We’re delighted to welcome back this formidable group of improvisers, tonight with Terry Day on drums.
The result of what was meant to be a one-off performance in commemoration of the late Lol Coxhill, the music produced by the group proved so good it seemed natural to continue. Consisting of two legends of Improvised music in Watts and Day, and two younger veterans with their own international reputations with Edwards and Bevan, it’s hard to describe the quartet as anything but a supergroup.
Tony Bevan – Soprano and Bass Saxophones
Trevor Watts – Soprano and Alto Saxophones
John Edwards – Double Bass
Terry Day – Drums
“Bevan is already a giant of contemporary saxophone” Point of Departure USA
Tony Bevan is an improvising virtuoso on Soprano and Tenor saxophones, but perhaps is best known for his work on the Bass saxophone, on which he is probably Britain’s only major modern performer (“the world’s greatest improvising Bass saxophonist” – Timeout). He is closely linked with the late Derek Bailey, with whom he appeared and recorded many times, as well as with Free Jazz legend Sunny Murray, who, along with Edwards, he has been playing with for more than a decade, releasing a number of award winning recordings and appearing in Antoine Prum’s award winning film “Sunny’s Time Now”. He recently curated with Prum a 3 day festival on British Improvised Music in Berlin, which will be released on film in late 2012, following more filming in the UK in early 2012 . His playing covers all bases from rock group Spiritualised (on whose new album he is a featured soloist) to Classical Avant-Garde composer Luc Ferrari, with the likes of Barre Phillips, Matthew Bourne, Joe Morris, Marc Ribot and Tony Buck of The Necks in between. He runs the Foghorn label.
Trevor Watts is the remaining founder member of the Spontaneous Music Ensemble, which began as a trio in 1964 with John Stevens and Paul Rutherford. He is one of the original innovators in the 1960’s who were responsible for developing the language of improvisation that is now used as part of the mainstream of improvised music throughout the world today. SME was later joined by many key improvisers of this early period including Derek Bailey, Evan Parker, Kenny Wheeler, Dave Holland, Barry Guy. Watts has been described as, “Not only a virtuoso improviser, but a master of “post bop” alto sax playing”. He has played with Don Cherry, Archie Shepp, Bobby Bradford and Steve Lacy amongst many. Watts’ groups such as Amalgam, Moire Music, Moire Music Drum Orchestra have always been innovative at the core; since 2006 his main involvement is a duo with pianist Veryan Weston. He is also an acknowledged composer, utilising African rhythms with violins, percussion and saxophones etc. But also recently wrote a choral work. He has played in practically every part of the world, often collaborating with traditional musicians e.g in Sudan (Khartoum Int. Fest.), in Venezuela (with Teatro Negro de Barlovento) and in India (at the Film Institute of India) but in particular with many African musicians. His rhythmic knowledge is a part of what makes his playing so special. Festivals include: San Francisco Jazz Festival, Womad, Glastonbury, July 4th Washington D.C., Monterey Jazz Festival, N Zealand Festival of Arts, Singapore Arts Festival, Cervantino Festival, Mexico, Berlin Jazz Festival, London Jazz Festival, Beijing & Shanghai Jazz Festivals.
John Edwards is a true virtuoso whose staggering range of techniques and boundless musical imagination have redefined the possibility of the double bass and dramatically expanded its role, whether playing solo or with others. Perpetually in demand, he has played with Evan Parker, Sunny Murray, Derek Bailey, Joe McPhee, Lol Coxhill, Peter Brötzmann, Mulatu Astatke and many others.
Terry Day was a founder member in 1965 of the legendary People Band, in which he played drums and myriad other instruments. (A double CD of archive material with notes by Day is just out on Emanem). He was also a member of the group Alterations, which included Beresford, David Toop and Peter Cusack. He makes his own bamboo pipes and writes many poems. For this performance he’s back on drumset.