Bucher / Tan / Countryman:
Unaminity (FMR)

Reflecting their evolution as a trio, Swiss drummer Christian Bucher, Filipino bassist Simon Tan, and American alto saxophonist Rick Countryman present a powerful statement of collective freedom, with the album title capturing their progression as a cohesive and expressive unit, highlighted by Bucher's rhythmic mastery, Tan's solid foundation, and Countryman's soulful, dynamic lead. ... Click to View

Bucher / Countryman:
Continuum (FMR)

Continuing their long-standing collaboration, American alto saxophonist Ricky Countryman, based in the Philippines, and Swiss drummer Christian Bucher explore space and time through fourteen succinct improvisations recorded at Strawberry Jams studio in Quezon City, blending pensive moments with dynamic interplay in a compelling journey of evolving musical dialogue. ... Click to View

Cecil Taylor Unit (w/ Lyons / Silva / Cooper / Murray):
Live At Fat Tuesday's February 10, 1980 First Visit [CD + POSTCARDS] (ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)

The 2nd night of the superb, extended live performance from 1980 at NYC's Fat Tuesday jazz club, from the outstanding sextet of forward-thinking free improvisers, Jimmy Lyons on alto sax, Ramsey Ameen on violin, Alan Silva on double bass & cello, Jerome Cooper on drums & African Balaphone and Sunny Murray on drums, led by Cecil Taylor on piano in an ecstatic concert never previously released. ... Click to View

Cecil Taylor Unit (w/ Lyons / Silva / Cooper / Murray):
Live At Fat Tuesdays 1980 - First Visit Archive [CD + POSTCARDS] (ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)

A superb and extended live performance from 1980 at NYC's Fat Tuesday jazz club, from the outstanding sextet of forward-thinking free improvisers, Jimmy Lyons on alto sax, Ramsey Ameen on violin, Alan Silva on double bass & cello, Jerome Cooper on drums & African Balaphone and Sunny Murray on drums, led by Cecil Taylor on piano in an ecstatic concert never previously released. ... Click to View

Hans Koch / Florian Stoffner:
Net (ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)

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. ... Click to View

Dominik Dolega:
Everything Is True (Listen! Foundation (Fundacja Sluchaj!))

Blending contemporary, orchestral, and electronic music with global cultural influences, Dominik Dolega presents 11 untitled "Memories" recorded as duets, featuring unconventional instruments like lithophones, stones, aluphone and the bassdesmophon, inviting listeners on a sonic journey that evokes personal emotions and memories through a rich global perspective. ... Click to View

Dan Banks / Trevor Taylor / Jose Canha :
Sonifications 2: Humanity in Conflict (FMR)

Transforming 200 years of war data — including defense spending, casualties, nuclear stockpiles, and peace — into a compelling sonic narrative, blending raw data with expressive improvisation as pianist Dan Banks, drummer Trevor Taylor, and bassist Jose Canha perform powerful and evocative improvised explorations while recording at Toucan Tango Studios in Hornchurch, UK. ... Click to View

Udo Schindler / Paul Rogers feat. Eric Zwang:
Ephemeral Locations [2 CDs] (Listen! Foundation (Fundacja Sluchaj!))

Recorded across two live sessions in Munich, Ephemeral Locations expands Udo Schindler and Paul Rogers' LowToneStudies with the addition of drummer Eric Zwang Eriksson on several tracks, blending Schindler's mastery of bass reed instruments, Rogers' unique 7-string double bass, and Eriksson's dynamic percussion in a captivating exploration of deep tonal textures and spontaneous improv. ... Click to View

Elliott Sharp:
Mandorle (zOaR Records)

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. ... Click to View

Doortri (Pellizzari / Mattiello / Copplestone):
EEEEELS (zOaR Records)

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. ... Click to View

Elliott Sharp (w/ Coleman / Dulberger / Green II / Insell / Jiang / McKenzie / Salomon / Wooley):
Hudson River Compositions 1973-74 (zOaR Records)

Inspired by fireflies, birds, and the flow of the Hudson River while living in Germantown, NY, Elliott Sharp developed these compositions using traditional, graphic, & conceptual scores, presented here in a collage of sessions featuring Sharp on reeds & strings with Anthony Coleman, Nate Wooley, Shayna Dulberger, Hao Jiang, Terry L. Greene, Don McKenzie, Terry L. Green II, Sara Salomon, and Judith Insell. ... Click to View

Luc Houtkamp / Alex Maguire:
At Khoens (FMR)

Capturing the live performance of Dutch saxophonist and composer Luc Houtkamp and British pianist Alex Maguire in Senglea, Malta, September 2023, this recording showcases their seamless integration of spontaneous composition through sophisticated, implicitly lyrical collective improvisation, blending reflective passages with dynamic and energetic interplay. ... Click to View

Ryoko Ono:
The Days (Relative Pitch)

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. ... Click to View

Moth Bucket (Sims / Searfoss / Dorsey):
Vagary Suite [CASSETTE + DOWNLOAD] (Notice Recordings)

Recorded in Aaronsburg, Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania improvising trio of Kevin Sims (percussion, psatlery, flute), James Searfoss (reeds & tape loops), and Justin Dorsey (upright bass) explore the intersections of free jazz, drone, and electroacoustic sound, balancing texture, rhythm and tension across dynamic compositions that highlight their versatile instrumentation. ... Click to View

