| Foxes Fox | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Studio album by | |
| Released | 1999 |
| Recorded | July 21, 1999 |
| Studio | Gateway Studios, London |
| Genre | Free improvisation |
| Length | 1:17:40 |
| Label | Emanem 4035 |
Foxes Fox is an album by saxophonist Evan Parker, pianist Steve Beresford, bassist John Edwards, and drummer Louis Moholo. It was recorded on July 21, 1999, at Gateway Studios in London, and was released later that year by Emanem Records. On the album, the musicians are heard in various groupings: duos, trios, and quartets. [1] [2] [3] [4]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| The Penguin Guide to Jazz | [5] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |  [6] |
In a review for AllMusic, Steve Loewy called the album "a stunning document all the way around," and wrote: "Parker plays on only five of the nine tracks, but the members of the rhythm trio perform magnificently on their features. Beresford is an original improviser form the Cecil Taylor school, while Moholo adds a sophisticated air, and Edwards continues to show himself as one of the leading free-style bassists. Still, it is largely Parker's show, and... he is in superb form." [1]
The authors of The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings stated: "This is a collective album rather than a Parker... Beresford is as cleverly inventive as ever and is sparkling with ideas." [5]
Bill Shoemaker of JazzTimes commented: "anyone weaned on the Impulse! or ESP catalogs will have an immediate comfort level with the proceedings on Foxes Fox... The superstructure of the album consists of three lengthy quartet tracks... which allows for a wide range of interaction, spanning minute investigations of texture to bold, often Moholo-triggered, surges of energy." [7]
Writing for All About Jazz , Robert Spencer noted: "While [Parker's] approach is well-established at this point, he has a particular ability to adapt to his surroundings. As his fellows here are so capable, this disc is highly recommended." [8]
One Final Note's Scott Hreha described the album as "an excellent session," and remarked: "Especially for those who remain wary of Parker's forays into more electronics-based collaborations, Foxes Fox might be a necessary dose of free improvisation." [9]
Music by Evan Parker, John Edwards, Louis Moholo, and Steve Beresford.
Steve Lacy was an American jazz saxophonist and composer recognized as one of the important players of soprano saxophone. Coming to prominence in the 1950s as a progressive dixieland musician, Lacy went on to a long and prolific career. He worked extensively in experimental jazz and to a lesser extent in free improvisation, but Lacy's music was typically melodic and tightly-structured. Lacy also became a highly distinctive composer, with compositions often built out of little more than a single questioning phrase, repeated several times.
Derek Bailey was an English avant-garde guitarist and an important figure in the free improvisation movement. Bailey abandoned conventional performance techniques found in jazz, exploring atonality, noise, and whatever unusual sounds he could produce with the guitar. Much of his work was released on his own label Incus Records. In addition to solo work, Bailey collaborated frequently with other musicians and recorded with collectives such as Spontaneous Music Ensemble and Company.
Steve Beresford is a British musician who graduated from the University of York He has played a variety of instruments, including piano, electronics, trumpet, euphonium, bass guitar and a wide variety of toy instruments, such as the toy piano. He has also played a wide range of music. He is probably best known for free improvisation, but has also written music for film and television and has been involved with a number of pop music groups.
Evan Shaw Parker is a British tenor and soprano saxophone player who plays free improvisation.
Kenneth Vincent John Wheeler, OC was a Canadian composer and trumpet and flugelhorn player, based in the U.K. from the 1950s onwards.
Louis Tebogo Moholo, is a South African jazz drummer. He has been a member of several notable bands, including The Blue Notes, the Brotherhood of Breath and Assagai.
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Emanem Records is a record company and independent record label founded in London, England in 1974 by Martin Davidson and Madelaine Davidson to record free improvisation.
John Russell was an acoustic guitarist who worked in free improvisation beginning in the 1970s. He promoted concerts and appeared on more than 50 recordings.
Frode Gjerstad is a Norwegian jazz musician with alto saxophone as principal instrument, but he also plays other saxophones, clarinet, and flute. He has collaborated with Paal Nilssen-Love, Borah Bergman, Peter Brötzmann, Evan Parker, Derek Bailey, Bjørn Kjellemyr, Terje Isungset, William Parker, Sabir Mateen, John Stevens, Johnny Dyani, Kent Carter, and since 1979 has contributed to more than 50 recordings.
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Quintessence is a live album by the Spontaneous Music Ensemble featuring percussionist/cornetist John Stevens saxophonists Trevor Watts and Evan Parker, guitarist Derek Bailey, and bassist Kent Carter which was recorded in 1973 and released on the Emanem label. The album was first released in two parts on separate LPs entitles Eighty Five Minutes in 1986 then with additional material as two separate CDs entitled Quintessence in 1997 and finally as a single 2-CD set in 2007.
Roswell Rudd is a live album by the trombonist Roswell Rudd, the first recording under his name. It was recorded in November 1965 in Hilversum, Netherlands, and was released by America Records in 1971. On the album, Rudd is joined by saxophonist John Tchicai, bassist Finn Von Eyben, and drummer Louis Moholo.
Inscape–Tableaux is an album by bassist Barry Guy. It was recorded on May 18 and 19, 2000, at Rote Fabrik in Zürich, Switzerland, and was released in 2001 by Intakt Records. On the album, which features a seven-part composition by Guy, he plays bass and directs members of his New Orchestra: Evan Parker and Mats Gustafsson on saxophone, Hans Koch on saxophone and clarinet, Herb Robertson on trumpet, Johannes Bauer on trombone, Per Åke Holmlander on tuba, Marilyn Crispell on piano, and Paul Lytton and Raymond Strid on percussion.
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The Ayes Have It is an album by saxophonist Evan Parker. Tracks 1–4 were recorded in a London studio during December 1983, and feature Parker with bassist Paul Rogers, and, in a rare recorded appearance, percussionist Jamie Muir. The remaining track was recorded live at the Angel and Crown pub in London on August 1, 1991, and features Parker, Rogers, trombonist Wolter Wierbos, and percussionist Mark Sanders. The album was released by Emanem Records in 2001.
Bush Fire is an album by drummer Louis Moholo, saxophonist Evan Parker, pianist Pule Pheto, and bassists Gibo Pheto and Barry Guy. It was recorded during July 1995 at Gateway Studio in London, and was released in 1996 by Ogun Records.
Sequences 72 & 73 is an album by trombonist Paul Rutherford and the group known as Iskra 1912. It was recorded during 1972–1974 in London, and was released in 1997 by Emanem Records. The album features studio recordings of two ensemble works composed and conducted by Rutherford, plus a live recording of a solo trombone piece.
Up to Earth is an album by the Chris McGregor Septet, led by pianist McGregor, and featuring saxophonists Evan Parker, Dudu Pukwana, and John Surman, trumpeter Mongezi Feza, bassists Barre Phillips and Danny Thompson, and drummer Louis Moholo. It was recorded at Sound Techniques in London during 1969, and was released by Fledg'ling Records in 2008.
Naan Tso is an album by the free improvisation ensemble known as Foxes Fox, featuring saxophonist Evan Parker, pianist Steve Beresford, double bassist John Edwards, and drummer Louis Moholo-Moholo. It was recorded on October 27, 2004, at Gateway Studios in London, and was released in 2005 by Psi Records. The album was recorded five years after the group's debut album, and roughly a year prior to the departure of Moholo-Moholo, who moved back to his native South Africa in September 2005 after years of exile in England.
