Recording: Broomer-Bull-Vespaziani-Lee-Stach

Artist: Stuart Broomer/Arthur Bull/Bob Vespaziani/David Lee/Eric Stach

Song: [excerpt from an improvization]

Recorded at The Tranzac - Main Hall (The Second Annual Somewhere There Creative Music Festival – Show 1), February 21, 2014.

Stuart Broomer/Arthur Bull/Bob Vespaziani/David Lee/Eric Stach - [excerpt from an improvization]

Full review to follow. Although I had some things to say about the Somewhere There Music Festival, there were several strands I left out for brevity's sake. One thing I held back that was on my mind was the notion that when you're making resolutely uncommercial music you're probably not too worried about "making it", and instead of a chase for the golden ring, a career is more of a lifetime pursuit.

It worked out nicely, then, that one of the festival's threads was an attendance to the historical context of improvised music in Toronto. David Lee gave a spirited discussion on the roots of the scene, reaching back to the 60's to talk about the links between the visual arts and experimental music. And after that, he brought together a group of musicians that he has played with over the years, including Stuart Broomer (who as a youth played in the Artists' Jazz Band, the first-ever free improv unit in T.O.) and Eric Stach (who has been central to London, Ontario's creative music scene for several decades). This starts with some nifty guitar interplay between Broomer and Arthur Bull before the whole band joins in. There's a lot of decades of experience in this group, and a lot of now.

Recording: Roblin/Bull/Lee

Artist: Diane Roblin/Arthur Bull/David Lee

Song: [excerpt from an improvisation]

Recorded at Array Space ("Somewhere There"), December 29, 2013.

Roblin/Bull/Lee - [excerpt from an improvisation]

Full review to follow. I'd recently noted Diane Roblin's name popping up a lot in show announcements at The Tranzac or elsewhere, but I had no context for her work. Returning to active duty after some time away from the local improvised music scene, she's recently convened a couple different units (the fusion-y Reconnect as well as the free-improv Happening) and, as this gig attests, is out looking to experiment with new sounds. Her work on the piano here was supplemented by a mini-keyboard iPad app, and she was joined by guitarist Arthur Bull (who I'd first encountered just a couple days previously) and double bassist David Lee. Keep an eye out here for a chance to hear Roblin in all of her guises.

Recording: David Prentice and co.

Artist: David Prentice [with John Oswald / David Prentice and Arthur Bull / ensemble]

Songs: [a series of improvisations]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), December 27, 2013.

David Prentice and John Oswald - [two edited fragments]

David Prentice and Arthur Bull - [first piece]

David Prentice and ensemble - [excerpt]

Full review to follow. A rather exciting early show in the Southern Cross was a reunion of sorts, put together by John Oswald to give folks a rare chance to hear David Prentice in action. Now working as a violin maker in Flesherton, Prentice was also a longstanding member of the Toronto improvising community, including the mysterious/legendary Double Wind Cello Trios.

Starting with a series of duos, Prentice and Oswald played together first, followed by a pairing of Prentice and guitarist Arthur Bull. The latter was a last-minute fill-in for the gig, sitting in for Tiina Kiik — and though Bull (now living out in Halifax) was not part of the DWCT scene, he's no stranger to these musicians — he's a veteran of the legendary CCMC open jam nights of the '70-'80's and much more. In fact, before playing with Prentice, Bull commented, "you can think of this as a slightly-delayed cassette release. [beat] The cassette came out in 1986. We never did get around to having an event."¹ Unsurprisingly, they had a natural interplay that hinted at a strong musical kinship, even if they haven't played together in quite a while. (The tinny buzzing you might hear midway through is courtesy of an aluminum pie plate that Bull borrowed from Scot Thomson, who had used it as a mute in his mini-set with Germaine Liu.) The night ended with all of the duos joining together into a quintet for a final, longer set.

The whole evening offered excellent performances, but also food for thought on several matters. It was highly enjoyable to just watch this as a reunion of old friends (both playing and in the crowd), and I'm glad it gave me an impetus to do some digging to learn a bit more about the local improvised music scene from a time before I was paying attention to it. Even more inspiring was the reminder of how music is a lifetime pursuit, and that one's own development and the bonds made over time can be a measure of success.

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¹ I assume he was referring to this, which is a thoroughly tasty bit of work. Cassette excavators: get this in your re-issue queue!