John Zorn / JACK Quartet:
The Complete String Quartets [2 CDs] (Tzadik)
The JACK Quartet presents definitive interpretations of John Zorn's eight string quartets, composed between 1988-2017, in a two-disc album presenting Zorn's evolution through avant-garde techniques and deep musical traditions, with virtuosic performances of intricate works like "Cat O'Nine Tails", "Memento Mori", or "Necronomicon"; includes a 36-page booklet of notes, scores, and insights. ... Click to View
Dennis Palmer (Palmer / Lurie / Pahl / Hampton / Stagner):
White Wuff (Public Eyesore)
Uniting members of the Shaking Ray Levis with luminaries including Bob Stagner (Palmer's SRL cohort), Jessica Lurie, Frank Pahl, and Col. Bruce Hampton, this final album from Dennis Palmer captures his fearless spirit in an eclectic fusion of free improvisation, surreal storytelling, and genre-bending instrumentation, traversing rock, jazz, sound collage, and absurdist experimentation. ... Click to View
Carlos Zingaro / Joao Madeira / Sofia Borges:
Trizmaris (4DaRecord)
Recorded live at BOTA in Lisbon, the trio of pioneering violinist Carlos 'Zíngaro', bassist João Madeira, and drummer/percussionist Sofia Borges engage in a dynamic and expressive real-time composition, balancing intensity and restraint through intricate musical dialogues, evoking the raw energy of free jazz while embracing contemporary improvisational textures. ... Click to View
Joao Madeira / Margarida Mestre :
Voz Debaixo (4DaRecord)
Exploring the fluid boundaries between singing, recitation, and speech, bassist João Madeira and vocalist Margarida Mestre present an intricate dialogue of sound and expression, recorded in Lisbon, with Mestre's voice shifting between phonetic poetry, storytelling, and abstract improvisation, while Madeira's double bass, guitar, and field recordings weave around and underpin her vocalizations. ... Click to View
Halls of the Machine:
Atmospheres For Lovers And Sleepers [CASSETTE w/ DOWNLOAD] (Copy This!)
Expanding beyond their post-industrial rock roots, guitarist Mike Graff and drummer Michael Jerome join forces with producer/keyboardist Van Eric Martin, bassist Mike Daane, and vocalist Blythe Gaissert for an ambient and cinematic work inspired by Metropolis, blending ethereal soundscapes and hypnotic rhythms into an immersive instrumental journey. ... Click to View
Rutger Zuydervelt :
Meander (Machinefabriek)
A mesmerizing sonic counterpart to the acrobatic and dance performance Meander, Rutger Zuydervelt (Machinefabriek) crafts an immersive score that mirrors the movement of Marta & Kim, Knot on Hands, and Felix Zech, blending ambient textures and dynamic shifts to evoke fluidity, weight, and momentum, shaping an auditory journey that unfolds with the same grace and unpredictability as the performance itself. ... Click to View
Birge & Vitet:
Carton (GRRR)
Merging electronic experimentation with improvisational spontaneity, Jean-Jacques Birgé's synthesizers and Bernard Vitet's trumpet weave alongside Michèle Buirette's vocals and Hervé Legeay's guitar, constructing a dynamic and unpredictable sonic landscape that blurs the line between composition and free expression, expanding the possibilities of form and texture. ... Click to View
Perturbations:
Equilibrium Disturbed (Evil Clown)
Expanding the boundaries of real-time signal processing as an active improvisational voice, the trio of David Peck (PEK), Albey onBass, and engineer Joel Simches are heard in a dynamic session where Simches manipulates and transforms instrumental expressions into intricate sonic layers, merging winds, percussion, electronics, and bass with live perturbations. ... Click to View
Leap Of Faith:
Lexical and Syntactic Ambiguities (Evil Clown)
This edition of Leap of Faith brings core members David Peck and Glynis Lomon together with both longtime collaborators and first-time guests, including Vance Provey, Tor Snyder, Albey onBass, and Marc Edwards, for two improvisations that blend musical histories with fresh interactions in an exploratory journey of winds, strings, electronics, and an arsenal of percussive & resonant instruments. ... Click to View
Paul Dunmall:
Red Hot Ice (Discus)
A unique entry in Paul Dunmall's discography, this album presents a 9-piece Birmingham-based ensemble with dual keyboards and electronics, evoking Dunmall's compositions and orchestrations into vibrant, groove-driven improvisation that shifts between cinematic atmospheres, fiery free jazz, and unexpected nods to rock, balancing tightly composed sections with exhilarating exploration. ... Click to View
Eclectic Maybe Band:
Cosmic Light Clusters (Discus)
