Moons (Berkson / Cetilia / Porter / Tavolacci):
Moons (Editions Verde)
Moons' debut album features long-time collaborators Judith Berkson, Laura Cetilia, Katie Porter, and Christine Tavolacci, each contributing a composition blending accordion, voice, cello, clarinets, and flutes, with works exploring memory through tunings, divine visions, impermanent graphic scores, and micro-intervals to create dynamic, shifting sonorities and felt-time improvisation. ... Click to View
Novoa / Carter / Mela Trio:
Vol.1 (577 Records)
Brooklyn-based Eva Novoa's new trio with sax legend Daniel Carter and drummer Francisco Mela debuts with their first volume, featuring compositions inspired by the four elements — earth, wind, fire, and water — and a Cuban piece, blending Novoa's piano, Fender Rhodes, electric harpsichord, and gongs with Carter's sax and Mela's rhythms for vibrant, free-flowing interplay. ... Click to View
Falter Bramnk:
Music for Luminous Background (Sublime Retreat)
A new solo project from French composer and improviser Falter Bramnk, exploring glass and crystal as exclusive sound sources, following his "Glassical Music" series; originally conceived for six Muzzix collective musicians, Bramnk reworked and expanded the compositions featuring glass struck, rubbed, blown, and shaken, on select tracks with contributions from Sam Bodart on Crystal Baschet. ... Click to View
Alfredo Monteiro Costa :
Transient Spaces as Impermanent Lines (Sublime Retreat)
Unfolding as a sonic drift through varied sound atmospheres, Alfredo Costa Monteiro's large sonic canvas creates a narrative akin to a psychogeographical wander that evokes emotional states of disorientation; inspired by found footage techniques in cinema, it serves as a "cinema for the ear," where found sounds stripped of context form an immersive, unpredictable auditory journey. ... Click to View
Colin Sheffield Andrew :
Moments Lost (Sublime Retreat)
Debuting at the Molten Plains Festival 2023, Colin Andrew Sheffield's work blends manipulated samples from vintage soundtrack LPs into an abstract plunderphonic symphony; using layered loops, ambient drones, and vinyl surface noise, creating a haunting sonic collage of deconstructed melodies and textures, fusing past and present in a dream-like exploration of hidden secrets and lost moments. ... Click to View
Johnathan Deasy :
Le Sacre (Sublime Retreat)
Unfolding as a deep listening experience with slowly oscillating sine waves created through SuperCollider, Jonathan Deasy's hour-long drone composition blends digital artistry with warmth, evoking orchestral textures reminiscent of processed cello or trombone with ascending and descending notes, creating a dramatic yet slow-moving, dark and spacious soundscape. ... Click to View
Perturbations:
Asymptotic Series (Evil Clown)
Evil Clown's most recent ensemble led by PEK and Joel Simches focuses on trio configurations to highlight Simches' real-time signal processing; this session features PEK, Michael Caglianone, and John Fugarino on horns, auxiliary percussion, and electronics, delivering dynamic transformations across sonorities under the influence of Simches' manipulations. ... Click to View
Turbulence:
Principles of Complementarity (Evil Clown)
Extending the horn section of the Leap of Faith Orchestra and operating independently with varied ensembles under the name Turbulence when horn players dominate, this session saw a planned 9-member Turbulence Orchestra reduced to seven, blending a large horn section, jazz-leaning bass and diverse percussion, delivering a dynamic set exemplifying Evil Clown's broad improvisational palette. ... Click to View
Simulacrum:
Replacing Reality with Representation (Evil Clown)
A Metal Chaos Ensemble offshoot featuring PEK, Eric Woods, and Bob Moores, focuses on heightened electronic elements while omitting drums, typically expanding to larger groups; this quintet session included a rhythm section using extensive instrumental doubling across brass, reeds, percussion, and electronics, resulting in a slower-moving yet richly textured exploration. ... Click to View
Barker / Parker / Irabagon:
Bakunawa [VINYL] (Out Of Your Head Records)
New York creative scene stalwarts drummer Andrew Barker, bassist William Parker, and saxophonist Jon Irabagon debut as a trio, delivering five collectively improvised explorations that emphasize call-and-response dynamics, weaving and reacting with technically impressive, extended, and unconventional techniques and expressions delivered with confident assertion. ... Click to View
Variable Geometry Orchestra:
L'Heure Derniere du Silence (Creative Sources)
L'Heure Dernière du Silence stands as a testament to VGO's ongoing exploration of the interplay between silence and sound, solidifying their position as a leading force in contemporary improvised music as heard in this live recording captured during the cycle "A Hora Derradeira do Silencio" at St. George's Church, in Lisbon, Portugal in 2024. ... Click to View
Erhard Hirt / Klaus Kurvers / Dietrich Petzold:
Weiterbauen (Creative Sources)
The trio of Erhard Hirt, Klaus Kürvers, and Dietrich Petzold defies conventional norms, blending Dobro, electric guitar, double bass, violin, and rare instruments like tenor violin and bowed metal into a compelling exploration of atonality, sonic precision, and playful free improvisation, creating uniquely intricate and shifting soundscapes filled with string excitement.
