hums, blasts, tics & scraping

Patrick Farmer/David Lacey/Daniel Jones  -  photo by PKM

Very pleased with the excellent music on offer last night at our first show of november at Phoenix Brighton.
MASS, a duo of dark clad gentlemen, started the evening off with a linear set of tone development interspersed with what appeared to be some kind of homemade breath operated instrument heavily time-processed I'm guessing.  Apart from that, I'm not sure exactly how their sounds were being produced, but an absorbing set with an esoteric undercurrent, perhaps.
Breath continued as a theme as the great bass saxophonist Tony Bevan followed with a highly technical, and physically demanding by the looks of it, solo display.  Bass sax is an unusual instrument in jazz and Mr Bevan is, to my ears, the top exponent in the UK if not everywhere.  He even demonstrated his technique (don't forget - a bass sax is a not inconsiderable-sized object) of playing with the mouthpiece full of water for a lucky few of us in the bar prior to doors opening.

Gus Garside & Dan Powell  [The Static Memories]  -  photo by PKM

The Static Memories (double bassist Gus Garside and electronics/guitar man Dan Powell) reprised their set at adcs in May with another extremely enjoyable performance rich in textural and gestural detail.  I really like the collision of a jazz career and experimental electronics of this duo.
After a short interval, we all decamped into the bar to witness the trio of Patrick Farmer, David Lacey and Daniel Jones and their tabletop devices.  Self-amplified by a means of a small speaker each, they first set some noises running for ten minutes, slowly increasing in quiet intensity, as the audience finished ordering drinks.  We all then seated ourselves and the trio commenced a score by Sam Sfirri.  This seemed to contain a good deal of "silent" passages which really focussed the audience, so much so that I felt I had to politely shoo some audible conversationalists out of the next room.  A further fifteen or so minutes of pure improvisation followed in more exuberant fashion to finish the evening to great appreciation.
I must also thank Daniel Spicer, he of jazz writings and his own Mystery Lesson radio programme, for his poems and announcements throughout the course of the evening.
Next Thursday; Iris Garrelfs, Stephen Cornford, Kostis Kilymis, Noteherder & McCloud and myself will be entertaining in the Phoenix main Gallery from 7:30pm.  All welcome...