SOLD OUT

Adria Otte _ violino
Angela Hsu _ violino
Bob Marsh _ violoncello
Doug Carrol _ violoncello
Tony Dryer _ contrabbasso

L'Emergency String (X)tet di Bob Marsh si muove in un contesto contemporaneo dove la musica emerge da improvvisazioni non-strutturate. La "X" nel nome si riferisce sia al numero fluttuante dei musicisti coinvolti (4-6), sia all'impresa di muoversi verso l'ignoto ad ogni performance. Il disco è stato registrato in concerto alla Meridian Gallery di San Francisco nel maggio 2009.

"(...) The Emergency String (X)tet, an improvisational chamber ensemble from the Bay Area, is dedicated to the unknown. The "X" emphasizes this element of its improvised music, while also accounting for the shifting number of players in the group. In its current form, it is a quintet, comprising two violins, two cellos, and a contrabass. Bob Marsh founded the group about fifteen years ago, but its music is collectively improvised with no special guidance from its leader. The quintet draws from diverse areas of the Bay Area improv scene: Violinists Adria Otte and Angela Hsu both attended Mills College, cellist Doug Carroll is a veteran Bay Area improviser, and contrabassist Tony Dryer is involved in the electronic noise group Basshaters. The new CD, Meridians, was recorded live at San Francisco's Meridian Gallery in 2009. Freely calling upon the diversity of their varied histories, the members find their voice in the sounds that come most naturally to string instruments. Shifting tone clusters sustain with tremolo bowing and Xenakis-style glissandi slide past each other atonally. Indeed the music shares much with Xenakis in its collage of widely varied sounds, though its searching nature lacks the Greek composer's taut intensity. Tony Dryer's contrabass often fulfills a percussive role, leaping to the forefront with a single, particularly abrasive sound functioning as punctuation to the improvised form — a crucial cohesive element in this otherwise quite amorphous music. (Setola di Maiale)." Jacob Felix Heule, East Bay Express, 2010.

"(...) These folks named themselves well. Five folks (two violins, two cello and a double bass) work their way through a seven-piece cycle. The Meridian in question seems to be the Meridian Gallery in SF where this was recorded. No matter. The pieces will transport you." Aiding & Abetting n.315

"(...) Marsh is a veteran improvisor who works mainly in the Bay Area in the last few years, but with several connections in Italy as well. You may know him as an improvisor playing electronics, violin, accordion, voice, cello, etc. He has numerous projects and collaborations going on. One of them is his collaboration with that other impressive improvisor Jack Wright. A more recent project is "Eight", where Marsh invited musicians and composers for a sound art work that was released by Setola di Maiale. The Emergency String (X)tet is an another project led by Marsh. It is an improvisational chamber music ensemble founded by him some fifteen years ago. Nowadays it is a quintet of Adria Otte (violin), Angela Hsu (violin), Bob Marsh (cello), Doug Carrol (cello) and Tony Dryer (double bass). Violinists Adria Otte and Angela Hsu both attended Mills College, cellist Doug Carroll is a veteran Bay Area improviser, and contrabassist Tony Dryer is involved in the electronic noise group Basshaters. We hear them in a live recording at San Francisco's Meridian Gallery on May 19, 2009, in seven short improvisations. I'm glad it are short pieces as this is not very accessible music. It needs your attention in order to absorb if fully. It is full of small subtleties and nuances. A continuous stream of short patterns and runs, everybody doing something else. An example of collective improvisation that in its result is more close to modern music then to jazz. Alas some of the dynamics are lost in this live recording, so that I lose contact with this music. But in the end, it is impressive enough for me to say 'I wish I was there'." (DM, 2010)

01 _ Meridian One 3:48
02 _ Meridian Two 5:45
03 _ Meridian Three 7:32
04 _ Meridian Four 7:26
05 _ Meridian Five 4:13
06 _ Meridian Six 6:19
07 _ Meridian Seven 6:17

(C) + (P) 2009

SOLD OUT

Adria Otte _ violin
Angela Hsu _ violin
Bob Marsh _ cello
Doug Carrol _ cello
Tony Dryer _ bass

The Emergency String (X)tet rose up from the ashes of too many departures and is now stronger and more visionary than ever. The ESX engages in non-structured free improvisation. The "X" in the name refers to both the fluctuating number of players (4-6) as well as their venture into the unknown at each performance. Recorded live in San Francisco at the Meridian Gallery, May 19, 2009.

