The Squid's Ear Magazine


Dunmall / Gibbs / Taylor / John Long: Landscapes (FMR)

The counterpart to the Dunmall session "Seascapes" recorded at the same Victoria Rooms at the University of Bristol's music department, this quartet sees Dunmall on soprano sax and flute joined by three string players--Benedict Taylor on viola, Ashley John Long on bass, and guitarist Phil Gibbs--for six detailed collective improvisations leaning toward chamber jazz.
 

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Personnel:



Ashley John Long-bass

Philip Gibbs-guitar

Paul Dunmall-soprano saxophone, flute

Benedict Taylor-viola


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UPC: 748079797420

Label: FMR
Catalog ID: 533-0519
Squidco Product Code: 27813

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2019
Country: UK
Packaging: Cardboard Gatefold 3 Panels
Recorded at Victoria Rooms, in Bristol, UK, on September 30th, 2018, by Jonathan Scott (2).

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

The counterpart to the Dunmall session Seascapes recorded at the same Victoria Rooms at the University of Bristol's music department, this quartet sees Dunmall on soprano sax and flute joined by three string players--Benedict Taylor on viola, Ashley John Long on bass, and guitarist Phil Gibbs, for six detailed collective improvisations leaning toward chamber jazz. This is really fine modern work, paying more attention to the dialog and less to idiom, and all four players bring spectacular technique to the session. Taken together Seascapes and Landscapes show two compelling sides to the breadth of Dunmall's interests as an improviser, and the superb fellowship he has with many great players.

See also Seascapes.

Artist Biographies

"Ashley-John Long is a virtuoso bassist and composer active in a diverse range of musical idioms including Jazz and Improvisation, Session Music, Early and Contemporary Chamber Music, and as a Soloist. He graduated from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama with 1st Class Honors where he studied double bass with Dominic Seldis, Dudley Phillips, Nick Weldon and Paula Gardiner, and composition with Tim Raymond and Peter Reynolds.

Since graduation he has maintained a busy and varied freelance career which has taken in many strands. He has performed and recorded with some of the UK's leading Jazz musicians including Art Themen, Simon Spillett, Brandon Allen, Craig Millverton, Alan Barnes, Dave Newton, Geoff Eales, Damon Brown, Bobby Wellins, Osian Roberts, Steve Melling, as well as visiting artists including Scott Hamilton, Erin Dickens, Greg Abate and Daryl Sherman.

Ash has performed internationally as a soloist and has given premiers of numerous new works for solo bass, and toured in 2008 with French double bassist Louis-Michel Marion with a series of recitals featuring music by Xenakis, Bussotti, Scelsi and Barry Guy. Over 20 composers have written new works for him and has had performances broadcast on television and radio throughout the U.K and Europe..

A virtuoso improviser, Ash has developed a unique approach to the instrument creating innovative new performance techniques including methods of preparing the bass whilst performing and recording with some of the music's leading players, including Keith Tippett, Paul Dunmall, Phillip Gibbs, Eugene Chadbourne, Rhodri Davies, Mark Wastell, Patrick Farmer, Paul Dunmall, Dominic Lash, Alex Ward, Bruce Coates, Paul Hession and Christian Munthe.

His work in the orchestral world has taken in everything from Gabrielli to Stockhausen and he has performed as principal double bass with various ensembles, as well as playing a great deal of chamber music and co-founding Ensemble Wreckhead with Adam Bell.

From 2012-14 he toured the world with Nofit State Circus' critically acclaimed show Bianco out of which grew his collaboration with Gareth Jones, resulting in the 'A Place to Start' EP by Fireproof Giant.

As a composer, Ash has carved a niche as a creator of innovative scores that balance fine detail with freedom and flexibility whilst retaining a strong melodic sense. Recent commissions have been acclaimed for their original and inventive writing including; Flux (2006) and Hevelspending (2010) for the Lunar Saxophone Quartet, Songs of the Night (2007) for Joel Garthwaite, and XAS (2008) for himself and Louis-Michel Marion and Dance Miniatures (2013) for the Syzygy Saxophone Quartet and Shelter (2015), an opera for Asking4it productions. His works are published by Staunch Music, Recital Music and Alto Publications.

