With one foot in fusion-oriented improv and the other in psychedelic/prog rock, the 4th album from the Norwegian quartet of Per Steinar Lie on lapsteel & electric guitar, Oystein Braut on guitar, organ & Mellotron, Julius Lind on double bass and Orjan Haaland on drums are joined by keyboard wiz Sigbjorn Apeland and percussionist Stale Liavik Solberg.

The first installment in a new series from Alva Noto, aka Carsten Nicola, bringing together heterogeneous composition methods that aim to merge astrophysics phenomena, fiction, and performance movements, inspired by cinematic visual techniques and static images portraying scientific events; includes graphic inserts of notations informed by the album's sonic and acoustic code.

Referencing Ornette Coleman in the group name, Portuguese tenor saxophonist engages three US free jazz players--legendary saxophonist and pocket trumpeter Joe McPhee, double bassist Kent Kessler and drummer Chris Corsano--for this 2017 concert at Jazzhouse in Copenhagen, Denmark, capturing four exemplary, at times explosive, and always tightly interactive collective improvisations.

Recording in France in 1970, the Art Ensemble of Chicago (Malachi Favors on bass, Joseph Jarman on saxophone, Roscoe Mitchell on saxophone, Lester Bowie on trumpet) recorded the soundtrack to director Moshé Mizrahi's movie Les stances à Sophie, joined by vocalist Fontella Bass, releasing a classic and exciting album that stands as a great testament to the versatility of its players.

Tenor saxophonist Albert Ayler leads the New York free improvising sextet of trumpeter Don Cherry, alto saxophonist John Tchicai, trombonist Roswell Rudd, bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Sunny Murray through two extended jams, which were used as the soundtrack for director Michael Snow's short film "New York Eye and Ear Control".

Recorded in 1982 during a series of extraordinary free improv concerts by guitarist Derek Bailey and trumpeter Charlie Marrow, performing in configurations from solo to full septet with performers from NY's "New Wilderness" collective: percussionist Glen Velez, saxophonist & sound poet Steve McCaffery, trumpeter Carol E. Tuynman, saxophonist Patricia Burgess and trumpeter Michael Snow.

Three realizations of composer David Behrman's "Unforseen Events" work using computer algorithms to respond to pitch cues from an instrumentalist, first in Berlin in 1989 with Curran and Werner Durand on soprano sax, then in NY in 1999 with Jon Gibson on soprano sax; plus "ViewFinder" with Werner Durand using a motion-triggered camera to alter electronic & wind instrumental sound.

Amsterdam-based bass clarinetist Ziv Taubenfeld leads the Bones trio, performing Taubenfeld's compositions, with double bassist Shay Hazan and drummer Nir Sabag, three friends since their youth, as their improvisation emphasizes lower tones through slowly slinking, saurian improvisation that bridges tonal work and energetic scrabbling.

The 2nd release from the Bonjintan quartet led by Akira Sakata on saxophone, clarinet & voice, with Jim O'Rourke on double bass, Giovanni Di Domenico on piano & Hohner pianet, and Tatsuhisa Yamamoto on drums, an international grouping with experimental approaches to improvisation and avant music, yielding unusual results of great character, tension and pointed expression.

1991 collaboration between Shaking Ray Levis and Borbetomagus in an exquisite mix of over-amplified and otherwise bewilderingly fierce free improv.

Cornetist Bobby Bradford leads this quartet with soprano saxophonist Hafez Modirzadeh, also playing karna and khaen; bassist Roberto Miguel Miranda; and East Coast drummer Vijay Anderson, in a live concert at the Blue Whale in Los Angeles in 2017, a sophisticated avant jazz outing including a set of variations for Ornette Coleman, a great example of modern creative form.

A 2-part single improvisation recorded live at la Maison Peinte, Labarthe-sur-Leze in 2014 from Jean-Luc Capozzo on trumpet & flugelhorn, and drummer Didier Lasserre, showing a great range of style and dynamic in gutsy playing using powerful technique and creative interaction.

An active and creatively absorbing duo between Chicago drummer Quin Kirchner and French-based pianist Rob Clearfield, recorded spontaneously during the sessions of The Shadows and The Light, with one extended improvisation per side, alternating between percolating rhythms of quick witted exchanges to gorgeous lyrical moments of hanging piano figures.

