An impressive quartet of European improvisers in active and unusually colored music, two extended works that consistetly engages the listener in amazing dialog.
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Sample The Album:
Daunik Lazro-alto saxophone, baritone saxophone
Carlos Alves Zingaro-violin
Joelle Leandre-doublebass
Paul Lovens-percussion, musical saw
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UPC: 3355350071109
Label: Potlatch
Catalog ID: P102
Squidco Product Code: 12520
Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2002
Country: France
Packaging: Jewel tray, not sealed.
Recorded at Forum of Blanc-Mesnil, in Paris, France , during the "Banlieues Bleues" Festival, on March 31st, 2001, by Jean-Marc Foussat.
"Most Americans discover European improvised music using a map dominated by Amsterdam, Berlin, and London, which dwarfs and shoves the rest of the continent to the margins. At some point, however, even they realize the land lies differently. Yet, extensive exploration is required to correct the proportions, label the tributaries, and overlay the trade routes. In this endeavor, recordings become the coordinates that begin to flesh out the map's heretofore blank spaces.
Madly You is valuable in this regard. Daunik Lazro, Joelle Leandre, and Carlos Zingaro are all but unknown to the typical American improvised music enthusiast, whose knowledge of Paul Lovens centers on his work with Schlippenbach Trio. Theirs are names seen occasionally in English language magazines, usually in connection with CDs available only through mail order services. Their stature in this supposedly peripheral Europe, and their respective and shared histories, entail few familiar reference points.For them, Madly You would be a jolt, albeit a welcomed one. Even for the unusually motivated American, who has managed to hear these improvisers in performance, and to snag a good number of their recordings, the album imparts the concentrated sense of discovery so valued in the pursuit of improvised music. Conversely, at a time when improvised music is perceived in some European quarters to be slipping into a comfortable middle aged genre, this music is devoid of the stock gambits giving such prattle its limited sway.The ensemble's palette immediately engages the ear. Given the hegemony of the soprano and tenor saxophones in improvised music, Lazro's use of alto, the once dominant jazz ax scantily represented in improvised music, and the equally seldom heard baritone is refreshing. On the higher horn, he blends well with the frequently soaring Zingaro; on the lower, he and Leandre can produce a fearsome rumble. Completed by Lovens' small percussion orchestra, it is a palette adaptable to the bold strokes and subtle shadings filling these canvases.
The ensemble further distinguishes itself by how it employs these colors. Instead of machine gunning the listener, letting him or her in on an inside joke, or testing their polemical rigor, the ensemble directly communicates their passions. Additionally, these improvisations exude an impulsive, mercurial quality, the sense that the direction of the music could go almost anywhere at almost anytime. Subsequently, the listener is drawn into the unfolding of the music on its terms, not the ideologues'.
Among the score of reasons, committing improvised music to recordings is a risky proposition because it creates a familiarity, even an intimacy that would otherwise never exist had the tape not been rolling. It is therefore incumbent upon improvisers to issue recordings that prolong the listeners' initial stage of discovery, that keeps them in a state of wonder long enough that they at least temporarily discard their assumptions, and in the case of Americans, their maps. Daunik Lazro, Joelle Leandre, Paul Lovens, and Carlos Zingaro do exactly that on Madly You."-Bill Shoemaker, from the liner notes
Artist Biographies
• Show Bio for Daunik Lazro "The French saxophonist Daunik Lazro combines a tart, piercing tone with a quick mind and a flexible philosophy of music-making. His professional start was in bassist Saheb Sarbib's orchestra, a relationship he maintained through most of the '70s, which included three recordings. His first steps playing his own music involved a radical resizing of the cast on-stage, going from orchestra playing to solo saxophone concerts and duets. In the '80s, he busily played with many on the European improvised music scene, including bassist Jean Jacques Avenel, cellist Tristan Honsinger, violinist Carlos Zingaro, drummer Christian Rollet, and saxophonist Evan Parker, among others. In the mid-'80s, Lazro expanded his partnerships to include dance and theater projects, including work with the Company of the Chance. He formed a particularly fine trio in 1987 with fellow saxophonist Michel Doneda and the brilliant ppercussionistLê Quan Ninh, playing at many of the major European festivals and also touring in Canada. Duets with the American free improviser Joe McPhee are a 1991 discographical highlight, during a period when Lazro also began playing viola. In 1993, he started his own orchestra as well as a quartet called Outlaws in Jazz with Jac Berrocal, Didier Levallet, and Dennis Charles. In 1995, he toured Europe in a triple-threat combination with both McPhee and Parker, and the former artist also joined him in a quartet the following year with the superb British contrabassist Paul Rogers. In the late '90s, he continued involvement with a series of orchestra