I’ve intermittently published an “album round up,” but maybe that’s not the right thing to call these posts. A “round up” claims a comprehensiveness I can’t hope to achieve, so I’ll favor calling these posts “listenings,” a term I’m borrowing from Jason Weiss. It’s a bit of a diary of what’s caught my ear this month, and that I want to share with you.
As horrid as events in the world have been, January was a great start to the year in music. The first substantial release of the year was from Kris Davis, a collaboration with the Lutosławski Quartet which shows off Davis’s accomplished writing for strings. Inspired by the dire future of the planet due to climate change, few jazz albums have the conceptual heft of The Solastalgia Suite, or are executed so well. Another great January release was from cellist Christopher Hoffman, who also takes inspiration from nature, in his case from the exquisite North American bird prints of Rex Brasher. Hoffman’s solo cello was recorded during an a residency at Brasher’s home, and the resulting album REX shows off Hoffman’s terse writing and love of contrasts between acoustic and electronic approaches. Another thrill was to have a new album from bass clarinetist Marco Colonna, a live duet with guitarist Enzo Rocco recorded live in November 2025. That album, Il Fiore Blu, is a typically wonderful showcase for Colonna’s breathtaking virtuosity and endless ideas – I’m hoping 2026 will have more releases from this under appreciated master musician. And what’s a month without new albums from Pat Thomas? Thomas fans have two new epics to absorb – a fire breathing live quartet recorded at the Vortex club in April 2025 with with Caroline Kraabel, John Edwards and Steve Noble, and an almost 3 hour long release of electro acoustic music with XT (Seymour Wright and Paul Abbott). More Pat Thomas here very soon!
I plan of revisiting and writing about the music above, but right now I want to share the pleasure of catching up with bassist Ingebrigt Hak̊er Flaten and his record label, Sonic Transmissions Records. Hak̊er Flaten had been somebody that I saw on albums with Ken Vandermark, Mats Gustafson, Joe McPhee and many others, but am only now digging into his own albums and the activities of his remarkable label.
Per the labels’ Bandcamp page, Sonic Transmissions Records was born after the Pandemic, when Hak̊er Flaten relocated to his native Norway after years living in Texas and Chicago. The label reflects Hak̊er Flaten’s roots on both sides of the Atlantic, and on Sonic Transmissions Records you can find vital new music from both European and American musicians. Hak̊er Flaten seems to be adding new albums to Bandcamp at a prodigious rate, and it was with a lot of pleasure that I sampled about it a dozen albums on the label – most of them from 2025 ! Here’s just a few of the albums I listened to with interest, and amazement too:
The Young Mothers – Better If You Let It
(released February 21, 2025)
The third album from this cooperative group, of which Hak̊er Flaten is a member, comes after a seven year break. But no matter – the music sounds great. I love how non-idiomatic this band is; one moment it sounds like hip-hop backed by a funk backbeat, then free jazz, then ambient music. The final track, “Scarlet Woman Lodge,” even dips into metal before sliding back into jazz. None of this feels studied, perhaps the result of a collective approach, multi instrumental ethic, or just the chemistry of these players. A great release – it would have been on my list of favorite 2025 albums, had I heard it before now!
Ingebrigt Haker Flaten (Exit) Knarr – Drops
(released August 22, 2025)
Another third album, this one from Haker Flaten’s powerful free jazz group (Exit) Knarr. While The Young Mothers feels loose, mixing experimentation and groove, this group is intense and abstract. The music is a product of Haker Flaten’s interest in graphic scores, and often atmosphere prevails, where the electronics and electric guitar are key ingredients in ensemble voicings. In the last minutes of “Kanón (for Paal Nilssen-Love),” the great pianist Marta Warelis steps out and dominates the music with a fast, percussive attack that delivers concise ideas and melodic beauty. An outstanding moment on an impressive album.
Mikko Innanen & Ingebrigt Håker Flaten – Live in Espoo
(released 10/31/2025)
This one may be my favorite of the Sonic Transmissions albums I listened to. It’s in some ways the most conventional, in that there’s no hip-hop or genre cross-pollinations, just the duo of Mikko Innanen’s multiple reeds and Håker Flaten’s acoustic bass, caught live in an intimate recording. The joy is in hearing two fantastic listeners react to each other, and just play. Even though the performances stretch out (55 minutes over 3 tracks) they are brimming with wonderful melodic and thematic flights and improvisations. I’ll be coming back to this amazing album.
SUPERSPREDER – Notification Generation
(released 5/9/2025)
Back to hip hop jazz! SUPERSPREDER – a great name for a band. The highlight for me is “Killer Bee,” which sets its vocal against a happening bass line, great horns (here’s Amalie Dahl again, who is also on Drops) and a wild prophet synth. Notification Generation “channels social critique and existential unease” as the liners say, but mostly it’s super fun.
Dykdypp – Huggutullin
(released 11/07/2025)
Fans of Janel and Anthony know how wonderful the cello and electric guitar sound together, so it was great to hear the chamber jazz of the amusingly named Dykdypp. The liners made me laugh: “Dykdypp — the band with the most misspelled name in Norwegian music history, and one that will continue to torment proofreaders in jazz magazines and festivals for years to come.” However, nothing obscures music that has nuance, emotional range, and lots of beautiful playing. Standouts are the delicate uplift of the opener (“Pianisten”), spirited strut of “Folk på fjelle,” and a poignant cello playing on “Salmon,” which reminded me of Eric Dolphy’s classic “Serene” from Out There. Another steller Sonic Transmissions release!
Trio Glossia – Trio Glossia
(released 2/7/2025)
Trio Glossia is a Texas-based group that is composed of Stefan Gonzalez (who also plays in Young Mothers) on vibes and drums, Matthew Frerck on bass, and Joshua Cañate on tenor sax – and also on drums. I would love to see this live – sometimes I’m heading vibes and sax together with no drums, and I presume when I hear sax it’s Gonzalez on the kit, and when I here vibes it’s vice-versa. It reminds me of the great fun of seeing the instrument swapping of the Sam Rivers trio. Like Rivers, it’s no gimmick. While Trio Glossia is a new group, the music progresses with an exploratory feel that makes you feel they are finding the same new vistas you experience as a listener.
That’s just a few of the interesting, varied, and experimental records on Sonic Transmissions Records, and I encourage you to dive in. If you want to hear more of the above, I’ll be devoting the next episode of my radio show, “Where Is Brooklyn?” to playing some of the tracks I really enjoyed from Håker Flaten’s excellent label. You can tune in Sunday morning, 2/8/2026, between 2 AM and 4 AM Eastern standard time, at wvkr.org.
Happy listenings!