The Squid's Ear Magazine


Dunmall / Owston / Jozwiak / Iragabon: Awoto (FMR)

New York saxophonist Jon Irabagon, performing on alto and Swanee saxophone, joins alto & tenor saxophonist Paul Dunmall for a burning live performance at Sanson Studios in Birmingham in a quartet with bassist James Owston and drummer Tymek Jozwiak, the saxophones weaving and climbing over the powerful and adept rhythm section; formidable!
 

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Personnel:



Paul Dunmall-alto saxophone, tenor saxophone

Jon Irabagon-alto saxophone, Swannee saxophone

James Owston-bass

Tymek Jozwiak-drums

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UPC: 748079797093

Label: FMR
Catalog ID: FMR CD 553
Squidco Product Code: 29194

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2019
Country: UK
Packaging: Digipack - 3 panel
Recorded at Sanson Studios, in Birmingham, UK, on May 19th, 2018, by Olly Sanson.
Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

Artist Biographies

"Paul Dunmall was born 1953, Welling, Kent; saxophones, clarinets, bagpipes, miscellaneous wind instruments.

As told to Watson (1989), Paul Dunmall was a working class lad from Welling who left school at 15 and spent two years repairing instruments at Bill Lewington's shop in Shaftesbury Avenue, London. He turned professional at 17 and, following two years touring Europe with a progressive rock band (Marsupilami), joined the Divine Light Mission, a spiritual movement led by Guru Maharaj Ji and moved from London to an ashram in America. He told Isham (1997), 'I moved to an ashram full of musicians - a music ashram - but it was still spiritual practice. That gave me a spiritual understanding through meditation, Coltrane's music, and all the rest of it, led me to that, and that's been a fundament in my life ever since - that I can actually sit down and meditate and forget my body. I realise how important meditation is in my life... but I don't do it so much these days.' During the three years he lived in America, Dunmall played with Alice Coltrane (in a big band with the Divine Light Mission) and toured for twelve months with Johnny 'Guitar' Watson.

Back in England, he played with Danny Thompson and John Stevens as well as folk musicians Kevin Dempsey, Martin Jenkins and Polly Bolton and then, in 1979 he became a founder member of Spirit Level (Tim Richards, piano; Paul Anstey, bass; Tony Orrell, drums), staying with the group until 1989. During his time with Spirit Level, Dunmall joined the two-tenor front line group Tenor Tonic with Alan Skidmore (1985), played and broadcast with Dave Alexander and Tony Moore in the DAM trio (1986) and formed the Paul Dunmall Quartet with Alex Maguire, Tony Moore and Steve Noble (1986).

In 1987 Paul Dunmall joined the London Jazz Composers Orchestra, being a constant member and appearing on all their recorded output from that date onward. The following year the improvising collective quartet Mujician was formed by Keith Tippett, Dunmall, Paul Rogers and Tony Levin and has continued to be a regular performing, touring and recording group, sometimes augmented by other musicians. Dunmall has also played in a trio with Keith and Julie Tippetts and in Keith Tippett's big band Tapestry. Two other duos have also sprung out of Mujician: Dunmall with Tony Levin (two CD releases) and Dunmall in folk-influenced outings with Paul Rogers. Another regular playing partner throughout this period and up until the present includes Elton Dean.

In 1995, two trios were formed, the first with Oren Marshall, tuba and Steve Noble, percussion, the second with John Adams, guitar and Mark Sanders, percussion, these sometimes coming together as a quintet. More recently, Dunmall has played in another reeds/guitar/drums trio with Philip Gibbs and Tony Marsh and there appears to be regular crossover between all these players. The Paul Dunmall Octet was founded in 1997."

Dunmall also has released a large number of albums and a box set on the UK FMR label, in various configurations and instrumentation.

