The Squid's Ear Magazine


McPhee, Joe / Mats Gustafsson: Brace For Impact (Corbett vs. Dempsey)

Drawing on many collaborations, from Peter Brotzmann's large groups to Gustafsson's The Thing, this duo album recorded in 2008 is finally issued to unleash 1 blistering album of saxophone duos, Joe McPhee on altos sax, alto clarinet, pocket trumpet and voice, with Gustafsson on baritone and slide saxophone, alto fluteophone and live electronics; brace yourself!
 

Price: $14.95


Quantity:

Out of Stock

Quantity in Basket: None

Log In to use our Wish List
Shipping Weight: 3.00 units

Sample The Album:





product information:

Personnel:



Mats Gustafsson-baritone saxophone, slide saxophone, alto fluteophone, live electronics

Joe McPhee-pocket trumpet, alto saxophone, alto clarinet, voice


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




UPC: B07J35GB9D

Label: Corbett vs. Dempsey
Catalog ID: CvsDCD055
Squidco Product Code: 26574

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2018
Country: USA
Packaging: Cardboard Gatefold
Recorded at ESS, in Chicago, Illinois, on December 2nd, 2007, by Lou Mallozzi.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"Some recordings, the world is just not ready for them when they're made. In 2008, Swedish born, Austrian resident saxophonist Mats Gustafsson and Poughkeepsie, New York multi-instrumentalist Joe McPhee made a suite of studio recordings that they loved so much they immediately culled, mixed, and mastered them. A decade later, when the original label for which they were planned had not yet issued them, Gustafsson and McPhee offered them to Corbett vs. Dempsey, and when we heard them we couldn't believe the music.

As searching and searing as anything either of them has made, the duets lived up to their explosive title. Gustafsson is known for his energy, and it's here in droves, but there are other nuances brought out by McPhee, a supple sense of melodicism (hey now, Gustafsson is a Swede, so by birthright he's melodic) and the love of experimental sound-making that McPhee displayed on his sound-on-sound recordings in the late '60s.

Although the two wind-players have worked together very extensively - in Peter Brotzmann's large groups, with McPhee as a guest in Gustafsson's band the Thing, and in all manner of large and small group improvisations - but they have never issued a record of duets before. This duo debut, now a decade in the can, is insanely powerful. We recommend that you prepare yourself for the impact. Cover image by Charline von Heyl, interior photo of McPhee and Gustafsson bracing themselves back in 2002, by John Corbett. The package is completed by a haunting cover image by artist Cauleen Smith."-Corbett Vs. Dempsey



This album has been reviewed on our magazine:

The Squid
The Squid's Ear!

Artist Biographies

"Born 1964 in Umeå, Northern Sweden.Saxplayer, improviser and composer. Solo artist and international tours and projects with a.o. Sonic Youth, Merzbow, Jim O´Rourke, Barry Guy, Otomo Yoshihide, Yoshimi, Ken Vandermark and in working groups The Thing, FIRE!, Gush, Boots Brown, Swedish Azz and Fake (the facts). Large ensemble work with Barry Guy New Orchestra,FIRE! Orchestra and the NU - ensemble.over 1800 concerts and over 200 record productions in Europe, Australia, Africa, North & South America and Asia.Collaborations with contemporary dance, theater, art, poetry as well as projects with noise, electronica, contemporary rock and free jazz.Discaholic - running the discaholic corner website.Producer of international festivals and concert tours as well as work with own record labels Slottet, OlofBright Editions and Blue Tower Records."-Mats Gustafsson Website (http://matsgus.com/archives/category/bio)
3/13/2024

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

"Joe McPhee, born November 3,1939 in Miami, Florida, USA, is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, improviser, conceptualist and theoretician. He began playing the trumpet at age eight, taught by his father, himself a trumpet player. He continued on that instrument through his formative school years and later in a U.S. Army band stationed in Germany, at which time he was introduced to performing traditional jazz. Clifford Thornton's Freedom and Unity, released in 1969 on the Third World label, is the first recording on which he appears as a side man. In 1968, inspired by the music of Albert Ayler, he took up the saxophone and began an active involvement in both acoustic and electronic music.

His first recordings as leader appeared on the CJ Records label, founded in 1969 by painter Craig Johnson. These include Underground Railroad by the Joe McPhee Quartet (1969), Nation Time (1970), Trinity (1971) and Pieces of Light (1974). In 1975, Swiss entrepreneur Werner X. Uehlinger release Black Magic Man by McPhee, on what was to become Hat Hut Records.

