Jon Rose Serge Ermoll etc Improvs Fringe Benefit LP 1978

Also known as Fringe Benefit Records No.24

EMI Custom pressing YPRX1515.

Each musician was asked to improvise a solo of a certain length; these were then superimposed, with the musicians having any knowledge of the others’ input.

Recorded with help from the NSW Conservatorium of Music electronic studio in Spring 1978.

Screen printed cover, designed by Kristine Rose.

Jon Rose: Violin, Sarangi and Autoharp

Dave Ellis: Contrabass

Serge Ermoll: Prepared Piano (Side 1)

Peter Kelly: Percussion and Clarinet (Side 2)

Rik Rue: VCS 3 Synthesizer (Side 2 trk 1)

Jon Rose (http://www.jonroseweb.com/) is an Australian violinist born in the UK in 1951. Rose began playing violin at age 7 after winning a music scholarship to King's School in Rochester. For over 35 years, Rose has been at the sharp end of new, improvised, and experimental music and media. A polymath, he is at much at home creating large environmental multi-media works as he is playing the violin on a concert stage. Central to this practice has been 'The Relative Violin' project, a unique output, rich in content, realising almost everything on, with, and about the violin and string music in general. Most celebrated is the worldwide Fence project; least known are the relative violins created specifically for and in Australia.

He has appeared on over 60 albums, and worked with artists such as Kronos Quartet, Derek Bailey, Fred Frith, Shelley Hirsh, Chris Cutler, Otomo Yoshihide, KK Null, Alvin Curran, Evan Parker, Phil Minton, John Cage, Tony Oxley, Steve Beresford, Eugene Chadbourne, Bob Ostertag, Jim Denley, Elliott Sharp, George Lewis, Christian Marclay, Toshinori Kondo, Joelle Leandre, Frances-Marie Uitti, Barre Phillips, and John Zorn.

*

In a playing career that has spanned nearly 50 years, Dave Ellis has been a member of the Western Australian (WASO) and Sydney Symphony Orchestras (SSO), the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust (Sydney) Orchestra, the Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO), the Australian Contemporary Music Ensemble (ACME), the latter three as Principal Double Bass, and several Freelance Orchestras (always as Principal). His non-classical work includes Jazz, Rock, Country Music, Cabaret and Experimental and Improvisatory Music. He is now a member of the contemporary Flamenco group, Arrebato Ensemble.

He has played the Sydney (and some national) seasons of many Music Theatre and Stage Productions and played on hundreds of Record Albums/CDs, Film Scores (composing the music for some), Television Shows and Jingles/Commercials.

He has performed in concert and cabaret with many artists including Peggy Lee, George Benson, Antony and the Johnsons, Eartha Kitt, Sir George Martin, Val Doonican, Tim Draxl, Julie Anthony, David Campbell and Monica Trapaga, jazz greats Milt Jackson, Phil Woods and Al Jareau and has been the Bassist for Maestro Tommy Tycho for the last 37 years.

*

For nearly 40 years, pianist Serge Ermoll has been the wild man of Australian jazz. His group, Free Kata, formed in the 1970s, 'ripped open the heart of music aesthetics in Australia' (John Shand, Sydney Morning Herald, August 2003).

Ermoll has played with some of the greats of the international jazz scene, such as the trumpet player Dizzy Gillespie, but his desire to 'be free' - and a chaotic life - has kept him out on the wild frontier of Australian music making. With a black belt in karate, and a day job as a private eye, Ermoll has always been a 'character', but years of wild living and a lifetime without any regular income have taken their toll, both on Serge Ermoll and those closest to him.

Visiting the U.K. in the late sixties, he was invited to fill in for Dudley Moore, when he was invited to Hollywood. A revered musician before finding fame in the latter, Moore never returned to the U.K. as a regular player. Serge went on to become an integral member of what was the Dudley Moore Trio, playing consis te ntly for the next 7 years in the territory as a result. A regular at the prestigous Ronnie Scotts to sight one example, during that period.

