‘Spontaneous folk music’ accurately speaks to the unpretentious nature of the music that Eri Yamamoto, Chad Fowler, William Parker and Steve Hirsh made.

Mind-altering music is usually about textures; Jaimie Branch and Jason Nazary do that part well while also bringing their improvising gifts to the table.

Brandon Seabrook never undertakes paths chosen by others, but rarely has he had such willing and able partners in crime to carry out his scintillating eccentricities as Gerald Clever and Cooper-Moore.

With ‘Oddly Enough,’ Gordon Grdina’s own stringed-based expedition into the works of one of current jazz’s most esoteric composers sheds yet more light on the character, shape and genius contained in these scores.

‘KRAFT’ is the stimulating debut release by Baltimore-area improvisation specialists Mike Kuhl, Dave Ballou, John Dierker and Luke Stewart.

Ceramic Dog’s long-term mission of ridiculously good musicians not taking themselves too seriously remains on point. ‘Hope’ is a deliriously fun listen.

Matt Mitchell and Kate Gentile’s “for teens,” “spinal thought” and “peripheral drome” are spare conceptions with rich detail filled in on the fly from the assembled collection of improvisation masters.

Saxophonist Mars Williams joins Ross Boissoneau to discuss career-changing work by Roscoe Mitchell, Talking Heads and Albert Ayler.

Wherever Thollem travels during an Astral Traveling Sessions jaunt like the ones he made with Alex Cline and Susan Alcorn, it’s a journey into the vast unknown areas of music that few dare to venture. But Thollem, he lives there.

This is obviously not music for all tastes but if you know about Fred Frith and Ikue Mori, then you know how good they are at making noise; for ‘A Mountain Doesn’t Know It’s Tall’ they make beautiful noise together.