★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) Trio set can also be heard - the excitement of the music overcomes the imperfections of the recording on this half hour from 1978. Reissue of SFA LP 092 with extra Trio material.
"Sometime in 1976 the SME became a trio made up of John Stevens, Nigel …
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 music of the highest order, with no sign of any uncertainty. Recorded March 13th, 2007.
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 OF SENTIMENT - which I perceive as his masterpiece - presents seven tracks recorded at various places between 2004 and 2006, each one with a different kind of resonant space forced by our man to respond in a unique way, at the same time exploring tha…
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 voice, with mutes and other objects, as well as using his awesome speed and stunning range. No-one else has made the trombone sound like this, before or since. Five minutes originally on an FMP sampler - the rest is previously unissued."
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), and Veryan Weston (church organ). Duos by Steve Beresford (electronics) & Roger Turner (percussion); John Butcher (saxophones) & Matt Hutchinson (electronics); and Oren Marshall (tuba) & Mark Sanders (percussion).157 minutes - previously unissued.
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 described as "underrated and John Edwards and Mark Sanders were described as "younger, unacclaimed players who are regulars on the London improv circuit. In the intervening years, Edwards and Sanders have advanced in acclaim, to the point where they …
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 features a similar group of 25 musicians performing two extended improvisations that are typical of the weekly sessions, with their distinctive mixture of voices and instruments. Also included is a three-part tribute to John Stevens featuring interpr…
2006 duos
These five duos mark Terry Day's return to small group improvising after an over-long absence caused by ill health. He is mainly playing his homemade bamboo pipes, but also uses his voice (reciting two poems and otherwise) as well as an echo toy and a cold water bottle. His partners are Charlotte Hug (viola & voice), Rhodri Davies (harp), Phil Minton (voice), Hannah Marshall (cello) and John Russell (guitar). The duo with Hug comes from the 2006 Freedom Of The City festival.
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 previously unissued material from the same concert.
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. Improvisations on original compositions. Reissue of Emanem 3310 (plus an extra piece from the same concert) and the better half of Emanem 304.
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 force. The initial eight tracks are a reissue of the first LP issued by Emanem, which was Lacy's first solo recording. Each is a gem: radical, accessible, and fascinatingly offbeat. One uses a random radio selection as a backdrop, another mimics duck wa…
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 duos, and three pieces with restricting rules. 66 minutes.
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, vocal sounds & instruments. The exact line-ups on each of these ensemble pieces are not known (apart from the leader on cornet), so they are not given." (Emanem)
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 have organised music as outrageous as this - must be heard to be believed. Reissue of the major work of A 001 with an additional similar piece." (Emanem)
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 Emanem 303 (a formative influence on John Zorn among others) with extra material from the same sessions."
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 of both the central African pygmies and Albert Ayler -- even 23 years later, the rawness of these pieces is somewhat startling." -- Martin Davidson).
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 small drums and cymbals and a few percussive extras, and his playing is consistently sparse and ingenious. It's old hat to talk about percussionists 'colouring' the character of a group, but that is how Stevens works - he doesn't keep time, he doesn't k…
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 the only occasion that these five musicians performed together.
Derek Bailey, Evan Parker, John Stevens and Trevor Watts had been part of the Spontaneous Music Ensemble for a few months in 1967 [heard on Withdrawal - Emanem 5040], which performed a tr…