Evan Parker & Paul Lytton - Two Octobers (1972-1975)

Evan Parker: soprano & tenor saxophones, voice tube
Paul Lytton: percussion & live electronics

Review

by François Couture

The early '70s were still formative years for saxophonist Evan Parker and percussionist Paul Lytton. Following the release in 1995 of Three Other Stories, a CD of 1971-1974 studio recordings by this duo, in 1996 Emanem issued a companion CD, Two Octobers, consisting of one studio and two live improvisations found while preparing the previous album. The sound quality of the live material is surprisingly good. The two longest tracks (the live ones) were recorded in October 1972 and October 1975 (hence the title). Parker's circular-breathing technique had almost reached its peak already -- just listen to the middle section of the mammoth 43-minute improv "Two Horn'd Reasoning, Cloven Fiction" for a stunning example. The most surprising moment comes in "Then Wept! Then Rose in Zeal and Awe," when Lytton starts producing long string-like drones (a bowed string? an electronic trick?) and is answered by Parker vocalizing drones of his own in a tube, turning the piece into a Tibetan ceremony for a few minutes. The level of communication is not yet what it would be within the Parker/Lytton/Barry Guy trio of the 1990s, and some tricks and techniques had yet to be fully developed and integrated in each musician's vocabulary (the drummer's ill-inspired ultimate fill at the end of the longest piece is a good example of how not to end an improv). Yet, Two Octobers makes a nice CD and a meaningful addition to Parker's under-documented 1970s output.(AMG)

1972-75 TWO OCTOBERS