Hasselt (album)

Last updated
Hasselt
Evan Parker Hasselt.jpg
Live album by
Evan Parker Electro-Acoustic Ensemble
Released2012
Recorded21–22 May 2010
VenueKunstencentrum Belgie, Hasselt, Belgium
Genre Free improvisation
Length1:12:45
Label Psi
12.03
Producer Evan Parker, Martin Davidson
Evan Parker chronology
Foxes Fox: Live at the Vortex
(2012)
Hasselt
(2012)
Dortmund Variations
(2012)
Evan Parker Electro-Acoustic Ensemble chronology
The Moment's Energy
(2009)
Hasselt
(2012)
Warszawa 2019
(2021)

Hasselt is a live album by the Evan Parker Electro-Acoustic Ensemble, recorded during the Open Circuit: iNTERACT 2010 festival, held at Kunstencentrum Belgie in Hasselt, Belgium. The first three tracks, recorded on 21 May 2010, feature sub-groups drawn from the Ensemble, while the final track, recorded on 22 May 2010, is an extended outing for the entire Ensemble. The album was released in 2012 by Psi Records. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
All About Jazz Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [4]
The Free Jazz CollectiveStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [5]

In a review for All About Jazz , John Eyles called the album "a valuable addition to the discography" of the group, and wrote: "the small groups throw together combinations of instruments and sounds that are fresh and stimulating... in "Hasselt 4"... so much processing takes place that it becomes impossible to tell the original from its image from the image of its image and so on. But, that blurring is the joy of this ensemble... as it creates a shimmering kaleidoscopic effect that is as mesmerising here as ever." [4]

The New York City Jazz Record's Andrey Henkin suggested that Parker's "lengthy, circular-breathing based excursions often took on an almost electronic quality," perhaps inspiring him to found the Electroacoustic Ensemble, and noted: "The music has a suite-like quality across the first three tracks, the acoustic instruments seizing greater control against the tasteful electronics. The fourth piece... is necessarily denser and episodic as musicians float or stab their way in or out, with the electronic and acoustic elements in more balance." [6]

Ken Waxman of JazzWord described the album as "a gratifying listen," stating: "this disc is notable historically, showing how the philosophies of pure electronics and pure acoustics can intersect." He praised the final track, in which "the performance reaches a crescendo of continuous mercurial textures. Tremolo bellowing, reed yelps, percussive piano cascades and blunt ruffs plus stick clatters from the drummer intersect with oozing, processed flanges. Skyscraper-high grace notes from the piccolo trumpet surmount the siren-like contrapuntal electric modulations for an additional jolt, presaging the more moderated finale." [7]

Writing for Signal to Noise Magazine, Jason Bivins also singled out the final track for praise, calling it "a chirpy, effusive piece which forces the ensemble to move away from laminal improvising and explore nearly percussive phraseology." He commented: "Fernandez's marvelous prepared piano lines wend their way deep into the electronic fabric, with brass and overtones creating some kind of wind-based forest for a spell." [8]

The editors of The Free Jazz Collective awarded the album a full 5 stars, and reviewer Martin Schray remarked: "no matter what line-up we are listening to - the music is fascinating – it is diverse and the musicianship is simply great. The musicians are piling up layer after layer of sounds, and although the musical atmosphere created is hard and sometimes even grinding, you can feel a beauty underneath based on communication and imagination." [5]

Track listing

  1. "Hasselt 1" (Agusti Fernandez, Ishikawa Ko, Walter Prati) – 10:12
  2. "Hasselt 2" (Richard Barrett, Barry Guy, Paul Obermayer, Peter van Bergen) – 11:41
  3. "Hasselt 3" (Peter Evans, Agusti Fernandez, Ishikawa Ko, Paul Lytton, Ned Rothenberg) – 15:54
  4. "Hasselt 4" (Evan Parker) – 34:37

Personnel

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evan Parker</span> British saxophone player

Evan Shaw Parker is a British tenor and soprano saxophone player who plays free improvisation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barry Guy</span> British composer and double bass player (born 1947)

Barry John Guy is an English composer and double bass player. His range of interests encompasses early music, contemporary composition, jazz and improvisation, and he has worked with a wide variety of orchestras in the UK and Europe. He studied at the Guildhall School of Music under Buxton Orr, and later taught there.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ned Rothenberg</span> American musician and composer

Ned Rothenberg is an American multi-instrumentalist and composer. He specializes in woodwind instruments, including the alto saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet, flute, and shakuhachi. He is known for his work in contemporary classical and free improvisation. Rothenberg is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. He was a founding member of the woodwind trio New Winds with J. D. Parran and Robert Dick. He has performed with Samm Bennett, Paul Dresher, Fred Frith, Evan Parker, Marc Ribot, Elliott Sharp, John Zorn, Yuji Takahashi, Sainkho Namtchylak, and Katsuya Yokoyama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Evans (musician)</span> Musical artist

Peter Evans is an improvising trumpeter who specializes in free improvisation and avant-garde music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philipp Wachsmann</span> Ugandan jazz violinist

Philipp John Paul Wachsmann is an African avant-garde jazz/jazz fusion violinist born in Kampala, Uganda, probably better known for having founded his own group Chamberpot. He has worked with many musicians in the free jazz idiom, including Tony Oxley, Fred van Hove, Barry Guy, Derek Bailey and Paul Rutherford, among many others. Wachsmann is especially known for playing within the electronica idiom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Barrett (composer)</span> Welsh composer (born 1959)

Richard Barrett is a Welsh composer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Lytton</span> British musician

Paul Lytton is an English free jazz and free improvising percussionist.

