Nate Wooley (w / Laubrock / Modney / Roberts / Courvoisier / Smythe / Matt Moran / Greenberg):
Mutual Aid Music [2 CDs] (Pleasure of the Text Records)

"Mutual aid" is the primary ethic of an anarchistic utopia in which each knows what they have, is honest about what they need, and is prepared to give and receive accordingly; here in 8 compositions from trumpeter Nate Wooley performed with Ingrid Laubrock, Sylvie Courvoisier, Cory Smythe, Josh Modney, Matt Moran, Russell Greenberg, and Mariel Roberts. ... Click to View

Flow Trio w/ Joe Mcphee:
Winter Garden (ESP)

Joining the exemplary New York City Flow Trio of Louie Belogenis on tenor & soprano saxophones, Joe Morris on bass, and Charles Downs on drums is NY legendary saxophonist & trumpeter Joe McPhee, performing on tenor saxophone in an album of collective free jazz that reminds its listeners of the power of passionately unfettered yet superbly controlled free playing. ... Click to View

Chris Corsano / Bill Orcutt:
Made Out of Sound (Palilalia Records)

Continuing the collaboration that started in 2013, the duo of drummer Chris Corsano and guitarist Bill Orcutt expand on their free playing during the pandemic, recording remotely, with Orcutt improvising two passes over Corsano's initial drum tracks, creating something that blurs the lines between jazz, rock, folk and something passionately unique to their dialog. ... Click to View

Chris Corsano / Bill Orcutt:
Made Out of Sound [VINYL] (Palilalia Records)

Continuing the collaboration that started in 2013, the duo of drummer Chris Corsano and guitarist Bill Orcutt expand on their free playing during the pandemic, recording remotely, with Orcutt improvising two passes over Corsano's initial drum tracks, creating something that blurs the lines between jazz, rock, folk and something passionately unique to their dialog. ... Click to View

Playfield (Carter, Muhr, Ishito, Plaks, Namenwirth, Takahashi, Swanson, Panikkar):
Vol. 2 (Orbit577)

The second of a 3-album trilogy Playfield offers the musical equivalency of a walk through the diversity of New York in a loft-style extended improvisation from the octet of Daniel Carter on horns & reeds, Luisa Muhr on voice, Ayumi Ishito on sax, Eric Plaks on piano, Aron Namenwirth & Yutaka Takahashi on guitars, Zach Swanson on bass, and Jon Panikkar on drums. ... Click to View

Paul Dunmall / Keith Tippett / Philip Gibbs / Pete Fairclough:
Onosante (577)

A 4-track collective improvisation project performed by Paul Dunmall (saxophones, fife & bagpipes), pianist Keith Tippett, guitarist Philip Gibbs and drummer Pete Fairclough, recorded at Victoria Rooms at the University of Bristol, UK in 2000 and originally issued on Dunmall's own DUNS label, here reissued 20 years later in the memory of Keith Tippett. ... Click to View

David Shea:
The Thousand Buddha Caves (Room40)

Composer, keyboardist and conceptualist David Shea continues his musical journeys through the world's ancient trading routes that began with his albums Hsi-Yu Chi, The Tower of Mirrors, Satyricon and Rituals, here in ten encompassing compositions exploring the trading route from ancient Xian to Rome, through music, stories, history and Buddhist influences. ... Click to View

Michel Banabila :
Wah-Wah Whispers (Bureau B)

Dutch composer Michel Banabila amalgamates genres, using acoustic and electronics elements to serve his work, here in 8 recent pieces that blend electronica, world forms and soundscape in sophisticated ways, with vocal samples from all n4tural and Yuko Parris, guitar from Cok Van Vuuren, and a collaborative composition with Machinefabriek/Rutger Zuydervelt. ... Click to View

Sun Ra:
Extensions Out, Plus: Four Poetry Books (1959/1972) [4 BOOKS] (Corbett vs. Dempsey)

Four books of poetry by Sun Ra: two pamphlets that accompanied early Sun Ra albums issued in the late 1950s Jazz By Sun Ra (1957) and Jazz In Silhouette (1959); and two published more than a decade later later by Infinity Inc./Saturn Research: The Immeasurable Equation and the very rare Extensions Out: The Immeasurable Equation Vol. II. ... Click to View

Elephant9 :
Arrival Of The New Elders [VINYL] (Rune Grammofon)

After their double live albums, the Norwegian jazz-rock prog trio of Stale Storlokken on keyboards, Nikolai Haengsle on electric bass and electric & acoustic guitars, and Torstein Lofthus on drums & percussion, take a step back from the heavy grooves associated with their music to present a new chapter of sophisticated, spacious and sonically satisfying psychedelic interplay. ... Click to View

