Release Date: 19 June 2020
Label: ECM
Packaging Type: Jewel Case
No of Units: 1
Barcode: 093228082125
Genres: Jazz Contemporary
Description
Wrestling with the notion of balancing both formal construction and creative spontaneity has allowed Scott
Fields (b. 1952) to compose a powerful body of work with ties to extramusical concerns from the realms of
literature, philosophy, and science.
Seven Deserts (2019), rather than operating from a fixed narrative structure with predetermined events, lays out the ground rules for a manifestation that is absolutely identical in every performance in its operations and sonic vocabulary, but with each realisation completely unique in internal detail and musical interaction.
Improvisation fleshes out the structure yet also embeds itself in the musical foundation to help determine the overall shape. The conductor is improvising to the same extent that the individual players are and may set forces in motion, allow them to work, and then, based on the results, initiate the next iteration.
By recording Seven Deserts in the performance hall in Cologne, both with and without an audience, Fields was able to have the best of both worlds. Listening through the set, one hears deserts in full bloom: vivacious, juicy, and ripe with the players’ interactions, virtuosic solo outings, and varied sonic environments.
Fields has chosen his players wisely, an orchestra of virtuosic soloists, including members of Ensemble Musikfabrik
and other new music groups from Cologne, as well as freelancers drawn both from the region and other corners
of the world.
Tracklisting
The Lyris Quartet; Cedric Berry, Alyssa Park, Timothy Loo, Michael Matsuno, Jon Stehney, Sidney Hop
Present Music, Ariadne Greif, David Bloom
Trygve Seim; Frode Haltli
Tord Gustavsen Trio
Marilyn Crispell; Gary Peacock; Paul Motian
Lucian Ban; Mat Maneri
Louis Sclavis; Benjamin Moussay
Keith Jarrett; Gary Peacock; Paul Motian
Scott Fields Ensemble