The core duo of guitarist & bassist Chris Cochrane (No Safety) and drummer & electronics artist John Thayer dig deep into a bag of aural tricks in eight compelling tracks that blur rock, jazz and experimental approaches to upbeat rhythmic music, assisted on various pieces by an excellent cast including Zeena Parkins, Graham Haynes, Gelsey Bell, and Kato Hideki.

A new collaboration between keyboardist Brent Cordero and bassist Peter Kerlin, a gorgeous blurring of jazz, rock and Terry Riley-esque composition in a swirling collection of original work and a cover of Eddie Harris' "Freedom Jazz Dance", performed in a core trio with drummer Ryan Sawyer and prestigious guests including Daniel Carter, Jessica Pavone, James Brandon Lewis, &c.

Performing together for more than a decade at the time of this recording at the 2022 Three Lobed Records 21St Anniversary Festival at Duke University in Durham, NC, the duo of guitarist Bill Orcutt and drummer/percussionist Chris Corsano burn through three distinct improvisations that pack in a wealth of ideas, styles and moods in a tight and cathartic set.

A split 7" release between Cremaster (Alfredo Costa Monteiro (electronics) and Ferran Fages (feedback mixing board and electroacoustic devices); and the Komora A trio of Karol Koszniec (electronics), Dominik Kowalczyk (laptop) and Jakub Mikolajczyk (modular synth).

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.

Beginning with a reimagining of the Civil Rights anthem "We Shall Overcome", trumpeter Dave Douglas' album is an emotional and powerful statement of human engagement towards justice--Racial justice; Climate justice; Voting justice; Gender justice--performed with Ryan Keberle on trombone, Fay Victor on voice, Camila Meza on voice, guitar, Jorge Roeder on bass and Rudy Royston on drums.

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 French Dedalus Ensemble render three works from the ground-breaking ambient work of Brian Eno--Discreet Music (1975), Music for Airports (1978), and Thursday Afternoon (1985)--performed as an 11-piece acoustic ensemble and remaining faithful to the introspectively intelligent intention and peaceful elegance of Eno's original electronic works.

After a few years of working, touring and one-off performances in New York City with Mazz Swift (violin & voice), Ron Stabinsky (synthesizers) and Levy Lorenzo (percussion & electronics), trumpeter Peter Evans recorded this incredible album, a new direction in his work with small ensembles, incorporating electronics into his exceptional compositions for creative improvisation.

The Ex's first single from the Netherland unique and socially charged band The Ex of Terrie Ex on guitar, G.W. Sok on voice, Ome Geurt on drums and Bas on bass, starting a legacy of intelligent and pointed rock, improvised and experimental music that continues 40 years later, reissued as a 2020 Record Store Day release on colored 7" vinyl.

The 1st in SpleenCoffin's double-7" series, each featuring exclusive material and packaged in reclaimed 7" audio reel boxes, this volume featuring audio tracks by French synth duo FEMME; NYC's Sunk Heaven; a piece composed from a group recording of Jeph Jerman, Tim Barnes, Bill Hutson & Ten Byrnes; and a work from Romanian audio artist SOMNOROASE PĂSĂRELE.

"Actions For Free Jazz Orchestra" was originally written by Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki for the New Eternal Rhythm Orchestra, assembled by Don Cherry for the occasion and conducted by composer himself; this new extended reading and conduction of the score from 2018 was originated and directed by Mats Gustafsson, a powerful update and expansion of the original work.

An optimistic definition of "Defeat" through the exultantly dark and expressive work of Fire!, here as the quintet of Mats Gustafsson on flute, baritone sax & live electronics, Johan Berthling on electric bass, Andreas Werliin on drums, Goran Kajfes on quartertone trumpet and Mats Aleklint on trombone & sousaphone, in five works of richly creative and modern improv.

Commissioned by and recorded during the 2018 Ars Musical Festival, Fred Frith composed this work while under the inspiration of his residency at Lou Harrison's straw-bale house in the desert at Joshua Tree, CA, then performed with the Ensemble Musiques Nouvelles, along with two very unique improvisations, one recorded during the dress rehearsal and then again in concert.

