The Squid's Ear Magazine


Weightless (Butcher / Edwards / Spera / Braida): A Brush with Dignity (Clean Feed)

Music inspired and fascinated by Italian cultural history, art, poetry, &c., from the collective quartet of John Butcher, John Edwards, Fabrizio Spera and Alberto Braida.
 

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product information:

Personnel:



John Butcher-tenor saxophone, soprano saxophones

Alberto Braida-piano

John Edwards-doublebass

Fabrizio Spera-drums


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UPC: 5609063001549

Label: Clean Feed
Catalog ID: CF154
Squidco Product Code: 12016

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2009
Country: Portugal
Packaging: Cardstock Gatefold Sleeve
Recorded live in Germany, 3rd and 5th October 2008 Loft-Koln (1-3) C.U.B.A.- Muenster (4). Edited and Mastered by John Butcher.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"British artists and intellectuals have an old fascination for the Italian culture, and Italians like the way they, and their history and classical art, are envisioned by English writers, poets, painters and filmmakers. That's, inevitably, the context of this cooperative effort between John Butcher and John Edwards, from one side, and Alberto Braida and Fabrizio Spera, from the other. It demands your full attention, not because it's difficult (it may be, at times, but who wants real good music to be "easy"?), but because it's intense and needs your open ear, time and disponibility. First of all, the music is totally improvised, even if it seems meticulously composed. No contradiction here: that's what the improvising masters do, and all the four of them are specially gifted in that aspect. Then, you'll notice there's no leader or hierarchical organisation, everything happening through a collective flow, and that's why the credits go to a band name, Weightless. No-one even tries to start an ego-trip: this is a society of equals. Finally, you'll find yourself in a state of bliss, because the resulting music couldn't be more surprising."-Clean Feed



This album has been reviewed on our magazine:

The Squid
The Squid's Ear!

Artist Biographies

"John Butcher's work ranges through improvisation, his own compositions, multitracked pieces and explorations with feedback and extreme acoustics.Originally a physicist, he left academia in '82, and has since collaborated with hundreds of musicians - Derek Bailey, John Tilbury, John Stevens, The EX, Akio Suzuki, Gerry Hemingway, Polwechsel, Gino Robair, Rhodri Davies, Okkyung Lee, John Edwards, Toshi Nakamura, Paul Lovens, Eddie Prevost, Mark Sanders, Christian Marclay, Otomo Yoshihide, Phil Minton, and Andy Moor - to name a few.

He is well known as a solo performer who attempts to engage with the uniqueness of place. Resonant Spaces is a collection of site-specific performances collected during a tour of unusual locations in Scotland and the Orkney Islands.His first solo album, Thirteen Friendly Numbers, includes compositions for multitracked saxophones, whilst later solo CDs focus on live performance, composition, amplification and saxophone-controlled feedback.

HCMF has twice commissioned him to compose for his own large ensembles. Other commissions include for Elision (Australia), the Rova (USA) & Quasar (Canada) Saxophone Quartets, reconstructed Futurist Intonarumori (USA), "Tarab Cuts" (based on pre-WWII Arabic recordings, and shortlisted for the 2014 British Composer's Award) and "Good Liquor .." for the London Sinfonietta. In 2011 he received a Paul Hamlyn Foundation Award for Artists.

Recent groupings include The Apophonics with Robair and Edwards, Anemone with Peter Evans, Plume with Tony Buck & Magda Mayas and a trio with Okkyung Lee & Mark Sanders.Butcher values playing in occasional encounters - ranging from large groups such as Butch Morris' London Skyscraper and the EX Orkestra, to duo concerts with David Toop, Kevin Drumm, Claudia Binder, Paal Nilssen-Love, Thomas Lehn, Fred Frith, Keiji Haino, Ute Kangeisser, Matthew Shipp and Yuji Takahashi."

-John Butcher Website (http://www.johnbutcher.org.uk/Biog.html)
3/25/2024

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

"After taking up the bass, around 1987, John Edwards co-formed The Pointy Birds who went on to win awards for their music for The Cholmondeleys and Featherstonehaughs dance troupes. The group appeared at festivals in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Moers, Leverkusen, Copenhagen. Around 1990, Edwards played his first gigs with London improvisers such as Roger Turner, Lol Coxhill, Maggie Nicols, Phil Minton.

Between 1990 and 1995 Edwards was a member of three touring groups simultaneously: B-Shops For The Poor, The Honkies and GOD. During this period he also became an increasingly regular player on the London improvised music scene and performed his first solo gigs; he composed and performed music theatre with the bass and cello duo The Great Explorers, street-busked a lot and appeared at many more festivals in Germany, Estonia, France, Italy, Czech, etc.

Since 1995 John Edwards has become a "mainstay" of the London scene, playing with just about everybody, an activity that has seen him clocking up between 150 and 200 gigs a year. He has become regular player with Evan Parker, in many groupings, and with Tony Bevan, Veryan Weston, and Elton Dean, often in collaboration with Mark Sanders on percussion. He has become a more frequent player on the European (and festival) scene, appearing at Taktlos, Ulrichsburg, Nickelsdorf, Budapest, New Zealand and in the USA. He continues to work on solo performances."

-EFI (http://www.efi.group.shef.ac.uk/musician/medwards.html)
3/25/2024

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

Born in Rome where he has been active for many years both as a musician and organizer in the field of experimental and improvised music. Founding member of Ossatura, 7k Oaks, Eco d'Alberi, Weightless, Truth in the Abstract Blues and has worked, amongst others, with Peter Kowald, Mike Cooper, Wadada Leo Smith, Butch Morris, ROVA, Blast, Lisle Ellis, Larry Ochs, John Butcher, John Edwards, Evan Parker, Alfred Harth, Tim Hodgkinson, Wolfgang Fuchs, Thomas Lehn, Michel Doneda, Lol Coxhill, Veryan Weston, Hans Koch and Axel Dorner.

-Recommended Records 3/25/2024

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


Track Listing:



1. Apre 7:59

2. Centri 29:37

3. Vista 8:09

4. Termo 15:43

Related Categories of Interest:

Clean Feed

Improvised Music
Jazz
European Improvisation, Composition and Experimental Forms
John Butcher
London & UK Improv & Related Scenes
Recordings by or featuring Reed & Wind Players
Quartet Recordings

Search for other titles on the label:
Clean Feed.


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