Two western-US, like-minded sound artists and improviser who started their musical lives as drummer/percussionists, Jeph Jerman and Ted Byrnes present nine relatively succinct tracks of unusual and unidentifiable sources, typically formed around a rhythmic center and always actively engaging, finding logic in curious or even chaotic interaction.

Meeting in the Park West Studios in Brooklyn in 2022, acclaimed Norwegian free jazz multi-reedist Frode Gjerstad, here performing on alto saxophone & Bb clarinet, joins with New York pianist Matthew Shipp to record eight discerning and warmly paced improvised dialogs, each titled through a wide range of topics, including "about music"; "about equality"; "about Conspiracies"; "about peace".

Quirky in a masterful display of instrumental skill from the Swedish duo of soprano saxophonist Martin Küchen and trombonist Ola Rubin (Swedish Fix, Lazy Rude Monk), using every inch of their instruments along with mutes, percussion and percussive emanations, creating a virtual menagerie of animalistic sounds alongside dexterous lines.

The Summer 2023 issue of Canada's finest music magazine covering contemporary improvised, composed and experimental music, with Simone Schmidt's Audible Songs of Defiant Meaning on the cover, plus features on Nicole Mitchell and Coco Elysses, Levy Lorenzo, Wayne Lavallee, along with recorded & live reviews, and a 10-track CD with pieces from the artist within.

Rutger Zuydervelt, aka Machinefabriek, returns to rhythmic electronic solo work with his fourth mini-CD release after Hinkelstap (2022), Tuimelval (2022) and Haast (2023), in this seven-part work Kadans (translating to "Cadence"), each track using a unique rhythmic foundation under warm electronics, plus a violin sample from collaborator Anne Bakker.

After working with clarinetist Monika Bugajny on his + album, composer & electronic artist Rutger Zuydervelt, aka Machinefabriek, joined again with Bugajny for a set of eight reconstructions of classical works from Debussy, Messiaen, Brahms, Stravinsky, &c., each reinterpreted work cleverly composed from Bugajny's recording of the original composition.

Magnificent and succinct compositions merging contemporary and improvised approaches in powerfully elegant ways from Swiss pianist Katharina Weber, performing solo in the studio in 2022, presenting seventeen original compositions and two by György Kurtág, including pieces dedicated to Kurtág and Marta Kurtág, along with dedications to Heinz Holliger, Roland Moser, Gertrud Schneider, &c.

Recording at the Rudy van Gelder Studio, this is Cuban pianist David Virelles' debut on Intakt with his trio of bassist Ben Street and drummer Eric McPherson, performing eight Virelles compositions and his arrangement of a piece by Enrique Bonne Castillo; a joyful contemporary piano trio of great technical skill and passionate performance beautifully captured.

The other shaded region to their 2022 Penumbra album, keyboardist Stemeseder and drummer Christian Lillinger explore "utopias in sound production" through acoustic and electronic composition, creating evolving melodies and sonic tapestries in performance with Peter Evans on Piccolo trumpet, Russell Hall on bass, DoYeon Kim on Gayageum and Brandon Seabrook on banjo & guitar.

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.

Celebrating 20 years since his recording debut as a leader and his own 50th birthday, Cuban-born, New York-based pianist Aruán Ortiz presents his 6th album on Intakt in a trio with bassist Brad Jones and drummer John Betsch, opening with a Gillespie/Parker number then taking us on a spectacular journey through contemporary jazz influenced by Afro-Cuban/Haitian traditions.

Formed in 1972 and releasing their first album in 1975, the enduring quartet OM of Urs Leimgruber on soprano saxophone, Christy Doran on electric guitar, Bobby Burri on double bass and Fredy Studer on drums & percussion, celebrate 50 years of intense genre-blurring creative jazz leveraging rock music's energy with this exhilarating album of structured collective improv.