Dennis Gonzalez Ataraxia Trio+2 (w / Phelps / Lakpriya + Derek Rogers / Jess Garland):
Nights Enter (Ayler Records)

Unlike anything in trumpeter Dennis Gonzalez's discography, this album was developed from Moog recordings by Derek Rogers, whose shifting tonalities and colors led Gonzalez to a Jon Hassel-influenced approach, adding a rhythmic basis of tabla and djembe from Jagath Lakpriya and sitar-inspired harp from Jess Garland, underpinned by the rich bass work of Drew Phelps. ... Click to View

Baptiste Boiron / Bruno Chevillon / Frederic Gastard:
La [2 CDs] (Ayler)

During a residency in 2020 at the Domaine de Kerguehennec in Brittany, saxophonist and composer Baptiste Boiron developed this repertoire for the trio Lá of Boiron on soprano, alto & tenor saxophones, Bruno Chevillon on double bass, and Frederic Gastard on bass saxophone, Boiron's compositions applying a wealth of creative approaches merging contemporary and improvised playing. ... Click to View

Kuzu (Dave Rempis / Tashi Dorji / Tyler Damon):
The Glass Delusion [VINYL] (Astral Spirits)

A wild ride in two live performances, one at Elastic Arts in Chicago and the other at The Sugar Maple in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, both in 2018 from the Kuzu trio of Dave Rempis on alto, tenor & baritone saxophones, Tashi Dorji on guitar, and Tyler Damon on drums, evolving free improvisation that builds from introspective to full-on burning free jazz. ... Click to View

Luke Stewart Exposure Quintet:
[VINYL 2 LPs] (Astral Spirits)

Dave Rempis invited bassist & composer Luke Stewart to his Exposure Series at Elastic Arts in Chicago in 2018, assembling a band for Steward with Edward Wilkerson & Ken Vandermark on reeds, Jim Baker on piano, and Avreeayl Ra on drums; Vandermark then invited the band back to his Option Series at Experimental Sound Studio; this double album presents recordings from both. ... Click to View

Sarah Alexander Ruth / Damon Smith:
God Made My Soul an Ornament (Balance Point Acoustics)

An unusual duo of double bass, voice, hammered dulcimer, recorder, slide whistle, and various objects, recorded in 2019 between bassist Damon Smith and Sarah Ruth Alexander, freely improvising through nine pieces that show the breadth of creative imagination and powerful technical skills of each; curiously compelling, unpredictable and marvelously diverse. ... Click to View

Eric Wong:
Cognitive Dissonance (Edition Wandelweiser Records)

Guitarist, computer musician, and improviser Eric Wong (D.N.A.N.D.N.A. with Simon Rose) focuses on sound textures and perception of sound, in three works composed using Ableton Live that explore concepts of psychoacoustic sound through dissonance, harmonic interference and hallucinatory sound, slowly developing works of rich sonic characteristic. ... Click to View

Florian Wittenburg :
Beyond The Traceries (Edition Wandelweiser Records)

Various facets of German composer and experimenter Florian Wittenburg's interests, in two iterations of two pieces and two compositions, using voice, vibraphones and ringing bowls, treated electronically to emphasize unique characteristics of sound from warmly rich to mysteriously fragile, balanced with space and careful timing; a valuable introduction to his work. ... Click to View

Yannick Guedon:
L'insistance Des Possibles (Edition Wandelweiser Records)

French voice artist and composer Yannick Guédon living in Brussels composed this extended work, the title translating to "insistence on possibilities", realized with cellist Deborah Walker and violist Cyprien Busolini, Guédon merging extended utterance into long string drones, contrasted with silence, as the piece moves through very specific placement. ... Click to View

Nordheim / Schmidt / Weinheimer:
Das Gekochte (Edition Wandelweiser Records)

Sharing compositional credits with the title translating to "the cooked", the trio of Andreas Nordheim on cornet, Ole Schmidt on clarinets, and Chris Weinheimer on flutes, with pianist Jan Gerdes guesting on one piece, present 16 recordings of minimalist harmonic and tonal development, mysterious and haunting works are taxonomically named by their location. ... Click to View

Well... The Yes (Jeph Jerman / Dave Knott):
No, Really. [CASSETTE] (Self Released)

Beginning in 1995 in Seattle, audio explorers Jeph Jerman & David Knotts explore lo-fi approaches using cassettes, mini-cassettes, dictaphones, various assortments of homemade instruments & collected materials, this 2020 cassette including recordings of mouth, stone, wood, glass, metal, paper, plastic, radio, and input from a number of contributors. ... Click to View

