scene through drummer Tom Rainey and cellist Christopher Hoffman, the album opening with a submerged baritone solo leading to seven original Sinton compositions and two uniquely mischievous and informed collective improvisations.

Originally recorded in 2005 for a small 100-copy release, the single extended track on Mahogany Rain offers an hour of mesmerizing improvisational sound, sparsely composed and deeply experimental and performed by Keith Tippett on piano & percussion, Julie Tippetts on xylophone & voice, Philip Gibbs on guitars, and Paul Dunmall on soprano & tenor saxophones.

Four unique interpretations of David Henri Thoreau's essay "Walking", "a transcendental essay that analyzes the relationship between man and nature, trying to find a balance between society and our raw animal nature." (Wikipedia), performed by Antoine Beuger, Marianne Schuppe, Stefan Thut, Sylvia Alexandra Schimag and Marie-Cecile Reber.

Using a metasynth, a software instrument that allows the user to draw or paint music, and a photograph of a small tree observed at a former train station in the German town of Kranenbur, composer Florian Wittenburg generates complex sound structures from the simple structures of the tree's branches used as a template for four rich sonic sketches.

Four mysteriously untitled and extended works of electronics subtitled Impressions From the Next Era, using feedback, aberrant sound, glitch, rich synthetics, bi-directional sound and indescribable sonic sources to fuel David Lee Myer's latest in his long-running and essential listening project Arcane Device; shimmering, inscrutable, and awe-inspiring.

Dovetailing and combining the rich harmonics of Michel Doneda's soprano and sopranino saxophone with Pascal Battus' rotating surfaces--mechanisms from small consumer electronics and their like put in motion and in contact with resonators and vibrators--this French improvising duo create fascinatingly shifting, unusual textures and sonic environments.

An overlooked chapter in Ornette Coleman's recording career, these two Blue Note albums recorded in NY in 1968 and issued in '68 & '71 feature the innovative alto saxophonist joined by West Coast tenor saxophonist recently moved to NYC, Dewey Redman, and Coltrane sidemen, drummer Elvin Jones & bassist Jimmy Garrison, for two sessions of inventive and accomplished free jazz.

Originally released in 1964 on The Sonet label as Volumes 1 & 2, this CD remasters this exceptional 1963 concert of original material and pieces by Ornette & Monk, complete in sequence as performed at Jazzhaus Montmarte in Copenhagen with Archie Shepp on tenor saxophone, Don Cherry on cornet, John Tchicai on alto saxophone, Don Moore on double bass and J.C. Moses on drums.

An intense concert of collective European Free Jazz in two extended improvisations recorded at naTo in Leipzig, German in 2019 from the quintet of Peter Brotzmann on tenor saxophone, clarinet & tarogato, Oliver Schwerdt on grand piano, percussion & little instruments, John Edwards and John Eckhardt on double bass, and Christian Lillinger on drums & percussion.

A member of pianist McCoy Tyner's Trio and Joe Lavano's Quartet, New York drummer Francisco Mela's own career as a leader is heard in this energetic trio album with two of NY's finest--pianist Matthew Shipp and bassist William Parker--recording in the studio in Brooklyn in 2020 for two extended and powerful collective improvisations and a brief "Dark Light".

Three distinct compositions from the collaborative work of sound artists Vanessa Rossetto and Lionel Marchetti, the first a wonderfully complex work of musique concrète and acousmatic sources guided by the composers' instincts; "The Tower" expands their concepts through the addition of 18 voices, while the final track features the violin of Anouck Genthon.

A truly wild concert of free jazz from Cecil Taylor's transatlantic orchestra, captured live at the 1984 Jazz Jamboree in Warsaw, Poland, bringing together impressive improvisers from the US--William Parker, John Tchicai, Jimmy Lyons, Karen Borca, Frank Wright, & Henry Martinez--with European Free Jazz leaders Tomasz Stank, Enrico Rava, Conrd Bauer & Günter Hampel.

The improvising string duo of stalwart London improvisers, Daniel Thompson on acoustic guitar and Phil Durrant on the octave mandola, are heard in two settings of texturally rich, intricate interactions, first at Cafe OTO in 2022 for an extended improvisation, then at Cable Street Studios two months later for six succint, impressively diverse dialogs.

Two improvisations by saxophonist Jean-Luc Guionnet & violinist Dan Warburton recorded in Paris & Melbourne parking garages 14 years apart, registering the behavior and characteristics of environmental and instrumental sound within these unique spaces, edited by Eric La Casa and Philip Samartzis as a 4-channel master by synchronizing two sets of independent stereo recordings.