A tour-de-force exposition of the mandocello, acoustic and electronic, an instrument evolving out of the 18th century mandalone into a louder instrument intended to take the bass role in mandolin ensembles, which Sharp demonstrates through strings that ring with powerful resonance as he performs original compositions with references to Derek Bailey, Kinshi Tsuruta, and Harry Partch.

Previously played Squidco store copy, used for cataloging and samples, in excellent condition.

""... it's not about cleaning the music from the non-music or trying to destroy all disturbing noises, but to perceive the music as su...

Recorded at the Rimouski Music Conservatory in Quebec, the latest from Brulez les meubles of guitarist Louis Beaudoin-de la Sablonnière and bassist Eric Normand expands with saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock, pianist Marianne Trudel, and vibraphonist Jonathan Huard in a drum-less exploration of jazz and chamber music, blending harmonic textures and patient interplay in a sophisticated and evocative musical conversation.

The second volume from extraordinary New York drummer Francisco Mela and Taiwan-born pianist Shinya Lin, now based in NY, presents Parts 3 & 4 of their extended collective improvisations, showcasing joyful interplay and complex interweaving of keys and drums, enhanced by Lin's percussive preparations and Mela's vocal exclamations, delivering an upbeat and intricately exuberant encounter.

Exploring Hungarian folk songs from Vojvodina through the lens of jazz, Révészem, the fifth album from Szilárd Mezei and his exemplary ensemble of musicians from Vojvodina, Serbia, and Hungary, showcases a variety of configurations interpreting and expanding on these strong melodies, transforming them into a fully embraceable set of intricate compositions and inspired arrangements.

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.

Re-modeling Modelbau, the long-running project of Frans de Waard (also of Kapotte Muziek, Beequeen, Goem, Zebra, Freiband, Shifts, &c), in a dark and atmospheric hour-long work of multi-tracked sound, evolving organically through 14 seamlessly connected sections that layer rich tonal and textural compositional elements, with a brooding and introspective urgency.

South African drummer Louis Moholo-Moholo's 2nd album as a leader with his sextet Viva La Black, newly remastered and including two extra tracks from the original LP, issued for the first time on CD drawing out their unique approach to British jazz through compositions from Keith Tippett, Chris McGregor, Tristan Honsinger, Mongezi Feza, Harry Miller, and Moholo-Moholo himself.

The debut solo album from French saxophonist Ornella Noulet, based in Brussels, performing on alto and soprano saxophones and bells, as she draws inspiration from Albert Camus as a commitment to artistic integrity, exploring new sounds and the spiritual dimensions of music through seven energetically introspective and experimentally rich solo improvisations.

Known for her ensemble Ryorchestra and as half of SaxRuins with Yoshida Tatsuya, Nagoya-based saxophonist, flutist, and composer Ryoko Ono steps out on her own with a solo album featuring saxophone, mouthpiece, duck whistle, and voice, capturing the dramatic contrasts of life through her dynamic, genre-defying improvisations and emotionally resonant compositions.

A multinational quartet based in Germany led by Egyptian artist Rasha Ragab who chose and recites the texts — poems from Persian mystic al-Hallaj (858-922 AD) — in this extended piece of sound-oriented instrumental compostions from Lucio Capece, who also performs on bass clarinet, in a quartet with Werner Dafeldecker on double bass and Christoph Niolaus on stone harp.

Bridging jazz and contemporary forms, this 2024 live recording of four improvisations at Berlin's Kuhlspot Social Club channels collective power with chamber jazz influences, showcasing the refined techniques and deep experience of Ernesto Rodrigues on viola, Frank Gratkowski on clarinets and alto saxophone, Guilherme Rodrigues on cello, and Michael Griener on percussion.

Primarily an acoustic ensemble of nine improvisers led by Ernesto Rodrigues on viola — including saxophonist Joana Sá, percussionist Monsieur Trindade, guitarist Flak, and pianist Luisa Gonçalves — performs a live, extended improvisation of tightly controlled, deeply detailed conversation as part of the 2024 Creative Sources Cycle in Lisbon.

Room 31's debut explores the sonic possibilities of avant-rock, jazz, beats, experimental sounds, and ambient textures, as drummer Marlon Patton and saxophonist Greg Sinibaldi, inspired by their NYC experiences, transform six improvisations into intricately edited compositions, blending spontaneous creativity with a unique and evocative sonic footprint.

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).

