Digital

Tim Daisy

2018

"One suspects that Daisy sees the composer’s task as very close that that of a good drummer — to set up opportunities for other people to sound good and to keep the music moving. He hands the other two guests, alto saxophonist Nick Mazzarella and guitarist Steve Marquette, material that brings out their respective bests. Taking the point a bit further, Daisy seems to be spending this phase of his career listening closely to what Chicago has to offer and reflecting the best parts for others to hear. —Bill Meyer, Dusted Magazine"

Joe McPhee & Jerome Bourdellon

2016

"Joe McPhee has pursued an itinerant improvisers’ path since the mid-1960s; Octoblue is another of his significant discs for several reasons. Not only is McPhee’s versatility matched by France’s Jérôme Bourdellon, who plays C, bass and contrabass flutes, piccolo and bass clarinet, but McPhee’s expressiveness on clarinet and pocket trumpet is extended to toy piano, singing and bubbling water(!). -Ken Waxman, The Whole note"

McPhee / Rempis / Reid / Lopez / Nilssen-Love

2020

"A must-own for fans of these musicians – a telling insight into the give and take of five individuals asserting themselves as forces to be reckoned with, while never losing sight of their collective mission. A genuine understanding of how to be responsible to and for one another."

David Grubbs / Mats Gustafsson

2002

"Their second duo recording, the follow-up to 1999's Apertura. Off-Road finds the two of them forsaking their earlier, glacially meditative m.o. for a shower of digitally recomposed slivers, the metal-on-metal timbre of a saxophone equipped with contact mics, Grubbs's chiming electric guitar, and Gustafsson's pro rhythm analog synthesizer clipped to the bell of his horn."

Jaap Blonk / Bart van der Putten / Paul Pallesen

2003

"Double CD with eight longer pieces, with meticulous trio improvisations."

Jeb Bishop & Tim Daisy

2012

"Daisy and Bishop eschew the groove-oriented nature of some of their larger groups, namely The Engines and Vandermark 5. Old Shoulders is heavy on smart and playful extended investigations of textures and tones, of atmosphere and mood more than rhythm, aggression or melody. —Patrick Wall, freeTimes"

Brandon Lopez

2019

"Unbridled, unyielding fury is what matters here; and there is more than enough of it to satisfy even the most demanding free-music enthusiasts." - Troy Dostert, All About Jazz"

Trio X

2001

"With the caliber of musicians comprising the trio, it is not surprising that there is a consistently high quality to these unusual interpretations, which, for the most part, merely hint at recognizable melodies. For example, "Monkin' Around" skirts around "Blue Monk" without totally absorbing it, while "My Funny Valentine" just touches on the melody. - Steve Loewy, AllMusic"

Günter Christmann / Mats Gustafsson

1997

"this is music that challenges as it subverts, its highly esoteric, yet disarmingly attractive lines an attractive hook. Highly ambitious, subtly exciting, and always formidable, Christmann and Gustafsson make a delightfully revolutionary pair. Not easy listening, but rewarding listening, and continuously challenging listening, these guys shake the heavens with heartfelt cries of mercy. There are no liner notes but what could be said? Powerful stuff, but you have to look below the surface."

Vandermark / Drake / Trovalusci / Ceccarelli

2020

""Open Border is a beautiful, truly collaborative project between Ken Vandermark on reed instruments, Luigi Ceccarelli on electronics, Hamid Drake on drums and Gianni Trovalusci on flutes... Interplay between Drake and Vandermark stellar as always, as is the light and fluid section for flute and electronic sound, and graceful spoken vocalization leading everyone to come together for a elegant and memorable conclusion. This was a unique and very enjoyable album, taking three stellar instrumentalists and adding Ceccarelli to create electronic sound and process the other band members playing in real time to create a vibrant and rich performance that continuously moves in dynamic and spontaneous ways." -Tim Niland, Music and More, April 4, 2020"

Anders Jormin / Christian Jormin / Mats Gustafsson

1996

"Recorded at Bohus Sound Recording May 1996 and mixed at Orca Musicproduktion June 1996 it follows the encounter of Mats Gustafsson with Anders and Christian Jormin."

Powerhouse Sound

2007

"Vandermark conceived Powerhouse Sound in the summer of 2005 to explore composition focusing on the bass, rather than writing from the proverbial "top down." Inspired by the rhythms of James Brown, the dub experiments of Lee Perry, and the textural collages of Public Enemy, Vandermark arrived at a concept more funky, electronic and rockin' than anything he's done before."

ADA

2013

"The quartet plays four untitled pieces, each of around ten minutes, and on the whole, it’s high-octane stuff. -Collin Green, Free Jazz Blog"

ADA

2013

"On occasions, what we have is Brötzmann and Lonberg-Holm in the one corner, and a wave of percussion in the other; sometimes Lonberg-Holm supports the barrage with low regular throbs; sometimes he’s pitted against it. The result is two unnamed pieces, the first lasting almost forty minutes - epic in its emotional span – and a short coda of some five minutes. -Collin Green, Free Jazz Blog"

Otomo Yoshihide & Paal Nilssen-Love

2014

Fred Lonberg-Holm & Peter Brötzmann

2018

""What makes this record such a delight is the synergy between these two remarkable talents. They speak the same language, even if following along requires a dictionary." - Kevin Press, The Moderns"

Powerhouse Sound

2010

Double Tandem

2012

"Double Tandem has build up music whose real expression lies below the surface. It injects an unsettling sleaziness into a funny, occasionally wild and boastful collection of tracks that walk the line between postmodernism and sincerity. The tracks are all living, breathing entities, not blank slates to project my plain ideas and desires of how to review music on. This is music about honesty and truthfulness."

Mats Gustafsson

2020

"All funds from the sales of Padova Solo will be donated to the Chicago Women's Health Center (www.chicagowomenshealthcenter.org) an organization that Mats has suggested. The CWHC "facilitates the empowerment of women, trans people, and young people by providing access to health care and health education in a respectful environment where people pay what they can afford. Each year, over 6,000 women, trans people, and young people access health services through CWHC. CWHC provides care and services that people in Chicago need, but often cannot find anywhere else. Since we opened our doors in 1975, CWHC’s programs have been shaped by our clients’ and students’ needs for accessible, comprehensive health care and health education.""

XT

2016

"A fascinating document, full of surprises, of a live performance by Paul Abbott (drum kits, percussion, computer) and Seymour Wright (alto saxophone, feedback) recorded at Café Oto in London in November of 2015. -Brian Olewnick, The Squid Ear"