"The music comprises three extended tracks totaling seventy minutes. It bears all the hallmarks of the larger ensemble's music, but with less going on, particularly in terms of treatments of the music. There is clearly good understanding and interaction between the four players, with Parker leading from the front. When one considers that the previous album 'Hasselt' credited fourteen musicians, half of whom were using electronics and/or processing, it seems logical that the music here would be simpler and communication better. As is always the case with resonant spaces, the hall here is effectively a fifth player. To their credit, the four human players soon found the best ways to play with the space, the end results doing justice to all five. Parker's own comment on the album is both true and wittily quoteworthy: "The music here still sounds fresh and, in fact, could have been recorded tomorrow." Yes, spot on, Evan". -John Eysles, All About Jazz — 1. Ichi 26:08 2. Ni 23:16 3. San 20:30 Recorded live at Iwaki City Art Museum, in Fukushima, Japan, on October 5th, 2000

"The FIMAV performance is an extraordinary recording, an aural opportunity to hear the Ensemble exploring at length, stretching the contemporaneous studio documentation, but even with the Ensemble’s brilliant and transformative history, Sainkho Namtchylak’s spontaneous addition to Fixing is unique. Namtchylak’s intensity transcends the metaphoric. This performance is not folkloric. It is folklore. It is not shamanic. It is shamanism. The ElectroAcoustic Ensemble is one of the most significant events in the humanization of electronic music, in making it mobile and spontaneously responsive. Fluctuating, by the Ensemble itself, is more than a valuable document, it’s a major revelatory work." - Stuart Broomer

It is always a treat to see some major musical innovators in action. Especially in a mind-blowing line-up, at the top of their game and unrecorded until now on this impressive new Dropa Disc release. Evan Parker might be a member of some legendary trios – one with von Schlippenbach and Paul Lovens and one with Barry Guy and Paul Lytton – still this brilliant master of the saxophone and pioneer of free music managed to surprise us big time when he introduced his trio with John Edwards and Steve Noble to the Belgian audience in January of 2015. Together with this ultimate rhythm section – backing artists like Peter Brötzmann, Akira Sakata and Julie Kjaer, to name a few – Parker reals out a truly mesmerising demonstration, full of individual brilliance, but most of all with a collective cohesion rendered with majestic imagination and endless iridescence. Dropa Disc #004 Evan Parker – John Edwards – Steve Noble: PEN is the first release of this trio ever, fitting perfectly next to the best works in these stellar musicians ever expanding discography. Evan Parker: Tenor saxophoneJohn Edwards: Double bassSteve Noble: Drums & PercussionRecorded by Michael Huon at the Oorstof concert series, Zuiderpershuis, Antwerp 24 January 2015Edited & Mixed by Michael Huon and Koen Vandenhoudt at Odeon 120, Brussels 2016Mastered by Michael Huon at Odeon 120, Brussels 2016Live concert produced by Sound in MotionProduced by Koen VandenhoudtExecutive Producers: Koen Vandenhoudt & Christel KumpenCover Design & Layout: Pascal Cools First release for the stellar trio Evan Parker, John Edwards & Steve Noble.You can order the cd Evan Parker – John Edwards – Steve Noble: PEN (Dropa Disc#004) by mailing us here ! or go to the PayPal buy button.You want to order more Dropa Disc releases at once? Mail us for combined shipping prices here ! Extended text by Guy Peters (Enola Magazine, Gonzo Circus, Cadence … ): Without a doubt, Evan Parker belongs to the top league of free improvisers. For half a century now, he has been one of the most innovative, challenging and consistent members of the European avant-garde. Together with Alexander von Schlippenbach, Peter Brötzmann, Fred Van Hove and a handful of others, he is among the trailblazers who set and raised the bar. The best thing about it: he’s still going strong. When he appeared in the Oorstof series with the terrific rhythm section of John Edwards (bass) and Steve Noble (drums), we were in a for a memorable night. Parker is not only a legend because of his technical mastery and individual approach to the soprano and tenor saxophone, but also because he was/is a member and/or leader of several crucial bands. He was part of the legendary Brötzmann Octet that cut the Big Bang-record Machine Gun and he is a member of two of the most formidable trios in the history of improvised music: one with Von Schlippenhach and Paul Lovens, the other with Barry Guy and Paul Lytton. Also his documented trio with John Edwards and Mark Sanders is well-respected. Also his documented trio with John Edwards and Mark Sanders is well-respected. In the meantime, Parker has played with so many improvisers that it’s hard to believe his stunning trio with John Edwards and Steve Noble, until now, went unrecorded. Edwards and Noble are a tight rhythm section, appearing beside a.o. Alex Ward, Hans Koch, Alan Wilkinson, Peter Brötzmann, Sophie Agnel and, most recently, Julie Kjær. Though teaming up with Parker seemed inevitable the music generated by this trio – as displayed perfectly on this new Dropa Disc release – is stunning. There is no holding back, the musicians are not too respectful and it’s no feast of impatient fury either. No, instead we hear three masters displaying an enormous control of their respective instruments – with Parker sticking to tenor saxophone – without losing the overall cohesion of the performance. It’s rife with remarkable solo and duo moments, and even though these often belong to the highlights, you hear an exceptional solid unit. We were already familiar with the breadth of Steve Noble’s playing, as he appeared on Dropa Disc #001 (los bordes de las respuestas, by the Saint Francis Duo with Stephen O’Malley), but it’s exciting to witness his amazing dynamics, range of textures, energy and rhythm. Equally at ease within abstract expression as in inflammatory interaction, he is the guy you need for a balance of thoughtfulness and vital energy. Edwards is his ideal sidekick: a player with agility, intelligence and a physical approach that sometimes borders on harassment. Together they create an intricate, lively and surprisingly soulfulperformance, serving as foundation, trigger and sparring partner for Parker’s associative approach. As such, this exceptional concert is not about easy effects, wild climaxes or raucous energy. Instead, it’s a celebration of freedom and the direction in which it can be taken. During its best moments it sounds as if the music almost becomes self-evident in its organic cohesion. Not because the musicians rely on predictable patterns, but because the music seems to take over, flowing from three musicians in one identifiable language – something similar happened a few months later, when Ballister visited Oorstof, check the Dropa Disc #005 release. When you observe Parker in action, the man often stands there with a stoic, immovable pose, but these adjectives couldn’t be further removed from this music’s essence. The performance contained on this album is all about restless movement and ceaseless interaction. It is a celebration of the potential of improvised music.

