Jazz /
Hot & cold heroes
"The longest lasting and most controversial edition of the SME was that featuring John Stevens (percussion, cornet, voice) with two vastly under-rated acoustic musicians: Nigel Coombes (violin) & Roger Smith (guitar). This selection has an extended home performance from 1980, and three concerts from 1991, one of which has Neil Metcalfe (flute) and John Rangecroft (clarinet) added to the trio. 76 minutes - previously unissued." (Emanem)
Summer 1967
All previously unissued recordings, mainly made up of the duo of John Stevens (percussion) and Evan Parker (ss, ts), with Peter Kowald (b) on about a third of it. This marks the earliest to date recordings of Parker and is a tremendous snapshot of some ancient history. "Parker and Stevens seemed to break through to a deeper level of hearing, where a sound was not set against other sounds but rather against the silence around it, so that one gained heightened awareness of its growth and decay, it…
Filth Pharmacy
Recorded at Garaget, Solna, Sweden; Tracks 1-8 recorded on 6/7 August 2003 Track 9 recorded on 6 August 2002
Soundpage(s)
French guitarist Nöel Akchoté has confounded critics since his earliest releases with his blend of swinging jazz, free improvisation, and art-song sensibilities. Soundpage(s) are going to do more to further that confusion despite the fact that this album is easily the finest and most consistent realization of Akchoté's musical vision to date. This is a conceptual work centered around the soundbites on television news. And as a result, our composer felt given the vast world of soundbites to criti…
Fish
This is Bailey's first record with Japanese powerhouse drummer Shoji Hano, recorded at Moat Studios in London in June 2000. Hano is best known outside of Japan for his brief tenure as drummer in speedfreak rock band High Rise.
7x4x7
Alessandro Bosetti: soprano sax. Michael Thieke: clarinet. Sabine Vogel: flute. Michael Griener: percussion. Recorded 9/2/2003 by Ronny Trocker at studio P4, Berlin. 'Space as a musical parameter is something that has long been neglected in recordings of acoustic improvised music. Since, dynamic, attack, sound-color, rythm and duration are commonly regarded as the elements that constitute and give form to what you find in such a recording, the feeling and the use of space has been seldom fully c…
Winterreise
Alexander Von Schlippenbach (piano), Evan Parker (tenor saxophone), Paul Lovens (percussion). Each year this dauntless and apparently indefatigable trio set out on their winter journey. This record is taken from two December concerts at The Loft in Köln (Cologne) in 2004 & 2005.
Octante
ruth barberan: trumpet. Margarida Garcia: electric double bass. Ferran Fages: feedback mixing board, pick ups. Alfredo Costa Monteiro: accordion. Recorded, mixed, and mastered by Ferran Conangla at Laboratori de So, Metrònom, July 6, 2003. LIMITED TO 200 COPIES
Shaken
Trumpeter Ramanan (who doubles on wooden flutes) has been quietly enriching the London scene for some 15 years now. For the first CD under his leadership, he presents his imaginative current quartet which spans the ground between Free Improvisation and Free Jazz. With Marcio Mattos (cello & electronics), Simon H. Fell (double bass) and Mark Sanders (percussion). 72 minutes -- previously unissued.
S&M
Derek Bailey, guitar; Barre Phillips, bass. Who's there to know that you passed 'em around (16.01), You'll find my theory is logically sound (16.23), Don't save (10.02), 100 years from today (14.48).Tracks a and b recorded at the Arts Theatre, London on 12 May 1987 by Michael Gerzon; c and d recorded at Hawth Centre, Crawley on 4 September 1988 by Michael Gerzon. Cover drawing (reproduced above) by Tony Mostrom.
The butterfly and the bee
Following the success of their very first performance together at the 2004 FREEDOM OF THE CITY festival (heard on Emanem 4215), Roger Smith and Louis Moholo-Moholo went into the studio to record some more. Their second meeting went so well that they recorded enough duo improvisations for a complete CD. The resulting music is heard complete, with Smith on Spanish guitar and Moholo on augmented drum set.
Amber
Rhodri Davies : harp. Robin Hayward : tuba. Julia Eckhardt : viola. Lucio Capecce : soprano saxophone, bass clarinet. Recorded on April 2004 in Berlin.
+
The saying goes that, given typewriters and an infinite amount of time, a roomful of monkeys could write the complete works of Shakespeare. By that logic, if the same chimps were given a table-full of consumer electronics and a couple of hours, they would likely produce a decent album of electronic, improvised music. I feel safe in guaranteeing, however, that it wouldn't be anywhere as compelling and listenable as the new recording by this quartet of highly developed mammals known as poire_z. Ov…
More is more
Solos for piccolo trumpet and trumpet, recorded 11/9/05. Peter Evans is an astonishing new voice on that most demanding of instruments -- the trumpet. This set of solo improvisations locates Evans at the centre of the next generation of players.
1968
An expanded reissue of the only published recording by one of the pioneering free improvisation groups, The People Band's self-titled album, originally released in 1970. Containing musicians that also worked with Pete Brown, Mike Westbrook, Ian Dury, Soft Machine, and others, this musical collective coalesced in London in 1968, and soon came to the attention of jazz aficionado Charlie Watts, who financed and oversaw a recording session that October. Improvised, anarchic, and utterly original, …
Gheim
"In 1983, Paul Rutherford was performing with a trio that was very different in style from the highly abstract Iskra 1903, the trombonist's main trio vehicle for a long time. This group, billed simply as the Paul Rutherford Trio, is busier, wilder, more energy driven and free jazz-oriented. Joining him are two players that were new to the free improve scene at the time. Bassist Paul Rogers was a young cat, although this recording doesn't let it show. He already displays an impressive musical voc…
Rogues
Paul Rutherford (b. 1940; d. 2007) and Paul Rogers (b. 1956) are two of the finest improvisers around, both as soloists and as group members. They are also two of the finest exponents of their respective instruments. Putting two excellent musicians together does not always make an excellent duo. In this case, it certainly did.
All the magnificent music performed one evening in Birmingham is included on this CD in the order it was performed - except that, sadly, a couple of minutes had to be ch…
The gentle harm of the bourgeoisie
Reissue of the definitive solo trombone album, from 1974, with additional material from the same sessions. His first album of this sort, it has been described by Derek Bailey (rather famously) as still the best record of solo free improvising you are likely to find. Maybe it's the only one... if you're thinking of buying a record of solo improvisation you should try and get this one. It's the genuine article.
