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Freedom of the City 2010

By Ken Waxman
June 19, 2010
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"To Thine Self Be True" is lettered above the stage at Conway Hall where London's annual Freedom of the City (FOTC) festival took place May 2nd-3rd. Although related to the philosophy of the Humanist Society that built the edifice, the slogan can be applied to the 16 sets that made up the festival.
Organized about a decade ago by saxophonist

Evan Parker

saxophone, soprano
b.1944

" data-original-title="" title="">Evan Parker and percussionist

Eddie Prevost

drums
b.1942

" data-original-title="" title="">Eddie Prevost to showcase the city's vibrant improvising scene, FOTC today welcomes players from the Continent, North America and the United Kingdom. Participants ranged from soprano saxophonist

Lol Coxhill

saxophone, soprano
b.1932

" data-original-title="" title="">Lol Coxhill, 77 and American trumpeter Ishmael

Wadada Leo Smith

trumpet
b.1941

" data-original-title="" title="">Wadada Leo Smith, 67, to younger participants in Prevost's improv workshop.
One first-class demonstration of FOTC's mix'n'match philosophy was London guitarist

John Russell

guitar
1954 - 2021

" data-original-title="" title="">John Russell's Quaqua, consisting of musicians he plays with elsewhere, but that never work together. Pianist Chris Burns, synthesizer player Matthew Hutchinson, violinist Satoko Fukuda and trumpeter

Henry Lowther

trumpet
b.1941

" data-original-title="" title="">Henry Lowther are British; alto saxophonist Stefan Keune is German and soundsinger Jean-Michel Van Schouwburg Belgian. Shifting among Russell's licks that ranged from rhythm guitar strums to twangs plus fiddle scrapes and bell-like twitters from the synth, the interface made room for bursts of trumpet lyricism, unaccented air from the saxophonist and slides, stops and strums from the piano's internal strings propelled by mallets and an e-bow. Expressively reflecting the split-second decisions that go into group improvising was Van Schouwburg's facial expressions, which contorted differently whether he was soothingly lullabying, Apache yelling or duck quacking.
German vocalist Ute Wassermann was less flamboyant but as expressive during her meeting with British electronic manipulators Adam Bohman and Paul Obermayer plus percussionist Phillip Marks. Marks' output included rim shots, snare pops and drum-top rubs, leaving ample space for electronic crackles, hisses and reverberations. Meanwhile Wassermann—whose gymnastics ranged from mouth-widening cries to bel-canto warbles—ensured that her improvs were in sync with the others' sonic shifts.

Percussion sounds were more upfront when South African

Louis Moholo-Moholo

drums
1940 - 2025

" data-original-title="" title="">Louis Moholo-Moholo and Briton

Steve Noble

drums
b.1960

" data-original-title="" title="">Steve Noble combined with Wadada. Although more jazz-oriented than most FOTC improvisations, this was no Rich vs. Roach face-off. Instead either could elaborate on any rhythm, with Moholo-Moholo's smacked ruffs and tympani-like resonations toughening the beat, which was redefined by Noble's vibration of undersized cymbals on drum tops, swishes through the air of what resembled palm fronds or bare-handed bongo-like pops. Blasting a bright tone or trilling rubato through a Harmon mute, the trumpeter eventually settled on staccato bugle-like tones after the drummers' rhythms hardened his more sedate lines.

Smith's musical adaptability was highlighted in two other situations: as featured soloist in a concerto backed by the 40-member London Improvisers Orchestra (LIO) and as part of FOTC's concluding set with clarinetist Alex Ward, guitarist John Coxon, keyboardist Pat Thomas and drummer

Paul Lytton

drums
b.1947

" data-original-title="" title="">Paul Lytton.

Unlike the conductions and group improvisations that made up the remainder of the LIO's set, which lurched from passages of controlled tutti dissonance to miniature set pieces for, among others, Charlotte Hug's spirited violin runs or Coxhill's understated off-centre lyricism, the Smith piece was as interconnected as a Gil Evans arrangement. Smith's splintered timbres floated as often as they popped, isolating his textures from the riffing reeds, lowing brass and the clamor created when three drummers, two guitarists, two pianists, a vibraphonist and three electronics manipulators play simultaneously.

Other notable meetings included a set by the Stellari String Quartet (violinists Hug and Philipp Wachsmann, cellist Marcio Mattos and bassist John Edwards), whose layered textures extended classic string ensemble strategies into atonality and multiphonics while retaining moments of lyricism, and the duo of tenor and soprano saxophonist

John Butcher

saxophone
b.1954

" data-original-title="" title="">John Butcher and percussionist

Mark Sanders

drums
b.1960

" data-original-title="" title="">Mark Sanders. Switching from one horn to the other and utilizing staccato pops, gravelly tones and a wide, round vibrato, Butcher's elongated flutters and reed bites enlivened either at mid-range, barely there or fortissimo. Sanders clattered, slapped and shook different parts of his kit, at one point stabilizing the interaction with military precision, at another not only whapping wood blocks, but using them instead of sticks.

Prevost played twice, notably eschewing the standard kit for an enormous gong and ancillary cymbals in a set with baritone saxophonist David O'Connor, violinist Jennifer Allum and Grundik Kasyansky on electronics. With the saxman expelling high-intensity tongue slaps and yelps; the fiddler striking her strings with the bow's frog when not scrubbing them and Kasyansky dislocating time with bursts of static, crackles and snatches of processed voices, Prevost maintained equilibrium, by sawing upon the gong, squeaking timbres from the tempered metal.

Parker played in a unique trio filled out by cellist Okkyung Lee and brassman

Peter Evans

trumpet

" data-original-title="" title="">Peter Evans, puffing, vocalizing and melodiously sounding his horn(s) with effects and to spectacular effect. With Lee's connective ostinato underneath, Evans' brass command was matched and reined in by Parker on tenor and soprano saxophone, demonstrating how tone-splintering and circular breathing could be amplified with lyrical twitters and peeps.

Also satisfying was the concluding quintet set. Mixing metallic twangs from Coxon's guitar, breakneck piano runs plus jagged synthesizer pumps from Thomas and steady clatter and cymbal scratches from Lytton, the stop-time improvisation reached a pitch of layered cacophony. Before that Ward extended his sound palate from purposely-whiny lines by blowing into his detached mouthpiece. Meanwhile Smith used vibrato buzzes to propel soaring triplets.

Told after that tune ended that the only time remaining was for a short piece, Smith unleashed a curt flourish of brassy insouciance then led the others off stage. Adding showmanship to the proceedings and confirming the slogan above the stage, the trumpeter summed up the festival and set the stage for future FOTCs.

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