The Squid's Ear Magazine


Fernandez, Agusti / Rafal Mazur: Correspondence With No Words (Not Two)

Barcelona pianist Agustí Fernández and Polish bass guitarist Rafał Mazur correspond through solo tracks recorded in their respective studios, each missive an unusual and impressive free improvisation using extended techniques, inside playing and inexplicable exclamation, in a five-part exchange where each message is alternately addressed "Dear Agusti" and "Dear Rafał".
 

Price: $15.95



Quantity:

In Stock

Quantity in Basket: None

Log In to use our Wish List
Shipping Weight: 4.00 units

Sample The Album:





product information:

Personnel:



Agusti Fernandez-piano

Rafal Mazur-bass guitar


Click an artist name above to see in-stock items for that artist.




UPC: 5906395187850

Label: Not Two
Catalog ID: MW 1024
Squidco Product Code: 31518

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2021
Country: Poland
Packaging: Cardboard Gatefold
Tracks 1, 3 and 5 recorded at Estudi les Orenetes, Sant Pere de Vilamajor, in Barcelona, Spain, by Agusti Fernandez; Track 7 and 9 recored at Estudi Rosazul, in Barcelona, Spain, by Ferran Conangla; Tracks 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 recorded at DTS Studio, in Krakow, Poland, by Rafal Drewniany.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

Barcelona pianist Agustí Fernández and Polish bass guitarist Rafał Mazur correspond through solo tracks recorded in their respective studios, each missive an unusual and impressive free improvisation using extended techniques, inside playing and inexplicable exclamation, in a five-part exchange where each message is alternately addressed "Dear Agusti" and "Dear Rafał".


Artist Biographies

"Agustí Fernández (Palma de Mallorca, 1954), with a perfectly based career and a well-deserved international reputation, is one of the Spanish musicians of major international projection and a world reference in the field of improvised music. Fernández has worked with famous musicians of the free improvisation scene like Peter Kowald, Derek Bailey, Butch Morris, Evan Parker, Barry Guy, Mats Gustafsson, Joel Ryan and Peter Evans a.m.o. He is a member of the Blue Shroud Band, Mats Gustafsson NU Ensemble and Barry Guy New Orquestra. Up to the current date he has published more than 80 CD's

He has also worked with the recognised composer of contemporary music Héctor Parra, who composed in collaboration with the pianist FREC, a solo for expanded piano. FREC has been premiered at the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival in 2013 with the collaboration of the video artist Lucas Caraba. He has conducted various improvised music ensembles like Ad Libitum Ensemble (Varsaw), Free Art Ensemble (Barcelona), Ansambl Studio 6 (Lujbljana) Orquesta FOCO (Madrid), Entenguerengue (Jérez de la Frontera), Impromtu Ensemble (Valencia), etc.

Along his professional life Agustí Fernández has received much recognition. His solo for piano "Mutza" presented in New York in 2007 was distinguished by the New York magazine AllAboutJazz as one of 10 best concerts from that year. The CD "Un llamp que no s'acaba mai" on PSI (Agustí Fernández, John Edwards and Mark Sanders) has been distinguished by Allaboutjazz as one of the best 10 cd's in 2009; the CD "Aurora" on Maya Recordings (Agustí Fernandez, Barry Guy and Ramón López) was selected by Cuadernos de Jazz magazine as the best CD in 2007, by the Jaç magazine as the best fourth disc of the history of the Catalan jazz and it was Disc d'émoi (February, 2007) for the French Jazz Magazine. The "Agustí Fernández Aurora Trio" received the second prize at the BMW Welt Jazz Award 2012 celebrated in Münich, Germany. In 2000 he received the Festival Altaveu Award, Sant Boi de Llobregat (Catalonia). In 2001 he received the FAD - Sebastià Guasch Award, Barcelona (Cataluña) with Andrés Corchero por el or the performance "A modo de esperanza". In 2011 Agustí Fernández was the main character of the documentary film "Los dedos huéspedes" by Lucas Caraba, which has been screened in several international festivals of documentary. In 2014 the Ad Libitum Festival (Warsaw) dedicated a monographic edition to celebrate Fernández's 60th Birthday.

