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Evan Parker / Matthew Wright, Trance Map+ with Peter Evans and Mark Nauseef: Etching the Ether
by Mark Corroto
Humans have seemingly always feared new technologies. We're not even talking about AI and ChatGPT. When the first electric light bulb was invented, folks worried it would end civilization as they knew it. Artificial light certainly changed how late one stayed up at night. On the other hand, it also allowed people to find their keys after the sun had set. Any new technology can be either a master or a servant, a tool or a tyrant. The programmable drum ...
Continue ReadingJoe McPhee & Evan Parker: Sweet Nothings For Milford Graves
by John Sharpe
Two soprano saxophones loosely harmonize. They finish each other's lines, languidly intertwine, pause for air at the same moment. And simultaneously end on a dime. Musical twins. In the wrong hands such empathy might become soporific; but with two of the planet's foremost improvisers on hand in the persons of Evan Parker and Joe McPhee, instead they unlock deep wells of emotionally charged feeling. Captured at Chicago's 7th Empty Bottle Festival in 2003, this archive recording amply ...
Continue ReadingDave Green Trio plus Evan Parker: Raise Four
by Duncan Heining
Bassist Dave Green recorded this set for the BBC Radio 3 programme Somethin' Else in 2004. In the interview included here with the show's presenter Jez Nelson, Green reflects on a forty year career in jazz. It is fitting that this fine record, only his fourth as leader, sees its release in the year Green marks his 80th birthday. What a great way to celebrate a wonderful career! Less well-known than he should be beyond the UK and ...
Continue ReadingEvan Parker Electroacoustic Quartet: Concert in Iwaki
by John Eyles
The year 2021 marked the twenty-fifth anniversary of the first recordings made by Evan Parker Electro-Acoustic Ensemble. It also ended a somewhat fallow period, Hasselt (Psi, 2012) having been the ensemble's most recent release; 2021 brought a flurry of electro-acoustic releases, with Concert in Iwaki following hard on the heels of Warszawa 2019 (Fundacja Sluchaj), and Fixing the Fluctuating Idea (Les Disques Victo), the latter recorded at the 1996 Victoriaville festival with Sainkho Namtchylak. However, despite ...
Continue ReadingMatthew Shipp: Leonine Aspects
by Mark Corroto
Without exception, every time you encounter Leonine Aspects, you come away with a different experience. 'Encounter' not 'listen.' The word 'encounter' signifies both an engagement and a chance happening. Let's back up a bit. This duo between saxophonist Evan Parker and pianist Matthew Shipp was captured from a live performance on August 22, 2017 at Théatre de la Sinne in Mulhouse, France at the Festival Méréo. While the pair have performed together in differing settings, this is only their third ...
Continue ReadingAlexander Hawkins: Togetherness Music (For Sixteen Musicians)
by Giuseppe Segala
Con questo lavoro, Alexander Hawkins aggiunge una tessera significativa al proprio originale percorso artistico, qui in particolare nella dialettica tra improvvisazione e musica scritta, dimostrando una maturazione consapevole e in costante sviluppo. Attento, curioso, audace, guidato da un sicuro istinto e da lucidità progettuale, il pianista di Oxford rappresenta la punta di diamante della propria generazione, quella sulla soglia dei quarant'anni. Il suo itinerario e la sua personalità sono in grado di confrontarsi e interagire efficacemente con i grandi protagonisti ...
Continue ReadingAlexander Hawkins Feat. Evan Parker + Riot Ensemble: Togetherness Music (For Sixteen Musicians)
by Mark Corroto
It is obvious from the outset that this is a significant recording. Evan Parker launches into his trademark soprano saxophone circular breathing, setting the stage for things to come. An exemplar of all things free improvisation, his virtuosity never fails to amaze. Although Parker is the marquee soloist here, the composer and organizer of this session, Alexander Hawkins, created the six movements of this suite to pioneer an intersection between free improvisation and contemporary chamber music. Certainly not an easy ...
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