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Evan Parker / John Edwards / Mark Sanders - The Two Seasons
Disc 1 recorded 2/15/99
Disc 2 recorded 7/28/99
In London live @ The Vortex
Winter and summer
Almost all of 2 sets that were played each of those nights
Evan Parker: tenor saxophone on all but one 17 minute section during the later session
John Edwards: amplified double bass
Mark Sanders: percussion (mostly drums and cymbals)
On a whim I looked for a review or two on this recording this morning and found a middling one @ AMG that made me think that the reviewer certainly didn’t listen through the whole thing
“One thing sure, there is less fire, less sparks in these recordings than on other recent releases from the saxophone legend”
Now one could say many things about this recording, but I would doubt that this would be something that one who made an effort to engage themselves in this set would write. Then again, who knows how many reviews the reviewer writes on a daily or weekly basis.
As some here know, this has long been a favorite of mine. It was my favorite recording when it was issued (maybe in 2001). This was before I had any real exposure to other music that has since become a prime interest of mine. It was about 2-3 years into my interest in Evan Parker’s music. I had little or no awareness of John Edwards. I had listened to Mark Sanders through John Law’s 1992 recording “Exploded on Impact” and a couple of John Lloyd CD’s with John Law from the mid 90’s.
I had become entranced with Parker after seeing him live in the basement at the knit somewhere around 1999 – with Mark Dresser and Bobby Previte. I remember that I got the last seat available and that Parker hit some sort of peak on tenor a couple of times throughout a hourish set with the bassist and drummer playing with or without him. And as great a bassist as Dresser is, and as fine a drummer as Previte is, I doubt if I heard a recording of that set today that it would be anything more than a decent set.
Based on what Evan Parker is, that is – if I had known at the time.
Still seeing this man play a tenor saxophone - and the tenor is still *it* for me – the other horn is surely wonderous in his hands – he did invent a new language on this horn – but I often think his circular journeys to places no one else even ventures to are more an exhibition than a delivery of what rocks my soul - and his playing on the soprano is of a different purpose and a different strength that what comes out of the tenor saxophone.
When Evan Parker is playing music that comes from his original inspiration (seeing Coltrane as a very young man live @ Vanguard circa 1961) this is when heights can be reached that are a bit beyond description. Part of what happens on this disc is beyond words. I had lent this set out to a friend and had not heard it in about 8-9 months.
First off, the winter set has it’s moments of great intensity – and this is concentrated improvisation that is as close to the free jazz idiom as Parker and his mates will ever get. There is very little circular stuff on either horn – and as stated above, it is all tenor – even the soprano portion during the summer sets includes very little of his circular breathing – fact is Sanders hits the bass drum (I think?) so hard during part of his breathing deal that one almost might think it means stop and let’s get back to the skronk.
And there is more than a little skronk. But is more than just power. The first disc hits some peaks during the second portion (the recording is based on almost all of for forty minute sets – where the music was played continuously and only broken up on record for listener convenience) – and the key force throughout this music is Mark Sanders. We know what Evan Parker is – we know that his technique and capabilities by this point in his career (55 years old – playing forever in his own journey to wherever) – some also feel that because of what he is capable it is very easy for Parker to just play – it is almost too easy for him to do what he does – even though there is really no one else capable of playing what he plays – really no one who has ever played what he plays.
But the real peaks happen in the summer – some during the first third of the 80 minutes – and then the beyond – after the soprano section – after Edwards shows us that he is the skronkiest – earthiest bassist in improvisational music – and when we hear him recorded up front like this – when we as listeners become thoroughly engaged – we hear Evan Parker and Mark Sanders take “high energy free jazz” to the fucking Vortex.
Really beyond the comprehensible – if we are talking of music made by traditional instruments – of a formula – within a formula – but beyond what should be possible within relatively standard operating procedures – where we hear drums-bass-tenor, this is not of the AMM to the egoless stream of way of doing things – this is clearly post-Trane free jazz with a drummer and bassist and saxophonist who have made this music clearly their own – and if those who come from the places that is more out of Ayler-Wright-Lyons-Lowe-Mateen-Ware – and those who have played – or play with them, they might not recognize this music being as close to that tradition as it is – but when you have a bassist who don’t sound anything like guys like Peacock, Grimes, Hopkins – and drummer who has nothing coming from Murray or Graves – a drummer who comes more out of Oxley, Lytton, Lovens or even Stevens – but even sounds nothing like those guys – he comes out of nowhere and creates the most monsterous and intricate base that exists on any free jazz recording I have ever heard – and he creates it here – and it is different in intensity, volume - the biggest ability is his restraint – he can play louder and with more power than any drummer there is – but he makes one wait for the biggest impact – listen to those last 24 minutes – but listen to the previous 130 first – and experience this.
Never higher, never greater
A set of this intensity and greatness gets played by anyone at a Vision Fest, it would be historic. Mark Sanders would be known as one of the giants in music – too bad he probably again won’t be heard live this year on this side of the pond – as far as I know, the only time he ever played an improvisational gig in the States was on 5/16/2001 with Parker, Berne and Gress.
Best Evan Parker recording I own – or have ever heard – lack of fire – dude isn’t listening – it may be that we know the context of what these guys will play – what we don’t know is how they can play with intensity that we think has already been achieved –and then – 10 or 15 minutes later, it is at a different plateau - *this* is truly the wonder of what Evan Parker is capable of. It isn’t the blues, it isn’t really anything other than a personal exploration into what this music can make him or the interested listener feel.
And nothing has even made me feel like this recording makes me feel – nothing musical that is
Thank god (jah) I am alive in *my* new summer to experience it once again
peace and blessings
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