Subtle exploration of the jazz trio from this Montreal based group whose music is driven by Middle Eastern influences melodies and the exotic percussive work of Ziya Tabassian.

Tim Brady in an extraordinary collaboration mixing his rhythmic, jazz-influenced chamber music with Australia's dynamic and virtuosic Topology ensemble.

Thirteen new compositions by Michel F Cote that are tightly linked together by a poetic text, with Jean Derome, Diane Labrosse, Claude Lamothe, Robert Marcel Lepage, Rene Lussier, Ikue Mori, and Claude St-Jean.

Tin Hat Trio founder Burger in an eclectic and wonderfully informed set of film cues, with help from Marc Ribot, Eyvind Kang, Carla Kihlstedt, Kenny Wollesen, &c.

The 2nd recording from cornetist Bynum's improvising chamber ensemble SpiderMonkey Strings in a narrative coming of age work using Bynum arrangements of Ornette, Sun Ra, & Elligton.

Italian saxophonist and composer Daniele Cavallanti and drummer/percussionist Tiziano Tononi produced these two enterprising suites played here by a powerful octet that includes Jenny Scheinman.

Saxophonist Coleman's 1st US label release in 9 years, 6 original compositions of complex, constantly shifting rhythms that convey a fundamental sense of groove from his 6 piece band.

Steve Coleman and Five Elements with Tim Albright, Tyshawn Sorey, Jen Shyu, &c., in an album incorporating the saxophonist's lifetime of researchg into cycles found in nature and astronomy.

Cosa Brava is an experimental rock and improvisation quartet formed in March 2008 by multi-instrumentalist and composer Fred Frith, with members Carla Kihlstedt, Zeena Parkins, Shahzad Ismaily, William Winant, &c.

Sylvie Courvoisier, the Swiss pianist-composer and Mark Feldman, New York violinist, have joined German cellist Anja Lechner to play "Abaton" in concert, released in 2004 by ECM.

A superb octet including pianist and leader Kris Davis providing innovative compositions, with the powerful support of Ben Goldberg, Oscar Noriega, Joachim Badenhorst & Andrew Bishop on reeds, Nate Radley on guitar, Gary Versace on organ, and Jim Black on drums.

Saxophonist Dijkstra in compositions commissioned from the North Sea Jazz Festival 2009, 9 works written for Henry Threadgill, George Lewis, Fred Frith, &c.

The second album from the long running lowercase / ea-improv "pop" duo of Burkhard Stangl and Christof Kurzmann, understated and intensely skewed music and songs.

A joyful and sophisticated performance from bassist and leader Adam Lane's Full Throttle Orchestra, an 8-piece band including Nate Wooley, Susana Silva, Reut Regev, David Bindman, Avram Fefer, Adam Lane & Igal Foni performing live at the 53rd Ljubljana Jazz Festival.

Cellist and Downtown NY mainstay Okkyung Lee in an album of intimate chamber pieces that combine written music with noise improvisation, for an ensemble including Ikue Mori, Peter Evans, Craig Taborn, &c.

The 4th release by The Peggy Lee Band and the 1st with the band expanded from a sextet to an octet, with 3 horns and 2 guitars blending beautifully for a warm, full sound.

NY saxophonist Steve Lehman builds on his work with spectral harmony, expanding the harmonic palette with live electronics & a custom-built vibraphone, in an octet with Jonathan Finlayson, Mark Shim, Tim Albright, Chris Dingman, Jose Davila, Drew Gress & Tyshawn Sorey.

NY saxophonist Steve Lehman's Octet integrates delicate and highly nuanced spectral harmonies into meticulously crafted rhythmic settings, advanced and compelling jazz.

Original music by Robert Marcel Lepage for the film "Full Blast", with help from Fred Fortin, Olivier Langevin, Jean-François Lemieux, Martin Tétreault, Marie-Jo Thério, etc..