Quoting Piet Mondrian — 'I believe that the destructive element in art is neglected too much' — the duo of Udo Schindler (bass clarinet, alto saxophone, cornet, tuba) and Olaf Rupp (electric guitar) deliver a compelling 2023 live performance at MUCCA [BASIS-Buchsalon] in Munich, Germany, in the six-part collective conversation "HerzAtmungen," loosely translating to "Heart Breathings".

The companion album to Sharp's Mandocello, a tour-de-force exposition of the mandocello, acoustic and electronic, an instrument evolving out of the 18th century mandalone into a louder instrument intended to take the bass role in mandolin ensembles, here with tributes to Srinivas, Yank Rachell, Alvin Lucier, Frank Wakefeld, Tiny Moore, Ira Louvin, and Benoit Mandelbrot.

Covering favorite compositions, drummer Tyshawn Sorey arranges works from artists recent and classic, including McCoy Tyner ("Peresina"), Joni Mitchell ("A Chair in the Sky"), Brad Mehldau ("Bealtine"), or Vividry ("Your Good Lies"), performed with double bassist Harish Raghavan and pianist Aaron Diehl and recorded in the studio after developing each piece in live performance at The Village Vanguard.

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.

For their third album, Chicago-based Svobodni — co-led by synthesist Phil Hunger and drummer Jimmy Bennington — create an evocative narrative inspired by ancient civilizations, blending layers of Stockhausen- and Kraftwerk-influenced electronics, intimate saxophone, grounded bass grooves, and searching percussion for a rich electroacoustic improvisational work that defies genre.

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.

Appropriately recorded at Le Sauvage Cathedral in France, the region name dating to the legend of a wild woman who only ate raw meat, had a double row of teeth, lived under a rocky promontory and was buried by a landslide, as baritone saxophonist Jamison Williams darkly burns in an extended improvisation of outside technique while referencing the Lemegeton, a 17th century book of magic.

Dreamlike and evocative, Dream Walks is the second duo album from Michael Attias and Simon Nabatov, following 2021's Brooklyn Mischiefs, inviting listeners to transcend the physical world through telepathic improvisations, uncanny encounters, and surreal visions, capturing the essence of nocturnal wanderings and the ethereal interplay between two masterful musicians.

Recording live in the studio in Washington D.C., this is a fully improvised journey of sub-bass drones, fiery free jazz, and melancholic sonic tales, weaving trombone-driven explorations of real and imagined sonic landscapes; with poetic fictionalizations from Alex Smith and artwork by James Dillenbeck, this album is a fascinating look at an unexpected and imaginative range on the trombone.

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.

Inspired by a poem Daniel Carter wrote about the transience and motion of modern life, the quartet of Daniel Carter on saxophone, Leo Genovese on piano, William Parker on bass, Gralla & Shakuhachi and Francisco Mela on drums & voice, turn in an ecstatic album of exotic collective improvisation in this second of two volumes from an excellent studio session.

The UK-based Chemical Expansion League of Adam Bohman (prepared strings, voice), Adrian Northover (sax, theremin, wasp synth), Sue Lynch (sax, clarinet, flute), and Ulf Mengersen (bowed & prepared double bass) present thirteen mostly succinct and eccentric improvisations that oscillate between sanity and absurdity, punctuated by industrial elements, bent tones, and surreal soundscapes.

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.

Highly-regarded Slovakian composer Adrian Demoč, known for his delicate and introspective approach to contemporary music, presents three chamber works: "Zamat," a 10-minute quartet for clarinet, bass clarinet, and cello exploring Korean unisons; "Gebrechlichkeit," a 25-minute string quartet; and "...o proton jasu...," a 30-minute piece commissioned by Another Timbre, for two clarinets, viola, and cello.

Live improvisations from the North Carolina duo of Alexander Cooper and Joseph Schlam, a double album of eight extended journeys through textural sound, drone and veiled reference, influenced by Costin Miereanu, Jaap Vink, Lionel Marchetti, Luc Ferrari, and Dagar Vani, as the duo work in stereo using two amps for drums, voice, live electronics, and field recordings.

Expanding their genre-defying vision, the Italian trio Doortri — Tiziano Pellizzari (reeds, electronics), Geoffrey Copplestone (noise, vocals), and Giampaolo Mattiello (percussion) — deliver a bold follow-up with their second zOaR release, fusing free jazz, noise, post-punk, and anarchic wit into an infectious, unpredictable sonic landscape, mixed and mastered by Elliott Sharp.

Recorded at Przeswit in Warsaw, Poland, Voiceact brings together Polish vocalists Anna Gadt, Natalia Kordiak, Marta Grzywacz, and Gosia Zagajewska in an avant exploration of the art of the voice, blending ancient music, contemporary classics, and folk influences across eleven improvised pieces that showcase a captivating range of vocal styles and possibilities.

