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Martin Archer & Walt Shaw — Biyartabiyu
(Discus Music 177CD, 2024, CD / DL)

by Peter Thelen, Published 2024-10-13

Biyartabiyu Cover art

Walt Shaw is an artist (fine art, paintings, etc) and an experimental and improvising drummer and percussionist who has worked with Martin Archer on many of his projects, including The Orchestra of the Upper Atmosphere, as well as being a regular in the Quadelectronic group, a monthly collective live improv event in Leicester in the UK, along with Chris Conway, Jim Tetlow, Steve and Alan Freeman (of Audion / Ultima Thule), and many others. Martin Archer is, of course, the prime mover at Discus Music as well as being a superb woodwind player and multi-instrumentalist who has appeared on over two hundred 50 releases since the late 80s, too many to enumerate here. Here he contributes all of the instruments of the saxophone family (well, no bass or contrabass sax, but you know what I mean...) to this solidly improvisational effort with Shaw, five long pieces mostly in the ten minute range where the two stretch out and offer their finest playing giving it everything they have in the moment. The title, Biyartabiyu, translates roughly to ‘the two of them’ in the Hausa language of northern Nigeria, where Shaw and his wife taught as volunteers for a period of time; likewise, the titles of the five pieces “Daya,” “Biyu,” “Uku,” “Hudu,” and “Biyar” translate to “One,” “Next,” “ Three,” “Four,” and “Five.” They all contain moments of order and chaos, beautiful melodies, and fierce and gentle improvisation, just the right balance of all those elements to keep it interesting over the long haul, such that it seems much shorter than the 49 minutes of playing time. Then again, if you don’t care for drums that don’t play a steady cadence or saxes that occasionally honk, squonk, and squeak, then this may not be for you. I’m good with it!

Filed under: New releases, 2024 releases

Related artist(s): Martin Archer, Walt Shaw

More info
http://discusmusic.bandcamp.com/album/biyartabiyu-177cd-2024

 

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