Important for this composition commissioned by the Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra from Barry Guy, is the unity of composed and improvised passages, the concern for the capabilities and strengths of individual players, the way in which small groups are part of the larger structures. Based on “Ay, but can ye?” a Russian poem translated into Scots by Edwin Morgan and using images of Wassily Kandinsky, this mostly graphically notated score is a musical adventure for the players as well as the listeners.

Other than providing the text for the vocalist(s) “Ay, but can ye ?” it proposed an interesting play on words with the German “Schweben” (To Float). The graphic controls the overall musical movement, but also asks some players to float inside and outside the boundaries and begs the question “but can ye?”  -  a question we often ask ourselves in daily life.

3-CD Set.

Pierre Favre's 1970s solo works are important mile­stones in the history of European jazz. Any discography of innovative recordings should include them, and their reissue is long overdue. However their significance is not simply as reference material of historical interest; with their effervescent creativity, they remain impressive and relevant listening even today.

Pierre Favre has opened up new spaces for himself and for us, where we can dance and reflect: dancing, turbulent thoughts; memories and visualisations; a game played with time and with the times. Pierre Favre takes us in search of sound; the percussionist as poet; the drummer as soundscape painter; the composer as storyteller; the improvisator as tight-rope artist, performing a balancing act.

From the Liner Notes by Bert Noglik

"Unto the Sun is the sprawling, free-wheeling debut from the New Atlantis Octet, the mid-Atlantic supergroup formed by guitarist Edward Ricart (formerly of Washington DC- presently a resident of Yellow Springs, OH) and drummer Sam Lohman (Washington DC). Ricart and Lohman are also known as the free-rock duo Matta Gawa, a no-holds barred improv unit that marries the textures and tones of creative experimental rock to the methods and techniques of free jazz. Unto the Sun was recorded with Jason LaFarge at Seizures Palace (Swans, Child Abuse, Khanate) just two weeks before Matta Gawa's sophmore release, Tambora.

The record was tracked one evening during the Summer of 2010, during a tremendously busy time for the leaders- Ricart had just completed a string of dates on the East Coast working with master drummer G. Calvin Weston, and headed straight to Brooklyn for this session following their final gig in Boston. Lohman had been collaborating extensively with electro/noise duo Ca$h $lave Clique, and playing in duo with underheralded, grossly underrecorded DC-based saxophonist Aaron Martin. Martin and Lohman had often performed in trio with Baltimore-based bassist Vattel Cherry (Charles Gayle), or as a quartet with Ricart.

Unto the Sun was initially conceived by Ricart as an opportunity to make a second recording with his quartet, featuring trumpeter Herb Robertson, bassist Jason Ajemian (Chicago Underground Trio), and drummer Andrew Barker (Gold Sparkle Band, Acid Birds). Herb Robertson was away working in Europe, and the session quickly blossomed into something very different... With the intent of creating a powerful new ensemble, and uniting disparate scenes from throughout the mid-Atlantic, Ricart and Lohman merged their New York and DC ensembles. Trumpeter Roy Campbell Jr and trombonist Steve Swell joined the group, rounding out a powerhouse ensemble!

Ricart and Lohman, collaborators of Sun Ra Arkestra saxophonist Marshall Allen, envisioned the larger group session as a fitting opportunity to pay heartfelt tribute to the vital spirit energy of Sun Ra, his Arkestra, and the great Marshall Allen, while relentlessly digging into new sonic space. The 2 drums + 2 bass rhythm section stirs up endless waves of shifting textures and pulse, while the frontline darts and soars effortlessly, weaving concentric flurries of consonance and dissonance. Ricart splits the difference, digging into the polyrhythmic underpinning of the rhythm section and stepping up front with the horns.

Unto the Sun is a rowdy debut from a group of phenomenal improvisors. This session, released May 15, 2013 via Not Two Records, also served as the conceptual seed for New Atlantis Records, a label that began as a vessel for documenting musicians from the mid-Atlantic, and much like this ensemble, is comprised of fine offerings from established legends and rising stars of creative music."-Not Two

Recorded in the 1960s with Marshall Allen featured on Jupiterian flute and Danny Thompson on Neptunian libflecto. "...Continuation is an interesting late-'60s date with a nice mixture of styles (ranging from) great slow blues, creepy space voice, very cool space-exotica, crazed circus fanfare and a cacophonous romp...

Recorded March 10, 1963, Choreographer's Workshop, New York City.