“A great anthem. Barry Guy’s Harmos resembles a musical manifesto – a work which sets structure and freedom in a dialectic field of tension and commits itself to one of the fundamental characteristics of music: melody. A celebration, a ceremony.”
Bert Noglik, Leipzig
credits
released January 1, 1989
Barry Guy: Bass, Director
Henry Lowther: Trumpet
Jon Corbett: Trumpet
Marc Charig: Cornet
Paul Rutherford: Trombone
Alan Tomlinson: Trombone
Radu Malfatti: Trombone
Evan Parker: Reeds
Trevor Watts: Reeds
Paul Dunmall: Reeds
Peter McPhail: Reeds
Simon Picard: Reeds
Steve Wick: Tuba
Phil Wachsmann: Violin
Howard Riley: Piano
Barre Phillips: Bass
Paul Lytton: Drums
Composition by Barry Guy. Recorded April 4 and 5, 1989 at Radio Studio DRS Zürich, Switzerland. Engineer: Peter Pfister. Cover art: Ruedi Wyss, Produced and published by Intakt Records, Patrik Landolt
The guitarists first solo album (like the actors first Hamlet) is a hoop that eventually has to be jumped through...and Mary Halvorson has finally risen to the challenge...a truly brilliant improviser and technician (I remember being knocked out by a performance she gave with Anthony Braxton in London),she has added layers of emotional and spiritual patina to those skills...the pre-release track here demonstrates all those qualities in spades...I see this release will include work by Noel Akchote (whose music plays a key part in my listening regime)...
So,until its release "I eat the air,promise crammed"...
Update! This album is now released and I can "count myself King of infinite riches"...this release catapults Mary Halvorson into a different league for me...wonderful,wonderful,wonderful! John Cratchley
The new album from Israeli-born and NY-based guitarist Gilad Hekselman centers on playing that is both melodic and percussive. Bandcamp New & Notable May 14, 2022
Acclaimed New Orleans bassist James Singleton taps a versatile sextet for eight extended doses of transcendent experimental jazz. Bandcamp New & Notable May 11, 2022
I really appreciate that with such a large group of musicians the overall sound and experience of listening is really spacious, never cluttered. The lovely recording helps that a lot, and of course the compositional aspects that make it breathe are superb- it gets more and more fun as I listen again and again. Jasper Skydecker