The Squid's Ear Magazine
Clean Feed Spring Sale!
   147 albums — CDs & LPs — On Sale up to 50% OFF



Favre, Pierre Trio (Favre / Schweizer / Mraz): Bird Food (Songs)

Captured in 1968 in Zurich and long shelved before its recent discovery, this early trio session brings Pierre Favre, Irene Schweizer, and George Mraz together in a concise, fiery set of attentive free jazz, balancing Ornette Coleman's title piece with Schweizer's compositions, where dynamic interplay and acute listening reveal a nascent yet fully engaged collective voice.
 

Price: $17.95



Quantity:

In Stock

Quantity in Basket: None

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


EU & UK Customers:
Discogs.com can handle your VAT payments
So please order through Discogs

Sample The Album:





Product Information:

Personnel:



Pierre Favre-drums

George Mraz-double bass

Irene Schweizer-piano

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



UPC: 0730706018503

Label: Songs
Catalog ID: SONGS004CD
Squidco Product Code: 37423

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2026
Country: Switzerland
Packaging: Cardboard Gatefold 3 Panels w/ booklet
Recorded live at Radio Studio Zurich, Switzerland, February 19, 1968
Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

Artist Biographies

Pierre Favre is a Swiss jazz drummer and percussionist, born 2 June 1937 in Le Locle, Switzerland.

"When Pierre Favre began to explore new worlds of sound in drumming in the 1960s, he had already played with many internationally renowned Europeans and Americans as well as with prominent big bands. But it pushed him to an independent music. It all started in a trio with bassist George Mraz, then with Peter Kowald on double bass and from the start with Irene Schweizer on piano. "It is," says Pierre Favre, "a stroke of luck in a long, independent and yet joint development.

Searching for the melodic aspects of drums and percussion, Pierre Favre found his way to the solo. Together with Paul Motian, Fredy Studer and Nana Vasconcelos, he formed a percussion ensemble that increased the orchestral possibilities of percussive solo playing. "Singing Drums", a quartet with four percussionists, underwent a further transformation in the form of The "European Chamber Ensemble", a line-up with two percussionists, horns and strings.

In 2004, the city of Zurich honored Pierre Favre with the city's art prize."-Bert Noglik, Pierre Favre website

-Pierre Favre Website (https://www.pierrefavre.ch/pierre/)
5/14/2026

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

"George Mraz (born Jiří Mráz; 9 September 1944 - 16 September 2021) was a Czech-born American jazz bassist and alto saxophonist. He was a member of Oscar Peterson's group, and worked with Pepper Adams, Stan Getz, Michel Petrucciani, Stephane Grappelli, Tommy Flanagan, Jimmy Raney, Chet Baker, Barry Harris, Joe Henderson, John Abercrombie, John Scofield, and Richie Beirach, among others.

During the 1970s, he was a member of the New York Jazz Quartet and The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra, and in the 1980s a member of Quest. He also appeared with Joe Lovano, Hank Jones and Paul Motian on Lovano's records I'm All For You and Joyous Encounter.

Mraz died on September 16, 2021, in Prague. The immediate cause of death was undisclosed, though he had battled pancreatic cancer in 2016."

-Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Mraz)
5/14/2026

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

"Irène Schweizer (born 2 June 1941) is a Swiss jazz and free improvising pianist. She was born in Schaffhausen, in 1941. She has performed and recorded numerous solo piano performances as well as performing as part of the Feminist Improvising Group, whose members include Lindsay Cooper, Maggie Nichols, Georgie Born and Sally Potter. She has also performed a series of duets with drummers Pierre Favre, Louis Moholo, Andrew Cyrille, Günter Sommer, Han Bennink, Hamid Drake, as well as in trio and quartet sessions with others, including John Tchicai, Evan Parker and Peter Kowald. With Yusef Lateef, Uli Trepte and Mani Neumeier she performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1967. One of her most enduring collaborations is with the improvising musician Rüdiger Carl (de)."

-Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ir%C3%A8ne_Schweizer)
5/14/2026

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


Track Listing:
Related Categories of Interest:

May 2026
Jazz
Jazz
Free Improvisation
Jazz & Improvisation Based on Compositions
European Improvisation, Composition and Experimental Forms
Trio Recordings
Staff Picks & Recommended Items
New in Improvised Music
Recent Releases and Best Sellers

Search for other titles on the label:
Songs.


Recommended & Related Releases:
Brotzmann, Peter w/ Peter Uuskyla / Peter Friis Nielsen
Flying Feathers
(FMR)
Blazing through a set of raw, high-intensity free jazz, Peter Brötzmann joins Danish bassist Peter Friis Nielsen and Estonian drummer Peeter Uuskyla for a ferocious trio session where roaring saxophone and tarogato collide with clanking electric bass and trance-like percussion, balancing relentless energy with occasional lyrical openings in this fiercely driven improvisational encounter.
Favre, Pierre / Sergio Armaroli / Andrea Centazzo / Francesca Gemmo
The Art Of Sound(s) (first visit)
(ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)
A contemplative meeting of Pierre Favre, Sergio Armaroli, Andrea Centazzo, and Francesca Gemmo, exploring percussion, vibraphone, and piano in spacious improvised forms that privilege resonance over rhythm, weaving subtle dynamics and reflective timbres into an existential soundscape where silence, decay, and shimmering overtones converge in quietly radical dialogue.
Foussat, Jean-Marc
Abbatage
(Fou Records)
Originally released in 1983 as Jean-Marc Foussat's sole solo statement for the next 18 years, Abattage is a frenetic musique concrète collage of Synthi AKS & VCS3 electronics, tapes, voice, guitar, piano and field recordings, reissued in a deluxe remastered edition with 32-page booklet that restores the intensity and inventiveness of his groundbreaking debut.
Pellegrini Quartet
Luigi Nono Fragmente - Stille, an Diotima; Ludwig van Beethoven Streichquartett a-moll op. 132, First Visit
(ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)
Reissuing their 1995 release on BVHAAST, the Pellegrini Quartet presents a striking juxtaposition of Beethoven's late string quartet, Op. 132, and Luigi Nono's Fragmente - Stille, an Diotima, revealing a profound dialogue between structural innovation and expressive depth, where Beethoven's introspective lyricism meets Nono's fragmented, textural modernism, spanning 155 years of musical evolution.
Fennesz
Venice 20 (20th Anniversary Edition)
(Touch)
20th anniversary reissue of Fennesz's 2004 release Venice, as a deluxe version remastered by Denis Blackham, with new and extra tracks not on the previous CD or vinyl versions, in a DVD-format with a booklet of texts by Fennesz, Denis Blackham, and Jon Wozencroft, photographs from the 2004 sessions, and David Sylvian's original handwritten lyrics for "Transit."
Ayler, Albert
Summertime To Spiritual Unity, Revisited
(ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)
Remastering and reissuing two tracks--"Summertime" and "C.T"--from saxophonist Albert Ayler's 1964 Fontana album My Name Is Albert Ayler with basssist Nils-Henning Orsted Pedersen, drummer Ronnie Gardiner and pianist Nils Bronsted; and his classic and passionate 1965 ESP Disk release Spiritual Unity with double bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Sunny Murray.
TOC (Orins / Cruz / Ternoy)
Did It Again [4 CDs]
(Tour de Bras / Circum-Disc)