In 1981, he met composer, accordionist, performer, and educator Pauline Oliveros, whose theories of "deep listening" strengthened his interests in extended instrumental and electronic techniques. he also discovered Edward de Bono's book Lateral Thinking: A Textbook of Creativity, which presents concepts for solving problems by "disrupting an apparent sequence and arriving at the solution from another angle." de Bono's theories inspired McPhee to apply this "sideways thinking" to his own work in creative improvisation, resulting in the concept of "Po Music." McPhee describes "Po Music" as a "process of provocation" (Po is a language indicator to show that provocation is being used) to "move from one fixed set of ideas in an attempt to discover new ones." He concludes, "It is a Positive, Possible, Poetic Hypothesis." The results of this application of Po principles to creative improvisation can be heard on several Hat Art recordings, including Topology, Linear B, and Oleo & a Future Retrospective.

In 1997, McPhee discovered two like-minded improvisers in bassist Dominic Duval and drummer Jay Rosen. The trio premiered at the Vision Jazz Festival in 1998 but the concert went unnoticed by the press. McPhee, Duval, and Rosen therefore decided that an apt title for the group would be Trio X. In 2004 he created Survival Unit III with Fred Lonberg-Holm and Michael Zerang to expand his musical horizons and with a career spanning nearly 50 years and over 100 recordings, he continues to tour internationally, forge new connections while reaching for music's outer limits."

-Joe McPhee Website (http://joemcphee.com/bio.html)
3/13/2024

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


Track Listing:



1. Race Matters 11:46

2. Blame Game 5:28

3. Porno Graphics 9:34

4. Just Green 7:05

5. Just Blue 4:24

6. Suicide Chicken Wings Over Nickelsdorf (for Hans Falb) 7:23

7. Bat Cave Feast (For Charlie McPhee) 7:03

8. Then Ingo Ate The Snake 3:57

Related Categories of Interest:


Improvised Music
Jazz
Free Improvisation
NY Downtown & Metropolitan Jazz/Improv
European Improvisation and Experimental Forms
Joe McPhee
Mats Gustafsson
Duo Recordings

Search for other titles on the label:
Corbett vs. Dempsey.


