Edwin Prévost (born June 22, 1942 in Hitchin) is an English drummer and percussionist. An important figure in the history of free improvisation, Prévost began as a jazz drummer before branching out into entirely improvised music. He was a co-founder of the group AMM, and remains its only constant member. Prévost has worked with several prominent jazz musicians, including saxophonist Lou Gare.
Born in Detroit, Michigan, in 1969, James Carter began playing saxophone at age 11, first recorded with a Detroit student ensemble in 1986 and, by 1991, had recorded with legendary trumpeter Lester Bowie on The Organizer and contributed to the 1991 collection The Tough Young Tenors. Mastering a family of reed instruments, from sopranino to contrabass saxophones to contrabass and bass clarinets, James Carter mesmerized the jazz world after arriving in New York City in 1988 to play under the auspices of Lester Bowie.
The ICP, or "Instant Composers Pool", Orchestra recorded relatively little, but achieved international acclaim for its sophisticated improvisations, ingenious interpretations of landmark composers such as Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk and for the band members' extraordinary level of musicianship. The Amsterdam-based group is a blend of European improvised music, jazz and the Dutch irreverent attitude, in general, which all combine into a highly sophisticated yet enjoyable music that has astonished and impressed music lovers for several decades.
A longtime member of The Sun Ra Arkestra, alto saxophonist Marshall Allen later assumed leadership of the group following the departures of Sun Ra and his immediate successor, John Gilmore. He was also a regular collaborator of Babatunde Olatunji, in the process emerging as one of the first jazz musicians to fuse the avant-garde with traditional African music. Allen was born May 25, 1924, in Louisville, KY, beginning clarinet lessons at the age of ten.
Agustí Fernández was born in Palma de Mallorca, where he studied piano. Later he continued his studies in Barcelona, France and Germany. His musical life changed when he discovered the music of Iannis Xenakis and Cecil Taylor, with whom he studied in 1978. His solo career exploded in the II Biennial of Young Artists Creators of Salonika (Greece) in 1987. He has performed in major festivals in Spain and Europe and composed music for dance, theater, film and television.
A marvellous free jazz trio/quartet comprising Alex von Schlippenbach, Evan Parker and Paul Lovens that has incredibly maintained group stability, artistic integrity and a staggering level of consistency and development over its period of 25 years.
"Marseille Figs produce a sordid amalgam of inebriated bubblegum, hi-tone honky tonk, tin pan alley, free jazz and punk. Melodic, chaotic, and sometimes ha-ha funny, their repertoire includes flophouse ballads, big booming piledrivers and lost soul singalongs." Marseille Figs are:
J. Maizlish
Dorian McFarland
Tom Chant