Evan Parker: Barry Guy and I first met and played together in a version of the Spontaneous Music Ensemble in the days of the legendary Little Theatre Club. The late John Stevens, visionary prophet of the coming music was the key figure at the centre of things who brought us together. “So it goes“ – John often used this figure of speech. I was reminded of this when I was looking through Samuel Beckett’s Collected Letters, hoping to glean some titles, knowing that Barry would be happy with a Beckett quote. Somewhere on one of the three thousand one hundred and eighty two pages I recall Beckett using the same expression in signing off a letter. Two of our heroes connected by these three words in this way give us our title, which indeed expresses the very nature of creating music together. “So It Goes.”

Double concert of sax titan Evan Parker and Italian electronic musician Walter Prati. The first CD is a reissue of Hall of Mirrors released in 1991 on MM&T; label. Digitally recorded at FX studio Milan, February 1990. The second CD, Pulse, was recorded in May 2016 at the Limonaia of Villa Strozzi, Florence, during Tempo Reale festival.

A big anniversary is celebrated on this recording: Evan Parker and Paul Lytton got to know each other in 1969 and after months of rehear- sals their first performance followed in 1970. It was the time of the jazz avant-garde, which renewed and expanded the traditional ways of playing and the Parker-Lytton Duo was an active part of this process. “Over the past fifty years, they have each minutely sorted through aesthetics, methods, and protocols, maintaining an ongoing dialogue. The years have yielded a rich diversity of music, complemented by the current recording, the first to feature only tenor saxophone and a jazz kit,” writes the American jazz journalist Bill Shoemaker in the liner notes. Shoemaker, who supervised the recordings in Chicago, goes on to say: “The dynamic of free improvisation and a long personal history docu- mented on this Chicago studio session bears out what Parker told Bai- ley forty years ago: ‘In practice, the closest I would get to a laboratory situation is working with the people I know best ... the people I’ve played with the longest actually offer me the freest situation to work in.’ On the basis of this unprecedented music, that assessment has stood the test of time.”

50th Birthday Concert is a double CD live album by British saxophonist and improviser Evan Parker recorded at Dingwalls in 1993 and released on the English Leo label