Guy Segers (Univers Zero) in his 5th expansive EMBand project, assembling an ensemble of progressive and avant-garde musicians in ever-shifting configurations, for an album that evolves from introspective and textural atmospheres to dynamic and complex sonic landscapes, incorporating voices, poetry, and intricate instrumental interplay; a compelling example of Europe's progressive music scene. ... Click to View
Heikki Ruokangas :
Live In New York (Right Brain Records)
Recorded live at the 2024 New York Forward Festival in NYC by guitarist Killick Hinds, Finnish guitarist Heikki Ruokangas presents an expressive solo acoustic performance that shifts fluidly between melody and noise, balancing introspective sensitivity with intense avant-garde bursts, weaving elements of contemporary jazz, Finnish musical heritage, and free improvisation into a raw and immediate sonic exploration. ... Click to View
Un Drame Musical Instantane:
Kind Lieder (GRRR)
The avant-rock and experimental ensemble founded in 1976 by Jean-Jacques Birgé, Bernard Vitet, and Francis Gorgé in their first song-based release from 1991, introducing pioneering compositions that intertwine avant-garde instrumentation and emotive vocals across nine tracks, marking the start of a remarkable series of albums exploring new dimensions of their creative vision. ... Click to View
Jean-Jacques Birge :
Centenaire De Jean-Jacques Birge - The 100th Anniversary (1952β-β2052) (GRRR)
A retrospective spanning ten decades (1958-2018) celebrating Jean-Jacques Birgé's multifaceted career through compositions reflecting each era, blending archival recordings with new works through a remarkable ensemble of longtime collaborators, from brass and strings to electronics and voice; a sonic journey bridging past, present, and imagined futures with impressive orchestration and narrative. ... Click to View
Houser / Jacques / Montiel / Salinas / Weathers:
Light Flies Out of Us (Editions Glomar)
Subtle textures, hushed resonance, and environmental influences converge in a delicate yet immersive sonic space in this collaboration recorded at Wind Tide in Littlefield, Texas, bringing together Justin Houser, Anne-Françoise Jacques, Ernesto Montiel, Veronica Anne Salinas, and Andrew Weathers for an intimate exploration of electroacoustic improvisation. ... Click to View
Andrew Weathers :
Two Recordings (Editions Glomar)
Two extended performances from Los Angeles and Colorado Springs by the West Coast ensemble of Andrew Weathers (tenor saxophone, mixer), Angel Lin (percussion), Ethan Marks (trumpet), and Mar Perez (trombone), freely improvising with resonance and experimental techniques to craft immersive soundscapes that blur the line between instrumental performance and environmental noise. ... Click to View
TOC / Paulina Owczarek:
Psychedelic Jelly [VINYL] (Tour de Bras)
The first live recording from French trio TOC, for this live 2023 recording TOC joins Polish saxophonist Paulina Owczarek to improvise desynchronized layers of raw energy, blending free improv with elements of pop punk, post-rock, and jazz-core, resulting in a complex and mesmerizing performance where suggested rhythms and autonomous temporalities converge into an unpredictable kraut maelstrom. ... Click to View
Kesherul Neg Pineg:
The Book Of Pig [VINYL] (Tour de Bras)
The long-running duo between Czech trumpeter and electronics artist Petr Vrba and French drummer Peter Orins, blends ritualistic reductionism with psychedelic grooves, extended trumpet techniques, analog synthesis, and prepared percussion to create a hypnotic and unpredictable soundscape, full of frenetic energy, atmospheric tension, and sudden dynamic shifts. ... Click to View
Sophie Lussi / Sandra Weiss / Fridolin Blumer / Andreas Wettstein:
Atlantic Puffin (ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)
Blending Swiss and Argentine heritage, violinist Sophie Lüssi, along with Sandra Weiss (sax & bassoon), Fridolin Blumer (double bass), and Andreas Wettstein (drums), crafts an improvisational sound rooted in jazz, tango, and folk traditions, shaped by her studies in Zurich and two decades in Buenos Aires, resulting in a music that is both technically brilliant and deeply expressive. ... Click to View
Steve Lacy Three :
Live Lugano 1984 - First Visit [CD + 2 POSTCARDS] (ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)
Recorded live in Lugano in 1984, Steve Lacy's trio with guitarist Barry Wedgle and bassist Jean-Jacques Avenel reimagines his compositions in an intimate and transparent setting, where Lacy's masterful soprano saxophone carves precise yet expressive lines, drawing on influences from poetry, Monk, and visual art to create a striking balance between structure and improvisation. ... Click to View
