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.

An outrageously powerful improvised exposition of nine rivers from New York pianist John Blum, performing live in a solo concert as part of the 2013 Crosscurrent Festival in Pecara, Italy, Blum's commanding technique and density making clear his influence by former mentors Cecil Taylor and Borah Bergman, as he rolls and roars rapidly through each torrent.

Recorded a month after Outspan No 1, this album was captured live at 1974 Ost-West-Festival in Nurnberg, Germany from the legendary, masterfully amusing and absolutely serious trio of Peter Brötzmann on alto saxophone, tenor saxophone & clarinet, Fred Van Hove on piano, and Han Bennink on drums, clarinet, homemade junk, everything & anything.

Working with Alex Lemski, who produces the Boston-area Creative Music Series, reedist and multi-instrumentalist David Peck organized a concert of unique orchestration for Leap of Faith, the duet of himself and cellist/aquasonic player Glynis Lomon, here with two bassists--Albey onBass & Nate McBride--plus trumpeter Vance Provey and drummer Eric Rosenthal.

Using only their right arms and never fingering the strings with their left hand, this recording of Alvin Lucier's "One Arm Bandits" was recorded in Lucier's own dining room, the hour-long piece in four parts exploring the relationship between bow direction changes and shifts in phase, scored for four cellists and performed by Tyler J. Borden, Laura Cetilia, Charles Curtis and Judith Hamann.

A working project of the Boston-based Evil Clown collective, Metal Chaos Ensemble explores chaotic rhythms on metallic instruments, in this live-streamed performance from 2022 as a quintet with strong jazz influences, from David Peck on reeds and percussion, Bob Moores on trumpet & keys, Michael Caglianone on sax, Albey onBass on bass, and Steve Niemitz on drums & percussion.

Recorded in Schloss Prinzendorf shortly after the passing of composer and artist Hermann Nitsch, this realization of his six-day play festival of the Orgien Mysterien Theater, an aesthetic ritual of the glorification of existence, merging art, photography and color together, the music an essential element derived from the interplay of sound and colour through harmony or dissonance.

Ten years having passed since his last solo acoustic guitar album, Bill Orcutt's new release focuses on a more lyrical, relaxed and reflective side to his playing, in ten succinct pieces recorded in the spring and summer of 2002 at San Francisco's community focal point for and member of Intersection for The Arts, The Living Room.

A sophisticated album of collective free jazz recorded in Brooklyn in 2004, from the trio of husband and wife improvisers Roberta Piket on piano and Billy Mintz on drums, with under-recorded saxophonist Mark Reboul rounding out the trio, as the three present "Seven Pieces" in "About an Hour" of stunningly elegant, implicitly melodic and impressively creative playing.

An offshoot of Metal Chaos Ensemble, Simulacrum features 3 the core members of that band--David Peck on winds, horns, percussion and electronics, Eric Woods on analog synth, and Bob Moores on space trumpet, guitar & electronics--substituting Joel Simches for Woods to provide maximum real-time signal processing for this extended and diverse set of free improv, jazz and soundscape.

Using his Broad Palate concept to introduce multiple sonorities to solve problems of large group improvisations, composer/multi-reedist David Peck's Turbulence project of the extended horn section of the Leap of Faith Orchestra is here represented by Peck, Jared Holiday, David Welans and Dennis Livingston (winds), and Bob Moores, Erich Dahlman and Duane Reeds (brass).

A compact version of the Exploding Star Orchestra, trumpeter & composer Rob Mazurek's octet with guitarist Jeff Parker, drummer Gerald Cleaver, pianists Angelica Sanchez & Craig Taborn, flutist Nicole Mitchell, vocalist Damon Locks and percussionist Mauricio Takara present a far-ranging set of electric jazz, Miles-atmospheres and lyrically compelling music.

Based in Cologne but including improvisers from Europe, Australia and South America, pianist Simon Nabatov extends his quartet concept into a sextet (hence the title), allowing greater flexibility in the band's collective free improvisations with influences of chamber jazz, as heard in two sophisticated improvisations capture live in 2022 at Salon de Jazz, in Cologne, Germany.