Inspired by Joe Morris's terrier, Scout, and the beautiful Connecticut woods surrounding his Riti Studios, the trio of Morris on drums, Jeb Bishop on trombone, and Nate McBride on bass reunite as old friends, crafting an intimate and deeply connected session that embodies camaraderie, shared experiences, and the effortless flow of their improvisational synergy.

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.

Honoring the courage of the survivors of atrocities experienced in China during World War II, including that of his own father, New York improvising violinist Jason Kao Hwang presents twelve solo pieces performed on the pizzicato violin, works that embrace the struggle of his antecedents with a narrative sense of presentation and extraordinary technique.

(code named KM-53), is an energetic and sophisticated album of free collective improvisation and one Jeong composition, performed with Allison Burik on alto sax & bass clarinet, Max Ridley on double bass, Francisco Mela on drums and Mina Kim on cello, recorded live at Lilypad, in Cambridge.

The debut release from NY bassist Max Johnson's new trio with Neta Ranaan on tenor saxophone and Eliza Salem on drums, featuring five Johnson compositions that explore the post-bop tradition, from the hard-driving "Barbarous Jape" to the sweeping ballad "Tiny Beautiful," plus an elegy originally written for mandolinist Matt Flinner"s trio, and our clear favorite, "Chestnut Squid"!

A limited release capturing the duo of two generations of improvisers — Hans Koch on clarinet and soprano saxophone, and Florian Stoffner on guitar — recorded in Koch's private Swiss studio, presenting six playful dialogs of remarkable mastery and pacing, where space becomes a third element, allowing their conversation to evolve with organic sophistication.

Versed in jazz and contemporary composed music, Belgian alto saxophonist Audrey Lauro embarks on a solo journey with seven saxophone improvisations, using 'everyday objects' to prepare her instrument and close-microphone placement to create an intimate sound space, exploring 'the area where voice and instrument converge'.

The Lisbon String Trio — Ernesto Rodrigues (viola), Miguel Mira (cello) and Alvaro Rosso(double bass) — collaborates with Carlos Santos (electronics, modular synth) to create a sophisticated, assertive set that enriches the trio's soundscape with nuanced electronic textures, building on the trio's nearly telepathic coordination and harmonic depth, blending physicality and subtle electronics to evoke mysterious, wave-like motifs and dynamic subtlety.

A double CD presenting five intricately composed works that blend systematic processes with an intuitive musicality: Apartment House performs three string-based studio pieces on the first disc, including the meticulously harmonic "Aurora" for solo cello, while the second disc features live recordings by Oerknal and Ensemble Ipse, showcasing spatial and textural explorations.

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.

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.

Axioms is based around the core trio of Boston multi-reedist, percussionist and composer David Peck, and Cecil Taylor associates Albey onBass (on bass) and poet Jane SpokenWord, here in a performance with collective core cellist & aquasonic performer Glynis Lomon, and guest improviser from New Orleans, Chris Alford on guitar, stomp box and percussion.

Having worked together as sidemen in various bands but never together as a duo, Ayler Records brought electric guitarists Noel Akchote and Philippe Deschepper together to record in the studio in Zurich, choosing an informed selection of jazz repertoire that includes works by each performer, and compositions from Paul Motian, Henri Texier, Steve Swallow and Ornette Coleman.

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.

London clarinetist Tom Jackson, active in both free improvisation and contemporary classical music, meets with cellist Tyler J. Borden, who concentrates on the extremes of his instrument through unusual and extended techniques, interpret one of London's "lost rivers"--Parr's Ditch--in three extended, interpretative improvisations of powerful impressions.

Also known as Metal Moves, Welsh improvising drummer/percussionist and instrument-maker Steve Hubback creates metallic sculptures that he performs on alongside drums, gongs, bells & cymbals, this new album presenting three extended recording for sound sculpture and percussion, particularly the mesmerizing title track featuring a mobile sound sculpture made of aluminium.

This album of resonant electronics with spacious pacing is beautifully rendered by Mexican electronic artist and composer Juan Sebastian Lach, who performs on computer, and Chilean electric guitarist Cristian Alvear, presenting a 2015 composition by French composer, saxophonist, and organist Jean-Luc Guionnet titled "One for One for any pitched instrument and electronics."

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.

Sculpted sonics through prepared guitars, electronics, synthetics, drums, gongs, metal and percussion, the Chicago duo Gleaming Shards of guitarist Da Wei Wang and drummer Jerome Bryerton, both veterans of improvisation, experimental and avant rock groups, evoke the album title and group name through shimmering and subtly shifting expanses of sound and punctuated movement.

