The Squid's Ear Magazine


Butcher, John / Phil Durrant / John Russell: The Scenic Route (Emanem)

1999 release of the trio of John Butcher on soprano & tenor sax, Phil Durrant on violin, and John Russell on guitar, meticulous improvisation using outrageous technique, "unorthodox thematic development and off-center interplay which at times is odd and surreal".
 

Price: $16.95


Quantity:

Out of Stock

Quantity in Basket: None

Log In to use our Wish List
Shipping Weight: 4.00 units

Sample The Album:





product information:

Personnel:



John Butcher-soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone

Phil Durrant-violin

John Russell-guitar


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




UPC: 503243402922

Label: Emanem
Catalog ID: 4029
Squidco Product Code: 18408

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 1999
Country: Great Britain
Packaging: Jewel Case
1-4 by Studio CCAM: Vandoeuvre-les-Nancy (Centre Culturel Andre Malraux) May 22nd, 1998 at Musique Action '98 (15th season)

5 by Emanem: London (Red Rose) March 15th, 1998 at a Mopomoso monthly concert

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"The opener, "Heavy Merge" commences as if three scientists were meticulously crafting an intricate Swiss watch. On this piece the musicians enact clever and cunning dialogue in workmanlike fashion. The delicate transformation of unusual sounds from common unaltered instruments seems astonishing. On "Belayed", further evidence of how these gentlemen coalesce as a band is heard through unorthodox thematic development and off-center interplay which at times is odd and surreal. The liners indicate..."All instruments used without amplification or other electronics". The tour-de-force is the 22-minute piece titled, "Climate Change". Here, Russell and Durrant pluck their stringed instruments in mechanistic fashion utilizing all registers while churning out generous doses of harmonics. The feel is purposely tense or expresses uneasiness. John Butcher's amazing Soprano and Tenor Sax work is the glue yet provides the contrast as Russell and Durrant offset Butcher's often circular or in manyinstances abrupt phraseology. The Scenic Route epitomizes the ceaseless creative spirit and artistic invention or perhaps "reinvention" of the British Free Jazz movement. Here, three proven masters of modern music take the listener on a mystical yet brisk expedition, complete with all the peaks and valleys. Highly Recommended!"-Glenn Astarita, allabouyjazz.com



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)
3/13/2024

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

"Phil Durrant. Born 1957; software synth/sampler, live electronics and acoustic violin.

Phil Durrant studied classical violin and piano at the London College Of Music. Since 1977 he has been a freelance musician, improviser and composer. He has performed at festivals all over Europe, U.S.A and Canada and has had his music broadcast on radio and television in many countries.

Current electronic projects include Ticklish, Secret Measures (with John Butcher), Lunge (with Gail Brand, Pat Thomas and Mark Sanders) and the international electronic orchestra, Mimeo. He also plays violin in Assumed Possibilities (with Chris Burn, Rhodri Davies and Mark Wastell), "Beinhaltung", a trio with Radu Malfatti and Thomas Lehn another trio with Berlin musicians, Burkhard Beins and Ignaz Schick, and the string quartet Quatuor Accorde, with Tony Wren, Charlotte Hug and Mark Wastell. Durrant has also played in the very influential trio with John Butcher and John Russell, as well as the Chris Burn Ensemble.

During his career he has played with many creative and important musicians, including: Derek Bailey, Evan Parker, Grooverider, Shut up and Dance, John Zorn, Phil Minton, and Tom Cora. He has also been awarded various Arts Council grants to research and develop his use of electronics. Two current duo projects - at early 2001 - were: Durrant, violin and software synth/sampler with Wade Matthews, bass clarinet, alto flute; and Durrant software synth/sampler with Mark Sanders drums and sequenced samples.

Phil Durrant has also been collaborating and composing music for a wide variety of choreographers. These include PLastic chill, In the face of a stranger and Deja deux with Maxine Doyle; Salome, Concrete and On stage with Susanne Thomas; Partial site, near view and Delay for five with Gill Clarke; Future perfekt with Ana Sanchez-Colberg; and Borderlander and Home zone with Sophia Lycouris. Salome, Concrete and Partial site, near view were site-specific and involved speaker systems in a number of different rooms. He recently wrote the music for a new play by Nick Sutton called Home movies."

-European Free Improv (EFI) (http://www.efi.group.shef.ac.uk/musician/mdurrant.html)
3/13/2024

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


Track Listing:



1. Heavy Merge 19:57

2. Belayed 13:17

3. Buffet Balls 5:01

4. Beyond Headlines 7:06

5. Climate Change 22:02

Related Categories of Interest:


Improvised Music
Free Improvisation
London & UK Improv & Related Scenes
Trio Recordings
John Butcher
EMANEM & psi
Instant Rewards

Search for other titles on the label:
Emanem.


