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Evan Parker 70th and John Butcher 60th Birthday Sessions

Jez Nelson presents specially recorded solo sessions from leading British saxophonists Evan Parker and John Butcher.

Jez Nelson presents solo sessions, especially recorded for Jazz on 3, from two of the UK's greatest living saxophonists: Evan Parker and John Butcher.

70 this year, Evan Parker has been at the heart of the British and international free-jazz scene for half a century. Working on both sides of the Atlantic in ensembles both large and small, his collaborations read like a roll call of improvised music's great and good: Cecil Taylor, Anthony Braxton, Derek Bailey, Alexander Von Schlippenbach, Kenny Wheeler, and recently, electronic artist Squarepusher. Yet he's best loved for his solo playing. 'One of the music's greatest living instrumentalists' according to The Times, Parker uses a range of complex techniques (circular breathing, split tonguing, overblowing, multiphonics, cross-pattern fingering) to create organic, immersive and hypnotic musical worlds.

2014 also sees John Butcher turn 60. Originally a physicist studying Quarks, Butcher left academia in the 1980s to form the London Improvising Ensemble with pianist Chris Burn, as well as a soprano saxophone quartet with Evan Parker. His solo playing explores electronic techniques like multi-tracking as well as the outer limits of feedback and extreme acoustics: "Some of the best bits come when you're playing near the edge of your control and knowledge. When the music's working, I think it creates its own connections and shapes that are more interesting than ones you might have tried to consciously impose."

Presenter: Jez Nelson
Producer: Miranda Hinkley.

1 hour, 30 minutes

Last on

Mon 20 Oct 2014 23:00

Music Played

  • RR-ZZYIMEX-302

    Jazz on 3 (Mon Wk 42)

  • New Release

    • The Grip

      Acorn

      • Celebrate.
      • Slowfoot Records.
  • Evan Parker and John Butcher join Jez in the Studio

  • Evan Parker session

    • Evan Parker

      Reed Greed 1

      Composer: Evan Parker

  • Evan Parker and John Butcher on their relationship with different playing spaces

    • John Butcher

      Mustard Bath

      Recorded in 2002 at Oya Stone Mountain, Utsonomiya, Japan

      • Cavern with Nightlife.
      • Weight Of Wax.
    • John Butcher

      罢谤盲驳别谤蹿谤别辩耻别苍锄

      Recorded in 2006 at Gazometer, Oberhausen, Germany

      • Geometry of Sentiment.
      • Weight Of Wax.
  • John Butcher session

    • John Butcher

      Loculus 1

      Composer: John Butcher

    • John Butcher

      Loculus 2

      Composer: John Butcher

    • John Butcher

      Loculus 4

      Composer: John Butcher

    • John Butcher

      Loculus 6

      Composer: John Butcher

  • Evan Parker explains extended techniques

  • Evan Parker session

    • Evan Parker

      Reed Greed 3

      Composer: Evan Parker

    • Evan Parker

      Reed Greed 5

      Composer: Evan Parker

    • Evan Parker

      Reed Greed 2

      Composer: Evan Parker

  • John Butcher explains his feedback approach

  • John Butcher session

    • John Butcher

      Loculus 3

      Composer: John Butcher

Broadcast

  • Mon 20 Oct 2014 23:00

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