John Butcher's playing ranges through free improvisation, his own compositions, multitracked saxophone pieces and work with live electronics, amplification and feedback. He is well known as a solo performer, releasing 5 CDs of solo music. He started playing the saxophone whilst studying physics, but left academia in 1982 (after finishing a doctorate on charmed quarks) and went off with music - working with Chris Burn, John Russell, Phil Durrant, Paul Lovens and Radu Malfatti. He joined, in 1991, what became the final version of John Stevens' Spontaneous Music Ensemble; has played in a number of Derek Bailey's Company Weeks, and has worked in many contexts with singer Phil Minton, bassist John Edwards and various US musicians - such as Gerry Hemingway, Gino Robair, Fred Lonberg-Holm and Michael Zerang. Electronic music was an early influence on his approach to saxophone playing, and has become explicit in his electromanipulation duo with Phil Durrant, and the Austrian group Polwechsel, which also collaborates with Christian Fennez. Other recent groups include, Thermal with EX guitarist Andy Moor & synthplayer Thomas Lehn - a sax/bass/drums trio with Fabrizio Spera & John Edwards - and duos with Steve Beresford (electronics), and Rhodri Davies (harp). As an improviser Butcher continues to play in many occasional, sometimes just one-off encounters ranging from large groups such as - Butch Morris' London Skyscraper and the EX Orkestra - to duo concerts with Fred Frith, Jin Hi Kim, Toshimaru Nakamura and Derek Bailey.
www.johnbutcher.org.uk
Gerry Hemingway has been making a living as a composer and performer solo and ensemble music since 1974. He has led numerous groups, most recently his quartet with Ellery Eskelin, Ray Anderson and Mark Dresser as well collaborative groups with Mark Helias & Ray Anderson (BassDrumBone), Reggie Workman & Miya Masaoka (Brew), Georg Graewe & Ernst Reijseger (GRH trio), Marilyn Crispell & Barry Guy (CGH trio), duo w/Thomas Lehn, duo w/John Butcher and many others. Mr. Hemingway is a Guggenheim fellow and has received numerous commissions for chamber and orchestral work including "Terrains", a concerto for percussionist and orchestra commissioned by the Kansas City Symphony. He recently completed a two year recording project for the the German label, between the lines, entitled "Songs". www.gerryhemingway.com
mann and watson have a long standing on-going performing and recording project, which includes perfunctory publicity notices.