He also works as an educator and has taught at The University of Glamorgan, Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Cardiff University, County Wexford School of Music (Ireland) and MusicTime School (Milan, Italy) and also teaches Mini Bass projects for Gwent Music.

He was awarded a PhD scholarship by Cardiff University in 2015 where he is undertaking research into contemporary performance practice.

Ashley is a D'Addario Performing Artist and uses Zyex and Helicore bass strings."

-Ashley John Long Website (http://www.ashleyjohnlong.co.uk/about.html)
3/13/2024

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

UK free improvising guitarist Philip Gibbs is known for the following bands and organization: Antonio Quijano Quartet, Atmospheres Without Oxygen, Circuit, Paul Dunmall Moksha Big Band, Paul Dunmall Quartet, Paul Dunmall, Paul Rogers, Philip Gibbs, Paul Dunmall, Philip Gibbs, Paul Rogers Freedom Orchestra, The Intuitive Art Ensemble

-Squidco 3/13/2024

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

"Paul Dunmall was born 1953, Welling, Kent; saxophones, clarinets, bagpipes, miscellaneous wind instruments.

As told to Watson (1989), Paul Dunmall was a working class lad from Welling who left school at 15 and spent two years repairing instruments at Bill Lewington's shop in Shaftesbury Avenue, London. He turned professional at 17 and, following two years touring Europe with a progressive rock band (Marsupilami), joined the Divine Light Mission, a spiritual movement led by Guru Maharaj Ji and moved from London to an ashram in America. He told Isham (1997), 'I moved to an ashram full of musicians - a music ashram - but it was still spiritual practice. That gave me a spiritual understanding through meditation, Coltrane's music, and all the rest of it, led me to that, and that's been a fundament in my life ever since - that I can actually sit down and meditate and forget my body. I realise how important meditation is in my life... but I don't do it so much these days.' During the three years he lived in America, Dunmall played with Alice Coltrane (in a big band with the Divine Light Mission) and toured for twelve months with Johnny 'Guitar' Watson.

Back in England, he played with Danny Thompson and John Stevens as well as folk musicians Kevin Dempsey, Martin Jenkins and Polly Bolton and then, in 1979 he became a founder member of Spirit Level (Tim Richards, piano; Paul Anstey, bass; Tony Orrell, drums), staying with the group until 1989. During his time with Spirit Level, Dunmall joined the two-tenor front line group Tenor Tonic with Alan Skidmore (1985), played and broadcast with Dave Alexander and Tony Moore in the DAM trio (1986) and formed the Paul Dunmall Quartet with Alex Maguire, Tony Moore and Steve Noble (1986).

In 1987 Paul Dunmall joined the London Jazz Composers Orchestra, being a constant member and appearing on all their recorded output from that date onward. The following year the improvising collective quartet Mujician was formed by Keith Tippett, Dunmall, Paul Rogers and Tony Levin and has continued to be a regular performing, touring and recording group, sometimes augmented by other musicians. Dunmall has also played in a trio with Keith and Julie Tippetts and in Keith Tippett's big band Tapestry. Two other duos have also sprung out of Mujician: Dunmall with Tony Levin (two CD releases) and Dunmall in folk-influenced outings with Paul Rogers. Another regular playing partner throughout this period and up until the present includes Elton Dean.

In 1995, two trios were formed, the first with Oren Marshall, tuba and Steve Noble, percussion, the second with John Adams, guitar and Mark Sanders, percussion, these sometimes coming together as a quintet. More recently, Dunmall has played in another reeds/guitar/drums trio with Philip Gibbs and Tony Marsh and there appears to be regular crossover between all these players. The Paul Dunmall Octet was founded in 1997."

