Label: Treader

テレク・ベイリーのIncusより氏とのデュオ録音をリリース、その他英老舗Discus MusicやEmanemに諸作を残し、London Improvisers Orchestraにも所属していた英国の名プレイヤーAlex Ward。英Treaderより出版したクラリネット・ソロ録音[Cremated Thoughts]。大きく4つのセグメントに分かれたセットが収録されており、あらゆる演奏の理屈を無視したテクニックと妙なシーケンスによる過激な表現を展開。もはや動物達の喧騒を聞いているかの様。お馴染み、ジャケットにはゴールドの箔押しを施した美しい紙スリーヴ仕様。





Very much in the tradition of Anthony Braxton's seminal For Alto, or Evan Parker's Monocerous, this wonderful new album by clarinettist Alex Ward is improvised free jazz at its most unencumbered and radical, charting a solitary musician's excursion into pure expression. Divided into four segments, this set was committed to tape at Abbey Road Studios at the beginning of the year, taking in all manner of logic defying techniques and virtuosic sequences, as well as stretching the parameters of what's actually possible with a reed instrument. Thankfully it's not all about technique, and Ward's improvisation can be absolutely beautiful - lyrical even - when he's not mimicking an enraged mallard. Splendid.