The third part of the HYbr:ID series from electronic composer Alva Noto, aka Carsten Nicolai, investigating new approaches to composition through unique systems of musical notation and graphic scores, rendered in beautifully paced multi-spacial sound, this part influenced by the movement and subtle gestures of the traditional Japanese theater form, Noh.

The third part of the HYbr:ID series from electronic composer Alva Noto, aka Carsten Nicolai, investigating new approaches to composition through unique systems of musical notation and graphic scores, rendered in beautifully paced multi-spacial sound, this part influenced by the movement and subtle gestures of the traditional Japanese theater form, Noh.

Discovering the sounds of electromagnetic fields on trams in the city of Trondheim by wearing custom induction headphones, Christina Kubisch's work explores themes of the sounds of travel in this 3-part work for electromagnetic wave recording and six voices, commissioned by nyMusikk Trondheim and developed with Trondheim Voices, recorded live in Trondheim in 2022.

Paying homage to recordings from Mingus, Sanders, Thornton, &c, albums that shaped his approach to jazz composition and playing, trumpeter Frank London and his band The Elders--Marilyn Lerner, piano; Hilliard Greene, bass; Newman Taylor Baker, drums; and Greg Wall on sax on 3 tracks--perform six sophisticated London compositions that bridge modern improv with 60s post-bop lyricism.

Three surreal improvisations with an hallucinatory edge, drawn into a dreamlike nature by the free vocals of Girilal Baars (Girilal Baars Trio, Äijä), from a 2024 concert at COSMOS in Lisbon, PT with Ernesto Rodrigues on viola & crackle box, Carlos Santos on electronics and Monsieur Trinite on percussion; unconventional electroacoustic incantatory interactions.

Legendary Greek bass clarinetist and improviser Floros Floridis, also performing on clarinet, and German double bassist Ulf Mengersen of the Berlin Improvisers Orchestra and Ensemble MIA, meet the ever-creative duo of violist Ernesto Rodrigues and cellist Guilherme Rodrigues for this 6-part active studio improvisation whose title aptly translates to "Unexpected Encounters".

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Duo guitar improvisations performed on archtop acoustic guitars from French guitarists Christian Vasseur and Eric Mimosa, nine improvisations recorded in the studio in Mons en Baroeul, France using impressive technique in a well-matched duo of virtuosic playing and wildly creative ideas that run the gamut from extremely energetic discussion to spacious observation.

On the active and experimental side of Creative Sources' acoustic configurations organized by label leader and violist Ernesto Rodrigues, this energetic chamber quartet with Carlos Bechegas on piccolo, flute & alto flute, Joao Madeira on double bass and Monsieur Trinite on percussion, explore the three-part title work through rapid action and highly textured reflection.

The title an apt description of this dreamlike improvisation guided by the piano of Luisa Gonçalves, in a quintet with Flak on acoustic guitar & ebow, Bruno Parrinha on bass clarinet, Miguel Mira on cello and Ernesto Rodrigues on viola & crackle box, the latter adding crepuscular bird calls and whispers to this nuanced nocturnal meditation of dark ambiance and furtive encounters.

An extraordinary meeting in Berlin, where Portuguese cellist Guilherme Rodrigues resides, with Creative Sources label leader and long-time collaborator as a father/son duo, violist Ernesto Rodrigues, joining as a trio with US percussionist Ben Bennett, known for his work with Michael Foster and Jack Wright, for an incredibly well-balanced album of unorthodox technique and creative expresion.

A trio concept album from Polish free jazz players, trumpeter Olgierd Dokalski, drummer Dominik Mokrzewski and electric guitarist & alto saxophonist Jan Malkoswki, across seven pieces developing their sometimes wild collective improvisations, taking listeners from an "Egg" through "Larva", "Caterpillar", "Nymph", "Grub", "Pupa", tied together through a final Ayler-inspired "Imago".

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Recordings from the Maeng Museum in Berlin, Germany from the free improvising string trio of father/son collaborators Ernesto Rodrigues on viola and Guilherme Rodrigues on cello with Berlin musicologist and violinist Gerhard Uebele, very much in a sophisticated chamber jazz mode that borrows from contemporary classical approaches and free improvisation.

Led by two assertive New York improvisers, guitarist Ava Mendoza and bassist Devin Hoff, their band Revels includes extraordinary saxophonist James Brandon Lewis and drummer Ches Smith, performing compositions from both Mendoza and Hoff that facilitate wild interactions between band members and great freedom in soloing, an exceptional start to a new unit.