-EFI (http://www.efi.group.shef.ac.uk/musician/mdunmall.html)
12/2/2025

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"The winner of the 2008 Thelonious Monk Saxophone Competition, Irabagon has since topped both the Rising Star Alto Saxophone and the Rising Star Tenor Saxophone categories in the DownBeat Magazine Critics' Poll and been named one of Time Out New York's 25 New York City Jazz Icons. Jon was also named 2012 Musician of the Year in The New York City Jazz Record and is an integral member of such high-profile ensembles as the Mary Halvorson Quintet, the Dave Douglas Quintet and Barry Altschul's 3Dom Factor, as well as an established bandleader in his own right.

For Perpetual Motion, a project of Moondog arrangements, Jon (along with French saxophonist/clarinetist/composer Sylvain Rifflet) has been awarded a French-American Cultural Exchange grant from the Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation, with generous funding from the Cultural Services of the French Embassy, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Florence Gould Foundation, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Institut Français, Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication, and Société des Auteurs et Compositeurs de Musique ("SACEM"). In addition, Jon has received a 2012 Mabuhay Award by the National Association of Filipino-Americans and a 2014 Philippine Presidential Award.

Jon's own record label, Irabbagast Records, has currently released five of his efforts, including I Don't Hear Nothin' but the Blues Volume 2: Appalachian Haze (with Mike Pride and Mick Barr), Outright! Unhinged (with Ralph Alessi, Jacob Sacks, John Hebert and Tom Rainey) and It Takes All Kinds (featuring Mark Helias and Barry Altschul), and most recently, the dual release of Behind the Sky (featuring Tom Harrell, Luis Perdomo, Yasushi Nakamura and Rudy Royston) as well as Jon's first solo saxophone recording, Inaction is an Action."

-Jon Irabagon Website (http://www.jonirabagon.com/bio/)
12/2/2025

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"James Owston is a Birmingham based double and electric bassist playing regularly in the UK Jazz Scene.

James was born in Sutton, London in 1996 and moved to Gloucestershire in 2000. After taking up the electric bass at age 14, he played predominantly rock and groove music, until he was eventually introduced to Jazz. This led to him take up the double bass at age 18 to pursue his new-found passion for the music. Prior to attending University, James played with the Gloucestershire Youth Jazz Orchestra and other small ensembles, performing in the local area.

In 2015, James accepted an offer to study Jazz at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire where he has been receiving tuition from Arnie Somogyi and Mark Hodgson, Percy Pursglove and Mike Williams, as well as many other tutors at the institution. As part of his studies, James has received masterclasses from notable Jazz musicians Mark Turner, Jeff Ballard, Gilad Hekselman, Dave Liebman and Mike Gibbs, as well as getting the opportunity to perform with musicians such as Jeff Williams, Steve Cardenas and Julian Arguelles.

Whilst studying in Birmingham, James met the renowned British Jazz drummer, Clark Tracey, and in 2017 he joined the Clark Tracey Quintet. This led to performances at major UK Jazz venues such as the Vortex, 606 Club, Herts Jazz and South Coast Jazz Festival amongst others. As well as this, James has also performed in the Birmingham Symphony Hall foyer, Birmingham Town Hall, Eastside Jazz Club and Cheltenham, Manchester, Cleethorpes and Trondheim Jazz festivals. In April 2018, this band recorded their first album, also being James's first professional appearance on record, which is due to be released in September 2018.

As well as being an active sideman, James is leading his own groups, notably the James Owston Mingus Quintet, that focuses on the compositions and style of the great Charles Mingus, a strong influence for James as a bass player and composer."

-Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/pg/jamesowstonmusic/about/)
12/2/2025

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

Birmingham, UK based drummer Tymek Jozwiak leads the group Torso with Alex Bonney on trumpet, Mark Hanslip on tenor saxophone, Dave Kane on double bass; the Slam Productions album Nick of Time with Tymoteusz Jozwiak with Olie Brice and Mike Fletcher; and the Hammond Organ quartet Unity Quartet.

-Squidco 12/2/2025

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.


Track Listing:
Related Categories of Interest:


Improvised Music
Jazz
Free Improvisation
London & UK Improv & Related Scenes
Quartet Recordings
Collective & Free Improvsation
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FMR.


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The Squid's Ear Magazine

The Squid's Ear Magazine

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