After their duo album A Map of Guilt and many albums together under various Fire! groupings, Swedish saxophonist Mats Gustafsson and electronic artist Joachim Nordwall face off again for a limited 7" single: two simmering dialogs, remarkable counterpunches of rumbling synthetics, instrumental noise, pulsating bass tones, heavy breath and terrifying innuendo!

Jade Vinyl - Expanding on their decade-long collaboration with albums on Astral Spirits, Bocian and Confront (Ensemble Var), and both members of Fire! Orchestra, sound artist Joachim Nordwall on analog synth and tapes and reed & wind player Mats Gustafsson use extended approaches to their instruments through effects and close mic-ing to create powerful and hallucinatory sound worlds.

Black Vinyl - Expanding on their decade-long collaboration with albums on Astral Spirits, Bocian and Confront (Ensemble Var), and both members of Fire! Orchestra, sound artist Joachim Nordwall on analog synth and tapes and reed & wind player Mats Gustafsson use extended approaches to their instruments through effects and close mic-ing to create powerful and hallucinatory sound worlds.

The soundtrack to the German film The Painter by director Oliver Hirschbiegel in collaboration with Oliver Hirschbiegel, the first side a diverse set of compositions from electronic musician Gudrun Gut, a one-time member of Einstürzende Neubauten; the second side a set of assertive acoustic improvisations from trumpeter Nate Wooley, alone or in duo with drummer Chris Corsano.

The third release from the collaboration between the American avant-metal rock trio Sumac of guitarist Aaron Turner, drummer Nick Yacyshyn and bassist Brian Cook with Japanese legendary guitarist and vocalist Keiji Haino, for six rugged free rock improvisations captured live at the Astoria Hotel in Vancouver BC during Haino's 2019 tour of North America.

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.

An inventive and lyrical set of duos between Chicago tenor saxophonist and bass clarinetist Keefe Jackson and vibraphonist Jason Adasiewicz, nine concise pieces that blend free improvisation with compositions seamlessly in a really delightful duo.

Drawing on compositions from black artists who have created something uniquely their own--Sun Ra, Ornette Coleman, Roscoe Mitchell, Georgia Anne Muldrow--alto saxophonist Darius Jones pulls from the depths of emotion and vulnerability in five solo tracks recorded in Portland, deeply felt blues reflecting the black experience in America and the pain of isolation.

Drawing on compositions from black artists who have created something uniquely their own--Sun Ra, Ornette Coleman, Roscoe Mitchell, Georgia Anne Muldrow--alto saxophonist Darius Jones pulls from the depths of emotion and vulnerability in five solo tracks recorded in Portland, deeply felt blues reflecting the black experience in America and the pain of isolation.

Exploring the crossing point of jazz and funky electro-beats, experimental electronics and dub grooves, the Chicago trio of Quin Kirchner on drums, percussion, sampler & electronics, Daniel Van Duerm on acoustic & electric pianos, organ, mellotron & electronics and Matthew Lux on bass & electronics dig more deeply into their engaging and upbeat approach to modern forms of fusion improv.

The 2nd release from Jason Kahn, here on voice and resonator guitar, with Christian Wolfarth on Chinese Cymbal, an antique marching snare and objects, recorded after a series of concerts across Europe in the fall of 2019, Kahn applying a percussionist's perspective to his guitar by playing it as a lap slide, as the two invoke an unusual incantatory spirit from their improvisations.

Using the natural resonance of the Liepkalnis underground water reservoir in Vilnius, Lithuania, the Katarsis4 saxophone quartet of Arminas Bizys, Algirdas Janonis, Danielius Pancerovas and Kazimieras Jusinskas merge free improvisation, both melodic and of extended tetechniques, with composed forms and folk music, capturing this extended work of beguiling and powerful music.

A split 7": on one side Sleepytime Gorilla Museum percussionist/drummer/composer Moe! Staiano's West Coast rotating ensemble Surplus 1980 in a teaser for an upcoming release with G.W. Sok, Kyle Bruckmann, members of Fred Frith Trio and Total Shutdown; on the other side King Champion Sounds featuring G.W. Sok, formerly of the Dutch band the Ex.