Jan Strom, whose devotion to Lyons previously resulted in a 120-page sessionography, has strategically selected material that amounts to five previously unreleased discs of solo and small-group sessions with alto saxophonist Jimmy Lyons, covering a broad range of dates and groups, each in enough detail to stand on its own, along with a fact-packed 60-page booklet.

A free-wheeling debut from 8-piece mid-Atlantic supergroup formed by guitarist Edward Ricart and drummer Sam Lohman (Matta Gawa) plus Roy Cambell (trumpet), Steve Swell (trombone), Jason Ajemian (bass), Andrew Barker (drums), &c.

A large group under the direction of violinist Ernesto Rodrigues (also on harp, metronome & objects) in 4 extended improvisations of great suspense and tension through sound and silence.

Reissuing Cecil Taylor's 1958 album with John Coltrane, an incredible forward thinking and inspired session; and Taylor's 2nd studio album from 1958, "Looking Ahead", in a quintet setting.

2004 recordings of saxophonist Trevor Watts' Celebration Band live in Skopje Macedonia: 4 saxophones, drums, percussion and bass, with musicians from the Macedonia community joining in.

Zorn's take on Christmas with his Dreamers (Marc Ribot, Kenny Wollesen, Joey Baron, Jamie Saft, Trevor Dunn, Cyro Baptista, with guest vocalist Mike Patton) performing 7 of Zorn's favorite Christmas songs along with 2 originals.

Zorn's sixth quartet is inspired by the hermetic Angelic actions of John Dee and is replete with the procedures of distillation, calcination, crystallization, sublimation, purification, rotation as well numerology, prayers, canons, contrapuntal complexity, &c.

Forro is a NY East Village rock ensemble that reinterprets forro--traditional Brazilian folk music--using modern Downtown language, here taking on the compositions of John Zorn in rhythmically rich melodic approaches that's equal parts tribute and collaboration.

The quartet of Cosottini, Melano, Pisani, Miano (EAQuartet Electroacoustic) in compositions referring to the 4 cardinal map points using graphic scores, games, open readings, &c.

Parker's definitive document of his Curtis Mayfield songbook project with Hamid Drake, Dave Burrell, Sabir Mateen, Darryl Foster & Amiri Baraka, promoting Mayfield's positive messages of hope and fortitude.

Trio improvisations with guitar, violin, and an assortment of noise elements, thoughtful pieces that use space wisely as they prepare for vicious attacks of sound.

Tim Brady with Bradyworks and Quatuor Molinari in a CD/DVD release of four synchronized musical, video & theater works, ambitious and fascinating compositional pieces.

Collective improvisation from Ho Bynum's Book of Three with bassist John Hebert & drummer Gerald Cleaver, following their RogueArt CD with this exceptional album of original compositions plus works from Bobby Bradford, Salim Washington, and Jim Hobbs.

Drummer Barry Altschul joins saxophonist Jon Irabagon and bassist Peter Brendler in an incredible trio of free improvisation and hard playing that's not afraid to put a little cheesecake on the cover.

Henry Threadgill's tribute to friend, composer-conductor Lawrence D. Butch Morris, in a detailed 4-part work with an excellent set of improvisers: Henry Threadgill, Jose Davila, Jason Moran, Christopher Hoffman, David Virelles, Roman Filiu, Curtis Macdonald, and Craig Weinrib.

Bassist Jason Roebke leads his octet with Keefe Jackson, Greg Ward, Jason Stein, Josh Berman, Jeb Bishop, Jason Adasiewicz, and Mike Reed in a set of collaborative compositions, lyrical yet free improvisation from some of Chicago's finest players.

Norwegian drummer Dag Magnus Narvesen's octet with Kristoffer Alberts, Jorgen Mathisen and Andree Roligheten on reeds, and Hayden Powell and Kristoffer Kompen on brass, merging New Orleans and free jazz traditions in creative and lyrical jazz of embraceable compositions and exceptional soloing.

Saxophonist Pierre-Antoine Badaroux and double bassist Sebastien Beliah formed Ensemble Hodos in 2008 to perform the music of composers who wrote scores that include freedom and/or improvisation for the players, here performing the music of Philip Corner.

