Frozen Reeds Finland レコード& CD

Review: Frozen Reeds continues to be a fascinating label providing rare insight into hidden corner of experimental music, here documenting two rare performances from improv legends Derek Bailey and Paul Motian. The pair may have hailed from distinct career paths, but they came together in superlative fashion for two concerts between 1990 and 1991. The first, recorded in Groningen, is captured on this album following a discovery of the tapes in a forgotten archive, and it finds the momentary duo in particularly focused form. Their disruptive musical tendencies are tempered to allow musical themes to emerge and settle before plunging into the next wave of unexpected expression and experimentation. The second performance, recorded the following year in New York, is included as an additional download.

Review: Julius Eastman's incredible legacy continues to edge closer to the stature it deserves in the 20th Century canon, little by little, with this reissue on Frozen Reeds. The Finnish label have turned their attention to one of Eastman's defining performances and compositions, embodying his rare and embattled practice as a queer, Black composer within the predominantly white, male, straight industry. 'Femenine' unfurls languorously over 72 minutes of stirring beauty, played by an ensemble of woodwind, keys and steadily persistent shakers. Recorded in 1974 with the S.E.M. Ensemble and Eastman himself on keys led by conductor Piotr Kotik, it's a staggering, moving long-form work which shines the brightest it ever has (since its performance) thanks to a remaster from Jim O'Rourke.