Impeccably recorded inside the Brønshøj Water Tower, in Copenhagen, Denmark, a highly resonant space built 100 years ago, where UK tenor and soprano saxophonist John Butcher continues his investigations into spaces with natural delay and decay, through 11 improvisations of discriminating pacing as he finds incredible beauty in floating and shifting tones and instrument errata; exquisite.
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John Butcher-tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone
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Label: Ftarri / Hitorri
Catalog ID: hitorri-964
Squidco Product Code: 33925
Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2023
Country: Japan
Packaging: Cardboard Gatefold
Recorded in the Bronshoj Vantarn Water Tower, in Copenhagen, Denmark, on June 17th, 2022, by Jesper Bagger Hviid.
"In the summer of 2022 Thomas Buhl-Wiggers, of the Cejero festival and label, kindly invited me to play inside the mammoth Bronshoj water tower. The very resonant spaces I've worked in before include a giant gasometer, a hollowed-out Japanese mountain, an underground reservoir, a Victorian mausoleum and a massive World War II oil tank. I'm still fascinated by how different these enormous environments all sounded and felt. They each inspired different approaches in trying to find the music for the actual space, and my recent experience within this extraordinary construction was no exception. The Bronshoj Vandtarn is a concrete water-tower, built almost a hundred years ago in the suburbs of Copenhagen. It's 20m wide and 34m high - smaller than some similar shapes I've played in, but with a large, lingering reverberation. Some sounds seem to float away as if through liquid, others acquire a shifting haze, and some just prefer to sit around."-John Butcher
Artist Biographies
• Show Bio for John Butcher "John Butcher's work ranges through improvisation, his own compositions, multitracked pieces and explorations with feedback and extreme acoustics.Originally a physicist, he left academia in '82, and has since collaborated with hundreds of musicians - Derek Bailey, John Tilbury, John Stevens, The EX, Akio Suzuki, Gerry Hemingway, Polwechsel, Gino Robair, Rhodri Davies, Okkyung Lee, John Edwards, Toshi Nakamura, Paul Lovens, Eddie Prevost, Mark Sanders, Christian Marclay, Otomo Yoshihide, Phil Minton, and Andy Moor - to name a few. He is well known as a solo performer who attempts to engage with the uniqueness of place. Resonant Spaces is a collection of site-specific performances collected during a tour of unusual locations in Scotland and the Orkney Islands.His first solo album, Thirteen Friendly Numbers, includes compositions for multitracked saxophones, whilst later solo CDs focus on live performance, composition, amplification and saxophone-controlled feedback. HCMF has twice commissioned him to compose for his own large ensembles. Other commissions include for Elision (Australia), the Rova (USA) & Quasar (Canada) Saxophone Quartets, reconstructed Futurist Intonarumori (USA), "Tarab Cuts" (based on pre-WWII Arabic recordings, and shortlisted for the 2014 British Composer's Award) and "Good Liquor .." for the London Sinfonietta. In 2011 he received a Paul Hamlyn Foundation Award for Artists. Recent groupings include The Apophonics with Robair and Edwards, Anemone with Peter Evans, Plume with Tony Buck & Magda Mayas and a trio with Okkyung Lee & Mark Sanders.Butcher values playing in occasional encounters - ranging from large groups such as Butch Morris' London Skyscraper and the EX Orkestra, to duo concerts with David Toop, Kevin Drumm, Claudia Binder, Paal Nilssen-Love, Thomas Lehn, Fred Frith, Keiji Haino, Ute Kangeisser, Matthew Shipp and Yuji Takahashi." ^ Hide Bio for John Butcher
12/6/2023
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Track Listing:
1. Shimmers Of Connect i 4:52
2. Shimmers Of Connect ii 4:41
3. Shimmers Of Connect iii 4:38
4. Sympathetic Magic (Concrete) 6:37
5. Elusive Sidestep 6:06
6. Signs And Symptoms 3:46
7. Far Flung 3:33
8. Summer Incantation 1:42
9. Very Hush-Hush 4:02
10. Laval 2:39
11. On Springs 3:37
Improvised Music
Free Improvisation
Jazz
London & UK Improv & Related Scenes
Recordings by or featuring Reed & Wind Players
Solo Artist Recordings
John Butcher
Recordings Utilizing the Natural Resonance of a Space
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Ftarri / Hitorri.