He's professor of improvised music at the Escuela Superior de Música de Catalunya (ESMUC). He's developing an important teaching activity in the field of improvised music and, among other, he has been teaching in IRCAM in Paris, the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre de Tallin, the Royal Conservatory in The Hague (Holland), the Conservatory in Arhem (Holland), the Taller de Músicos in Gijón (Spain), the Taller de Músics in Barcelona (Spain) and the Conservatorio Superior de Música in Salamanca (Spain)."

-Agusti Fernandez Website (http://www.agustifernandez.com/biografia/)
11/29/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Rafal Mazur's involvement with music began in his youth with violoncello studies in Krakow. He switched to bass guitar in the late 1980's. Since 2000 he has played an acoustic bass guitar built to his own specifications by luthier Jerzy Wysocki. He has developed an advanced and individual approach to his instrument, and to improvisation in general, in which sonority, extended technique and gesture combine effortlessly in performance. He has taken an important role in Kraków to support young artists and improvised music. A founder of the ImproArt studio of improvisation, he has performed jazz and improvised music in clubs and festivals across Poland and Europe, and in China, South Korea and Israel. In recent years he has collaborated with Lisa Ullen, Frederic Blondy, Charlotta Hug, Raymond Strid, Keir Neuringer, Zsolt Sores and others. His current focus is the band "Ensemble 56" and "Mazur/Neuringer Duo". He is an organizer of the Laboratory of Intuition, a series of spontaneous art presentations in Kraków. Mazur's main field of interest and activity is collective and solo free/spontaneous improvisation. In his practice as an improvising musician and on his way to mastery/artistry he studys Chinese philosophy (Jagiellonian University). He regards Taoism as a strong base for the enrichment of the improviser's attitude, and to this end he practices the Taoist's martial art TaiJi Quan Chen. For Mazur, following the masters of Chinese philosophy and martial arts is crucial in the development of a state of mind prepared for the unexpected situations an improviser encounters in the act of collective free improvisation. During the Polish Sound Art in China tour in 2006, Mazur presented lectures in NiHiLo Gallery in Foshan and Zendai Art Museum in Shanghai, taking the opportunity to meet Chinese improvisers and discuss and compare his approaches to improvisation, Taoism and TaiJi. Mazur's most recent work is the first album of solo acoustic bass guitar free improvisation: 'Sonor Forms'. Released by independent label DTS Records in Krakow on its Transidiomatic series, the disc is the result of investigation into the practice of solo free improvisation."

-Rafal Mazur Website (http://www.rafalmazur.eu/1bio.html)
11/29/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.


Track Listing:



1. Dear Rafal 1 4:45

2. Dear Agusti 1 5:12

3. Dear Rafal 2 5:36

4. Dear Agusti 2 5:38

5. Dear Rafal 3 6:06

6. Dear Agusti 3 4:58

7. Dear Rafal 4 7:15

8. Dear Agusti 4 6:39

9. Dear Rafal 5 3:41

10. Dear Agusti 5 3:17

Related Categories of Interest:


Improvised Music
Jazz
Free Improvisation
European Improvisation, Composition and Experimental Forms

Guitarists, &c.
Piano & Keyboards

Search for other titles on the label:
Not Two.


