The Squid's Ear Magazine


Bucher  / Tan  / Countryman: Sacred Fire Of The Free (FMR)

The continuing collaboration from the collective free jazz trio of Philippines-based American alto saxophonist Rick Countryman, Philippines bassist Simon Tan and Swiss drummer Christian Bucher is heard in this studio session of eight lyrically inclined tracks of spontaneous interaction, a well-balanced mix of energetic grooves and contemplative group conversation.
 

Price: $14.95



Quantity:

In Stock

Quantity in Basket: None

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

Sample The Album:





product information:

Personnel:



Christian Bucher-drums

Rick Countryman-alto saxophone

Simon Tan-bass


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




Label: FMR
Catalog ID: FMR 637
Squidco Product Code: 32493

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2022
Country: UK
Packaging: Digipack - 3 panel
Recorded at Strawberry Jams, in Quezon City, Phillippines, on July 25th, 2022, by Mark Edwards.dig

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

The continuing collaboration from the collective free jazz trio of Philippines-based American alto saxophonist Rick Countryman, Philippines bassist Simon Tan and Swiss drummer Christian Bucher is heard in this studio session of eight lyrically inclined tracks of spontaneous interaction, a well-balanced mix of energetic grooves and contemplative group conversation.


Artist Biographies

"Christian Bucher (* 1969 in Zug ) is a Swiss drummer in the field of jazz and improvisational music .

From 1990 to 1997, Bucher studied musicology , art history and literature at the University of Bern, and from 1992 to 1997 he studied music at the Academy of Contemporary Music in Zurich (jazz music with Kevin Austin, Tony Renold, Peter Preibisch, diploma). He also attended workshops with Paul Lovens and Billy Cobham and studied with Pierre Favre , Willy Kotoun, Marcel Bernasconi and Andreas Hermann at the Lucerne Music College .

He then continued his post-graduate studies in free improvisation with Walter Fähndrich, Peter K. Frey and Christoph Baumann at the Lucerne Music College (2002-2003). Bucher also worked as a drummer teacher at the music school Horw , Emmen and at the teachers' seminar St. Michael Zug from 2000 to 2005.

Guido Egli and he wrote the music for the two documentary films of Stefan Jäger "From the Ground I Were a Man to Life" and "Steps against the Wind", which was shown on television and at film festivals. Bucher was a co-founder of Jazztrios Nevertheless and a member of the group of 9 artists .

Bucher works as a soloist and plays in duo with BUG, ​​in the duo Bucher / Fehlmann, in the duo ZurBucher and in the band Portobello; He is still involved in projects related to other art genres. As drummer and percussionist he gave solo concerts, partly in connection with painting, sculpture, photography, video, installation, performance, architecture, literature, theater and dance.

He has played CDs and has recorded radio and TV recordings as well as festival performances, concert tours and performances, which take him to Australia, Bulgaria, China, Germany, France, Greece, India, Indonesia, Slovenia, Spain. South Africa, the USA or Turkey."

-Wikipedia (translated by Google) (https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Bucher)
11/5/2024

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

"Rick Countryman (January 31, 1957) is an American jazz saxophonist and flautist.

After years attracting little attention as a baritone saxophone player, including an extended sabbatical, Rick made a late-life change to alto sax, at the urging of bassist, Simon Tan. His first recorded session with Simon and Christian Bucher, avant garde drummer from Switzerland, attracted the attention of French label "Improvising Beings" and was released as "Acceptance - Resistance". The recordings received many positive reviews, both in the United States and Europe.

Rick currently now has 9 releases on 4 labels across Europe, Asia, and the United States, including multiple CDs with Japanese improvisational drummer, Sabu Toyozumi, who has made several trips to Manila to perform and record. The music continues to receive positive reviews and airplay. Two recordings were listed in "Gold Dolphy 2018".

Since 2011, Rick has been an active member of the Manila jazz scene. He leads and performs in ensembles on baritone saxophone, alto saxophone, alto flute and bass flute; performing original compositions, as well as free jazz/improvisation, in his own jazz quartets and trios. His style is heavily influenced by Eric Dolphy, Sonny Simmons and the 60s Free Jazz movement. He was a student of Bert Wilson, and considers Michael Bisio and Rick Mandyck early mentors."

-Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Countryman)
11/5/2024

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

"Simon Leonardo P. Tan (born August 13, 1970) is a Filipino bassist. Beginning classical guitar lessons at age 13 at the Yamaha School of Music stimulated his later exposure to electric guitar and, inevitably, his interest in the electric bass. He studied the contrabass at the University of the Philippines College of Music from 1988 until 1992, then embarked on a professional musical career. His ability as a multi-genre bass player readily caught attention, notably in the pioneering Manila-based blues band, Lampano Alley, led by the Filipino blues singer and recording artist, Binky Lampano. This was followed by his tenure as bassist and composer with the award-winning Philippine jazz group, WDOUJI.

Simon Tan's influences range from rock to classical, blues and jazz. His influences as a bass instrumentalist include Roscoe Beck, Ray Brown, Paul Chambers, Charlie Haden, James Jamerson, Marcus Miller, Jaco Pastorius, and John Pattitucci. Notable (Filipino) musical (non-bass) influences include vocalist Binky Lampano and saxophonist Tots Tolentino."

-WikiVisually (http://wikivisually.com/wiki/Simon_Tan)
11/5/2024

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


Track Listing:



1. Abstract Dualism 8:48

2. Running From The Blues 7:32

3. Deliberation 4:38

4. Part Of Another Thing 4:40

5. One Hand In Darkness 8:54

6. Frozen Planet 9:46

7. Inverted Bird 4:49

8. Lucidity 4:13

Related Categories of Interest:


Improvised Music
Jazz
Free Improvisation
Trio Recordings
Collective Free Improvsation
Asian Improvisation & Jazz
New in Improvised Music
Recent Releases and Best Sellers

Search for other titles on the label:
FMR.


