Freedom of the City 2005

For various reasons (such as lack of support from funding bodies), the 2005 FREEDOM OF THE CITY festival was just one day at the Red Rose, organised by Evan Parker and myself (Eddie Prevost being otherwise occupied that day). All of the music performed at the two concerts that day can be heard on this pair of CDs, apart from two additional pieces by the London Improvisers Orchestra, and two other groups (one of which, an octet organised by Parker, went into the studio the following day to record CROSSING THE RIVER to be Psi 06.02).

With the exception of the Orchestra, it was decided to feature groups that hadn't performed before. Well almost… The Beresford-Turner-Williamson trio had been rehearsing in private and had played a gig with Beresford using electronics. Also the duo of Coxhill and Metcalfe played a gig involving jazz standards in the long distant past.

A word of explanation about the duo of Philipp Wachsmann and Kjell Bjorgeengen: Their respective music and video images were influenced by each other. Wachsmann was also connected so that his playing electronically altered the video images. Even although Bjorgeengen's work cannot be heard directly, his influence can.

The other small groups basically speak for themselves, offering more testimony to the excellence of the London improvising scene.