Picnic

2016 release. The first reissue of Picnic, originally released on Data Records in 1985. A little-known gem of Dutch free music, Picnic is the brainchild of cellist Tristan Honsinger, who composed all but one of its 12 compositions. Brilliant and whimsical, the tracks bring to mind Honsinger's work with ICP Orchestra, for whom he has also composed extensively. Here he's working in an incredible ensemble, with trumpeter Toshinori Kondo, saxophonist Sean Bergen, Jean Jacques Avenel on bass, Michael Vatcher on drums and percussion, and Tiziana Simona Vigni on voice. Deceptively vicious little songs with hilarious twists and the kind of intense improvising you'd expect from a band that incorporates players of this caliber, it's a unique album, originally issued on the tiny Data Records, never before reissued. And it's worth having alone for the beautiful recording by Data's Dick Lucas, which captures Vatcher's incredible high snare on "Restless", a minute of pure energy better than Red Bull, and Vigni's oblique vocals, which were sung mostly in English by the Italian singer, who didn't speak a word of the language. Remastered by Lucas from the original tapes. Features the original cover.