The Squid's Ear Magazine


Stabbins, Larry / Mark Sanders: Cup & Ring (Discus)

Bringing together two major figures of UK improvisation, saxophonist Larry Stabbins - long associated with innovators like Mike Westbrook, Keith Tippett, and Robert Wyatt - and percussionist Mark Sanders (Paul Dunmall, John Butcher, Veryan Weston, &c) in 2024 Bristol sessions captured with stunning clarity, their 1st-take performances unfolding as thoughtful, exploratory dialogs of texture, rhythm, and timbre.
 

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product information:

Personnel:



Larry Stabbins-alto saxophone, flutes, bass clarinet

Mark Sanders-percussion


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UPC: 5051078019826

Label: Discus
Catalog ID: 191CD
Squidco Product Code: 36732

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2025
Country: UK
Packaging: Cardboard Gatefold 3 Panels
Recorded at J & J Studio, in Bristol, UK, on September 19th, 2024, by Jim Barr.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.
"During a 50+ year career across the spectrum of music saxophonist Larry Stabbins has worked with most of the important figures at the cutting edge of European Jazz and Improvisation from Mike Westbrook to Keith Tippett and Tony Oxley and Germany's Peter Brotzmann, as well as with Robert Wyatt and Jerry Dammers Spatial AKA. Alongside this he played in the seminal pop group Weekend and formed Working Week with guitarist Simon Booth, a project that took a melange of latin, soul and jazz into the world of pop and dance music. Since then, different projects of his own across the range of his interests have varied from totally improvised small groups and solo performances to "Jazz Rap" ( QRZ?) in the early 1990s, "FreeJazz TechnoFunk" (Game Theory) early 2000s, "Psychedelic Hip Hop" ( Stonephace) and freeish "Spiritual Jazz" (Stonephace Stabbins with Zoe Rahman) around 2010. And currently, a quartet, "137"with Adrian Utley and Jim Barr of the cult band "Portishead" and PercussionistSebastien Rochford and also a new trio "Sarost" with Mark Sanders and bassist Paul Rogers. Mark Sanders is a drummer/percussionist who has worked with a host of renowned musicians including Roscoe Mitchell, Myra Melford, Derek Bailey, Peter Brotzmann, Henry Grimes, Evan Parker, Roswell Rudd and the groups of Jah Wobble. He has performed in duets and quartets with Wadada Leo Smith including with his group 'Fire-Love Expanse'. He has a lengthy discography including a solo album and has performed at concerts and major festivals all over the world. He has several long term groupings including a working duo with Nicole Mitchell, Neil Charles' "Dark Days" with Cleveland Watkiss and Pat Thomas as well as 'Shifa' with Rachel Musson & Pat Thomas and SAROST with Larry and Bassist Paul Rogers. Mark has worked on many creative projects including Christian Marclay's Everyday for film and live music and John Butcher's Tarab Cuts. He has performed works by guitarist John Coxon in Glasgow and Sydneyplaying with the Scottish and Sydney Symphony Orchestras and with New York's ICE Ensemble in John Zorn's The Tempest in London and at the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival. My first record under my own name was a duo with percussionist Roy Ashbury " Fire without Bricks" on the co-operative Bead label in 1976, complete with reproductions of megalithic carvings on the sleeve- maybe there's something decidedly primal about the music here as well. I've always enjoyed playing with drummer/percussion players for the melodic freedom and rhythmic stimulation it brings and I've been very fortunate to have had long associations with some great ones notably Louis Moholo, Tony Oxley and Eddie Prevost and it's great to return to the duo format with such an equally wonderful player as Mark who creates entire unclassifiable polyrhythmic soundscapes and textures uniquely his own. As for myself, when I returned to music after a ten year absence I was keen to avoid trying to recreate the past -"No person can step in the same river twice" so I switched to alto saxophone took up the bass clarinet and worked to develop my flute and alto flute playing, giving myself a whole new palette of sound and whole new areas of music to explore . I've since also returned to the tenor and soprano saxes but they're for other situations. This CD was recorded pretty much in the order you hear it on the record, with no editing, in one day by Jim Barr at his JandJ Studios in Bristol and I think the sound Jim has captured is stunningly clear and vibrant. He's done a great job!"-Discus


Artist Biographies

"Larry Stabbins: Born Bristol, England, 1949; saxophones.

