G l a s g o w I m p r o v i s e r s O r c h e s t r a P r e s s L i v e


	Home : GIO : Previous Work : Records : Links Reviews Live: The Herald December 18 2006 Instant music with considerable spark ROB ADAMS Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra CCA, Glasgow The late saxophonist Albert Ayler once memorably described his period of study at an august American seat of musical learning with the words "the first year I played clarinet, the second year I played ... golf." Nothing quite so flippant happened in Steve Beresford's concert with the Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra, but in the first half Beresford played piano and in the second he played the orchestra, with notably contrasting results. GIO has developed admirably in its relatively short existence, winning an international reputation and releasing two well-received recordings, and this outing with one of the chief architects of the European improvising scene establishes another landmark in a series of collaborations with figures of such repute. The collective's understanding allows spontaneous pieces to develop organically and the opening set, if at times a little static, produced attractive, underplayed ripples of sound. These ripples at one point grew into a massive, powerful and moving swell before the 20-strong ensemble showed remarkable discipline in letting the sound gradually fade. With Beresford wielding the baton and using hand signals and body language to cajole what he wanted from the musicians, the second set was a more mettlesome, restless and ultimately more consistently compelling affair. Pockets of instruments, including voice, would be invited to set up figures or chattering motifs and, depending on Beresford's inclination, washes of larger sounds, percussive exclamations, robust chords, quick-fire rhythms or elemental themes were added. Watching Beresford at work was just as fascinating as hearing the music his methods produced and the obvious concentration and responsiveness of the musicians lent something of a theatrical quality, as well as creating instant music with considerable spark. Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra, CCA, Glasgow ROB ADAMS December 19th 2005 At the end of a year which has seen collaborations with guitarist Fred Frith and vocalist Maggie Nicols added to their already impressive list of work with major figures from the musical world they inhabit, Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra could afford to look back with satisfaction and look ahead with justifiable anticipation. Their future may depend to some extent on the continued support of the CCAs incoming director as Graham McKenzie leaves to take over at Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival. On the evidence of this performance, though, the collective has much to offer as an in-house project. Collective is the word, too. The 16 musicians gathered here showed a genuine sensitivity towards the common good. There's no overplaying. Indeed, much of this music - moody, contemplative and impressionistic - was given only the lightest of touches. Presented in easily digested segments, the programme varied between free improvisations and pieces, such as the Japanese flavoured Isabella's Koyo, that suggested they were working to at least a skeletal prepared framework. Spokesman Raymond MacDonald occasionally stepped up-front to conduct staccato full-band punctuations. Otherwise, it was entirely self-policed, mixing performance art by way of a kind of origami-by-paper-shredder sequence and spinning mutes with plaintive trumpet moans against quietly industrious saxophones, guitars and percussion. With its membership drawn from jazz, experimental pop, folk and contemporary classical backgrounds and an instrumentation encompassing Scottish harp, voice and electronics, GIO can certainly claim to be multi-cultural. That it combines all these elements into such a well-tempered, if not perhaps always riveting output, can only be to its credit. At the end of a year which has seen collaborations with guitarist Fred Frith and vocalist Maggie Nicols added to their already impressive list of work with major figures from the musical world they inhabit, Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra could afford to look back with satisfaction and look ahead with justifiable anticipation. Their future may depend to some extent on the continued support of the CCAs incoming director as Graham McKenzie leaves to take over at Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival. On the evidence of this performance, though, the collective has much to offer as an in-house project. Collective is the word, too. The 16 musicians gathered here showed a genuine sensitivity towards the common good. There's no overplaying. Indeed, much of this music - moody, contemplative and impressionistic - was given only the lightest of touches. Presented in easily digested segments, the programme varied between free improvisations and pieces, such as the Japanese flavoured Isabella's Koyo, that suggested they were working to at least a skeletal prepared framework. Spokesman Raymond MacDonald occasionally stepped up-front to conduct staccato full-band punctuations. Otherwise, it was entirely self-policed, mixing performance art by way of a kind of origami-by-paper-shredder sequence and spinning mutes with plaintive trumpet moans against quietly industrious saxophones, guitars and percussion. With its membership drawn from jazz, experimental pop, folk and contemporary classical backgrounds and an instrumentation encompassing Scottish harp, voice and electronics, GIO can certainly claim to be multi-cultural. That it combines all these elements into such a well-tempered, if not perhaps always riveting output, can only be to its credit. Monday 15 Dec 2003 Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra To hear Saturday night's performance, you'd be hard pushed to guess that Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra has been extant for little over a year. To hear a 17-piece jazz group so new that could play not only with fluid invention, but with such coherence, is rare to say the least. The fact that they came together, however, in order to work with Evan Parker demonstrates their pedigree. Over the course of an hour and a half, they played six pieces which were as much about playing with your instruments (tapping its body; hitting it with a crushed-up plastic cup) as playing it. Rotating's Mexican wave of episodes - a trumpet and a lush double bass duet here, a spellbinding drum workout there - gave each member of the orchestra a chance to stand up and be counted. Echoes of Basil Kirchin's layered, atmospheric soundscapes and of Albert Ayloer's free approach were mixed in with more conventional, though no less inspired, tropes. In less skilled hands it might have fallen flat, but this was extraordinary stuff. Leon McDermott Sudeutsches Zeitung A beautiful second leg (return game?) The highpoint of the Munich jazz year could have happened without the public knowing were it not for the existence of some prominent names such as the British saxophone legend Evan Parker on the programme. Because of this the public was in the majority in the Einstein-Kulturzentrum when the 17 musicians of the Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra stepped onto the stage. On the invitation of the Kultureferats and the ICI Forum Munich, this unique Scottish orchestra, under the leadership of saxophonist Raymond McDonald, was heard in Munich for the first time. In May of this year, the Munich representatives of the ICI were guests of the CCA, home of the Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra (GIO), doing a joint workshop. There was musical and personal chemistry right from the start. The second leg of this Bavarian-Scottish music exchange in Munich started the evening before the concert with a workshop for improvisation ensembles (instrumental groupings…?). And these warmups showed their positive effect on the members of the orchestras from the outset. The purely acoustic Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra developed its improvisations in an extremely disciplined way, concentrated in six sections spanning two hours. Only two of these 'pieces' were based on relatively structured foundations of a composer. Otherwise the spontaneous formation of the music was created by the free playing of the collective. In playing together, the musicians understood how to make a concert full of suspense. The collaboration of the old master Parker naturally lent the whole evening a clamorous note. Besides that, the GIO has proven with this concert that even without prominent support it is in a position to play in the premier league of the international improvisation scene.