The Squid's Ear Magazine

Beck Hunters

Has It Been Found?

Beck Hunters: Has It Been Found? (Discus)

UK Tenor saxophonist and bassoonist Beck Hunter (Feet Packets, Gated Community) leads his trio with Anton Hunter on guitar and Johnny Hunter on drums, their second album of confident, self-possessed free improvisation with both an assertive edge and excellent exploratory moments, a sense of humor and a serious intent, a great example of collective improv.
 

Price: $15.95


Quantity:

Out of Stock

Quantity in Basket: None

Log In to use our Wish List
Shipping Weight: 2.00 units

Sample The Album:





product information:

Personnel:



Mick Beck-tenor sax, bassoon, whistles

Anton Hunter-guitar

Johnny Hunter-drums


Click an artist name above to see in-stock items for that artist.




UPC: 5051078966229

Label: Discus
Catalog ID: 78CD
Squidco Product Code: 27415

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2019
Country: UK
Packaging: Cardboard Gatefold
Recorded in Sheffield, UK, on March 10th, 2016, by Anton Hunter.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"Some years on from their first album The Hunt Is On, the trio moves into a more philosophical domain. If you play this one quietly, you hear a delicate interplay of subtle ideas about melody and noise, harmony and space. If you play it loud, the intense energy jumps out of the music and demands attention for the different levels of interaction between all three. Perhaps in response to the more philosophical questions posed in the track titles of this album, there has to be an acceptance of ambiguity or uncertainty when it comes to some of the basics in language, truth and logic. But as performers, the musicians know that the best thing to do is still to have a good time anyway! So each of the tracks gives answers to the question posed by the album title of whether the Hunt (referring to first album) has been successful.

Track 1 (Yes and no) comprises a sax/guitar duo with drums mediating and sometimes suggesting they should stop yattering "and get a bit of this!" It ends with a sort of question and a sort of resolution. So that's clear.

Track 2 (What is it?) finds sax messing about with some 12-tone patterns that most listeners would not interpret as such, an active sax drums duo, a delicious melodic sax guitar exchange, and a concluding ping. So there's the answer.

Track 3 (The guardians of truth) is clearly a very complicated issue both at the philosophical and practical levels, and it requires lengthy explorations of what on earth can be done with a bassoon (supplemented by several odd whistles), great variety and dexterity from the guitar and drums (brushwork and bells in particular), crescendo and diminuendo over multi-layered guitar figures to finish.

Track 4 (Paradox and confusion): some believe these are the pillars of the gateway to truth, those things which keep truth obscured from us. Musically there is an eruption of feelings from the Trio: a delicate entry rising to the outraged fortissimo point. Is it really these pillars that cause such pain and sorrow? Then the necessary diminuendo, the resolution of tensions in the music, and a few moments of serenity to finish.

This is another heartening example of continuing communications between players from different generations."-From the Liner Notes


Artist Biographies

"On the free scene since 1980, as an improvising big band leader to solo performer, Mick is known for his energy and originality: his playing covers the full emotional gamut from heartbreaking to mischievous, and from abstracts to compelling swing.

His improvising big band Feet Packets was unique in the UK and influential in the late 1980s. In the 1990s he led many small groups including the powerful free jazz trio Something Else with Paul Hession and Simon Fell, which released two acclaimed CDs. Since the millennium, Beck's ground-breaking work with the mysterious and humorous bassoon, supplemented by his use of other wind instruments add many new sounds and moods. In 2005, Beck formed another big band, Gated Community, a 15-piece group, which revisited the boundaries between total musical freedom and novel compositions. Some videos remain of the band's performances, which included two engagements with Damo Suzuki as guest artist.

Beck's technical innovations and musical ideas are often a source of inspiration to his collaborators on stage, and hehe works with many of free music's best-known exponents covering a wide age range. He is based in Sheffield , plays regularly in London and elsewhere in the UK and from time to time in Spain, Germany, Austria, France, Canada and Australia .

