The Squid's Ear Magazine


Sommer, Gunter Baby / Raymond MacDonald: Sounds, Songs & Other Noises (Clean Feed)

Following their 2007 Clean Feed release Delphinius and Lyra the duo of Gunter Baby Sommer and Raymond MacDonald reach deeper into their collective creative conversation for sixteen succinct improvisations--confident, boisterous or introspective--including a 5-part series of "Miniatures", performed on alto & soprano saxophones, drums and an eclectic set of percussive devices.
 

Price: $14.95



Quantity:

In Stock

Quantity in Basket: None

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


EU & UK Customers:
Discogs.com can handle your VAT payments
So please order through Discogs

Sample The Album:





Product Information:

Personnel:



Gunter Baby Sommer-drums, percussion

Raymond MacDonald-alto saxophone, soprano saxophone

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



UPC: 5609063006070

Label: Clean Feed
Catalog ID: CF607
Squidco Product Code: 32503

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2022
Country: Portugal
Packaging: Cardboard Gatefold
Recorded at The Reid Concert Hall in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK, on December 6th, 2019, and June 4th, 2016, by Roderick Buchanan-Dunlop, Louis McHugh and Giorgos Mikrogiannakis.
Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

Artist Biographies

"Günter "Baby" Sommer (born 25 August 1943 in Dresden) is a German jazz drummer.

He studied music in Dresden. He rose to fame in the GDR. He is part of the European free jazz avantgarde. He was part of the trio with Conny Bauer and Peter Kowald. He is now professor for drums and percussion in Dresden. The drummer and composer Christian Lillinger was one of his former students. The album Three Seasons "(HGBS 2014 with Michel Godard and Patrick Bebelaar) was awarded " Album of the Year 2014 " by The New York City Jazz Record."

-Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%BCnter_Sommer)
6/23/2026

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

"Raymond MacDonald co-leads The Burt/MacDonald Quartet and is a founder member and key player in The Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra. He also performs with The Scottish Jazz Composers Ensemble and the saxophone quartet Rich in Knuckles. He has recently collaborated Lol Coxhill, Keith Tippett, Harry Beckett, Evan Parker, Gunter Baby Sommer, Fred Frith, Keith Rowe, George Lewis, Maggie Nicols, Satoko Fujii, Ken Hyder, Natsuki Tamura, Steve Beresford, Mike Zerang, and Fred Longberg-holm.

Other work includes composing and performing for film, television, theatre and collaborations with visual artists, including commissioned work for Martin Boyce, Simon Starling and Christine Borland. He collaborated with David Byrne on David McKenzie's film Young Adam.

In December 2005 he made a solo tour of Japan and in July 2006 performed with Josh Abrams and Miguel Carvalhais at The Glasgow International Jazz festival."

-Creative Sources (http://creativesourcesrec.com/creative_artists.html)
6/23/2026

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


Track Listing:
Related Categories of Interest:


Improvised Music
Jazz
Free Improvisation
European Improvisation, Composition and Experimental Forms
Duo Recordings
Saxophone & Drummer / Percussionist Duos
Clean Feed
Staff Picks & Recommended Items
Collective & Free Improvsation

Search for other titles on the label:
Clean Feed.


