Digital

Ab Baars

1989

"This solo album gives Baars a chance to showcase his improvisational abilities and explore his questions about tonal and multi-phonic sonances with complete abandon on clarinet and tenor and soprano saxophones. - Thom Jurek, All Music"

Soun Soun, La Tradition Mandingue

2017

""Lanaya is an instrumental trio from Bamako, Mali. They play music rooted in a centuries old tradition, in which the stories and sagas of Mali are musically preserved. The musicians are part of a professional caste, the griots or jalis. From generation to generation the knowledge is passed on; they are the keepers of the culture. The Ex met Djibril through Dutch master drummer Han Bennink, who played in Mali with, among others, Toumani. They invited Djibril for a tour in October '97. It was so amazing that in November '98 The Ex asked the whole group to come over, and it seemed like a good idea to release their first CD for that occasion." –Terp Records"

Mikolaj Trzaska Ircha Clarinet Quintet Featuring Joe McPhee

2011

"The ensemble is harmonically unified. Yet, McPhee’s clarinet sound is strikingly different; in fact, when the purity of his tone rises from the whole, its origins lurk mysteriously. -Lynn Horton, JazzTimes"

Reed Trio

2011

Nils Henrik Asheim & Paal Nilssen?-?Love

2007

DKV Trio

2017

"The albums starts “Faster Then It Would Be” featuring a free blowing Vandermark on tenor saxophone, quickly joined by a bowing Kessler and a more subtle, colouring Drake; working their way into a funky groove initiated by Vandermark, promptly supported by Drake and Kessler. From here, the trio really joins as a unit and weaves threads of free and groove into a polyrhythmic web propelling Drake into a contagious solo. Following Drake’s solo, toe-tapping continues when Vandermark adds a catchy melody that develops into the climax of the piece. To clear satisfaction of the audience and this listener, well-earned applause. “20th Century Myth” finds Hamid Drake solo, searching for other worlds on his drum kit. He is a real adventurer, taking us all around the world musically. Free phrases intertwine with tribal rhythm and world music. After 5 minutes, he settles and is joined by a gentle Vandermark, and supported by a deep bowing Kessler. The track continues into a pulsating rhythm initiated by Vandermark and collectively develops and fades into a deeply wailing free blues. “Uncontrolled Writer” finds Vandermark on clarinet squealing through high registers, overtones and harmonics before settling with gentle cymbals and plucked strings. Vandermark quickly switches back to saxophone and is propelled into a groove by Drake’s brushwork that is – all too – briefly interrupted for a nice pizzicato solo on double bass by Kessler. The trio joins forces and finishes off the set with a catchy climax, answered with loud cheers and applause by the audience. This is a really tight record by masters of free music that have been all over the scene for the past 25 years. Highly recommended. You should own the record, if only for the second track. - Martin Sekelsky (Free Jazz Blog) "

Dave Rempis Solo

2017

"Getting beyond the sublime Strayhorn opener, the recording opens up to some brilliant possibilities. "Linger Longer" is a Philip Glass-like workout of circular breathing. The bookend cover of Eric Dolphy's "Serene" allows Rempis to unpack his suitcase, one that travels from Coleman Hawkins to Ornette Coleman. -Mark Corroto, All About Jazz"

Anne-James Chaton & Andy Moor

2009

"Moor has a beautiful sound and his playing is very to the point. He paints fantastic abstract musical textures that go very well together with the voicework by Chaton. In a piece like Frequencies with extreme manipulations, it becomes hard to distinguish who is doing what. A very satisfying work of conceptual art. —Vital Weekly"

Joe McPhee Quartet

1996

"The current forms are transmuted, offering glimpses of the newer tonal frontiers he has encountered, but the sonorities aside, the feeling of the music remains, with a similar emphasis placed on timbres that highlight rather than consume either a melodic line or an improvisation. -Thom Jurek, All Music"

Ken Vandermark & Paal Nilssen-Love

2012

"Vandermark and Nilssen-Love make a mighty team: both musicians are incredibly fast and facile, and they're equally comfortable whether they're exploring chaos or silence. It's a pleasure to witness such strong musical intelligence at work and play, and altogether Letter to a Stranger is a treat, a powerful CD full of courageous and inventive music. -Florence Wetzel"

Paal Nilssen-Love & Peter Brötzmann

2017

"This album is one long spontaneous improvisation, and the musicians are able to flex the sense of time and space, with Brotzmann moving through the gamut of instruments he uses which provides a wider range of hues and textures for their performance and the drummer meets him every step of the way, and it is the interaction that they develop that is the most special part of the music, and the two men are egoless in placing the music before themselves and develop a startling and vibrant performance."

Tim Daisy & Ikue Mori

2021

"Light and Shade is the latest release by Chicago based composer and percussionist Tim Daisy. A selection of material recorded on various instruments reconstructed, reimagined, and remixed by NYC based electronic musician Ikue Mori. A remote collaboration shaped during a unique moment in time."

Joe Morris / Ken Vandermark / Hans Poppel

1998

"This record finds Joe Morris with Ken Vandermark, who played clarinet and bass clarinet, and German pianist Hans Poppel. It was recorded in 1996 and released on the Knitting Factory label. Produced by Joe Morris."

Stone House

2003

"The entire record was freely improvised, and the relatively lengthy pieces (averaging ten minutes apiece) do not compromise at any level. You wouldn't want to play this as background music, unless you're uncannily adept at multitasking."

Hoxha

2005

"Curiously, when timbre follows texture during these fully-rounded performances on Hoxha, Rutherford’s slide work and use of mutes at points takes on a gutbucket, traditional jazz coloration, not too distant from the solos of his older contemporary Free Jazzer Roswell Rudd. Trad Jazz was popular in the United Kingdom when Rutherford was coming up and while he, unlike Rudd, was likely never a recorded Dixielander, the fearless technique and casual joy of those older bonemen could influence anyone, even if by osmosis."

DKV Trio

1997

Perch Hen Brock & Rain

2017

"Relative Pitch Records ‎– RPR1051, Wig ‎– 26 Recorded November 2, 2014 at Tampere Jazz Happening, Finland. Produced in collaboration with Wig Records. credits released April 27, 2017 "

Lean Left

2014

"In two sets, Lean Left is creating a non stop celebration of instant music with blissful grins and playful energy, rattling and shaking at right angles with one furious swing after the next."

GUSH

1996

FME

2002