★Emanem
Trio & Triangle
John Stevens (percussion, cornet, voice), Nigel Coombes (violin), Roger Smith (guitar). The 1981 London concert features two of John Stevens didactic pieces performed by nine or ten Musicians, plus a Trio improvisation. Another (previously unissued) …
Unlocked
Veryan Weston (piano), Hannah Marshall (cello) & Satoko Fukuda (violin). A leading member of the London improvising scene teams up with two very talented newer members, both of whom come from 'classical' backgrounds. The result is improvised chamber …
the geometry of sentiment
John Butcher is up there with the Parkers, the Rothenbergs, the Zorns and the Harths, yet his style is inimitable; he has arrived at the top at last, and dominates in a world of bent overtones and multiple subdivisions of a single note. THE GEOMETRY …
Solo in Berlin 1975
Recorded a year after his acclaimed masterpiece, The gentle harm of the bourgeoisie, these three festival sets are at least as good. They find Rutherford at his most original and inventive, making wild music by enhancing his trombone with his voic…
The All Angels Concerts
Highlights of the concert series curated by Rhodri Davies & Mark Wastell. Solos by Fabienne Audéoud (voice), Aleks Kolkowski (Stroh violin), Eddie Prévost (percussion), John Russell (guitar), Alan Tomlinson (trombone), Simon Vincent (electronics), an…
Gateway To Vienna
This double CD pairs a studio recording from December 2003 (the Gateway part) with a May 2002 concert recording of two long improvisations (the Vienna part). When this trio released their previous Emanem CD Mercury Concert in 1999, Veryan Weston was …
Mercury Concert
Digital concert recording Colchester (Mercury Theatre) - 1998 June 24 All of the music of the concert is included unedited, in the order of performance. All instruments were used without amplification or other electronics.
6 dialogues
Watts' first free improvisation record in around 25 years finds him playing soprano & alto saxophones with Weston on piano. Six superlative unedited duets recorded at Gateway Studio. 61 minutes.
For John Stevens
The Gathering is an informal improvising session that has met in London once a week since 1991. For the 2002 freedom of the city festival, Maggie Nicols assembled some of the past and present participants. This studio recording from two months later …
Hooky
Virtually the whole of the 1976 Montreal solo concert -- one of his best -- including the complete Tao cycle and several other pieces, one of which ('Hooky') is not on any other record. Reissue of half of Quark LP 9998 with over 50 minutes of pre…
Saxophone special +
Music for four saxophones (Steve Lacy, Evan Parker, Steve Potts & Trevor Watts) with guitar (Derek Bailey) & synthesizer (Michel Waisvisz). Plus highlights from an earlier London concert by Lacy, Potts, Bailey, Kent Carter & John Stevens. Improvisati…
Weal & woe
If you have only heard the more recent, understated recordings of this giant of the soprano saxophone, you may wonder what all the fuss is about. Just listen to this seminal album and you should understand right away why Lacy is such a formidable for…
3 pianos
Three grand pianists on three grand pianos. The presence of three good pianos at Gateway Studio allows one to hear three of the best improvising pianists working together. Most of the music is three-way improvisation, but there are also three short d…
Mouthpiece
"Outrageous sounds produced by a workshop orchestra directed by John Stevens - an SME-type improvisation; instrumental & vocal drones; a mechanically rhythmic yet unpredictable piece; and an all-out improvisation featuring non-vocal mouth sounds, voc…
For you to share
"Concert and studio recordings of peace music organised by John Stevens for himself and Trevor Watts with numerous workshop musicians and audience people on saxophones, percussion and voices mostly contributing a flexible drone. Only Stevens could ha…
Face to face (1973)
"John Stevens (percussion, cornet, voice) and Trevor Watts (soprano saxophone) at the legendary Little Theatre Club - as close as one can get to two musicians improvising as one. Non-repetitive music at its most minimal and essential. Reissue of Eman…
Quintessence 2 (1973-4)
2nd volume. The unissued duo works by Stevens (cornet, voice, percussion) and Watts (ss) are way out and an invigorating reminder of the outlandish possibilities of free improvisation, especially "DAA-OOM" ("a loose composition inspired by the music…
Quintessence 1 (1973-4)
'It's remarkable, really, how excellent and fresh the music sounds. This is a full-flight demonstration of the complexities and rewards available to good players in 1974. The key figure in the group is probably John Stevens. He uses a kit of very sma…
Quintessence
The eight-five minutes of totally improvised music produced at the 1974 ICA concert are so cohesive that it sounds as if this quintet had worked together for some considerable time. However, apart from a brief sound check earlier that day, this was t…