The second full-length album from the UK genre-merging rock band Squid, in eight new songs of quirky imagistic and insightful lyrics and playing, surprising instrumental combinations and an experimental approach to layering sound, born from onstage improv experiments during their 2021 tour, recording this album at Peter Gabriel's studio at the end of that tour.

Members of the Chicago free improvising, collaborative band TV Pow--Todd A. Carter and Michael Hartman--as a duo are Superposition, recording improvisations and composed improvisations primarily on piano, Rhodes, organ, and synthesizers, then mixing, adding and editing them into appealing tracks that merge electronics, jazz forms and soundscape.

Zorn expands the canon for his lyrical jazz quartet Incerto of Brian Marsella on piano, Ches Smith on drums & Haitian Tanbou, Julian Lage on guitar and Jorge Roeder on bass, composing a suite of seven subtle and passionate nocturnes inspired by the night imagery of Shakespeare, merging jazz and chamber forms with a Downtown NY sensibility; gorgeous.

The debut for UK saxophonist John Butcher on 577 Records is this exemplary 2021 live recording at Cafe OTO in London by the quartet of Butcher on tenor and soprano saxophones, Pat Thomas on piano, Dominic Lash on double bass and Steve Noble on drums, four of the UK's leading free improvisers demonstrating their prodigious abilities in concentrated conversation.

A concert recording on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of Einstein Kultur in Munich from the quartet of Erhard Hirt on guitar & computer and Paul Lytton on drums, percussion & objects (half of the Quartet XPACT) plus Harri Sjostrom on soprano & sopranino saxophones and Philipp Wachsmann on violin & electronics, presenting a remarkable set of collective ea-improvisations.

Irish guitarist and composer Scott Fields has worked with the poems of late New York writer Steve Dalachinsky over the years, here bringing together an ensemble of improvisers, electronic and contemporary classical performers to set a suite of six poems by Dalachinsky sung by soprano Barbara Schachtner, with interludes between each weaving them into a larger and satisfying opus.

An original member of the AACM and owner & director of the Velvet Lounge jazz club leading Chicago's free and experimental music scenes, and a mentor to countless young jazz musicians, tenor saxophonist Fred Anderson is heard in the counterpart to the 2000 Unheard Music Series album, The Milwaukee Tapes, this 2nd unissued volume of material from the same 1980 concert.

The first release from Corbett vs. Dempsey drawing on the Paul Lytton Archives, this recording of electronic & acoustic improvisation from UK percussionist Paul Lytton and German guitarist Erhard Hirt was recorded in Belgium in 1981 for the German Po Torch label, founded in 1976 by Paul Lovens & Paul Lytton to release forward-looking forms of free improvisation.

An investigation into the depths of the body's neurological frontier from Swedish electronic artist Joakim Forsgren, presenting a series of intuitive compositions drawing from the latest medical research on how light and sound at specific frequencies has a potential to affect bodily functions, using analog synthesizers to create retro-rhythmic environments of flowing sound.

Calato, the quartet of Javier Areal Vélez, Jorge Espinal, Agustín Genoud and Pablo Verón based in Buenos Aires, formed in 2010 as an improvisation and experimental composition group exploring music notation and graphic scores in convergence with free improvisation, performing on prepared electric guitars, drums, sampler and amplified voice, here taking on two works by John Cage: Variations I-III, and Four6.

Born from a project from the "Jazz in Chur" association where Swiss jazz musicians team up with a musical partner from a country with a different language and cultural region, here between Swiss saxophonist Hans Koch and Lebanese saxophonist Christine Abdelnour, the two recording their half of the duo independently, joined in the studio and split left & right for a stunning and unanticipated collaboration.

Restoring and remastering the 1979 Atlantic album Mingus at Antibes from bassist & composer Charles Mingus, an extraordinary concert from the 1960 Antibes Jazz Festival with the masterful sextet of Eric Dolphy on alto sax & bass clarinet, Ted Curson on trumpet, Booker Ervin on tenor saxophone, and Dannie Richmond on drums, with Bud Powell or Mingus himself on piano.