Turbulence:
Squalls (Evil Clown)

Led by David Peck, Turbulence brings together its core horn players — Michael Caglianone, Bob Moores, John Fugarino, and Peck himself — alongside bassist Scott Samenfeld and percussionist Michael Knoblach, to explore an evolving palette of sonorities blending jazz-inspired interplay, diverse instrumentation and innovative electro-acoustic sounds through transformative improvisation. ... Click to View

Max Johnson / Neta Raanan / Eliza Salem:
I'll See You Again (Adhyropa Records)

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"! ... Click to View

Delta Saxophone Qt :
France's Gregory Songs Of Ice And Snow [CD EP] (FMR)

Setting three poems from prize-winning poet and visual artist Gregory Warren Wilson to music composed by pianist Paul Honey, each song based on the experiences and thoughts of people experiencing ice and snow, performed by the Delta Saxophone quartet of Christian Forshaw (soprano sax), Kathryn McGuiness (alto sax), Tim Holme (tenor sax) and Chris Caldwell (baritone sax). ... Click to View

Karen Borca / Paul Murphy:
Entwined (Relative Pitch)

Free jazz bassoonist Karen Borca, a former student of Cecil Taylor, reunites with drummer and percussionist Paul Murphy, both longtime collaborators in saxophonist Jimmy Lyons' band, here distilled as a duo, performing seven studio-recorded dialogs in Virginia -- each an expressive and articulate example of their remarkable technical skill and creativity. ... Click to View

Abdou / Gouband / Warelis:
Hammer, Roll and Leaf (Relative Pitch)

With a thoughtful approach to collective improvisation, saxophonist Sakina Abdou, pianist Marta Warelis, and percussionist Toma Gouband weave free music into a 60-minute arc of intimate, acoustic interplay, exploring collective themes like a torn canvas of echoes and fragments, where each gesture binds, stretches, and celebrates stories woven from ash and memory. ... Click to View

Michael Attias (Attias / Leibson / Pavolka / Ferber / Hoffman):
Quartet Music Vol. I: LuMiSong / Kardamon Fall [2 CDs] (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

Anna Gadt / Marta Grzywacz / Natalia Kordiak / Gosia Zagajewska:
VoiceAct (Listen! Foundation (Fundacja Sluchaj!))

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. ... Click to View

Michael Attias / Simon Nabatov:
Dream Walks (Listen! Foundation (Fundacja Sluchaj!))

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. ... Click to View

Marilyn Crispell / Harvey Sorgen:
Forest (Listen! Foundation (Fundacja Sluchaj!))

Superlative duo work from pianist Marilyn Crispell and drummer Harvey Sorgen, recording in the studio in Woodstock, NY, blending deeply attuned free collective dialogs with one composition from each artist, in an album of dynamic and evocative improvisation that moves from vivid storytelling to introspective meditations of vision and masterful artistry. ... Click to View

Gray / Alessi / Augustin:
Melt the Guns II (Rataplan Records)

Brooklyn-Berlin-based drummer and composer Devin Gray in the second volume of his hopefully named project in an evocative trio recording with trumpeter Ralph Alessi and pianist Myslaure Augustin, blending energetic and introspective moments in politically charged compositions that reflect Gray's inventive approach to modern jazz and his concerns for global democracy. ... Click to View

Reut Regev's R*Time:
It's Now: R*Time Plays Doug Hammond (ESP)

Israeli trombonist Reut Regev and drummer Igal Foni join with legendary American composer and percussionist Doug Hammond, blending Hammond's reflective compositions and six-decade legacy — spanning blues, jazz, M-Base, and modernist works — with the boundary-pushing energy of the R*time quartet, for an engaging fusion of bold improvisation and musical insight. ... Click to View

Innovative Landscapes Laboratory:
Spontaneous Dimensions (Sublime Retreat)

Ukrainian composer Taras Opanasiuk explores spontaneous soundscapes, blending free improvisation with a meticulous compositional process as he transforms modular synthesizer sessions into five compelling sound collages that balance atmospheric electronics, musique concrète, and studio layering, in an imaginative and introspective journey through Opanasiuk's unique sonic palette. ... Click to View

Abcess Grenk:
Erguss Von Licht [CASSETTE w/ DOWNLOAD] (Copy This!)

Marc Myers, recording in Lincoln, Nebraska, is the creative force behind Abcess Grenk, merging analog electronics and experimental guitar in Erguss Von Licht, as a blend of synthesizers, modular synths, a Fender guitar, and a '69 Fender Deluxe Reverb amp, for richly layered and textured improvisations steeped in a DIY aesthetic that reflects Myers' decades-long evolution in sound exploration. ... Click to View

Svobodni III (Bennington / Hunger / Seyler / Thatcher / Jennings):
The Return To Catalhoyiik (ThatSwan!)

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. ... Click to View

Dunmall / Noble / Edwards / Sanders :
Disappearing Worlds (FMR)

Recorded live at Bristol Music Rooms in March 2024, this hard-hitting modern jazz session brings together Paul Dunmall (tenor & sopranino saxophones), Liam Noble (piano), John Edwards (bass), and Mark Sanders (drums & percussion) two fiery and exploratory conversations that blend free improvisation with structural cohesiveness, a thrilling and boundary-pushing session. ... Click to View