The Squid's Ear Magazine


Shifa (Musson / Thomas / Sanders): Ecliptic (Discus)

The trio of Rachel Musson on tenor saxophone, Pat Thomas on piano, and Mark Sanders on drums perform as Shifa, their 46-minute improvisation moving through fiery intensity and spacious reflection in a cohesive journey shaped by deep trust, attentive listening, and fearless exploration, captured live at London's Café Oto in 2023.
 

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product information:

Personnel:



Rachel Musson-tenor saxophone

Pat Thomas-piano

Mark Sanders-drums, percussion


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UPC: 5051078020228

Label: Discus
Catalog ID: 194CD
Squidco Product Code: 36731

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2025
Country: UK
Packaging: Cardboard Gatefold 3 Panels
Recorded live at Cafe Oto, in London UK, in February, 2023, by Billy Steiger.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"The trio's members are three of the UK's most experienced and in-demand improvising musicians.

Shifa is a name taken from the Arabic word for healing, شفاء, The name was suggested by Pat Thomas to reflect the trust between the three musicians and the way that they listen and respond to what the others are doing. It also captures the pleasure given to audiences from the resulting music.

The music on this album consists of one 46 min improvisation which evolves through a series of episodes, some burning and intense, others gentle and thoughtful. The music moves seamlessly between the different moods breaking down at times into solo and duo passages. The result is a totally cohesive and rich piece of music that comes out of the careful listening to each other of the trio and their reactions."-Tony Dudley-Evans



"Part of the group of young veterans who exemplify the continuing strength and innovation of UK-based improvisators, Welsh tenor saxophonist Rachel Musson excels in both the Free Jazz and the Free Music parts of that equation. That may appear like hair - or more appropriately timbre - splitting but the subtle distinctions are necessary for appropriate interpretations - and appreciation.

[...]

Consisting of one nearly 46-minute track of FreeImprov, Ecliptic is from the Shifa trio, one of Musson's regular gigs, with the band filled out by experienced players, drummer Mark Sanders, who has also recorded with Brice and pianist Pat Thomas, who has played with everyone from Evan Parker to William Parker.

As drums rumbles and inner piano string reverb glance off every surface from the instrument's hammers, plate and soundboard, Musson steps forward on Ecliptic with a barrage of bites, split tones and honks, often repeating phrases for maximum aggression. Still no matter how many freak notes, tongue slaps and widening slurs the saxophonist introduces, Thomas is there with answering or assertive patterns that bounce, pound and shake sympathetically. Meanwhile unperturbed Sanders bridges the sax-piano gaps with cymbal clips and bass drum pressure.

The exposition become even more discordant following a slight pause at the one quarter mark with Sanders scraping and slapping his drum sides and tops as Musson dissects extended squeals and thickened honks and spears passing reed tones. Thomas is soon hitting the keys with as much concentrated power as Musson exhibits with her sandpaper-like abrasive growls and gargles. Meanwhile Sanders' press rolls are also enhanced with vigorous stick rubs across Mylar tops. As the final sequence descends in pace and pressure, Thomas manages to interject a layer of steadiness with measured rhythmic pressure and keyboard clank although Sanders gong and cymbal pealing become more prominent. Still the saxophonist asserts her audacious creativity with a dog-whistle pitched bark that cuts through the combined concluding piano/ drum affiliation."-Ken Waxman, JazzWord


Get additional information at Jazzword

Artist Biographies

"Rachel Musson is a saxophonist, improviser and composer living in London, UK. She is involved with a variety of improvisation projects, including a trio with Hannah Marshall and Julie Kjaer, a duo with vibraphonist Corey Mwamba, and a trio with Mark Sanders and John Edwards. She has released two albums under her own name, one featuring Liam Noble and Mark Sanders (Tatterdemalion, Babel Records), and one featuring her ensemble Skein (Flight Line, F-ire Recorded Music). She also plays with the London Improvisers Orchestra and Alex Ward's Quintet and Sextet, and has performed with a diverse range of musicians on the fluid European improvising scene, including Alcyona Mick, Han Bennink, Liam Noble, Gail Brand, Eddie Prevost, Olie Brice, Federico Ughi, Mary Halvorson, John Russell, Adam Linson, Sebastian Rochford, Louis Moholo-Moholo, Pat Thomas, among many others."

-Rachel Musson Website (https://rachelmusson.com/)
9/10/2025

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

"Born 27 July 1960; Piano, electronics. Pat Thomas started playing at the age of 8 and studied classical music and played reggae. He began playing jazz at sixteen after seeing Oscar Peterson on television then listened to snatches of jazz on the radio before, in 1979, playing his first serious improvised gigs. From 1986 he played with Ghosts which was Pete McPhail and Matt Lewis.

In addition to programming his keyboards, Pat Thomas also utilises prerecorded tapes. He told Chris Blackford (1991), 'As far as the tapes are concerned I'll probably just sit in front of the TV and tape whatever's going on and so some editing afterward to decide what might be useful. ...But I don't actually put a label on each tape saying what's on there, so when I come to use them I don't know what I'm going to be playing. That obviously prevents me from setting things up. I pick them at random and see what happens. So I'm just as surprised as anybody else at what comes out'.