Recommended & Related Releases:
Bucher / Countryman / Hori
The Movement Radical
(ChapChap Records)
During a tour by frequent collaborators, American saxophonist living in the Philippines Rick Countryman and Swiss drummer Christian Bucher, the duo joined with acoustic bassist Tetsuro Hori for five nights in the Kansai region of Japan, on the fifth night performing at the Big Apple in Kobe, Japan where this hard blowing session of free jazz was captured.
Bucher / Tan / Countryman
Old Drains New Stains
(FMR)
The collaboration between Swiss drummer Christian Bucher, Filipino bassist Simon Tan and American ex-patriate living in the Phillipines, saxophonist Rick Countryman, continues with this exceptional collective free jazz album, their fourth on FMR, captured in the studio in Quezon City, Philippines in 2022 for nine exuberant and astute improvisations.
Bucher, Christian / Rick Countryman
The Force Of Gravity
(FMR)
Documenting the continued growth and evolution of the longer than a decade collaboration between American alto saxophonist living in the Philippines Ricky Countryman and Swiss drummer Christian Bucher, performing in the Strawberry Jams studio in Quezon City for thirteen succinct improvisations titled with stellar analogies, from pensive music to excitingly dynamic interplay.
Interstellar Nao (Rick Countryman / Gabriel Lauber / Itzam Cano)
Live at No Somos Nada
(FMR)
Referencing the Spanish galleons that sailed the Pacific Ocean between Acapulco in Mexico and Manila in the Philippine Islands, this meeting in Mexico city brings Philippine-based saxophonist Rick Countryman together with Swiss drummer living in Mexico City Gabriel Lauber and Lauber's collaborator in the group Zero Point, Mexico City native double bass player Itzam Canois.
Countryman, Rick / Christian Bucher
Once
(FMR)
From the same 2017 session that was released as the album Estuary, this concert in the Philippines between American expatriate saxophonist Rick Countryman and visiting Swiss drummer Christian Bucher expands on the free playing of these two empathetic improvisers, presenting a mix of textural, conceptual, melodic and rhythmic interplay steeped in their personal histories.
Toyozumi, Sabu / Simon Tan / Rick Countryman / Yong Yandsen
Voices Of The Spirit
(ChapChap Records)
Recorded during a series of concerts reuniting alto saxphonist Rick Countryman with mentor and friend, drummer Sabu Toyozumi, this live concert at Tago Jazz Cafe in Philippines includes acoustic bassist Simon Tan and free improvising Malaysian tenor saxophonist Yong Yandsen, in an adventurous set of extended performances of intertwining reeds and rhythm; superb!
Toyozumi / Countryman / Tan
Chasing The Sun [VINYL]
(ChapChap Records)
Two lives sets at Tago Jazz Cafe in the Philippines in 2018 from the trio of master percussionist Sabu Toyozumi on drums, American ex-pat Rick Countryman on alto saxophone, and Simon Tan on acoustic bass, this their 3rd album of solid free improvisation of extended and masterful discourse, unusual percussive devices, and powerful rhythmic foundation.
Toyozumi / Countryman / Montes
Blue Incarnation (Improvisations for Kulintang)
(ChapChap Records)
Also known as "Improvisations for Kulintang", this live album of energetic and informed free jazz occurred between legendary Japanese percussionist Sabu Toyozumi and Philippine-based saxophonist Rick Countryman in Dec 2018, with featured guest Tusa Montes performing on prepared Kulintang percussion, a set of horizontally laid gongs that add tympanic melody.
Toyozumi, Sabu / Rick Countryman
Sol Abstraction
(Sol Disk Records)
The longstanding relationship between US alto saxophonist living in the Phillipines, Rick Countryman, and legendary free improvising Japanese percussionist Sabu Toyozumi, heard in two previous albums, is here captured live in concert in the Phillipines in 2018, revealing active and thoughtful dialog of great expression and skill, an inspired encounter of free playing.
Toyozumi, Sabu / Rick Countryman / Simon Tan
The Center of Contradiction
(ChapChap Records)
A live recording from Quezon City, Philippines of the free improvising trio of Sabu Toyozumi on drums, Rick Countryman on alto saxophone, and Simon Tan on acoustic bass, bring the first generation Japanese free improviser together with some of the Philippines' brightest free players for two extended improvisations of lyrical excursions and solid and often surprising rhythmic response.
Other Recommended Releases:
Countryman / Toyozumi / Bates
Lovely Tago (On A Sunday Night)
(FMR)
The first of two performances at Tago Jazz in Cubao, Quezon City, Philippines in 2024 between first generation Japanese free improv drummer Sabu Toyozumi, Malaysia-based bassist Richard Allan Bates, and Philippines-based alto saxophonist Rick Countryman, two contrasting sets from the first of a week of performances and studio recordings between three extraordinary collective players.
Countryman / Toyozumi / Bates
Lovely Tago (On A Friday Night)
(FMR)
The second of two performances at Tago Jazz in Cubao, Quezon City, Philippines in 2024 between first generation Japanese free improvisational drummer, Sabu Toyozumi, Malaysia-based bassist, Richard Allan Bates, and Philippines-based alto saxophonist, Rick Countryman, this energetic concert recorded after two days in the studio developing their collective sound.
Bucher / Countryman / Gaerlan
The Cosmic Stream
(FMR)
Captured as a live stream recording in 2023 at Tonehouse Studios in Singapore, after 26 days of touring South East Asia by the 12 year collaborative trio of Swiss drummer Christian Bucher, American ex-pat living in the Philippines Rick Countryman on alto sax and Filipino bassist Johnny Gaerlan, a great free jazz session summing up a satisfying tour.
