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Amm (Group)AMM is an important British free improvisation group, founded in London, England in 1965. AMM have never been well-known, but have been, in their own way, hugely influential on several generations of adventurous musicians. AMM has been called "legendary" http://www.dustedmagazine.com/reviews/1124 and "groundbreaking." http://www.mdos.at/recorddetail.php?id=5062&md3c=2b7bf87acf7d74a9d5e46bf1d21b0b23 AMM was initially composed of Keith Rowe on guitar, Lou Gare on saxophone and Eddie Prevost on drums. Rowe and Gare were members of Mike Westbrook's band; Prevost and Gare were also in a hard bop jazz quintet. The three men shared a common interest in exploring music beyond the boundaries of conventional jazz, as part of a larger movement that helped spawn European free jazz and free improvisation. Members of the group have come and gone over the years, but Rowe and Prevost have usually been present for most recordings and performances; The latter has been the only constant in the nearly forty-years of AMM music. AMM released their first recording in 1966. No AMM performance was ever planned; each was unique and spontaneous. The musicians tended to avoid any conventional melody, harmony or rhythm, and further sought an ensemble sound that often obscured any individual's role. It was, and remains, sometimes difficult to discern which musical instrument is making which specific sound on an AMM recording, due in part to liberal use of various extended techniques. Prevost has written, "The player could, at times, share a timeless immersion in a world of sound, while simultaneously being free to pursue their individual paths. It was not uncommon for the musician to wonder who or what was producing a particular sound, stop playing, and discover it was he himself who had been responsible." http://www.matchlessrecordings.com/leaving_history.html There were some initial similarities to free jazz, due in part to Gare's saxophone. One critic has written, however, that the resemblance was rather slight, writing, "the overall sound of the group, even in 1966, was so different, so idiosyncratic, that it's not at all surprising that both new jazz and contemporary classical audiences were baffled, if not horrified." http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&uid=UIDSUB040406152209571317&sql=A60q3g4ettvjz Composer Cornelius Cardew joined AMM in 1966, performing on piano and cello. He worked with AMM intermittently until his death in 1981. Composer Christian Wolff performed with AMM in 1968. Rowe left AMM for a period in the early 1970s, and AMM was for a time a duo of Prevost and Gare. This was arguably AMM's most jazz-like era, though Prevost has stated the music was "decidedly non-jazz." http://www.bagatellen.com/archives/reviews/000458.html Rowe rejoined in the mid-1970s, and shortly thereafter, Gare departed, leaving a Rowe-Prevost duo for a period before pianist John Tilbury--previously an occasional AMM collaborator--joined about 1980. This edition of AMM have perhaps had more in common with minimalism; one critic has noted, however, that this trio have still managed "after more than 35 years as a functioning unit, to avoid routines and ruts while retaining an unmistakable 'AMM-nes' is astonishing." http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&uid=UIDSUB040406152209571317&sql=Aex5uaknk0m3k External links
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