It was 26 October 2002 and around 25 musicians had assembled in the theatre at the Centre for Contemporary Arts in Glasgow during Free Radiccals, a festival curated by Evan Parker and Graham McKenzie. I had asked Graham for a couple hours of Evan’s time to run a workshop focused on large ensemble improvising concluding with a low key public performance. Graham said if I could guarantee 25 musicians he’d ask Evan. I’d been playing in lots of free improvising contexts with different groups of players in Glasgow at the time, so I did. I remember distinctly Evan pronouncing unprompted, and with avuncular gravitas, “You are all founding members of The Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra”. Little did I know that almost exactly 19 years later I’d be constructing a playlist to celebrate our 14th annual GIO festival. The playlist includes tracks recorded at the festival over the years with fabulous players who became friends and part of GIO’s extended family. It also includes some of our newest friends, who will be appearing at this year’s festival.

The Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra & Evan Parker
“Das Grosse Spiel”
From Munich And Glasgow

This comes from GIO’s first album, released in 2004, and recorded in Glasgow and Munich. The title, which translates as “The Big Match”, alludes to the Munich concert coming in between two big football matches in the city involving Scottish teams, and also some of the game-like aspects of the piece. The instructions to the musicians on the score say, “Play what is written or play whatever you want”, and the piece also involves some light-touch conduction via hand signals. I particularly like the otherworldly clarinet and shakuhachi duet, by Daniel Padden (of Volcano The Bear fame) and Nick Fells. It goes its own cosmic way and pays no attention to the free jazz skronk from which it emerges.

Pinguin Moschner/Maggie Nicols/Joe Sachse
“I Want You”/“Eye Want Shoe”
From Play Nevergreens (Things We Used To Like And Still Do)

Improvisational godmother, matriarch and all round inspirational archetype, Maggie Nicols has been part of GIO since the very early days. She has performed at just about all our festivals and appears on many of our CDs. This track is from a CD she thrust into my hands in Dresden in 2006. We had just finished a project with drummer Gunter ‘Baby’ Sommer and The Dresden Free Team (a large ensemble assembled by Gunter) and we were waving to the GIO players as they left on a coach. I had a couple of duo gigs to play with Gunter, and Maggie was heading off to play a concert with tuba player Pinguin Moschner and guitarist Joe Sachse. Just before she left she gave me this CD by the trio and I’ve been playing it ever since. This track is glorious in so many ways – Maggie’s gorgeous voice conveys all the pathos and ambiguity of Dylan’s original, and then, in a heartbeat, she takes it to places only Maggie can, and leaves us laughing and crying in equal measure. There’s a bangin’ tuba solo too.

The Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra & George Lewis
“Artificial Life 2007 Page 1”
From Artificial Life

GIO first worked with George Lewis in 2003 when he came to Glasgow with The International Composers And Improvisers Ensemble from Munich and both ensembles (around 50 musicians) lead by George collaborated in a wild and celebratory first encounter. In 2007 we commissioned George to write a piece specifically to be performed at GIOfest that year and the resultant piece Artificial Life 2007 is not only one GIO return to frequently, but is performed around the world by other ensembles. The recording of the premiere at GIOfest in 2007 was lost and we had to wait till GIOfest 2012 to record this version. George’s own notes state: “Artificial Life 2007 is designed to realise a model of group improvisation as an emergent phenomenon based upon negotiation and local intelligence.” We’ve been lucky to maintain a close working relationship with George whose visits to Glasgow are always action packed, fun and inspiring.

The Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra with Marilyn Crispell & Evan Parker
“I – Parallel Signs (e)”
From Parallel Moments Unbroken

Recorded at GIOfest 2013 as part of a BBC Radio 3 Jazz On 3 commission, this track features Marilyn Crispell’s solo interpretation of part of a large graphic score. Marilyn’s kindness and generosity of spirit combines beautifully with her endless musicality, and by the end of the festival that year the whole band had fallen in love with her. We have other gems in our archive that feature Marilyn, including a duet with Maggie Nicols that has them both playing the same piano, then dancing and singing together. We also have Marilyn and Keith Tippet in a gorgeous two piano duet. Our archive has lots of hidden gems including a duo of Evan Parker and George Lewis, and a piece called “Rothko” where, in 2003, Keith Rowe instructed 25 of us to play one note for 40 minutes. We rehearsed this piece with Keith for a long time and it produced intense debate, some sparks and a happy ending; but that’s another story.

