Derek Bailey | John Stevens | Trevor Watts | Dynamics of the Impromptu | Entropy Stereo Recordings

“These pieces run the gamut from whispery low key musings through enraging or boisterous call and response. The moods constantly shift and evolve as Watts, Bailey and Stevens purvey musical structures that defy logic. Emotions flare up as in “Impromptu Dynamics #6″. Arguments or debates are imminent. The sensibilities of unity and collaboration resurface as the music seems to transcend conventional ideology or acceptable agendas.” — Glenn Astarita Continue reading

Trevor Watts and Jamie Harris | Ancestry | Entropy Stereo Recordings

On Ancestry, Trevor approaches improvisation in a more stripped down approach with percussionist Jamie Harris. Both Watts and Harris combine an incredible sense of rhythm with exploration and subtlety. The recordings were culled from live performances and more intimate settings at Trevor’s home studio to give a balance of the high energy of performance and relaxed musical exploration between friends. The end result is a stunning document of duo interplay on various hand percussion and reed instruments. Continue reading

Barry Guy New Orchestra (small formations) | Mad Dogs | Not Two Records

In László Krasznahorkai’s The Melancholy of Resistance, the defeated musicologist Mr. Eszter, distraught at the fraud of equal temperament (which fakes the elegance of pure tuning), decries that the “world […] was too full of the noises of banging, screeching and crowing, noises that were simply the discordant and refracted sounds of struggle, and that this was all there was to the world if we but realized it.” It may well be that the world can be heard in bangs and screeches and crows; however, not all are the product of struggle. Some arise from the joys of cooperation, exploration, innovation, even downright Dionysian celebration and excess. These are the bangs and screeches of Mad Dogs, and they are a rallying cry for a world (or at least music) we can be proud of.– Dan Sorrells Continue reading

Amalgam | Prayer for Peace | No Business Records

It is our great pleasure to present this reissue of the legendary Amalgam recording with Trevor Watts, Jeff Clyne, John Stevens and Barry Guy. This recording received the highest rating by The Penguin Guide to Jazz. It was re-mastered from the original reel to reel tapes. Trevor Watts and NoBusiness Records dedicate this reissue to the great man and musician Jeff Clyne, who passed away in 2009. Continue reading