Recommended & Related Releases:
Cassidy, Cliona / Raymond MacDonald
Silk Threads
(FMR)
Recorded at Edinburgh's Reid Concert Hall, this intimate duo from Scottish improviser Raymond MacDonald (alto & soprano sax, piano) and Irish soprano Cliona Cassidy blends free improvisation with chamber-like lyricism, as MacDonald's shifting reed and piano textures intertwine with Cassidy's operatically trained voice in a delicate dialogue of melodic fragments, wordless tones, and evolving sonic threads.
Schwerdt, Oliver / Barry Guy / Baby Sommer
Fucking Ballads
(Euphorium)
An enthusiastic and energetically powerful trio meeting between three masters--Oliver Schwerdt on grand piano & percussion, Barry Guy on double bass and Baby Sommer on drums & percussion--performing live in 2021 at naTo, in Leipzig for two extended improvisations of remarkable communication, incredible virtuosity, but most importantly, incredible and compelling creative drive!
EUPHORIUM_freakestra (feat Wadada Leo Smith / Barre Phillips)
Free Acoustic Supergroup (Chicago New York Berlin, Dresden Luzern Leipzig) [2 CDs]
(Euphorium)
The incredibly creative EUPHORIUM_freakestra as a mid-size ensemble performing at naTo in Leipzig, Germany are joined by legendary free jazz players, Wadada Leo Smith on trumpet and Barre Phillip on double bass, extending the incredible assemblage of players including Oliver Schwerdt, Axel Dorner, Ernst-Ludwig Petrowsky, Urs Leimgruber, Christian Lillinger, Gunter Baby Sommer & Michael Haves.
MacDonald, Raymond / Robert Burke / Paul Grabowsky / Nick Haywood / Antony Floyd
Dangerous Decision
(FMR)
A stellar collective collaboration between British and Australian improvisers recorded at the Kazz Lab/Jazz Club, in Melbourne, Australia as part of a joint recording project between MONASH and RMIT Universities, with performers Raymond MacDonald on alto sax, Robert Burke on tenor sax, Paul Grabowsky on piano, Nick Haywood on double bass and Antony Floyd on drums.
Mortagua, Goncalo / Ernesto Rodrigues / Guilherme Rodrigues / Gunter "Baby" Sommer
Not Bad
(Creative Sources)
Spanning three generations of improvisers, the duo of violist Ernesto Rodrigues and cellist Guilherme Rodrigues join with tenor saxophonist Gonçalo Mortágua and legendary percussionist Gunter Baby Sommer to record eleven diverse improvisations in the studio in Berlin, naming the quartet "Not Bad", an extreme understatement for their unique chamber influences of European Free Jazz.
Skeidsvoll, Lauritz / Isach Skeidsvoll
Chanting Moon, Dancing Sun - Live at Molde International Jazz Festival
(Clean Feed)
Developing their language together since childhood, Norwegian brothers Lauritz Heitmann Skeidsvoll on saxophone and Isach Skeidsvoll on piano & melodica converse in a way that only two family members can, using their knowledge of each other's playing as a confident foundation for remarkable flights of technically challenging yet innately lyrical improvisations.
One Small Step (Janne Eraker / Vegar Vardal / Roger Arntzen)
Gol Variations
(Clean Feed)
A truly unique improvisational setting between three Norwegian artists--inspired tap dancer JanneEraker, fiddle player and vocalist Vegar Vardal and double bassist Roger Arntzen--finding an exuberant excitement through the percussion of body movement, strange and slippery vocalizations and two emphatic strings; virtually indescribable and absolutely enthralling.
Tinoco, Bernardo / Tom Maciel
Nomad Nenufar
(Clean Feed)
Seeking to create an original repertoire for collective composition in a small group format, Portuguese wind improviser Bernardo Tinoco on alto & tenor saxophones, duduk & flute, and pianist Tom Maciel, also on synths and drum machine, sought to influence their playing with electronics and audio processing, on three tracks joined by drummer João Pereira.
EUPHORIUM_freakestra
Dal Ngai
(Euphorium)
An early EUPHORIUM_freakestra performance recording at naTo, in Leipzig, Germany, in 2002 and 2003, in an 11-piece electroacoustic band that includes electric guitar, a full brass and horn front end, synth, electric bass, drummers including Gunter Baby Sommer and a percussionist, in a great blend of funky electronics and powerful free improvisation.
Euphorium_freakestra
2 Trios & 2 Babies
(Euphorium)
Two drummerless trios meet two drummers in this incredible 2006 concert at naTo, in Leipzig, one from trumpeter Matthias Mainz, cello player Matthias Lorenz and bass player Michael Haves, the other from Fabian Niermann on tenor saxophone, Konrad Gruneberg on double bass and Oliver Schwerdt on the grand piano, the drummers Christian Lillinger & Gunter Baby Sommer.
Schwerdt, Oliver / Gunter Sommer
Dry Swing / Tandem Spaces
(Euphorium)
Three duos--"Tandem Spaces"--and two solos--"Dry Swing"(s)-between drummer Gunter Baby Sommer, who was celebrating his 70th birthday the year of this recording, and younger generation pianist and Euphorium label-leader Oliver Schwerdt, the duos an exciting set of exchanges often building to high speed, with Schwerdt's solo work engrossingly intricate and quick-witted.
Euphorium_freakestra
Grande Casino [3 CDS]
(Euphorium)
A truly diverse set of improvisations, from solo work to large scale ensemble, as Euphorium_Freakestra are joined by European Free Jazz legends, drummer Baby Sommer and double bassist Barry Guy, in a band with leader & pianist Oliver Schwerdt, plus Bertrand Denzler, Burkard Beins, John Eckhardt, Pierre-Antoine Badaroux, Patrick Schanze, Daniel Beilschmidt & Freidrich Kettlitz.
Schwerdt, Oliver / Baby Sommer / Barry Guy
One For My Baby And One More For The Bass [2 CDs]
(Euphorium)
A trio sounding much larger than its three contributors--Oliver Schwerdt on grand piano, percussion & little instruments, Baby Sommer on drums, cymbals & percussion and Barry Guy on double bass--captured in concert at naTo, in Leipzig, Germany in 2019 for a joyful and assertive album of collective free improv that merges contemporary, free and jazz idioms seamlessly.
Bauer, Konrad Trio (Bauer / Sommer / Kowald)
Three Wheels - Four Directions
(Les Disques Victo)
Uniting trombonist Konrad Bauer with bassist Peter Kowald and percussionist Günter "Baby" Sommer, this live recording from the 1992 Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville presents an inventive acoustic trio performance where spirited improvisations and individual solos weave playful gestures, rhythmic interplay, and exploratory textures into a dynamic example of the German free improv tradition.
Empty Cage Quartet
Stratostrophic
(Clean Feed)
West Coast jazz musicians Mears, Tiner, Kikuchi and Johnson in a fiery set of original compositions from shuffle swing to free jazz blowouts, liner notes by Leo Smith.
Nakatani / Fells / Nicholson / MacDonald / Davidson
Aporias (Nakatani / Fells / Nicholson / MacDonald / Davidson)
(Creative Sources)



Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought:
Vicens, Gabriel
Niebla
(Clepsydra)
Blending Afro-Puerto Rican rhythms with modern jazz and exploratory improvisation, guitarist Gabriel Vicens leads a sextet of guitar, saxophone, piano, bass, drums, and percussion — performing lyrical and sophisticated compositions that move through propulsive, textural, and meditative passages, balancing ancestral pulse, temporal reflection, and avant-garde expression.
Thunks, The (Harnik / Brandlmayr / Kern)
Swarm Patterns
(Trost Records)
The Austrian trio The Thunks — pianist Elisabeth Harnik with percussionists Martin Brandlmayr and Didi Kern — present a live set of playful and unpredictable free improvisation recorded at the 2024 Konfrontationen Festival, where prepared piano, inside-the-piano textures, and fragmented percussion interact in shifting, swarm-like patterns of spontaneous collective exploration.
Laswell, Bill / P.ST (w/Henry Kaiser, Graham Haynes, Peter Apfelbaum, &c)
Mount Analogue [2 CDs]
(Sub Rosa)
Recorded across three continents and completed in New York, this double-disc work led by Bill Laswell and conceptualist P.ST draws on René Daumal's unfinished allegorical novel to shape a richly textured electroacoustic narrative, where voice and instrumentation unfold alongside layered improvisation and cinematic abstraction, as Henry Kaiser contributes extended solo guitar meditations.
Dinner Party, The / Ansuman Biswas
Broken Dream
(FMR)
Expanding the improvising trio of Adrian Northover (alto sax), Pierpaolo Martino (double bass), and Vladimir Miller (piano), this session adds Ansuman Biswas on voice, sarod, and percussion for lyrical chamber-like interplay and attentive collective improvisation unfold through airy textures, resonant strings, vocal timbres, and exploratory dialog bridging European free improv with world traditions.
Coates, Bruce / Paul Dunmall / John Edwards / Trevor Lines / Mark Sanders
Five On A Die
(FMR)
Uniting saxophonists Bruce Coates and Paul Dunmall with bassist John Edwards, bassist Trevor Lines, and drummer Mark Sanders, this quintet session delivers an intense exploration of collective free improv, with intertwining reed lines rising over the dense resonance of dual basses and Sanders� fluid percussion, the ensemble shaping energetic and richly textured spontaneous interactions.
Mezei, Szilard Octet
Only In Movies
(FMR)
Hungarian violist Szilard Mezei leads an octet of longtime collaborators — flute, reeds, bassoon, vibraphone, piano, bass, and drums — through a set of original compositions balancing chamber-like lyricism, shifting collective improvisation, and subtle references to figures like Cecil Taylor and György Szabados, the ensemble's deep familiarity yielding richly textured interplay and fluid movement between structure and spontaneous expression.
Bucher / Tan / Countryman
Nothing In Between
(FMR)
Recorded live at Tago in Quezon City, the trio of Swiss drummer Christian Bucher, Filipino bassist Simon Tan, and American expatriate alto saxophonist Rick Countryman deliver four extended collective improvisations, balancing Dolphy-inspired alto lines, resonant bass foundations, and fluid percussion in a dynamic set of spontaneous free jazz shaped through deep listening and long-standing musical rapport.
Beresford, Steve / Pierpaolo Martino / Mark Sanders
Be S-Mart
(Confront)
Steve Beresford on prepared piano, electronics, & objects joins Pierpaolo Martino on double bass & electronics and Mark Sanders on drums for a fiercely interactive trio set of elastic rhythms and textured harmony, balancing grounded resonance with agile percussion and playful disruption, recorded at the 2024 Bari in Jazz Festival in sharply conversational, risk-embracing improvisation.
Ayler, Albert Quintet
Copenhagen, Bordeaux 1966 & Newport 1967 Live First Release
(ALAY)
Previously unreleased recordings from the Albert Ayler Quintet — captured in Copenhagen and Bordeaux during the 1966 Newport in Europe tour and at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1967 — present Ayler with Donald Ayler, Michel Samson, Bill Folwell, and Beaver Harris/Milford Graves in fiercely expressive performances, newly restored and mastered from rediscovered tapes.
Rodrigues, Ernesto / Guilherme Rodrigues / Nuno Torres / Alexander Von Schlippenbach / Willi Kellers
Nickelsdorf
(Creative Sources)
Recorded live at the 2025 Konfrontationen #45 in Nickelsdorf, this quintet of viola, cello, alto saxophone, piano, and percussion unites frequent Creative Sources players Ernesto Rodrigues, Guilherme Rodrigues, and Nuno Torres with legendary free jazz pianist Alexander von Schlippenbach and drummer Willi Kellers, in a dynamic convergence of textural string abstraction and energetic free jazz interplay.




The Squid's Ear Magazine

The Squid's Ear Magazine

© 2002-, Squidco LLC