A septet of German improvisers recording in Ulrichsberg, embracing both ea- and acoustic instrumentation that borders on free jazz but takes things a bit farther, with free vocals from Mara Kolibri adding unusual asides and narrative around highly intertwining sax, trombone, cello, electric guitar, percussion, glitch and electronics; unique and engaging.

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.

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.

Berlin-based, Buenos Aires-born saxophonist Sofia Savlo takes listeners on a tour of eight improvisations performed on the low pitched baritone saxophone, using great control & tone augmented by multiphonics and extended techniques, "rotating" through unusual approaches while engaging listeners through expressive narratives, including emulating a drunken revery.

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.

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.

Seven studio improvisations from frequent collaborators Ernesto Rodrigues on viola & crackle box, Nuno Torres on alto saxophone and Carlos Santos on digital electronics, quiet conversations of subtle and extended technique that adhere to the session title, emulating electronic impulses and signals through understated and impeccably controlled acoustic and electronic expression.

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.

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.

Metal Chaos Ensemble was formed in 2015 by reedist & percussionist David Peck and drummer Yuri Zbitnov as a working project to explore chaotic rhythms on metallic instruments with a rock sensibility; drummer Steve Niemitz now holds the drum chair, and the band is a prolific sextet with saxophonist Michael Caglione, trumpeter Bob Moores, synth player Eric Woods and guitarist Mike Gruen.

Improvising collaborators, percussionist Stephen Flinn and cellist Guilherme Rodrigues join with Irish improviser and composer Roy Carroll, a member of Splitter Orchestra and who works with the amplification and signal processing of diverse objects, here the trio performing an extended improvisation of exotic and transformative sonic interaction through unusual, encompassing soundscapes of exotic and transformative sonic interaction.

Translating to freedom, Te Ti'ama is the duo of French trombonist Jérôme Descamps and guitarist Christelle Séry, heard in eleven succinct improvisations that create a unique vocabulary of both active and spacious dialog, from pointillistic energy to introspective rumination, both improvisers favoring peculiar sonic events and techniques for moments of humor and awe.

A beautifully contemplative collection of vignettes performed on solo Hardanger d'amore, a sympathetic-stringed relative of the Norwegian Hardanger fiddle, from Brooklyn improviser and composer Zosha Warpeha, in 13 works of thoughtfully spacious playing utilizing the resonance and rich texture of the Hardanger fiddle, seemingly suspending time despite beguiling momentum.

Teiku, a Talmudic acronym that roughly translates to "unanswered question", was co-founded by pianist Josh Harlow and percussionist Jonathan Barahal Taylor to explore each of their family's unique Passover vocal melodies through improvisation and sonic exploration, performed in a quintet with Art Ensemble/Sun Ra bassist Jaribu Shahid and reedists Peter Formanek & Rafael Leafar.

The French duo Griffure of cellist & vocalist Leonore Grollemund and violinist & vocalist Amaryllis Billet are transformed into a string quintet enhanced by electroacoustic instrumentation, with violinist Chloe Julian, violist Alix Gauthier and double bassist Lea Yeche, all three providing vocals, in 15 evocative works that shift between composition, improv and text.

Performing live in a virtual festival performance at his home studio as an extension of his work at erstwhile's 2011 Amplify festival, Japanese sound artist Taku Unami recorded these three extended works using cardboard boxes and small robots, creating the curious sounds of their interactions and capturing them on binaural microphones to recreate their dynamics as exactly as possible.

The second of two volumes in celebration of legendary saxophonist Charlie Parker's 100th birthday, here remastering his landmark recordings for the Savoy label in New York City between 1945-48, performing with jazz greats including Bud Powell, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, John Lewis, Curley Russel, Max Roach, &c. for some of be-bop's finest and best known compositions.

Bringing together two essential and impeccably remastered 1960's Cecil Taylor albums — Cecil Taylor Unit Structures and Cecil Taylor Unit Mixed — presenting both traditional influences and Taylor's unique approaches to modern jazz, featuring two septets with musicians including Jimmy Lyons, Henry Grimes, Archies Shepp, Ted Curson, Andrew Cyrille, Roswell Rudd, Sunny Murray, &c.

Six compositions for solo piano written by English composer Christopher Fox between 1991 and 2015, performed by Netherlands pianist John Snijders at Abbey Road Studios in London, each work uniquely approached in both writing and performance, each a concept or style that brings something unique to Fox's music while still retaining his voice and character in composition.

