Wednesday 25 March 2020, 9.30pm
John Butcher / saxes
Angharad Davies / violin, electronics
Phil Durrant / electronics
Alfred Zimmerlin / cello
The Swiss improvising cellist and composer Alfred Zimmerlin meets with some of the most outstanding musicians of the British scene for an encounter with much good and intense music. For the first time he will play together with the phenomenal improvising violinist and electronic musician Angharad Davies, an encounter that promises a lot. He first met and played together with John Butcher and Phil Durrant more than thirty years ago. Especially with Butcher he has a regular collaboration. An evening of surprising encounters and constellations, guided by the intelligence of purely musical thinking.
"As one listens, structures, textures, and an innate sense of direction reveal themselves, slyly transporting the listener until they are caught in a current, sometimes moving slowly, sometimes in a tempest of activity, but always quite detailed and with each player contributing unexpected and fascinating elements. Attentive listening reveals the profound and sometimes eccentric playing that each brings to the concert, rewarding in what is clearly an exhilarating experience for player and listener alike." – Phil Zampino
Alfred Zimmerlin, born 1955, studied composition, musicology and ethnomusicology in Zurich/Switzerland. Internationally active as improvising musician and composer. His work has been awarded several prizes and is documented on numerous CDs and LPs. Together with Fred Frith, he leads the master's program for free improvisation at the FHNW University of Music Basel.
Butcher is well known as a saxophonist who attempts to engage with the uniqueness of time and place. His music ranges through improvisation, his own compositions, multitracked pieces and explorations with feedback and unusual acoustics. Since the early 80s he has collaborated with hundreds of musicians – including Derek Bailey, Rhodri Davies, Andy Moor (EX), Phil Minton, Christian Marclay, Eddie Prevost, John Stevens’ SME, Gino Robair, Polwechsel, Mark Sanders, John Tilbury, and Okkyung Lee.
Alongside long term projects he values occasional encounters; from large groups such as the EX Orkestra & Butch Morris’ “London Skyscraper”, to duo concerts with Fred Frith, Akio Suzuki, Paal Nilssen-Love, Keiji Haino, David Toop, Otomo Yoshihide, Sophie Agnel and Matthew Shipp.
Recent compositions include “Penny Wands” for Futurist Intonarumori, two HCMF commissions for his own groups, “Good Liquor Caused my Heart for to Sing” for the London Sinfonietta and “Tarab Cuts”, a response to recordings of early Arabic classical music which was shortlisted for a 2014 British Composer’s Award.
“English saxophonist John Butcher may be among the world’s most influential musicians, operating at the cutting-edge of improvisatory practice since the ‘80s. Whenever an acoustic musician starts to sound like a bank of oscillators, a tropical forest, a brook or an insect factory, Butcher’s influence is likely nearby.” – New York City Jazz Record.
Angharad Davies is a Welsh violinist based in London working with free-improvisation, compositions and performance.Her approach to sound involves attentive listening and exploring beyond the sonic confines of her instrument, her classical training and performance expectation.
Much of her work involves collaboration. She has long standing duos with Tisha Mukarji, Dominic Lash and Lina Lapelyte and plays with Common Objects, Cranc and Skogen. She has been involved in projects with Tarek Atui, Tony Conrad, Richard Dawson, Gwenno, Roberta Jean, Jack McNamara, Rie Nakajima, Tim Parkinson, Eliane Radigue, Georgia Ruth and J.G.Thirlwell.
Most of her records are released on Another Timbre but she also has releases on Absinth Records, Confrontrecords, Emanem, Potlatch and winds measure recordings.Her first orchestral piece was commissioned by LCMF in 2019.
Born near London in 1957, Phil Durrant is a multi-instrumentalist improviser/composer/sound artist who currently performs solo and group concerts.
As a violinist (and member of the Butcher/Russell/Durrant trio), he was one of the key exponents of the "group voice approach" style of improvised music. In the late 90s, his trio with Radu Malfatti and Thomas Lehn represented a shift to a more “reductionist” approach.
Recently, he has been performing solo and duo concerts with Bill Thompson, Mark Wastell, using a modular synthesizer system. As a mandolinist, he has been performing and recording with guitarist Martin Vishnick, mandolinist Richard Scott and drummer Emil Karlsen.
Durrant still performs regularly with the acoustic/electronic group Trio Sowari (with Bertrand Denzler and Burkhard Beins) and Mark Wastell’s The SEEN.
