Benedict Taylor
Member of: SETT
Obsidian
The first release of 2024 is in! After their well-received debut duo album Puncture Cycle (released five years ago on A New Wave Of Jazz - this album you find here), British key improviser Benedict Taylor (viola) and Dirk Serries (archtop guitar) are back with a new duo album. An album they recorded at the fantastic Oude Klooster chapel in Brecht (Belgium) on August 11th, 2023. Full-on interaction, fast-paced dialogue while still listening and corresponding in depth with the sublime acoustics …
Hunt At The Brook Again / Hunt At The Brook With Neil Metcalfe
Tip! In Vital Weekly 1397, I reviewed a CD by Dirk Serries, Benedict Taylor and Friso van Wijck they released on the Portuguese label Creative Sources Recordings. Now, the Portuguese entered Serries' label New Wave Of Jazz. The improvised music scene is small but very busy. A trio consisting of Carlos "Zingaro" on violin, Guilherme Rodrigues on cello and José Oliveira on percussion. They played on July 30, 2021, in Lisbon and for the title, they took inspiration from Kurt Schwitters. I think the…
Le Sud
Tip! Le Sud trio works from the concept of lower-case free music, which has been a common European currency since the mid-1970s. Despite Brexit, violist Benedict Taylor asserts himself during this continental concert by sawing, sweeping and stretching distinctive patterns from his strings. During the two over half-hour each improvisations however there’s no lead instrument. Positioned power strokes, steel string plinks and diverted chords from Dirk Serries plus Friso Van Wyck hollow pops, metal …
The Tape
*60 copies limited edition* Live in concert at A New Wave Of Jazz festival, Hundred Years Gallery (London, UK) on February 8th, 2020.Graham Dunning : turntable, dubplates & spring reverbs, Benedict Taylor : viola, Daniel Thompson : acoustic guitar.
Black Tape, Clear Box With Pins, Sealed. Design By Rutger Zuydervelt
Knotted Threads
Tip! "I met Benedict Taylor in London in 2017 where I was doing a six month residency thanks to the Conseil des arts et lettres du Québec. I heard Benedict perform in ensemble and solo contexts and rapidly felt a strong connection with some of my musical concerns. I was particularly caught by his ability to listen to what sound elicits or suggests as he articulates and shapes it; a dynamic interplay of sensitivity and agency, at times yielding pretty surprising results. We managed to meet for a …
Mopomoso Tour 2013 - Making Rooms
4-disc boxset with 20-page booklet documenting Mopomoso's triumphant UK tour in 2013.
disc 1 – Evan Parker / John Russell / John Edwards – Chasing The Peripanjandra
disc 2 – Pat Thomas – Naqsh
disc 3 – Alison Blunt / Benedict Taylor / David Leahy – Knottings
disc 4 – Kay Grant / Alex Ward – Seven Cities
"On this evidence, 'Making Rooms' already seems certain to feature prominently in many an end-of-year list of best releases. Yes, a future classic." — All About Jazz
"'Making Rooms' has a connect…
First and Second
**300 copies** "To fully grasp the range of extended techniques, you should be able to see them in action, but it is also perfectly possible to listen to this music and focus on elements such as flow, density and responsiveness." - Guy Peters"SETT is a an acoustic strings quartet, featuring British most prolific double bass player John Edwards, Dirk Serries and Daniel Thompson on acoustic guitars and violist Benedict Taylor, recorded at the Dave Hunt studio, London in November 2019. SETT does no…
An Evening at Jazzblazzt
**300 copies** "Another special such place, situated in Holland, but only a few hundred meters from the Belgian border, is JazzBlazzt. It is as homely as can get - basically a garage turned into a small concert venue - but at the same time a miraculous place, where many artists that have appeared on this label have performed." - Guy Peters"Dirk Serries, still on acoustic guitar, meets again violist Benedict Taylor, and pianist Martina Verhoeven (she plays only on the second set) in a live perfor…
Close | Quarters
**300 copies** "Close | Quarters is a seven-track slice of often compacted and angular improv for viola and prepared chamber. The two players here are Benedict Taylor and Anton Mobin. Taylor is a British improviser / avant musician who has been active in the scene since the early 2000s releasing a good body of work, as well as becoming a respected name, and Frenchman Mobin has once again been active since the early 2000’s making a name for himself as both an improviser and sound artists.The albu…
Puncture Cycle
**300 copies** "Spreading their intuitive playing over nine, randomly sequenced improvisation titled with numbers, Benedict Taylor and Dirk Serries many variations on fiddle string twists and slurred guitar fingering produce tunes that are manually constructed, deconstructed and put back together again. Tracks often posit and resolve singular experiments. For instance, the hard dry swagger of IV opens up into a tremolo and spiccato bowed narrative. Swift, repetative slithers from Taylor enliven …