Evan Parker/Barry Guy/Paul Lytton: At Les Instants Chevires

Long a champion of the phrase “freely improvised music,” saxophonist Evan Parker says the music on At Les Instants Chavires (Psi), the latest CD by his long-running trio with bassist Barry Guy and drummer Paul Lytton, was “composed by interactive improvisation.” Short of a paradigm shift, the phrase acknowledges that while their methods have remained somewhat constant, the way many longtime practitioners of improvised music articulate process and results has evolved. Certainly, this British trio’s music has long possessed intrinsic formal qualities that give their improvisations the semblance of “pieces.” This absorbing club recording is no exception. Whether they are surging with palpable forward rhythmic movement or ruminating in a swirl of textures, it is the weaving of Parker’s soprano multiphonics and deconstructed tough tenor with Lytton’s pulsating clatter and Guy’s stunning arco timbres and quicksilver runs that gives the music its striking, varied shapes.

Originally Published April 1, 2003