Recommended & Related Releases:
Gush (Gustafsson / Sandell / Strid)
Afro Blue
(Trost Records)
Recorded in 1998 but sounding absolutely modern, exuberant and often explosively inspired, this live recording at Jazzclub Fasching in Stockholm brings the then 10-year collaboration of drummer Raymond Strid, pianist Sten Sandel and saxophonist Mats Gustafsson to ecstatic heights, bridging free jazz forms and rendering Coltranes "Afro Blues" with intense passion.
Gustafsson, Mats
Hidros 9 Mirrors
(Trost Records)
Forming his NU Ensemble in 1997 to merge free-jazz, improv, noise and contemporary forms, Mats Gustafsson presented Hidros One for 9 improvisers, tape & conductor that same year, progressing over 25 years to this 9th conduction of the Hidros concept in his largest ensemble yet: 25 musicians in two 9-piece ensembles plus soloists, captured live at the 2022 Avant Art Festival in Warsaw, Poland.
Gustafsson, Mats / Ensemble E
EE Opus One
(Trost Records)
Merging contemporary and traditional instruments, including the spilapipa (a fipple flute), hardanger fiddle, the Bilgoraj suka (a vertical fiddle), alongside prepared piano, organ, trumpet, tuba, baritone sax & voice, Mats Gustafsson's ensemble merges folk, experimental forms, improv & free jazz in a conduction shaped by the participants; absolutely unique & fascinating.
McPhee, Joe / Mette Rasmussen / Dennis Tyfus
Oblique Strategies [VINYL]
(Black Truffle)
An unrestrained album of free jazz, unorthodox electronic excursions and vocal irascibility as legendary tenor saxophonist Joe McPhee joins the Bazuinschal duo of alto saxophonist Mette Rasmussen and percussionist & electronic manipulator Dennis Tyfus (Ultra Eczema) for this singularly unusual 2018 concert at Het Bos, in Antwerp, Belgium; magnificently indescribable!
End, The (Jernberg / Moster / Gustafsson / Hana / Fjordheim)
Why Do You Mourn [VINYL]
(Trost Records)
The third album from the genre-merging quintet The End of of Sofia Jernberg (vocals), Kjetil Moster (clarinet and tenor saxophone), Mats Gustafsson (flutes, baritone saxophone and electronics), Anders Hana (baritone and bass guitar) and Borge Fjordheim (drums), an experimental song-based project influenced by avant rock, jazz and soundscape in seven nuanced pieces.
End, The (Jernberg / Moster / Gustafsson / Hana / Fjordheim)
Why Do You Mourn
(Trost Records)
The third album from the genre-merging quintet The End of of Sofia Jernberg (vocals), Kjetil Moster (clarinet and tenor saxophone), Mats Gustafsson (flutes, baritone saxophone and electronics), Anders Hana (baritone and bass guitar) and Borge Fjordheim (drums), an experimental song-based project influenced by avant rock, jazz and soundscape in seven nuanced pieces.
McPhee, Joe Quartet +1 Kirk Knuffke
Keep The Dream Up
(Listen! Foundation (Fundacja Sluchaj!))
Long a fan of his music, NY trumpeter Kirk Knuffke joined with saxophonist Joe McPhee and his quartet of Christof Knoche (bass clarinet), Michael Bisio (bass) and Jay Rosen (drums), following Knuffke's wife's advice to "keep the dream up" as the quintet recorded a series of exceptional collective improvisations, one Knuffke compositions and at Knuffke's request, a poem/"Invocation" from McPhee.
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".
Gustafsson, Mats / Nu Ensemble
Hidros 8 Heal [VINYL]
(Trost Records)
A conduction of an absolutely impressive ensemble of free and ea- improvisers on a powerfully diverse journey, from Anna Högberg & Gustafsson on sax, Susana Santos Silva on trumpet, Per-Åke Holmlander on tuba, Hedvig Mollestad on guitar, Dieb13 on turntables, Christof Kurzmann on lloopp & voice, Massimo Pupillo on bass, Gert-Jan Prins on drums & electronics, and Ivar Loe Bjørnstad on drums.
McPhee / Edwards / Kugel
Existential Moments
(Not Two)
The 3rd album from the touring trio of Joe McPhee on trumpet & tenor sax, John Edwards on double bass and Klaus Kugel on drums, following their previous NotTwo releases A Night In Alchemia and Journey To Parazzar, here captured live at FreeJazzSaar 2019, in Saarbrucken, Germany for a boisterously exciting set of three collective improvisations, including a tip of the hat to Charles Gayle.
O'Rourke, Jim / Mats Gustafsson
Xylophonen Virtuosen [VINYL 2 LPs]
(Trost Records)
Dedicated to Derek Bailey, these long out of print, subtle and delicate duo recordings captured in Chicago between Mats Gustafsson on tenor sax, fluteophone, flute & "junk" and Jim O'Rourke on guitar, accordeon and also on "junk", were originally released in 1999 on the Incus label, here remastered, in some cases remixed, and adding previously unreleased material.
O'Rourke, Jim / Mats Gustafsson
Xylophonen Virtuosen
(Trost Records)
Dedicated to Derek Bailey, these long out of print, subtle and delicate duo recordings captured in Chicago between Mats Gustafsson on tenor sax, fluteophone, flute & "junk" and Jim O'Rourke on guitar, accordeon and also on "junk", were originally released in 1999 on the Incus label, here remastered, in some cases remixed, and adding previously unreleased material.
Fire! w/ Stephen O'Malley / David Sandstrom
Requies [VINYL 1-SIDED EP w/ SCREEN PRINT on B-SIDE]
(Rune Grammofon)
A one-side EP with a screen print on the B-Side, of a raucous, dark and incredibly epic journey in heavy electric jazz from Fire! configured as the quintet of Mats Gustafsson on bass saxophone, organ & live electronics, Johan Berthling on electric bass, Andreas Werliin on drums, Stephen O'Malley on guitar and David Sandstrom on drums; awe inspiring!
Survival Unit III (McPhee / Lonberg-Holm / Zerang)
The Art of Flight: For Alvin Fielder [VINYL + DOWNLOAD]
(Astral Spirits)
