We love Treader, the austere micro label run by Ashley Wales and John Coxon, aka Spring Heel Jack. They’re musical postcards from the improv edge, beautifully packaged in coloured card folders embossed with a gold image of an animal. Previous releases have included Danish free jazz legend John Tcichai and Spiritualized mainman Jason Pierce – this latest batch (they release three at a time) is no less intriguing.
The fabulous ‘Abbey Road Duos’ is an utterly spellbinding conversation between local legend Parker (at his most explicitly jazzy here and demonstrating why he’s the most important saxophonist since Coltrane) and pianist Shipp whose structured abstractions channel free jazz and classical in unique directions. It’s mesmerising stuff that’ll repay repeated investigations. Equally gripping is the wonderful ‘Brooklyn Duos’ (ttt) featuring leftfield trumpet legend Wadada Leo Smith and Coxon himself (on guitar and harmonica), adding a compelling visceral edge to Smith’s rootsy Miles-isms. If that all sounds a bit too ethereal, try ‘Amplified Trio’ (ttt), which finds the boys in intense, spiky, squalling dialogue with maverick Dutch drummer Hans Bennink. It’s dark, skronky, rhythmically intense and ever so slightly scary.
