Presentation One remark to evoke the way we will have been able to hear, throughout this programme, the great organ of Notre-Dame de Paris sound. At the time, it was known for an amazing, fecund, symbiotic existence with its organist, Pierre Cochereau, openly in love with his alter ego, well known for being able to make it speak like no one else. Yet it is unquestionably a ‘Guillou’ organ that proudly speaks in many aspects over the course of nearly 80 minutes, changed into a kaleidoscope of sound, unusual in many regards. Should we be surprised? Surely not, if we dare compare this being of 8,000 voices with the greatest symphony orchestras capable of transforming themselves instantly and against their traditions, to the sole ends of bending to the often contradictory aesthetic desires of the greatest conductors. It is even thereby that we recognise them: unlimited resources, a strong identity, yet capable of adaptation or metamorphosis but without denial.

Recorded live in Burghausen, Germany in 2007, Far Side features journeyman avant-garde saxophonist Roscoe Mitchell and his ensemble the Note Factory performing in a concert. Joining Mitchell here are trumpeter Corey Wilkes, pianists Craig Taborn and Vijay Iyer, bassists Jaribu Shahid and Harrison Bankhead, and drummers Tani Tabbal and Vincent Davis. Beginning with the epic three-part 30-minute suite "Far Side/Cards/Far Side," the concert is an atmospheric and cinematic mix of Mitchell's longstanding musical touchstones including free jazz, European classical music, and modern creative group improvisation. Tracks such as the fragmented and atonal "Quintet 2007 A for Eight" and the similarly inclined "Trio Four for Eight" have the feel of composed classical music while evincing a more freely improvised aesthetic. This is often achieved by juxtaposing bowed cello and bass parts against improvised piano and sections where each musician seems to interject a melodic idea into an overall harmonic theme. There are moments of layered percussion, expansive atonal soundscapes, and fiery and combative moments between Mitchell and Wilkes as well as windy, drawn-out passages that tilt upon silence. If you're a hardcore Mitchell aficionado and/or fan of ECM's cerebral jazz catalog, Far Side would be a stellar addition to your library.

Jean-Michel Pilc’s artistry comes from an expansive imagination and a fearless sensibility of musical exploration. He is self-taught as a piano player and composer. There is liberty that comes with that, an unobstructed view of the palette of music and harmony. On his latest solo release, Symphony, Pilc realizes that fearlessness and freedom completely.

There have been countless attempts to counteract the inherently boring nature of the CD as an artefact and the approach adopted by Feral shapes up better than some on the strength of this first release, which takes some excellent music by saxophonist Iain Ballamy (in the company of three young Norwegian musicians) and packages it with a set of intriguing print artworks by Dave McKean in an elegant library case. On the other hand, we may now be so accustomed to the blandness of the format that any attempt to escape it seems like a distraction. While debating this, it's important not to forget to play the disc, which is quite remarkable and a far cry from Ballamy's formative years in the sprawling bloke-jazz outfit Loose Tubes. Recorded live at the Molde Jazz Festival in 1998, it's astounding that this music seems to date from the very beginning of Ballamy's association with these musicians, given their obvious level of empathy.

OUA's 6th album collides a studio session of bass driven rhythms with a marathon free improvisation session - combined, sculpted and arranged into an ever morphing tapestry of new sounds from leftfield progressive music. Fans of Soft Machine, Magma, Pink Floyd, Henry Cow, Sun Ra will enjoy this too.

Performance (Quartet) 1979 is a live album by American composer and saxophonist Anthony Braxton recorded in Switzerland in 1979 and released on the hatART label. The album has also been issued as Performance 9/1/79 and Performance for Quartet.

Pianist Keith Jarrett suffered a massive stroke in February 2018, leaving him unable to play the piano. This date, recorded at Auditorium de l'Opéra National de Bordeaux on July 6, 2016, is his final French concert. It is the second release from his last European tour, following Munich 2016 (released in 2019) and The Budapest Concert (2020). All three showcase the improvising musician at a creative peak. The performance has been divided into 13 sections with natural breaks. "I" commences with an abrupt phrase that fades behind pedaled low notes. Jarrett is assertive, playing percussively distinct yet rapid single notes and shapes, while establishing a circular rhythm.

Michael Chapman is often cited as one of the unsung heroes of the British folk music community, but that tends to shortchange the eclecticism of his approach. While the melodic sense of British folk plays a large part in Chapman's music, one can also hear much of the "American Primitive" sound pioneered by John Fahey, and like Fahey in his later years, Chapman has a strong taste for experimental sounds, and all of these elements make themselves heard on The Polar Bear, the third in a series of free-form releases Chapman has recorded for Blast First Petite.

Bobby McFerrin is the debut album by Bobby McFerrin, released in 1982. Vocal virtuoso Bobby McFerrin ranks among the most distinctive and original singers in contemporary music – equally adept in jazz, pop, and classical settings, his octave-jumping trademark style, with its rhythmic inhalations and stop-on-a-dime shifts from falsetto to deep bass notes often sounds like the work of at least two or three singers at once, while at the same time sounding quite unlike anyone else.