 | Stoffner, Florian / John Butcher / Chris Corsano Braids (ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd) |
| With incredible skill and nuance, using extended and stunning technique, and through intent listening of nearly telepathic communication, the trio of Florian Stoffner on guitar, John Butcher on tenor & soprano saxophones and Chris Corsano on drums & half clarinet, perform seven subtle and detailed improvisations live at Le Singe, in Biel/Bienne, Switzerland in 2022. | |
 | Butcher, John / Pat Thomas / Dominic Lash / Steve Noble Fathom [COLORED VINYL] (577 Records) |
| The debut for UK saxophonist John Butcher on 577 Records is this exemplary 2021 live recording at Cafe OTO in London by the quartet of Butcher on tenor and soprano saxophones, Pat Thomas on piano, Dominic Lash on double bass and Steve Noble on drums, four of the UK's leading free improvisers demonstrating their prodigious abilities in concentrated conversation. | |
 | Thermal (John Butcher / Andy Moor / Thomas Lehn) Ice In A Hot World (Unsounds) |
| The 20-year followup to their 2003 album on the Unsounds label titled Thermal, the trio of John Butcher on tenor & soprano saxophones, Andy Moor on guitar and Thomas Lehn on analogue synthesizer update listeners with their free and ea-improvising approach through five studio improvisations of incredible detail, technical & sonic mastery, and astute conversational skills. | |
 | Davies, Rhodri / Nikos Velitotis Hotel Art Head [BOOK] (gwasg amgen) |
| A curious book of images from artists including Rhodri Davies, John Butcher, Angharad Davies, Richard Dawson, &c. photographed in a location familiar to a touring musician--a budget hotel room--pictured laying on the bed with each artist's head covered by that room's hotel wall painting, from typically insipid to perplexingly unexpected. | |
 | Allbee, Liz / John Butcher / Ignaz Schick / Marta Zapparoli Lamenti Dall'infinito [VINYL] (NI-VU-NI-CONNU) |
| The 4th of NI-VU-NI-CONNU's 5-LP John Butcher series and part of a 2 night residency at ausland in Berlin coinciding with his 65th birthday, tenor & soprano saxophonist John Butcher is joined in a quartet by electroacoustic improvisers, trumpeter Liz Allbee, Ignaz Shick on turntables, sampler & electronics and Marta Zapparoli on tapes, reel-to-reel tape machines and antennas. | |
 | Phillips / Butcher / Solberg We met - and then (Relative Pitch) |
| The debut of the advanced and innovative collaboration between improviser and prominent double bassist Barre Phillips, British saxophonist John Butcher and Norwegian drummer, percussionist and improviser, Stale Liavik Solberg, recording at the Blow out Festival in Oslo, Norway in 2019, and at Offene Ohren, Einstein Kultur, in Munchen, Germany in 2018. | |
 | IST (Davies / Fell / Wastell) + John Butcher / Phil Durrant A More Attractive Way [5 CD BOX SET + 20 page booklet] (Confront) |
| A comprehensive album of live performances from IST (Rhodri Davies: harp, preparations; Simon H. Fell: double bass, preparations; Mark Wastell: violoncello, preparations) between 1996 and 2000, beginning with their concert at Club Orange in London and including concerts in London, Billericay, Norwich and Cambridge, with a 20 page booklet of photos and text from the band & collaborators. | |
 | RED trio and Celebration Band Suite 10 Years Anniversary [2 CDs] (NoBusiness) |
| The Red Trio of pianist Rodrigo Pinheiro, bassist Hernâni Faustino and drummer Gabriel Ferrandini mark their 10th anniversary as a trio on this 2-CD set of an outstanding concert in Lisboa, PT, joining forces with the 13-member Celebration Band, whose members include John Butcher, Ernesto Rodrigues, Luis Vicente, Sei Miguel, Rodrigo Amado, Mattias Stahl, Carlos Santos, &c. | |
 | Butcher / Prevost / Viltard Iklectik Live One (Matchless) |
| Part of the Iklectic club's "Meetings With Remarkable Saxophonists" programmed by drummer Eddie Prévost and double bassist Guillaume Viltard, here meeting John Butcher performing on tenor and soprano saxophone for a masterful concert of free improvisations, energetically turning the "Electric", "Light", "On", "Click" through 4 extended and remarkable converstations. | |
 | Butcher, John / Thomas Lehn / Matthew Shipp The Clawed Stone (RogueArt) |
| Matthew Shipp (piano), John Butcher (saxophones) and Thomas Lehn (electronics) in a studio album recorded in France in 2017, a uniquely voiced collective trio of transformative improvisation, Lehn's additions and modifications blending perfectly with Shipp's solid foundations and Butcher's advanced technical expression, for an engrossing and expressive set of recordings. | |
