John Butcher and Mark Sanders. Daylight. The saxophone–drum duo has a long history in free jazz—a primal pairing that achieved an early high in the 1967 John Coltrane and Rashied Ali recording called Interstellar Space. Such fire-breathing antecedents might seem distant from the music of English saxophonist John Butcher,[...] Read more

Recordings Stuart Broomer Issue 114

300 BASSES. Sei Ritornelli. There’s something wonderful about first hearing an instrument transformed, such as Eric Glick Rieman preparing a Fender-Rhodes electric piano or Seymour Wright playing a saxophone by tapping and amplifying it, not blowing it for long stretches of time. As fine as those experiences might be[...] Read more

Recordings Stuart Broomer Issue 114

R. Murray Schafer. My Life on Earth and Elsewhere. In his latest book, Schafer describes a composition as “a multicultural event in which we laugh at ourselves and each other.” It’s a good description for the memoir itself: its scope is vast, but its tone is irreverent, lighthearted. Schafer does nothing here to dispel his[...] Read more

Books Issue 113

Linda Jansma and Carsten Seiffarth, eds. Gordon Monahan: Seeing Sound: Sound Art, Performance and Music, 1978–2011. If there is one life-changing moment in the career of the Canadian composer, performer, and sound artist Gordon Monahan, it may well have been his encounter—and eventual partnership—with Laura Kikauka. Leafing through the monograph Seeing Sound, which spans over thirty years of[...] Read more

Books René van Peer Issue 113

Burkhard Beins, Christian Kesten, Gisela Nauck, Andrea Neumann, eds. Echtzeitmusik Berlin: Self-Defining a Scene. Echtzeitmusik Berlin: Self-Defining a Scene is a welcome and expansive document on the improvised music scene in Berlin. The term “echtzeitmusik,” which translates into “real-time music,” is the current working description for the type of music practiced by such[...] Read more

Books Chris Kennedy Issue 113

Merce Cunningham Dance Company: the final Event. NYC, USA. December 31, 2011. It is with wistfulness and admiration that I’m writing a review of the last-ever Merce Cunningham Dance Company Event, the second of two shows at the Park Avenue Armory last New Year’s Eve.   Wistfulness, for obvious reasons: this performance marked the end of a[...] Read more

Concerts and Events Matt Rogalsky Issue 113

Thomas Tilly & Jean-Luc Guionnet. Stones Air Axioms. One of the most striking things about medieval stone cathedrals is the massive volume of air that is encased in their naves. Upon entering one of these cathedrals, you feel the air pressure enveloping you with a stunningly present stillness. Any sound adds to this feeling, as you become[...] Read more

Recordings Chris Kennedy Issue 113

Stone Quartet. Live at Vision Festival. The great French bassist Joëlle Léandre first assembled the Stone Quartet for a single performance in 2006. Heard here four years later, the free improvising quartet includes pianist Marilyn Crispell, violist Mat Maneri, and wind player Roy Campbell, who plays both flute and[...] Read more

Recordings Stuart Broomer Issue 113

Keith Rowe & John Tilbury. E.E. Tension And Circumstance. In 2004, after a disagreement with collaborator Eddie Prévost, Keith Rowe left the core AMM trio, whose other member, John Tilbury, remained with Prévost in AMM. Before then, Tilbury and Rowe had been playing together in various lineups for almost forty years. This duo[...] Read more

Recordings Chris Kennedy Issue 113

Quatuor Bozzini. À Chacun Sa Miniature. Since 2005 Montreal's Quatuor Bozzini—leading interpreters of new string-quartet music—have hosted the Composer's Kitchen, a workshop for emerging composers, where they hone their craft. In 2011 the ensemble approached previous workshop participants, and harvested thirty-[...] Read more

Recordings Nick Storring Issue 113

Parker, Lee, Evans. The Bleeding Edge. The Bleeding Edge brings together three brilliant acoustic improvisers of different continents and generations in a program of trios and duos: English saxophonist Evan Parker, Korean cellist Okkyung Lee and American trumpeter Peter Evans. There is a special empathy between Parker and Evans,[...] Read more

Recordings Stuart Broomer Issue 113