Various

Seventh of May 2001 gathers the whole closing day of the 2001 Freedom of the City festival of radical improvised musics, held at Conway Hall in London from 4 to 7 May. The two discs follow the day in order, afternoon and evening, setting players who helped shape British improvisation beside younger musicians who were then just starting to record.

The afternoon disc opens with Bark!, the trio of Rex Casswell on electric guitar, Phillip Marks on drums and Paul Obermayer on electronics, in three parts. Eddie Prévost follows with a percussion solo of about nineteen minutes. Then comes Seymour Wright on alto saxophone with Yann Charaoui on snare drum and voice and John Lely on piano and electronics, a trio heard a year earlier on the Matchless CD 396. The evening begins with Prévost at the drum kit in a 35 minute trio with Tom Chant on soprano saxophone and John Edwards on double bass. Particles, a quartet with tenor saxophone, bass guitar, electric guitar and drums, and a short duo of Romuald Wadych on bass guitar and Denis Dubovtsev on soprano saxophone come next. The day closes with twenty minutes from John Tilbury on piano and Evan Parker on tenor saxophone, a pairing already documented on Matchless. The sets were recorded by Paul Brogen for BBC Radio 3's Jazz on 3. The booklet carries Philippe Alen's account of the festival in French and English, first printed in Improjazz in the summer of 2001.

Released by Matchless Recordings in 2002 as MRCD 47, a double CD with a 24-page booklet and a front cover by Tim Goldie. Other music from the festival appeared on Emanem.