All sorts of jazz, free jazz and improv. Never for money, always for love.
During the 2020’s lockdowns, an idea came to mind: Since it is currently impossible to play THERE, let’s make some music HERE!… HERE, the sea is very close; the river is subject to the fluctuations of the tide, the light is constantly changing, the reflections vary infinitely on the uncovered or submerged mud, the seasons illuminate this little corner of land and water differently: everything is moving, everything HERE is about cycles nested in each other, in crossed and concentric rhythms. The time, the light, the tide, the season: it is the landscape that imposes its rhythm, its reflections, its silences on the music. (from M. Ducret's liner notes)
It took almost 30 years for guitarists Philippe Deschepper and Noël Akchoté to play together, although their paths have crossed many times (again and again). In May 2024 they recorded an album in Zürich over a couple of days, along with a concert in between the sessions. They offer us a selected repertoire of common favorites (Henri Texier, Steve Swallow, Paul Motian or Ornette Coleman...), together with their own compositions and improvisations. A French guitar duet of the highest class!
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Founded in 2000 in Sweden by Jan Ström and Åke Bjurhamn, Ayler Records has gained recognition among free jazz fans over the years by releasing both archive and contemporary recordings from artists as diverse as Jimmy Lyons, Noah Howard, Peter Brötzmann, William Parker or Charles Gayle, as well as documenting the Scandinavian free jazz scene.
In 2009, Ayler Records moved to France where it is now operated by Stéphane Berland who had joined the label in 2005, bringing with him the will to open the catalogue to forms of improvised music in less direct relationship with the free jazz history, while remaining faithful to the original spirit.