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Extended Analysis

Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra: Artificial Life

by Duncan Heining
November 9, 2014

The importance of ensembles such as the Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra cannot be underestimated. Their work since their formation defines a distinctive approach to large-scale, free improvisation rooted in a well-defined philosophy of collective music-making. As George Lewis, trombonist and 'composer' of Artificial Life, remarks in the record's sleevenotes: “As with all improvisation, including our everyday-life human efforts, all aspects of the performance are achieved through negotiation and consensus, and the success of the performance is less a question ...