EUPHORIUM_freakestra (feat Wadada Leo Smith / Barre Phillips):
Free Acoustic Supergroup (Chicago New York Berlin, Dresden Luzern Leipzig) [2 CDs] (Euphorium)

The incredibly creative EUPHORIUM_freakestra as a mid-size ensemble performing at naTo in Leipzig, Germany are joined by legendary free jazz players, Wadada Leo Smith on trumpet and Barre Phillip on double bass, extending the incredible assemblage of players including Oliver Schwerdt, Axel Dorner, Ernst-Ludwig Petrowsky, Urs Leimgruber, Christian Lillinger, Gunter Baby Sommer & Michael Haves. ... Click to View

Jim & The Schrimps (Jim Black / Asger Nissen / Julius Gawlik / Felix Henkelhausen):
Ain't No Saint (Intakt)

"Jim" is US drummer & composer Jim Black working in Berlin, and The Shrimps are the trio of bassist Felix Henkelhausen and the two-sax front line of Germans, Asger Nissen on alto and Julius Gawlik on tenor, finding a rapport and common approach to free improv, they formed to perform & record Black's assertive compositions influenced by the tradition of Black American jazz. ... Click to View

Three-Layer Cake (Mike Pride / Mike Watt / Brandon Seabrook):
Stove-Top (Rarenoise Records)

Circumventing pandemic lockdowns, the trio of Brandon Seabrook on guitar, banjo & tapes, Mike Pride on drums, marimba, glockenspiel, bells & organ and Mike Watt on bass recorded their contributions in separate studios and file-shared to create this genre-merging album of free improv, rock, experimental and inexplicable forms; an inspired and seriously unique album of challenges overcome. ... Click to View

Martin Archer (w/ John Jasnoch / Sarah Farmer / Lee Boyd Allatson):
Wasp Honey (Discus)

After participating in the Birmingham Improvisors Orchestra, wind improviser Martin Archer, bass guitarist John Jasnoch and violin & electronic musician Sarah Farmer were joined in the studio by drummer Lee Boyd Allatson to record this mix of compositions, graphic scores and free improv, merging AACM-style free jazz with contemporary chamber-oriented improv. ... Click to View

Duo User 52 (Udo Schindler / Etienne Rolin):
Plastic Narratives (FMR)

Confidently forceful German free improvisation with an eccentric approach, from multi-instrumentalist Udo Schindler on clarinets, cornet & tuba and artist & improviser Etienne Rolin on basset horn, Glissotar (a continuous wind instrument) & a Bansuri flute, as they improvise over Schindler's poem (jetzt/now) from his cycle frequenz schaukelt / frequency swings. ... Click to View

Eden Lonsdale:
Clear and Hazy Moons (Another Timbre)

Splitting the album between two ensembles, UK composer Eden Lonsdale's beautifully languid compositions are performed first by Apartment House, and then by the young Rothko Collective, the four pieces showing Lonsdale's development of writing for harmony, timbre and resonance into works focused on the passing of time and the integration of prominent melodic elements. ... Click to View

Marco Baldini :
Vesperi (Another Timbre)

Influenced by the seemingly contradictory sources of 16th century Italian composers and their polyphonic compositions, Eliane Radigue, and North Indian classical, Italian composer Marco Baldini's beautifully dark works employ a slow, rarefied pace and subdued dynamics with a fascination for pianissimo playing, heard in eight chamber compositions for low strings and marimba. ... Click to View

Ljug Aldrig:
Stabbings / Juiced [7'' VINYL + DOWNLOAD] (thanatosis produktion)

Ljug Aldrig, aka Roosen, a visual artist, guitarist and vocalist from Stockholm, is heard in a 2-song 7" + download release performing with Dennis Egberth on drums, Alexander Zethson on keys, Anton Toorell on bass, guitars and Isak Hedtjarn on saxophone. ... Click to View

Axioms (PEK / SpokenWord / Lomon / onBass / Simches):
Illusion and Reality (Evil Clown)

Two vocalists associated with Cecil Taylor's final trio--Albey onBass and Jane SpokenWord--join Evil Clown leader David Peck (PEK) on reeds, winds and a large collection of percussive devices, and Glynis Lomon on cello & aquasonic, for an extended work of critical poetry and spoken word, merging truth and abstraction through free improv and pointed expression. ... Click to View

Friedrich Kettlitz :
Rabolgs Bergwand [4 CDs] (Euphorium)

Having collaborated with EUPHORIUM_freakestra and Gunter Baby Sommer, narrator and actor Friedrich Kettlitz presents a 4-CD set of sound poetry using a language that pretends to be German but expands upon his native tongue, his deep voice carrying innuendo, humor, seriousness and articulate expression that fascinates regardless of the listener's own language. ... Click to View

