''All Is Always Now – Live at The Stone'' is a 2019 three-CD

box set A box set or (its original name) boxed set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists and bands ...

of live

improvised music Musical improvisation (also known as musical extemporization) is the creative activity of immediate ("in the moment") musical composition, which combines performance with communication of emotions and instrumental technique as well as spontaneous ...

performed by English guitarist

Fred Frith Jeremy Webster "Fred" Frith (born 17 February 1949) is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer, and improviser. Probably best known for his guitar work, Frith first came to attention as one of the founding members of the English avant-rock ...

with other musicians, including

Theresa Wong Theresa Wong (born March 31, 1976) is an American cellist, vocalist, composer and improviser in the field of experimental music. In 2013 she lived in the San Francisco Bay Area. Early life and education She was born in Schenectady, New York, Uni ...

Ikue Mori (born 17 December 1953), also known as Ikue Ile, is a drummer, electronic musician, composer, and graphic designer. Mori was awarded a "Genius grant" from the MacArthur Foundation in 2022. Biography Ikue Mori was born and raised in Japan. She sa ...

Pauline Oliveros Pauline Oliveros (May 30, 1932 – November 24, 2016) was an American composer, accordionist and a central figure in the development of post-war experimental and electronic music. She was a founding member of the San Francisco Tape Music Center ...

and

Laurie Anderson Laurel Philips Anderson (born June 5, 1947), known as Laurie Anderson, is an American avant-garde artist, composer, musician, and film director whose work spans performance art, pop music, and multimedia projects. Initially trained in violin and ...

. It was recorded between 2007 and 2016 at The Stone in New York City, and was released in March 2019 by

Intakt Records Intakt Records is an independent record label, based in Zürich. History The label was founded in 1986 by Patrik Landolt.Margasak, Peter (September 2013) "Intakt's Landolt Takes Long-Term Approach to Avant-Garde". ''Down Beat''. p. 16. In the ea ...

in Switzerland. Frith performed in 80 concerts at The Stone between 2006 and 2016 and Intakt called this collection "A decade-long adventure in improvisation". The titles of the songs are derived from ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' headlines on the day of each performance. The box set's liner notes are a 24-page booklet written by Frith, which includes an interview with Frith conducted by one of the performers, Theresa Wong. Remarking on this collection, Wong said:

I was struck by the musicality. What I mean by that is: there's this presence of songs and song forms – the music can be harmonic and melodic, there's noise, there's rhythm, a joyfulness, an exploration, a sensuality of sounds, but always underlining that is a musicality that feels to me like songs.

Reception

Reviewing ''All Is Always Now'' in ''NZZ am Sonntag'', the weekend edition of the Swiss newspaper ''

Neue Zürcher Zeitung The ''Neue Zürcher Zeitung'' (''NZZ''; "New Journal of Zürich") is a Swiss, German-language daily newspaper, published by NZZ Mediengruppe in Zürich. The paper was founded in 1780. It was described as having a reputation as a high-quality ne ...

'', Manfred Papst referred to Frith as a "wild guy" (''wilder Kerl'') who loves to experiment with noise and sound. He called the selection of concerts from The Stone featured on this triple-CD "a sensation", and was surprised at just how many different styles of music Frith and his collaborators play. Writing in ''

The New York City Jazz Record ''The New York City Jazz Record'' is a monthly New York City based publication that includes features, reviews and concert announcements regarding jazz music. It is available in print form (black and white hardcopy) as well as online at www.nycjazz ...

'', Mark Keresman described the sounds in the box set as an assortment of "jubilant ndwhimsical noise", "droning" and "song-like tapestries". The found and homemade instruments Frith and Tewari use on their tracks produce "a roughhewn, amiably dissonant collage of sonic shards (dis)assembled for the sheer joy of it". Keresman said some of the pieces sound like "the soundtrack to a movie thriller yet to be made". On "Evidence" Frith and Anderson produce notes that "build and release tension" like "an

Ennio Morricone Ennio Morricone (; 10 November 19286 July 2020) was an Italian composer, orchestrator, conductor, and trumpeter who wrote music in a wide range of styles. With more than 400 scores for cinema and television, as well as more than 100 classica ...

film score". Georges Tonla Briquet remarked on the Belgian jazz website, JazzHalo that the only thread linking the collection's diverse tracks is that the music is completely unrehearsed and improvised. He said while there is plenty of noise and unusual sounds, there are many quiet and delicate sections. He found it "claustrophobic" at times, but also "surprisingly transparent". Briquet added that the album is long and even "seasoned fans" may find it a little excessive.