Vancouver based cellist Peggy Lee leads the Film in Music project with a cast of superb improvisers including Dylan van der Schyff (drums), Torsten Muller (bass), Jesse Zubot (violin), &c, writing compositional drama for the 8 band members as as a basis for adventurous improv.

A live performance at Judson Church in Manhattan as part of the 20th Vision Festival from the NY/France free improvising trio of Joelle Leandre on double bass, Mat Maneri on viola, and Gerald Cleaver on drums and percussion, two tracks of steadily building, incredibly compatible dialog.

Draksler's interest in poetry drives this 2-CD release, with a chamber octet of improvisers and orchestra players, with 2 vocalists, two reedists (inc. Ab Baars), violin, piano, double bass, drums & orchestral percussion, performing Draksler's compositions for the words of Pablo Neruda and Andriana Minou.

Roman philosopher Titus Lucretius Carus named "Clinamen" the unpredictable (in time and space) swerve of atoms falling in the void, which aptly describes the unexpected directions taken in subtle free improvisation from this French trio, led by bassist Louis-Michel Marion, with Jacques Di Donato on clarinet, and Philippe Berger on viola.

Putting together two releases from Montreal guitarist and composer Tim Brady's "24 Frames" project: "Trance" (CD + DVD) and "Scatter" (2 CDs), performed solo and with his Bradyworks ensemble.

Composer John Shiurba with an impressive West Coast octet including vocalists Lara Bruckmann & Morgan Guberman, trumpeter Tom Djll, drummer Gino Robair, and bassist Matthew Sperry, &c. conducting them through five twisted compositions.

Wandelweiser composer Antoine Beuger presents 25 of the 50 pages of his "Ockeghem Octets", each piece dedicated to one of Beuger's heroes, performed by an octet comprised of melodica, concertina, harmonium, e-bow zither, cello, flute, accordion and alto flute, each player provided notes and a playing methodology to create these gorgeous soundscape.

Ist gefallen in den Schnee: A piece by Swedish composer-pianist Magnus Granberg, performed with Angharad Davies, Anna Lindal, Leo Svensson Sander, John Eriksson, Erik Carlsson, Henrik Olsson, Petter Wastberg and Toshimaru Nakamura; Despairs: A beautiful extended composition exquisitely played by an ensemble of fine musicians.

Montreal creative guitarist Tim Brady and his Bradyworks (Lori Freedman, Karen Young, &c) performing 6 duos for electric guitar with other instruments, and 12 compositions for electric guitar (with and without effects pedals).

The second astounding album from Chicago Flutist Nicole Mitchell on the FPE label, continuing her project in the sphere of Sun Ra and Afrofuturists, merging fiction, fantasy and sound in an electro-chamber octet, encompassing contemporary classical, globally oriented fusion, gospel, avant-rock, spoken word, and funk-inspired groove research.

The second astounding album from Chicago Flutist Nicole Mitchell on the FPE label, continuing her project in the sphere of Sun Ra and Afrofuturists, merging fiction, fantasy and sound in an electro-chamber octet, encompassing contemporary classical, globally oriented fusion, gospel, avant-rock, spoken word, and funk-inspired groove research.

Paying tribute to musicians whose vision paved the way for modern creative players to use new approaches, language and philosophy in improvisation, trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith's band with four guitarists, electric bass, drums and percussion dedicates five incredible compositions to Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane, Ronald Shannon Jackson, and Billie Holiday.

A double CD with five beautiful pieces that engage with the work of the extraordinary French-Swiss poet Gustave Roud, with performers including Dante Boon, Stefan Thut, Andrew McIntosh and Jurg Frey himself, 10 compositions that Frey wrote in the manner that Roud would, roaming with a sketchbook and developing the pieces based on impressions of his surroundings.

