Tony Oxley / David Bourne / Ian Brighton / Phil Wachsmann / Barry Guy

Phil Wachsmann

Writing in Water

Corbett vs Dempsey CD 074

Reissued and available to a large audience that wasn’t that interested first time out, are two British improvisation classics from the 1970s and 1980s which among other virtues illuminate Phil Wachsmann’s contributions to violin evolution. Among the most prominent stylists in Free Music whose background was so-called classical music rather than Jazz, the Uganda-born string player multi-genre technique is spotlighted in a solo setting on 1985’s Writing in Water. More than seven years previously Wachsmann was already proving his skill set on most tracks of February Papers, a unique date for drummer Tony Oxley.

Besides showing off Oxley’s skillful, drumming and electronic experiments, the non-solo tracks includes a hint of Oxley violin (!) playing. Other participants include bassist Barry Guy, still one of the defining Free Music figures, plus two nearly forgotten figure, violinist David Bourne and guitarist Ian Brighton.

His solo disc’s two extended selection find Wachsmann skipping from romantic passages to intense, fragmented improvisation to contrapuntal electronic helped drones. Providing added impetus when augmented with occasional vocal chanting, the electronics also allow the violinist to harmonize with processed versions of himself, creating the illusion of a string duo or larger recital group. Certain passages also list towards the Blues or even hoedown jollity Yet no matter how much he strays from convention with strategies, encompassing pinched strings, sul tasto strains or chiming echoes, Wachsmann ensures performances flow chromatically. This is especially true on “Water writing” where despite many timbres extensions encompassing bell-pealing echoes, excursions into lower-pitched swells increase the volume but remain descriptively upright.

Oxley’s three solo tracks on the other hand confirm the percussion smarts that allowed him to gig with Hard Boppers and Free Jazzers alike. Plus these stentorian bass drum rumbles, cymbal shrills and electronic drones are not only persuasive on their own, but as accompaniment transform showpieces into contrapuntal connections. Drum mastery also puts into bolder relief tracks such as “Trio”. Tough and combative, the exposition includes fiddle string stabs, echoing guitar licks, drum clangs and electronic whizzes. Still the resulting tension-release is wrapped up with a stridently logical conclusion. Metallic rushes and strained string patterning are emphasized on the two quartet tracks. Reaching an affiliated climax after the strained staccato lines and ring modulator-like tones of “Quartet 1”, the subsequent “Chant Quartet” resolves the locus with impassioned tone coloration. Encompassing accelerating pressure via intersected string whistles, and bass guitar strokes, calibrated percussion pops help push the ending into tessitura-like polyphony, extending and measuring each individual’s contributions until the narrative is resolved with flair.

Too many reissue programs are focused on so-called big names and sessions. Musical evolution actually consists of pointillist sound contributions from many sources. These discs confirm that truism.

–Ken Waxman

Track Listing: Writing: 1. Writing in Water 2. Water writing

Personnel: Writing: Phil Wachsmann (violin and electronics)

Track Listing: February: 1. Quartet 1*#^ 2. Sounds of the Soil*+ 3. Brushes 4. Chant Quartet*@ 5. Trio*+ 6. Combination 7.On the Edge [to E.P.]

Personnel: February: Phil Wachsmann*# and/or David Bourne# (violin); Ian Brighton (guitar) +; Barry Guy (bass and bass guitar@)and Tony Oxley (percussion, violin and electronics)