a r t i s t : John Butcher
t i t l e : Gerry Hemingway - Shooters and Bowlers
d a t e : 2001
l a b e l : Red Toucan
g e n r e : Jazz
r l s. d a t e : May/2008
t r a c k s : 08
b i t r a t e : VBRkbps
s i z e : 70,7 MB
_______________________________________________________________________
John Butcher: saxophones
Gerry Hemingway: drums, percussion, harmonica, sampler
All compositions Butcher-Hemingway
Recorded Gateway Studios, London 28/05/2000
except
2, 7: Hot House, Chicago 16/02/2000
The performances on this CD are simply music to my ears.
This is not a case of my merely stating the obvious; I am
using this cliche to underscore both how refreshing I find it
musically and how another listener might easily dismiss its
contents as noise. Butcher and Hemingway are free improvisers
of the highest order and their collaboration is unique and
wonderful.
Hemingway and Butcher have similar backgrounds in the
avant-garde. The percussionist's CV includes work with such
artists as Anthony Braxton, John Zorn, Anthony Davis and Leo
Smith, jazz artists whose compositions frequently push at the
barrier between jazz and what is more commonly accepted as
"Art" music. The London -based saxophonist Butcher cut his
improvisational teeth playing the music of Stockhausen and has
worked with the likes of Evan Parker and Derek Bailey, the
latter a former Hemingway collaborator as well. Bearing all
this in mind, it comes as no surprise that a piece like "Caged
Clambroth" recalls the early percussion compositions of John
Cage (perhaps the title is intended as a pun?) or that
Hemingway's vibraphone playing on "The Lightning Strike" seems
inspired by Cage's "Suite for Toy Piano." Both players display
a healthy, light-hearted sense of humor on this cut and on the
almost child-like "Hay" despite the fact that they are working
in a format one tends to associate with the sturm und drang of
John Coltrane and Rashid Ali or Peter Brotzman. The duo is
capable of intense and serious statements as well, as
demonstrated on the epic jam "Shift" and by Butcher's
smoldering playing on the album's finale "Jackpot." This is
dense, imaginative music that rewards every listen with a new
discovery. Every listen, that is, made with open ears and
mind.
Edward Kane - Jazzreview.com
_______________________________________________________________________
01-caged clambroth [06:57]
02-shift [17:16]
03-clearies [03:04]
04-shooters and bowlers [05:00]
05-hay [03:41]
06-the lightning strike [06:00]
07-end of cane cloud [08:43]
08-jackpot [06:27]
-------
57:08 min