Joëlle Léandre & Evan Parker - Long Bright Summer (RogueArt, 2025)
When two of free improvisation's leading musicians meet, the outcome is guaranteed to be outstanding, as it is on this album. The performance took place at the exceptional venue of a French vineyard Le Chai at the Domaine "Les Davids" in Viens, France, as part of a festival. The venue and the audience play a role here. That quality of the sound is excellent. It's as if you're part of the audience.
Even if both musicians have performed a lot before in various trios and quartets, I think this is their first duo album. And we can only hope they do this more often.
Léandre’s bowed bass and Parker’s extended, circular-breathing lines are central to the music’s character. Their sounds meet and intertwine—merging, co-creating, and coalescing, or at times clashing, challenging, and competing—driving both players into uncharted sonic territories that surprise, perplex, and ultimately move us as listeners. A second factor is the unwavering self-assurance and near-complete absence of self-consciousness that defines their music. Each musician respects—and even admires—the other, yet this is matched by full confidence in their own instrumental voice.
As a result, every option remains open, and almost any improvisational path they choose naturally becomes part of the other’s comfort zone—because operating without a safety net is the environment in which they thrive. It is at moments not only spectacular, but also extremely beautiful.
The liner notes contain a quote from each musician that basically says it all. Joëlle Léandre: "No writing, no conductor, no leader, man or woman, style or age… Improvisation is about the risk that we take and what we have to say, here and now." and Evan Parker: "Certain kinds of speed, flow, intensity, density of attacks, density of interaction... Music that concentrates on those qualities is, I think, easier achieved by free improvisation between people sharing a common attitude, a common language."
Absolute freedom anchored in a common attitude.
Brilliant!
John Butcher & John Edwards - This Is Not Speculation (Fundacja Słuchaj, 2025)
John Butcher & John Edwards have been performing together for decades, in more than sixteen documented ensembles, yet this is only their third duo album, after "Optic" (2003) and "Scene and Recalled" (2020). The performance is intimate, close to the listener too, for four tracks with a lot of variety and sonic creativity, ranging from sensitive interaction to wild timbral explorations, birdsong, frivolous excursions and playful moments.
Both Johns are so attuned to each other’s playing that almost anything becomes possible—even welcomed. Muted, percussive bass plucks or stuttering, breathy saxophone sounds all find their place within an ever-shifting, kaleidoscopic soundscape, as do high-pitched whistles or even the occasional steady bass pulse. And sometimes you wish you could have seen the performance just to understand how they physically generated very contrasting sounds. In a way the whole concert is art reduced to its pure and concrete nature: to create something ethereal, fragile and touching out of sheer physical activity.
The music demands close attention. Anything can happen at any moment, and both musicians seem to be constantly inventing and reinventing themselves—introducing new ideas, new challenges, and weaving their thoughts together with an effortless sense of mutual understanding. Whatever direction the music turns, they navigate it together. It’s fun, and it’s fascinating to hear. They clearly relish their own abilities and their deep appreciation of each other’s strengths.
And trust me ... they know what they are doing. Enjoy!
0 comments:
Post a Comment