Mats Gustafsson has played widely with musicians from free improvised and jazz backgrounds, both in his native Sweden and abroad. Some of these associations include: a duo with Paul Lovens; various combinations with Paul Lytton, in Günter Christmann's Vario groups and festivals; in Georg Gräewe's Quintet; in duo with Barry Guy and in trio with Guy and Raymond Strid; and in various groups with Roger Turner (1998 saw a brief tour in the UK of the trio of Gustafsson, Turner and Pat Thomas).   He played in Derek Bailey's Company in 1990 in London. From the early 1990s, Mats Gustafsson has been a regular visitor to the US, forming a particular affinity with Chicago musicians such as Hamid Drake, Michael Zerang and Ken Vandermark.

Toronto improvisors Kurt Newman and Mike Gennaro have played with John Butcher, Mats Gustafsson, Roger Turner, Eugene Chadbourne, Kevin Drumm and Fred Lomberg-Holm among others. They perform as a duo or trio under the name Wrist Error, as well as in ad hoc combinations.

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Port Huron Picnic
   Mats Gustafsson (tenor and baritone
                               saxophones, flute, fluteophone)
   Kurt Newman (guitar)
   Mike Gennaro (drums)

Recorded May 17, 1999 in Chicago. A flickering evanescent set featuring Swedish reed maestro Mats Gustaffson with the promising young Canadian duo of Gennaro and Newman also known as Wrist Error. The latter give credence to the reality of a new improvisation scene in Toronto. There is an appreciation of space and listening that belies the relative youth of this trio. Despite it being the meeting of a veteran improviser and two newcomers, the  music is realized as though the three were already a long standing group.

"This is music existing in a relatively steady state of density. It is leaning forward music. Its energy level somehow resists translation into volume of textual surliness. ... This isn't a narrative or telling. It's a sequence of events you can narrate if you so desire." -- David Grubbs, from the liner notes

8 tracks in 55:07 minutes.

More SPOOL

If you missed this cd, you might enjoy listening to:

Parrot Fish Eye, (duets and trios with O'Rourke, Coleman, and Zerang)

Double or Nothing (AALY & DKV Trios)

Mouth Eating Trees and Related Activities, (Mats with Barry Guy and Paul Lovens)

Live At Glen Miller Cafe (AALY with Vandermark)

Stumble (AALY with Vandermark)

The Last Concert (Borgman, Charles, Morris)