Recording in Switzerland at La Becque Residency Center, the experimental improvising duo of Francisco Meirino on synth & field recording and Jerome Noetinger using electronics, tape, reel to reel player & radio, create a 6-part series of unusual sonic interactions, patiently exposing unidentifiable sounds and synthetic punctuation, neither subtle nor explosive but wonderfully engaging.

After sharing a stage with Belgium bassist Farida Amadou--whose collaborations include Peter Brötzmann, Steve Noble, and Thurston Moore--Chicago saxophonist Dave Rempis and Amadou sought an opportunity to record together, joining with Amadou collaborator, pianist Jonas Cambien, to record these startling studio improvisations during a 2022 tour in Belgium and The Netherlands.

Mysterious sonic collaborations between Russian experimental electronic musician Vitaly Maklakov, who runs the Zaimka and Besperech' labels, and Oregon sound artist CHEFKIRK, merging field recordings and experiments with tape & synths to create five works of submerged sound amid enigmatic detail; mastered by Squidco's own Carl Kruger.

A duo improvisation by American-based, Japanese percussionist Tatsuya Nakatani and pianist sara(.es), recorded by Yasushi Utsunomiya in Osaka, Japan as part of a series of duo recordings, bringing out the subtleties of their interaction as each improviser approaches their instrument in unique ways, creating a virtual universe of sounds that intersect and contrast in captivating ways.

Continuing their collaboration from the trio of Nakatani / Tiner / Drake and the duo album Dagny on Nakatani-Kobo, trumpeter Kris Tiner (Empty Cage Quartet) and percussionist Tatsuya Nakatani are heard in a recording from the top floor of the historic Woolworth's building in downtown Bakersfield, CA, adding a beautiful layer of resonance to their deceptively contemplative dialogs.

Recording in Athens, Greece and drawing on their mythology, cellist Emmanuel Cremer performs five solo works under the title Five songs of Athens, each piece presenting a unique take on solo cello performace from deeply resonant to confrontationally acoustic, in both intensely active playing or thoughtful ruminations, a tour de force of exceptional expression.

Emphasizing the electronic aspect of ea-improv, the trio of Jean-Marc Foussat on Synthi AKS, voice & toys, Emmanuelle Parrenin on hurdy-gurdy & voice and Quentin Rollet on alto and sopranino saxophones & small electronics, are heard in an immersive performance at Allumes du Jazz, in Le Mans, France in 2023, for a superb concert of unrestricted free improvisation.

Reissuing the 1995 In Situ album of the sublime 1993 concert at Vandoeuvre-Les-Nancy in France from the free improvising quartet of Daunik Lazro on alto & baritone saxophones, Carlos Zingaro on acoustic and electroacoustic violins, Sakis Papadimitriou on piano and Jean Bolcato on double bass & voice, in a highly focused set of concentrative collective expression.

Bringing together two masterful and legendary players from the European Free Improv scene -- French double bassist and vocalist Joëlle Léandre and UK drummer & percussionist Paul Lovens -- heard in this live performance at Les Temps du Corps, in Paris, free playing in two parts with an incredible sense of communication, timing, humor, virtuosity and finesse.

Composer and tenor saxophonist James Brandon Lewis' exceptional Red Lily Quintet quintet (Kirk Knuffke on cornet; William Parker on bass; Chad Taylor on drums; Christopher Hoffman on cello) pays homage to gospel and jazz singer Mahalia Jackson through a suite of original Lewis compositions, reimagining some of Jackson's best known works; CD & LP issues include a bonus download track.

Composer and tenor saxophonist James Brandon Lewis' exceptional Red Lily Quintet quintet (Kirk Knuffke on cornet; William Parker on bass; Chad Taylor on drums; Christopher Hoffman on cello) pays homage to gospel and jazz singer Mahalia Jackson through a suite of original Lewis compositions, reimagining some of Jackson's best known works; CD & LP issues include a bonus download track.