A unique freely improvised sax and bass duo from Angles leader Martin Kuchen on alto and sopranino saxophones, and Rafal Mazur on acoustic bass guitar, recording live at BAZA Club in Krakow, Poland in 2017 they perform the two part "Baza", initiating with mastery and determination, morphing to more meditative playing, and ending with impressive assertion.

A wild ride in two live performances, one at Elastic Arts in Chicago and the other at The Sugar Maple in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, both in 2018 from the Kuzu trio of Dave Rempis on alto, tenor & baritone saxophones, Tashi Dorji on guitar, and Tyler Damon on drums, evolving free improvisation that builds from introspective to full-on burning free jazz.

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.

A collaboration between Montreal saxophnist Aaron Leaney (Ratchet Orchestra, Nebula) with legendary free jazz drummer and founder of Le Nouveau Jazz Libre de Quebec in 1967, Guy Thouin, performing on a wealth of winds, percussions and bells, their music infused with a rich spiritual and natural feeling of world elements, lyrical playing and folkloric rhythms.

The duo of cellist Anil Eraslan and contrabassist John Lindberg in a "rollicking adventure of sound explosions and subtle sensibilities, ragged expressionism and multi-faceted surprises and shockers. All from simple raw unfettered wood, strings, bow hairs, and flesh."

Bringing together two acclaimed German improvisers who met in Nuremberg in 1982 as teens--reedist Rudi Mahall and drummer/vibraphonist Michael Griener, "bumbling" around to learn free jazz together, heard now 40 years later as authoritative players recording as a duo in 2020 & 21 in Kotzlin and Berlin for eight energetically creative and buoyantly upbeat dialogs.

Following double bassist Mike Majkowski's Astral Spirts cassette "Neighbouring Objects", this vinyl release is Majkowski's 7th solo album, here using analog synthesizer, percussion, piano, vibraphone, samples, and field recordings to create an amazing sonic universe through sound, tone, timbre, deep cogitation and mutant interjections.

The second album from the Norwegian electric jazz quartet of Havard Nordberg Funderud on guitar, Lauritz Lyster Skeidsvoll on saxophone, Karl Erik Horndalsveen on double bass, and Martin Heggli Mellem on drums, after their 2018 album The Concert Koan on the Clean Feed label, here in six powerfully thrilling tracks of youthful exuberance and impressive skill.

Led by trumpeter Rob Mazurek with Damon Locks (Black Monuments Ensemble), Jeff Parker (Tortoise), Nicole Mitchell, Gerald Cleaver, Angelica Sanchez, Mauricio Takara and Craig Taborn, this compact version of Exploding Star Orchestra performs Mazurek's deep space and wide-ranging electric jazz compositions, including a side-long, immersive journey evoking spirits past, present and future.

Destroy All Monsters and Sensorium Saxophone Orchestra guitarist Ben Miller in an album of experimental solo guitar works, augmenting his guitar with effects, synthesizer, bass, tapes and radio to create seven fascinating works that reflect on his rock background through solid rhythmic and melodic hooks, but also captivates through unusual and suprising sonic elements.

An unusual sax and drum duo between Lithuanian saxophonist Liudas Mockunas, here performing on contrabass and prepared clarinet, tenor & soprano saxophones, with Christian Windfeld performing on prepared drum kit, drums, drums and cymbals, in two side-long improvisations, the first focusing on sonic subtlety, the second a rompingly idiosyncratic and energetic set.

Working again with the 12-piece, expressive Trondheim Jazz Orchestra, Norwegian guitarist and composer Hedvig Mollestad Thomassen recorded this double LP in the studio in Halden in 2021, for 9 long form epics that bridge and merge rock and jazz genres, in both instrumental work and songs that explore the nature of family and issues of social justice.

A scorching album of instrumental rock bridging avant, prog and jazz/rock forms, from the inspired and burning Norwegian band led by guitarist Hedvig Mollestad Thomassen and her trio with bassist Ellen Brekken and drummer Ivar Loe Bjornstad; reference John McLaughlin, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Black Sabbath, or just focus on the powerhouse that is the Hedvig Mollestad Trio.

