One of the most ambitious sets we've heard from Nicole Mitchell – a really unique mixing of modes that features a core Chicago group coming into play with the Arche New Music Ensemble! The initial group features Nicole on flute, vocals, and electronics – with Mwata Boden on baritone and bass clarinet, David Boykin on tenor, and Renee Baker on violin – all set against the larger backdrop of Arche – which features eleven musicians led by Rafal Zapala on electronics and percussion, on piano, trumpet, cello, viola, clarinet, trombone, oboe, and more! Mitchell's still at the heart of the performance – as the tracks are all her own compositions, and she conducts the proceedings as well – with this wonderful mode that's almost a blend of AACM energy with some of the more orchestrated improvisations of the European scene. The bulk of the record features the long "Arc Of O" piece – followed by a smoking rendition of Mitchell's great "Afrika Rising", a much more freewheeling and spiritual number! CD

A brilliant pairing of two generations of the AACM – as Roscoe Mitchell writes and conducts, and the group's led by Nicole Mitchell – and features a great assortment of very creative musicians! The blend of talents is key to the strength of the set – as the record avoids some of the coldness that you might find in some of Mitchell's other recent compositions – and really brings in the kind of warmth and humanity we've always loved in Nicole's recordings! In addition to Nicole Mitchell on flute, the set also features work by David Boykin on tenor, Josh Abrams on bass, Maia on harp, Tomeka Reid on cello, Greg Ward on alto, Robert Griffin on trumpet, Myra Melford on piano, and Mankwe Ndosi on voice – on titles that include "Quintet 1 For Eleven", "Cards For Orchestra", and "Quintet 9 For Eleven". CD

Stunning combinations of sound – Tomeka Reid on cello and Joe Morris on guitar – each sounding especially wonderful here in the company of each other! It may be our ears, but there seems to be a really special sort of warmth going on here – as Morris drops a bit of his sharper tones to resonate more strongly with the cello – and Reid is maybe more open and human in sound than in some other settings – something a bit hard to explain, but which really comes through in the sound! There's a sensitivity to the performance of both players that's wonderful – especially on some of Tomeka's bowed passages – and titles include "Chicago", "Percussive Play", "Parallax Suite", "Together Yet Always Apart", "New York", "In The Mid Ground", and a nice take on the Billy Bang tune "Rainbow Gladiator". CD

The Indigo Trio – flautist Nicole Mitchell, double bassist and pianist Harrison Bankhead and drummer Hamid Drake – accompanied by fellow flautist Michel Edelin on this Rogue Art set! Ethiopian Princess Meets The Tantric Priest may be at its core a prime pairing of 2 of the most creative flute players on the planet, but the other players have ample space to do their thing – lots of it! 2 brilliantly communicative, yet distinct flutes, supported and matched by Bankhead and Drake masterfully. Half of the set is credited as Nicole Mitchell compositions: 'Top Secret", "Inside The Earth", "Wind Current" and "Ambre Sunset" – plus Edelin's "Derives" and "Call Back", Bankhead's "Return Of The Sun" and the stellar title piece, credited to the group. CD

An amazing tribute to the music of Peter Kowald – the bassist whose work did a lot to transform the sound of avant jazz on both sides of the Atlantic during the past few decades! The package features a CD and 2DVDs – the latter of which each feature films shot during Kowald's 2000 tour of the US – both mixing live performance with interview material and footage from the trips. Off The Road is the first DVD – and features material from a few locations – and Chicago Improvisations is the second, and features work from the Windy City, with appearances by Ken Vandermark and Fred Anderson. The music on the CD is a great testament to Kowald's mighty powers on the bass – and features him playing in a variety of settings – working with players who include William Parker on bass, Kidd Jordan on tenor, George Lewis on trombone, Eddie Gale on trumpet, and Hamid Drake on drums. A really wonderful package – and well worth the price! CD

An incredible feather in the already-large hat of Rob Mazurek – work that more than lives up to some of his boldest visions on previous recordings, but does so in a completely new direction! The album features a set of larger-form compositions all put together by Rob – in ways that show a remarkable ear for mature colors and concepts – handled by players who are both from the third coast of the Chicago scene, and from Brest in France – where all the music here came together! Even if you already know and love Mazurek's other music, there's something very different and special here – as Rob's cornet and direction shape the sound of a lineup that features incredible performances from Nicole Mitchell on flutes, Christiphe Rocher on clarinets, Jeff Parker on guitar, Lou Malozzi on electronics, Steve Berry on trombone, Christofer Bjurstrom on piano, Philippe Champion on trumpet, Tomeka Reid on cello, Nicolas Peoc'H on alto and soprano sax, Irvin Pierce on tenor, and Avreeayl Ra on drums. There's also some beautiful texts penned by Alexandre Pierrepont and background voice from Yannick Leblay – and while the idea of such trans-Atlantic avant jazz collaboration is nothing new, there's a very special, very unique quality to this set – almost as if the players had been working together for many years to realize Rob's vision. Titles include "Under The Hearts Snow", "The Game Circle", "Wild Gale", "On The Trapeze Of Minds Ferns", "Cobalt Of Chance", "This Is The Atoll", and "Drinkable Gold With Shadows' Liquor". CD