A fully acoustic set of creative free improvisation from the Survival Unit III trio of Fred Lonberg-Holm on cello, Joe McPhee on tenor saxophone & pocket trumpet and Michael Zerang on percussion, performing at the 2018 The Instigation Festival in New Orleans in a set of concerts that also was drummer Alvin Fielder's last concert, to whom this album is dedicated.
A Pride of Lions (McPhee / Lazro / Abrams / Seguron / Taylor)
No Questions - No Answers
(RogueArt)
The 3rd meeting of the transatlantic quintet of Joe McPhee on alto & soprano saxophones and pocket trumpet, Daunik Lazro on tenor & baritone saxophones, Joshua Abrams on double bass & guembri, Guillaume Seguron on double bass and Chad Taylor on drums & mbira is heard in this exceptional 2018 concert at the International Jazzfestival Saalfelden in Salzburg, Austria.
McPhee, Joe / Evan Parker
Sweet Nothings (For Milford Graves)
(Corbett vs. Dempsey)
A confluence of masterful playing through two soprano & two tenor saxophones plus one pocket cornet, as Evan Parker and Joe McPhee perform live in 2003 at the Chicago Cultural Center as part of the Empty Bottle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music, weaving lines with intricately relaxed confidence and coming together for beautiful moments of lyrical connection.
McPhee, Joe / Michael Bisio / Fred Lonberg-Holm / Juma Sultan
The Sweet Spot
(RogueArt)
Bringing together four masterful players into the studio in NYC--Joe McPhee on saxophones, Michael Bisio on double bass, Fred Lonberg-Holm on cello and Juma Sultan on percussion--for a set of with one composition each from McPhee, Sultan and Lonberg-Holm, two collective improvisations, Charlie Haden's "Human Being" and Henry Grimes "For Django".
McPhee, Joe / Michael Marcus / Jay Rosen / Warren Smith
Blue Reality Quartet!
(Mahakala Music)
Woodwind player Michael Marcus' duo with drummer Jay Rosen performed with fellow reedsman Joe McPhee and a 2nd drummer at the Jazzgalerie Nickelsdorf in 2018, the concept so appealing that he took it to the studio in New York, with Warren Smith handling the 2nd drum part and cementing this unusually orchestrated and elegantly passionate band as "The Blue Reality Quartet".
Amado, Rodrigo / This Is Our Language Quartet
Let The Free Be Men [VINYL]
(Trost Records)
Referencing Ornette Coleman in the group name, Portuguese tenor saxophonist engages three US free jazz players--legendary saxophonist and pocket trumpeter Joe McPhee, double bassist Kent Kessler and drummer Chris Corsano--for this 2017 concert at Jazzhouse in Copenhagen, Denmark, capturing four exemplary, at times explosive, and always tightly interactive collective improvisations.
Fire!
Defeat [VINYL]
(Rune Grammofon)
An optimistic definition of "Defeat" through the exultantly dark and expressive work of Fire!, here as the quintet of Mats Gustafsson on flute, baritone sax & live electronics, Johan Berthling on electric bass, Andreas Werliin on drums, Goran Kajfes on quartertone trumpet and Mats Aleklint on trombone & sousaphone, in five works of richly creative and modern improv.
Underflow, The (Gustafsson / Grubbs / Mazurek)
Instant Opaque Evening [VINYL 2 LPs]
(Blue Chopsticks)
The followup to their 2019 Corbett vs. Dempsey album and formalizing their trio name as "The Underflow", is an epic double LP of diverse and inspired free-ea from the trio of Mats Gustafsson on flute, fluteophone, baritone saxophone & live electronics, David Grubbs on electric guiar & voice, and Rob Mazurek on piccolo trumpet, wooden flute, electronics, percussion & voice.
Toyozumi, Sabu / Mats Gustafsson
Hokusai
(NoBusiness)
A duo between Japanese free improvising drummer Sabu Toyozum and Swedish baritone saxophonist & wind player Mats Gustafsson, also performing on his own fluteophone (a mouthpiece attached to the flute), capturing five live improvisation at their 2018 performance at Jazz Spot Candy, in Chiba, Japan for an extremely inventive set of potent playing.
Fire! Orchestra / Krzysztof Penderecki
Actions [VINYL]
(Rune Grammofon)
"Actions For Free Jazz Orchestra" was originally written by Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki for the New Eternal Rhythm Orchestra, assembled by Don Cherry for the occasion and conducted by composer himself; this new extended reading and conduction of the score from 2018 was originated and directed by Mats Gustafsson, a powerful update and expansion of the original work.
Grubbs, David / Mats Gustafsson / Rob Mazurek
The Underflow
(Corbett vs. Dempsey)
Recorded during two nights at Underflow Records and Art Gallery in Athens, Greece in 2019, The Underflow trio of Mats Gustafsson (reeds, fluteophone, electronics) from Sweden, with Chicago-based Rob Mazurek (trumpet, electronics), and David Grubbs (electric guitar) present an album of wide-ranging, powerful, often explosively eccentric, and always informed improvisation.
Alcorn, Susan / Joe McPhee / Ken Vandermark
Invitation To A Dream
(Astral Spirits)
An excellent album of informed free improvisation in the debut of this masterful trio of legendary musicians spread across the US--Joe McPhee on soprano sax & pocket trumpet [NY], Ken Vandermark on tenor sax & clarinet [Chicago], and Susan Alcorn on pedal steel guitar [Texas], a profound album from assertive to introspective playing in seven captivating collective improvisations.
Gustafsson / Sandstrom / Werlin
This is From the Mouth [VINYL 1-SIDED PICTURE DISC]
(Utech Records)
After working together on the theater production Das Fliegende Kind (The Flying Child), the trio of Mats Gustafsson, David Sandstrom (Refused), and Andreas Werliin (Fire!) recorded this 18 minute improvisation, a work of percussive force and rolling sax tone that builds to an explosive fury of sound, released on a stunning 1-sided picture disc.



The Squid's Ear Magazine

The Squid's Ear Magazine

© 2002-, Squidco LLC