DATE Saturday 9 June 2012
TIME 8.30 – 11pm
VENUE The Sound Lounge
TICKETS $25 / $20
(Non-Member, Member, Student)
book online or call 9351 7940
A formidable and extremely connected duo who demonstrate what can happen when two giants of the improvisation scene join forces.
“Complex but lyrical, Trevor Watts and Veryan Weston’s music is the kind of listening that easily transcends any boundary and/or genre. Improvisation here is approached in various ways: expert sax lines weaving around semi-consonant chords; percussive clatters in the high register of the piano are underlined by low breaths and mouth paralysing patterns; and many more. Both men come from distinguished careers in several artistic realms; both make sure to entertain us…”
TOUCHING EXTREMES
Trevor Watts, along with drummer John Stevens, saxophonist Evan Parker and bassist Barry Guy (among others) is acknowledged as one of the “godfathers� of British free jazz and improvisation, one of the most creative and influential streams that came from the 1960s. Influenced by Ornette Coleman, and staying within that kind of rhythmic orbit, Trevor Watts is a highly melodic player whose excursions into ‘total freedom’ were never as confrontational as many of his contemporaries though, in their own way, they were just as radical.
His partner Veryan Weston’s distinguished history in British music also goes back to the 1970s and while much of his career has been spent performing free jazz and impro, he also performs with distinction in more structured contexts as his work with saxophonist Andy Sheppard (they performed for SIMA in 1995) and the George Russell Orchestra shows.
A rare opportunity to experience two greats of the international jazz and improvisation scene in the intimacy of The Sound Lounge.
“Active now for more than 40 years, saxophonist Watts has carved out a multifaceted niche, assuming prominent roles with the Spontaneous Music Ensemble, Amalgam, Moiré Music and, more recently, The Celebration Orchestra. His music opens out on more than one front, embracing global sounds as well as jazz and free blowing….Pianist Weston is an impressive, idiosyncratic performer whose decidedly unlocked hands have goaded Lol Coxhill’s soprano and Phil Minton’s voice to some of their finest moments on record. On these six pieces Weston simultaneously supports and tests Watts, who responds with the kind of hard-won authority that arises only from the exercise of disciplined curiosity.”
JULIAN COWLEY – THE WIRE
Trevor Watts (alto & soprano saxophones)
Veryan Weston (piano)