★Not Two Records
One Foot In The Air
Critical Mass is the second album from the unique duo of Chicago reedist Mars Williams and percussionist Vasco Trilla, following his album SPIRACLE which received excellent reviews in the international press. In his second album the duo use their technical skills to pivot reflective and meditative playing around exuberant free jazz spirit, maintaining a sense of journey and sonic introspection through unusual and extended techniques; a beautifully balanced music experience.
Critical Mass
Critical Mass is the second album from the unique duo of Chicago reedist Mars Williams and percussionist Vasco Trilla, following his album SPIRACLE which received excellent reviews in the international press. In his second album the duo use their technical skills to pivot reflective and meditative playing around exuberant free jazz spirit, maintaining a sense of journey and sonic introspection through unusual and extended techniques; a beautifully balanced music experience.
Dances With Questions
The working trio of New York trumpeter & saxophonist Joe McPhee, London double bassist John Edwards, and German drummer Klaus Kugel, actively touring through Europe since 2017, are heard live at Alchemia in Krakow, Poland in 2018, for four monumental examples of free improvisation in superlative playing with intense rhythmic interaction and deeply expressive soloing.
Kraków 2018
Not Two Records proudly present a 5 CD boxset by different constellations led by Barry Guy; recorded in Krakow in 2018 .
The Steps That Resonate
Uniquely orchestrated with all three members bringing a trove of objects & percussion, the trio of Martin Küchen on saxophones, Agustí Fernández on piano and Zlatko Kaučič on drums are heard in this two-part live concert at BUMF festival in Smartno, Slovenia, for a superb example of intent listening and use of space around confident, stunningly creative & virtuosic playing.
Live @ VisionFest. 20
Dedicated to the memory of reed & wind players Perry Robinson and Mark Whitecage, both of whom have passed since they took part in this tremendous 2015 live recording recorded at the 20th VisionFest in NYC, in a quartet with bassist Ken Filiano and drummer Lou Grassi for three collective free jazz, particularly the extended first improvisation dedicated to late trumpeter Roy Campbell.
Existential Moments
The 3rd album from the touring trio of Joe McPhee on trumpet & tenor sax, John Edwards on double bass and Klaus Kugel on drums, following their previous NotTwo releases A Night In Alchemia and Journey To Parazzar, here captured live at FreeJazzSaar 2019, in Saarbrucken, Germany for a boisterously exciting set of three collective improvisations, including a tip of the hat to Charles Gayle.
Renual
Not Two presents the latest recording by The Nu Band: Thomas Heberer - trumpet, Kenny Wessel - guitar, Joe Fonda - bass, Lou Grassi - drums & percussion. May 16, 2022, at Tedesco Studios, Paramus, NJ
In Memory of Mark Whitecage / The Nu Band Live at the Bopshop
A tribute to NY reedist & wind player Mark Whitecage, who passed away in March 2021, in a concert at Rochester's BopShop in 2018 by the band he is probably best known for: Nu Band, with trumpeter Thomas Heberer taking Roy Campbell's original seat, plus Lou Grassi on drums and Joe Fonda on bass, a great concert blending modern creative jazz with passionate playing and a bit of hard bop.
Correspondence With No Words
*In process of stocking* Barcelona pianist Agustí Fernández and Polish bass guitarist Rafał Mazur correspond through solo tracks recorded in their respective studios, each missive an unusual and impressive free improvisation using extended techniques, inside playing and inexplicable exclamation, in a five-part exchange where each message is alternately addressed "Dear Agusti" and "Dear Rafał".
Chrysopoeia
*In process of stocking* "Ballister is a transatlantic powerhouse. This free-wheeling trio first came together at a closed session in 2009, and as any fan of improvised music can imagine, the band hit hard from the first note and hasn't looked back since. The unabashed energy of Rempis and PNL, coupled with the electrified cello antics of Lonberg-Holm, make for a powerful listening experience that combines driving grooves with noisy textures and occasional melodic interjections. These sliding an…
What Is...?