Dunmall also has released a large number of albums and a box set on the UK FMR label, in various configurations and instrumentation.

-EFI (http://www.efi.group.shef.ac.uk/musician/mdunmall.html)
3/13/2024

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

"Benedict Taylor is an award winning composer & solo violist specialising in contemporary music and improvisation. He studied at the Royal Northern College of Music & Goldsmiths College, and is a leading figure within the area of contemporary composition & string performance, at the forefront of the British & European new and improvised music scene.

He composes, performs & records internationally, in many leading venues and festivals including: Royal Court Theatre, Rambert Dance Company, BBC Arts Online, Berlinale, Venice International Film Festival, BFI London Film Festival, Toronto Film Festival, Huddersfield Contemporary Festival, London Contemporary Music Festival, Aldeburgh Festival, Cantiere D'Arte di Montepulciano, Edinburgh Festival, CRAM Festival, Cafe Oto, The Barbican, Royal Albert Hall, Southbank Centre, The Vortex, Ronnie Scott's, ICA, BBC Radio 3 & 2, Radio Libertaire Paris, Resonance FM London.

Through his work he is involved with a number of higher education institutions, giving composition, improvisation & performance lectures at the Royal College of Music, City University and Goldsmiths College amongst others. He is the founder and artistic director of CRAM, a music collective and independent record label dedicated to new music."

-Benedict Taylor Blogspot (http://benedict-taylor.blogspot.com/p/benedict-taylor-is-award-winning_2.html)
3/13/2024

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


Track Listing:



1. Landscapes 16:33

2. The Edge 4:17

3. The Expanse 6:23

4. Patterned Landscapes 5:52

5. Many Coloured Scenes 16:45

6. Behind All Landscapes 6:10

Related Categories of Interest:


Improvised Music
Jazz
Free Improvisation
London & UK Improv & Related Scenes
Quartet Recordings
Collective Free Improvsation
Chamber Jazz

Search for other titles on the label:
FMR.