Recorded in Istanbul, Turkey, guitarist Thurston Moore teams up with Konstrukt guitarist Umut Caglar to record these three rich and twisting pieces, each guitarist extracting unique performances from the other over three pieces that draw on technique and effects to create fragile and heavy sonic environments, an impressive album of modern guitar potential.

Each of the compositions from bassist Moppa Elliot for this trio version of MOPDTK with Ron Stabinsky on piano & synthesizer and Kevin Shea on drums & synthesizer, is named after a Pennsylvania town that has experienced a disaster, including floods, fires, nuclear meltdowns, &c, re-imagining each event through complex and surprisingly lyrical compositions.

Four new tracks from the incredibly prolific Norwegian long form rock band Motorpsycho of Bent Saether on bass & vocals, Hans Magnus on guitar & vocals and the departing album for drummer Tomas Jarmyr, in a well-balanced release of songs and instrumental work including their longest piece to date, a theme from an imagined movie; sophisticated & intelligent modern rock.

Expanding the rhythmically exuberant Natural Information Society led by Chicago bassist & guimbri player Joshua Abrams with core members Lisa Alvarado (harmonium), Mikel Patrick Avery (drums) & Jason Stein (bass clarinet), are Hamid Drake (percussion), Josh Berman & Ben Lamar Gay (cornets), Nick Mazzarella & Mai Sugimoto (alto sax & flute), Kara Bershad (harp) and Ari Brown (sax).

Dedicated to Derek Bailey, these long out of print, subtle and delicate duo recordings captured in Chicago between Mats Gustafsson on tenor sax, fluteophone, flute & "junk" and Jim O'Rourke on guitar, accordeon and also on "junk", were originally released in 1999 on the Incus label, here remastered, in some cases remixed, and adding previously unreleased material.

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 duo of saxophonist Boris Hauf and pianist D Bayne team up with guitarist Martin Siewert in this collection of tracks inspired by different U.S. national parks and their representation in iconic posters.

After records with John Butcher and Nate Wooley, the Red Trio of Rodrigo Pinheiro (piano), Hernani Faustino (bass) and Gabriel Ferrandini (drums and percussion) return to their trio roots for an album of superb free improvisation.

Dark, often unsettling and rich in detail and innuendo, bassist Marc Urselli brings together this quartet with Lee Ranaldo on guitar, pedals & bells, Jim Jarmusch on guitars, pedals & synth, and Balazs Pandi on drums for their second album of sublimely tension-filled improvisation, patiently building to stealthy momentum and retreating back into night.

Two Chicago improvising cellists--Tomeka Reid & Fred Lonberg-Holm--explore the repertoire for cello music in jazz, presenting works by Fred Katz ("Pluck It"), Sam Jones ("In Walked Ray"), Ron Carter ("Rally") and Harry Babsin ("Monti-Cello"), adding 3 new, original works by Fred Lonberg-Holm and a piece by Tomeka Reid paying homage to bassist Charles Mingus & violinist Billy Bang.

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!

Two large scale choral compositions recorded at New York City's Park Avenue Armory and at South London Gallery: ""Teenage Lontano" re-envisions composer Gyorgy Ligeti's 1960s orchestral work, using an immersive sound environment and the collective voices of an ensemble of teenagers; in "roygbiv&b" a teen ensemble in London riff off of mis-hearings of the acronym "ROYGBIV".

Two major works designed for multi-channel sound projections from electronic composer Marcus Schmickler: "Sky Dice / Mapping the Studio", a work for ARP 2500, Publison DHM89B, Publison Infernal Machine and Computer, premiered at Donaueschinger Tage fur Neue Musik in 2018; "Fortuna Ribbon" a 6-part work based on spatial hearing and auditory otoacoustic distortions.

A fascinating solo piano record from New York free improvising luminary Matthew Shipp, a contemplative album that surprised even the pianist himself as he thoughtfully dissected harmonics to wring melodic fragments that bring sense to discursive streams of thought, his playing both investigational and charming, drawing an unlikely comparison to Bill Evans.

Contemporary German painter Albert Oehlen invited Steamboat Switzerland — Lucas Niggli on drums; Marino Pliakas on electric bass; Dominik Blum on drums& voice — to create music for his solo exhibition Tramonto Spaventoso at the Gagosian Gallery in Los Angeles, these extended compositions that connect to Oehlen's work the result, from dark ea-improv to hardcore Hammond free jazz.

