Kraków 2018

by Barry Guy

About This Release

A landmark document of contemporary improvised music, this five-disc box set captures British bassist Barry Guy in the company of an international cast of collaborators across three days in Kraków, October 2018. Recorded at the intimate Alchemia Club and at Radio Kraków, the collection charts Guy's remarkable stylistic range, from intense duos and shifting small-group improvisations to the world premiere of his large-ensemble composition For To End Yet Again.

The first four discs document Guy's working method in real time, pairing him with trusted comrades including pianist Agustí Fernández, saxophonists Mette Rasmussen, Ken Vandermark and Torben Snekkestad, trumpeter Percy Pursglove, drummers Paul Lytton and Ramón López, and electric bassist Rafał Mazur. These performances range from telekinetic post-bop interplay to no-holds-barred free improvisation, while the rare Vandermark–Guy duets offer a moment to cherish. The closing disc presents the full eleven-piece ensemble, joined by baroque violinist Maya Homburger, in a luminous, string-centered work woven with miniatures by György Kurtág.

Throughout, Guy proves a generous presence, often stepping back to let his collaborators shine. The result is a brilliant overview of one of improvised music's most restless and inventive artists.

Line-up

CD#1 Alchemia Club
1. Improv 1 28:52 (Lopezdr// Mazur, el-b // Pursglove, tp)
2. Improv 2 07:01 (Lopezdr// Mazur, el-b // Pursglove, tp)
3. Improv 3 07:52 (Aurora Trio: Fernándezp // Guy, db // López,perc, cym)
4. Improv 4 10:18 (Aurora Trio // Rasmussensax)
CD#2 Alchemia Club
1. Improv 1 05:00 (Vandermarksax // Guy, db)
2. Improv 2 04:01 (Vandermarksax // Guy, db)
3. Improv 3 22:39 (Pursglovetp // Vandermark, sax // Guy, db // Lytton, perc, cym)
4. Improv 4 05:42 (Pursglovetp // Vandermark, sax // Guy, db // Lytton, perc, cym)
CD#3 Alchemia Club
1. Improv 1 33:27
(Snekkestadsax, tp // Fernández, p // Guy, db)
2. Improv 2 08:23 (Guydb // López, dr // Mazur, el-b)
3. Improv 3 08:04 Guy // López // Mazur
4. Improv 4 04:15 Guy // López // Mazur
CD#4 Alchemia Club
1. Improv 1 04:09 (Vandermarksax // Rasmussen, sax // Snekkestad, sax, tp)
2. Improv 2 06:14 (Vandermarksax // Rasmussen, sax // Snekkestad, sax, tp)
3. Improv 3 06:16 (Vandermarksax // Rasmussen, sax // Snekkestad, sax, tp)
4. Improv 4 24:31 (Rasmussensax// Guy, db // Lytton, perc cym)
5. Improv 5 16:06 (Rasmussensax// Guy, db // Lytton, perc cym) // Fernández, p // Pursglove, tp)
CD#5 Radio Kraków
1. For To End Yet Again 57:32 (composed by Barry Guyworld premiere performance)
Barry Guybass / director / composer
Maya Homburgerbaroque violin
Agustí Fernándezpiano
Percy Pursglovetrumpet
Mette Rasmussensaxophone
Torben Snekkestadsaxophone and reed trumpet
Mats Gustafssonsaxophone
Liudas Mockūnassaxophone
Rafał Mazurelectric bass
Paul Lyttonpercussion
Ramón Lópezpercussion

Critical Reception

With Barry Guy, you have no idea what the next album will bring, and that's as we like it.

<a href='https://www.freejazzblog.org/2023/02/barry-guy-and-friends-krakov-2018-not.html' target='_blank' rel='noopener' style='color:#c2622c;'>Read full review at The Free Jazz Collective</a>

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