Paul Bley Trio:
Floater & Syndrome - The Upright Piano Sessions, Revisited (ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)
Revisiting and remastering two albums from Paul Bley's formative trio years with Steve Swallow on double bass and Pete LaRoca Sims on drums, recorded in Newark, NJ, from 1962-63 but unreleased until the 1980s on Savoy Jazz, as Bley explores Carla Bley's compositions alongside his own, reshaping the piano trio dynamic with a balance of free and lyrical approaches to jazz. ... Click to View
Flying Luttenbachers, The:
Losing the War Inside Our Heads (ugEXPLODE)
Bridging past and future, this 17th album from The Flying Luttenbachers is a punishing collection of modernist brutality, largely developed by Weasel Walter alone, yet culminating in a ferocious trio performance with Luke Polipnick and Charlie Werber captured in Chicago and NY; dense with asymmetrical riffs, death metal complexity, and avant-garde adaptations; savage! ... Click to View
Flying Luttenbachers, The:
Spectral Warrior Mythos 2 (ugEXPLODE)
Documenting The Flying Luttenbachers' transition from a New York-based lineup to a Chicago trio, this blistering live-in-the-studio session captures Weasel Walter (guitar), Luke Polipnick (bass), and Charlie Werber (drums) unleashing complex, high-energy compositions with no overdubs, solidifying their raw and relentless approach to genre-blurring improv, as the band continues its evolution. ... Click to View
AHC (Alexander Cooper):
Lase [2 CDs] (Bu Lang Tribute Cake)
A meditative and immersive work of sonic abstraction, Alexander Cooper's first solo release in eight years unfolds as a lattice of minimalism-inspired harmonic diffusion, where shifting textures and fluid structures dissolve into ethereal, non-representational spaces, blurring the boundaries between form and perception in a dynamic interplay of sound and air. ... Click to View
Ellen Christi (Christi / Buchanan / Ulrich / Parker / Brown):
Instant Reality (Network)
A striking exploration of avant-garde jazz and free improvisation, this 1992 session unites vocalist and pianist Ellen Christi with Steve Buchanan (electric guitar), Tomas Ulrich (cello), William Parker (bass), and Lefferts Brown (loops), weaving dynamic vocal phrasing, bold instrumental textures, and evolving electronic layers into an immersive and unpredictable sonic landscape. ... Click to View
Ellen Christi / Claudio Lodati:
Dreamers (Splasc(H) )
A refined and nuanced collaboration between vocalist Ellen Christi and guitarist Claudio Lodati, recorded in Ivrea, Italy in 1990, blending lyrical vocal improvisations with fluid electric and acoustic guitar work in an intimate, expressive dialogue — relaxed and unforced, yet deeply engaging, avoiding both histrionics and weightless ambience to create a grounded yet exploratory listening experience. ... Click to View
Turbulence:
Wormholes (Evil Clown)
A dynamic collective session from a quintet — led by multi-instrumentalist David Peck with Bonnie Kane (sax, flute, electronics), John Fugarino (brass, percussion), Albey onBass (bass, drums), and Jared Seabrook (drums, gongs) — featuring a richly textured three-horn interplay over an expansive rhythmic foundation, balancing harmonic shifts and spontaneous energy with a strong sense of structure. ... Click to View
Keiji Haino / Natsuki Tamura:
What Happened There? (Libra)
An electrifying 1st-time meeting between guitarist Keiji Haino and trumpeter Natsuki Tamura, captured live at Tokyo's Shinjuku Pit Inn, where the duo shape an unpredictable set that veers from reflective stillness to wildly passionate outbursts, their extended techniques and visceral vocals — sometimes urgent, sometimes outrageous — fueling an exhilarating and uncompromising sonic adventure. ... Click to View
Satoko Fujii GEN String Ensemble:
Altitude 1100 Meters (Libra)
Celebrating her 65th birthday with her first compositions for strings, pianist-composer Satoko Fujii writes for the specific musicians of GEN, a sextet of violin, viola, bass, piano, electronics, and drums, in a suite inspired by Nagano's mountain views, leveraging microtonal string techniques for an expressive and texturally rich sonic landscape. ... Click to View
Amanojaku (Yoshida / Fujii / Tamura):
Bishamonten (Magaibutsu)
Emerging from an improv session during the pandemic, Natsuki Tamura (trumpet), Satoko Fujii (piano), and Tatsuya Yoshida (drums) formed Amanojaku, named after the contrarian demon of Japanese folklore, embracing a balance of composition, improv and mischievous interplay with a uniquely Japanese sensibility through virtuosic spontaneity and irreverent humor, captured live at Koen-dori Classics. ... Click to View