Perhaps the only recordings on the Sequential Circuits "Prophet" analog synthesizer by Sun Ra, starting with an extended solo performance that bridges jazz tradition and future spacewaves, followed by full Arkestra performances on a set of concepts around "The Prophet", with both Marshall Allen and John Gilmore at the helm above a cosmically percussive heavy ensemble.

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".

The last installment in Strut's Sun Ra reissue series is also the first time that Sun Ra Arkestra Meets Salah Ragab in Egypt album has been reissued, bringing to light these studio recordings between the Arkestra and Egyptian drummer Salah Ragab, recorded during Ra's 1983 Egyptian tour, and featuring two Ragab compostions from his Cairo Jazz Band.

A well-balanced early 80s album in it's first reissue from Sun Ra with a 16-piece Arkestra, recording at Squat Theater in New York City, 1982 for a mix of Ra original numbers and songs including "Children of the Sun" and "Cosmo-Party Blues", plus a wild Sun Ra solo synthesizer improv, blues and traditional jazz numbers, and a layered percussion jam.

Created out of Sleepytime Gorilla Museum and drummer/percussionist Moe Staiano's Mute Socialite, this 7-piece improvising rock band turns rock on it's side in mostly instrumental, energetically complex and twisted rock pieces with acerbic social narrative, the band employing three drummers, bass & two guitars, piano and trumpet from Darren Johnston.

A free jazz trio session from 1995 at Cafe Amores, in Hofu City, Japan from the trio of late tenor saxophonist Mototeru Takagi with Korean improvisers, late percussionist Kim Dae Hwan and Choi Sun Bae on trumpet, performing five thoughtful and expressive conversations with an often Ayler-esque flavor; inventive playing from lyrical charges to pointillistic interaction.

Three reed & wind players and a drummer, from Japanese saxophonist Mototeru Takagi's collective free improvising quartet with fellow saxophonist Susumu Kongo, Nao Takeuchi on tenor sax plus flute & bass clarinet, and drummer Shota Koyama, recorded live in 1999 at Little John in Yokohama, Japan for three well-paced conversations of weaving winds and rhythmic intervention.

Composed over a period of thirty years, the eleven absolutely remarkable recording from the duo of husband and wife virtuoso piano improvisers and composers Aki Takase and Alexander von Schlippenbach, performing together on two grand pianos or, as the title describes, performing with four hands, is a stunning achievement in style, complement, and nearly telepathic dialog.

Reissuing saxophonist, flutist, bandleader & composer Henry Threadgill's 1991 Black Saint album, introducing his then-new band Very Very Circus, uniquely configured with two tubas (Marcus Rojas, Edwin Rodriguez), two guitars (Brandon Ross, Masujaa, aka Hugh Riley), trombone (Curtis Fowlkes), and drums (Gene Lake), with Threadgill himself leading his fascinatingly layered compositions.

Circumventing pandemic lockdowns, the trio of Brandon Seabrook on guitar, banjo & tapes, Mike Pride on drums, marimba, glockenspiel, bells & organ and Mike Watt on bass recorded their contributions in separate studios and file-shared to create this genre-merging album of free improv, rock, experimental and inexplicable forms; an inspired and seriously unique album of challenges overcome.

Recorded at the same time and influenced by the recording of their 2020 album The Anthony Braxton Project, the NY Thumbscrew trio of Tomas Fujiwara on drums, Mary Halvorson on guitar, and Michael Formanek on double bass & electric bass present 9 original compositions, three pieces from each of the musicians, of melodically inclined forward thinking, creative jazz.

A truly unique set of compositions juxtaposing lush field recording with disruptive vocal repetitions, vowel sounds from six different speakers, creating disorienting moments that lull the listener into complacency and then startles them with unexpected interference, as the composer explores how he can establish a subjective relationship with natural environments.

A split LP from two sound and electroacoustic artists: Paris bassoonist Dafne Vicente-Sandoval deconstructs the instrument itself using an electro-acoustic device that generates feedback, developing compositions from those explorations; and Norwegian Lars Petter Hagen revisits Richard Strauss's Metamorfosen through decay and fragmentation of its musical lines.

