List’nin’ Room 26 August 1999

CONNECTIONS:

As made!

[1: Duo - CD SLAM 501 Recorded 930516 in Oxford “Let’s Call This…Esteem” Steve Lacy, Mal Waldron: Track 1 Intro by Lol Coxhill and ‘Let’s call this…’ by Monk (07:03) and Track 4, ‘Snake Out’ by Waldron (14:00)]

Connection: On 15 August (1999) in Brecon we heard Mal Waldron and Steve Lacy duo and solo. It was one of those exquisite occasions when two players with years of playing together click and everyone feels it. The next day was Mal’s birthday; he says he is 74. At one point in a solo from Mal, I could almost see and hear Billie Holiday, with whom Mal worked from April 1957 until her death in July, 1959.

[2: Billie – Jazz Door 2xCD 1215 Billie Holiday. Recorded 5905-‘mid’ in Storyville Jazz Club in Boston, Mass. Tracks 1 – 3: “Nice Work If You Can Get It”; “Willow Weep For Me”; “When Your Lover Has Gone”].

Connection: The first time I ever heard Steve Lacy playing live was in Liverpool in 1976. He was a member of Derek Bailey’s “COMPANY” that toured extensively that year in the United Kingdom.

[3: COMPANY – Incus CD07 Recorded 770525-27 in ICA, London (during the first “Company Week”). Tracks 1 (Leo Smith / Tristan Honsinger/ Anthony Braxton/ Steve Lacy/ Maarten Van Regteren Altena) (14:22)]

Connection: The next time I heard Steve live was in early 1980 when he was on a world tour with the Globe Unity Orchestra. This was in Hong Kong and it was at this time that I started to get to know him. The Orchestra was under the direction of Alexander Von Schlippenbach.

[4: GUO – FMP Musica Jazz (It) 01 This track recorded 750331 in Berlin. Track 3: ‘Evidence’ by Monk. Kenny Wheeler, Steve Lacy, Evan Parker, Gerd Dudek, Albert Mangelsdorff, Paul Rutherford, Alexander Von Schlippenbach (arr), Peter Kowald, Paul Lovens (06:01)]

Connection: On 14 August (1999) in Brecon we heard Alexander Von Schlippenbach play duos with Tony Oxley. This was an entirely extemporised session and a fine example of interpersonal communication through instrumental playing. The ‘understanding’ these two have developed over years of playing together is very high. We had most recently heard them in Berlin late last year at a regular FMP Total Music Meeting and hope that they will release some of this material soon. In 1988, Tony Oxley was one of a number of musicians who worked with Cecil Taylor for some weeks. I was there for one week of this cornucopia! FMP later released a box set of 12 CDs covering much of this activity, from which this track derives.

[5: Tony Oxley and Cecil Taylor on FMP CD6 recorded live during “Improvised Music II/88” on 880717 at the ‘Kongresshalle’, Berlin. Track 1: ‘Stylobate 1’ (17:26)]