CATALOGUE     RETURN

Benoit Delbecq and François Houle Dice Thrown (SGL 1538-2) Release date: Sept 3, 2002 (U.S.) with Benoit Delbecq (piano, prepared piano), François Houle (clarinet) Building on these artists' first duo collaboration, Nancali (SGL 1519-2, 1997), Dice Thrown includes pieces for piano or prepared piano and clarinets (sometimes two played simultaneously) and a solo improvisation by each musician. As the record unfolds, composition and improvisation seem to flow together into a dream-like continuum where jazz and new music meet. To reach this place, Delbecq and Houle have worked for years extending the techniques of their instruments and creating their own language of musical gestures for purposes of spontaneous musical composition. Delbecq's contemplative piano "fabrics" draw on Cage, Ligeti, and African timbres and polyrhythms, and are characterized by unexpected juxtapositions and patternings. Houle's approach has been inspired by Evan Parker and clarinetist William O. Smith's multi-layered sonic explorations, and combines a thoroughgoing reinvention of the clarinet's expressive possibilities with an exceptional melodic lyricism. The duo's rapport results in a highly ordered yet intuitive discourse, echoes and undercurrents of other music continually opening up new directions. The nuanced 24-bit recording was mastered to Direct Stream Digital, revealing a world of subtle resonance. Pianist/keyboardist/composer Benoit Delbecq was born near Paris in 1966 and studied both jazz and contemporary/classical piano. He is a founding member of the Hask Collective, which helped revitalize Paris's creative music scene in the 1990s, and leads or co-leads Delbecq 5, Ambitronix, PianoBook, Kartet, the Recyclers, and les Amants de Juliette. Delbecq has collaborated and recorded with Steve Lacy, Evan Parker, Steve and Julian Argelles, Marc Ducret, Tony Coe, Gianni Gebbia, and French pop star Katerine among others. He composes for film, dance, theater and radio, and has a collaboration using sampling technology with French poet Olivier Cadiot. He toured Central Africa in 1994 with Serge Adam, and has appeared at numerous festivals in Europe as well as Canada and Japan. His recordings are on Songlines, Naive, Plush, Deux Z, and other labels. Born in Quebec in 1961, Vancouver-based clarinetist/composer François Houle has built a body of work that, as Art Lange has written, "hovers unselfconsciously above categories and styles." He leads the Francois Houle 5 and other jazz/creative music groups, co-leads the world music trio Safa, is a member of Delbecq 5, and has performed and/or recorded with Marilyn Crispell, Dave Douglas, Myra Melford, Wayne Horvitz, JoÎlle Leandre, Georg Graewe, Evan Parker, and the NOW Orchestra. He has performed in ensembles under the direction of Kagel, Takemitsu, and Xenakis, is intimately involved in the development of contemporary Canadian music as a member of Standing Wave and the Vancouver New Music Ensemble, and also performs classical chamber music regularly. He has appeared at festivals across Canada, the U.S., and Europe, and his recordings are on Songlines, Between the Lines, Spool, Red Toucan, and other labels.

* Shaw * Oliveira et la Sybille * Ezerville * Bogolandes * C-Strang * Apnesie * Dice Talk * Raccourci * Trois pour les Gil * Des jetes