In 1988 he was awarded an Arts Council Jazz Bursary to write three new electroacoustic compositions for his ten-piece ensemble, Monads: Roger Turner and Matt Lewis, percussion; Pete McPhail, WX7 wind synthesizer; Neil Palmer, turntables; Phil Minton, voice; Phil Durrant, violin; Marcio Mattos, bass; Jon Corbett, trumpet; Geoff Searle, drum machines. The intention was to feature different aspects of electronics using improvisation so, for example, one piece - Dialogue - featured Pete McPhail and Neil Palmer, another concentrated on the interaction of percussionists and drum machines, and a third piece had Phil Minton and Jon Corbett improvising with a computer. The pieces were performed at the Crawley Outside-In Festival of new music in 1989.

Pat Thomas was invited by Derek Bailey to play in Company Week in 1990 and 1991 and he also took part in the Ist International Symposium for Free Improvisation in Bremen with the guitarist. He has been a member of the Tony Oxley Quartet (documented on Incus CD 15) and played in Oxley's Angular Apron along with Larry Stabbins, Manfred Schoof and Sirone at the 8th Ruhr Jazz Meeting and in the percussionist's Celebration Orchestra. He plays with Lol Coxhill in a range of combinations from duo to being a member of 'Before my time', is a member of Mike Cooper's Continental Drift, and he has a well established duo with percussionist Mark Sanders and a trio with Steve Beresford and Francine Luce. In 1992 Pat Thomas formed the quartet Scatter with Phil Minton, Roger Turner and Dave Tucker; funded by the Arts Council they toured the UK in 1993 and again at the beginning of 1997.

On the 'Festival circuit', Pat Thomas has appeared at: the Young Improvisors Festival at the Korzo Theatre, Den Haag (with Jim O'Rourke, Mats Gustafsson and Alexander Frangenheim); Angelica 95 in Bologna, Italy; the Stuttgart 5th Festival of Improvised Music 96 (with Fred Frith, Shelly Hirsch, Carlos Zingaro and others); and the 3rd International Festival 96 in Budapest (with Evan Parker, Phil Minton, John Russell and Roger Turner).

-EFI (http://www.efi.group.shef.ac.uk/mthomas.html)
9/10/2025

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

"Mark Sanders has played with many renowned musicians including Roscoe Mitchell, Wadada Leo Smith, Derek Bailey, Henry Grimes, Roswell Rudd, Peter Brotzmann, Barry Guy, Otomo Yoshihide, Jah Wobble, Sidsel Endresen , Charles Gayle, Peter Evans and William Parker. He works with John Edwards in a duo and with groups including Evan Parker, `Foils` with Frank Paul Schubert and Matthius Muller and groups with Veryan Weston, John Tilbury, Agusti Fernandez and Mathew Shipp. Mark works in a regular improvising duo with John Butcher and also performing John`s composition `Tarab Cuts` which has played festivals in Rio de Janiero, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Glasgow, Bristol and London. In a trio with cellist Okkyung Lee, John and Mark have played in Belgium, France, England and Scotland. He also has a longstanding duo with Sarah Gail Brand which has featured on the BBC`s `The Stuart Lee Show`and in the film `Taking the dog for a Walk`.

He has performed solo for a Christian Marclay exhibition at The White Cube Gallery in London, Evan Parker`s festival`Unwhitstable` in Wroclaw, Poland for `Solos Festival` The 100 Years Gallery London, an improvised music series in Derby and Cafe Oto in London. Working with Christian Marclay in his `Everyday` piece for film and live music, he has performed in Aldeburgh, Ruhr Trienalle, Vienna Bienalle, Holland festival and London`s QEH and has also collaborated with him playing for the film `Screenplay`in London and Lisbon. In situations using composition in one form or another Mark works in various projects including `13 Vices` with Brian Irvine/Jennifer Walshe, Alex Hawkins Ensemble featuring Peter Evans, Simon Fell Ensembe, groups with Hasse Poulsen and Luc Ex , Sarah Sarhandi`s `Both Universe`, Elaine Mitchener`s `Sweet Tooth` and has played in the groups of Shabaka Hutchings including`Sons of Kemet` Conceptual Artist Sam Belinfante collaborated with Mark in his piece `On the One Hand, and the Other` in two exhibitions at Camden Arts Centre, London For Conceptual artist Henrik Hakensen`s film `The End` he has performed as an improvising soloist with orchestras conductedd by Jessica Cottis, playing the music of John Coxon in Glasgow, Sydney and Monte Carlo As a guest with New York`s ICE Ensemble he has performed John Zorn`s `The Tempest` in London and at Huddersfield New Music Festival.

Mark also works in the groups of Paul Dunmall including Deep Whole Trio with Paul Rogers, in duo and `Frisque Concordance` with Georg Graewe , and the ensembles of Mikolaj Trzaska, Uwe Oberg and Peter Jaquemyn. He has performed in the USA, Canada, Brazil, Japan, Morrocco, South Africa, Australia, Mozambique and Turkey, playing at many major festivals including Nickelsdorf, Riga, Ulrichsburg, Glastonbury, Womad, Vancouver, Isle of Wight, Roskilde, Berlin Jazz days, FMP, Mulhouse, Luz, Minniapolis, Banlieue Bleues, Son D`hiver and Hurta Cordel."

-Mark Sanders Website (http://www.marksanders.me.uk/biography.html)
9/10/2025

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


Track Listing:



1. Ecliptic 45:57

Related Categories of Interest:


Improvised Music
Jazz
Free Improvisation
Collective & Free Improvsation
London & UK Improv & Related Scenes
Trio Recordings
Staff Picks & Recommended Items
New in Improvised Music
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Discus.


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