Tracklisting: 1. Whitstable Solo 1 - 9:302. Whitstable Solo 2 - 4:223. Whitstable Solo 3 - 6:454. Whitstable Solo 4 - 6:235. Whitstable Solo 5 - 7:486. Whitstable Solo 6 - 5:187. Whitstable Solo 7 - 5:278. Whitstable Solo α-ω - 15:06Whitstable Solo is the first  Evan Parkerb.1944saxophone" data-original-title="">Evan Parker solo soprano saxophone recording since Lines Burnt in Light inaugurated his Psi label back in late 2001. Since then, the label has steadily rereleased Parker's earlier solo soprano albums, with the notable exception of Monoceros (Incus, 1978; Chronoscope, 1999). Culled largely from a July, 2008 performance at the Whitstable Biennale event with artist Polly Read and filmmaker Neil Henderson—seven tracks taken from the concert and one from before the audience arrived—Whitstable Solo was recorded in St. Peter's church by engineer Adam Skeating. Tellingly, since this recording, St. Peter's has become Parker's studio of choice because of its great acoustics. Given the scope of Parker's solo soprano recordings, trying to set a new one in context is not a fruitful venture. Increasingly, as with many other greats, the only sensible advice to someone enquiring where to begin listening to Parker is to start anywhere but hear the lot—advice particularly true of his solo recordings. Taken as a body of work, each part makes sense alone, while contributing to greater appreciation of the whole. So it is with Whitstable Solo; it makes no sense to ask where it stands in comparison to Parker's past recordings. It stands alone but amplifies the rest, containing elements that will be recognizable to anyone familiar with that past. These include Parker's subtle interactions with the acoustics and resonances of the recording space, and his use of circular breathing to build an irresistible, kaleidoscopic barrage of sound that can induce a trance-like state. Such elements are often the ones that are latched onto after initial exposure to Parker's soprano, however, there is far more here than those most obvious aspects. Not least is the melodic content of several of the pieces; without playing any obvious theme, Parker spins out melodic lines—repeating and exploring those that appeal—creating an overall effect similar to the carefree sound and feel of birdsong. Simply beautiful. - All About Jazz

It’s difficult to say if it was Evan Parker who invited Jacob Anderskov’s trio Kinetics to start this new collaborative project or if the initiative came from the Danish pianist. The doubt results from the permanent equilibrium of forces detected in “Chiasm”: the British saxophonist can be the protagonist, the frontline voice, but the music reflects in every step the most important motivation for Anderskov and his Kinetic partners, Adam Pultz Melbye and Anders Vestergaard: to celebrate the entire evolution of jazz by means of using some particularities of that patrimony through a compositional concept turned to the invention of the future. Either way, we can understand, just by hearing the music, why this connection with Parker is happening. The London-based musician is an illustrious representative in present days of the long line of innovators in both the tenor and the soprano saxophones: nobody else could symbolize better the double focus of this record in History and in the creation of the New. This task to detect and distill the old soul of jazz, at the same time refreshing it, comes from a radical point of view – radical because it goes to the roots in order to finally reach the flowers and make them bloom. Are you fascinated by the way Coltrane resounds in Evan Parker’s playing these last few years? Well, there’s plenty of that here for your delight… Recorded at London’s Vortex club and live in the studio in Copenhagen, Chiasm is a documentation of what interplay may sound like when an established piano trio meets a master of improvisation. On the four improvised tracks, the group explores melodic, timbral and rhythmical structures on both micro and macro levels, creating a matrix of nonlinear dynamics from which emerges an oscillating and shimmering sonic image, propelled by a shared approach to the real-time generation of structure and form.  Evan Parker - tenor saxophone Jacob Anderskov - piano Adam Pultz Melbye - bass Anders Vestergaard - drums

Recorded in concert at Vilnius Jazz Festival, 15th October, 2017 at Russian Drama Theater, Vilnius, Lithuania Music composed by Evan Parker, Barry Guy (PRS/ MCPS/PPL) and Paul Lytton (GEMA) Sound Engineer - Valdas Karpuška Mixed by Evan Parker Mastered by Arūnas Zujus at MAMAstudios Original cover painting by Paul Lytton Photos by Vytautas Suslavičius Design by Oskaras Anosovas Produced by Danas Mikailionis Co-producer - Valerij Anosov Evan Parker - soprano and tenor saxophones Barry Guy - bass Paul Lytton - drums

Tracklisting: 1. Line 1 - 27:232. Line 2 - 12:303. Line 3 - 22:20"Let's get the facts out up front: Lines Burnt in Light is pure insane genius. Evan Parker, for decades a master of the saxophone in various contexts, steps up about three levels on his new solo disc. As the inaugural release on his new Psi label, this is going to be a hard act to follow. Parker insistently pursues a high-level spiritual energy on these three extended improvisations for solo soprano saxophone. And he does not relent. Lines Burnt in Light documents a live performance with no effects or overdubs (apart from the rich acoustics of London's St. Michael and All Angels Church). Parker wastes no time firing up his engines during the first piece, recorded before the audience's arrival. His playing operates at many levels. At its most literal, the music cycles through a long series of short, high loops. As time moves on, these cycles drift fluidly through musical space, acquiring new elements, leaping up and down, and defining new tonalities. But this music is clearly about much more than the literal. Parker colors his fundamentals with an inexhaustible array of overtones, and it's at this level that these improvisations really come alive. Each note turns furry, spikey, or rounded, depending on how the saxophonist chooses to shape it. The high notes sail through the air with birdlike delicacy, chirps and whistles all about, as if a flock of songbirds have alighted on the microphone. As the recording proceeds, Parker meets his audience head-on with a similar urgency. While some listeners may find the sheer density and intesity of Lines Burnt in Light daunting, those with open ears and hearts can look forward to over an hour of pure invention and delicacy. The saxophonist's pursuit lies far beyond technical fluency (which he happens to have in great abundance), much as Coltrane aimed for a higher realm. It's this process of transcendence which lifts Lines Burnt in Light to a spectacular zenith of light and sound. Maybe it's the glow of the full moon outside as I listen, but this music provides express transportation to another world." - All About Jazz

