The Music Improvisation Company

The Music Improvisation Company
Studio album by Derek Bailey, Evan Parker, Hugh Davies, Jamie Muir & Christine Jeffrey
Released	1970
Recorded	August 25-27, 1970 Merstham Studios, London
Genre	Free jazz
Length	46:04
Label	ECM 1005
Producer	Manfred Eicher
Evan Parker chronology
The Topography of the Lungs (1970) The Music Improvisation Company (1970) Collective Calls (Urban) (Two Microphones) (1972)
Derek Bailey chronology
The Topography of the Lungs (1970) The Music Improvisation Company (1970) Improvisations for Cello and Guitar (1971)

The Music Improvisation Company is an album by saxophonist Evan Parker, guitarist Derek Bailey, electronic musician Hugh Davies and percussionist Jamie Muir (along with vocalist Christine Jeffrey added on two tracks) which was was recorded in 1970 and released on the ECM label.^[1][2][3]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[4]

Allmusic's Chris Kelsey noted "Although the musicians were conversant in jazz styles, the music made by the MIC was essentially and intentionally non-idiomatic, drawing upon any and all elements of musical thought and given voice in the moment. The resulting music was dissonant, discontinuous, and ultimately in the vanguard of improvised music".^[5] Tyran Grillo wrote that "As can be expected from one look at the roster, the musicianship is excellent. Evan Parker steals the show with his bubbling outbursts of indiscernible melody while Bailey cultivates an even more anonymous approach, cutting in and out with a surgeon’s touch. In the end, such a project can only be what one makes of it. Its difficulties are also what make it go down smoothly, even as its effortless approach renders it impossible to fathom. It is a mysterious object, to be sure, and one that casts a new reflection with every turn".^[6]

Track listing

All compositions by Derek Bailey, Hugh Davies, Jamie Muir and Evan Parker except as indicated

1. "Third Stream Boogaloo" (Bailey, Davies, Christine Jeffrey, Muir, Parker) - 2:40
2. "Dragon Path" - 10:25
3. "Packaged Eel" - 8:43
4. "Untitled No. I" - 7:06
5. "Untitled No. II" (Bailey, Davies, Jeffrey, Muir, Parker) - 7:33
6. "Tuck" - 3:05
7. "Wolfgang Van Gangbang" - 6:54

Personnel

• Derek Bailey - guitar
• Hugh Davies - electronics
• Jamie Muir - percussion
• Evan Parker - soprano saxophone
• Christine Jeffrey - vocals (tracks 1 & 5)

references

1. Shapiro, R. Sessionography of Derek Bailey accessed May 5, 2016
2. Hsu, W. T. & Rousell, P. Discography of Evan Parker accessed May 5, 2016
3. ECM Records Catalog: 1000 series accessed May 5, 2016
4. The Music Improvisation Company – Listing at AllMusic. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
5. Kelsy, Chris. Music Improvisation Company – Biography at AllMusic. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
6. Grillo, T. ECM Reviews: The Music Improvisation Company (ECM 1005) June 10, 2010