A mesmerizing and organically spiritual album of collective improv from three global travelers based around the NY and Chicago scenes--long-time collaborators William Parker, Cooper-Moore and Hamid Drake--their instrumentation on this beautiful album also uniquely global, including doson ngoni, shakuhachi, bass dudek, Serbian flute, Ney flute, ashimba, hoe-handle harp and frame drum.

William Parker's first spoken word album, and the continuing collaboration between Parker and composer, vocalist and sound designer Ellen Christi, who developed the underlying tracks, sung vocals and overall sound architecture for Parker's insightful, observational and revealing words and recitation, Parker also providing bass and flute that complement his life-affirming texts.

A mesmerizing and organically spiritual album of collective improv from three global travelers based around the NY and Chicago scenes--long-time collaborators William Parker, Cooper-Moore and Hamid Drake--their instrumentation on this beautiful album also uniquely global, including doson ngoni, shakuhachi, bass dudek, Serbian flute, Ney flute, ashimba, hoe-handle harp and frame drum.

Brooklyn saxophonist Sam Weinberg (W-2, Maestro Day) leads and composes half of the pieces for a trio with bassist Chris Lightcap and Tom Rainey, the other half collective interplay from three masterful players with a strong creative impulse and a subtle sense of humor, clearly in the jazz tradition but using modern approaches to expression that are delightfully optimistic.

Contemporary percussionist Ian Antonio (Wet Ink, Talujon Percussion Ensemble, Zs, Yarn/Wire) performs seven works for percussion by composer Jürg Frey written between 1994 and 2022, joined by members of the Talujon for one piece, though mostly a solo and very personal album for the percussionist, who has been influenced by Frey's approach to stillness and harmony.

Two different version of Magnus Granberg's 2021 composition "Holde Traume, kehret wieder!" (Sweet dreams, come back!), first as a quartet performed by the Nattens Inbrott Quartet for which the piece was originally written, and then a second version performed with Granberg's group Skogen as a septet, adding additional parts to the original composition.

Inspired by the geometric and illusory work of artist Bridget Riley, Catherine Lamb's "Curva Triangulus" borrows from Renaissance music that she "warps" by interjecting geometric musical figures, performed by the Proton Ensemble of Bern using traditional, new and historic instruments, all underpinned by the 16th century microtonal Vicentino arciorgano organ.

Three previously unreleased works by composer Phil Niblock--Index" (1969); "Tenor" (1972); "Boston III" (1972)--plus an earlier version, "Boston I", all rich works of microtones, overtones, and drones that point to the direction of his subsequent work; "Boston III" was recorded with Rhys Chatham (flute, voice), Martin Bough (tenor saxophone), and Gregory Reeve (viola, voice).

The second of two performances at Tago Jazz in Cubao, Quezon City, Philippines in 2024 between first generation Japanese free improvisational drummer, Sabu Toyozumi, Malaysia-based bassist, Richard Allan Bates, and Philippines-based alto saxophonist, Rick Countryman, this energetic concert recorded after two days in the studio developing their collective sound.

The first of two performances at Tago Jazz in Cubao, Quezon City, Philippines in 2024 between first generation Japanese free improv drummer Sabu Toyozumi, Malaysia-based bassist Richard Allan Bates, and Philippines-based alto saxophonist Rick Countryman, two contrasting sets from the first of a week of performances and studio recordings between three extraordinary collective players.

Seven Gifts as an offering through seven improvisations between double bassist Kyle Motl (Peter Kuhn Trio, Kyle Motl Trio) and Mexican flutist Wilfrido Terrazas, transforming their instruments through texture and tone to draw imagistic and free flowing stories in each conversation, applying unique and evocative approaches to their dialogs.

Drawing on a sound poem from French poet Stéphane Malarmé published in 1875, pianist Michel Wintsch and multi-reedist Udo Schindler on bass clarinet and alto saxophone tubax (a modified contrabass saxophone) perform five expressive and assertive improvisations with titles "borrowed from Stéphane Malarmé, who sees his texts as instruments."

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.

The duo of drummer Tatsuya Yoshida and keyboardist Risa Takeda take to the road in a 2023 summer tour, their rock-based improvisations energetically wild and masterfully controlled as they run through 11 pieces in a concert at Environment 0g in Osaka, the title referencing the capacity for some proposition or theory to be proven wrong; in contrast, this concert is quite right!

Thirteen high-speed rock improvisations on drums, synth, piano & voice from the continuing collaboration of Magaibutsu label leader & drummer Tatsuya Yoshida and synthesist & pianist Risa Takeda, each track titled for Nordic mythology, the album title a reference to the World Tree, a giant ash supporting the universe; dramatic, amazing, unconventional instrumental music.