A very hip trio, one that features three of the greatest female improvisers of the past 30 years – Joelle Leandre on bass, Myra Melford on piano, and Nicole Mitchell on flute, alto flute, and piccolo! CD

Tremendous work from Joshua Abrams – a set that's very different than some of his other work in recent years, but every bit as great! The set's got a lean group – Abrams on bass, Jeff Parker on guitar, Gerald Cleaver on drums, and the great Ari Brown on tenor – of Awakening fame – a group that delivers a more stripped-down version of some of Josh's more spiritual ideals – but in ways that also touch base with more conventional jazz expression! Make no mistake, there's nothing conventional about this set – the approach is very unique, and very striking – and the presence of the younger musicians really sets Ari Brown on fire, and reminds us of what a great soloist he can be when he's pushed to his limits. Titles include "Collapsing Novelty", "Duke Hill", "Echo Tracer", "In Place Of Memory", and "Coniunctio". CD

Really righteous work from the Chicago scene – a very hip album that features some especially nice guest work on flute from Nicole Mitchell! The group is headed up by percussionist Hamid Drake, who really sounds great here – almost more relaxed and organic in his handling of drums and tablas than on other records – really settling into a sound that recalls the glory days of the earlier AACM scene. Other players are well-matched for this vibe – and include Ernest Dawkins on tenor and alto, Daniel Carter on saxes and clarinet, Sabir Mateen on saxes and bass clarinet, and Greg Ward on alto and clarinet – all players whose reeds work together beautifully, with tight formations at some points, and much freer solo sounds at others. Titles include "Bindu #2 For Baba Fred Anderson", "Remembering Rituals", "Born Upon A Lotus", "Bindu #1 For Ed Blackwell", and "Do Khyentse's Journey 139 Years & More". CD

A very cool group headed by percussionist Hamid Drake – one that features some deeply soulful work from the contemporary Chicago underground! There's a more righteous feel to the set than some of Drake's other recordings – a quality that stretches back to the Chicago scene of the 70s, with complex interplay between a range of different sounds and spirits – performed by a lineup that includes Joe Morris on guitar and banjo, Jeff Parker on guitar, William Parker and Josh Abrams on basses and percussion, and Dee Alexander on vocals – adding in some surprising wonderful elements to the record! Alexander's vocals almost remind us of some of Dee Dee Bridgewater's more outside expressions from her earliest years in the 70s – a very soulful fit for the group, and one that moves it past the usual improvisational combo. Titles include "The Beautiful Name", "There Is Nothing Left But You", "My Blissful Mother", "Visions Of Ma", "Supreme Lady Victorious In Battle", and "Playful Dance At Soma". CD

Two different duets between reedman Sylvain Kassap and percussionist Hamid Drake – one live, one studio – recorded six years apart, but sounding wonderful together in this double-length package! The first section is live – and features some very long, open improvisations – with Kassap on a range of clarinets, mostly in the bass range, plus chalumeau as well – as Drake opens up his drum kit with that special sort of magic that's made him a key percussionist in the legacy of rhythm-free drummers like Andrew Cyrille or Pierre Favre. The studio tracks are shorter, but no less beautiful – and have a way of conveying a lot with just a little, thanks especially to some surprisingly soulful expressions by Kassap. Titles include "Sharp Bend", "Wood Splinters", "Mutual Respect", "Black Walnuts", "Heavy Traffic", "Of Course", and "Sharp Light". CD

A beautifully earthy performance – and a set that not only has the three members of the trio on their trademark instruments, but also picking up a wide range of other elements too! Joe Morris is perhaps the most striking here – as in addition to guitar, he also uses banjo, fiddle, bass, banjouke, pocket trumpet, and even a bit of whistles – a sonic sense of variety that's matched by Parker's use of shakuhachi, sintir, n'goni, and thumb piano – all instruments that he plays with the same deeply spiritual currents of his work on bass! Hamid Drake sticks mostly to percussion – a range of drums, cymbals, and gongs – but overall, his performance feels as open and organic as the others – far beyond both standard and free jazz, into a mode that almost works in some ethnographic currents as well. The whole record's as poetic as the title – and tracks include "Profound Branches", "The Sky Was Purple Blue", "Energy Of Patience", "The Rhythm Of Butterflies", "Endless Galaxies", and "Grass Beneath The Cracked Shells". CD

The group name here hardly does the record justice – as the combo is a unique blend of bass and percussion – the former played by Harrison Bankhead and Benjamin Duboc, the latter by Hamid Drake and Ramon Lopez! The lineup is trans-Atlantic, but the sound is very personal – recorded at the end of a long tour of France, during which time the musicians clearly developed a kinship for each other – especially Bankhead and Duboc, whose work on basses is really beautiful – very subtle, but very complex too – and the percussion comes in with a very organic vibe. The double-length set also features some added bass from William Parker, plus trumpet from Jean-Luc Capozzo and alto from Lionel Garcin – but these players only contribute briefly, and the core energy comes from the quartet on most numbers. Titles include "Electric Network", "Rotor/Sator", "Compression/Depression", "Natural Energy", and "Free Power". CD

Music from the Wild Sound Unlimited, Vinnie Zen & the Rogues, Padded Cell, the Dinos, the Jay Walkers, the Leaders, the US Stamps, the Buckinghams, Our Brothers Keepers, Larry Henley, Steve Alaimo and more. CD