Lawrence Casserley is a composer, conductor and performer, to real time electro-acoustic music. Lawrence Casserley was professor of electro-acoustic music at the Royal College of Music in London

<i>Toward the Margins</i> 1997 studio album by the Evan Parker Electro-Acoustic Ensemble

Toward the Margins is an album by the Evan Parker Electro-Acoustic Ensemble, recorded in 1996 and released on the ECM New Series the following year.

<i>Drawn Inward</i> 1999 studio album by Evan Parker Electro-Acoustic Ensemble

Drawn Inward is an album by the Evan Parker Electro-Acoustic Ensemble recorded in December 1998 and released on ECM the following year.

<i>Memory/Vision</i> 2003 live album by Evan Parker Electro-Acoustic Ensemble

Memory/Vision is a live album by the Evan Parker Electro-Acoustic Ensemble recorded at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo in October 2002 and released on ECM the following year.

<i>The Eleventh Hour</i> (Evan Parker album) 2005 live album by Evan Parker Electro-Acoustic Ensemble

The Eleventh Hour is an album by British saxophonist and improvisor Evan Parker's Electro-Acoustic Ensemble recorded in November 2004 and released on ECM the following year.

<i>The Moments Energy</i> 2009 live album by Evan Parker Electro-Acoustic Ensemble

The Moment's Energy is an live album by the Evan Parker Electro-Acoustic Ensemble recorded at the Lawrence Batley Theatre in November 2007 and released on ECM in 2009.

<i>Collective Calls (Urban) (Two Microphones)</i> 1972 studio album by Evan Parker and Paul Lytton

Collective Calls (Urban) , subtitled "an improvised urban psychodrama in eight parts", is an album by saxophonist Evan Parker and drummer Paul Lytton. It was recorded in April 1972 at the Standard Essence Co, a small loft space in London, and was released later that year by Incus Records. The album was reissued on CD by Psi Records in 2002.

<i>At the Unity Theatre</i> 1975 live album by Evan Parker and Paul Lytton

At the Unity Theatre is a live album by saxophonist Evan Parker and drummer Paul Lytton. It was recorded in January 1975 at the Unity Theatre in London, and was released later that year by Incus Records. The album was reissued on CD, with three extra tracks, by Psi Records in 2003.

<i>Oort–Entropy</i> 2005 studio album by Barry Guy

Oort–Entropy is an album by bassist Barry Guy. It was recorded in May and July, 2004, at SWR Studio in Baden-Baden, Germany, and was released in 2005 by Intakt Records. On the album, which features a three-part composition by Guy, he plays bass and conducts members of his New Orchestra: Evan Parker and Mats Gustafsson on saxophone, Hans Koch on bass clarinet, Herb Robertson on trumpet, Johannes Bauer on trombone, Per Åke Holmlander on tuba, Agustí Fernández on piano, and Paul Lytton and Raymond Strid on percussion. Oort–Entropy is the group's second recording, following 2001's Inscape–Tableaux.

<i>The Bishops Move</i> (album) 2004 live album by Evan Parker Trio and Peter Brötzmann Trio

The Bishop's Move is a live album that combines two trios, one led by saxophonist Evan Parker, and the other led by saxophonist Peter Brötzmann. It was recorded on May 19, 2003, at the Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville in Quebec, Canada, and was released in 2004 by Les Disques Victo. Parker is accompanied by pianist Alexander von Schlippenbach and drummer Paul Lytton, while Brötzmann is joined by bassist William Parker and drummer Hamid Drake.

<i>Omnivm</i> 2006 live album by FURT (Richard Barrett and Paul Obermayer)

Omnivm is a live album by the electronic music duo FURT, consisting of Richard Barrett and Paul Obermayer. Tracks 2 and 3 were recorded on March 9, 2005, at St Oswald's Church, Durham, England, while tracks 1 and 4 were recorded on April 25, 2006, at the Sonic Arts Research Centre in Belfast. The album is dedicated to composer Iannis Xenakis, and was released in 2006 by Psi Records.

<i>America 2003</i> 2004 live album by Evan Parker, Alexander von Schlippenbach, and Paul Lytton

America 2003 is a two-disc live album by saxophonist Evan Parker, pianist Alexander von Schlippenbach, and drummer Paul Lytton. It documents two concerts presented during a month-long tour of the United States, with disc one recorded on May 1, 2003, at the New Orleans Contemporary Arts Center, and disc two recorded on May 14, 2003, at the Seattle Asian Art Museum. The album was released on CD in 2004 by Psi Records.

References

  1. "Evan Parker Electro-Acoustic Ensemble - Hasselt". Jazz Music Archives. Retrieved June 23, 2024.
  2. "psi 2012". Emanem Records. Retrieved June 23, 2024.
  3. "psi discography". JazzLists. February 2, 2023. Retrieved June 23, 2024.
  4. 1 2 Eyles, John (August 23, 2012). "Evan Parker Electroacoustic Ensemble: Hasselt". All About Jazz. Retrieved June 23, 2024.
  5. 1 2 Schray, Martin (October 20, 2012). "Evan Parker's Electroacoustic Ensemble: Hasselt". The Free Jazz Collective. Retrieved June 23, 2024.
  6. Henkin, Andrey (September 2013). "Reviews" (PDF). The New York City Jazz Record. p. 21.
  7. Waxman, Ken (July 20, 2013). "Peter Evans / Ishikawa Ko / Ned Rothenberg / Peter van Bergen / Evan Parker / Augustí Fernández / Barry Guy / Paul Lytton / Richard Barrett / Paul Obermayer / Joel Ryan / Walter Prati / Lawrence Casserley / Marco Vecchi". JazzWord. Retrieved June 23, 2024.
  8. Bivins, Jason (Spring 2013). "Reviews". Signal to Noise. No. 65. p. 47.