Improvisations recorded at the historical Zaal 100 in Amsterdam between pianist Marta Warelis, whose previous Relative Pitch solo album A Grain of Earth had her playing inside and out of the keyboard; here joined by The Ex and Dog Faced Hermans guitarist and improviser Moor the two create both introspective and rapid-paced sonic interactions of fascinating twists and turns

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.

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.

Rich in melody that's tinged with European folk music, beautifully orchestrated with viola, vibraphone, double bass, drums & percussion, Serbian violist Szilárd Mezei's compositions take listeners on a journey from melodic optimism to poignant moments of timeless history, indeed a narrative as from a timeless novel read with passion and sincerity; exquisite.

Revisiting previous works in new arrangements, particularly the title track "Jaguar" originally recorded as a septet in 2005 and here with violin Szilárd Mezei's current quartet orchestrated for violin, vibes, double bass and drums; or the large work "Hep 35", part of a decades-long series of compositions employing unison melodies that open facilitate extended improvisation.

An extended improvisation captured in 2023 at ASIS_Klangraum in MUCCA & dasvinzenz (Munich) from the trio of long-time collaborators Eric Zwang Eriksson on drums and Udo Schindler on bass clarinet, cornet & Tubax (an Eb contrabass saxophone) with guitarist Andreas Willers of Grid Mesh, for an evolving and exploratory work of deep reflection and extreme catharsis.

Recorded at the neo-gothic Church of St. James of Escholzmatt in Luzern, Switzerland, the Leocantor Trio of Marcello Magliocchi on drums & percussion, Martin Walter on pipe organ and Matthias Boss on violin provide moments of subtle reverence through Walter's resonant environment while providing Magliocchi & Boss space for impressive technique and sometimes tumultuous expression.

The duo of French sound artists J-Kristoff Camps and Carole Rieussec, whose long-running duo project Kristoff K.Roll creates sound labyrinths of electroacoustic and acousmatic sources, meets with pianist Sophie Agnel and saxophonist Daunik Lazro for two extended works of sonic twists and turns, acoustic improvisation infiltrated with mysterious and startling sound; fascinating.

Trumpeter Jac Berrocal's 80's underground avant-garde band Catalogue with drummer Gilbert Artman (Lard Free, Urban Sax) and electric guitarist Jean-Francois Pauvros were known for their merging of experimental and boundary pushing forms of improvised jazz, punk, and rock (Think Etron Fou or This Heat); these early recordings by Jean-Marc Foussat find the band at their most assertively eclectic.

"Solo percussion album by Luc Bouquet in homage to his father Jean who was a ballroom and jazz drummer a long time ago. During the Second World War, Jean Bouquet played in clandestine balls in the harsh years of the Occupation once the ...

Three improvisations recorded in concert at Impromptu, in Bordeaux, France and at Cameleon, in Toulouse, between Xavier Camarasa (MILESDAVISQUINTET!) on Fender Rhodes and Jean on Marc Foussat on Synthi AKS, voice & toys, with Marc Maffiolo joining on baritone saxophone for one piece at Cameleon; rich interactions of incredible texture & detail and unforeseen twists & turns.

Four journeys in passionately rich sound merging synthetics, acousmatic sources, field recordings and acoustic violin from the duo of Anne Foucher, who has worked with the Acousmaki collective, on violin and electronics, and Jean-Marc Foussat on Synthi AKS, piano, toys and voice, captured live in 2022 at rue Floreal, in Montpellier and at rue de Genac, in Bignac, France.

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Four electroacoustic improvisations recorded in Italy between Jean-Marc Foussat on Synthi AKS, piano, toys & voice, Guy-Franck Pellerin on saxophones & percussion, and Eugenio Sanna on amplified guitar, metal strips balloons, cellophane & voices, an album of unconventional orchestration and approach that fascinates in its unusual sonic journey.

"We all have, on a shelf or in our head, a memory box. Sometimes we open it to add some trinket or idea, and we linger to take in hand certain relics, certain images, furtively or for a longer period of time, to meditate on them, to reme...

Exploring further the concepts of free jazz, saxophonist Ornette Coleman's back-to-back 1961 & 62 albums find the composer and innovator in a ground-breaking double quartet that includes Eric Dolphy, Don Cherry & Freddie Hubbard, Scott LaFaro & Charlie Haden, and Billy Higgns & Ed Blackwell; then with quintet with Scott LaFaro temporarily taking Charlie Haden's chair.

Reimagining familiar and more obscure works of Duke Ellington through the lense of contemporary improvisation, including "Mood Indigo", "Black and Tan Fantasy", "Self Portrait of the Bean", "Burmingham Breakdown", &c., from the powerful Who Trio of Michel Wintsch on piano, Banz Oester on double bass and Gerry Hemingway on drums, captured live at the 2023 Jazz Festival Willisau.

