{"title":"John Tilbury July","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"seaside-john-tilbury-john-lely-dirar-kalash-christian-wolff","title":"John Tilbury, John Lely, Dirar Kalash, Christian Wolff","description":"\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003eCompositions by Christian Wolff and John Lely, and improvisations played by\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003eJohn Tilbury (clavichord), John Lely (electronics) and Dirar Kalash (oud)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e'Seaside' was first released in 2016, and sold out. It was re-pressed in 2026 to coincide with the release of the 'John Tilbury At Home' box set. \u003cbr\u003eThe re-issued CD is a fundraiser for Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP), a humanitarian charity which John Tilbury has supported for many years, and which is still working on the ground in Gaza and the West Bank to alleviate the sufferings of the Palestinian people.  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003eAll money from sales of the re-issued CD will be passed on to Medical Aid for Palestinians. The cost of the CD is set as a minimum of £15. Please donate more if you can.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e1 - \u003cstrong\u003eJohn Lely \u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cstrong\u003e‘Line’ \u003c\/strong\u003e(2016)                                        3’41”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e2 - \u003cstrong\u003eBiyar ‘Adas\u003c\/strong\u003e  (improvisation)                              10’54” \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e3 - \u003cstrong\u003eSaqiya\u003c\/strong\u003e (improvisation)                                         6’45”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e4 - \u003cstrong\u003eChristian Wolff \u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cstrong\u003e‘Tilbury 2’\u003c\/strong\u003e (1969)                     3’42”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e5 - \u003cstrong\u003eJarisha\u003c\/strong\u003e (improvisation)                                      13’28”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e6 - \u003cstrong\u003eChristian Wolff \u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cstrong\u003e‘Tilbury 4’\u003c\/strong\u003e (1970)                     5’14”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e7 - \u003cstrong\u003eal-Safirriya\u003c\/strong\u003e (improvisation)                                11’34”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e8 - \u003cstrong\u003eJohn Lely\u003c\/strong\u003e  \u003cstrong\u003e‘Line with Accompaniment’\u003c\/strong\u003e  (2016)  7’13”  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/john_tilbury_2_480x480.jpg?v=1752780111\" style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"txt_383\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"txt_1366\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"txt_1367\"\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003eIn late 2015 John Tilbury bought a clavichord, which is now in the conservatory of his house in the Kentish seaside town of Deal. This is the first CD on which John plays clavichord rather than piano.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003eChristian Wolff and John Tilbury first met and worked together in the late 1960’s. At that time Christian composed a series of piano pieces for John with the general title ‘Tilbury’. For this disc John arranged two of these pieces for clavichord. ‘Tilbury 4’ is written in different parts for ‘at least two players’. In this recording two parts were recorded separately and then over-dubbed.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003eJohn Lely has been a frequent collaborator with John Tilbury since the 1990’s when they met at Goldsmith’s College in South London. Lely composed ‘Line’ for John’s clavichord specifically for this recording session. Having recorded the piece as a solo, John Tilbury suggested that they should also record a duo version with John Lely improvising an accompaniment on electronics, and that recording has become the final piece on the CD.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003eDirar Kalash is a young Palestinian artist and musician currently living and studying in The Hague in Holland. John Tilbury came across him in early 2016 and suggested that he would make a good recording partner for the session. Dirar often improvises using electronics, but on these recordings he plays oud, a guitar-like instrument common in North Africa and the Middle East. We believe that it is the first time that this combination of instruments (clavichord, oud and electronics) have played together as a trio.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003eThe clavichord is a very quiet instrument, and was played without amplification so that the other instruments had to come down to its volume. The recordings took place in the conservatory of John Tilbury’s house, and extraneous sounds often drifted in and became another layer of the music. Most frequent were the calls of seagulls, but other sounds included the low-flying aeroplane that passes overhead shortly after the start of the track entitled ‘al-Safirriya’.