Dutch webzine MOORS MAGAZINE just dissected our release of HUNT AT THE BROOK AGAIN / HUNT AT THE BROOK WITH NEIL METCALFE. A double cd we issued a few months ago.
The release is available here.

“Drie avontuurlijke improvisatiegerichte musici namen vijf jaar geleden al met zijn drieën een sessie op in Stamford Brook in London, met opnametechnicus Dave Hunt – dat werd dus Hunt at the Brook. Nu, bijna vijf jaar later, waren ze als trio terug, dus Hunt at the Brook Again, en een maand later kwam Neil fluitist Neil Metcalfe van het trio een kwartet maken – Hunt at the Brook with Neil Metcalfe, wat overigens een geheel ander album opleverde.
Klarinettist Tom Jackson en violist Benedict Taylor voelen zich net zo op hun gemak in de moderne klassieke muziek als in de geïmproviseerde jazz, en dat hoor je regelmatig terug in hun spel. Samen met gitarist Daniel Thompson verkennen ze grenzen, proberen ze samen te komen, en je hoort hoe dat in de First Improvisation nog een aftasten en zoeken is, speels, elkaar uitdagend en humoristisch, niet bang om tot een compact geluid te komen met zijn drieën.
Verderop in de improvisaties wordt het regelmatig ingetogener, en soms gewoon adembenemend mooi, maar vooral steeds spannend en een feest van drie mannen die met hoorbaar veel plezier samen muziek staan te maken op het scherpst van de snede. Heerlijk om naar te luisteren voor iedereen met open oren.
Een maand later voegde fluitist Neil Metcalfe zich bij dit trio, maar het voelt niet als een trio met een gast maar als een compleet nieuw kwartet, waarin totaal andere dingen gebeuren – er ontstaan even twee duo’s – strijkers en blazers, maar dat wordt ook weer losgelaten. Een nieuwe samenstelling levert ook nieuwe muziek op, zo blijkt, net zo spannend, maar echt anders. Een dubbel-cd om lang van te genieten.” Moors Magazine – The Netherlands

UK’s MUSIQUE MACHINE just reviewed our triple cd live set. A compilation of three concerts that happened at the lovely PlusEtage in Baarle-Nassau (The Netherlands) throughout 2022. Available through our bandcamp store.

“Live At Plus-Etage Volume 1 is a three-CD set taking three different improv line-ups/ sets. The release appears on Belgium’s A New Wave Of Jazz label- so everything here is on the more abstract, difficult, and at times fiery end of the improv genre. Though as we’ve come to expect from the label the quality of the material is very high- with the players going off down all manner of rewarding sonic avenues- be they jarring, seared, or generally creative.

The CDs are presented in a six-panel mini gatefold. On its outside, we get the label’s standard grey boxes & black text minimalistic house style, though we do get the addition of a few red-coloured lines of text. Inside we find small pictures of each of the set-ups/ live recordings, and basic track details.

The first CD features Charlotte Keeffe – trumpet, flugelhorn, and Andrew Lisle – drums. The pair offer up two sets recorded on the 29th of April 2022. “Set 1” comes in at twenty-eight minutes & forty-eight seconds- it finds the pair nicely shifting between sparing, following each other leads, and at brief points running on their own. We move from jump-cut percussion runs & jittering horn honks, onto blends of more raucous trumpeting & tip tap-detailed drumming, though to baying pipe blows ‘n’ forks drifted by light touched/ moody percussion rustle ‘n’ ebbs. “Set 2” runs at the slightly shorter twenty-one minutes & forty-four seconds. It opens with slowly rolling to sliding cymbal work &  waving horn tones. Moving onto more manic interplays with detailed percussive runs move with a rapid selection of horn taut flutters, saws, scratchers and warbles.

Moving onto disc two- and here we find another two around twenty-six to twenty-nine sets from Stefan Keune – sopranino, alto sax, Dirk Serries – archtop guitar, Benedict Taylor – viola. This was recorded on September 30th, 2022.  “Set 1” moves from rather manic mixes of strum, saw, and darting horn bay. Onto constricted mid-range neck fiddles, darting slices, and horn rapidity.  Though to mixes of low-end creaks & searing-to-forking scrubs. “Set 2” goes from grating saw meets fiddle and rapid horn chatter. Onto spaced-out strums ‘n’ hacks meet darting warbles, onto manic inter runs between saw, honk, and tolling tap.

The third & final disc features just “Set 1” a single track running at forty-one minutes. With the players here are Martina Verhoeven & Gonçalo Almeida – both on double bass.  This was recorded on November 25th, 2022. The track moves from bumping ‘n’ sparing bounds, creaks, and bays.. Through to more busy interplays between plucks, twangs & manic sawing. , beaded rattle ‘n’ rotate, and droning bay. Onto mixes of low-end fumble ‘n’ higher fiddle.

I enjoy all three CDs here and their sets- as each is alive with invention & flare- but if pushed I’d say the stand out is the third disc, and these two double bass players really create a wonderful array of sound ‘n’ sonic adventure.”

Impro vocalist and free jazz connaisseur JEAN-MICHEL VAN SCHOUWBURG invited DIRK SERRIES for his 2-day alternative guitar festival at Haekem Theatre in Brussels. Tonight and tomorrow Dirk will perform solo as well in some ad-hoc configurations, among the likes of Pascal Marzan, Christian Vasseur, Steve Gibbs and Magali Rischette.

Label curator and guitarist DIRK SERRIES heads out to LONDON for two live events. On Saturday he teams up with BENEDICT TAYLOR (viola) and ALAN WILKINSON (bass clarinet, sax). As a trio, they will bring you, in the wonderful space of the Hundred Years Gallery, many variations on fiddle string twists, slurred guitar fingering, and mammoth-like blows and wind washes to produce tunes that are manually constructed, deconstructed, and put back together again Expect a wonderful evening of pure free improvisation from three kindred spirits.

On Sunday afternoon Dirk joins once again COLIN WEBSTER LARGE ENSEMBLE for its second outing at Cafe Oto, which comprises many of the leading players in the current generation of improvising musicians. This is a matinee show. The line-up is :

Colin Webster / alto sax
Rachel Musson / tenor sax
Cath Roberts / baritone sax
Charlotte Keeffe / trumpet / flugelhorn
Sarah Gail Brand / trombone
Graham Dunning / electronics
Dirk Serries / guitar
Caius Williams / bass
Andrew Lisle / drums