Both Tom James Scott and trio of Alan Wilkinson / John Edwards / Steve Noble release their second albums for Bo' Weavil Recordings.

3 sets 2 from the trio and one from Tom.

WILKINSON°EDWARDS° NOBLE

Alan Wilkinson – alto and baritone saxophones, voice

John Edwards – double bass

Steve Noble – drum set , percussion

This trio has become one of the hottest bands on the London scene, reaching a new and enthusiastic young audience for the music. Comprising 3 of the capital’s most experienced and hardest working musicians, they play ‘free jazz’ with one foot firmly in the European school of free improvisation, group music where the twists and turns are born exclusively out of intense listening and an almost intuitive creativity. However, their willingness to embrace a broad spectrum of styles is redefining traditional barriers and prejudices, making the music vibrate with a renewed sense of freedom.

Described as one of the UK’s most creative drummers Steve Noble mixes the earliest jazz drum influences with a wide range of modern, global, and free styles. From playing with Nigerian master drummer Elkan Ogunde, Rip.Rig and Panic,Brion Gysin and the Bow Gamelan Ensemble- he went on to play with Derek Bailey(including Company weeks 1987/89/90 Alex Maguire,Tristan Honsinger ,Pat Thomas a.o. performing throughout Europe,Africa and America.

He leads the groups N.E.W- 4tet- the Shakedown club and a trio with Lol Coxhill /Edwards. He occupies the drum seat in SFQ-Badland-Freebase-Gannets-Aethenor and Tim Hills ‘Tongues of Fire.. Noble also runs the record label Ping Pong Productions.

Since taking up the bass, John Edwards has been involved with a diversity of musical styles and situations. At home in both composed and improvised music, he has rapidly become one of the busiest musicians on the London scene. Probably best known for his work with Evan Parker, John Butcher, Sunny Murray, Peter Brötzmann,etc., he has appeared in groups such as GOD, B-Shops for the Poor, and continues to collaborate with electro-acoustic composer John Wall, Spring Heel Jack, Fundamental and play in groups with Louis Moholo, Lol Coxhill, Ingrid Laubrock, and Charles Hayward, to name a few. He also performs solo – releasing a cd of solo bass improvisations to great critical acclaim in 2008,on the PSI label.

Alan Wilkinson comes blazing out of a saxophone tradition that includes the likes of Albert Ayler, Mike Osbourne, Evan Parker, and Peter Brötzmann, yet with a highly vocalized and personal style. Possibly best known for the heavyweight Hession/Wilkinson/Fell trio, his other involvements have included Derek Bailey in duo and Company, Stefan Jaworzyn, Sunny Murray, Alex Maguire’s ‘Cat O’Nine Tails’, Louis Moholo, Thurston Moore and Lee Ronaldo and Spring Heel Jack. A CD with a quartet featuring Brötzmann,Fell, and Kellers from 1997 was released recently. Other current projects include a duo and trio with Eddie Prevost (and Joe Williamson), and Spanish group ‘Laxula’. He runs a regular free music club night in London called ‘flimflam’.

Tom James Scott is a young classically trained guitarist, a mainstay of the improvising collective CYRK. Tom's influences stretch far and wide, touching upon aspects of traditional music, improvisation, vocal music, composition, and field recording to name but a few. Tom has now recorded 2 albums for Bo' Weavil, both guitar based with added piano and even tuba, distilled through a minimalist mind set to create some of the most beautiful elemental melodic lines that take the listener on a journey of meditative contemplation.5 new slices of minimal guitar compositions. “School and Rivers” is varied record, including pieces that were written immediately after the release of “Red Deer” (Weavil26CD), to those that came about just before recording began in March of this year. David Aird's Tuba playing on the title peice and 'Seabird' provides a neccessary weight, pulling at the high notes of the guitar that hang in mid-air, and droning near-dissonant tones in the more fluid sections. Tom has an interest in melodies that drift in and out of focus, moving between abstract and more concrete forms, leaving pockets of silence where the listener can escape. The pieces on this recording remain quite static, following slight variations through time. Not to be mistaken as coming from the tradition of Fahey et al, Tom’s cues are from a far more varied pallet, modern composition, ethnic / folk recordings and the wealth of improvisation are but a few