Evan Parker, Barry Guy and Paul Lytton meet in Barcelona. A trio concert in the «Auditorium» is on the agenda, the first one for months. «We hadn't seen each other for quite a while and were really looking forward to it», Barry Guy remembers. That their reunion should take place in Barcelona, was as obvious as the intention to record the evening's concert. However, nobody knew beforehand that sound engineer Ferran Conangla would hand over a glittering uncut gem at the end of the day from which a sapphire — Zafiro would develop.
Rough
«Sometimes live recordings can be quite magical», Barry Guy says in a kind of terseness impossible to translate. He and his partners attribute a magic to the «Barcelona Session», which is moving in its rareness – but which is surprising at the same time. After all Parker, Guy and Lytton have known each other for over 40 years, they are almost the same age and have nearly the same background (Parker comes from Bristol, Guy and Lytton from London). They have been playing together since the sixties: initially in the «Spontaneous Music Ensemble», then in the «London Jazz Composers Orchestra», up to the present day in the «Barry Guy New Orchestra» and in Evan Parker's «Electro-Acoustic Ensemble». Parallel to this, between and criss-crossing, in duo, trio and quartet formations. And for a good 25 years, as Parker – Guy – Lytton trio.
That such a magical moment is still possible - after such a long and intense collaboration - has something to do with Barcelona 2006 insofar as the preconditions were optimal at the time.
Barry Guy praises the atmosphere of the concert space and the attentive audience. The best basis for the musicians who, for their part, felt a special spirit. They had arrived with high expectations. From different directions, different soundscapes and emotional situations. Full of experiences, news and ideas to pass on to the others. And, at the same time, emptied in the sense of quiet, relaxed – and primed to get involved in a new adventure. To explore new ground, once again, as a trio.
Wild
Whoever listens to «Zafiro» today, is – even without this previous knowledge – both amazed and fascinated how as a matter of course and, at the same time, committed these three musicians/individuals «communicate» with each other. The start – precisely triggered by drumstick, bass chord and saxophone pads – sounds as if a door has opened, and as if we, the eavesdroppers, would burst in on an animated round of talks.
The three musicians in midst of exchange. In relaxed, almost comfortable mood. Then Parker, Guy and Lytton ascend steeply and quickly to an initial peak in the first short part of their set (2). It is amazing how free they are, how much intense unrestraint they allow themselves. These wild Señores, who are long regarded as masters of their art. Be it of the avant-garde, of research, tinkering – improvising. How was it Evan Parker used to define this kind of music? «The most important source of power lies in the development. The stronger and purer the music is, the more energy is generated from the playing process.»
Dense
In Barcelona, Parker, Guy and Lytton quickly noticed that «the spark was there» ( a rare pleasure even for the most well-rehearsed professional). Stimulated in such a way and secure at the same time, they played forcefully, but with precision. Virtuosic but with deliberation. Thrusting about but compact. Densely as, for example, in the first «deep inhalation» (3), which develops an almost song-like structured loop from the slowly emerging duo constellations – first bass and drums, then saxophone and bass.
Such sparkling moments, deceptive in their coherence, even beauty, must even give the musicians goose pimples. Which Barry Guy confirms, when he says: «Certain sonorities/areas grew from an ongoing argument which had time to register instead of moving fast to another activity. The control of the unfolding picture was particularly good in this set.»
Organic
On the one hand, Guy refers to the source of power of the process mentioned by Evan Parker, but on the other hand points out the time factor. The time available, which fundamentally distinguishes a live set from a recording session in a studio. Time set aside that you have to take and savour during a live set. In Barcelona, the time flew by in an almost organic manner, for the audience it was simply not an issue; one has only to feel the silence and concentration of the audience during the whole set of almost one hour! Which also the three musicians manage to utilise, unquestionably and selflessly, clearly audible not only in the aforementioned sequence (3), but – in a very special way characteristic of this trio - in what is possibly the most important phase of the set, starting with a short interplay (4) and developing into the long part at the end (5).
Angular
It is about interplay, about dialogue and dispute. About constellations. Evan Parker once said that, for him, the most exciting and fascinating thing about the trio Parker – Guy – Lytton was the solo and duo playing within the trio. In itself a strange statement, the meaning of which only reveals itself on listening, at best while watching the trio. We have already referred to the emerging duo constellations (3); during part (4) and far into part(5), at no point are all three musicians heard together. These solo and changing duo parts can be seen as almost a counterpart to those beguiling moments of luminescence, that is to say as rough edges, cutting through the flow of development thus allowing pauses, breaks and new starts. Rough edges which do not have a disturbing effect but create tension. Thereby energy.
Zafiro
Although neither magnetic nor radioactive, a special energy is attributed to the sapphire. As to whether the reason for this lies in its geological specification (triagonal crystal), its basic chemical structure (Al2O3) or its physical characteristics (hard, dense, conductive), is a matter of conjecture. What is important is: a sapphire symbolises and invokes quietude, peace, purity. States that Evan Parker, Barry Guy and Paul Lytton reached during the set presented here. By means of music, rough and wild, which condenses organically into something of angular beauty. A union which ultimately makes for the «purity» of this set. A magical, mysterious set for posterity.
— Frank von Niederhäusern
