John Russell

Here is an interesting artist for those who like the eccentricities and the improvisations of the jazz rock guitarist Derek Bailey.

I particularly recommend the outstanding work of John Russell with Roger Turner

• John Russell & Roger Turner - The second sky

Even though they emerge from the English scene and work through now-familiar musical problems, there is freshness to their language and to the paths they take. Much of this uniqueness comes, to my ears at least, from Russell's use of nylon-string acoustic guitar. He eschews the bright sound of steel-string acoustic or the effects available to him through amplification for a truly personalized guitar approach, one that is effectively absorbed into his body. The empathic language he speaks with Turner—whose intensity in even the smallest gestures lights up this music—certainly focuses on the small sounds and non-idiomatic properties of their instruments in the way beloved by fans of English improvisation. Pokes, pops, and scratches enter carefully into your listening space, both as unassuming and as jarring as the hissing radiator or creaking floorboard at night. Turner is a true percussive master, able to scrape the cymbal or rub the drumhead in the most effective way. But despite the near-total absence of conventional musical markers like melody or harmony, there is an intimacy, almost a romanticism, to this playing that is audible on tracks like "Piercing the Second Sky" or "Slowly Burning Wood". With their close attention to nuance and texture, in all the subtle modulations as opposed to grand gestures, there is the sense that they are almost reluctant to let the listener into their private conversation. And it's this air of mystery, of secrets close to being shared, that makes this music so alluring.

• John Russell & Roger Turner -Birthdays

New recordings from February, 1996 in the UK, of improv duets between Russell (acoustic guitar) & Tuner (pedal drums & assorted percussion). "It should be emphasized that no amplification or electronics is used by either musician. Who needs electronics when one can produce a range of sounds as remarkable as this?" --Martin Davidson