Recommended & Related Releases:
Guy, Barry Blue Shroud Band
All This This Here
(Listen! Foundation (Fundacja Sluchaj!))
The title and text drawn from Samuel Beckett's last poem and meditation on language, "what is the word" and also his "Brief Dream", plus a poem from Barra O Seaghdha and two 18th century Edo Haikus, Barry Guy's exquisite work about life in transit through eight movements is performed with a stellar ensemble including Agusti Fernandez, Maya Homburg, Lucas Niggli, Percuy Pursgolve, &c.
Guy, Barry and Friends
Krakow 2018 [5 CD BOX SET]
(Not Two)
Two days of concerts in 2018 at Alchemia Club, in Krakow, Poland and a recording at Radio Krakow the next day from English composer, band leader and a bass player Barry Guy, in varying configurations at Alchemia of duos & trios with some of Europe & The UK's leading improvisers, culminating in an 11-piece ensemble at Radio Krakow performing the large work "For To End Yet Again".
Morris, Joe / Agusti Fernandez / Brad Barrett / DoYeon Kim
Other Galaxies
(Listen! Foundation (Fundacja Sluchaj!))
Arranged by Joe Morris while Agusti Fernandez was in the NY Metropolitan area, this concert at Firehouse 12 in New Haven, brings together four distinctive string players with Morris on guitar, Fernandez on piano, Brad Barrett on bass and Do Yeon Kim on guyageum, seemingly taking their listeners to rapid galaxies through intensive, pointillistic and imaginative improvisation.
Wandering The Sound Quintet (Satoko Fujii / Guillermo Gregorio / Natsuki Tamuyra / Rafat Mazur / Ramon Lopez)
What Is...?
(Not Two)
The first Wandering The Sound album in 2018 was the trio of Argentinian reedist Guillermo Gregorio, Spanish drummer Ramón López and Polish bassist Rafał Mazur, here extended to a quintet with pianist Satoko Fujii and trumpeter Natsuki Tamura for a 2019 concert at Alchemia in Poland, a masterful example of free improv based on a poem by Ikkyu Sojun, a Zen master from the 15th century.
Martinez, Lucia / Agusti Fernandez / Barry Guy
Bosque de Niebla [2 CDs]
(Listen! Foundation (Fundacja Sluchaj!))
After the Desalambrado duo album album between Spanish pianist Agustí Fernandez and drummer/percussionist Lucía Martinez, Fernandez enjoined UK bassist Barry Guy to record with them while he was in Spain working on his Via Augusta; the results are this album of mysterious environments that lead to intense and exciting interaction, expansive improv through Martinez' percussive elements.
Jubileum Quartet (Leandre / Parker / Fermandez / Kaucic)
A UIS ?
(Not Two)
Celebrating 40 years of Zlatko Kaucic's professional career as a musician, the quartet of Joelle Leandre on acoustic bass, Evan Parker on tenor saxophone, Agusti Fernandez on piano, and Zlatko Kaucic on drums & objects are heard live at the 23th Cerkno Jazz Festival in 2018 for an extended and stunning set, from the most active to the most introspective of moments.
Liquid Quintet (feat Agusti Fernandez / Artur Majewski / Albert Cirera / Rafal Mazur / Ramon Prats)
Flux
(Listen! Foundation (Fundacja Sluchaj!))
Hailed as the most pyrotechnic and adventurous concert of the 12th Ad Libitum Festival in Warsaw, Poland, the collective quintet of Agusti Fernandez on piano, Artur Majewski on trumpet, Albert Cirera on saxophones, Rafal Mazur on bass, and Ramon Prats on drums, rage and flow through three movements of "Flux", starting at the "Source" and ending in an "Estuary"; awesome.
Evans, Peter / Agusti Fernandez / Barry Guy
Free Radicals At DOM
(Listen! Foundation (Fundacja Sluchaj!))
Radical masters of free jazz--Spanish pianist Agusti Fernandez and British bassist Barry Guy--meet young(er) radical trumpeter Peter Evans at the Moscow Cultural Center DOM for this 2017 concert of free improvisation, a fiery and informed concert of two sets, each in three parts, and an encore, showing technical mastery, inventive interaction, and sheer excitement in performance.