projects, often as a guest soloist." ^ Hide Bio for Daunik Lazro • Show Bio for Joelle Leandre "Joëlle Léandre is a famous French Bassist and is known for her collaborations with other musicians in the field of improvised music. Born in France on September 12th, 1951, she made her music debut in 1984 with Les Douze Sons. Her childhood was filled with music, and she was particularly interested in the piano during her early years. In her later years, she developed an interest in double bass, which won her many honors and scholarships during her education. Her double bass teacher Pierre Delescluse encouraged her to apply to the Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique de Paris, where she was formally trained and noticed for her talent in the bass. Her outstanding musicianship took her to the United States and to the Centre for Creative and Performing Arts in Buffalo through a scholarship. In the United States, she expanded her network and met some of the best composers, such as John Cage, Giacinto Scelsi, and Morton Feldman. Among them, John Cage greatly influenced her music and compositions. Her time in the United States also enabled her to experience downtown New York music, which was another significant influence that led to her continued involvement in the field of improvised music. Some of her notable collaborations in the field of contemporary music are with Pierre Boulez, Merce Cunningham, John Cage, and Giacinto Scelsi. Among them, John Cage and Giacinto Scelsi were the biggest influences in her life and music. In an interview, Joëlle Léandre said that John Cage was her spiritual father and changed her perception of sound and music. In another interview, she tells how Giacinto Scelsi allowed her to discover her own music and how his music transported her into a new world of improved consciousness. In the field of jazz music, she collaborated with Derek Bailey, William Parker, and Sebi Tramontana. Her music was owned and distributed by different music labels, including FMP, Leo, RougueArt, and Red Toucan. Some memorable songs and albums she released throughout the years include Instant Replay, Les Douze sons, Trios, Sweet Zee, Frerebet, Joelle et Tetsu, Philippe Fenelon, Voyages, etc. Some of the recent releases include Can You Hear Me and Unleashed. She has also performed live at the Tampere Jazz Festival twice, where popular international artists compete with each other. Joëlle Léandre is also the member of European Women's Improvising Group (EWIG). The group evolved from the Feminist Improvising Group, and Joëlle Léandre joined the group in 1983. In the early 1900s, she co-founded Les Diaboliques with Irene Schweizer and Maggie Nicols, who were her long-time musician friends. Besides that, she also teaches several classes in prestigious universities about contemporary and improvised music. She has lived in France, Germany, and U.S during her lifetime, teaching at academic institutions in the religions and playing concerts. In 2002, she was invited to Canada as a visiting professor for music and composition." ^ Hide Bio for Joelle Leandre • Show Bio for Paul Lovens "Born in Aachen, Germany, 6 June 1949; Drums, percussion, musical saw, etc. Paul Lovens played the drums as a child. Self-taught, from the age of 14 he played in groups of various jazz styles and popular musics and from 1969 has worked almost exclusively as an improvisor on individually selected instruments. He has worked internationally with most of the leading musicians in free jazz and free improvisation, among whom have included the Globe Unity Orchestra, the Berlin Contemporary Jazz Orchestra, the Schlippenbach trio, Quintet Moderne, Company, and a duo with Paul Lytton. He has undertaken concert tours in more than 40 countries, is a founder member of a musician's cooperative and has produced recordings for his own label, Po Torch Records since 1976. He has worked with painter Herbert Bardenheuer. Despite very rare solo performances, and although giving occasional concerts with ad-hoc groups and an involvement in projects with film, dance and actors, Paul Lovens' main interest and work is musical improvisation in fixed small groups. In the mid-1990s these small groups numbered around 16, of which a few were part of a special selection, called 'vermögen'. Paul Lovens somehow epitomises the free drummer/percussionist who is not there to lay down the beat and kick everyone else into action but to listen, colour, contribute, guide, and occasionally direct, the overall cooperative sound. In concert one cannot fail to be moved by his intensity and concentration and there is an overiding feeling that even the most random events are somehow planned in time. In this respect, there is a nice irony that on the Nothing to read CD with Mats Gustafsson, Lovens describes his kit as consisting of 'selected and unselected drums and cymbals'. Miking seems to be a problem at times with some recordings giving him undue prominence and others insufficient. Good recordings are Elf bagatellen, Nothing to read, Pakistani pomade, and ,stranger than love." ^ Hide Bio for Paul Lovens
10/2/2024
Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.
10/2/2024
Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.
10/2/2024
Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.
Track Listing:
1. Madly You 40:50
2. Lyou Mad 19:33
Improvised Music
Jazz
European Improv, Free Jazz & Related
Quartet Recordings
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