TOC, the trio of Ternoy, Cruz & Orins respectively on keyboards, drums and electric guitar, celebrate fifteen years of free improvisation with this expansive 4-CD set of recordings from the 2021 Spontaneous Music Festival in Poland; Lumen in Budapest in 2021; the 2021 Festival la malterie in Lille, France; and reissuing their 2008 CD on the Circum-Disc label, Le Gorille.
Schlippenbach, Alexander von
Globe Unity
(Corbett vs. Dempsey)
Wild, nearly unprecedented and an exhilarating direction in European Free Improvisation heard in the 1st recordings from 1966 of pianist Alexander von Schlippenbach's Globe Unity band, a 14-piece ensemble that included young saxophonists Peter Brötzmann, Gerd Dudek & Kris Wanders, bassist Peter Kowald, bass clarinetist Willem Breuker, trumpeter Manfred Schoof, &c.
Blaser, Samuel / Pierre Favre
Same Place, Another Time. [VINYL]
(Blaser Music)
Only the second vinyl LP of Swiss trumpeter Samuel Blaser's career and released on drummer Pierre Favre's 85th birthday, this is their second duo album, well reflecting the extensive collaboration and touring these improvisers from two generations of free jazz have made, bringing nuance, virtuosity and humor together through original free improv and two notable standards.
Lacy, Steve / Evan Parker
Chirps
(Corbett vs. Dempsey)
The first reissue in three decades of the 1985 SAJ Series FMP album bringing together legendary saxophonists Steve Lacy and Evan Parker, both on soprano saxophone, for two extended improvisations of magnificent reed interactions and a final coda, performed live during Summer Music at Haus am Waldsee, in Berlin, 1985; an essential album of masterful musicianship.
Cherry, Don
Where Is Brooklyn? & Eternal Rhythm Revisited
(ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)
Reissuing two albums showing trumpeter Don Cherry's musical evolution through the 1960s, recorded two years apart--Where is Brooklyn from NY in 1966, and Eternal Rhythm recorded in Germany in 1968--demonstrating the development of his style from Ornette-influenced free jazz into music influenced by Northern Indian music and the percussion of Southeast Asia.
Schweizer, Irene / Hamid Drake
Celebration
(Intakt)
Having performed together a number of times in festivals both in Europe and Chicago, the duo of drummer Hamid Drake and pianist Irene Schweizer reveals the familiarity and confidence their history brings to their improvisations, both in intense exchanges and playful melodic passages, as heard in this exemplary 2019 concert at Jazzgallery, in Nickelsdorf, Austria.
Oxley, Tony
February Papers
(Discus)
Reissuing percussionist and electronic innovator Tony Oxley's 1977 Incus album, collecting works from Oxley's evolving approaches, including a quartet with bassist Barry Guy and violinists David Bourne & Philipp Wachsmann; a trio with Barry Guy and Ian Brighton on electric guitar; and solo pieces including a piece for Evan Parker emulating his sound through electronics.
Carl, Rudiger Inc.
King Alcohol (New Version) [2 CDs]
(Corbett vs. Dempsey)
The debut album of Rudiger Carl is an assertive studio session of brilliant free jazz from 1972, with Carl on tenor saxophone, Gunter Christmann on trombone, and Detlef Schonenberg on drums, presenting a great example of early European Free Improv, remastered from the original tapes and issued on CD for the first time, with a 2nd CD of previously unreleased bonus tracks.
Reichel, Hans
Bonobo
(Corbett vs. Dempsey)
Second LP in the catalog of German guitarist and instrument inventor Hans Reichel (1949-2011), a program of microtonal string investigations that is still beguiling and fresh four decades later, originally released on FMP in 1976, with a great album cover from Reichel demonstrating how he created his neck-to-neck guitar; absolutely impressive and essential.



Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought:
Niggenkemper, Pascal / Ensemble Tuvalu
D'Une Rive A L'Autre [CD+DVD]
(Subran Music)
Bassist Pascal Niggenkemper leads Ensemble Tuvalu in an immersive CD+DVD work inspired by the climate-threatened Pacific island nation, uniting brass, reeds, accordions, strings, voices, and resonant sound installations in a genre-crossing meditation on ecology, displacement, and community, with the audience surrounded by the ensemble in performance and the DVD capturing a live concert realization.
Cimota (Lonning / Reinertsen / Wiik / Haker Flaten / Hulbaekmo)
[Cimota] [VINYL]
(Sonic Transmissions Records)
A Norwegian quintet led by Håvard Wiik, bringing together Eivind Lønning, Espen Reinertsen, Ingebrigt Håker Flaten, and Hans Hulbækmo in a dynamic set that balances composed structures with free improv, blending post-bop lyricism, intricate ensemble interplay, and spacious, timbre-focused passages into a fluid and contemporary jazz expression.
JOSILEMI (featuring Joe Fonda / Silke Eberhard / Emil Gross)
Hear This
(Listen! Foundation (Fundacja Sluchaj!))
Uniting veteran bassist Joe Fonda with German saxophonist Silke Eberhard and Austrian drummer Emil Gross, this collective trio balances lyrical structure, agile free improv, and Dolphy-informed melodic abstraction through elegant and highly responsive interplay, where tightly focused compositions unfold into fluid spontaneous exchanges driven by rhythmic precision, adventurous harmonies, and a vibrant live energy.
DeSaram, Mandhira / Steve Beresford / John Edwards
Felix
(Listen! Foundation (Fundacja Sluchaj!))
Captured live at London's The Vortex in 2025, violinist Mandhira de Saram, pianist Steve Beresford, and bassist John Edwards engage in detailed free improv that unfolds with the coherence and clarity of spontaneous composition, balancing chamber-like restraint, abstract textural interplay, lyrical precision, and sharply responsive exchanges in intuitively structured collective dialog.
Wodrascka, Christine / Bernard Santacruz
Oblic
(Listen! Foundation (Fundacja Sluchaj!))
The duo of pianist Christine Wodrascka and bassist Bernard Santacruz create an intricate and mercurial dialog of free improv, balancing lyrical abstraction, percussive tension, and elastic interplay as the two musicians continuously reshape parallel narratives through intimate exchanges, textural contrasts, and restless sonic transformations that drift between delirious energy, shadowy atmospheres, and moments of fragile silence.
Ewen / Smith / Walter
Untitled (2)
(Balance Point Acoustics)
Reuniting more than a decade after their explosive 2011 debut, guitarist Sandy Ewen, bassist Damon Smith, and percussionist Weasel Walter deliver a fiercely focused free improv session recorded with vivid clarity, balancing dense collective eruptions, microscopic textural detail, and deeply evolved ensemble interplay shaped in part through years performing together in Roscoe Mitchell's quartet.
Courvoisier, Sylvie Trio (w/ Gress / Wollesen)
Eclats - Live in Europe
(Intakt)
Captured during a European tour, the trio of pianist Sylvie Courvoisier with bassist Drew Gress and drummer Kenny Wollesen presents a finely honed language shaped through deep trust and evolving interplay, where Courvoisier's compositions unfold with precision and openness, balancing intricate detail, shifting textures, and spontaneous free improv with subtle complexity and vivid expressiveness.
Le UN
25 Pieces Sans Vide [3 CDs]
(UnRec)
Documenting the expansive collective practice of the French improvising ensemble Le UN across three CDs recorded between 2021 and 2022, this large-scale set brings together 25 performers working in shifting formations through free improv unconstrained by score or direction, exploring acoustics, public spaces, environmental interaction, and richly textural electro-acoustic interplay.
AMM (Prevost / Rowe / Tilbury)
Phlegm
(Matchless)
A late-period live recording from AMM — Eddie Prévost, Keith Rowe, and John Tilbury — capturing their refined electroacoustic free improv language of near-silence, where percussion, electronics, and piano dissolve into a shared sonic field shaped by extreme restraint, microscopic detail, and a collective focus on texture, duration, and deep listening.
Roberts, Cath / Olie Brice
Setpieces
(Relative Pitch)
Drawing on years of close collaboration, saxophonist Cath Roberts and bassist Olie Brice engage in a deeply attuned duo of free improv where baritone saxophone and double bass shift between raw abstraction, lyrical motion, and playful unpredictability, balancing sharply focused exchanges with richly textural interplay that evokes both intimate conversation and surreal theatrical movement.
Lazro / Leandre / Lovens
For Baritone Sax, Double Bass and Drumset
(Relative Pitch)
Uniting three masterful improvisers — baritone saxophonist Daunik Lazro, bassist Joëlle Léandre, and drummer Paul Lovens — this Paris concert presents deeply attentive free improv where resonant timbral exploration, fractured lyricism, and highly responsive interplay unfold through spontaneous collective forms of sparse abstraction, visceral expression, and nuanced rhythmic detail.




The Squid's Ear Magazine

The Squid's Ear Magazine

© 2002-, Squidco LLC