Recommended & Related Releases:
Dunmall / Brackenbury / Brice / Bianco
Prema
(FMR)
Part of a series at Birmingham, UK's East Jazz Club by saxophonist Paul Dunmall with some of the UK's finest improvisers, here in a quartet of two string players—Olie Brice on bass and Faith Brackenbury on violin—plus long-time collaborator Tony Bianco on drums, the title Prema referring to divine love or higher love, as heard in this tremendous, extended performances.
Dunmalll, Paul (Dunmall / Kinch / Cole / Mwamba / Kane / Drake)
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Recalling his Sun Quartet album, UK saxophonist Paul Dunmall's new sextet pivots off the jubilant rhythm section of drummer Hamid Drake, double bassist Dave Kane and vibraphonist Corey Mwamba, with three saxophonists--Dunmall on tenor & c-soprano saxophones, Xhosa Cole on tenor and Soweto Kinch on alto & tenor saxophones--in a truly joyful bright celebration of free flowing jazz.
Bonney, Alex / Paul Dunmall / Mark Sanders
The Beholder's Share
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Joining long-time UK improvising collaborators, saxophonist Paul Dunmall and drummer Mark Sanders is London performer and engineer Alex Bonney performing on trumpet, modular synthesizer and laptop, the trio recording in the studio for three conversations of lyrically inclined electro-acoustic improv, Bonney's synthetics adding an alien aspect to sophisticated dialog.
Dunmall, Paul
Meditations For Clarinets
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Known best for his extraordinary saxophone playing, UK reedist and wind player Paul Dunmall also is a first-rate clarinetist, one of the most challenging of the single reed instruments, heard here in four extended improvisations captured in the studio, performing with contemplative thoughtfulness and prodigious technique on four members of the clarinet family: C, A, Eb and Bb.
Dunmall, Paul / Olie Brice
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(Confront)
Taking their song titles from Basil Bunting's 1966 poem "Briggflatts", a mixed freeverse work with a changing rhyme scheme that is noted for its use of sound through word play to move its listeners, an apt analogy to the masterful and sophisticated dialog between double bassist Olie Brice and multi-reedist Paul Dunmall, Dunmall performing on alto & tenor saxophones, flute & clarinet.
Dunmall, Paul Quintet (w / Saunders / Foote / Owston / Bashford)
Yes Tomorrow
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An exhilarating departure from saxophonist Paul Dunmall's Coltrane-esque approach to free improvisation with this electrified quintet of Steven Saunders on guitar, Richard Foote on trombone, James Owston on bass and Jim Bashford on drums, playing with upbeat urgency through a set of Dunmall compositions, often letting Saunder's riffs take the foreground around a first-rate set of solos.
Dunmall, Paul / Paul Rogers / Tony Orrell
That's My Life
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A prime example of the early Bristol, UK jazz scene and saxophonist Paul Dunmall's association with it, this trio born out of the band Spirit Level where Dunmall and drummer Tony Orrell first worked, and double bassist Paul Rogers with whom Dunmall would go on to work in Mujician, here in two live recording with Dunmall on soprano and in a burning Coltrane mode; exceptional!
Dunmall, Paul / James Owson / Taymotusz Joziwiak
This Time In Beautiful Space
(FMR)
Performing on tenor, alto and C-melody saxophones plus alto flute, Paul Dunmall's trio brings together drummer Taymotusz Joziwiak (heard on One Became Many, Unmasked and Awoto) and younger generation bassist James Owswon, for an album of expressive and lyrical free jazz, a well-paced example of tempered collective interplay highlighting all three musicians.
Tippett, Keith / Julie Tippetts / Philip Gibbs / Paul Dunmall
Mahogany Rain
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Originally recorded in 2005 for a small 100-copy release, the single extended track on Mahogany Rain offers an hour of mesmerizing improvisational sound, sparsely composed and deeply experimental and performed by Keith Tippett on piano & percussion, Julie Tippetts on xylophone & voice, Philip Gibbs on guitars, and Paul Dunmall on soprano & tenor saxophones.
Dunmall, Paul / Mark Sanders
Unity
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Despite countless collaborations in a variety of settings, UK saxophonist Paul Dunmall and drummer/percussionist Mark Sanders have never recorded one of the most straight-forward of pairings — the saxophone and drum duo — correcting their omission with his superb album of exploratory and exuberant dialogs, five tracks showing the skill and kinship between the two.
Dunmall, Paul / Keith Tippett / Philip Gibbs / Pete Fairclough
Onosante
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A 4-track collective improvisation project performed by Paul Dunmall (saxophones, fife & bagpipes), pianist Keith Tippett, guitarist Philip Gibbs and drummer Pete Fairclough, recorded at Victoria Rooms at the University of Bristol, UK in 2000 and originally issued on Dunmall's own DUNS label, here reissued 20 years later in the memory of Keith Tippett.
Dunmal, Paul Sextet (Dunmall / Pursglove / Foote / Saunders / Owston / Bashford)
