I’m delighted to announce the release of a duo album with one of the greatest improvising bassists in the world, John Edwards. The album is a live recording, called ‘At Iklectik’ and released by Confront.
Here’s what I wrote for the record label’s site –
“The very first improv gig I did on double bass was opening for the Sunny Murray trio with John Edwards and Tony Bevan at the Green Room in Manchester. I was already a huge fan of John’s playing, and had heard him live several times, most memorably in trio with Peter Brotzmann and Mark Sanders in Leeds. I was massively impressed by his huge sound, his inventiveness, his energy and the sheer force of propulsion that he always brings to playing situations. As one can imagine, as a brand new bassist I was pretty nervous about playing before him. John was incredibly generous, kind and supportive, talking to me at length about music and the double bass. Through the years he has certainly been the bassist I’ve heard live the most frequently, and a constant source of inspiration, friendly advice and support – although there was a period when I felt I should avoid going to hear him for a while, not wanting his influence to be too all-pervasive!
When Tom Ward invited me to do a duo set with another string player as an opening set for his fantastic saxophone quartet, it seemed a perfect opportunity to play duo with John for the first time. The set was as much fun as I had hoped, and the results are what you are about to hear…”
You can buy the album from Confront’s website here, or John and I should both have copies for sale at gigs soon…
Olie Brice 