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003eThe titles of the improvised pieces are taken from the names of former Palestinian villages near to the area where Dirar was born, and which were depopulated or destroyed in 1948 at the time of the creation of the state of Israel.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003eThe recordings were made on 18\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003eth\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eJuly and 4\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003eth\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eOctober 2016.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003eReviews\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003e“On\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eSeaside\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003eJohn Tilbury plays a recently acquired clavichord, a soft-voiced instrument with a bright and brittle sound. It gives a fresh slant to two piano pieces written for him long ago by Christian Wolff. Tilbury also advances with suitably tentative steps along London based composer John Lely’s lean and twangy\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eLine\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003e, returning later to tread the same tightrope with accompaniment from Lely’s electronics. This music was recorded last year at John Tilbury’s home in Deal on the English Channel. Gull cries and other incidental sounds bring the outside in. But it is the seaside at Jaffa in around 1900 that appears on the front cover. Along with Lely, Palestinian multi-instrumentalist Dirar Kalash was Tilbury’s guest. The clavichord proves well-suited for dialogue with Kalash’s oud, an Arabic lute. Four improvised pieces develop in reflective, almost cautious manner, finding common ground. Lely’s tactful electronics act like welder’s flux, strengthening the bond. Instrumentally this is an intriguing departure from the beaten track, but each of these quiet and dignified improvisations has been given the name of a decimated Palestinian village, titles that clash with the music’s accord and weight it with intimations of past and present violence.”    \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003eJim Haynes\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e,\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eThe Wire\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003e“\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003eThe importance of place anchors Seaside, musically and conceptually. The album was recorded at clavichordist John Tilbury’s home in the English seaside town of Deal, and it bears both sonic and visual insignia of the sea. Take the album cover: at first glance, one might assume that it depicts the coast of Deal. The sleeve notes, however, reveal that it is actually a photograph of the coast of Jaffa in Palestine, circa 1900, near where oudist Dirar Kalash was born. Topographical commonalities become a way of connecting disparate places, much as the moments of synchronicity that occur in free improvisation become ways of connecting disparate musical approaches. In this music, connections are manifold but rarely obvious.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003eTimbral exploration drives the music here, and the album’s uncommon instrumentation — clavichord, electronics and oud — provides plenty of material for such exploration. John Lely’s contribution with electronics is subtle but vital, providing a gradually shifting backdrop that casts the diffuse clavichord and oud improvisations into relief and offers a sense of underlying cohesion. The clavichord is a notoriously quiet instrument with a limited dynamic range, so in order to blend effectively Lely and Kalash keep their playing quiet and spacious. This gives the album an elusive quality, as though part of its meaning lies in the silence, just beyond the threshold of audibility.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003eThe album is divided into roughly equal parts improvisations and compositions (four of each), though that distinction doesn’t seem particularly helpful in parsing the music. All three improvisers display a sensitivity to sound at its most fundamental, granular levels, building their improvisations organically outwards rather than following any prescribed form. The nonlinear thrust of the improvisation bleeds into the compositions as well; on first listen it is difficult to discern which pieces were improvised and which composed. As if to underscore the porous nature of the boundaries between improvisation, interpretation and composition, the album begins and ends with two remarkably dissimilar renditions of the same Lely composition. The various ambient sounds that find their way onto the disc — squawking seagulls, an airplane passing overhead — contribute to the aleatory quality of the music and offer a further reminder of place.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003ePlace, as a concept, also offers a way to bridge the sometimes formidably abstract nature of the music with ostensibly more universal considerations: identity, history, politics. These have long been central preoccupations of Tilbury’s, a prominent associate and later biographer of Cornelius Cardew who contributed to Cardew’s infamous 1974 polemic, Stockhausen Serves Imperialism. 