One of the most capable and unusual voices on the planet, German sound artist and vocalist Ute Wasserrmann emulates the most baffling of bird songs in 10 unique performances using seemingly impossible vocal technique that morphs aviary exclamation with alien and indescribable utterance, performed along with a vast collection of bird whistles; strange indeed!

The third release from the Toronto-based Brodie West Quintet of Evan Cartwright on drums, vibraphone & guitar, Josh Cole on bass, Nick Fraser on drums, Tania Gill on piano and Brodie West on alto saxophone, performing Brodie's uniquely inclusive and sometimes atypically metered compositions, leading to fascinating solo and group interplay from reflection to fire.

This year's An Ayler Xmas, the 4th in the series from saxophonist Mars Williams, expands to a double CD with recordings from two bands: Josh Berman, Jim Baker, Kent Kessler, Brian Sandstrom & Steve Hunt (Chicago); and Steve Swell, Hilliard Greene, Chris Corsano, Nels Cline & Fred Lonberg-Holm (NYC); in incredible free jazz mashups and bash-ups of Holiday favorites.

Two extended solo percussion works by Swiss improviser Christian Wolfarth, focusing on two components of the standard drum set--a tom or simple drum, and a cymbal--the first side a "Souvenir From a Drum" using brushes and sticks to disrupt then mesmerize the listener; the second side a "Souvenir from a Cymbal", a shifting roll and pattern that evokes a myriad of tonalities.

The two parts of "Spuren" from Swiss percussionist Christian Wolfarth cover each side in an album of concentrative timbre and strategy, evoking continuous sounds that are diverted into unexpected avenues, drawing the listener into trance-like states with rich resonance, tone, and malleable rhythms, then surprising with unforseen audio twists.

Mississippi born, saxophonist Frank Wright followed Albert Ayler to NYC to join the free jazz scene of the mid-60s, signed to ESP on the spot after label owner Bernard Stollman heard him sit in with John Coltrane, this his first release on label in a trio with bassist Henry Grimes and drummer Tom Price as they rip through three original Wright compositions.

Hailing from the Downtown NY scene's early years, the incredibly forward-thinking sextet of Polly Bradfield on violin, Andrea Centazzo on percussion, Eugene Chadbourne on guitars, Tom Cora on cello, Toshinori Kondo on trumpet and John Zorn on reeds are heard in a live performance for WKCR Radio in New York City during Ictus label leader Centazzo's US tour.

The NY electronics duo exclusiveOr (Sam Pluta and Jeff Synder) join forces with the International Contemporary Ensemble and Architeuthis Walks on Land (Katherine Young and Amy Cimini) for this tour-de-force ensemble work, combining composed forms, electro-acoustic improvisation, noise, and lush harmonies, in a fascinatingly detailed album of creative musicianship.

A new book of compositions and four interesting interpretations of Billy Strayhorn songs from trumpeter Dave Douglas' premier of a new quartet with tenor saxophonist James Brandon Lewis and two members of the post-rock trio Son Lux — guitarist Rafiq Bhatia and drummer Ian Chang — in a lyrically embraceable and sophisticated album dedicated to the gifts of life and music we all share.

The second album from Swiss improviser Jason Kahn and Taiwanese experimental vocalist Alice Hui-Sheng Chang, in eight pieces of free vocal improvisation recorded during Jason Kahn's one-month artist residency in September 2023 at Ting Shuo Hear Say in Tainan, Taiwan, an unusual collaboration of idiosyncratic interactions using a wide spectrum of vocal techniques.

Pianist Alexander von Schlippenbach and clarinetist Rudi Mahall have been exploring the music of jazz and free improvisation for decades in their own bands or together in Globe Unity Orchestra; here they are heard in their essential element as a duo, pushing their music in rapid runs and elegant and emotional moments with imposing technique and authoritative confidence.

Pushing the envelope on minimalism, Manfred Werder's 3 scores for "2003" present just 6 tones, the instructions telling 3, 2 or 1 performers to play a pitch or sound for 3-7 seconds twice during the performance; realized by Erik Carlson, Stephanie Richards, and D. Edward Davis.