[I’ve
been hearing much from BG recently: Dublin in March, Glasgow in April and again
this month. In the latter period, he did a version of his ‘Witch Gong Games’,
the ‘score’ for a version of which I showed at the recent LR ‘Notations’
session lead by Neil Murphy. BG is a virtuoso player and a fine composer, too!]
[Peter
Kowald is a leading exponent of free bass playing. He hails from the relatively
small German town of Wuppertal, a great and active centre of creativity. In New
York on a musical assignment some years ago he ‘discovered’ the great free
saxophonist, Charles Gayle, then a street musician.]
[This
material came to me, English, in the back of a taxi in Belgium when I was
accompanying an American musician from Antwerp to Brussels for a flight to
Berlin. A Dutchman presented the musician with it a little earlier in the day. I
took a train back to London. The improvisation is done using two bows at once
in the right hand so you could call it, ‘Double Dutch’!]
[Thomas
Lehn was one of the KONK PACK Trio that recently played at Liverpool Art
College. Gunther Christmann is another of the original German Free Improv scene
and plays trombone as well as cello. His groupings under the title ‘VARIO’ have
produced a number of excellent performances and recordings over many years.]
Jöelle
Léandre/ Urban Bass/ 5. Part 2/ ADDA
581254 03:55
Ms.
Léandre is a Parisienne with a
phenomenal capacity on bass and can use her voice simultaneously in a manner
unrelated to what’s happening on the instrument! She has played with many of
the leading improvisers around the world. She works with other women such as
Maggie Nichols and Irene Schweizer. That trio goes under the name, ‘Les
Diaboliques’!]
(J. Zorn)/ The String 4s/ Dead Man/
2.Meditation/ TZADIK 7407 00:53
[Zorn
is the composer here. One of the many strings to his bow!]
European String 4 + Johannes Bauer
[TROM-BOW-N]/
Linien/ 2.
Siedemnascie/ For 4 Ears 718 05:16
[A German string quartet,
new to me, with an old friend on trombone. The title of this track I cannot
pronounce; ‘tis Polish, I think…]
John Russell-Maarten Altena-Terry Day/ The Fairly Young Bean/
5.Heave
A Brick/ EMANEN 4036 01:03
[Maarten
Altena is a Dutchman long associated with improvisation though more recently he
had devoted himself to composition. This material was recorded in 1981.]
Eddie Prevost-John Edwards-(Caroline Kraabel)-Maggie Nichols/
Relay III,
Random Play/ 33. A Bit More
(Obviously immediately after taking a bow)
2.13 001 01:47
+a bit more from the final track (34)
------------------------------------
(ca. 20mins. I phulfil
4fil)