Company 7 lp (Incus 30) Derek Bailey, Evan Parker, Anthony Braxton, Steve Lacy

$

60

Baron Elmo proudly presents a stunning lp of musical mastery that will blow your mind a dozen times over, courtesy of a one-time rotating ensemble of amazing improvisers, each a master musician in his own right, here pooling their talents as COMPANY: Company 7, a UK import released in 1978 by the sacred Incus label, now long unavailable. This lp was one of a series of recordings documenting the extraordinary sounds of Company Week, a now-defunct annual event (organized by Derek Bailey) that brought together a constantly shifting group of musicians for a few days of improvisation. In the act of discarding structure for complete musical freedom, the players assembled for the occasion often achieved explosive, intoxicating results. From 1976 to 1991, Incus Records released some of the finest Company groupings on lp, of which Company 7 was, naturally, the seventh. And what a fine pool of musicians was assembled for the occasion! They are: Derek Bailey (electric and acoustic guitar), Steve Lacy (soprano saxophone), Evan Parker (soprano and tenor saxophone), Leo Smith (trumpet and flute), Anthony Braxton (clarinet, alto and soprano saxophone), Lol Coxhill (soprano saxophone), Han Bennink (drums, viola, clarinet, banjo, etc.), Tristan Honsinger (cello), Steve Beresford (piano, guitar, etc.) and Maarten Altena (bass). The entire ensemble does not appear on any one piece… rather, this lp consists of two duos, two trios, two quartets and a quintet. The results are nothing short of electrifying, a selection of musical groupings exploring the possibilities of spontaneous sound from every imaginable angle. (Track Four, a quartet featuring the four reed players, is especially impressive, bracing as a cold slap of aftershave.) Let these intrepid musical travelers take you on a journey to the center of the mind not dreamt of in Ted Nugent's philosophy. This lp has been out of print for many years, and none of these performances has yet made it to CD. The cover shows definite signs of handling, including light ring wear and a weird scrape on the front along the left hand edge. The record itself, however, looks great – just a notch below near mint – and plays superbly.

A $3.00 charge will be added to the winning total for shipment within the USA, $7.00 to Mexico and Canada, $13.00 to anywhere else in the world. Thanks for the visit – hope to hear from you soon!

Track listing
AB/EP – the second of two pieces
TH/MR/SB/HB/DB – part of a longer piece
SL/EP/AB/LC – part of a longer piece
TH/LS – the second of two pieces
LC/AB/MR – first of three pieces
HB/LC/MR/TH – part of second of two pieces
EP/LS/DB – second of four pieces