Cosmic Dream Projection
(FMR)
A studio project led by Paul Dumall on alto & tenor saxophones and alto flute, recorded while on touring hiatus during the pandemic, composing six passionate and melodically charged works performed by the brilliant sextet of Percy Pursglove on trumpet, Richard Foote on trombone, Steven Saunders on guitar, James Owston on bass, and Jim Bashford on drums.
Dunmall, Paul with Metcalfe / Owston / Jozwiak
Unmasked
(FMR)
The other side of Paul Dunmall's characteristic saxophone work is heard here on the alto flute, bringing Dunmall together with fellow flutist Neil Metcalf and the rhythm section of James Owston on bass and Tymek Jozwiak on drums for four exceptional improvisations that focus more on interaction and less on soloing, showcasing all four through sophisticated performance.
Tippett, Keith
The Monk Watches The Eagle
(Discus)
As though an elegy for the departed pianist and composer, Keith Tippett does not perform on this work, which was commissioned for the 2004 Norwich and Norfolk Festival, but conducts an ensemble that includes Julie Tippetts on voice, a saxophone octet that includes long-time collaborator Paul Dunmall, and the polyphonic choir of the BBC Singers; an exquisite and stirring work.
Orchestra Entropy
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An extended work for 10 improvisers using a composite composition of graphic scores, open notations, and two trio sub-pieces titled "skelf" (electric guitar, double bass and drums) and "antiphon" (violin, viola and double bass), all directed by UK saxophonist Matt London in an ensemble with reeds, winds, brass, strings, electric guitar, and Mark Sanders on drums.
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Representing some of the finest of UK free improvisers, the quartet of John Edwards on bass, Mark Sanders on drums, Liam Noble on piano, and Paul Dunmall on tenor & alto saxophones are recorded in the studio in Birmingham for three extended improvisations of commanding technique, creative drive and wide dynamics; the power of free jazz in the hands of masters.
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The long-running UK collaboration of Paul Dunmall on tenor sax & alto flute and drummer Mark Sanders, is joined by NY pianist Angelica Sanchez to record five superb collective trio compositions, Sanchez and Sanders providing outstandingly active rhythmic foundations over which Dunmall passionately soars, then adding unusual foundations over Sanchez's astute solo sections.
Dunmall, Paul Nonet The
Interpretations of Beauty
(FMR)
Paul Dunmall's nonet with Neil Metcalfe, Philip Gibbs, Trevor Taylor, Hannah Marshall, Sarah Farmer, Theo May, Alison Blunt and John Edwards on one track, is a larger ensemble blurring improvisation and compositional approaches through violin, viola, cello, double bass guitar, reeds, flute, and guitar; sophisticated chamber improvisation of superb quality.
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Nothing in Stone
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Recording at Jazz at the Fringe in Bristol in 2017, saxophonist Paul Dunmall shows his Coltrane influence in three extended improvisation with the trio of long-time collaborator Tony Orrell on drums and percussion, and bassist and trumpeter Percy Pursglove, in a concert that presents masterful playing, impressive creative asides, and insightful soloing.
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Trevor Taylor's Circuit electroacoustic ensemble, here as a quartet with Paul Dunmall on saxophone, Ashley John Long on double bass, Philipp Wachsmann on violin & electronics, and Trevor Taylor on percussion & electronics, recording at Kingston University for the five-part work "DE" "CE" "EM" "BE" "R", intricate and introspective improv that builds and recedes through restrained squalls.
Long, Ashley John
PSI
(FMR)
Virtuoso UK bassist Ashley John Long presents a startling array of approaches and techniques on the double bass over 11 improvisations, from concise shorter presentations to expansive displays of skill, excitement or introspection, all with an ear to captivating his listener.
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Dunmall / Noble / Edwards / Sanders
Chords Of Connections
(FMR)
A stunning example of collective free improvisation from the quartet of frequent collaborators and superb improvisers, Paul Dunmall on tenor & soprano sax, Liam Noble on piano, Mark Sanders on drums, and John Edwards on bass, recording in the studio in Birmingham.
Dunmall, Paul / Philip Gibbs / Ashley John Young
Now Has No Dimension
(FMR)
Live recordings from the trio of Paul Dunmall on soprano and tenor sax, Philip Gibbs on guitar, and Ashley John Young on double bass, performing at Cardiff University School of Music Concert Hall in 2016, a great example of concentrative, complex and lively interplay.
Dunmall, Paul / Phillip Gibbs / Alison Blunt / Neil Metcalfe / Hanna Marshall
I Look At You
(FMR)
Blending free and compositional players, saxophonist Paul Dunmall leads the quintet of Neil Metcalfe on flute, Hanna Marshall on cello, Alison Blunt on violin and Phillip Gibbs on guitar for a refined and sprightly set of extended improvisations recorded at Birmingham Conservatory.



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