1:3:5:7 Improvised Duos is the latest release from composer and polymath Dominic Murcott on Nonclassical. Created over four brief recording sessions with four superb improvisers – trumpeter Laura Jurd, saxophonist Tom Challenger, pianist Hans Koller and violinist Joe Townsend – the music blends gamelan-esque percussion, jazz squall and open-eared adventure.
It follows his piece The Harmonic Canon, which was written slowly and methodically over two years with the ultimate aim that it would consist of two movements, each exactly 21 minutes in length. This time, Murcott worked again with exact time limitations – each piece is either 1 minute, 3 minutes, 5 minutes or 7 minutes long – but with an improvisational approach.
"The idea behind it was a simple question," says Dominic, "if we know exactly how long the section is going to be, will it influence the material in each? For example, is the first gesture of a 3' improvisation different to that of a 7' one? Each of the collaborators has a very particular style and I adapted to each by limiting the percussion I could use for each one. For intimacy I engineered the sessions myself so only two of us were ever in the studio at any given time."
He adds: "Interesting fact: the gongs that feature prominently on 1’ with TC and 3’ with TC used to belonged to famed player piano composer Conlon Nancarrow, and were given to me by his widow on one of my research trips to his studio in Mexico City."
Dominic Murcott - Drums and Percussion (featured artist on all tracks)
Guest artists on specific tracks:
LJ - Laura Jurd - trumpet
TC - Tom Challenger - saxophone
HK - Hans Koller - piano
JT - Joe Townsend - violin
All compositions by Dominic Murcott and the guest artists.
Volume Two
1’ with LJ
3’ with HK
5’ with TC
7’ with JT
1’ with TC
3’ with LJ
5’ with JT
7’ with HK
Volume One
1’ with JT
3’ with TC
5’ with HK
7’ with LJ
1’ with HK
3’ with JT
5’ with LJ
7’ with TC
Recorded in KCC Studios, 17–19 December 2019
Mixed and Mastered by Dominic Murcott
Dominic Murcott is a composer who lives in London. Something of a polymath, his career includes a British Composer Award winning piece for a custom made ½ ton bell; (released as The Harmonic Canon on Nonclassical in 2019), research into the work of the Conlon Nancarrow and the curation of large scale festivals in London and NY dedicated to him; recording drums and percussion for many influential artists including The High Llamas, Stereolab and Pavement; public speaking and interviewing; production and sound engineering to name a few areas. Since 2003, he has led the innovative Composition Department at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in Greenwich, and is in demand internationally as an educational advisor and PhD examiner. A passionate cook, recent years have seen him delve into the relationship between food and music, presenting a public event at the British Library in 2019 with Heston Blumenthal and The Smith Quartet.