Renee Baker's Chicago Modern Orchestra Project
“Zhuangzi”
From Empty Vessel

Renee Baker is a central figure in Chicago’s Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) and has been a long-time friend and collaborator of GIO. In 2011 and 2012 Renee lead GIO in a number of conducted pieces and, being a charismatic workshop leader, she was also part of our public outreach sessions. This track features Renee’s Chicago Modern Orchestra Project who specialise in playing unusual and innovative scores by living composers. This track features an ace bass intro, a fantastically timed sneeze (you decide if it’s intentional), beautifully conducted juicy cluster chords, and some portentous, yet possibly tongue in cheek, brass fanfares.

The Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra featuring Maggie Nicols, Marilyn Crispell, Gino Robair, Sarah Gail Brand, Arnaud Rivére, Johanna Varner & Andy Champion
“A Peculiar Slumber II: Near & Remote (b)”
From The Word For It Now

GIOfest VI in 2013 featured an incredible line up of guests who all played on Graeme Wilson’s piece A Peculiar Slumber, a response to the theatricality of the CCA space in which GIO regularly rehearses and performs. The piece consists of different strategies using texts on theatre by the extraordinary Swiss writer Robert Walser, who was a significant influence on Franz Kafka, Hermann Hesse and Walter Benjamin.

Shoeb Ahmad
“Falling Fast”
From Watch/Illuminate

Canberra based Shoeb (Sia) Ahmad’s collaboration with GIO blossomed during lockdown. It began with us commissioning her to create a piece we could play during our lockdown online sessions and she produced a witty and provocative composition using commentary from football matches as a backdrop for collective improvisation. More specifically, she sampled, from various sources, commentary accompanying goals scored for Glasgow Celtic by Canberra born footballer Tom Rogic, and mixed and edited them together. For GIOfest last year she produced A Body Full Of Tears, a beguiling abstract film exploring identity issues related to her coming out as a transgender women. On this track her affinity for leftfield Glaswegian pop music is front and centre, making for a lush, ethereal and unique slice of improvised indie experimentalism.

The Noisebringers with Colin Frank & Weston Olencki
“The abusers of power will never be defeated”
From Will You Marry Us

The Noisebringers are a prolific international trio of maximalist multidisciplinary artists. They include key GIO member, and recipient of a 2021 Oram Award, Maria Sappho along with Henry McPherson and Brice Caterin. At this year’s GIOfest they will help us integrate the physical and the virtual, in an evening that combines GIO playing together in the same room, while members of our extended international family join us remotely – each musician in their own space connecting via Zoom. It will be a truly hybrid and experimental evening, conceptually and literally, integrating the two worlds we are all navigating right now. On this track, the title reference is to the Chilean song “¡El pueblo unido jamás será vencido!” by Sergio Ortega & Quilapayún. There is a nod to Frederic Rzewski’s famous variations, but the original is the fundamental.

Joëlle Léandre 10
“Can You Hear Me? Index 2”
From Can You Hear Me?

In 2019 in a small basement club during the Glasgow Jazz Festival, GIO met Joëlle Léandre in a joyous encounter – 30 of us crammed onto a small stage, while Joëlle’s mystically grounded bass took us all to somewhere new. She’s returning to GIOFest this year, and I love how this track starts with a bedrock of swingy jaggy hi-hat before swirling strings, electronics and mysterious melodies merge in post-genre grooves.

Alexander Hawkins
“See[k] > Hear[t]”
From Unite

Alexander Hawkins is the only musician on this playlist not to have previously played with GIO, but I was lucky enough to tour with him as a duo in 2017 and, quite frankly, we had a ball! Listening to music and laughing in the car by day, and playing in beautiful venues and meeting fabulous people by night. I’m delighted he’ll be meeting GIO this year, where new friendships are sure to blossom. Alex has huge experience of working in large ensembles including Antony Braxton’s gargantuan Sonic Genome project. On this track his own large ensemble stretch out in a breath-taking piece that seems both tightly arranged and free as a bird.

Alípio C Neto Quartet
“The Pure Experience Sertão”
From The Perfume Comes Before The Flower

Virtuoso collaborator and polymath saxophonist Alípio C Neto travels from Italy to join us in person at the festival this year, after being a mainstay of our weekly online improvisation sessions for 18 months. These virtual sessions have included over 100 musicians from around the world and, having recorded every one, we now have over 500 hours of film and music documenting our online lockdown adventures. On this track Alípio is on wonderful freewheeling ecstatic form, with gorgeous, warm, roaring and endlessly flowing lines of melody coruscating round the rhythms.

GIOfest XIV takes place at Glasgow CCA between 25–27 November.