Butcher/Lash/Russell
A new trio of remarkable improvisers, who first performed together in June 2009.
They combine intense investigations of their instruments' possibilities with bold but delicately poised interplay.
photo: Andy Newcombe
John Butcher ("The best saxophone player in the world." - Andy Moor, The Wire, June 2009) was born in Brighton and has lived in London since the late 1970s. He began playing the saxophone while studying physics at university. Since leaving academia to focus completely on music, he has developed his own style that embraces free improvisation and electronics, often distorting his sound until it is unrecognisable in the traditional sense. Over the years, Butcher has worked with musicians including Chris Burn, Derek Bailey and Phil Minton, as well as with John Stevens in what was the final version of the Spontaneous Music Ensemble. His recent Octet composition, Somethingtobesaid, was commissioned by the Huddersfield Festival, broadcast by BBC Radio 3 and released on his own label, Weight of Wax.
Bassist Dominic Lash ("endless efforts to veer left of every known note or chord" - Newcastle Journal) was born in Cambridge in 1980 and has since 2001 been part of the improvisational scenes in London and Oxford, where he is based. His regular collaborators include Tony Bevan, Pat Thomas, Philipp Wachsmann and Alex Ward. He was a member of the late Steve Reid's Ensemble, and is a member of The Convergence Quartet with Taylor Ho Bynum, Harris Eisenstadt and Alexander Hawkins, and also performs from time to time with Tony Conrad and Evan Parker.
photo: Helen Petts
Radical improvising guitarist John Russell has, since around 1977, concentrated exclusively on acoustic guitars ("Every sound from his steel-amplified guitar thus feels as if it is perceived in stark close-up" - One Final Note). He organises the monthly Mopomoso concerts - the longest running series on the London improvising scene. His current groups include trios with Evan Parker & John Edwards, and with Michel Doneda & Roger Turner. Russell and Butcher have a playing relationship that has lasted a quarter of a century - including duo concerts, a highly regarded trio with Phil Durrant, and larger groups.
Performances
Upcoming:
Previous:
10th December 2010 - Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra festival III, CCA Glasgow
15th August 2010 - Fete Quaqua, The Vortex, London
3rd June 2010 - Frakture, Bluecoat Arts Centre, Liverpool
2nd June 2010 - Star and Shadow Cinema, Newcastle
12th March 2010 - Rising Sun Arts Centre, Reading
11th March 2010 - Cafe Oto, London
10th March 2010 - Cube Cinema, Bristol
9th March 2010 - Fizzle, Lamp Tavern, Birmingham
21st June 2009 - Mopomoso, The Vortex, London