Evan Parker ElectroAcoustic Ensemble (w/ Sainkho Namtchylak):
Fixing the Fluctuating Idea (Victo)

Evan Parker's Electroacoustic Ensemble, merging reeds, strings and percussion with live signal processing to create something indescribably transformative is further amplified with the addition of free improvising vocalist and Tuvan throat singer Sainkho Namtchylak, adding an unearthly layer of interaction and transmogrification to this incredible 1996 FIMAV performance. ... Click to View

Rempis Percussion Quartet, The (w/ Haker Flaten / Daisy / Rosaly):
Sud Des Alpes (Aerophonic)

The 10th album from The Rempis Percussion Quartet, the dual-drumming free improvising collective quartet of Dave Rempis on alto & tenor saxophones, Ingebrigt Haker Flaten on bass, and Tim Daisy & Frank Rosaly on drums, celebrating their 15th anniversary as a working band through this exhilarating concert captured during their 2019 European Tour at AMR in Geneva, Switzerland. ... Click to View

Mike Cooper / Duck Baker :
Cumino In Mia Cucina (Confront)

Having been acquainted with each other for decades but never finding the opportunity to record, improvising American guitarist Duck Baker and British guitarist Mike Cooper finally found their chance in 2010 while both were in Rome, taking two acoustic nylon Spanish guitars into the studio to record these three extended, intertwining improvisations. ... Click to View

Damon Smith / Peter Kowald / Joelle Leandre / Bertram Turetzky :
Bass Duos 2000-2007 [3 CDs + 3 Postcards] (Balance Point Acoustics)

Three CDs, each dedicated to a mix of concert and studio recordings of double bass duos, the first between Damon Smith and Peter Kowald in 2000 at Gallery 2310, in Oakland, CA; the 2nd between Smith and Joëlle Léandre in 2002, which was recorded by Henry Kaiser; and between Smith and Bertram Turetzky at 1510 8th St. Performance Space, in Oakland, CA in 2007. ... Click to View

Rhodri Davies:
Wound Response (Amgen Records)

First released in 2012 on the Alt.Vinyl label and now reissued on his own Amgen label, Rhodri Davies performs solo in Newcastle upon Tyne on lap harp and electronics, using two main techniques: over-articulation of the strings (what harpists are taught not to do) and attacking the strings with a plectrum, forcing the tuning into new relationships until the strings eventually break. ... Click to View

Rhodri Davies:
An Air Swept Clean of All Distance (Amgen Records)

First release on the Alt.Vinyl label in 2014, this album finds harpist Rhodri Davies performing on the same instrument as his prior album Wound Response, but here with no amplification, preparations or distortion, improvising through "tumbling phrases, arpeggios and articulate rhythms", in a compelling album of assertive and joyful playing. ... Click to View

Various Artists (curated by Nick Vander):
Walk My Way, Volume Four (Orbit577)

The fourth of a five volume compilation series curated by Nick Vander, a testament to the incredible musical range of the guitar and the imaginative possibility of guitarists around the world, with tracks from Janet Feder, Martin Vishnick, Ikbal Lubys, Edward J. Gibbs, Joshua Weitzel, Guram Machavari, Eric Wong, Garth Erasmus, and Bill Horist. ... Click to View

Donald McKenzie II Sturge Anthony (feat. Elliott Sharp, Bill Laswell and Vernon Reid):
Silenced II - Views from the Auction Block (577)

Drummer Donald Sturge Anthony McKenzie II trades off duos with a set of masterful musicians in the second volume of his "Silenced" project, here with guitarist Elliott Sharp for a complex and inspired dialog; with bassist Bill Laswell for a rich and moody soundscape; and with guitarist Vernon Reid in a piece for McKenzie's daughter; plus one solo drum piece. ... Click to View

AMM (Tilbury / Prevost):
Industria (Matchless)

The title Indústria was chosen by Eddie Prevost in tribute to the history behind the Museu Industrial de Bala do Tejo, in Portugal where this concert took place by the legendary free improvisation band AMM, represented here as the duo of percussionist Eddie Prévost and pianist John Tilbury, performing as part of the 2015 OUT.FEST - Festival Internacional de Musica Exploratoria do Barreiro. ... Click to View

Fred Frith / Ikue Mori:
A Mountain Doesn't Know it's Tall (Intakt)

Having worked together for 40 years starting in the 80's in the Downtown NY scene, guitarist Fred Frith and electronic artist Ikue Mori recorded this album in Germany, using studio time left after recording the music for a radio play by Werner Penzel, using that work as an influence for these exceptional improvisations on home made instruments, toys and electronics. ... Click to View