Unique approaches to the piano trio format, alerted to the listener by merging synthetics and samples into the opening, bubbling carnival-esque "Rapture", then settling into more recognizable yet innovative approaches to creative, modern jazz through Hawkin's fascinating compositions, electronics drifting in and out at times but generally adhering to great, modern jazz.

A new trio setting from New York alto saxophonist Tim Berne with accordionist & multi-instrumentalist Aurora Nealand and long-time associate, cellist Hank Roberts, a warmly orchestrated band that allows fluid and relaxed approaches to their playing, Berne's compositions evoking exquisite tonal color and diverse conversations from pacific to tempestuous.

Working together many years in various formations--saxophonist Michel Doneda & drummer Roger Turner with John Russell; bassist Alexander Frangenheim & Turner in quartets with Pat Thomas or Phil Wachsman; Doneda & Frangenheim's own duo--this concert at Jazzatelier Ulrichsberg recorded during their European tour shows their incredible compatibility and seemingly telepathic conversations.

Taking what he describes as a road he's never been on, percussionist and improviser Gerry Hemingway turns in an astute album of original songs, Hemingway's voice expressive on work he explains was originally influenced by Dylan, Geeshie Wiley, Lou Reed or Monroe Brothers, the album developed over four years with a cast of collaborators including Ralph Alessi, Earl Howard, Michael Moore, &c.

Taking what he describes as a road he's never been on, percussionist and improviser Gerry Hemingway turns in an astute album of original songs, Hemingway's voice expressive on work he explains was originally influenced by Dylan, Geeshie Wiley, Lou Reed or Monroe Brothers, the album developed over four years with a cast of collaborators including Ralph Alessi, Earl Howard, Michael Moore, &c.

A subset of the Andreas Røysum Ensemble, the trio of Norwegian clarinetist Andreas Roysum on Bb& Bass clarinets, Nakama Label leader Christian Meaas Svendsen on double bass and Danish drummer Kresten Osgood recorded these collective free improvisations on the title's date in an unnamed location, for four assertive dialogs of impressive expression.

Ngayon, the Filipino tagalog word for "Now" or "Today", effectively describes the immediacy of the second release from Bay Area guitarist and composer Karl Evangelista and his exceptional Apura band, performing five sophisticated original works.

A New York trio of musical friends from Chris Pitsiokos on alto saxophone, Luke Stewart on electric & acoustic basses and Jason Nazary on drums, an elegantly impactful album of organic free jazz expanded through electronic textures from all three members as they enthusiastically explore new approaches to energetic, creative, contemporary improvisation; extraordinary!

A ritualistic narrative work from multidisciplinary artist Dorian Wood and percussionist Thor Harris (Swans), with Carla Bozulich and Jarboe contributing their voices in an ensemble of contemporary and experimental arrangement, alongside guests David Coulter, Heather Trost, Jeremy Barnes, Michael Corwin, Ignacio Carvajal, Andrea Calderon, Elizabeth Warren and Patrick Shiroishi.

Once roommates in Rhode Island, guitarist Jeffrey Alexander of The Heavy Lidders, now living in Philadelphia, and guitarist/vocalist Ashley Paul, now living in London, come together again for a 3-song 7" release of idiosyncratic and informed free-form songs and instrumentals performed with a saxophone, clarinet, prepared guitar, prepared percussion, moog & electric piano.

The fourth book in New York improvising bassist William Parker's interview with other improvisers, here with 29 interviews, and 24 works of art by Jeff Schlangler; interviews include Peter Brötzmann, Darius Jones, Ava Mendoza, Zeena Parkins, Tom Rainey, Bobby Zankel, Evan Parker, James Brandon Lewis, Micheal Bisio, Mario Pavone, Taylor Ho Bynum, &c.

A collection of Sun Ra recordings from the 1970s to 80s, from a small pressings on Sun Ra's own Saturn label and now public for the first time - "Just Friends" live (alongside an unreleased, intimate living room solo recordings of the same), plus "Under the Spell of Love" from the Just Friends album, and a previously unissued and Sun Ra's only known recording of "Cherokee".