... Click to View
Kevin Miller / Dan Blake:
At First Light (Creative Sources)
Brooklyn saxophonist Dan Black and guitarist Kevin Miller present a duo album featuring three improvisations using pre-conceived time-based structures, one work using a particular kind of ambience, and an abstract take on a classic jazz tune, all reflecting their years of collaboration and exploration through free improvisation based around jazz standards. ... Click to View
Metal Chaos Ensemble:
One Step Beyond Logic (Evil Clown)
Exploring chaotic metallic rhythms, this ensemble has become one of Evil Clown's most prolific groups, blending gongs, chimes, Tibetan bowls, and horns spanning a dynamic range of sounds, here in a sextet configuration with drummer Steve Niemitz and special guest Chris Alford on guitar, offering a powerful fusion of rock elements within the ensemble's electroacoustic approach. ... Click to View
Michael Attias (Attias / Leibson / Pavolka / Ferber / Hoffman):
Quartet Music Vol. I: LuMiSong (Out Of Your Head Records)
With an ear to detail, Michaël Attias spent a year mixing and refining these four tracks, recorded after a post-pandemic concert at Barbes in Brooklyn, bringing to light four intricately melodic compositions performed with Michael Attias on alto sax, Santiago Leibson on piano & Wurli, Matt Pavolka on bass, Mark Ferber on drums and Christopher Hoffman on cello. ... Click to View
Spaces Unfolding + Pierre Alexandre Tremblay:
Shadow Figures (Bead)
Performing together as Spaces Unfolding since 2021, the trio of Neil Metcalfe on flute, Philipp Wachsmann on violin, and Emil Karlsen on drums expands their initial focus on acoustic exploration, as heard on this debut album, with the addition of Pierre Alexandre Tremblay on electronics, blending acoustic and electronic elements to reflect on the evolving influence of technology in their sound. ... Click to View
Samuel Blaser / Marc Ducret / Peter Bruun:
Dark Was The Night, Cold Was The Ground [VINYL 10-inch] (Blaser Music)
Recorded during their UK tour at Steve Winwood Studio, the Samuel Blaser Trio's with guitarist Marc Ducret and drummer Peter Bruun's 2nd official release is a limited edition 10-inch blue vinyl, featuring a haunting interpretation of Blind Willie Johnson's "Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground" along with original compositions by Blaser and Ducret, ending with a dynamic collective "Jam". ... Click to View
Chris Cundy:
Of All The Common Flowers (Ear To The Ground)
Renowned for his work with Another Timbre and Confront, British bass clarinetist Chris Cundy presents his third solo album, blending contemporary classical elements, improvised sketches, and rhythmic motifs in fourteen captivating vignettes inspired by wildflowers, their fragile habitats, and peripheral landscapes, showcasing a masterful and virtuosic approach. ... Click to View
Rodrigues / Torres / Hencleeday / Santos:
Synopsis (Creative Sources)
Recorded live during the Creative Sources Cycle at Lisbon's Cossoul on May 2, 2024, this collaboration brings together Ernesto Rodrigues (viola, crackle box), Nuno Torres (alto saxophone), Andre Hencleeday (piano), and Carlos Santos (modular synth) in a delicate journey of reductionist improvisation, blending acoustic and electronic textures to craft an intricate, lower-case performance of subtle sonic dialogues and dynamic restraint. ... Click to View
Leap of Faith:
Logical Consequences (Evil Clown)
Originally planned as an Axioms session, this Leap of Faith performance features PEK, Glynis Lomon, Chris Alford, Albey onBass, Vance Provey, Jose Arroyo, and Michael Knoblach, who transformed a dynamic sextet improvisation into a rich exploration of sonorities, blending wind, strings, percussion, and electronics to create a spontaneous, evolving soundscape marked by deep listening and adaptability. ... Click to View
Expanse:
Bailiwick (Evil Clown)
This session at Evil Clown Headquarters brings together a sextet featuring PEK, Michael Knoblach, Robin Amos, Bob Moores, Tony Leva, and Jonathan LaMaster, blending horns, strings, electronics, and percussion to create a richly textured improvisational journey, highlighting deep connections within the Boston improvisation scene and showcasing dynamic interactions shaped by both past collaborations and new encounters. ... Click to View
