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Jazz Articles about John Butcher
From John Butcher’s Collection
by John Eyles
An old saying tells us it is an ill wind that blows nobody any good. In the case of Covid-19 and its repercussions, many people would have to wrack their brains to think of any good that ill wind had blown to anyone. Musically, though, there is an increasing number of impressive album releases that were conceived and recorded during lockdown (even if they cannot be promoted by live events.) In addition, quite a few musicians have been revisiting and ...
read moreJohn Butcher / Thomas Lehn / Matthew Shipp: The Clawed Stone
by John Sharpe
The unlikely conjunction of American pianist Matthew Shipp, most strongly associated with New York avant jazz, and British saxophonist John Butcher and German electronicist Thomas Lehn, two leading exponents of the European free improvisation scene, works like a dream on The Clawed Stone. It's not a one off. The genesis of this 2017 Paris studio session lies in the pianist's invite for Butcher to join him as part of a 2010 residency at London's Cafe Oto, which was documented as ...
read moreMinton - Butcher - Robair: Blasphemious Fragments
by John Eyles
Studio-recorded in London in July 2017, Blasphemious Fragments brings together an appealing improvising trio comprising vocalist Phil Minton, saxophonist John Butcher and percussionist Gino Robair. For Butcher, the trio reacquaints him with players he has known for decades; he and Minton recorded Two Concerts (FMP) together as far back as 1995, in a trio with German jazz guitarist Erhard Hirt; the two were half of the Phil Minton Quartet that recorded Mouthfull of Ecstasy (Les Disques Victo, 1996), inspired by ...
read moreThomas/Butcher/Solberg: Fictional Souvenirs
by John Sharpe
Free improvisers favor ephemeral lineups more than most musicians. They keep things fresh and present new challenges. But most improvisers are also fond of particular groupings or connections. That's definitely the case with the British pairing of saxophonist John Butcher, keyboardist and electronicist Pat Thomas and Norwegian drummer Stale Liavik Solberg. They have worked together in various constellations, such that Fictional Souvenirs might be seen as a follow up of sorts to His Flights At Ten (Iluso, 2018) by a ...
read moreJohn Butcher
by John Eyles
In the Building a Jazz Library article on Evan Parker, it says that seasoned Parker followers would describe him as the finest improvising saxophonist of his generation. Curiously, many of those same people would use exactly that phrase about John Butcher. The simple explanation for this apparent contradiction is that we are talking about two generations; Parker (born 1944) is a member of the “first generation of free improvisation" (along with Derek Bailey, Tony Oxley, John Stevens, Paul Rutherford, Barry ...
read moreStray: Into Darkness
by John Sharpe
Two old masters and two younger pretenders unite to produce Into Darkness. Saxophonist John Butcher and guitarist John Russell were both part of the so-called second generation of improvisers, following in the wake of progenitors such as Evan Parker, Derek Bailey and John Stevens. Joining them in a continuous 51-minute live performance from London's Iklektic in December 2015 are bassist Dominic Lash and Norwegian drummer Ståle Liavik Solberg. In coming together under the moniker Stray, they decisively upend some stereotypical ...
read moreJohn Butcher, John Edwards, Mark Sanders: Last Dream at the Morning
by Alberto Bazzurro
Radicalismo improvvisativo duro e puro, per questi tre senatori del ramo, appartenenti alla seconda generazione di musicisti inglesi specializzati nella pratica specifica. Il sassofonismo ispido e acuminato, esplicitamente antigrazioso, di John Butcher (espresso su tenore e soprano, guarda caso) s'ispira palpabilmente a Evan Parker, pontefice massimo in materia (con cui fra l'altro John Edwards ha collaborato di frequente), con suoi i due coéqupiers a interagire in totale souplesse (d'intenti, non climatici). Certo non tutto è memorabile, come ...
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