Record Reviews

TONY OXLEY / ALAN DAVIE ~ ELABORATION OF PARTICULARS CONFRONT 20 ~ UK ~ Free Jazz / Improvised Music Recorded: 1977 - 1978 Released: 2021 This is an archival album by the British duo comprising of drummer / electronic music composer Tony OxleyFind albums by this artist and musician / painter Alan DavieFind albums by this artist, who plays piano, percussion and ring modulator on these studio recordings. The album presents eight tracks of freely improvised conversations between the two musicians. Oxley and Davie met in the early 1970s and played together for the entire decade, and later on stayed friends until Davie’s death in 2014. The music was recorded over a period of two years. In the brief liner notes Oxley describes the experience of performing with Davie as “another thing entirely”, which listening to the music herein perfectly describes. He also states that his music “has evolved and developed enormously” since… In retrospect the material sounds pretty evolved and developed already at that time, compared to what was happening in Jazz or Improvised Music, especially those involving electronics, at the time. Oxley and Davie were obviously pioneers of electro-acoustic Improvised Music, and the music they created together remains as fresh and innovative as it was at the time of the recording. Listening to these recordings raises quite complex questions as to the nature of music and obviously requires a much broader definition of music beyond melody, harmony and rhythm, which this music obviously lacks according to the norms of the traditional approach. This music is not only freely improvised, but it also employs unconventional sounds, which cannot be defined or even annotated in the conventional notation systems. And yet this music certainly boasts other aspects of music, like telepathic communication between the performers, high emotions and coherent aesthetics, creativity and inventiveness, all of which obviously cannot be written down on a piece of paper (or computer file). Therefore, for music lovers able to appreciate music beyond the obvious, music that demands open-mindedness and open heart, music that challenges and inspires cerebral activity, this is something they would not want to miss. Kudos to Mark WastellFind albums by this artist and his ConfrontFind albums on this label Recordings (confront indeed!) for swimming against the current and keeping life interesting, and Tony of course for opening the vaults - well done Gentlemen!

Updated: 23/07/2021Posted: 23/07/2021

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