The innovative acoustic free improvising ensemble Polwechsel, bridging contemporary music and free improvisation in ways that sound deceptively electroacoustic and comprised of Michael Moser on cello, Werner Dafeldecker on double bass, and Martin Brandlmayr & Burkhard Beins on cymbals & percussion, are joined by Klaus Lang performing on the church organ of St. Lambrecht's Abbey.

Active since 2010, the German/Swiss duo of classical guitarist Christian Buck and improviser Christian Wolfarth occupies a space between music and sound art, as they perform two works each by Ed Haubensak and Tomas Korber, pieces that make use of time, microharmonies, multiphonics, unusual tuning systems, interference patterns, and other conceptual approaches to music.

Through preparations, computers, contact microphones, gongs, feedback and other tools, Swiss pianist, composer & improviser Judith Wegmann's work transform the sound of the piano into an otherworldly instrument, set against more traditional acoustic pieces of a reflective nature, together creating a conceptual set of ten pieces in a uniquely flexible approach.

As part of her Colonial Piano Project, Australian pianist Gabriella Smart commissioned and performs "Kaps Freed" by Cat Hope, a contemplation of composer Percy Grainger's Free Music ideals, with Stuart James on electronics; and the alliterative "Two New Proposals for an Overland Telegraph Line ..." by Erkki Veltheim, inspired by the 1st piano to arrive in Alice Springs, AU.

The innovative string trio of Daniel Studer on double bass, Harald Kimmig on violin, and Alfred Zimmerlin on cello, develop focused environments of timbre, texture, dynamic and space, seemingly abstract yet incredibly concentrative and virtuosic interaction, here joined by Chicago trombonist and electronics artist George Lewis adding a 4th profound layer to their incredible conversation.

A live album at Kunstraum Walcheturm from Swiss double bassist Daniel Studer's quintet of strings and piano, with Harald Kimmig on violin, Frantz Loriot on viola, Alfred Zimmerlin on violoncello, and Philip Zoubek on piano, performing an inventive set of Studer compositions extending string improvisation to extremes through unorthodox structures and techniques.

An essential part of the New York jazz scene since the mid-80s, pianist Russ Lossing's compositions employ concept and space in unique and personal ways, as heard in these 8 original works performed with his trio of long-time collaborators, double bassist Masa Kamaguchi and drummer Billy Mintz, for an album of highly evolved and lyrically sophisticated music.

With a superb septet of improvisers also versed in contemporary music, trumpeter Franz Koglmann presents sophisticated compositions that interject the concept of "solitude" in the three-part title track, alongside Koglmann compositions and Jimmy Giuffre's "Finger Snapper", using striking orchestration of trumpet, sax, clarinet, bassoon, oboe, french horn, cello and double bass.

The long-running duo since 1987 of spouses, pianist Hildegard Kleeb and trombonist Roland Dahinden, are joined by Swiss-born/ Berlin-based percussionist & vibraphonist Alexandre Babel for an album of interweaving and contrasting instrumental lines, blurring the boundaries between contemporary music and improvisation through exceptional mastery and dialog.

Trumpeter Marco von Orelli's piano-less quartet with Tommy Meier on tenor saxophone, bass clarinet, Luca Sisera on double bass, and Sheldon Suter on drums is caught live at Theater am Gleis, in Winterthur, Switzerland in 2018, and at Boudoir au Revoir, the same year, performing von Orelli's compellingly clever compositions, plus one each from Adam lane and Tommy Meier.

The second album of piano works from Japanese composer Jo Kondo performed by pianist Satoko Inoue--a noted interpreter of solo works by Feldman, Ferrari, and Cage--here presenting all of Kondo's works for solo piano written from 2001 to 2012, alongside two early works from 1975, exploring a wealth of harmonic, rhythmic, and conceptual ideas from a diversity of projects.

DINGED COPIES

Three sides of Charles Mingus in this remastered reissue set: the 1961 Candid album Mingus Presents Mingus with the classic quartet of Eric Dolphy, Ted Curson and Dannie Richmond; then the Mercury release Pre-Bird from the same year, in ensembles performing the music of or influenced by Duke Ellington, along with the ambitious and brilliant through-composed work, "Half Mast Inhibition".

After meeting through mutual esteem of their individual SoundCloud presences, these Oregon string players met to develop their compellingly engaging work in rehearsal, David Van Auken's guitar arrangements the perfect canvas for the sitar melodies of J.J. Gregg; after touring together they went into the studio for this album's 8 tracks, plus two live recordings.

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