Guy's, Barry Blue Shroud Band
Odes and Meditations for Cecil Taylor [5 CD BOX]
(Not Two)
Barry Guy's Blue Shroud Band is the bassist's ensemble performing in a variety of configurations, capable of executing his sophisticated compositions that pay hommage or reflect larger subjects, here in 5 CDs of performances at Alchemia Club and on Radio Krakow in Poland, approaching the work of late pianist Cecil Taylor through multi-part Odes, Meditations, and even some "Strange Loops".
Charuest, Yves / Agusti Fernandez / Nicolas Caloia / Peter Valsamis
Stir
(Tour de Bras)
The Montreal free improvising trio Still of Nicolas Caloia on bass, Peter Valsamis on drums, and Yves Charuest on saxophone is joined in the studio by visiting Spanish pianist Agusti Fernandez for a superb set of detailed and energetic free jazz, 6 pieces titled "(un fold)" I - VI, making an album of first rate and exciting collective music.
Splatter with Rafal Mazur
cloudseed
(Citystream)
Splatter's 3rd CD resulted from a meeting between the London-based quartet Splatter (Noel Taylor-clarinet; Anna Kaluza-sax; Tom Greenhalgh-drums; Pedro Velasco-electric guitar) and Polish bassist Rafal Mazur after their successful collaboration at Cafe Oto in 2010.
Kaluza, Anna / Artur Majewski / Rafal Mazur / Kuba Suchar
Tone Hunting
(Clean Feed)
With links to Foton Quartet, Rob Mazurek, Nicole Mitchell, Keith Rowe, Kevin Drumm, Matt Bauder, &c, the Polish & German quartet of Anna Kaluza (sax), Artur Majewski (trumpet), Rafal Mazur (guitar) & Kuba Suchar (drums) perform a perfect blend of bebop, free forms, west coast jazz and free improvisation.
Morris / Fernandez / Wooley
From The Discrete To The Particular
(Relative Pitch)
An incredible trio of two New York improvisers - Joe Morris on guitar and trumpeter Nate Wooley - with European free improv legend pianist Augusti Fernandez, for 7 remarkable free improvisations of astounding skill.
Morris, Joe
Perpetual Frontier The Properties of Free Music [BOOK]
(Riti Publishing)
Joe Morris wrote this book to discuss aspects of free music, including responses to his questionnaire written by Joe McPhee, William Parker, Jamie Saft, Ken Vandermark, Marilyn Crispell, Nate Wooley, Jack Wright, Matthew Shipp, &c.
Other Recommended Releases:
Yannatou, Savina / Julius Gabriel / Agusti Fernandez / Barry Guy / Ramon Lopez
In the Light Of The Current Myth
(Listen! Foundation (Fundacja Sluchaj!))
During double bassist Barry Guy's time in Porto Portugal with the Blue Shroud Band, he also took time to join in the studio with a quintet of like-minded improvisors — Savina Yannatou on vocals, Julius Gabriel on tenor & baritone saxophones, Agusti Fernandez on piano, and Ramon Lopez on drums — to record this exceptional collective improv session.
London Jazz Composers Orchestra
Krakow 2020 [6 CD BOX SET]
(Not Two)
To celebrate its 50th year since bassist Barry Guy assembled the London Jazz Orchestra for its first 1970 performance on BBC Radio, the now multinational band convened in Poland in 2020 for a series of concerts at Alchemia Club and Manggha Hall in configurations of duos to quintets, culminating in a full ensemble performance of two magnificently powerful works: "Flow" and "Harmos-Krakow".
Kuchen / Fernandez / Kaucic
The Steps That Resonate
(Not Two)
Uniquely orchestrated with all three members bringing a trove of objects & percussion, the trio of Martin Küchen on saxophones, Agustí Fernández on piano and Zlatko Kaučič on drums are heard in this two-part live concert at BUMF festival in Smartno, Slovenia, for a superb example of intent listening and use of space around confident, stunningly creative & virtuosic playing.
Leandre, Joelle
Beauty / Resistance [3 CD BOX]
(Not Two)