An unrestrained album of free jazz, unorthodox electronic excursions and vocal irascibility as legendary tenor saxophonist Joe McPhee joins the Bazuinschal duo of alto saxophonist Mette Rasmussen and percussionist & electronic manipulator Dennis Tyfus (Ultra Eczema) for this singularly unusual 2018 concert at Het Bos, in Antwerp, Belgium; magnificently indescribable!

Teaming up with Norwegian keyboard player Ståle Storløkken of Elephant9 & Supersilent and drummer Ole Mofjell, guitarist Hedvig Mollestad Thomassen introduces her new trio with this double album of live recordings from three separate concerts in Oslo and Stavanger, Norway, in dynamic performances of blistering, building prog and jazz fusion-oriented rock forms.

Originally released in 1992 on the US Quinton Records label, this trio album by New York improvisers, pianist Matthew Shipp (this being his first CD under his own name), bassist William Parker and drummer Whit Dickey, presents the four-part "Circular Temple" composed by Shipp, leveraging the language of jazz in remarkable ways, particularly the 2nd movement, "Monk's Nightmare".

Originally released in 1992 on the US Quinton Records label, this trio album by New York improvisers, pianist Matthew Shipp (this being his first CD under his own name), bassist William Parker and drummer Whit Dickey, presents the four-part "Circular Temple" composed by Shipp, leveraging the language of jazz in remarkable ways, particularly the 2nd movement, "Monk's Nightmare".

Michael Formanek's compositions run a wide range of styles and approaches to creative modern jazz, from flowing lyrical melodies to tense agitation in rapid runs, all anchored by Formanek's powerful bass and rendered with his Elusion Quartet of Tony Malaby on tenor & soprano sax, Kris Davis on piano and Ches Smith on drums & vibes; inventive jazz that continuously surprises.

Swiss pianist, composer and producer Marie Kruttli, who splits her time between Switzerland and Berlin, steps away from her trio with bassist Lukas Traxel and drummer Jonathan Barber for a sophisticated solo album of original composition and improvisations, in thirteen succinct, emotional and introspectively elegant works.

Surprises abound with Lucas Niggli's approach to improvised composition, using 40 playing cards that his ten-piece ensemble interpret, drawing on inspired performers from improvised, experimental and contemporary classical music, their game performed over three rounds, allowing an incredibly diverse set of approaches to reveal themselves on each unique track.

Evan Parker and Matthew Wright are the core of Trance Map, the soprano saxophonist and live electronics duo expanding on their original 2011 concept with Trance Map+, adding guest musicians to their unique approach to electroacoustic improvisation, here in an exceptional quartet configuration with Peter Evans on trumpet & piccolo trumpet, and Mark Nauseff on percussion.

Swiss sound artist Jason Kahn chronicles his 37-solo concert tour through North America from the US to Canada, exploring the state of DIY experimental music scenes post-pandemic, including a CD of concert recordings in Portland and Chicago in 2022 using local radio and field recordings from each city, along with mod synths, tube amp, electromagnetic transducers and contact mics.

A remarkable journey in free improvisation and free form electroacoustic improv from the trio of Jean-Marc Foussat on synth & effected voice, Urs Leimgruber on soprano & tenor saxophones and Carlos Zingaro on violin, three masterful improvisers who employ unusual sonic palettes and remarkable technique in a carefully controlled conversation drawing on diverse styles.

Reissuing the 2002 Potlatch release of this exceptional free improvising quartet of Daunik Lazro on alto & baritone saxophones, Carlos Alves "Zingaro" on violin, Joëlle Léandre on double bass and Paul Lovens on percussion & musical saw, some of the most notable of European improvisers captured live during the 2001 "Banlieues Bleues" Festival.

An open-minded duet between French pianist Didier Fréboeuf, also performing on clavietta and objects, and tenor & sopranino saxophonist and contrabass clarinetist Jean-Luc Petit, in an improvisatory exploration of three crusts--"Bark", "Scab" and "Crisp"--music of impressive, creative dexterity that balances scrabbly playing with introspection around each crusty littoral.