 | Thomas / Butcher / Solberg Fictional Souvenirs [CD] (Astral Spirits) |
| Performing in concert at Iklectik in London in 2017, the UK and Norwegian free improvising trio of Pat Thomas on Moog Theremini & IPad based electronics, John Butcher on saxophones, and Stale Liavik Solberg on drums & percussion impress through a mix of masterful free playing and eclectic electroacoustic conversations, an adventurous and wonderfully unpredictable set. | |
 | GGRIL [feat John Butcher / Isaiah Ceccarelli / Xavier Charles] Facon [2 CDs] (Circum-Disc) |
| The Quebec ensemble GGRIL of eclectic instrumentation, acoustic and electronic, with an open-minded approach to developing large-scale works bringing together approaches to improvisation and contemporary composition, here presenting three works from residencies with John Butcher, Isaiah Ceccarelli and Xavier Charles recorded from 2016 through 2018. | |
 | Thomas / Butcher / Solberg Fictional Souvenirs [CASSETTE] (Astral Spirits) |
| Performing in concert at Iklectik in London in 2017, the UK and Norwegian free improvising trio of Pat Thomas on Moog Theremini & IPad based electronics, John Butcher on saxophones, and Stale Liavik Solberg on drums & percussion impress through a mix of masterful free playing and eclectic electroacoustic conversations, an adventurous and wonderfully unpredictable set. | |
 | Butcher, John / Stale Liavik Solberg So Beautiful, It Starts To Rain (Clean Feed) |
| British free improvising legend John Butcher met Scandinavian drummer Stale Liavik Solberg at Cafe Oto to record these intensely detailed yet sublimely reserved duos, three pieces segmenting the album title, an intimate and never extravagent dialog of great technical depth. | |
 | RED Trio w/ John Butcher Summer Skyshift (Clean Feed) |
| The second collaboration between the Portugese Red Trio of Rodrigo Pinheiro (piano), Hernani Faustino (double bass) and Gabriel Ferrandini (drums) with UK saxophonist John Butcher, performing live at Jazz em Agosto Festival in 2015, revealing new aspects to their project. | |
| Butcher, John / Burkhard Beins / Mark Wastell Membrane (Confront) | |
| Mysteriously dark electroacoustic improv from the adept trio of John Butcher on acoustic and amplified saxophones, Burkhard Beins on amplified bass drum and electronics, and Mark Wastell on amplified 32" paiste tam-tam, slowly evolving, rich environments in sound. | |
 | Butcher / Viltard / Prevost "All But" - Meetings with Remarkable Saxophonists -- Volume 2 (Matchless) |
| The second volume of Eddie Prevost's 2011 series of concerts at Network Theatre, Waterloo, London meeting with remarkable saxophonists, here with John Butcher on tenor & soprano, with Guillaume Viltard on double bass. | |
 | Way Out Northwest (John Butcher / Tortsen Mueller / Dylan van der Shyff) The White Spot (Relative Pitch) |
| The UK and Vancouver meet for a second release under the Way Out Northwest name - British saxophone master John Butcher with bassist Torsten Muller and drummer Dylan van der Schyff - recording for Sonarchy Radio. | |
 | Moser, Michael Resonant Cuts: (2 CDs AND BOOK) (Edition Rz) |
| Book and 2 CDs documenting a 2010 concert and sound installation by Carsten Seiffarth and Michael Moser, with Polweschsel & guests (Burkhard Beins, Axel Dorner, &c) performing the concert. | |
 | AMM Sounding Music (Matchless) |
| AMM's performance at the 2009 Freedom of the City Festival with AMM regular members Eddie Prevost and John Tilbury extended with John Butcher, Chritian Wolff and Ute Kanngiesser. | |
 | AMM w/ John Butcher Trinity (Matchless) |
| New 2008 recordings from AMM - Eddie Prevost & John Tilbury with John Butcher - performing at Trinity College of Music in Greenwich, England. | |
 | Furt plus Equals (psi) |
| The followup to Furt's expanded format as heard on Spin Networks in 2005, in electroacoustic trios with John Butcher, Phil Minton, Rhodri Davies, Ute Wassermann, &c. | |
 | Butcher, John The Geometry of Sentiment (Emanem) |
| Sonic experiments and solo improvisations on tenor and soprano with 2 pieces using amplified feedback, and 1 piece dedicated to Derek Bailey. | |
 | fORCH Spin Networks (psi) |
 | Butcher, John / Kurzmann, Christof The Big Misunderstanding Between Hertz and Megahertz (Potlatch) |
 | Contest of Pleasures, The (Butcher / Charles / Dorner) Alibi Days (Potlatch) |
| Recordings of improvisations from different rooms with unique resonant properties, manipulated and organized into 5 compositions mixing musique concrete and e-a improv. | |