Track listing

All titles performed at The Stone on the dates indicated; all titles composed by the performers. Sources:

Liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are desce ...

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

Personnel

– piano (track 1.1), home-made instruments (tracks 1.5, 2.1, 2.6, 3.7), acoustic guitar and voice (tracks 2.2, 2.5), electric guitar (all other tracks) *Nava Dunkelman – percussion *Amma Ateria – electronics *Jason Hoopes – electric bass (track 1.2), double bass (track 3.1) *Jordan Glenn – drums *

Jessica Lurie Jessica Lurie is an American composer, performance artist and woodwind player,Hudson, J.J. (29 January 2004)Jazz musician to bring one of her three avant-garde groups to Chico ''Chico Enterprise-Record'' originally hailing from Seattle and now liv ...

– alto saxophone *

– cello, voice, electronics *Annie Lewandowski – piano *

– electronics *Nate Wooley –

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

*Sudhu Tewari – recuperated junk *

– re-tuned accordion *Else Olson Storesund – prepared piano *

Sylvie Courvoisier Sylvie Courvoisier (born 30 November 1968) is a composer, pianist and improviser. Career Courvoisier, originally from Lausanne, Switzerland, has lived in Brooklyn, New York for years. She has led several groups over the years, recorded 10 albu ...

– piano *

Shelley Hirsch Shelley Hirsch (born June 9, 1952 in Brooklyn, New York (state), New York) is an American vocalist, performance artist, composer, improviser, and writer. She won a DAAD Residency Grant in Berlin 1992, a Prix Futura award in 1993, and multiple awards ...

– voice *Clara Weil – voice *

Evan Parker Evan Shaw Parker (born 5 April 1944) is a British tenor and soprano saxophone player who plays free improvisation. Recording and performing prolifically with many collaborators, Parker was a pivotal figure in the development of European free ja ...

– saxophone *

– violin, keyboards, electronics *

Gyan Riley Gyan Riley (born 1977) is an American guitarist and composer. He is a son of minimalist composer Terry Riley. They frequently collaborate, including a tour in Europe in September 2016. Gyan Riley studied at San Francisco Conservatory of Music. He ...

– electric guitar *

Miya Masaoka Miya Masaoka (born 1958, Washington, DC) is an American composer, musician, and sound artist active in the field of contemporary classical music and experimental music. Her work encompasses contemporary classical composition, improvisation, ele ...

–

koto Koto may refer to: * Koto (band), an Italian synth pop group * Koto (instrument), a Japanese musical instrument * Koto (kana), a ligature of two Japanese katakana * Koto (traditional clothing), a traditional dress made by Afro-Surinamese women * K ...

, electronics

Sound and artwork

Recorded at The Stone, New York City between 2007 and 2016. Mixed at Jankowski SoundFabrik, Esslingen, Germany on February 27, 28 and March 1, 2018. *Ben Young – recording engineer (track 2.7) *Joe Lizzi – recording engineer (track 2.7) *Shane Brown – recording engineer (tracks 2.3, 2.6, 3.3, 3.6) *Else Olsen Storesund – recording engineer using a video camera (tracks 2.2, 2.5) *Jeremiah Cymerman – recording engineer (all other tracks) *Peter Hardt – creative engineer (mixing, enhancing) *

– liner notes *Jonas Schoder – graphic design *Heike Liss – photography Sources:

Footnotes

References

External links

''All Is Always Now''
at

''All Is Always Now'' reviews
at Intakt Records {{DEFAULTSORT:All Is Always Now 2019 live albums Fred Frith live albums Live free improvisation albums