Avant Music News Best of 2019: Part I – Honorable Mentions

Here we are again – the first part of our annual list of our favorite recordings for 2019. Today is for the honorable mentions. This is a very long list (even by our standards), but the releases herein are all very good and highly recommended. We reviewed a few of these and linked the reviews where they are available.

Tomorrow will cover our picks for albums of the year.

Like this list? Feel free to peruse previous years’ lists.

Honorable Mentions

*Todas Las Anteriores – Mis Ojos Arden en el Espacio Ciego
A Half With Tinnitus – A Half With Tinnitus
Abdelnour, Christine / Chris Corsano – Quand fond la neige, où va le blanc?
Ackerley, Jessica – A New Kind of Water
Adams, Alexander / Bob Bucko, Jr. / A.Cunningham – Every Way But What Came to Mind
Adams, John Luther – Become Desert
Adler, Brian Shankar – Fourth Dimension
Alcorn, Susan / Joe McPhee / Ken Vandermark – Invitation to a Dream
Alio Die / Lorenzo Montana – The Threshold of Beauty
Amado, Rodrigo / Chris Corsano – No Place to Fall
Arch / Matheos – Winter Ethereal
Ashtoreth – Rites I & II
Attic, The (Amado / Almeida / Govaert) – Summer Bummer
Bajeux, Renaud – Magnetic Voices from the Unseen
Bakker, Anne Chris – Stof&Geest
Barbiero, Daniel / Cristiano Bocci – Wooden Mirrors
Bardoseneticcube & Shinkiro – Beyond the Edge of the Universe
Barrett, Brad / Joe Morris / Tyshawn Sorey – Cowboy Transfiguration
Beger, Albert / Quartet – The Gate
Bertucci, Lea – Resonant Field
Bisio, Michael / Kirk Knuffke / Fred Lonberg-Holm – Requiem for a New York Slice
Bjärgö, Peter – Structures and Downfall
Bjarnadóttir, Hafdís & Passepartout Duo – A Northern Year
Black Earth – Gnarled Ritual of Self Annihilation
Bonaventure, Michael – In Tenebris Ratione Organi
Branch, Jaimie – FLY or DIE II: bird dogs of paradise
Braxton, Anthony / Tri-Centric Vocal Ensemble – GTM (Syntax) 2017 – Composition No. 192
Brotzmann / Schlippenbach / Bennink – Fifty Years Later
Buck, Tony & Massimo Pupillo – Time Being
CARL (Kamins / Smith / Durham) – Solid Bottom
Carvalhais, Miguel / Pedro Tudela – Re:Coimbra
Cinchel – A Ghost’s Hand Leads You Through the Darkness
Clavicvla – Sepulchral Blessing
Common Eider, King Eider – Égrégore
Corbacho, Max – Echo of Longing
Cosgrove, Jeff / Matthew Shipp / William Parker – Near Disaster
Crompton, Jon – Intuit
D’Orion, Erick & Guillaume Cliche – PUNT
Dahlia’s Tear – Across the Shifting Abyss
Daisy, Tim – October Music (Vol. 3) 7 Compositions for Duet
Dickey, Whit / Kirk Knuffke – Drone Dream
Dieu – Fore
Discepoli, Massimo – The Right Place on the Wrong Map
Dopolarians – Garden Party
Dresser, Mark / Seven – Ain’t Nothing But a Cyber Coup & You
Dunston, Nick – Atlantic Extraction
Eastmond, Sam – Gulgoleth
Edelin, Michel – Echoes of Henry Cow
Ekca Liena – Dark Liquid Ribbon
El Drugstore – The Golden Age of Bad Ideas
Emmeluth’s Amoeba, Signe – Chimaera
Endless Roar – Rush Hush
Eumourner – Trakl Trauma Tracks
Evans, Peter / Sam Pluta – Two Live Sets
Fang, Forrest – Ancient Machines
Fang, Forrest – The Fata Morgana Dream
Firstfights with Wolves – Bone Script
Gay, Ben Lamar – Confetti in the Sky Like Fireworks
Ghost Rhythms – Live at Yoshiwara
Go: Organic Orchestra & Brooklyn Raga Massive – Ragmala: A Garden of Ragas
Golia, Vinny / Steph Richards / Bert Turetzky – Trio Music
Gray, Devin / GPS Trio – Blast Beat Blues
Grdina, Gordon / Quartet – Cooper’s Park
Halley / Shipp / Bisio / Baker – Terra Incognita
Harmergeddon – Heat Lightning
Heart of the Ghost – Heart of the Ghost
Hermetic Brotherhood of Lux-Or – Sex and Dead Cities
HMMH – Fleur de Chaos
In Quantum – Memory 417
Inglizian, Alex / Tim Daisy – Looking Out
Kaiser, Henry / Pirog / Sipe / Silverman / West – Five Times Surprise
Kanasevich, Gleb – Asleep
Keszler, Eli – Empire
Kid Millions & Sarah Bernstein – Broken Fall
Kidambi, Amirtha / Lea Bertucci – Phase Eclipse
Kirchen, Charlie / Quartet – I’ve Fallen and I Can’t Get Up
Kirk, Jonathon / Matthew Golombisky – Fog from Bones
