BGNO (Barry Guy New Orchestra)

The BGNO is indisputably the finest improvised jazz ensemble. Its close-knit teamwork guarantees clear and compact music. Although each of its members is a soloist of great calibre, the accent is nevertheless on ensemble playing. The musicians effortlessly switch from tightly composed passages to absolute freedom. Barry Guy makes his affinity with Charles Mingus quite clear in his compositions. He writes with such respect for the specific character of each instrument that it is a true pleasure for each musician to play their parts. This enviable quality makes Barry Guy an exceptional orchestral thinker. The passages of free improvisation evoke the image of a fast-flowing mountain stream with eddies and waterfalls. Lytton and Strid, Guy and Holmlander represent the constantly thundering roar of the water. Fernandez' piano playing is like swirling water that spatters into droplets on the rocks and continues on its way in a new and wilful pattern. Above the water the wind instruments skim like birds carrying out playful attacks on the whirling stream. 'Oort-Entropy' is a persuasive example of the viability of free forms in a structured whole.