A study of contrasts as French improvising synth player Jean-Marc Foussat joins with legendary saxophonist & bass clarinetist Sylvain Guerineau, whose work in both jazz tradition and free playing finds him a lyrical and expressive player, bringing flexibility in combination with a seemingly disparate foil in Foussat, heard in six succint dialogs of unconventional compatibility.

An immersive collection of electroacoustic improvisation from the French duo of Jean-Marc Foussat performing on synth, piano, toys and voice, and Léo Remke-Rochard (Riverdog/Skuury) on electronics and ethnic instruments, in a mix of engulfing abstractions and fragmented narrative elements, six works of remarkable soundscape and inspired alien interaction.

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.

The title translating to The Good Days, Fou label leader and synth player Jean-Marc Foussat joins with soprano & tenor saxophonist Guy-Frank Pellerin (Dieci Ensemble) for three extended electroacoustic improvisations and a shorter coda, employing piano, toys, field recordings, a whispered poem from Tristan Tzara, and a sense of limitless creativity and imagination.

Referencing the collective NY Loft scene of the 1980's, the trio of Jean-Jacques Avenel on bass, Siegfried Kessler on piano, keys & ring modulator and Daunik Lazro on alto sax & tuba sax, are heard in a Béziers Jazz Action concert recorded in the crypt of a Franciscan theater, in two suites of collective improvisation, the 2nd adding unusual electronics from Kessler.

Two nights at the famed Village Vanguard from pianist Kris Davis' quintet with Terri Lyne Carrington on drums, Val Jeanty on turntables & electronics, Julian Lage on electric guitar and Trevor Dunn on basses; a thoroughly modern electric jazz group performing Davis originals, with references to Eric Dolphy, Conlon Nancarrow, Olivier Messiaen, Paul Bley, Sun Ra and Karlheinz Stockhausen.

Bringing together a vast range of jazz, song form, theater, and experimental approaches into a joyfully exciting journey of musical forms from German pianist and composer Simon Rummel, recorded with an versatile 11-piece ensemble at LOFT in Cologne, including Georg Wissel and Joris Ruhl on reeds, Matthias Muche and Carl Ludwig Hubsch on brass, and Michael Griener on drums.

Clarinetist Xavier Charles, accordionist Jonas Kocher and percussionist Toma Gouband join French improviser Joris Ruhl for this extended improvisation of multiphonics, textures and timbres, evolving from subtle harmonics into vast waves of sound, pausing to punctuate with pointillist interaction, then expanding into dramatic waves of sound before carefully fading away; sublime.

Expanding the collaboration between guitarist, saxophonist and electronic artist Elliott Sharp and electric & acoustic harpist Helene Breschand, in a quartet with Zafer Tawil performing on oud, violin & percussion and Floy Krouchi on electric bass, for an exotic, globe-embracing, groove-oriented album of unusual and often ecstatic acoustic and electric orchestration.

Hand-numbered repress edition.
Composer Michel Banabila invited seven musicians to improvise individually, taking recordings from those sessions to create this beautifully structured set of electronic compositions, merging eBow, samplers, synth, guitar and electronics with cello, bass clarinet, viola, violin and double bass in works that display tranquility but hide deep tension below.

Drawing on ideas from the 60s and 70--Ornette Coleman, John and Alice Coltrane, Don Cherry, and Charlie Haden--bassist Vilhelm Bromander assembles an accomplished ensemble of Stockholm improvisers to perform three works of warmth and spiritual power, incorporating jazz, world and contemporary music in a stunning and rich album that exudes a wealth of experience and musical clarity.

Drawing on ideas from the 60s and 70--Ornette Coleman, John and Alice Coltrane, Don Cherry, and Charlie Haden--bassist Vilhelm Bromander assembles an accomplished ensemble of Stockholm improvisers to perform three works of warmth and spiritual power, incorporating jazz, world and contemporary music in a stunning and rich album that exudes a wealth of experience and musical clarity.