And John
Gavin Hellyer
Gavin Hellyer
Superb and very interesting jazzy improv. from a couple of veterans of the form. Love it.
Favorite track: Such a Beautiful Place.
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And John
18:22
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Such a Beautiful Place
38:58
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about
And John
Maggie's life long love for John Stevens is no secret and she wears it on her sleeve very proudly. They first met in 1968 and through John's encouagement Maggie soon became a regular member of the Spontaneous Music Ensemble. She has championed his music and workshop pieces ever since.
On the occasion of the January concert presented here - our first meeting as a duo - I was fortunate to have been loaned a couple of John's cymbals by his son Ritchie. Additionally, in the audience that evening was John's daughter Loo together with her son. Naturally, this all added an extra atmosphere to what was a very special musical encounter. We all certainly felt John's presence in the small gallery performance space, some of which manifested itself quite naturally in the music we made together. (Mark Wastell)
Maggie's life long love for John Stevens is no secret and she wears it on her sleeve very proudly. They first met in 1968 and through John's encouagement Maggie soon became a regular member of the Spontaneous Music Ensemble. She has championed his music and workshop pieces ever since.
On the occasion of the January concert presented here - our first meeting as a duo - I was fortunate to have been loaned a couple of John's cymbals by his son Ritchie. Additionally, in the audience that evening was John's daughter Loo together with her son. Naturally, this all added an extra atmosphere to what was a very special musical encounter. We all certainly felt John's presence in the small gallery performance space, some of which manifested itself quite naturally in the music we made together. (Mark Wastell)
credits
released January 6, 2023
Maggie Nicols - voice, taps, hand percussion
Mark Wastell - percussion
Recorded by Graham MacKeachan at the Hundred Years Gallery, London, 28 January 2022 and 29 July 2022
Edited and mastered by Mark Wastell and Rupert Clervaux at Studio 3, London
Photography by Martin Dixon
Design by Matthew Brandi
Produced by Mark Wastell
"Taken from two 2022 live performances, And John offers immediate proof of what skilled and responsive collaborators Maggie Nicols and Mark Wastell are. Both tracks are long—the first is 18 minutes, the second nearly 40—and give the pair ample opportunity to develop conversations. But “develop” seems like the wrong word for what happens, as Nicols’s voice and Wastell’s percussion are engaged and busy from the start, such that even their quieter moments crackle with tension. There’s a point about 25 minutes into “Such a Beautiful Place” where Wastell recedes and Nicols moves to the center, yet somehow it doesn’t seem any less of a dialogue, since even Wastell’s smallest sounds are meaningful." (Marc Medwin, Best Experimental Music on Bandcamp: January 2023)
"Listening to Nicols’ collaboration on And John with percussionist Mark Wastell evokes a kindred spiritual dichotomy. The album’s two pieces, recorded last year at London’s Hundred Years Gallery, are dedicated to Spontaneous Music Ensemble founder John Stevens, who invited Nicols to participate in the groundbreaking collective. The first piece unfolds with ritualistic care, courting metaphysical energies through physical gestures. Ranging from pointillism to drone (and various permutations in between), it walks a tightrope over a chasm of self-expression that is, ultimately, selfless. Nicols breaks decorum as if it were a bottle of ink, creating on-the-spot calligraphy, while Wastell gives her plenty of paper on which to pen her messages. On the 39-minute “Such a Beautiful Place”, spoken word, sustained tones and hymnal gestures spin until they are dizzy with their own deconstructions of historical violence. This leaves us, the listeners, to pick up the brushes she leaves behind to add whatever validations we can before the ink runs dry."
(Tyran Grillo, New York City Jazz Record)
Maggie Nicols - voice, taps, hand percussion
Mark Wastell - percussion
Recorded by Graham MacKeachan at the Hundred Years Gallery, London, 28 January 2022 and 29 July 2022
Edited and mastered by Mark Wastell and Rupert Clervaux at Studio 3, London
Photography by Martin Dixon
Design by Matthew Brandi
Produced by Mark Wastell
"Taken from two 2022 live performances, And John offers immediate proof of what skilled and responsive collaborators Maggie Nicols and Mark Wastell are. Both tracks are long—the first is 18 minutes, the second nearly 40—and give the pair ample opportunity to develop conversations. But “develop” seems like the wrong word for what happens, as Nicols’s voice and Wastell’s percussion are engaged and busy from the start, such that even their quieter moments crackle with tension. There’s a point about 25 minutes into “Such a Beautiful Place” where Wastell recedes and Nicols moves to the center, yet somehow it doesn’t seem any less of a dialogue, since even Wastell’s smallest sounds are meaningful." (Marc Medwin, Best Experimental Music on Bandcamp: January 2023)
"Listening to Nicols’ collaboration on And John with percussionist Mark Wastell evokes a kindred spiritual dichotomy. The album’s two pieces, recorded last year at London’s Hundred Years Gallery, are dedicated to Spontaneous Music Ensemble founder John Stevens, who invited Nicols to participate in the groundbreaking collective. The first piece unfolds with ritualistic care, courting metaphysical energies through physical gestures. Ranging from pointillism to drone (and various permutations in between), it walks a tightrope over a chasm of self-expression that is, ultimately, selfless. Nicols breaks decorum as if it were a bottle of ink, creating on-the-spot calligraphy, while Wastell gives her plenty of paper on which to pen her messages. On the 39-minute “Such a Beautiful Place”, spoken word, sustained tones and hymnal gestures spin until they are dizzy with their own deconstructions of historical violence. This leaves us, the listeners, to pick up the brushes she leaves behind to add whatever validations we can before the ink runs dry."
(Tyran Grillo, New York City Jazz Record)
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