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Conic Sections (album)
''Conic Sections'' is a solo soprano saxophone album by Evan Parker. It was recorded on June 21, 1989, at Holywell Music Room in Oxford, England, and was released on CD in 1993 by Ah Um Records. In 2008, it was reissued by Parker's Psi label. The album is dedicated to the memory of Parker's friend Kunio Nakamura. According to Parker, the recording came about when he decided to document the current state of his playing, and impulsively contacted recording engineer Michael Gerzon, who managed to book the Holywell Music Room on short notice. However, he later recalled: "The acoustics of the Rooms are so distinctive that I was pushed away from the kind of playing I'd had in mind; it seemed as though the room itself had something in mind too." Reception In a review for AllMusic, Thom Jurek wrote: "This is an exhausting yet exhilarating set to take in at one setting; it changes the listener's reality, turns it inside out for over 70 minutes, and allows one to hear, as music, some rather ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Evan Parker
Evan Shaw Parker (born 5 April 1944) is a British tenor and soprano saxophone player who plays free improvisation. Recording and performing prolifically with many collaborators, Parker was a pivotal figure in the development of European free jazz and free improvisation. He has pioneered or substantially expanded an array of extended techniques. Critic Ron Wynn describes Parker as "among Europe's most innovative and intriguing saxophonists...his solo sax work isn't for the squeamish." Early influences Parker's original inspiration was Paul Desmond. Parker soon discovered the music of John Coltrane, who would be the primary influence throughout his career. Other important early influences were free jazz artists Cecil Taylor, Albert Ayler and Jimmy Giuffre. Since the 1990s the influence of cool jazz saxophone players has also become apparent in his music, with Parker recording tributes to Warne Marsh and Lee Konitz on '' Time Will Tell'' (ECM, 1993) and '' Chicago Solo'' ( Okka ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Holywell Music Room
The Holywell Music Room is the city of Oxford's chamber music hall, situated on Holywell Street in the city centre, and is part of Wadham College. Built in 1748, it is said to be the oldest purpose-built music room in Europe, and hence Britain's first concert hall. History The Holywell Music Room, which is part of Wadham College, Oxford, was one of the earliest purpose built concert venues in the world and the first in Europe. Prior to the advent of concert halls, recitals would happen at private aristocratic venues, royal courts, or in churches. It was built in 1748, probably under the direction of William Hayes and it was designed by Dr Thomas Camplin, the vice-principal of St Edmund Hall. The venue was important for popularizing the music of Haydn in 18th century England. He was the most frequently performed composer during 1788–1791; at short notice he was unable to attend a planned visit to the venue while in Oxford in 1791. By 1836, the building was being used for p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oxford
Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest university in the English-speaking world; it has buildings in every style of Architecture of England, English architecture since late History of Anglo-Saxon England, Anglo-Saxon. Oxford's industries include motor manufacturing, education, publishing, science, and information technologies. Founded in the 8th century, it was granted city status in 1542. The city is located at the confluence of the rivers Thames (locally known as the Isis) and River Cherwell, Cherwell. It had a population of in . It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. History The history of Oxford in England dates back to its original settlement in the History of Anglo-Saxon England, Saxon period. The name � ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Free Improvisation
Free improvisation or free music is improvised music without any general rules, instead following the intuition of its performers. The term can refer to both a technique—employed by any musician in any genre—and as a recognizable genre of experimental music in its own right. Free improvisation, as a genre of music, developed primarily in the U.K. as well as the U.S. and Europe in the mid to late 1960s, largely as an outgrowth of free jazz and contemporary classical music. Exponents of free improvised music include saxophonists Evan Parker, Anthony Braxton, Peter Brötzmann, and John Zorn, composer Pauline Oliveros, trombonist George E. Lewis, guitarists Derek Bailey, Henry Kaiser and Fred Frith, bassists Damon Smith and Jair-Rohm Parker Wells and the improvising groups Spontaneous Music Ensemble and AMM. Characteristics In the context of music theory, free improvisation denotes the shift from a focus on harmony and structure to other dimensions of music, su ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Psi Records
Psi Records is an independent record label that was founded by saxophonist Evan Parker, and that focuses on free improvisation Free improvisation or free music is improvised music without any general rules, instead following the intuition of its performers. The term can refer to both a technique—employed by any musician in any genre—and as a recognizable genre of .... History Parker founded Psi in 2001 with the assistance of Martin Davidson of Emanem Records. Parker had previously co-founded Incus Records in 1970, but left the label in 1986, after which he recorded for Leo, FMP, Emanem, and ECM. According to Parker, he started the label because he "missed the feeling of overseeing a project from start to finish," and chose the name Psi "for all the associations with irrational numbers, golden ratios etc. but above all for the Psi phenomena which I am convinced are at the heart of improvised music making." From 2001 to 2012, Psi released nearly 90 CDs, after which ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael Gerzon
