Evan Parker,

Interview by Dan Warburton Paris, January 30th 2010

Even if you're not a regular reader of this magazine (Paris Transatlantic)l, tenor and soprano saxophonist Evan Parker should need no introduction (if he does try this). Incontestably one of free improvised music's MVPs, he's arguably one of the most important and influential musicians of the late 20th century – not to mention the beginning of the 21st. His longstanding trio with bassist Barry Guy and percussionist Paul Lytton stopped off in Paris for a couple of nights recently to play and record for Gérard Terronès's Futura Marge label at the Sunset, one of the French capital's famous cellar jazz clubs. It was just round the corner, at Le Baltard, that this conversation took place a couple of hours before the trio's second gig. Parker had been giving other interviews during the day, so I tried to surprise him by starting off with a question I was sure hadn't been asked earlier.-DW

Paris Transatlantic interviews

No direct link to the index, of 50+ interviews.
Follow the link to the site and note the two links at the top, interview 1 and interview 2

Evan Parker interviewed in his house by Martin Davidson - 1997 April.

Evan Parker interviewed in his house by Martin Davidson - 1997 April.
This first appeared in Opprobrium 4, and is reproduced here with permission.
All rights remain with the interviewee, interviewer and magazine

Eleven interviews with Barry Guy

Eleven interviews with Barry Guy
Follow the link.

SIMON H. FELL Report On The Composition Of Improvised Music No. 1

Simon H Fell

SIMON H. FELL Report On The Composition Of Improvised Music No. 1

First published in Rubberneck 15 (November 1993)

John Steven Interview - with Richard Scott

John Stevens

John Stevens (1940-1994) was a key figure in the development of free jazz and free group improvisation in Britain. Originally a jazz drummer carving out a successful career for himself in clubs such as Ronnie Scott’s, he gave up jazz playing completely in the late 1960s order to commit himself entirely to free group improvisation. The group which he organised with Trevor Watts, the Spontaneous Music Ensemble, has since 1966 been an institution in which many of the key figures in the movement have being involved. The composition and improvisational ideas that Stevens originated for this group have developed into workshop pieces which he has used extensively with both trained and amateur or ‘non’-musicians. These were published in a book entitled Search and Reflect which forms the basis of a cooperative approach to music making and teaching. It is in these workshops that many young musicians got their first taste of collective improvisation, the present author included. His teaching and outgoing personality have been at least as important as his own playing. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s he played in a wide variety of contexts, amongst other things forming bands using improvisation along with aspects of rock, funk, jazz and folk. He is also involved in drama and visual art. At the time of the Interview his main musical activities are teaching, playing different forms of jazz and occasionally performing with S.M.E. I met him at his house in Ealing.

Musicians in Place and Space: The Impact of a Spatialized Model of Improvised Music Performance

image at musicology research website

Musicians in Place and Space: The Impact of a Spatialized Model of Improvised Music Performance

1. Introduction

Free improvisation is often explained as a non-hierarchical musical process that emerges out of the precise acoustic, emotional, environmental, psychological, and social conditions in existence at the time of the music’s creation. But given that free improvisers continue to perform in conditions that involve the static positioning and formal separation of the performer and the audience, the extent to which these claims can be realized is questioned by this chapter.

This article reports on a practice-based research project, ‘Musicians in Space’ (MiS), which aims to offer insights into how the free improviser, through the introduction of a spatialized approach to the music, can develop an all-encompassing and non-hierarchical musicking practice. An outline of the research process and the findings from the first stage of the research are offered, before the discussion is extended to look at the connection between spatialized free improvisation and deep ecology.

For the rest follow the link..pm

The Guardian view on improvisation: in praise of imperfection

extract
`Yet with the turn back towards discipline and predictability much has also been lost. At its best, collective musical improvisation does not just sweep up the musicians but the audience, too, into a greater whole. The improviser bears witness to the truth that art can always be done better, even if it will often be done worse. No matter how perfect the studio album, it is live music that truly gives life.`

Free Improvisation – Method and Genre Michael Francis Duch

My area of research has been free improvisation both as a method and a genre, as well as the use of improvisation in experimental music. This essay seeks to clarify why I believe that free improvisation is to be seen as both a method of music-making and a genre of its own. I will investigate this by discussing the relationship between free improvisation and experimental music and its origins, and the history of free improvisation will also be briefly discussed through examples of some of its practitioners. I will also use examples from my own experience during my research period. FOLLOW THE LINK TO READ MORE

Phil Minton interview ATTN:Magazine 03.02.2016

The first time I saw Phil Minton – a vocal improviser from Torquay – was in August 2014 at Supernormal Festival in Oxfordshire. I was aware that he’d been running a workshop over the weekend, although I had no idea what to expect when I turned up for the finale performance on the Sunday. Suddenly, around 30 people were sneezing, laughing and gagging in vague unison, with Minton occasionally lunging to the fore to babble and splutter into a microphone. Some members of the crowd were left bewildered, others were audibly amused. Everyone came together in a ferocious applause at the end.

writes Jack Chutter in the intro, follow the link to read more

Interview - Text - Global

PORTAL Journal of Multidisciplinary International Studies

John Stevens

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