Larry Stabbins started playing saxophone at the age of eleven. He started a long association with pianist Keith Tippett when he was sixteen, at the same time serving his musical apprenticeship in countless soul bands. He later contributed to many of Tippett's projects such as Centipede, Ark, Tapestry and the Septet. In addition to occasional duo performances, in the mid-eighties they also worked as a trio for a time with percussionist Louis Moholo, recording the album Tern for FMP Records in Berlin.

In London in the early 70's after a short spell in the Brotherhood of Breath, he attended John Stevens' Ealing workshops and played with the Spontaneous Music Orchestra, and occasionally with SME and the Dance Orchestra. As a result he met many of the 'second generation' of British improvisors and often played the Little Theatre Club, sometimes solo, often in combinations with people such as Terry Day, Marcio Mattos, Ken Hyder, Paul Burwell, Maggie Nicols and particularly Roy Ashbury with whom he formed a regular duo, recording Fire without bricks for Bead Records in 1976. Back in Bristol in the late seventies he was involved with the then thriving Bristol Musicians Co-op while still performing in London with Peter Cusack and Tony Wren's Mama Lapato.

In 1979 he joined the Tony Oxley Quintet alongside Howard Riley, Barry Guy (later replaced by Hugh Metcalfe) and Phil Wachsmann and played in various permutations of it for many years (including one with Pat Thomas, Manfred Schoof and Sirone in 1992) and also the Celebration Orchestra. At the same time he also joined the London Jazz Composers Orchestra with whom he played until about 1985, and also Peter Brötzmann's Alarm Orchestra and its successor, the Tentet "Marz Combo". The early 80's also saw him play in the Eddie Prévost Quartet, Trevor Watt's Moire Music and Louis Moholo's Spirits Rejoice, as well as touring (the then East) Germany with Heinz Becker's Quintet with Uli Gumpert, Radu Malfatti, Peter Kowald and Stefan Hubner.

Alongside this he played with the seminal pop group Weekend and formed a key writing partnership with its guitarist Simon Booth. This became the basis for Working Week, a project that took a melange of latin, soul and jazz into the world of pop and dance music. The band toured extensively in Europe and Japan, performing at most of Europe's major Jazz Festivals, recording five albums for Virgin Records, in addition to writing for film and TV. The demise of Working Week was followed by QRZ? a fusion of jazz and rap which also recorded for Virgin and the German label Loud Minority.

After a several years away from music - among other things, doing philosophy at Kings College, London - he currently works solo, as a trio with Pat Thomas and Mark Sanders under the name "Game Theory", in a quartet with Howard Riley, Tony Wren and Mark Sanders, with The Dedication Orchestra, with Keith Tippett's Tapestry and with Soupsongs playing the music of Robert Wyatt. Other projects include working with DJ/ programmer and graphic artist Oktal, and a duo with Louis Moholo."

-European Free Improv site (http://www.efi.group.shef.ac.uk/musician/mstabbins.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. Cup No1 5:22

2. Ring No1 8:09

3. Ring No2 4:48

4. Ring No3 4:59

5. Cup No2 4:10

6. Ring No4 6:28

7. Cup No3 4:20

8. Ring No5 5:14

9. Ring No6 4:19

10. Cup No4 4:46

11. Cup No5 6:18

Related Categories of Interest:


Improvised Music
Jazz
Free Improvisation
London & UK Improv & Related Scenes
Recordings by or featuring Reed & Wind Players
Percussion & Drums
Duo Recordings
New in Improvised Music
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