Paul Dunmall / Liam Noble / John Edwards / Mark Sanders:
One Moment (FMR)

Some of the finest London and Birmingham improvisers, the free improvising quartet of saxophonist Paul Dunmall with pianist Liam Noble, drummer Mark Sanders and bassist John Edwards, continue their work together with this exceptional live performance at the Eastside Jazz Club, Birmingham Conservatoire in an extended, far-ranging and engaging collective concert. ... Click to View

Christian Bucher / Rick Countryman:
The Force Of Gravity (FMR)

Documenting the continued growth and evolution of the longer than a decade collaboration between American alto saxophonist living in the Philippines Ricky Countryman and Swiss drummer Christian Bucher, performing in the Strawberry Jams studio in Quezon City for thirteen succinct improvisations titled with stellar analogies, from pensive music to excitingly dynamic interplay. ... Click to View

Udo Shindler / Nikolaius Neuser / Georg Karger:
Rhapsodic Topologies (FMR)

Performing at the Gallery arToxi in Munich, 2022 as part of clarinet & cornetist Schindler's LowToneStudies series, the free improvising trio of Schindler, Nikolaus Neuser on trumpet and Georg Karger on double bass perform four extended conversations of meticulous momentum and superb technique, at times repurposing, extending or modifying their instruments. ... Click to View

George Cartwright / Steve Hirsh / Chad Fowler / Christopher Parker / Kelley Hurt:
Notice That There (Mahakala Music)

Meeting in Minneapolis, home of saxophonist & guitarist George Cartwright (Curlew), the quintet of Cartwright, Steve Hirsh on drums, Chad Fowler on stritch, Kelley Hurt on voice and Christopher Parker on piano have many collaborative and friendly connections, heard in their easy-going and informed dialog, with some quirks & comments tossed in to personalize these excellent studio sessions. ... Click to View

Ensemble Dedalus + eRikm:
Fata Morgana (Relative Pitch)

Composed by erikM and performed with the Dedalus Ensemble, these pieces started through acousmographe recording of sounds outside of human hearing, transposed into notes and scored to be interpreted by musicians while immersed via headphone to mimic the sounds of cetaceans, then rearranged in the studio to create the annotated compositions heard on these carefully recorded compositions. ... Click to View

Julia Strzalek / Cornelia Nilsson:
Scenery Somewhere (FRIM Records)

Recording in a former hospital funeral chapel in Sweden--Stockholm's Kapellet--the drum and sax duo of alto saxophonist Julia Strzalek and drummer Cornelia Nilsson focuses on melody and clear articulation in a dialog that finds their passion in calmly unfolding conversation, consistently illuminating their instrumental and instant-compositional mastery. ... Click to View

Star City Survivor :
Orbital Decay (Soul City Sounds)

Electric free improvisation with a caustic edge, stellar burns with titles like "Broken Navigation" or "The Sun is a Ball of Hate", from the North Carolina duo of guitarist Phil Venable (Tragic Assembly) and NY/NC drummer Tommy Jackson, who explore the atmospheric drag on their far-reaching dialogs through propulsive energy burns and moments of dark stellar voids. ... Click to View

Pauline Oliveros :
The Well & The Gentle [VINYL 2 LPs] (Important Records)

Reissuing two essential, major works from improviser, conceptualist, accordionist and composer Pauline Oliveros--The Well & The Gentle--recorded in 1984 with participation including fellow accordionist Guy Klucevsek, The Well recorded in the studio in Pennsylvania, The Gentle using the resonance of the drinking watertank Severin of Cologne in West Germany. ... Click to View

Sunik Kim:
Raid on the White Tiger Regiment [CASSETTE + DOWNLOAD] (Notice Recordings)

Named after one of the eight core revolutionary operas produced during the Cultural Revolution in Korea, composer & performer Sunik Kim constructed this fascinatingly dense and constantly surprising set of compositions using Max MSP and SuperCollider, including a live version constructed from phone and Zoom recordings of performances at Cafe OTO and at Counterflows, in Glasgow, Scotland. ... Click to View

Musicworks:
#144 Winte 2022/2023 [MAGAZINE + CD] (Musicworks)

The Winter 2022/23 issue of Canada's most interesting music magazine including a 15-track compilation CD of new and rediscovered music from artists featured in the magazine; SLOWPITCHSOUND on the cover, plus articles on Gordon Grdina, performance artist Kite, Toronto's Audiopollination music series, sound artist Seth A Smith, live and recorded reviews, &c. &c. ... Click to View

Joelle Leandre:
Zurich Concert (Intakt)

