The Squid's Ear Magazine


Archer / Keeffe / Pyne: Hi Res Heart (Discus)

Inspired by the 70's Leo Smith Trio and the AACM tradition, during pandemic lockdowns UK multi-reedist & wind player Martin Archer, Charlotte Keeffe on trumpet & electronics and Martin Pyne on drums, percussion, vibraphone & toy piano, developed these 12 pieces where each member recorded four ideas independently, the other two arranging and recording their own parts in response.
 

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Personnel:



Martin Archer-sopranino saxophone, soprano saxophone, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone, Bb clarinet, bass clarinets, flute, bass harmonica, electronics

Charlotte Keeffe-trumpet, flugelhorn, electronics

Martin Pyne-drums, percussion, vibraphone, toy piano


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UPC: 5051078986128

Label: Discus
Catalog ID: 108CD
Squidco Product Code: 31120

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2021
Country: UK
Packaging: Cardboard Gatefold 3 Panels
Recorded August, 2020, to March, 2021.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"When I proposed this trio it was intentional to create an instrumentation which closely matched that of the classic Leo Smith Trio of the 1970s - a line up which allows space and fire to co-exist. Of course, the fact that Martin Pyne doubles on both vibraphone and drums gives us a few extra sonic possibilities, and these have all been exploited by the suite of 12 compositions which the 3 of us have created together.

While my own music output veers off into a wide range of bands and territories, it is when I play this music - which for convenience I will call AACM Music, as it is directly inspired by the masters of the 70s black American avant-garde - that I feel like I'm writing and playing my very best. Of course, both Charlotte and Martin have their own different histories and perspectives to bring to the trio. Nevertheless, that feeling that even at its most abstract , the blues is never too far away from this music, pervades the current work."-" Martin Archer"


Artist Biographies

"Martin Archer was born in Sheffield, England, in 1957. He started playing saxophone at age 15 and first got active on the Sheffield improvisational scene in 1973. In the early '80s, he recorded an LP with Bass Tone Trap, his first group. In 1983 he formed the saxophone quartet Hornweb, which, in ten years of existence, released three albums. It is during that time that Archer released his first solo album, Wild Pathway Favourites (1988) and founded the Discus label on which he since releases all his music.

In 1993, he disbanded Hornweb and turned to synthesizers and sequencers while shifting his activities from stage to studio. He developed a compositional approach in which he records improvisers soloing, then manipulates this raw material, combining it with electronics and structuring it into a whole new piece. This technique is illustrated on Wild Pathway Favourites, Ghost Lily Cascade (1996), and Pure Water Construction (with bassist Simon H. Fell, released in 1999). Later works such as Winter Pilgrim Arriving (2000) moved toward more constructed and less abstract pieces, even making room for melodies and rhythm tracks at times.

Apart from his solo work, Archer is also involved in Ask, a duo with guitarist John Jasnoch, and Transient v Resident, an ambient electronics project with Chris Bywater."-All Music, François Couture



"Martin Archer is a composer / improviser who is equally at home on stage or in the studio. His own distinctive saxophone playing is rooted in AACM jazz. Through his use of keyboards and electronics, and as a studio producer, he extends this interest into extended song form and leftfield rock music. He is also co-director of the uncategorisably avant choir Juxtavoices.

His principle music work is the Discus Music label, the imprint for his various releases, notably by the groups described below.

His current jazz based projects include Engine Room Favourites (current a 4 drummer, 14 piece big band), Story Tellers (6 piece group including shaman instruments alongside the conventional instruments), plus various ad hoc smaller groups. All of these are strongly aligned with AACM tradition and teaching.

Archer has a long running duo with veteran vocalist Julie Tippetts. Each of their highly acclaimed CD releases deliberately explores song from a different perspective - the duo aims to be truly progressive, and takes in elements from jazz, rock, soul and pure abstraction.

Archer's main live performance vehicle is the trio Inclusion Principle with Herve Perez and Peter Fairclough. The group operates in a space between electronics, nu-jazz, contemporary electroacoustic music and free improvisation. In performance you will hear pure jazz skill, electronic beats and areas of texture and abstraction all seamlessly woven into a fascinating and constantly shifting tapestry of sound.

The sprawling Orchestra Of The Upper Atmosphere was formed by Archer as an improvising rock group with shades of Terry Riley, Magma, Alice Coltrane and Sun Ra, very much in the progressive / krautrock tradition, and noted for its large scale string, horn and vocal arrangements.