Live concert recordings at Alchemia club in Krakow captured during the Krakow Jazz Autumn Festival 2019 while double bassist Joëlle Léandre held residence, 3 CDs presenting first a quartet with Zlatko Kaucic on drums & percussion, Mateusz Rybicki on clarinets and Zbigniew Kozera on bass, then one disc in a duo with Zlatko Kaucic and another with guitarist Rafal Mazure.
Parker, Evan / Agusti Fernandez
Tempranillo
(Listen! Foundation (Fundacja Sluchaj!))
Reissuing this astonishing 1995 studio recording, capturing the first encounter between two legendary free jazz performers--UK saxophonist Evan Parker on tenor and soprano saxophones and pianist Augustí Fernández--in an 8-part dialog of mercurial speed balanced with moments of passionate introspection, resissued with new mastering, restoring this essential meeting.
Various Artists (Guy / Leandre / Mazur / Nilssen-Love / Kaucic / Fernandez / Gustafsson / Vandermark / Trzaska / Brotzmann / Ste Swell / Holmlander / Homburger)
Not Two... But Twenty [5 CDs in Wooden Box]
(Not Two)
Not Two Records celebrates their 20th Anniversary with a festival in Wlen, Poland, inviting 13 of the finest European & US improvisers--Guy, Leandre, Mazur, Nilssen-Love, Kaucic, Fernandez, Gustafsson, Vandermark, Trzaska, Brotzmann, Swell, Holmlander, & Homburg--performing in configurations from duo to quintet, released in a limited 5-CD wooden box set.
Fernandez, Agusti Trio (w. William Parker / Susie Ibarra)
One Night At The Joan Miro Foundation
(Listen! Foundation (Fundacja Sluchaj!))
A formidable meeting of three powerhouses of modern creative improvisation of diverse backgrounds -- Filipina-American drummer/percussionist Susie Ibarra, legendary New York bassist William Parker, and Spanish pianist Agusti Fernandez, in a spirited, masterful and stunning live performance at the Joan Miro Foundation in Barcelona recorded in 1998.
Fernandez, Agusti
River Tiger Fire [4 CDs]
(Listen! Foundation (Fundacja Sluchaj!))
Recorded at the 2014 Ad Libitum Festival in Warsaw, pianist and composer Agusti Fernandez was invited to perform four concerts in celebration of his 60th birthday, choosing his working trio Aurora for once concert, a solo performance of "El Laberint de la Memoria", his electroacoustic Thunder trio, and a large ensemble conduction: "River, Tiger Fire".
Guy, Barry
Blue Horizon. Barry Guy@70 (Live At The Ad Libitum Festival 2017) [3 CDs]
(Listen! Foundation (Fundacja Sluchaj!))
Three astonishing concerts on 3 consecutive nights at the Ad Libitum Festival 2017 in Warsaw, Poland from British bassist Barry Guy in 3 configurations: 1st in a duo with Spanish pianist Agusti Fernandez; 2nd in a trio with US pianist Marilyn Crispell and British drummer Paul Lytton; and 3rd in a double bass duo with French bassist Joelle Leandre.
Kaucic, Zlatko (w/ Evan Parker, Agusti Fernandez, Rafal Mazur, Lotte Anger, Artun Majewski, Phil Minton, Johannes Bauer)
Diversity [5 CD BOX SET]
(Not Two)
Slovenian percussionist Zlatko Kaucic reinforces the title of his "Diversity" box set over 5 CDs in a variety of solo, duo, trio and quartet setting, including some of the UK & Europe's finest improvisers--Evan Parker, Agusti Fernandez, Lotte Anker, Artur Majewski, Rafal Mazur, Phil Minton, and Johannes Bauer--an excellent example of his wide-ranging work as an improviser.
Mazur, Rafel / Keir Neuringer
Diachronic Paths
(Relative Pitch)
A beautifully evolving set of duos, or "paths" from Philadelphia saxophonist Keir Neuringer and Polish bassis Rafal Mazur, using monumental technique to support a dialog that's technical and intensely focused while remaining lyrically sophisticated and imaginative.
Morris, Joe / Agusti Fernandez
Ambrosia
(Riti Records)
A state-of-the-art duo recording from two remarkable improvisers bridging New York and Spain - guitarist Joe Morris and pianist Agusti Fernandez - performing "Ambrosia" in 6 parts.



The Squid's Ear Magazine

The Squid's Ear Magazine

© 2002-, Squidco LLC