After The Work and his involvement with This Heat, guitarist Mick Hobbs formed Officer!, a shape-shifting RIO band that presented Hobb's unique, amusing and incisive songs, releasing three proper albums and, in 1989, a cassette on the Swiss label No Records that is here reissued, half of the album written for a stage play called Bandagen by Grazia Pergoletti.

Recording at London's Cafe OTO, and at the 2022 Newcastle Festival Of Jazz And Improvised Music, saxophonist and composer Martin Archer's exceptional 8-piece line up of his exuberant avant-electric jazz band blurring lines between 70's Miles and AACM abstractions, is heard across three CDs of fiery soloing, contemplative transitions, and spectacular group interplay.

Adding bassist Jon Short to their lineup, the 4th album from Das Rad continues the band's genre-merging approach of rock & improv forms rooted in prog, kosmiche, and jazz rock, this post-pandemic album bringing the band back together for live interaction, their enthusiasm evident in their energetic intercourse, particularly in the extended suite "Expergefactor".

The fourth collaboration between composer & saxophonist Ron Caines and arranger & saxophonist Martin Archer, recorded in Brighton between 2022 & 2023 with a cast of UK luminary improvisers--Charlotte Keefe, Chris Sharkey, Graham Clark, Gus Garside and Johnny Hunter--chosen for their applicability to each piece, in configurations from solo to full octet ensemble.

Inspired by a poem Carter wrote about New York's interminable motion, the quartet of Daniel Carter on saxophone, Leo Genovese on piano, William Parker on bass, Gralla & Shakuhachi and Francisco Mela on drums & voice, turn in an ecstatic album of exotic collective improvisation in this first of two planned volumes from an excellent studio session.

One of New York School minimalist composer Morton Feldman's later works, this extended composition spread across two CDs invokes waves of beautifully suspended, weaving strings from four violinists and cello, performed by the UK Apartment House ensemble violinists Mira Benjamin, Chihiro Ono, Amalia Young & Bridget Carey and cellist Anton Lukoszevieze.

Ten exceptional solo improvisations performed live without overdubbing on electric & acoustic guitars, using effects to expand the expressive capabilities of each guitar, as Henry Kaiser endeavors to sound like more than a single musician, inspired by improvisers like Evan Parker, Cecil Taylor or Derek Bailey, each improv providing a dedication or influence.

A single-movement work for sho, Hammond organ and cello, jointly realized by Berlin-based collaborators, Tokyo contemporary and experimental musician & composer Michiko Ogawa, and British cellist & composer Lucy Railton, whose work bridges experimental electronic and electroacoustic practice, here exploring the combinations of different tuning systems inherent in their instruments.

Two works written for a group of Australian performers living in Berlin--Jon Heilbron, Rebecca Lane, Jess Aszodi & Sam Dunscombe--by Australian composer and pianist Anthony Pateras, A Dread Of Voids developed for a residency at the Archipel Festival in Geneva after enduring a pandemic quarantine; and Patterned Language, composed for the Astra Chamber Music Society.

Performing solo on the Hardanger fiddle, a Scottish folk instrument for which Sarah-Jane Summers holds a masters degree from the Norwegian Academy of Music, the composer and improviser entered the studio to develop these nine experimental pieces, reworking each piece into its fascinating blend of modern contemporary music that harkens back to folk tradition.

The soundtrack to the 2022 German documentary film This Stolen Country of Mine directed by German filmmaker Marc Wiese about Ecuadorian resistance fighters and journalists opposed to the sale of the country's resources to Chinese investors, in 19 subtle, elegantly passionate electronic works from sound artist Carsten Nicolai, aka Alva Noto.

Five concerts from percussionist and Ictus label leader Andrea Centazzo's 1978 US tour, performing in a duo with percussionist Alex Cline; in a trio with LaDonna Smith (violin) and Davey Williams (guitar); and in a quintet with John Zorn (saxophone), Tom Cora (cello), Toshinori Kondo (trumpet), Eugene Chadbourne (guitar) and Polly Bradfield (violin).

