Off Minor

The Bohman Brothers’ New Year New Sounds Festival Day 1, at Battersea Arts Centre, 7/1/08 « I-C-E Quintet, and the Evan Parker / John Edwards / John Russell Trio »

A great first-gig start to 2008; the opening night of the Bohman Brothers’ New Year New Sounds Festival at the Battersea Arts Centre… This runs until Saturday, but I’m not sure I’ll be able to make it back there this week; the BAC site has a full programme listing.

Opening up were the I-C-E Quintet; five clarinets (of different types), sort of revolving around one another; four of them were Rick Gensen, Tara Stucky, Noel Taylor and Jerry Wigens; the programme doesn’t say who the fifth was (and alas I know not who was who)… Each player had a notably unique identity, but I can never clear my head enough to identify exactly what’s going on where… It comes together into a dense soundscape, that I try and work my way round, letting it mould together and then focus in on the odd burst of drive, but tending to remain pretty oblivious to all the technicalities… Captivating and beautiful, but also good that I had an intelligent friend who could explain to me, afterwards, how it all worked…

After that too-fleeting performance, Evan Parker’s trio with John Edwards and John Russell. I’ve seen Evan Parker a few times now (hmm, maybe only just on the fingers of two hands) but this was probably the most intimate of them all; the Vortex is ‘friendly’, but here ‘sold-out’ seemed to mean about forty people, and it seemed perhaps like Parker was playing less self-concious than when I had seen him before. John Russell’s scratching playing is fantastic and I should really try and find something where he’s on record. Edwards was dominating in his inspiration and transmogrifying inventiveness…

As they were packing up, John Russell stepped forward to make an announcement on the future of the Red Rose, and to announce its absolute demise as a live music venue, as the lease is sold on to make way for a pool club. Apparently his January 20th Mopomoso will be the last ever improv event at that venue… Just what exactly is going to happen now??? ;(

(Visit the flickr for more dodgy photos…)