A child of the 70s

This LP almost makes you feel a little nostalgic. The agility of this bass playing, the nimble and at times wild actionism, a gesture of departure as we know it from the London free jazz scene, often tamed by structure that comes from new music. That was the 70s.

The British double bass player Barry Guy, who has lived in Switzerland with his wife, violinist Maya Homburger, for a long time, has performed in several scenes, including baroque music. He has performed in Donaueschingen several times. And here everything comes together in a unique way. The one-and-a-half LP (with A, B and C sides) has a few surprises in store.

Only Iannis Xenakis' Theraps has become a classic with its bruitistic and playful power. The other four composers, although they are all still alive, have faded somewhat into the background; it is worth rediscovering them. They knew how to use Guy's improvisational and theatrical qualities in a variety of ways: Bernard Rands, for example, with Memo or John Anthony Celona with Voicings. The voice of the double bass player joins in, whispering and whistling. The Italian Luca Lombardi has composed a political Essay with a quote from Paul Dessau, and the South Tyrolean Hubert Stuppner wrote with Expressions a rondo for a clown - which is wonderfully illustrated with photos in this LP edition: Here, the bass is playing away with itself from the tape - a fine example of the exuberant vitality that instrumental theater still possessed in those years.

Is that a thing of the past? In any case, it takes a virtuoso like Barry Guy, who incidentally has also created magnificent score graphics. Anaclasis from 2002, the only own and more recent work, realized here with his bass colleague Stefano Scodanibbio, is one of them: it opens up a rich playing field for the two musicians.

Barry Guy Plays. Luca Lombardi, Hubert Stuppner, Iannis Xenakis, Bernard Rands, John Anthony Celona and Barry Guy. Barry Guy, double bass. Maya Recordings MLP 2401