An energetic concert at Area Sismica, in Forli, Italy from the dual saxophone and dual drums Italian quartet of Marco Colonna on baritone & sopranino saxes, Edoardo Marraffa on tenor & alto saxes, Fabrizio Spera on drums, percussion & bow, and Marco Zanotti on drums, percussion & kalimba; a wonderfully explosive concert, the first live post-pandemic performance for all four.

Reissuing Blume record's 2018 double album of New York avant composer Julius Eastman's "N****r Series" "Evil N****r" (1979) "Gay Guerilla" (1980) and "Crazy N****r", now in a deluxe wooden box set edition with a 12-page booklet with the original liner notes by Mary Jane Leach and Bradford Bailey, a new 2500 word essay by Bailey, as well as unseen pictures and a poster.

A sax & piano duo from German saxophonist Silke Eberhard and French pianist Céline Voccia, recording in the studio in Berlin as they draw from free jazz and contemporary compositional sources in quick-witted exchanges of powerful technique and creative drive, or contemplative environments of unusual concepts; an extremely well matched and complementary pair.

Following NY saxophonist Michael Foster's interest in free jazz, noise and the pre-AIDS era of sexual freedom in the gay community, expressed in a sax-bass-drums trio with Philadelphia double bassist Jared Radichel and drummer Joey Sullivan, drawing on pre-composed structures, melodies, samples, and improvisation to reflect both the joy and anxiety of the queer experience.

Drawn from the same period around 1976 which produced legendary free jazz saxophonist Steve Lacy's albums Clangs and Trio Live, the collected recordings in the two volumes of Ictus Record's Archives series were recorded while touring Italy with percussionist Andrea Centazzo, this 2nd volume from a concert in Udine presenting duos with Centazzo and a trio with bassist Kent Carter.

Referencing poet Rhina P. Espaillat and her poem about the perseverance and future influence of individual art, New York trombonist Steve Swell, also performing on pocket trumpet, presents eight solo recordings of advanced techniques and unique creative power, in seven succinct expressions including a work for Walter Weirbos, and the extended improv "Hope".

Inspired by a poem Carter wrote about New York's interminable motion, the quartet of Daniel Carter on saxophone, Leo Genovese on piano, William Parker on bass, Gralla & Shakuhachi and Francisco Mela on drums & voice, turn in an ecstatic album of exotic collective improvisation in this first of two planned volumes from an excellent studio session.

Composed for and recorded with the International Contemporary Ensemble, NY drummer Kate Gentile's 13-movement composition biome ii integrates improvisation into a chamber music ensemble, each movement describing fictional flora or fauna from a biome of creatures as quirky and fascinating as the music Gentile has developed for this idiosyncratic and exceptional symphony.

Energetic, authoritative and unpredictable, this 2020 concert at Hyde Park Book club, in Leeds, UK from the collective free improv trio of Pat Thomas on keyboards, Chris Sharkey on electric guitar and Luke Reddin on Williams on drums, burns through an extended and far-ranging set of sonic environments and seriously exhilarating straight-on playing.

Energetic, authoritative and unpredictable, this 2020 concert at Hyde Park Book club, in Leeds, UK from the collective free improv trio of Pat Thomas on keyboards, Chris Sharkey on electric guitar and Luke Reddin on Williams on drums, burns through an extended and far-ranging set of sonic environments and seriously exhilarating straight-on playing.

While on tour in Lisbon in 2002, pedal steel & lap steel improvising guitarist Susan Alcorn was invited by alto & tenor saxophonist José Lencastre (Nau Quartet) to record in the studio with double & electric bassist Hernani Faustino (Red Trio), recording these six refined trio improvisations of both contemplative and energetic conversations.

Formed as a collective in 2016, Baraque à Free brings together young free improvisers from Toulouse, France, who leverage influences from jazz, contemporary and rock forms, creating passages that include harmonious tranquillity, noisy spaces, rhythmic rage, math rock, and hints of orchestral chamber music; a positive album of musical statement and emotional release.