The mid 1970s was an exciting time for free improvisation and a great deal was happening all over the world as like minded musicians were drawn to each other by a magnetic pull that had us crossing oceans and large distances of land to work together. England, America, Italy, Germany, Holland, Canada, Japan, Australia and many other territories all boasted scenes of various sizes, and players were mixing and matching in a wide variety of formations, across several generations. Recorded in 1977, this recording is an intimate duo session capturing the first meeting of two of the most brilliant musicians in the free improv scene—Evan Parker and Andrea Centazzo.   Of course Evan Parker is a living legend. One of the most original and influential saxophonists in the history of the instrument, he continues to be a force of nature to this day. His saxophone language, articulation and sonic conception changed everything. Placed chronologically between Saxophone Solos (1975) and Monoceros (1978) this recording is an important and fascinating document of a transitional period in Evan’s oeuvre—he was still using the plastic reeds that helped define the sharp articulations of his early sound, and was beginning to refine the circular breathing that became a major focus of exploration in years to come. His playing with Centazzo is particularly varied on this recording, and you can hear him exploring and stretching, discovering new sounds along the way. There is even a rare and beautiful melodic passage at the beginning of track 6 which eventually morphs into the circular breathing multi-phonics that was to define his solo masterpiece Monoceros a year later.   Andrea Centazzo is a meticulous master percussionist whose language has always drawn as much upon the contemporary classical world as upon jazz. With Andrea every note counts—a master of space and color with a remarkable sense of timing, he is a perfect match for Evan’s flights of sonic fancy. He listens deeply and responds immediately with imagination, confidence and often counter-intuitive decision-making that is both surprising and inspiring.  Four decades has not dated these sounds a jot: this is exciting music.Long thought lost, it is an historic meeting of two master improvisers at the very peak of their powers, and sounds just as fresh and modern as the day it was made. This is music that transcends time, style and genre. It is pure. It is real. It is Truth and Beauty.   —John Zorn, October 7, 2016—NYC   Andrea Centazzo (drum set, percussion, electronics) Evan Parker (soprano & tenor saxophones) Recorded live in concert in San Marcello (PT) and at Ictus Studio, Pistoia, Italy, July 1977

OTOROKU is proud to reissue Evan Parker's first solo LP "Saxophone Solos". Recorded by Martin Davidson in 1975 at the Unity Theatre in London, at that time the preferred concert venue of the Musicians' Co-operative, Parker's densely woven and often cyclical style has yet to form; instead throaty murmurs appear under rough hewn whistles and calls - the wildly energetic beginnings of an extraordinary career.  Reissued with liner notes from Seymour Wright in an edition of 500.  --- "The four pieces across the two sides of Saxophone Solos – Aerobatics 1 to 4 – are testing, pressured, bronchial spectaculars of innovation and invention and determination. Evan tells four stories of exploration and imagination without much obvious precedent. Abstract Beckettian cliff-hanging detection/logic/magic/mystery. The conic vessel of the soprano saxophone here recorded contains the ur-protagonists: seeds, characters, settings, forces, conflicts, motions, for new ideas, to delve, to tap and to draw from it story after story as he has on solo record after record for 45 years. ‘Aerobatics 1-3’ were recorded on 17 June 1975, by Martin Davidson at Parker’s first solo performance. This took place at London’s Unity Theatre in Camden. ‘Aerobatics 4’ was recorded on 9 September the same year, by Jost Gebers in the then FMP studio in Charlottenburg, Berlin. Music of balance and gravity, fulcra, effort, poise and enquiry. Sounds thrown and shaken into and out of air, metal and wood. It is – as the titles suggest – spectacular." - Seymour Wright, 2020.

A sequence of free improvisations -- eight duos, two piano solos & one tenor saxophone solo -- recorded at Gateway Studios. Recorded 9/28/03. 62 minutes.

Recorded live by Takeo Suetomi at Café Amores, Hofu, April 29, 1996.The CD version includes a bonus track (“Two Chaps 1“). New, unsealed, includes Obi