In configurations of solo to an 11-piece ensemble, Aural Terrain assembles great players including Tim Hodgkinson, Jason Alder, Yoni Silver, Chris Cundy, &c to perform works by composers John Cage, Gerard Grisley, Giacinto Scelsi, Thanos Chrysakis, Jule Kjaer and Tim Hodgkinson; seven acoustic compositions written between 1978 and 2022 that prominently feature horns as trumpets, clarinets and saxophones.

The second Tzadik release for guitarist On Ka'a Davis in a trio with trumpeter Ali Ali and drummer Donald Sturge Anthony McKenzie II, for a wild album of electric jazz with a psychedelic edge, fourteen tracks with spectacular and high-powered playing balanced with moments of introspective awe, music standing in the shadows of Mahavishnu, Material or late Miles.

Originally a foundational member of the Downtown NY scene now living on the West Coast, bassist Mark Dresser presents an album of inventive and engaging solo bass improvisations, performing on the double bass, and 4 and 5 string basses, on the epic title track accompanying the inspired and depictive words of celebrated late poet and close friend Jerome Rothenberg.

Three previously unreleased works by composer Phil Niblock--Index" (1969); "Tenor" (1972); "Boston III" (1972)--plus an earlier version, "Boston I", all rich works of microtones, overtones, and drones that point to the direction of his subsequent work; "Boston III" was recorded with Rhys Chatham (flute, voice), Martin Bough (tenor saxophone), and Gregory Reeve (viola, voice).

An exploration of tonal interplay and contrasting rhythms from nine electric guitars, bass, and drums by West Coast percussionist and composer Moe! Staiano (formerly of Sleepytime Gorilla Museum), a work in three movements that features assertive rhythmic structures and intertwining string structures, balanced by beautifully ringing moments of introspection.

Featuring some of composer John Zorn's most lyrical work, the duo of guitarists Gyan Riley and Julian Lage continue their collaboration in the series that started in 2015 with The Bagatelles and continues through Midsummer Moons (2017), Book Beri'ah (2019), and Quatrain (2023), as they render Zorn's beautiful merging of eclectic forms inspired by William Shakespeare.

Taking the collaboration between composer John Zorn and composer/vocalist Jesse Harris on the stage for a live performance at National Sawdust, in Brooklyn in 2023, supported by a dream band of Brian Marsella on piano, Jorge Roeder on bass and Ches Smith on drums; sixteen upbeat, beautiful and sophisticated songs that bring Downtown NY sensibilities to lyrical vocal jazz.

With two bass players (Wilber Morris & Rafael Garrett), two drummers (Denis Charles & Thurman Barker, violinist Billy Bang and tenor saxophonist Frank Lowe, this 1984 album covered pieces from Jackie McLean, Butch Morris, Ornette Coleman and Rashied Ali, here remastered with a previously unreleased 1984 session including a 2-part suite composed by Billy Bang.

Portuguese pianist Luísa Gonçalves' second volume of solo improvisations extends her 2020 album Unno with eight new, lyrical works of succint and focused compositions that bring both her classical and improvisation skills to the foreground through beautifully structured and elegant works, ending with a lovely homage to "Bill Evans" that seemingly hangs in space.

A 5-CD Box set introducing the work of double bassist and composer Gašper Livk in five configurations — Gašper Livk Trio; Gašper Livk Duo; Gašper Livk Large Ensemble; Gašper Livk Double Bass Octet; and Gašper Livk Solo — released to coincide with his artist-in-residence appearance at the 2024 Jazz Festival Ljubljana.

Clean Feed introduces listeners to Slovenian pianist living and working in Amsterdam, Rebeka Rusjan Zajc, through 5 CD-length "Piano Operas" of real-time compositions recorded in the studio — Fictus; Functio; Factum; Fabula; Furor — each illuminating aspects of the virtuosic artist's unique take on the tradition of solo improvised piano.

Move is the Lisbon-based trio of two Brazilian improvisers -- saxophonist Yedo Gibson (Eke, Naked Wolf) and electric bassist Felipe Zenicola (New Brazilian Funk, Chinese Cookie Poets) -- with Portuguese drummer João Valinho (Rodrigo Amado Refraction Quartet, Fashion Eternal), here caught live in a thrilling edge-of-your-seat concert at at B10Live in Shenzhen, China.

Assembling a new band from younger generation Portuguese improvisers — Jose Soares on alto saxophone, Eduardo Cardinho on vibraphone, and Gonçalo Neto on guitar & banjo — double bassist Carlos Bica presents original compositions along with work from Neto and collective arrangements from the ensemble, in a lyrical yet experimentally inclined album of modern jazz.