A tour-de-force solo concert from the masterful improvising French double bassist Joëlle Léandre, performing at Kunstraum Walcheturm in Zurich in 2022, mostly performed through an astounding bowing exposition, accompanied at times by her worldless vocal improvising, the five parts of this concert evoking passion, power, and a lifetime of profound expression. ... Click to View

Joel Futterman / Chad Fowler / Steve Hirsh:
Ebb & Flow [2CDs] (Mahakala Music)

Continuing the connections from prior Mahakala Music albums Warp & Weft, (Futterman/Hirsch) and Two Five None (Fowler/Hirsch) this album brings the three together as a dynamic trio recording the two-part "Ebb & Flow", a spectacular convergence that, true to the title, shows tremendous momentum and moments of great introspection, an incredible collective free encounter! ... Click to View

Eva Novoa:
Novoa / Kamaguchi / Cleaver Trio - Vol. 1 (577 Records)

Spanish pianist based in NYC Eva Novoa has since 2017 led this international but definitely NY-oriented piano trio of Japanese bassist based in NY Masa Kamaguchi and drummer Gerald Cleaver, here in her first album on 577, her sixth as a leader, presenting eight Novoa compositions of restlessly probing, dynamically interactive and inherently melodic free improvisation. ... Click to View

Interstellar Nao (Rick Countryman / Gabriel Lauber / Itzam Cano):
Live at No Somos Nada (FMR)

Referencing the Spanish galleons that sailed the Pacific Ocean between Acapulco in Mexico and Manila in the Philippine Islands, this meeting in Mexico city brings Philippine-based saxophonist Rick countryman together with Swiss drummer living in Mexico City Gabriel Lauber and Lauber's collaborator in the group Zero Point, Mexico City native double bass player Itzam Canois. ... Click to View

Lopez Trio (Brandon Lopez / Steve Baczkowski / Gerald Cleaver):
Matanzas (Relative Pitch)

"Matanzas" translates to "Killings", an apt description of this fiercely dark and propulsive free improv album from the NY trio led by bassist Brandon Lopez with saxophonist Steve Baczkowski and drummer/percussionist Gerald Cleaver, drawing unexpected and often malevolent sound from their instruments, particularly on the extended "Dithyramb, Sodomy, Salt". ... Click to View

Ouat (Simon Sieger / Joel Grip / Michael Griener):
The Strange Adventures of Jesper Klint [VINYL 2 LPs] (Umlaut Records)

Focusing on the compositions of Swedish pianist Per Henrik Wallin, the energetic piano trio of Simon Sieger on piano, Joel Grip on double bass and Michael Griener on drums puts new life into Wallin's 1998 trio album Coyote with the intention of putting Wallin's music in front of a new audience while clearly reveling in his compositions amid their own impressive mastery. ... Click to View

Malcolm Goldstein / Fred Lonberg-Holm:
Missa Amissa [CASSETTE + DOWNLOAD] (Notice Recordings)

Bringing to ears a 2003 encounter in Chicago, IL between legendary violin improviser, conceptualist and writer Malcolm Goldstein and exploratory cello improviser Fred Lonberg-Holm, through two extended dialogs weaving their strings around each other and finding unusual intersections and unions, from rapid action to introspective beauty; unsettling and inspired. ... Click to View

Damon Smith / Louis Wall / NNN Cook / Michael William / Fred Tompkins:
Fire Point [CASSETTE + DOWNLOAD] (Notice Recordings)

A dark album of sound art from the quintet of mostly St. Louis improvisers--Damon Smith, Louis Wall, NNN Cook, Michael Williams and noted flutist Fred Tompkins on two tracks--starting through shrouded percussion and unidentifiable sources, the group's sessions are edited into a cohesive album that takes its listeners on a unique journey of electronic and acoustic interaction. ... Click to View

Max Johnson :
When the Streets Were Quiet (New Focus Recordings)

Better known for his bass work with his own free jazz trio and quartet, or as a sideman for Simon Nabatov, Chris Pitsiokis, &c. this album reveals another facet to the musician, presenting a chamber music album of strings, reeds and piano, where his role as composer and conductor brings life to works with references to Messiaen & Kafka. ... Click to View

Leap of Faith:
Undulations in the Spatial Field (Evil Clown)

The core duet of the Boston-based free improvising ensemble Leap of Faith Orchestra (LOFO) of David Peck on reeds, winds & an amazing collection of percussive instruments and Glynis Lomon on cello, aquasonic & voice are joined by keyboardist Eric Woods for an extended exploration adding unusual electronics to their typically acoustic sets for unexpected and remarkable sonic journeys. ... Click to View