Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Tony Oxley: A Birthday Tribute--75 Years

3

Tony Oxley: A Birthday Tribute--75 Years

By

View read count
Tony Oxley: A Birthday Tribute--75 Years
As its title indicates, this album was released to mark the occasion of drummer Tony Oxley's seventy-fifth birthday (which occurred on June 15 2013.) Fittingly, it is released on Incus, the ground-breaking label that Oxley established in 1970 with Derek Bailey and Evan Parker, frequently cited as "the first independent musician-run record label in Britain" (just about true because of the inclusion of "independent"—which rules out The Beatles' Apple label—and of "in Britain," which rules out Debut set up by Max Roach and Charles Mingus in the early fifties.)

The music here all originates from unreleased live sessions. From 1993, comes a quartet with Bailey, Pat Thomas and Matt Wand (from Stock, Hausen and Walkman) of the same vintage as their fine album Tony Oxley / Derek Bailey Quartet (Jazzwerkstatt, 2008). From 1977 come a duo with Paul Rutherford on trombone and electronics, a trio with violinist Phillip Wachsmann and guitarist Ian Brighton, and a solo piece. Altogether, the album is a gift not to Oxley himself but to fans of the music which he and Incus championed and epitomised—classic improv. It showcases Oxley in a variety of situations and is eloquent testimony to his talents as a musician. (Incidentally, Oxley is a man of many talents and another is displayed on the sleeve which reproduces one of his paintings.)

The opening quartet, "Colour Fields," is the album's longest at over twenty-seven minutes and is a tour de force performance by all four players. The combination of the "elder statesmen" Oxley and Bailey with the far younger Thomas and Wand speaks volumes about Incus's openness and sense of adventure; as with so many of the label's daring ventures, the foursome works and interacts well. There is plenty of room for all four players to be heard clearly, with the two senior partners both in top form, well supported and complemented by Thomas's fractured keyboards and the occasional surreal interjection by Wand's samples. The second quartet piece, "Urban Forms," is briefer but just as effective, with Bailey particularly powerful.

The transition from the 1993 tracks to those recorded in 1977 is smooth, with the sixteen-year difference revealing no obvious stylistic or technical differences. The drummer's duo with another colossus of the music, Rutherford, is a summit meeting in which each employs electronics, Oxley to amplify his kit, the trombonist to treat his horn; the end result is a breathtaking maelstrom of acoustic and electronic sounds which could so easily be the work of four players; at just over seven minutes, it leaves one craving far more of the same. The trio with Wachsmann's violin and Brighton's guitar—Oxley still amplifying his kit—is in complete contrast; its juxtaposition with the preceding duo highlights what a versatile and mercurial player Oxley is. Appropriately, his birthday tribute concludes with the drummer alone with his kit and electronics, giving a performance which shows why he has been one of the best for so long.

Happy birthday, Tony. Long may you reign.

Track Listing

Colour Fields; Urban Forms; Kelson; The Earth Sounds; Times

Personnel

Tony Oxley: drums, percussion; Derek Bailey: guitar (1, 2); Pat Thomas: keyboards (1, 2); Matt Wand: sampler (1, 2); Paul Rutherford: trombone, electronics (3); Phillip Wachsmann: violin (4); Ian Brighton: guitar (4).

Album information

Title: A Birthday Tribute--75 Years | Year Released: 2013 | Record Label: Incus

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

Near

More

The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante
All In Motion
Dave Redmond
Cat & The Hounds
Colin Hancock's Jazz Hounds Featuring Catherine...

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.