| The Topography of the Lungs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1970 | |||
| Recorded | 13 July 1970 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 43:09 | |||
| Label | Incus | |||
| Evan Parker chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Derek Bailey chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Han Bennink chronology | ||||
| ||||
The Topography of the Lungs is an album by saxophonist Evan Parker,guitarist Derek Bailey and percussionist Han Bennink recorded in London on 13 July,1970 and became the first release on the Incus label. [1] [2] [3] It is considered a milestone of the free improvisation genre.
Incus Records was founded by journalist Michael Walters,who approached drummer Tony Oxley who brought in guitarist Derek Bailey and saxophonist Evan Parker who had played in the Spontaneous Music Ensemble to oversee the music policy. Original copies of the album came with a typed letter that stated:
The bulk of the revenue from any Incus recording will go directly to the musicians....
Once the basic cost of each record is recovered,
thus providing the finance for the next,
the vast bulk of all income will be paid in royalties to the artists.
Incus has no intention of making profits in the conventional sense.
The album's back cover consists of a collage of encyclopedia pages and brief phrases such as "Frederick Rzewski writes about free improvisation and makes sense" and "If you like to draw or paint,this booklet could help change your life."
The album was reissued in 2006 by Evan Parker's label Psi,with two bonus tracks ("Found Elsewhere 1" and "2"). In addition to the old cover art,the new front cover establishes that this date was under Evan Parker's leadership.
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [4] |
The Allmusic review by Dan Warburton called it "one of the landmark early albums of English free improvisation" and states "Despite the music's furious energy –verging at times on the downright violent,thanks in no small part to the irrepressible Bennink –proceedings do not lack a sense of humor". [4] Henry Kuntz wrote that "the importance of a record such as Topography of the Lungs can now be heard as an intuitive first leap in the direction of independent expression,of the players stepping forward and taking a fully assertive role in the making of the music rather than one of mainly responding to/interacting with the environment around them". [5]
All compositions by Evan Parker,Derek Bailey and Han Bennink.
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.
The Spontaneous Music Ensemble (SME) was a loose collection of free improvising musicians,convened in 1965 by the now late South London-based jazz drummer/trumpeter John Stevens and alto and soprano saxophonist Trevor Watts. SME performances and recordings could range from Stevens–Watts duos to gatherings of more than a dozen players.
Incus Records is a British record company and label founded by Derek Bailey,Tony Oxley,Evan Parker and Michael Walters that specializes in free jazz and improvised music.
Han Bennink is a Dutch drummer and percussionist. On occasion his recordings have featured him playing soprano saxophone,bass clarinet,trombone,violin,banjo and piano.
Misha Mengelberg was a Dutch jazz pianist and composer. A prominent figure in post-WWII European Jazz,Mengelberg is known for his forays into free improvisation,for bringing humor into his music,and as a leading interpreter of songs by fellow pianists Thelonious Monk and Herbie Nichols.
Evan Shaw Parker is a British tenor and soprano saxophone player who plays free improvisation.
Monoceros is an album of solo soprano saxophone improvisations by British jazz saxophonist Evan Parker. It was recorded directly to disk using the direct-cut technique,with assistance from Numar Lubin,Gerald Reynolds and Michael Reynolds of Nimbus Records. It was initially released on Parker and Derek Bailey's Incus Records label in 1978,and was reissued by Chronoscope (1999),Psi (2015),and Treader (2020).
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.
Company was a collection of free improvising musicians. The concept was devised by guitarist Derek Bailey,in order to create challenging and artistically stimulating combinations of players,who might not otherwise have had an opportunity to work together.
Paul William Rutherford was an English free improvising trombonist.
Nipples is a 1969 album by free jazz saxophonist Peter Brötzmann,originally released on the Calig record label. The title track is performed by a sextet comprising Brötzmann,Evan Parker,Derek Bailey (guitar),Fred Van Hove (piano),Han Bennink (drums),and Buschi Niebergall (bass). The other track featured,"Tell a Green Man",is performed by a quartet made up of Brötzmann,Van Hove,Niebergall,and Bennink.
The Music Improvisation Company is the debut album by the Music Improvisation Company,recorded over three days in August 1970 and released on ECM later that year. The quartet features saxophonist Evan Parker,guitarist Derek Bailey,Hugh Davies on various self-made electronic instruments,and percussionist Jamie Muir,with guest vocalist Christine Jeffrey appearing on two tracks.
Solo Guitar is a solo album by guitarist Derek Bailey which was recorded in London in February 1971 and became the second release by Incus. A revised version of this album with alternative improvisations was released as Solo in 1978. In 1995 a CD version incorporating improvisations from the original and revised LPs was released.
Derek Bailey &Han Bennink is a live album by guitarist Derek Bailey and percussionist Han Bennink which was recorded 1972 and released on the Incus label.
Iskra 1903 is the debut album by the group of the same name,featuring trombonist Paul Rutherford,guitarist Derek Bailey and bassist Barry Guy which was recorded at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in 1970 and in a studio in 1972 and first released as a double album on the Incus label then as a triple CD box set entitled Chapter One 1970-1972 on Emanem in 2000 with additional material.
The Music Improvisation Company 1968–1971 is an album by The Music Improvisation Company recorded over 1968 and 1970 and released on the Incus label in 1976. The quartet features saxophonist Evan Parker,guitarist Derek Bailey,Hugh Davies on various self-made electronic instruments,and percussionist Jamie Muir.
Song for Someone is the second album led by trumpeter and composer Kenny Wheeler which was recorded in 1973 and released on the Incus label. The album was rereleased on CD on Psi Records in 2004.
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.
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.
Fuck de Boere:Dedicated to Johnny Dyani is a live album by saxophonist Peter Brötzmann containing two tracks recorded at the Frankfurt Jazz Festival in Frankfurt,Germany. Track one,"Machine Gun," was recorded on March 24,1968,several months before the studio recording that resulted in the album of the same name,and features Brötzmann with saxophonists Willem Breuker,Gerd Dudek,and Evan Parker,pianist Fred Van Hove,bassists Buschi Niebergall and Peter Kowald,and drummers Han Bennink and Sven-Åke Johansson. On track two,the title track,recorded on March 22,1970,Brötzmann is joined by Breuker and Parker on saxophone,Niebergall,Malcolm Griffiths,Paul Rutherford,and Willem Van Manen on trombone,Van Hove on piano and organ,Derek Bailey on guitar,and Bennink on drums. The album was released in 2001 by Atavistic Records as part of their Unheard Music Series. The album is dedicated to South African bassist Johnny Dyani,who,according to Brötzmann,frequently shouted "Fuck de boere!" when discussing life under apartheid.
