Following the critical acclaim for drummer Eddie Prévost’s bold series of recorded concerts in 2011, join us for this unique monthly live series, revisiting the Meetings With Remarkable Saxophonists recordings and discovering how the music has evolved.
John Butcher tenor and soprano saxophones, Guillaume Viltard double bass, Eddie Prévost drums
“Of course Prevost and Butcher are long accustomed to working with each other, the former’s singular blend of momentum and texture a marvelous analogue to the saxophonist’s own playing… with tuned toms, and moves quickly into popping, lipsmacking sax and burbling pizzicato, making for a good old free jazz romp for starters. But there’s also such a sheerly avian quality, at times evolving into a menacing spitfire It’s clear that the sympathy between Butcher and Prévost is where the action is. But thankfully the bassist subsequently proves me wrong with a truly sizzling arco solo – bold and confessional at once – midway through the 28-minute closing section.” — Jason Bivins, Point of Departure
“The free jazz comparison applies best in All But. … The configuration is the classic sax-bass-drums trio and Prévost embraces it with gusto. His playing here is as dynamic as his work with AMM but the starting point, volume-wise, is quiet different; he gets quiet, but rarely silent. Above all, he’s playing drums! And play he does, pushing the music forward, opening avenues for the other players, and making them sound damned good, just the way a drummer should. Viltard, until now an unknown to me, seems to understand Prévost’s intentions quite well; he constructs load-bearing structures within whatever
rhythmic or energy system the drummer generates, rarely drawing attention to himself, but always making the music feel more solid. Butcher steps forward, never playing like Sonny did, but towering nonetheless….shooting laser beam high frequencies and spiraling, lengthy ribbons that dart with the unpredictability of a swallow banking inside a dust devil. Without compromising his essential self, he contributes to the unstoppable victory of this lively and swinging music.” — Bill Meyer, Signal to Noise
Eddie Prévost
“His free drumming flows superbly making use of his formidable technique, but his most startling feature is his stylelessness. It’s as though there had never been an Elvin Jones or Max Roach.” — Melody Maker
Guillaume Voltard
It is his eclectic appetite for collaboration across the whole spectrum of improvised music as well as his resolutely unamplified and powerfully physical playing that marks Viltard out as one of the most interesting musicians to emerge from London’s fertile improvised and experimental scene in the last few years.
