John Butcher on "Freedom and Sound"

Saxophonist John Butcher, a formidable and frequently brilliant improviser (I particularly recommend his recent duo CD with Rhodri Davies, Carliol) has a great essay on the Point of Departure website, titled "Freedom and Sound - This time it’s personal," republished in its original English from a translation in a German book. Butcher does as good a job as I've ever seen attempting to reconcile some of the supposed "contradictions" inherent in playing improvised music within certain internal and external aesthetic constraints, as well as to address the tension inherent in "improvising" within working groups or in other familiar situations. Throughout, he's engaging, insightful, and highly articulate, even bringing in recent psychological research.

Read the essay here.