SYNÀNTISI

Autumn has always brought me bright thoughts and fruitful encounters.
Barry and I, although we had known each other for many years — and although I had grown “into adulthood” musically through the influence of masters like him — had never had the chance to play and record together. Finally, October 2025 gave me this wonderful gift: an extraordinary meeting.
Coming face to face with a champion of free improvisation placed me in a position where I had to draw upon all the creativity available — and even go beyond every barrier of sound. Including the use of my own voice.
Like Barry, I have moved through many musical contexts, and the greatest lesson I have learned is always the same: in the absence of organizational schemes or precise idioms, one must “let things happen.” Not to place on the table a dry catalogue of effects, but only what is truly necessary — that strategy of alertness and responsiveness my friend Evan Parker once described as Tac-au-tac, a term borrowed from fencing.
And when you play with Master Guy, the feeling of fencing is always present”.

Roberto Ottaviano
Roberto
Ottaviano
Breathes
Every
Reed
To
Outstanding,
Orphean
Tac-au-tac.
Thrilling
Acoustic
Virtuosity,
Intensity
And
Nerveless

Originality

Barry
Always
Ready,
Resourceful.
You
Give
Us
Yourself.

An Acrostic by Evan Parker January 2026