Cosa Brava (Frith / Parkins / Kihlstedt / Bossi / Ismaily):
Z Sides (Klanggalerie)
Guitarist & vocalist Fred Frith leads the highly creative quintet of Zeena Parkins on keys & voice, Carla Kihlstedt on violin & voice, Mathias Bossi on drums and Shahzad Ismaily on bass, merging free improv, rock and experimental forms; drawn from live performances recorded by The Normal Conquest, this set of compositions captures the group's dynamic interplay and remarkable inventiveness. ... Click to View
AALY Trio (Gustafsson / Nordeson / Janson):
Sustain (Silkheart)
AALY Trio, named as a reference to Albert Ayler, is Mats Gustafsson (winds), Kjell Nordeson (bass), and Peter Janson (drums), who began their journey in Sweden in the 1980s, drawing significant influence from Chicago's creative scene in the 90s, and reuniting now with the same incendiary energy and deep rapport, captured in 11 composed and collective works. ... Click to View
Rob Mazurek Quartet (w/ Reid / Taylor/ Sanchez):
Color Systems (RogueArt)
Trumpeter Rob Mazurek dedicates these pieces to pianist Angelica Sanchez, cellist Tomeka Reid, and drummer Chad Taylor in a vibrant improvisation recorded in France, drawing on Mazurek's watercolor and ink creations as inspiration; the quartet's interplay channels visual art into melodic textures, freely merging influence and spontaneity through rich interaction. ... Click to View
Kenny Warren (Warren / Hoffman / Ellman):
Sweet World [VINYL] (Out Of Your Head Records)
New York trumpeter Kenny Warren leads a trio with cellist Christopher Hoffman and drummer Nathan Ellman-Bell through eighteen Warren compositions that draw on diverse musical elements from around the globe — without being 'world music' — crafting succinct, creatively engaging works marked by eclectic references, unconventional time signatures, and a free-flowing lyrical spirit.
... Click to View
Crossfire Duo (Fullex / Bauers):
Vellum (Infrasonic Press)
Showcasing Buffalo-based percussionist Bob Fullex and Jason Bauers' innovative mastery as Crossfire Duo in an album that features Jacob Gotlib's "Portrait Sequence", performed without striking objects, Matt Sargent's "Small Stones" played entirely on metallophones, Richard Richard Festinger's high-speed "Crossfire", and Christian Wolff's "Flutist (and) Percussionist" as an intricate rhythmic dialogue. ... Click to View
Erhard Hirt / Richard Scott / Klaus Kurvers / Willi Kellers:
Trails (Creative Sources)
Recording at Kuhlspot Social Club in Berlin, the quartet of Erhard Hirt (e-guitar & electronics), Richard Scott (live electronics), Klaus Kurvers (double bass), and Willi Kellers (drums & percussion) perform assertive and exploratory electroacoustic improvisations, taking listeners on 7 journeys that flow through dense forests, deep into watery worlds or traverse unearthly trails. ... Click to View
Ran Blake / Dave Knife Fabris:
Live Amsterdam 2006, First Visit [CD + POSTCARDS] (ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)
Ran Blake presents eleven solo performances at Amsterdam's Bimhuis, interpreting a captivating selection of tunes, including works by Duke Ellington and Abbey Lincoln; followed by eight duos with electric guitarist David 'Knife' Fabris, continuing their collaborative legacy from albums such as Horace is Blue and Something to Live For, along with their releases on Soul Note and NoBusiness. ... Click to View
Tadd Dameron:
Fontainebleau & Magic Touch, Revisited (ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)
Composer, pianist, and bandleader Tadd Dameron's first album, Fontainebleau (1956), and his final work, The Magic Touch (1962), are remastered to highlight his sophisticated hard bop compositions for large ensembles, featuring influential players like Bill Evans, Philly Joe Jones, and Ron Carter, and showcasing Dameron's lasting impact on jazz before his untimely passing. ... Click to View
Claudio Sanna:
Compositori Sardi Contemporanei II [2 CDs] (ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)
The second volume in pianist and composer Claudio Sanna exploration of composers, improviser and experimenters from Sardinia, in a wonderfully diverse set of works and performances from Sanna himself, Anna Zeriotto (double bass), Federico Nicoletta (piano), Leoardo Zunica (piano), Sandro Mungianu (live electronics), and Paolo Pastorino (live electronics). ... Click to View
