Gabor Szabo
Dreams

Strut is proud to announce the new album by UK jazz pianist, Greg Foat, ‘Symphonie Pacifique’, released on 3rd July 2020.Foat has become a versatile mainstay in UK jazz through an acclaimed series of albums on Jazzman and Athens Of The North, moving from soul-jazz workouts to library music to cinematic, haunting compositions and pastoral acid folk. ‘Symphonie Pacifique’ goes expansive and widescreen, building a lush soundscape using choral textures, harp and tubular bells. “It has been a hallmark of my previous albums to use choral voices and tubular bells to sound more like chordal instruments,” explains Foat. “I used pedal steel for the first time on these tracks.” All are showcased on the atmospheric ‘After The Storm’. “This piece was completely improvised during our last day of studio time,” continues Foat. “The assistant engineer had set up an arpeggio on the synthesizer as a metronome; the harp and guitar created an ostinato, myself and others soloed over it and we later added choir and strings. Eventually, we took the arpeggio off to leave a calm, serene piece of music.”Upping the tempo, Foat brings in sensual groove-based tracks like the undulating ‘Anticipation’, the album title track and Groove Merchant-channelling ‘Nikinakinu’. “This was one for my stepson Nicky,” explains Foat. “I worked up this idea with him and my Zimbabwean drummer friend Sam Chagumachinyi so it has a slightly African feel to it and uses pentatonic scales.”Other tracks include the languid, simmering ‘Island Life’ and a moving tribute to KPM library legend Duncan Lamont on the reflective ‘Lament For Lamont’. “Duncan was one of the unsung heroes of British jazz. He played with Sinatra, composed some incredible library music and his 1970 album ‘Best Of The Bossa Novas’ was one of the biggest selling UK jazz albums of all time. I recorded with him for my album ‘The Mage’ a few years ago and he was genuinely the nicest guy I have ever played with. He was looking forward to working on this album but sadly passed away a couple of months before the sessions, so we really wanted to record this tribute to him.”The album is a truly international collaboration, recorded analogue and produced by Greg Foat at London’s Fish Factory studios with strings recorded in Edinburgh and choir in Gothenburg. The album was mixed by Mattias Glava at Kungsten Studios in Gothenburg. Cover artwork is based on a painting by early 20th Century Algerian / Parisian artist Henry Valensi.

Free Jazz pioneer, Evan Parker returns to Walthamstow to record an album taking inspiration from the renowned designer and activist, William Morris at the home of the socialist campaigner, which nowhouses the William Morris Gallery.The original working title for the album was 'Barbarism Once More', taken from a longer quotation from Morris, which reflects the passion, spontaneity and iconoclastic nature of Evan's playing. However, in lightof the death of Evan’s friend and leading light of the improvising scene, John Russell, who lived on Winns Avenue, adjacent to the Gallery, Evan decided to offer a tribute to John, calling the album ‘Winns Win’.Evan has spoken about entering "a utopian space" when he plays, to which a parallel can be drawn to Morris's novel 'News from Nowhere', and from there to Free Improvisation's early political leanings. Thealbum presents nine spontaneous compositions that are very dense, though very melodical at the same time, using pattern and repetition as Morris did in his designs. This is music for headphones, or high-quality speakers - you’re in the room, hearing the movement of the saxophone keys and the breathing close at hand, with the sax in the middle of the room and panning providing a three-dimensional experience.