Other artists of significance he has collaborated with include, Richie Cole, Lester Bowie, Don Moyee, Phil Woods, Art Pepper, Joe Henderson, Eddie Moore, Herb Ellis, Ray Brown, Sonny Stitt, Jimmy Whitherspoon, Ernestine Anderson, Dizzie Gillespie, Roscoe Mitchell, David Leibman, Odeon Pope, The Art Ensemble Of Chicago, John Scofield, George Cables, Branford Marsali s, Ralph Pena (bass from Clare Fisher's Band), John Lee (bass from Mccoy Tyner's Band), and many more.

Jim McLeod (jazz presenter ABC FM). Excerpts from the liner notes fromThe Jazz Masters ('99) recorded with Herb Elllis & Ray Brown.

You can always rely on Serge Ermoll's music for one element. It will never be dull.

He may play it pretty wild or straight ahead or free but it will always be an involving experience.

While Serge seems equally at home in many different areas of jazz, his real importance is as one of those very necessary experimenters. His experience is extensive and has seen him at the forefront of jazz in Australia for the past thirty years. Boasting a 5th Dan black belt in karate, and formerly having a day job as a private detective, Ermoll has always been a character, within & beyond his music.

*

Rik Rue is a sound artist based in Sydney, Australia.

Born in Sydney in 1950, at the age of 15 Rue began constructing his own soundscapes from found and outdoor environmental sounds. Environmental sounds, his primary musical influences, have always provided him with “abstract and subconscious pleasures and an inner understanding of the physical environment”, and manipulating them seemed to allow an imaginative reconstruction of, and some control over, the world that produced them.

Rue, who is self-taught in composition, stayed in London from 1970 to 1973, while studying part-time at the Slade School, Camden Art Centre and Royal College of Art. Back in Sydney, from 1976 to 1979, his interest in improvisation and jazz surfaced in an organisational way when he helped present concerts of experimental and improvised music in the Paris Theatre in Darlinghurst and small galleries such as Central Street in Sydney. At this time he also played with a number of prominent Sydney improvisers, including Jon Rose, Louis Burdett and Serge Ermoll. Rue also achieved an important musical breakthrough.

By using the tape recorder, he realised he could combine his love of environmental sounds, and of world musics, with his interest in improvisation and his desire to document and re-arrange sounds. Thus, the tape recorder became his `instrument’. He began presenting `live mixed’ tape works in performance with improvisers such as Jim Denley and with the improvising group The Relative Band in the 1980s. Since the early 1980s, Rue has continued to work with live tape mixing in performances, particularly when playing with Mind/Body/Split , a group of Sydney-based improvising musicians including Jim Denley (flute and saxophone), Sherre De Lys (voice and texts), Jamie Fielding (synthesiser and percussion), Kimo Venonen (electronic samplings and manipulations) and occasional distinguished guests, such as Amanda Stewart (voice), Chris Abrahams (piano) and Graham Leake (percussions and samplings).

*

Peter Kelly was a Sydney percussionist who collaborated extensively with the musicians on the Fringe benefit label, specialising in improvised music. He also recorded the album “A mere finger pointing at the moon” with Colin Offord in 1978.

Side 1:

Trios

Side 2:

Various Improvisations.

CONDITION:

SLEEVE - VG+++. Some ring wear, printed design not affected; water stain top left, small sticker residue top right.

RECORD - EX+ to NM-. Possibly only played once or twice. Surface noise absolutely minimal.

RECORD GRADINGS

(May be further qualified by + or - )

M = Mint

Must be in perfect condition with no audible or visible defects whatsoever. The record and cover/sleeve should be exactly as brand new.

NM = Near Mint

Almost mint but has one or two minor visible marks on the cover/sleeve or surface with sound quality remaining perfect.

EX = Excellent

Not quite perfect. There may a slight chance of minor deterioration in sound quality. The cover/sleeve may show slight wear.

VG = Very Good

The surface and cover/sleeve shows visible signs of wear due to the fact that it has been played on a regular basis. There will be some audible surface noise but it will not effect the listening experience.

G = Good

The sound quality has deteriorated due to having been played often. The cover/sleeve and surface will show considerable signs of wear and tear with some possible damage.

F = Fair

Has been neglected, but is still playable. There will be major audible defects such as loud clicks or jumping. The cover/sleeve maybe badly damaged.

P = Poor

Technically playable, but with serious deterioration in condition and sound quality. The cover/sleeve will be badly damaged.

VP = Very Poor

In terrible condition and absolutely unplayable. Would only be of use as a last resort to complete a collection.

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