Free improvisation lives in infamy as often as it basks in glory. Many people think it can be done by anyone, no skill or creativity needed. But, much like Jackson Pollock’s paintings, spontaneous composition requires not only technical dexterity but also the ability to listen to and complement the other participants’ work as you express yourself. Contrary to what some folks think, it’s not easy to do – unless the musicians are veterans of making this music. Cue this impromptu improvisational dream team, constructed of saxophonist Joshua Thomson (Atlas Maior), percussionist Lisa Cameron (ST 37, Suspirians), and bassist Ingebrigt Håker Flaten (the Young Mothers, Atomic, the Thing, (Exit) Knarr, etc.). Setting up in Mike Nicolai’s tiny record store, the trio made it up as they went. That doesn’t mean they simply blazed away – indeed, plenty of moments in these two unnamed tracks show some real subtlety, particularly when Håker Flaten picks up his bow and Cameron indulges her percussive elements outside of the kit. But even the aural hurricanes that hit the shore bespeak evidence that everyone hears what the others put down and responds accordingly. Uneasy listening, to be sure, but pure joy to hear art created out of thin air in real time.
This article appears in January 2 • 2026.