Active in both contemporary music and as an improviser, Portuguese accordionist João Barradas is heard live at the 2022 Festival d'Aix-en-Provence in France, performing solo on a chromatic accordion, MIDI chromatic accordion and voice for an expansive, un-interrupted six-part improvisation that showcases both his technical skills and his emotional passion.

Commissioned by Cineteatro Louletano to respond creatively to the musical legacy of Ludwig van Beethoven, double bassist Carlos Bica developed ten compositions that draw on Beethoven's original works, performing them with saxophonist Daniel Erdmann, accordionist João Barradas and DJ Illvibe on turntables, a truly unique take on some of the renowned composer's most famous works.

Recorded two decades apart, first in 1998 as a combination of recordings in the studio and live @ The Knitting Factory, and then in 2019 in the studio, the trio of Miya Masaoka on Koto, dan bau & electronics, Reggie Workman on bass, percussion, musical saw & digeridoo and Gerry Hemingway on drums & electronics, show both their consistency and evolution as masterful, creative improvisers.

A wild, fun, inventive and musically impressive ride from French cellist Valentin Ceccaldi quartet with Etienne Ziemniak on drums, Fulco Ottervanger on piano & keyboards and Luis Lopes on guitar, a unique set of jazz, psychedelic and almost circus music, where the listener is never quite certain what's around the corner but constantly amazed at what they hear.

An introduction to Amsterdam-based percussionist and composer Domen Cizej through five studio-recorded CDs of differing configurations of his ensembles, one album each from the 8-piece Domen Cizej Percussion Ensemble, the trio Domen Cizej Koška Čias, the Domen Cizej Duo and Trio, and Cizej solo; a set of diverse and upbeat settings with liner notes by Joe Morris.

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.

Bringing tremendous playing skill and creative intent, the Italian/Portuguese trio of Simone Quatrana on piano, Andrea Grossi on double bass and Pedro Melo Alves on drums & percussion, improvise over spontaneous compositions that flow perceptively from quick energetic moments to periods of abstract beauty, complementing each other in exquisite and dynamic ways.

Mixed, edited and re-organized by Fred Frith and mastered by Thomas Dimuzio, this album find the trio of Frith on electric guitar, Evelyn Davis on the Mills Chapel pipe organ and Phillip Greenlief on clarinet & alto saxophone, performing in the Mills College Chapel in Oakland, CA, the sophomore release on Clean Feed for this versatile trio of masterful improvisers.

Also part of the working group Zeuthen / Østergaard-Nielsen / Nordberg / Oswald, legendary Danish saxophonist Jesper Zeuthen of Blue Sun and pianist Margaux Oswald are heard in this 2022 performance at Koncertkirken in Copenhagen for three extended and discerning dialogs of powerfully passionate interplay and startlingly beautiful plateaus of peaceful discourse.

Named for the translation of alto saxophonist Bruno Parrinha's last name into English--"Vine Leaf"--the trio of frequent working partners Luís Lopes on electric guitar and João Valinho on drums are heard in two recordings at SMUP, in Parede, PT and one studio recording in Lisbon, for sophisticated collective improvisation that indeed flows like a beautifully intricate vine.

Spontaneous compositions with an emphasis on strings and exploratory, unusual approaches to group dynamic, from the trio of Slovenian guitarist Samo Salamon on 6- and 12-string guitars, Italian violinist Emanuele Parrini and Spanish percussionist & drummer Vasco Trilla, in seven conversations of consummate skill, balancing intense concentration with vigorous and inspired exchanges.

Continuing his project dedicated to 20th century Polish composers, saxophonist Marek Pospieszalski leads his creative octet through open and collectively improvised arrangements of works from six Polish female composers — Barbara Buczek, Elżbieta Sikora, Grażyna Pstrokońska-Nawratil and Marta Ptaszyńska — in wide-ranging and often startling impressions of the original works.