"(...) The Emergency String (X)tet, an improvisational chamber ensemble from the Bay Area, is dedicated to the unknown. The "X" emphasizes this element of its improvised music, while also accounting for the shifting number of players in the group. In its current form, it is a quintet, comprising two violins, two cellos, and a contrabass. Bob Marsh founded the group about fifteen years ago, but its music is collectively improvised with no special guidance from its leader. The quintet draws from diverse areas of the Bay Area improv scene: Violinists Adria Otte and Angela Hsu both attended Mills College, cellist Doug Carroll is a veteran Bay Area improviser, and contrabassist Tony Dryer is involved in the electronic noise group Basshaters. The new CD, Meridians, was recorded live at San Francisco's Meridian Gallery in 2009. Freely calling upon the diversity of their varied histories, the members find their voice in the sounds that come most naturally to string instruments. Shifting tone clusters sustain with tremolo bowing and Xenakis-style glissandi slide past each other atonally. Indeed the music shares much with Xenakis in its collage of widely varied sounds, though its searching nature lacks the Greek composer's taut intensity. Tony Dryer's contrabass often fulfills a percussive role, leaping to the forefront with a single, particularly abrasive sound functioning as punctuation to the improvised form — a crucial cohesive element in this otherwise quite amorphous music. (Setola di Maiale)." Jacob Felix Heule, East Bay Express, 2010.

"(...) These folks named themselves well. Five folks (two violins, two cello and a double bass) work their way through a seven-piece cycle. The Meridian in question seems to be the Meridian Gallery in SF where this was recorded. No matter. The pieces will transport you." Aiding & Abetting n.315

"(...) Marsh is a veteran improvisor who works mainly in the Bay Area in the last few years, but with several connections in Italy as well. You may know him as an improvisor playing electronics, violin, accordion, voice, cello, etc. He has numerous projects and collaborations going on. One of them is his collaboration with that other impressive improvisor Jack Wright. A more recent project is "Eight", where Marsh invited musicians and composers for a sound art work that was released by Setola di Maiale. The Emergency String (X)tet is an another project led by Marsh. It is an improvisational chamber music ensemble founded by him some fifteen years ago. Nowadays it is a quintet of Adria Otte (violin), Angela Hsu (violin), Bob Marsh (cello), Doug Carrol (cello) and Tony Dryer (double bass). Violinists Adria Otte and Angela Hsu both attended Mills College, cellist Doug Carroll is a veteran Bay Area improviser, and contrabassist Tony Dryer is involved in the electronic noise group Basshaters. We hear them in a live recording at San Francisco's Meridian Gallery on May 19, 2009, in seven short improvisations. I'm glad it are short pieces as this is not very accessible music. It needs your attention in order to absorb if fully. It is full of small subtleties and nuances. A continuous stream of short patterns and runs, everybody doing something else. An example of collective improvisation that in its result is more close to modern music then to jazz. Alas some of the dynamics are lost in this live recording, so that I lose contact with this music. But in the end, it is impressive enough for me to say 'I wish I was there'." (DM, 2010)

01 _ Meridian One 3:48
02 _ Meridian Two 5:45
03 _ Meridian Three 7:32
04 _ Meridian Four 7:26
05 _ Meridian Five 4:13
06 _ Meridian Six 6:19
07 _ Meridian Seven 6:17

(C) + (P) 2009