EVAN PARKER - Free Zone Appleby 2002 + Free Zone Appleby 2003 (2003-2004) 3CD | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

 Free Zone Appleby 2002
(2003, psi – psi 03.02/3) 2CD
This double-CD set documents the "Free Zone" feature of the 2002 Appleby Jazz Festival. All these performances were captured live at the acoustically rich St. Michael's Church in Appleby (England). A pool of eight free improvisers, some well-known (Evan Parker, Philipp Wachsmann, Marcio Mattos, John Edwards, Mark Sanders) and others still cruelly under-recorded (Neil Metcalfe, John Rangecroft, Sylvia Hallett), spontaneously combine their skills in a series of ad hoc duets, trios, quartets, and a final octet. It is not said if the pieces are presented in the order of performance, but considering the symmetry with which each disc unfolds, one guesses that some editing and sequencing came into play to make the listening experience more pleasurable. Each CD starts with a solo performance: Hallett's captivating voice-and-violin dirge "Whitethroat" and Edwards' bass solo "Pin Drop." Then the groups gradually grow larger. With a total duration of over 150 minutes, Free Zone Appleby 2002 is a generous set, too generous for a single sitting (the sequencing of the discs as separate entities comes in handy), and highlights abound. But the two outstanding pieces are provided by the rhythm section (using the term oh so loosely) of Edwards and Sanders as they engage with Rangecroft in "Subject Matters" and Hallett in "Phantoms." They gracefully adapt their playing to these two very different musicians -- Rangecroft being a more pragmatic, intellectual player, while Hallett operates on a more atavistic or spiritual level. After such focused music, "Morsman Octet" comes as a light disappointment: the group has a hard time getting the music to flow effortlessly. But that's hardly a turnoff, only a somehow anticlimactic finale. François Couture  
Tracklist :
1-1    Gong (For Phil Seamen)    0:16
1-2    Whitethroat    17:17
1-3    Re Eden    9:53
1-4    Subject Matters    16:31
1-5    Dunsany    14:06
1-6    Ferber String Quartet    20:09
2-1    Pin Drop    15:03
2-2    Sense    9:19
2-3    Phantoms    10:56
2-4    Pica Pica    7:28
2-5    Mgt4all    15:08
2-6    Morsman Octet    16:16
Credits :
Bass – John Edwards (pistas: 1-4, 1-6, 2-1, 2-3, 2-6)
Cello – Marcio Mattos (pistas: 1-5, 1-6, 2-4 to 2-6)
Clarinet – John Rangecroft (pistas: 1-3 to 1-5, 2-6)
Flute – Neil Metcalfe (pistas: 1-5, 2-2, 2-5, 2-6)
Painting [Paintings] – Phil Morsman
Percussion – Mark Sanders (pistas: 1-4, 2-3, 2-5, 2-6)
Soprano Saxophone – Evan Parker (pistas: 1-1, 1-3, 2-6)
Violin, Electronics – Philipp Wachsmann (pistas: 1-6, 2-2, 2-6)
Violin, Voice, Sarangi – Sylvia Hallett (pistas: 1-2, 1-5, 1-6, 2-3 to 2-6)

Free Zone Appleby 2003
(2004, psi – psi 04.05)
This release from PSI Records has all the markings of its affiliated and prestigious Emanem label: a stable of (mostly) London-based free-style improvisers who are associated with Emanem; extraordinary musicianship, with all the music freely improvised; and very good recording fidelity. Taken from the Appleby Jazz Festival in 2003, the collection centers around the string quartet of bassist John Edwards, violinists Sylvia Hallett and Philipp Wachsmann, and cellist Marcio Mattos, with eight musicians in the aggregate participating, including the well-known Evan Parker and Kenny Wheeler. The groups are varied, so that there are a couple of duos, and various quartets and quintets. While the quality of the performances is uniformly high, and there are wonderful moments almost everywhere, it is perhaps surprising that the best tracks (such as "S4-1"), that is, those that challenge the listener the most and contain the most variety emotionally, are the ones featuring the core string quartet. The finely executed "S4/TC-2," in which Tony Coe's clarinet melds gently with the hushed cries of the string quartet, presents a distinctly sophisticated and tuneful chamber feel, something that characterizes much of the album. Wheeler is a strong addition to the few tracks on which he plays, focusing on a genre of lyrical free improvisation in which he is most effective. Evan Parker's appearances are slightly disappointing, if only because he appears so infrequently and his anticipated duo with Wheeler on "W2-1" is somewhat of a letdown. Nonetheless, the album does offer the opportunity to hear him in different contexts than usual. While hardly indispensable, Free Zone Appleby offers yet another glimpse into the astonishingly creative world of British free improvisation. Steve Loewy
Tracklist :
1    S4-1 3:14
2    S4/TC-1 4:58
3    S4-2 5:05
4    W2-1 4:56
5    S4/KW-1 2:42
6    S4-3 4:12
7    S4/EP 5:18
8    S4-4 8:13
9    W2-2 3:13
10    S4/KW-2 7:47
11    S4-5 6:32
12    S4/TC-2 3:19
13    W4/JE 8:53
14    S4/AH 7:16
Credits :
Bass – John Edwards
Cello – Marcio Mattos
Clarinet – Alan Hacker, Tony Coe
Flugelhorn –  Sylvia Hallett
Painting – Phil Morsman
Soprano Saxophone – Evan Parker
Violin, Electronics – Philipp Wachsmann
Violin, Voice, Sarangi – Sylvia Hallett