He has worked with many great musicians such ass saxists J.D. Parran to Alan Wilkinson, guitarists Derek Bailey to Hugh Metcalfe, percussionists Tony Buck to Steve Noble and Paul Hession, bassists Marcio Mattos to Simon Fell, pianists Chris Burn to Stephen Grew and Pat Thomas.

In the 1990s through to 2004, he was one of the lead organisers of Sheffield 's Other Music, a bastion of the UK 's free music scene for 22 years from 1982 to 2004.

He has worked with many great musicians such ass saxists J.D. Parran to Alan Wilkinson, guitarists Derek Bailey to Hugh Metcalfe, percussionists Tony Buck to Steve Noble and Paul Hession, bassists Marcio Mattos to Simon Fell, pianists Chris Burn to Stephen Grew and Pat Thomas.

In the 1990s through to 2004, he was one of the lead organisers of Sheffield 's Other Music, a bastion of the UK 's free music scenefor 22 years."

-Mick Beck Website (http://mickbeck.com/)
3/13/2024

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

"Anton Hunter is a composer and improviser living in Manchester. He leads his own trio, who have found airtime on Radio 3 and he can be found playing in a variety of settings with varying levels of improvisation, with musicians such as Mick Beck, Sam Andreae, Simon Prince, Rodrigo Constanzo, Cath Roberts, Phil Marks, David Birchall, Keith Jafrate and many more.

He was commissioned by the Manchester Jazz Festival to create an hour-long suite of music for the 2014 festival. His "Article 11″ project is an 11-piece ensemble and features improvisation at it's core, aiming to draw the personalities of the musicians into the final outcome. Also ongoing is a set of saxophone quartet music, a duo with baritone saxophonist Cath Roberts called Ripsaw Catfish, Cath's quintet 'Sloth Racket, the trio 'Beck Hunters'. He is perhaps still better known for his work as guitarist in the Beats & Pieces Big Band, a group he is a founder member of and who continue to defy the odds simply by gigging as a 14 piece jazz ensemble in the UK and Europe.

Improvisation is at the core of everything he does and in 2007 he formed free-improvisation organisation The Noise Upstairs. Initially a meeting place and jam session for improvisers, it is still going strong almost a decade later, and has grown to include occasional workshops on a range of subjects and a small record label.

In 2014 he was a "Sound and Music New Voice" - more information on which is here.

He teaches guitar and improvisation in schools and privately, visit the contact page if you are interested in lessons, or to book a workshop or similar."

-Anton Hunter Website (http://www.antonhunter.com/about-2/about/)
3/13/2024

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

"Johnny Hunter is a northern UK-based drummer who comes from a background of both the Avant-Garde and the more mainstream Jazz. He has performed or recorded with such esteemed musicians as Benn Clatworthy, Mick Beck, Nat Birchall, Jamil Sheriff, Jamie Taylor, Pete Fairclough, Walt Shaw, Corey Mwamba, Steve Beresford, Graham Clark, Adam Fairhall and Steve Berry to name a few. He is also heavily involved in the Reggae and Dub scene.

He is currently playing with Misha Gray's Prehistoric Jazz Quintet, Liverpool-based group playing heavy modal Jazz inspired by John Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders and the like; Nat Birchall; Engine Room Favourites, AACM inspired Free Jazz; the Blind Monk Trio, sax/bass/drums trio playing heavy rootjazz; the Dub Jazz Soundsystem, a mash-up of heavy Dub and psychedelic modal Jazz; Skamel, a Ska/Jazz/Dub ensemble inspired by the French Reggae group Raspigaous; his own "chordless" quartet set up to explore the freedom and limitations of having no chordal instrument; among several other projects. He also runs the Jazz jam night at Matt & Phred's Jazz Club."