The first Wandering The Sound album in 2018 was the trio of Argentinian reedist Guillermo Gregorio, Spanish drummer Ramón López and Polish bassist Rafał Mazur, here extended to a quintet with pianist Satoko Fujii and trumpeter Natsuki Tamura for a 2019 concert at Alchemia in Poland, a masterful example of free improv based on a poem by Ikkyu Sojun, a Zen master from the 15th century.
At the Fields Edge
Taking its album title and the titles for three compositions from poems by Laura Winter, the German jazz quartet led by clarinetist Theo Jörgensmann with Christopher Dell on vibes, Christian Ramond on double bass and Klaus Kugel on drums present an advanced example of modern creative, chamber-oriented collective free jazz with a stunning level of communication.
Dream Disobedience
** 2021 Stock ** Austrian pianist Elisabeth Harnik seems to thrive in duo settings. Michael Zerang, a Chicago-based drummer, is with her on Dream Disobedience, a live recording made at Ljubljana, Slovenia in 2019. The conversation, unabated for 35 minutes, is rather subdued, Harnik usually initiating each new topic, alternating traditional approaches with more unusual in-the-box techniques while Zerang eschews straight timekeeping for a more reactive role, adding the musical equivalents of ‘Hmm!…
Stone Jump
** 2021 Stock ** Not Two presents Stone Jump by Michael Marcus. Denton Darien – piano, John Austria – Fender Rhodes piano, Tyler Mitchell – acoustic bass, Warren Smith – drums & percussion, Lawrence Feldman – alto flute, Michael Marcus – soprano sax.
Voila la Tendresse
** 2021 Stock ** Pianist Carlo Morena leads this lyrical and energetic piano trio with bassist Joe Fonda and drummer Félix Lecaros Herrera, performing 6 Morena compositions and one piece by Emil Boyd, recording at the Firehouse 12 studio in Connecticut for the 3rd album under the Step In name, and the first with drummer Herrera; upbeat but never cloying, a very compelling album.
Spiracle
** 2021 Stock ** A truly unique duo album of sax and drums from Chicago reedist Mars Williams and Spanish percussionist Vasco Trilla, using their immense technical skills to pivot reflective and meditative playing around exuberant free jazz spirit, maintaining a sense of journey and sonic introspection through unusual and extended technique; a beautifully balanced album. "Both American reedman Mars Williams and Spanish percussionist Vasco Trilla show themselves well grounded in the duet configur…
The Center Will Hold
** 2021 Stock ** "Not to burden trombonist Steve Swell with titanic comparisons, but it is safe to say that he is a logical heir to the worldly, cutting-edge personship of Roswell Rudd. Swell studied under Rudd and also with masters Jimmy Knepper and Grachan Moncur III (like Rudd, an associate of Archie Shepp in the '60s). Swell possesses a hearty, rippling, vibrant, somewhat vocalized tone, one of the most distinctive around, and like Rudd, is strongly rooted in the past with an eye on the oute…
Prism
The tenth Conference Call album and the first with drummer Dieter Ulrich taking over for former drummers Matt Wilson, Han Bennink, George Schuller and Gerry Hemingway, the 20 years journey for this transatlantic band leading to this album captured in the studio in Central NY while on tour, performing 3 original compositions from Ullman, 2 from Fonda, and 2 from Stevens.
"The gift of playing music together with the same people over 20 years is priceless. A long-standing musical ensemble becomes a…
KIO At Cricoteka
Recorded on September 25th 2018. The Krakow Improvisers Orchestra is a creative space for the collaboration of improvising musicians with backgrounds in free jazz, classical, and experimental music. Founded by Paulina Owczarek, the Orchestra was inspired by ensembles like the London Improvisers Orchestra, John Zorn’s Cobra, Phil Minton’s Feral Choir, and the Discordian Community Orchestra. Paulina Owczarek (saxophones) Ernest Ogórek (double bass) Adam Nyk (voice, electronics) Sebastian Mac (el…