Interstellar Nao Quartet (Countryman / Castanon / Cano / Lauber)
Odisea
(FMR)
A wild odyssey in collective free jazz referencing the 16th century trade ships "La Nao de la China" from four players improvising in the studio in Mexico City for three extended, energetic exchanges of acoustic and electric excitement, from Philippine-based alto saxophonist Rick Countryman, Jalisco guitarist Juan Castanon, and Mexican bassist & drummer Itzam Cano & Gabriel Lauber.
Countryman / Bucher / Yandsen
The Malaysia Live Fact Session
(FMR)
Two 2022 live free jazz sessions from Malaysia, the first a saxophone duo between US ex-pat based in The Philippines, Rick Countryman on alto and Malaysian tenor saxophonist Yong Yandsen, appropriately recorded at The Saxophone Store in Kula Lumpur; then 5 trio improvisations recorded in concert at Live Fact in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia on the same tour.
River People (Bucher / Countryman / Alegre / Hori)
Sol Expression
(ChapChap Records)
Evoking images of Indigenous Filipinos through free improvisation, with titles referencing the rivers, rains and environment that define them, the multi-national River People quartet of Christian Bucher on drums, Johnny Alegre on guitar, Tetsuro Hori on bass and Rick Countryman on alto saxophone are captured in the studio in Manila for seven superb collective conversations.
Countryman, Rick
The First Bird
(ChapChap Records)
Taking his inspiration from the concepts and work of German fractal image & video artist Joerg Wand, US-born and Philippines-based alto saxophonist Rick Countryman presents his first unaccompanied saxophone album, as he flows, winds and weaves his saxophone along rich peninsular curves to illustrate Wand's vision through fluid and sustained playing.
Toyozumi, Sabu / Rick Countryman
Misaki Castle Tower
(ChapChap Records)
The fourth and final night of a series of concerts after three nights of trios and quartets, this live recording captures the duo of legendary Japanese drummer Sabu Toyozumi and American alto saxophonist living in the Philippines Rick Countryman, freely improvising four impresseive and creative conversations of both intricate and reflective dialog.
Toyozumi / Countryman / Tan
Chasing the Sun
(ChapChap Records)
Two live sets at Tago Jazz Cafe in the Philippines in 2018 from the trio of master percussionist Sabu Toyozumi on drums, American ex-pat Rick Countryman on alto saxophone, and Simon Tan on acoustic bass, this their 3rd album of solid free improvisation of extended and masterful discourse, unusual percussive devices, and powerful rhythmic foundation.
Toyozumi, Sabu / Rick Countryman
I Am Village
(FMR)
After 3 consecutive nights performing in trio & quartet formats at Balete at Kamias, in Quezon City, Philippines, the duo of drummer Sabu Toyozum and alto saxophonist Rick Countryman performed the final set as a duo, their many collaborations evident in the freedom and flexibility each provides to the other, delivering an exemplary example of a free jazz sax & drum duo.
Toyozumi, Sabu / Rick Countryman / Simon Tan / Isla Antinero / Stella Ignacio
The Search for the Five Senses
(Sol Disk Records)
Recorded during Sabu Toyozumi's first collaboration with Rick Countryman in 2017, this album features music from the same nights that produced Jya-Ne and Center of Contradiction: 6 tracks from an August 11th quintet performance with voice and trombone, and electric bass; plus 2 tracks from the following night in a trio format with acoustic bass.
Toyozumi / Yandsen / Countryman
Future of Change
(ChapChap Records)
The collaboration of American alto saxophonist living in the Philippines Rick Countryman with legendary Japanese free improvising drummer Sabu Toyozumim, also performing on Erhu, continues with this outstanding performance at the LIMBO Art Gallery in Makati, Philippines in 2020, joined by Malaysian tenor saxophonist Yong Yandsen for a burning set of free jazz.
Toyozumi, Sabu / Simon Tan / Yong Yandsen / Rick Countryman
reAbstraction
(FMR)
Malaysian tenor saxophonist Yong Yandsen joins the working trio of Sabu Toyozumi, Simon Tan, and Rick Countryman for a lively set of performances, Sabu and Countryman having met Yandsen in Kuala Lumpur several times the previous year for unrelated projects, bringing confident familiarity to their improvisations, captured here as a trio and quartet from a 3-night engagement in Manila.
Bucher / Tan / Countryman
Blue Spontaneity
(FMR)
Drawn from 3 days of recording in July 2019, after more than 6 years of collaboration in the Philippines between drummer Christian Bucher, alto saxophonist Rick Countryman, and bassist Simon Tan, and released as a complement to their "Empathy" album, in trio improvisations, plus the title track a duo between Bucher & Countryman; a melodic and well-balanced album of free jazz.
Bucher / Countryman (w/ Simon Tan / Isla Antinero)
Extremely Live in Manila
(ChapChap Records)
A live concert in Quezon City from the Manila based duo of Rich Countryman on alto saxophone and Swiss drummer Christian Bucher, who are joined on one track by acoustic bassist Simon Tan and trombonist Isla Antinero.
Toyozumi, Sabu / Rick Countryman / Simon Tan / Stella Ignacio / Isla Antinero
JYA-NE
(Self Released)
Four configurations of free jazz recorded live during a 2017 visit by Japanese drummer Sabu Toyozumi to Manila: first in a duo with alto saxophonist Rick Countryman; then in a trio with Toyozumi on erhu and Simon Tan on acoustic bass; then a quintet with Simon Tan on electric bass, vocalist Stella Ignacio and trombonist Isla Antinero; and last as a trio with Countryman, Tan, and Toyozumi.



The Squid's Ear Magazine

The Squid's Ear Magazine

© 2002-, Squidco LLC