''Inscape–Tableaux'' is an album by bassist

Barry Guy Barry John Guy (born 22 April 1947, in London, England) is an English composer and double bass player. His range of interests encompasses early music, contemporary composition, jazz and improvisation, and he has worked with a wide variety of or ...

. It was recorded on May 18 and 19, 2000, at

Rote Fabrik Rote Fabrik () is a former factory in the Wollishofen neighbourhood of Zurich, Switzerland. It is now used as a music venue and cultural centre. It is so named because the buildings are made of red brick, but also because left-wing parties w ...

in Zürich, Switzerland, and was released in 2001 by Intakt Records. On the album, which features a seven-part composition by Guy, he plays bass and directs members of his New Orchestra:

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 ...

and

Mats Gustafsson Mats Olof Gustafsson (born 29 October 1964) is a Swedish free jazz saxophone player. Career Gustafsson came to the attention of lovers of improvised music as part of a duo with Christian Munthe (started in 1986), as member of Gunter Chris ...

on saxophone, Hans Koch on saxophone and clarinet,

Herb Robertson Clarence C. "Herb" Robertson (February 21, 1951 – December 10, 2024) was an American jazz trumpeter and flugelhornist. He was born in Plainfield, New Jersey, on February 21, 1951, and attended the Berklee College of Music. He recorded solo alb ...

on trumpet, Johannes Bauer on trombone, Per Åke Holmlander on tuba,

Marilyn Crispell Marilyn Crispell (born March 30, 1947) is an American jazz pianist and composer. Scott Yanow described her as "a powerful player... who has her own way of using space... She is near the top of her field." Jon Pareles of ''The New York Times'' ...

on piano, and

Paul Lytton Paul Lytton (born 8 March 1947, London) is an England, English free jazz and free improvisation, free improvising percussionist. Lytton began on drums at age 16. He played jazz in London in the late 1960s while taking lessons on the tabla from ...

and Raymond Strid on percussion. Guy recalled: "One of the impulses of putting together the band was to bring together acquaintances I've made in duo and trio situations – within the band, you have the Parker/Guy/Lytton trio, my trio with Mats Gustafsson and... Raymond Strid and the trio with Marilyn Crispell and Lytton... The process of having these concerts and rehearsals together in such a concentrated way caused these various languages we have articulated over the years to converge as we built the piece."

Reception

In a review for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

, Steve Loewy wrote: "There are so many levels on which this magnificent set of performances... can be appreciated... For one thing, there is Guy's brilliant writing, which permits the players... to flourish through individual solo contributions wrapped around kernels and flashes of magical insights... At heart, Guy is a landscape artist who paints broadly and passionately, but who pays careful attention to details... In the end, it is the broad strokes, the vision, the grandeur that most impress. A magnificent achievement." The authors of the ''

Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings ''The Penguin Guide to Jazz'' is a reference work containing an encyclopedic directory of jazz recordings on compact disc, CD which were (at the time of publication) currently available in Europe or the United States. The first nine editions wer ...

'' awarded the album 3½ stars, and stated: "this beautifully constructed piece is perfectly weighted for these forces... Guy's conception unfolds organically and with an internal logic... It's an intensely powerful experience." Writing for ''One Final Note'', Alan Jones called the music "wonderfully complicated," "in a class by itself," and "an astonishing accomplishment that should be experienced."

Track listing

Composed by Barry Guy. # "Part I" – 14:42 # "Part II" – 5:32 # "Part III" – 10:38 # "Part IV" – 8:38 # "Part V" – 6:05 # "Part VI" – 10:26 # "Part VII" – 10:40

Personnel

– director, bass *

– saxophone *

– saxophone * Hans Koch – saxophone, clarinet *

– trumpet * Johannes Bauer – trombone * Per Åke Holmlander – tuba *

– piano *

– percussion * Raymond Strid – percussion

References

2001 albums Barry Guy albums Intakt Records albums {{DEFAULTSORT:Inscape-Tableaux