Best of 2020
Treader serve up a much appreciated reissue of the Grandfather of British improv's 1978 classic. This is saxophone playing of the most radical kind, a four part collection of continual transgressions that almost leave you breathless trying to keep pace with Parker's invention. Obviously rooted in jazz, Parker nonetheless conjures a series of sounds from his instrument so as to take the listener into unexpected, sometimes challenging spaces. That's a saxophone he's playing, though at times you'd be forgiven for thinking otherwise. This is true improv in that it concerns itself not just with the subversion of form, but how that subversion can transpose sound into new shapes and contexts, often in disorientating ways. A brave, singular record, likely transmitted from a higher plain of thinking. Monocerus is a faintly observed constellation on the celestial equator, and translates as 'unicorn' in Greek. It makes perfect sense. And naturally, this is beautifully presented as everything is on Treader.
