Digital

Ig Henneman

2020

"[...] Ig Henneman has discovered a third route, a fusion of the Lied's finesse with the straightforwardness of a jam session. Her Solo Songs for bassoon, bass clarinet, violin, viola and cello trace a semi-improvised road towards song, starting from an instrument. The musician plays, and plays on, till a tipping point is reached where text presents itself as an answer to the questions uttered by the notes as they were groping, searching, dancing, growling, whining. At this point, replete with climactic musical energy, the musician starts to sing, pressed by an urgency too strong for the voice to withhold: it must speak out. It is the turning point. The words of Ingeborg Bachmann, Anneke Brassinga, Emily Dickinson, Sarah Lawson and Nanao Sakaki provide first aid, in magical ambiguity. [...]. —Bas van Putten"

André Jaume Five

1990

Joe McPhee & Paal Nilssen-Love

2019

"In the introduction to the concert McPhee made the announcement that tonight’s performance would be in honour to the memory of one the great giants of free music [Sunny Murray]. True to Murray’s spirit this didn’t meaning playing a night of cover tunes, but creating new sounds and pushing the music into the future."

Ab Baars Trio

2001

Jaap Blonk

2014

"Blonk's commanding vocals are highly expressive, convincing in its inventive phrasing and committed delivery of the experience of sleepless nights, including the occasional nightmares, but with an eccentric-dadaist, dark sense of humor. . . . Blonk, surprisingly enough, succeeded in creating a coherent album out of these disturbing songs. All offer enough lively vocal adventures to keep the listener alert and regrettably, awake despite the insomnia. (All About Jazz)"

Joe McPhee

2013

"The album was recorded at Cankarjew Dom, a concert hall in Ljubljana/Slovenia in 2012. It is one of the most fabulous recent solo recordings and we highly recommend it, because being Joe McPhee is most of all being pure joy for all the listeners. -Janus And Karl, Free Jazz Blog"

The Margots

2014

Michiyo Yagi / Joe McPhee / Lasse Marhaug / Paal Nilssen-Love

2015

"Yagi, Marhaug and Nilssen-Love are joined by Joe McPhee, that confirms once again to be one of today’s great masters of creative music, still pushing the envelope after almost fifty years of glorious career... A true ensemble effort, this record keeps a cohesive approach and tight interplay throughout, revealing at each turn new shades of creativity and a treasure trove of unusual timbres and eccentric ideas. Highly recommended (Nicola Negri, The Free Jazz Collective)"

Sound American

2017

"This first volume features writing by and about Rick Moody, Ben Hall, Nate Wooley, Shinkoyo Collective, League of Automatic Music Composers, Women in Electronic Music, TECHNE, John King, John Cage’s Number Pieces and SongBooks, The BSC, Joan LaBarbara and more."

DKV Trio

2014

Wolter Wierbos / Jasper Stadhouders / Tim Daisy

2016

"An album worth repeated listens, this will be spun on my commute for days to come while keeping me dreaming of this secret garden and the sounds that it makes over the concrete i’ll be driving on. Closing statement, turn of the key, I’ve arrived. —Phillip Coombs, Free Jazz Blog"

Cato Salsa Experience And The Thing With Joe McPhee

2005

"Metallic guitar chords and pounding drums pierce your ears with the answer as the octet open up with a cover P. J. Harvey's "Who The Fuck". You hear the wailing saxophones of The Thing's Mats Gustafsson, along with McPhee hovering over the screaming guitars, and you look for shelter."

Rempis/Johnston/Ochs

2014

"They play with spontaneous sonic searches, exploring their instruments' timbres, colors and shifting dynamics with commanding reserve and respectful interplay. -Eyal Hareuveni, All About Jazz"

Braaxtaal

1997

"Working with his BRAXTAAL group, Blonk combines wit with sputters, twists, and loose social commentary to demonstrate his extraordinary ability to mold the human voice into often unrecognizable forms. Vocalizing in English (and other tongues, some nonsensical), this recording is not easy listening. In fact, it may disrupt and even annoy with its unique vocabulary of noise/sound. Nonetheless, there is much here to savor, and Blonk's utterly unique style and marvelous technique are quite astonishing. Performances by Blonk are not for the squeamish (he has been known to simulate the sounds of bodily functions), and this one is no exception. But for those open to something entirely different that is challenging as well as entertaining, though sometimes upsetting, a fling with Jaap Blonk might do the trick. Especially gripping are his renditions of the entertaining "Speechlos," and the prescient "Rational," and the provocative "As I Was Saying.""

Mats Gustafsson & Paal Nilssen-Love

2007

""Splatter" is very much a percussion-driven record, with short bursts of sounds and rapid-fire interactions. The music is intense in the sense that it is not a violent blowing session, but you have the impression that most of the music is not getting out of their instruments, but stuck somewhere between mind and reality. -Free Jazz Blog"

Jaap Blonk

1993

"The first CD on the Kontrans label released February 11, 1993."

Ken Vandermark & Terrie Hessels

2016

Decoy with Joe McPhee

2013

"McPhee allows the trio space to stretch out and they reciprocate by diligently seeking ways to set off his pocket trumpet and saxophone to best advantage. In spite of the generational differences all four are accomplished breakers of new ground. -John Sharpe, All About Jazz"

Paal Nilssen-Love & Masahiko Satoh

2014

Ab Baars Trio

1995

"the deft and creative musicianship here creates a very sophisticated type of conversation, indulging the full range of musical emotion. Recommended. -Thom Jurek, All Music"