Evan Parker/Barry Guy/Lawrence Casserley: Dividuality

Mark Corroto

Senior Contributor since 1999

Mark misses his large dog Louie, but endeavors daily to find and listen to new and interesting sounds.

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Published: September 1, 2001

The United Kingdom musicians Evan Parker and Barry Guy have met and collaborated on many a project over the years. From the early days (1960s & 1970s) with the Spontaneous Music Ensemble and London Jazz Composers Orchestra to a myriad of present day projects, they have defined and refined European creative music. In the late 1990s Evan Parker’s interest in electronics brought Guy together on Parker’s Electro-Acoustic Ensemble records, Drawn Inward and Toward The Margins, for ECM records. Parker mixed saxophone-bass-percussion with several live electronics and sound processing artists.

For this project on Barry Guy’s Maya Records, the Parker and Guy pare down the electronics and sound processing to a single voice from the Electro-Acoustic Ensemble, that of Lawrence Casserley. This somewhat simpler approach doesn’t spare the complexity and the boundless possibilities made available through electronic sound processing. For the most part the recording keeps things austere playing trios and duets with either Parker or Casserley or Guy and Casserley.

Dividualtiy is all about ‘man-meets-intelligent-machines and more like machines-meet-intelligent-man. Casserley re-engineers sounds and tosses them back at both, giving the musicians something to respond to. Parker’s soprano saxophone hesitates on the pyrotechnics because Casserley seems to always provide his next thought. Guy’s bass finds a mirror and at times a response in the process.

Electronics seem the natural extension of what both Parker and Guy have been working through these many years. This is an excellent recording.

Track Listing: Frondescence; Dividuality; Aulos; Shifting; Scion; Zool; Spinney; Transmute; Calyx

Personnel: Evan Parker

Record Label: Maya
Style: Modern Jazz