Recommended & Related Releases:
Other Recommended Releases:
Trio Sowari
Third Issue
(Mikroton Recordings)
Only their 3rd album since 2005, the trio of Phil Durrant (modular and software synthesizers), Bertrand Denzler (tenor saxophone) and Burkhard Beins (percussion and objects) went into the studio in Berlin to record four tracks that bring the distinct skills of each player into focus while accentuating the tremendous concentration and interplay each brings, a real achievement.
Butcher, John / John Edwards / Mark Sanders
Last Dream Of The Morning
(Relative Pitch)
A studio album between three UK master improvisers -- John Butcher on sax, John Edwards on double bass, and Mark Sanders on drums -- the trio pushing the envelope in technique and dialog in nearly telepathic playing that transports the listener into their environment, as the music builds and releases in effortless ways that are stunning and exulant; highly recommended.
Butcher, John / Thomas Lehn / Matthew Shipp
Tangle
(Fataka)
After "Exta", where saxophonist John Butcher and electronics artist Thomas Lehn met with pianist John Tilbury, the duo now meet with New York pianist Matthew Shipp for a distinct improvisational entanglement of Butcher's dense streams, Lehn's rich sound floor, and Shipp's thick repetitions.
Butcher, John / Stale Liavik Solberg
So Beautiful, It Starts To Rain
(Clean Feed)
British free improvising legend John Butcher met Scandinavian drummer Stale Liavik Solberg at Cafe Oto to record these intensely detailed yet sublimely reserved duos, three pieces segmenting the album title, an intimate and never extravagent dialog of great technical depth.
Butcher / Durrant / Lovens /Malfatti / Russell
News From The Shed
(Emanem)



Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought:
Takase, Aki / Alexander Von Schlippenbach
Four Hands Piano Pieces
(Trost Records)
Composed over a period of thirty years, the eleven absolutely remarkable recording from the duo of husband and wife virtuoso piano improvisers and composers Aki Takase and Alexander von Schlippenbach, performing together on two grand pianos or, as the title describes, performing with four hands, is a stunning achievement in style, complement, and nearly telepathic dialog.
Guy, Barry and Friends
Krakow 2018 [5 CD BOX SET]
(Not Two)
Two days of concerts in 2018 at Alchemia Club, in Krakow, Poland and a recording at Radio Krakow the next day from English composer, band leader and a bass player Barry Guy, in varying configurations at Alchemia of duos & trios with some of Europe & The UK's leading improvisers, culminating in an 11-piece ensemble at Radio Krakow performing the large work "For To End Yet Again".
Barriere, Lali / Miguel A. Garcia
Espejuelo
(Nueni)
The duo of Miguel A. Garcia on electronics and Lali Barriere on objects and no-input mixer for an album of investigative, detailed improvisation that's well paced and calmly complex.
Janas, Gene / Vinnie Paternostro / Jay Reeve / Other Matter
United Slaves #2~3
(Improvising Beings)
Recorded in Brooklyn and Paris, this quintet crosses the threshold between jazz, rock and electronic sound with a somewhat dark intent, using guitar & sitar, organs, syths, pianos, drums, bass and sounds to evoke thick and extended psychedelic environments.
Wilson, Tony 6tet
A Day's Life
(Drip Audio)
The first recording of Tony Wilson's music inspired by the plight and lives of the homeless and drug addictied in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, in a band with P Carter on trumpet, Jesse Zubot on violin, Peggy Lee on cello, Russell Sholberg on bass and Skye Brooks on drums.
Joyfultalk
Muuixx
(Drip Audio)
Vancouver-based Jay Crocker, half of Bent Spoon with Chris Dadge, in an album of electronics using homebuilt instruments and treatments, rhythmically based music with effective melodies and a quirky, sometimes lo-fi, but always engaging approach.
Levin, Daniel Quartet
Friction
(Clean Feed)
Cellist Daniel Levin Quartet leads his quartet with Nate Wooley on trumpet, Matt Moran on vibes, and Torbjorn Zetterberg on bass, in open-minded modern compositions that blend jazz, chamber, and experimental improvisation of reserved and riveting character.
Roebke, Jason
Every Sunday
(Clean Feed)
The music of bassist Jason Roebke and his trio of guitarist Matthew Schneider and drummer Marcus Evan is rooted in the leader's solid bass work and the tasteful and informed lyrical freedom of his sidemen, as heard in this live performace Chicago's Hungry Brain.
Loriot, Frantz / Manuel Perovic Notebook Large Ensemble
Urban Furrow
(Clean Feed)
French-Japanese violist Frantz Loriot's large ensemble drawn from 5 nations in an excellent set of compositions that employ a diverse set of approaches, slyly drawing the listener into unique and encompassing sound worlds of remarkable elements and superb improvisation.
Fraser, Nick (feat. Tony Malaby and Kris Davis)
Too Many Continents
(Clean Feed)
Toronto drummer and composer Nick Fraser in a superb trio with saxophonist Tony Malaby and pianist Kris Davis, performing Fraser originals that merge free improvisation, jazz and avant compositional approaches with astonishing solos from all three.
Parker, Evan / Joe Morris / Nate Wooley
Ninth Square
(Clean Feed)
The extraordinary trio of three masterful players from different generations who have broken with convention while playing within free forms--Evan Parker on sax; Joe Morris on guitar; and Nate Wooley on trumpet--performing live at Firehouse 12 in Connecticut, 2014.
Nabatov, Simon / Mark Dresser
Projections
(Clean Feed)
The 1st meeting between Simon Nabatov on piano (inside and out) and double bassist Mark Dresser, recorded live at the Loft in Cologne in 2014, for a remarkable dialog of empathetic communication, outrageous technique and dynamic exchange from two authoritative players.
Prehn, Tom Quartet
Axiom
(Corbett vs. Dempsey)
Pianist Tom Prehn's quartet with Frits Krogh on tenor sax, Poul Ehlers on bass, and Finn Slumstrup on bass, superb European free jazz recorded in 1963 in Copenhagen but never formally released, here remastered and issued with an unreleased track from 1966.
Lacy, Steve / Steve Potts
Tips
(Corbett vs. Dempsey)
Recorded in Paris in 1979, Steve Lacy (soprano sax) and Steve Potts (alto sax) perform music for the aphorisms of Georges Braque, as sung by Irene Aebi; originally issued on Hat Hut records, this reiusse remasters the original release and includes images from the score.
Brotzmann / van Hove / Bennink
1971
(Corbett vs. Dempsey)
Unreleased material from legendary European players Peter Brotzmann (sax), Fred Van Hove (piano) and Han Bennink (drums), captured live in 1971 for intensely heavy playing at the 2nd Internationales New Jazz Meeting Auf Burg Altena, and in detailed studio work at Radio Bremen.
Rollerball
Catholic Paws/Catholic Pause
(Silber)
Odd beats, strange solos, a reggae feel here, an avant-garde jazz angularity there, from Rollerball, a goth-tinged pop band with vocalist Mae Starr leading the quintet through catchy melodies with unexpected twists and turns.
Small Life Form
One
(Silber)
Label leader Brian John Mitchell in his first Small Life Form release, seven instrumental drone pieces ranging from contemplative to noisy and disturbed, designed so they may all be listened to simultaneously while looped.
Thollem / Wimberly / Cline
Radical Empathy
(Relative Pitch)
A trio of collective-improvisers recording in NYC's East Village in 2015 for exceptionally sympathetic dialog, instigated by electric keyboard improvisor Thollem McDonas, with Nels Cline on guitar and Charles Gayle cohort Michael Wimberly on drums; Fred Frith liner notes!
Rempis Percussion Quartet, The (w/ Haker-Flaten / Rosaly / Daisy)
Cash And Carry
(Aerophonic)
After 10 years together, the Rempis Percussion Quartet led by saxophonist Dave Rempist, Frank Rosaly, Tim Daisy on drums and percussion, and Ingebrigt Haker-Flaten on bass, recorded this concert at Chicago's Hungry Brain for a superlative album of rhythmically simmering free improv.
Chicago Reed Quartet (Mazzarella / Rempis / Williams / Vandermark)
Western Automatic
(Aerophonic)
Four generations of Chicago saxophonists--Dave Rempis, Ken Vandermark, Mars Williams, and Nick Mazzarella--come together in an interactive saxophone quartet with each player providing 2 compositions of well-developed, powerful, engaging free and lyrical jazz.
Helary, Sylvaine
Spring Roll / Printemps [2 CDs]
(Ayler)
A hybrid of theater, music, sound poetry and political manifesto from Sylvaine Helary, focused on the "Arab Spring" in Egypt, using intertwining words and voices around the quartet performances of Hugues Mayot, Sylvain Lemetre, Antonin Rayon and Sylvaine Helary.



The Squid's Ear Magazine

The Squid's Ear Magazine

© 2002-, Squidco LLC