Also in rock music, Archer is a member of the USA based heavier than plutonium prog / sludge / zeuhl group Combat Astronomy under the direction of Jamie Huggett.

Surprising, delighting and occasionally alarming audiences for a number of years now, Juxtavoices is a 30 piece choir for mainly untrained voices co directed by Archer with Alan Halsey which has racked up dozens of performances and issued three CDs.

This eclectic combination of sources and highly individual applications makes Archer a unique inhabitant of the school of English maverick composer / improvisers. "-Discus

-All Music, Discus Records (http://www.allmusic.com/artist/martin-archer-mn0000146946)
3/25/2024

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

"Trumpeter Charlotte Keeffe's unique approach and passion for improvised, experimental and jazz music has seen her performing regularly across the UK and internationally as a soloist and as part of several ensembles, duos and trios. Her music has been featured on BBC Radio 3, Resonance FM and Jazz FM and recent appearances with her quartet include Jazz In The Round and a sell-out performance at Lancaster Jazz Festival. Other recent highlights include being featured as a performer and composer/arranger on Sheffield-based Martin Archer's latest project, Anthropology Band, performances with Alex Ward's Item 4 and regular appearances and conductions with the London Improvisers Orchestra.

Inspired by the likes of Miles Davis and Polish artist Tomasz Stańko, Charlotte studied Jazz Performance at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama before going on to become a scholarship recipient at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama and a Help Musicians UK Award Winner. With her Quartet, Charlotte explores the relationship between her compositions and experimental improvisation, producing a unique musical experience inspiring creative freedom of expression. Bassist Ashley John Long, drummer Ben Handysides and guitarist Moss Freed join Charlotte in this latest collaboration.

Charlotte is also a performer with The Brass Monkeys, Moss Freed's Union Division and Calum Gourlay's Big Band. She took part in the Summer Studios Artist Residency 2019 with drummer Andrew Lisle and bassist Otto Willberg in Andrew's trio project at The Sage, Gateshead. Charlotte played in Marin Alsop's Taki Concordia Orchestra at the World Economic Forum 2019 playing to world leaders and celebrities including Sir David Attenborough. She's performed at several music festivals including Brecon Jazz as part of Steve Waterman's Big Band, Glastonbury and Wilderness alongside Liane Carroll, Charlotte Church, Laura Mvula, Kate Nash, Camille O'Sullivan and Will Young."

-Charlotte Keeffe Website (https://www.charlottekeeffe.com/biography)
3/25/2024

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

"Martin Pyne is a percussionist, composer, and improviser working from near London in the UK. He has extensive experience in a wide range of contemporary music styles from classical to jazz and free improvisation. He is a member of Dangerous Kitchen , a trio with renowned sax player Stan Sulzmann and fellow percussionist Simon Allen, and composer Paul Robinson's Harmonie Band.

He is very active on the contemporary dance scene in London and has worked with several choreographers including Mark Baldwin, Chard Gonzalez and Sheron Wray.

He has developed a unique playing style combining electronics and acoustic instuments to create a rich and expressive sound world.

Long Voyage Home, his debut solo album, is performed by Martin, mostly on a sampling drum pad, as well as toy piano and synthesizer, and features guest artists Dai Pritchard (from Klub Mundi and Loose Tubes) on clarinets and saxophone, singer Joseph Aquilina, and BBC Radio presenter Sarah walker.

The music, which draws on Homer's Odyssey for inspiration, is organic and evocative, with a raft of mysterious and hypnotic textures. Musical inluences range from Miles Davis, to John Cage taking in the likes of Bjork and Bobby Previte, as well as a number of world musics, along the way.

On a recent edition of BBC Radio 3's MIXING IT show, the track Stringing The Bow was favourably compared to sevenities era Miles Davis."

-Jazz CDs (https://www.jazzcds.co.uk/artist_id_1055/biography_id_1055)
3/25/2024

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


Track Listing:



1. Silena's Fire 6:14

2. G. E. M. 3:49

3. Looking For Gene 5:49

4. Song For Bobby Naughton 11:10

5. Seduction Dance 4:59

6. June 3:15

7. Jean 7:02

8. Earth Memory 4:19

9. Sleep Uneasy 5:44

10. The Story In The Mirror 1:38

11. Tommy 2:38

12. Dolly Grip 7:30

Related Categories of Interest:


Improvised Music
Free Improvisation
Jazz
Electro-Acoustic
Electro-Acoustic Improv
London & UK Improv & Related Scenes
Trio Recordings

Search for other titles on the label:
Discus.


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