Mary Halvorson continues her string of excellent modern jazz albums with this octet release with fellow guitarist Susan Alcorn, Jonathan Finlayson (trumpet), Jon Irabagon & Ingrid Laubrock (sax), Jacob Garchik (trombone), John Hebert (bass) and Ches Smith (drums).

The NEWJazz Meeting of the SWR German Radio in Baden-Baden brought saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock together with Tom Rainey, Ben Davis, Drew Gress, Liam Noble, Ted Reichman and Mary Halvorson to develop these 7 pieces, recorded live in concert in Zurich, 2011.

Correctly configured, the Portugese ensemble Octopus is an octet, and though named after the most common of the breed, this 8-tentacled orchestration of strings, flute, trumpet, piano, guitar, electronics and percussion, all using extended techniques, slides deftly and with incredible restraint through a large, detailed dark-water work of electroacoustic improvisation.

Influenced by rock, jazz, Javanese and Balinese gamelan, NY drummer Mark Nauseef's career has embraced an inclusive blending of styles, heard in this fantastic new album embracing compositional and ea styles, recorded with previous collaborators including Tony Oxley, Bill Laswell, Walter Quintus, along with Sylvie Courvoisier, Pat Thomas, Miroslav Tadic, & Arthur Jarvinen.

A fantastic concert recorded during the 52nd Ljubljana Jazz Festival, presenting an ambitious and remarkable pair of compositions from saxophonist Martin Kuchen, extending his regular 6 piece band to an octet.

Composer Henry Threadgill's Double Up band does not include Threadgill himself, but for this second release with the group he adds a 3rd piano (also doubling on harmonium) alongside two alto saxophones, cello, tuba, drums and percussion, the octet performing Threadgill's complex yet effortlessly intricate and distinctive compositions that allow his performers to shine.

Having met at Middlesex University in 2001, this sophisticated London-based contemporary jazz/folk sextet formed in 2011, recently adding vocalist Kerry Andrew (Juice), as pianist Laura Cole composes music and text based on her personal experiences; pieces include two collective improvs and 2 reworkings of Ornette Coleman's "Lonely Woman".

An all-star octet of Swedish improvisers is actually a double quaret with two reed players (Nordstrom & Ljugkvist), two brass players (Aleklint and Barno), two double bassists (Augustson and Zetterberg) and two drummers (Cantillo and Rundqvist), creating a powerful rhythmic foundation for a lyrical set of Nordstrom compositions and conductions.

Drummer/percussionist, trombonist, pianist and importantly here, composer, Tyshawn Sorey in an amazing and ambitious work "Pillars", assembling an ensemble of virtuosic NY performers (Joe Morris, Todd Neufeld, Ben Gerstein, Stephen Hayes, Zach Rowden, Carl Test, Mark Helias) as he references Tibetan rituals, Stockhausen, and Anthony Braxton, and much more.

Vinyl edition with a unique 4-part, 4th "Pillar": Tyshawn Sorey in an amazing and ambitious work "Pillars", assembling an ensemble of virtuosic NY performers (Joe Morris, Todd Neufeld, Ben Gerstein, Stephen Hayes, Zach Rowden, Carl Test, Mark Helias) as he references Tibetan rituals, Stockhausen, and Anthony Braxton, and much more.

Zorn's take on Christmas with his Dreamers (Marc Ribot, Kenny Wollesen, Joey Baron, Jamie Saft, Trevor Dunn, Cyro Baptista, with guest vocalist Mike Patton) performing 7 of Zorn's favorite Christmas songs along with 2 originals.

The Italian free improv quartet The Assassins (Francesco Cusa, drums; Giulio Stermieri, piano; Flavio Zanuttini, trumpet; Giovanni Benvenuti, sax) joins together with the classical chamber string ensemble, Florence Art Quartet (Daniele Iannaccone, violin; Lorenzo Borneo, violin; Agostino Mattioni, viola; Cristiano Sacchi, cello) in a wonderful hybrid of both approaches.