Michael Anthony Gerzon (4 December 1945 – 6 May 1996) is probably best known for his work on Ambisonics and for his work on digital audio. He also made a large number of recordings, many in the field of free improvisation in which he had a particular interest. Life After studying mathematics at the University of Oxford, Gerzon joined Oxford's Mathematical Institute working on axiomatic quantum theory, until his work in audio took him into working as a consultant. At university he already had a keen interest in both the theory and practice of recording, which he shared with a few fellow students including Peter Craven (the two were later the co-inventors of the soundfield microphone, and collaborated on many other projects). Over the next few years, this interest led to the invention of Ambisonics, which can be seen as a theoretical and practical completion of the work done by Alan Blumlein in the field of stereophonic sound. Although Ambisonics was not a commercial succes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Musical ensemble, bands. Initiated in 1991, the database was first made available on the Internet in 1994. AllMusic is owned by RhythmOne. History AllMusic was launched as ''All-Music Guide'' by Michael Erlewine, a "compulsive archivist, noted astrologer, Buddhist scholar, and musician". He became interested in using computers for his astrological work in the mid-1970s and founded a software company, Matrix, in 1977. In the early 1990s, as compact discs (CDs) replaced LP record, LPs and cassette (format), cassettes as the dominant format for recorded music, Erlewine purchased what he thought was a CD of early recordings by Little Richard. After buying it, he discovered it was a "flaccid latter-day rehash". Frustrated with the labeling, he res ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Encyclopedia Of Popular Music
''The Encyclopedia of Popular Music'' is an encyclopedia created in 1989 by Colin Larkin. It is the "modern man's" equivalent of the '' Grove Dictionary of Music'', which Larkin describes in less than flattering terms.''The Times'', ''The Knowledge'', Christmas edition, 22 December 2007 – 4 January 2008. It is published by the Oxford University Press and was described by ''The Times'' as "the standard against which all others must be judged". History of the encyclopedia Larkin believed that rock music and popular music were at least as significant historically as classical music, and as such, should be given definitive treatment and properly documented. ''The Encyclopedia of Popular Music'' is the result. In 1989, Larkin sold his half of the publishing company Scorpion Books to finance his ambition to publish an encyclopedia of popular music. Aided by a team of initially 70 contributors, he set about compiling the data in a pre-internet age, "relying instead on information ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Penguin Guide To Jazz
''The Penguin Guide to Jazz'' is a reference work containing an encyclopedic directory of jazz recordings on CD which were (at the time of publication) currently available in Europe or the United States. The first nine editions were compiled by Richard Cook and Brian Morton, two chroniclers of jazz resident in the United Kingdom. History The first edition was published in Britain by Penguin Books in 1992. Every subsequent two years, through 2010, a new edition was published with updated entries. The eighth and ninth editions, published in 2006 and 2008, respectively, each included 2,000 new CD listings. The title took on different forms over the lifetime of the work, as audio technology changed. The seventh edition was known as ''The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD'' while subsequent editions were titled ''The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings''. The earliest edition had the title ''The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD, LP and Cassette''. Richard Cook died in 2007, prior to the com ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
All About Jazz
''All About Jazz'' is a website established by Michael Ricci in 1995. A volunteer staff publishes news, album reviews, articles, videos, and listings of concerts and other events having to do with jazz. Ricci maintains a related site, ''Jazz Near You'', about local concerts and events. The Jazz Journalists Association voted ''All About Jazz'' Best Website Covering Jazz for thirteen consecutive years between 2003 and 2015, when the category was retired. In 2015, Ricci said the site received a peak of 1.3 million readers per month in 2007. Another source said that the site has over 500,000 readers around the world. Ricci was born in Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ..., Pennsylvania, United States. He heard classical and jazz from his father's music coll ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Fordham (jazz Critic)
John Fordham is a British jazz critic and writer. As well as being the main jazz critic for ''The Guardian'', he publishes a monthly column for the newspaper. He is the author of several books on jazz, and has reported on it for publications including '' Time Out'', ''City Limits'', '' Sounds'', ''Jazz UK'' and ''The Wire''. He is a former editor of ''Time Out'', ''City Limits'' and ''Jazz UK''. He has contributed to documentaries for radio and television, as well as regularly to BBC Radio 3's programme ''Jazz on 3''. Awards Fordham has won the Parliamentary Jazz Awards "Jazz Journalist of the Year" award three times since 2005. Selected bibliography *1986: ''Let's Join Hands and Contact The Living'' (Elm Tree Books) *1989: ''The Sound of Jazz'' (Hamlyn) *1991: ''Jazz on CD: the essential guide'' (Kyle Cathie) *1993: ''Jazz'' (Dorling Kindersley Dorling Kindersley Limited (branded as DK) is a British multinational publishing company specialising in illustrated reference bo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
