Second CD by Archer's AACM flavoured collective documents the material developed for performance during the band's 2015 concerts across the UK. From pure abstraction to the Hard Blues, Engine Room Favourites puts down some deep music on this release.
A band of band leaders, comprising some of the most creative new voices on the scene plus some maverick veterans. You decide who is which. A front line which is as sophisticated as it is rough edged. Complex interplay from piano and vibes flanking them from either side of the stage. And a rhythm powerhouse of four percussionists, collectively able to move from the most delicate and unexpected little instrument textures through to a barely containable percussive storm. The band aesthetic remains true to Archer's earliest experience in creative music, as a follower of the AACM school of music pioneered by Art Ensemble of Chicago, Leo Smith, and Anthony Braxton. This is a style which has never been really followed up by European musicians, nevertheless it remains the model for Archer's contributions to jazz based music.
Archer has said "the appeal of this style to me is that it remains considered, spacious and open, without sacrificing any of the improvisational heat and energy which places its exponent players firmly in the avantgarde tradition. And crucially, it never disconnects from its own past, in particular the blues, no matter how abstract it gets. It's that very mix of pure abstraction with the directness and energy of the sound that I continue to find so compelling in this music."
"Everything is perfectly natural and unforced... Individual musicians fit together like cogs. Listening to this album is a real treat, evidenced not only by Archer's ingenious approach, but also by this cohort of musicians who are among the best in Europe." - PETR FERENC, HISVOICE
Martin Archer - sopranino, alto & baritone saxophones, bass recorder
Mick Beck - tenor saxophone, bassoon
Laura Cole - piano
Corey Mwamba - vibraphone
Graham Clark - violin
Seth Bennett - bass
Peter Fairclough - percussion
Walt Shaw - percussion
Johnny Hunter - percussion
Steve Dinsdale - percussion
