In 2004, after a disagreement with collaborator Eddie Prévost, Keith Rowe left the core AMM trio, whose other member, John Tilbury, remained with Prévost in AMM. Before then, Tilbury and Rowe had been playing together in various lineups for almost forty years. This duo recording, made live on December 17, 2010, at Les Instants ChavirésContinue reading “Keith Rowe & John Tilbury. E.E. Tension And Circumstance.”
Genre Archives
Parker, Lee, Evans. The Bleeding Edge.
The Bleeding Edge brings together three brilliant acoustic improvisers of different continents and generations in a program of trios and duos: English saxophonist Evan Parker, Korean cellist Okkyung Lee and American trumpeter Peter Evans. There is a special empathy between Parker and Evans, since Evans has—sometimes astonishingly—managed to find equivalents to many of Parker’s innovativeContinue reading “Parker, Lee, Evans. The Bleeding Edge.”
Le Quatuor de Jazz Libre du Québec. 1973.
Le Quatuor de Jazz Libre du Québec was a free jazz ensemble that internalized the radicalism of the late ’60s and early ’70s into their actions and their music. Formed in 1967, they had by 1970 established an artists’ colony that had an affinity with Quebec nationalist movements. Their music has an intense fire litContinue reading “Le Quatuor de Jazz Libre du Québec. 1973.”
Lama. Oneiros.
Based in Rotterdam, Lama offers an unusual mix of sensibilities, a trio of Portuguese and Canadian musicians that works at the intersections of film noir, cool jazz, electronica, and free improvisation. Gonçalo Almeida plays bass, effects, and loops, and is the principal composer; Susana Santos Silva plays trumpet, flugelhorn, and electronics; they’re joined by drummerContinue reading “Lama. Oneiros.”
Ion Zoo. Venus Looks Good.
Vancouver-based Ion Zoo has released one previous CD, Set Free at the Cellar (on the NOW Orchestra label), a fine live performance that introduced the quartet, which comprises singer Carol Sawyer; Steve Bagnell on reeds, from baritone saxophone to clarinet, as well as percussion; Lisa Miller on piano; and Clyde Reed on bass. This secondContinue reading “Ion Zoo. Venus Looks Good.”
Eric Chenaux. Guitar & Voice.
Guitar & Voice, Eric Chenaux’s fourth album for Constellation, is arguably his most comprehensively representative recording to date, unselfconsciously connecting disparate parts of his musical personality. In addition to placing his delicate songs into a nakedly intimate and idiosyncratic soundworld, this disc also constitutes the best portrait of Chenaux as a wildly imaginative and extremelyContinue reading “Eric Chenaux. Guitar & Voice.”
Summer 2012
Six Heads. Cardboard Oracle.
William Davison and his five sous-chefs have been cooking up—yes, this disc is thoroughly cooked—their signature stews for over a decade now. This vinyl release documents their improvisatory web-toed amblings through the mutant sonic kitchen: each member chopping and dicing various ingredients—both delicious and repugnant—while Davison hovers over the frothing pot, deciding the exact proportions.Continue reading “Six Heads. Cardboard Oracle.”
Drip Audio.
Violinist Jesse Zubot’s Drip Audio label has spent the last seven years releasing over thirty strongly produced records that have served as important documents of the improvised music scene in Vancouver. A dip into the back catalogue reveals a wildly interconnected scene—practically every release shares at least one performer with any other release on theContinue reading “Drip Audio.”
Nightjars. The Natural Playmate.
The Natural Playmate, apparently the final release in the Rat-Drifting catalogue, is a series of extremely concise and focused improvisations performed by Eric Chenaux (guitar) and Jason Benoit (banjo). The familiar misshapen melancholy found on many Rat-Drifting albums runs through this entire disc, yet amidst this sticky tremble and slouch there is an extremely refinedContinue reading “Nightjars. The Natural Playmate.”