-Johnny Hunter Website (http://www.johnnyhuntermusic.com/bio/)
3/13/2024

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


Track Listing:



1. Yes And No 10:17

2. What Is It? 10:13

3. Guardians Of The Truth 29:47

4. Paradox And Confusion 16:10

Related Categories of Interest:


Improvised Music
Free Improvisation
London & UK Improv & Related Scenes
Trio Recordings
Collective Free Improvsation

Search for other titles on the label:
Discus.


Recommended & Related Releases:
Other Recommended Releases:
Caines, Ron / Martin Archer AXIS
Dream Feathers
(Discus)
The "AXIS" of UK saxophonist Ron Caines and multi-reedist Martin Archer, also on organ and electronics, in a subtle septet with outstanding players including Laura Cole on piano and Johnny Hunter on drums, in a set of dream-like and lyrically beautiful improvisations, merging electronics and horns over a powerfully solid rhythm section that create warm textural cycles.
Mwamba, Corey
Nth
(Discus)
A sophisticated and lyrical album of modern jazz led by UK vibraphonist Corey Mwamba, also on glockenspiel & beak flute, in a quartet with Laura Cole on piano, Andy Champion on double bass, and Johnny Hunter on drums & small percussion, with all pieces "devised and scored" by Mwamba alongside one collective improvisation; powerfully refined modern jazz.
Frostlake
Ice & Bone
(Discus)
The second album from multi-instrumentalist Frostlake (Jan Todd, also of Orchestra of The Upper Atmosphere), hallucinatory songs of layered vocals accompanied by the creative bass of Terry Todd, for rich atmospheres with warm instrumentation augmented by field recordings; absorbing music that draws its listeners into their beautiful, psychedelic dream states.
Eclectic Maybe Band
Reflections In A Moebius Ring Mirror
(Discus)
The second album of this Guy Segers (Univers Zero) project in an eclectic ensemble of improvisers, rock musicians and experimenters, a genre-defying project of primarily instrumental work with interventions of song, merging acoustic & electric instruments with electronics, live improvisation with studio manipulation, to find new forms of mesmerizing music.
Caines, Ron / Martin Archer Axis
Les Oiseaux de Matisse
(Discus)
Saxophonist Ron Caines, who led the innovative band East of Eden in the late 60s, joins a septet including Martin Archer on reeds & electronics, Laura Cole on keys, Gus Garside on bass, Johnny Hunter on drums, Graham Clark on violin & guitar, and Herve Perez on live sound processing & shakuhachi as they merge improv with real time processing and studio collage.
Eclectic Maybe Band
The Blind Night Watchers' Mysterious Landscapes
(Discus)
Univers Zero bassist Guy Seger brought this eclectic group of improvisers into the studio to develop the music on this genre-defying album, informed by a sextet of musicians who have performed and recorded with projects and artists including Vanishing Pictures, X-Legged Sally, Wrong Object, Tony Levin, Tony Bianco, Paul Schutze, Trevor Watts, Zeena Parkins, Jim O'Rourke, &c.
Archer, Martin & Engine Room Favourites
Safety Signal From A Target Town
(Discus)
Saxophonist Martin Archer composed the five works on this, the 3rd release for Engine Room Favorites, his AACM-influenced big band with a tremendous orchestration of horns with drums, vibes, piano and bass, here with their most complex yet melodic and rich release yet, including melodic elements of folk music, powerful rhythms from prog-oriented rock, and free improv and jazz.
Orchestra Of The Upper Atmosphere
Orchestra Of The Upper Atmosphere
(Discus)
The debut release of the UK improvising rock group Orchestra Of The Upper Atmosphere, co-led by Martin Archer & Chris Bywater, in a double CD blending kosmische musik, space rock, and contemporary classical, an improbable meeting between Ligeti, Klaus Schulze, & Quarkspace, supplemented at times by a string quartet, a sax quintet, and a 25-piece mixed choir.
Orchestra Of The Upper Atmosphere
03
(Discus)
The improvising rock group Orchestra Of The Upper Atmosphere, led by Martin Archer, Chris Bywater, and Steve Dinsdale, in their 3rd album of innovative improvisation, haunting hypnotic grooves and blasts of sheer exuberance, with the band augmented by strings and trombone to give them a larger and more intense sound.
Sunshine! Quartet (Archer / Mwamba / Bennett / Fairclough)
Sunshine! Quartet
(Discus)
A small group setting where each performer brings a composition to the session, with Discus family members Martin Archer on saxophones, Corey Mwamba on vibraphone, Seth Bennet on double bass, and Peter Fariclough on drums, for jazz that balances melodic and formidable free improvisation.
Archer, Martin
Story Tellers
(Discus)
Martin Archer introduces a new sextet based on Chicago's AACM approach to free improvisation, in a 2-CD set of 6 large works divided into 5 or 6 chapters each, presenting character themes, rhythm ideas, composed duets, and improvised instructions; superb!
Archer / Clark / Grew / Hunter
Felicity's Ultimatum
(Discus)
The 2nd release in a new series of small groups drawn from members of the Discus Music family, where the group meets, writes, rehearses and records in one single session, here developing ten compositions from all four players edited into a continuous sequence of structure and improvisation, embracing melody, texture and pure abstraction.



Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought:
Lijiang Quintet
Crossing A River By Rope
(fo'c'sle)
A rare and exuberant exchange of sonic discourse between Chinese and American improvisers recorded in the Yunnan Province of China at the Lijiang Studio artist residency, in a uniquely voiced quintet with Theresa Wong on cello & voice, Lao Dan on saxophone & bamboo instruments, John McCowen on clarinet & recorder, Li Xing on electric & acoustic guitars, and Deng Boyu on percussion & found objects.
Musson, Rachel / Pat Thomas / Mark Sanders
Shifa - Live In Oslo
(577 Records)
Performing as part of the Blow Out Festival 2019, the UK improvising trio Shifa, meaning "healing", of Rachel Musson on tenor saxophone, Pat Thomas on piano, and Mark Sanders on drums, are captured live in Oslo for four dramatic and masterful collective improvisations, passionate and building works, releasing their tension and rebuilding in powerful waves.
Kid Millions / Sarah Bernstein
Broken Fall (VINYL)
(577 Records)
Pulling inspiration from disparate influences such as early liturgical music, Ornette Coleman, Laurie Anderson, Yoko Ono, Milford Graves, and composers Morton Feldman and Lou Harrison, Kid Millions and Sarah Bernstein create a cyclical form of spontaneous thematic music through powerful electronics, wild vocalizations, and unrelenting drum textures.
Carter, Daniel / Patrick Holmes / Matthew Putman / Hilliard Greene / Federico Ughi
Electric Telepathy, Vol. 1 [VINYL]
(577 Records)
Multi-instrumentalist Daniel Carter's Telepathic Band with Patrick Holmes (clarinet), Matthew Putman (keyboards), Hilliard Greene (bass) and Federico Ughi (drums) present their first volume of "psych-jazz", in actively mesmerizing music that explores the border between the "default world" and the "dream world", a meditation on electricity through profound playing.
Hawkins, Chester
Cops Need Serial Numbers [USB mp3 & wav + pdf]
(Intangible Arts)
DC electronic explorer Chester Hawkins releases this limited edition album of 50 copies shaped in a metal bullet that unscrews to reveal a USB drive with more than 4 hours of extended forays into psychedelic electronics, synth and tabletop guitar, journeys of hard drone & abstract concrete elements, in mp3 & wav format with a pdf, housed in a handsome black case.
von Orelli, Marco / Tommy Meier / Luca Sisera / Sheldon Suter
Lotus Crash
(ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)
Trumpeter Marco von Orelli's piano-less quartet with Tommy Meier on tenor saxophone, bass clarinet, Luca Sisera on double bass, and Sheldon Suter on drums is caught live at Theater am Gleis, in Winterthur, Switzerland in 2018, and at Boudoir au Revoir, the same year, performing von Orelli's compellingly clever compositions, plus one each from Adam lane and Tommy Meier.
SLD Trio (Shocron / Lamonega / Diaz)
El Contorno del Espacio
(Listen! Foundation (Fundacja Sluchaj!))
The third SLD Trio album from the Argentinian free improvising band with a strong NY presence of pianist Paula Shoctron (also narrating on "Transformacion"), bassist German Lamonega, and Pablo Diaz, in ten diverse and confident recordings, performing compositions from each musicians one collective improvisation, and Duke Ellington's "Melancholia".