Kodian Trio (Andrew Lisle, C.Webster, D.Serries) – III
Krauss, Briggan – Art of the Saxophone: The Lethe Lounge Sessions
Kronos Quartet / Terry Riley – Sun Rings
KTL – 20190323 Big Ears@Mill and Mine, Knoxville, TN
Kyle Eyre Clyd (Kyle Kessler) – Eggshell
Le Rex – Escape of the Fire Ants
Led Bib – It’s Morning
Leininger, Dean – Unmoved, Unspoken
Levander, Erik – Inåt
Lichtenberger, Grischa – re: phgrp
Liebman, Dave / Adam Rudolph / Hamid Drake – Chi
Lundbom, Jon / Big Five Chord – Harder on the Outside
MacroQuarktet, The – The Complete Night: Live at the Stone NYC
Masonik – Stable / Destroyed
Matthies, Wilhelm / Reid Karris – Roots and Ripples
Mazur, Marilyn – Shamania
Mazurek, Rob – Desert Encrypts Vol. 1
Mazurek, Rob – Psychotropic Electric Eel Dreams IV
McCorry, Simon – Border Land
McPhee, Joe / John Butcher – At the Hill of James Magee
Memorymusic – Up
Metamatic Percussion Trio – 7 Situations
Millar, E – No Instrument Machine, Air
Mitchell, Roscoe / Orchestra – Littlefield Concert Hall Mills College
Motl, Kyle – In Search of a Certain Bird
Musson, Rachel / Pat Thomas / Mark Sanders – Shifa – Live at Cafe OTO
Muur – Bod
Mz.412 – Svartmyrkr
Nachoff, Quinsin / Flux – Path of Totality
Nent, The – Vulner
Neraterræ – The Substance of Perception
Newsome, Sam – Chaos Theory
Nordvargr – Daath
Novik, Aaron – The Fallow Curves
Oestergaards – Moloken
OGJB Quartet, The – Bamako
øjeRum – Without Blood the Sun Darkens
Oort Smog – Smeared Pulse Transfers
Orchestra Entropy – Ritual
Original Past Life – Inference / Interference
Otherworld Ensemble – Northern Fire
Page, Sarah – Dose Curves
Parias Ensemble – St. Marks Sessions
Parker, William / In Order To Survive – Live / Shapeshifter
Parkins, Zeena / Wobbly – Triplicate
Patton, Mike / Jean-Claude Vannier – Corpse Flower
Paul, Junius – Ism
Pavone, Jessica – In the Action
Pavone, Jessica / String Ensemble – Brick and Mortar
Pavone, Mario / Dialect Trio – Philosophy
PCP Trio – Internal / External / Broad / Focused
Perelman, Ivo – Ineffable Joy
Phillips, Dan / Quartet Next – Dutiful Dissent
Polyorchard – Black Mountain
Polyorchard – Sommiam
Quatuor Bozzini – Phill Niblock: Baobab
RAIC (Richmond Avant Improv Collective) – Lamentations
Ratchet Orchestra – Coco Swirl
Red Kite, The – The Red Kite
Reid, Tomeka / Filippo Monico – The Mouser
Rousay, Claire – a moment in st louis and a moment at the beach
Rowden, Zach / Jarrett Gilgore / Ian McColm – First Lapse
Sataray – Nocturnum
Satoh, Masahiko / Sabu Toyozumi – The Aiki
Saul, Dana – Ceiling
Scott, John (Stereocilia) – The Silence That Follows
Sewelson, Dave – More Music for a Free World
Sharp, Elliott / Alvaro Domene / Mike Caratti – Expressed by the Circumference
Shipp, Matthew / Trio – Signature
Shiroishi, Patrick – 烏の涙 (EP)
Shiroishi, Patrick / V.Golia, D.Fujioka, A.Cline – Borasisi
Sikora, Catherine – Warrior
Sileni – Long Forgotten Bowers
Sloth Racket – Dismantle Yourself
Snek Trio – Battement Développé
Soletti, Patrice / Guillaume Jankowski – Promethium
Sonologyst – Phantoms
St. Hugh, William – The Luciferian
Sun, Kevin – The Sustain of Memory
Sutekh Hexen – Sutekh Hexen
Swaminathan, Rajna – Of Agency and Abstraction
Tapage and Gareth Davis – States
Tasslemyer, Andrew – Surface Textures
Thompson, Daniel / Colin Webster – Boskage
Those Darn Gnomes – Calling Whitetails to a Tuned Bow
Tietchens, Asmus / Frans de Waard – Oordeel
Tjernberg, Daniel & Mikael Tjernberg – Selected Early Works
Trapper Keaper – Meets Tim Berne & Aurora Nealand
Trepaneringsritualen – ᛉᛦ – Algir; eller Algir i Merkstave
Trigger – Pull
Urok – Urok
Various Artists – A Poisonous Black & White Expanded
Various Artists – Anthology of Contemporary Music from Africa Continent
Various Artists – Drone Islands – Land Rising
Vigroux, Franck – Totem
Vinuesa, Juan / Jazz Quartet – Blue Shots from Chicago
Viviankrist – Morgenrøde
Weiss, Dan / Trio Plus 1 – Utica Box
Weißenfels, Simone / Pablo Díaz – Sound Flowers Live
Within Temptation – Resist
Zwitschermaschine – System for Us