Looking back and fondly imagining some of the locations and configuration that UK guitarist Ian Brighton played in the 70s, Brighton developed the pieces on this album, each compositions varying the personnel from life-long partners (Taylor, Wachsmann, Mattos) to musicians Brighton has performed with since his 2016 return to improvisation (Carrier, Beresford, Metcalfe).

Composer & violinist Jason Kao Hwang wrote "Blood" as he meditated upon the traumas of war retained within the body as unspoken vibrations that reverberate across community and generations, performed in an incredible east/west octet with Taylor Ho Bynum (cornet), Joseph Daley (tuba), Andrew Drury (drums), Ken Filiano (bass), Sun Li (pipa), Steve Swell (trombone), & Wang Guowei (erh).

The 8-limbed creature that is Creative Source's Octopus presents their 3rd album of diaphanous improvisation, using two reeds (clarinet & tenor sax), trumpet, resonator guitar, viola, double bass, snare drums and electronics, as they slowly prowl in subaqueous and subtle improvisation of powerful technique, cautiously moving with rich details and deft direction.

The fourth ECM album from NY Saxophonist Tim Berne and drummer Ches Smith, here in a trio with textural guitarist David Torn in three extended compositions merging jazz, rock and ambient forms, the middle track augmented with the Scorchio String Quartet and Craig Taborn, as they ebb and flow intense energy, fascinating compositional turns, and superb playing.

The fourth of a collection dedicated to the French Musique Action Festival, here in a tribute to Tom Cora recorded in 1998 with Catherine Jauniaux, Phil Minton, Zeena Parkins, Christian Marclay, Otomo Yoshihide, Veryan Weston, &c. &c.

The long-running West Coast-based Secret Chiefs project, here in it's third iteration as an octet, takes on John Zorn's "Book Beri'ah" in its 10th volume, presenting 12 of the final Masada compositions in energetically exciting and virtuosically superb renderings, genre-mashing rock, jazz, fusion, ethnic and avant forms, a superbly compelling and joyful album.

A strange album of vocal improvisation from the the VocCoulours quartet of Brigitte Kuepper, Gala Gabriele Hummel, Norbert Zajac, and Iouri Grankin, performing live with Koichi Makigami on (voice & theremin), Yoichiro Kita (trumpet & laptop), Keiko Komori (bass clarinet), and Morgan Fisher (keyboards & toys); a truly unique album of startling utterance, texture, and environment.

Featuring an incredible lineup of masterful players from 1970's London creative jazz scene--Harry Miller & Johnny Dyani (bass), Keith Tippett (piano), Evan Parker (sax), Nick Evans & Radu Malfatti (trombone), and Kenny Wheeler (trumpet)--South African drummer Louis Moholo's debut album brings both joy and spirituality to freedom and lyricism, a joyful achievement.

After setting music for the poetry of Pablo Neruda and Andriana Minou (Gledalec), Slovenian pianist Kaja Draksler turns to the work of Robert Frost in a set of 7 sophisticated compositions, sung by Laura Polence & Bjork Nielsdottir in an improvising octet with reedists Ab Baars & Ada Rave, violinist George Dumitriu, bassist Lennart Heyndels and drummer Onno Govaert.

Parker's definitive document of his Curtis Mayfield songbook project with Hamid Drake, Dave Burrell, Sabir Mateen, Darryl Foster & Amiri Baraka, promoting Mayfield's positive messages of hope and fortitude.

Recorded over 2 days in a Chicago studio in configurations from duos to an octet, drummer Quin Kirchner provides the compositions on this double CD for 11 pieces, alongside works by Frank Foster, Phil Cohran, Sun Ra & Carla Bley, presented as a story or a journey of differing styles and forms, made cohesive by Kirchner's remarkable drumming and coherently diverse interests.

Recorded over 2 days in a Chicago studio in configurations from duos to an octet, drummer Quin Kirchner provides the compositions on this double LP for 11 pieces, alongside works by Frank Foster, Phil Cohran, Sun Ra & Carla Bley, presented as a story or a journey of differing styles and forms, made cohesive by Kirchner's remarkable drumming and coherently diverse interests.