Big Tent (Jerome Kitzke / Steve Rust / Harvey Sorgen)
I Am Waiting
(Not Two)
The New York trio of pianist Jerome Kitzke, bassist Steve Rust on electric and acoustic, and drummer/percussionist Harvey Sorgen, alternate consummately clever approaches to collective playing with Kitzke's humorously ironic and insightful reading of four poems by Lawrence Ferlinghetti from his book "A Coney Island of the Mind", in honor of his 100th birthday.
Shipp, Matthew / Mark Helias / Gordon Grdina
Skin and Bones
(Not Two)
Recording two days after their concert in British Columbia, BC at Alternator Centre for Contemporary Art's Skin And Bones Music Series, the trio of pianist Matthew Shipp, guitarist Gordon Grdina and bassist Mark Helias captured these collective improvisations at Afterlife Studios in Vancouver BC, titling their album after their well-received concert.
Hanslip, Mark / Emil Karlsen
Planish
(Noumenon)
Saxophonist Mark Hanslip and drummer Emil Karlsen, two active figures on the UK free improv and jazz scene, in a sax & drum duo fueled by live performances, here in their first album of informed and exploratory dialog, five works that run the gamut from textural open playing to fiery free jazz, a solid first endeavor and addition to Karlsen's Noumenon label.
Mazurek, Rob
Psychotropic Electric Eel Dreams IV
(Astral Spirits)
Recordings from the 4-channel sound composition for the ESS Florasonic installation series at Lincoln Park Conservatory in Chicago, of Rob Mazurek's work using recordings of electric eels from National Institute of Research and Technology in Manaus, Brazil, combined with analog/digital synthesis to create environments of beautiful undulating and radiant sonic textures.
Mazurek, Rob
Love Waves Ecstatic Charge
(Astral Spirits)
One of three releases in Rob Mazurek's Marfa Trio, recorded in Marfa, TX, using 106 distorted still images and fragmented skipping sound from video shot at Abbaye Royal de Fontevraud, France in 2005, repurposed for this intense and wild sound work which processes the images through modular synth and computer, shaped by Mazurek's unique approach to sound.
Somersaults (Olie Brice / Tobias Delius / Mark Sanders)
Numerology of Birdsong
(West Hill Records)
Having supported Paul Dunmall, Evan Parker, Mikolaj Trzaska, Ken Vandermark, &c., the UK rhythm section of Olie Brice on double bass and Mark Sanders on drums joined forces for their own Somersaults trio with tenor saxophonist Tobias Delius (ICP), this second album an example of their buoyant, optimistically playful and melodically charged free improvisation.
Brown, Marion
Capricorn Moon To Juba Lee (remastered)
(ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)
Merging and remastering two essential albums from free jazz saxophonist Marion Brown: his 1966 ESP album "Marion Brown Quartet" with trumpeter Alan Shorter, bassist Reggie Johnson and percussionist Rahied Ali; and his 1967 Fontana album "Juba-Lee" in a septet with Reggie Johnson, drummer Beaver Harris, pianist Dave Burrell, trombonist Grachan Moncur III & saxophonist Bennie Maupin.



The Squid's Ear Magazine

The Squid's Ear Magazine

© 2002-, Squidco LLC