The Squid's Ear Magazine


Bay's Leap: Swans Over Dorking (Citystream)

The debut album by the British Improvised Music trio Bay's Leap of clarinetist Noel Taylor, pianist Clare Simmonds and cellist James Barralet, presenting 11 spontaneously improvised compositions that bridge avant jazz and contemporary classical chamber music.
 

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product information:

Personnel:



Clare Simmonds-piano

James Barralet-cello

Noel Taylor-clarinet, bass clarinet


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UPC: 190394439620

Label: Citystream
Catalog ID: CTYCD00108
Squidco Product Code: 22343

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2016
Country: Great Britain
Packaging: Cardboard Gatefold

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"This is the debut album by the British Improvised Music trio Bay's Leap comprising of clarinetist Noel Taylor, pianist Clare Simmonds and cellist James Barralet. Together they present eleven pieces, all of which are spontaneous improvised compositions by the trio members. The music, although improvised, sounds mostly like contemporary Classical chamber music, but obviously presents also elements of avant garde on one hand and melodic substance on the other hand.

Listeners familiar with earlier work by Taylor will recognize the ambience of classical sounding Improvised Music, which he presented on his earlier recordings with Splatter. The intimate setting of an acoustic trio suits this music perfectly, with each note and the silence between the notes being equally important. The level of interplay between the musicians is truly amazing and often it is difficult to believe that this music was spontaneously created, as it sounds remarkably well coordinated.

The trio members toss the ideas between themselves with collective improvisations changing into personal solo parts being "accompanied" by the others; all this is a blink of an eye. Improvised music is often harsh and chaotic, making it almost impossible to be listened to by listeners with no experience with the avant garde. The beauty of this music is, among other things, its accessibility to a relatively wide audience, without any compromise as to its aesthetic and artistic valor.

It is good to see that the British tradition of Improvised Music is alive and kicking in spite of the harsh conditions surrounding creativity and individualism. I can only recommend this wonderful album to all true music connoisseurs, regardless of their default musical inclinations. This music is able to penetrate the barriers of unfamiliarity and outlandishness by sheer power of its beauty and unadulterated ingenuity. Well done indeed!"-Adam Baruch


Artist Biographies

"Noel Taylor's main instruments belong to the clarinet family - soprano, alto and bass clarinet. He lives in Lisbon, Portugal, where he moved in 2017. He has performed widely in the UK, Portugal, Germany, Poland and Italy. He is a dedicated improviser, but his work also includes short compositions, conductions with large scale orchestras, and organising musical events. .

Recent projects have involved the trio 'Redstart' , 'Splatter (with Anna Kaluza, Pedro Velasco & Tom Greenhalgh), 'Happenstance' (with Chris Biscoe, Tom Greenhalgh, Guillaume Viltard), Grimwald (with Steve Beresford, Terry Day & Roberto Sassi). 'Plank' (with Pedro Velasco,Rachel Musson, Asuman Biswas) and 'Bay's Leap' (with James Barralet & Clare Simmonds)

Splatter have released three albums to date. Many other ad-hoc partnerships have happened along the way - always with the emphasis on improvisation. Two of these shorter collaborations have resulted in CD releases, one with Niko Meinhold and one with Alberto Popolla.

Noel Taylor is a member of the London Improvisers Orchestra, where he is one of the most frequent conductors. He has also led conductions with the Berlin Improvisers Orchestra and at festivals. He has played with Rome's Iato Orchestra. He has performed in Krakow in Poland, Germany, Italy, Sicily and Portugal, as well as London & other parts of the UK.

Other musicians he has performed with include Theo Jorgensmann, Claudio Puntin, Shabaka Hutchings, Eugenio Colombo, Steve Beresford, Mick Beck, Carlos Zingaro, Harrison Smith, Mark Sanders, Terry Day, Dominic Lash, Rafal Mazur, Cleveland Watkiss, Steve Noble, Liam Noble, Luca Venitucci, Stefano Guist, diatribes, Pat Thomas, Lawrence Casserley, Satoko Fukuda, Henrik Wallsdorf, Tony Marsh & Veryan Weston, Nick Stephens, Fumi Okiji, Marcio Mattos,Ricardo Tejero, Alex Ward, Orphy Robinson & many others.

His most regular collaborators have been Guillaume Viltard, Chris Biscoe, Alberto Popolla, Andrea Caputo, Anna Kaluza, Niko Meinhold, Julie Kjaer, Beibei Wang, Tommaso Vespo, Benedict Taylor, Noura Sanatian, Pedro Velasco , Tom Greenhalgh, Clare Simmonds, James Barralet, Tom Wheatley & John Garcia.

From 2009-2013 he curated a series of events called the Luna Fringe, a series of monthly events at Arch1 in West Ham. Bay's Leap toured Portugal in 2018 and a modified version of Spaltter, which included lthe Portuguese drummer Pedro Melo Alves and guitarist Luis Marins, also toured in 2018."

-Noel Taylor Website (https://www.noeltaylor.net/index.htm)
3/13/2024

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


Track Listing:



1. The Fading Light 4:30

2. Worker's Playtime 1:32

3. Chasing Shadows 2:13

4. Bate's Motel 4:58

5. Hanky Panky 2:52

6. Swans Over Dorking 7:39

7. Two Minus One Equals Three 2:51

8. Shepherds' Quadrille 7:19

9. Angula Logic 4:17

10. Sugar Twist 2:40

11. Not Drowning But Waving 2:07

Related Categories of Interest:


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

Search for other titles on the label:
Citystream.


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The Squid's Ear Magazine

The Squid's Ear Magazine

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