43 years later, on Seaside, we find music and politics subtly but intimately intertwined. The album’s four improvisations all bear titles borrowed from former Palestinian villages near Dirar’s birthplace. These towns were depopulated or destroyed in 1948 when the state of Israel was established. Place, like music, can be an artifact of power.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003eAs with other music in the AMM vein, this enigmatic, fragmentary music demands a considerable degree of patience from the listener, but the rewards offered here are unusually rich. If you listen closely, you might find yourself transported to a seaside vista in England, or in Palestine, or you might simply find yourself with a greater awareness of where you already are.”   \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eMark Mahoney\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003eDusted\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Another Timbre","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51401310535994,"sku":"at100 re-issue","price":15.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/Untitled-2.jpg?v=1784635697"},{"product_id":"john-tilbury-at-home","title":"John Tilbury 'At Home'","description":"\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;\" align=\"center\" class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003eFive hours of music played by John Tilbury (and friends on a few tracks).\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;\" align=\"center\" class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;\" align=\"center\" class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003eDisc One\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e1  \u003cstrong\u003eGuillaume Machaut  \u003c\/strong\u003eFour pieces arranged for 2 pianos by Gyorgy Kurtag   5:03\u003cbr\u003eJohn Tilbury \u0026amp; Tania Chen, pianos     \u003cem\u003eArchive concert recording, London 2002\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e2-6  \u003cstrong\u003eHoward Skempton   \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003c\/em\u003eFive short piano pieces\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e2 - Bishopsgate   (2019)     2:25\u003cbr\u003e3 - Piece in Old Style   (2017)    1:32\u003cbr\u003e4 - Potters Bar   (2004)    1:10\u003cbr\u003e5 - Ageless in Langham   (2022)     1:36\u003cbr\u003e6 - Deal   (2018)    0:52\u003cbr\u003e7  \u003cstrong\u003eMichael Parsons  \u003c\/strong\u003eOblique piece 25   (2023)    3:18\u003cbr\u003eJohn Tilbury, clavichord\u003cbr\u003e8  \u003cstrong\u003eCornelius Cardew   \u003c\/strong\u003eThree Short Piano Pieces   (1955)   2:32\u003cbr\u003e9  \u003cstrong\u003eLinda Catlin Smith\u003c\/strong\u003e   Poire   (1994)    4:39\u003cbr\u003e10  \u003cstrong\u003eChristian Wolff   \u003c\/strong\u003eFor Pianist    (1959)    11:05\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eArchive recording from about 1970\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e11  \u003cstrong\u003eJohn Lely   \u003c\/strong\u003eSycamore   (2023)    41:39\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;\" align=\"center\" class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDisc Two\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e1  \u003cstrong\u003eMorton Feldman   \u003c\/strong\u003ePiece for Four Pianos   (1957)    12:10\u003cbr\u003eJohn Tilbury, Philip Thomas, Mark Knoop \u0026amp; Catherine Laws, pianos\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eUnused take from the \u003c\/em\u003eFeldman Two Pianos \u003cem\u003erecording session, Huddersfield, 2016\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e2  \u003cstrong\u003eCornelius Cardew   \u003c\/strong\u003eVolo Solo    (1965)    11:52\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eArchive recording from about 1970\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e3  \u003cstrong\u003eErika Fox   \u003c\/strong\u003eJ.T.Bagatelle   (2026)     1:55\u003cbr\u003e4  \u003cstrong\u003eChristopher Hobbs   \u003c\/strong\u003eFive Pieces for Clavichord   (2023)    11:53\u003cbr\u003eJohn Tilbury, clavichord\u003cbr\u003e5  \u003cstrong\u003eDave Smith   \u003c\/strong\u003eEndgame   (2023)    2:00\u003cbr\u003e6 - 10  \u003cstrong\u003eMark R. Taylor   \u003c\/strong\u003eFive Nocturnes   (2014-2016)    37:51\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDisc Three\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e1  \u003cstrong\u003eCatherine Kontz   \u003c\/strong\u003eDecember 22   (2022)    2:08\u003cbr\u003eJohn Tilbury, clavichord\u003cbr\u003e2  \u003cstrong\u003eDave Smith  \u003c\/strong\u003eAl Contrario   (1991-1992)    34:03\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eArchive recording from 1995\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e3  \u003cstrong\u003eJohn Tilbury  \u003c\/strong\u003eO'Hara Improvisations   (2026)    8:09\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eImprovisations interpreting 5 performative drawings by Morgan O'Hara\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e4  \u003cstrong\u003eCornelius Cardew  \u003c\/strong\u003eBun No.2 for Orchestra   (1964)    8:56\u003cbr\u003eJohn Tilbury \u0026amp; Tania Chen, pianos   \u003cem\u003eArranged for two pianos by Dave Smith\u003cbr\u003eArchive recording from a concert in London in\u003c\/em\u003e 2002\u003cbr\u003e5  \u003cstrong\u003eKlaus Filip \u0026amp; John Tilbury   \u003c\/strong\u003eDust and piano   (2019)    16:15\u003cbr\u003eKlaus Filip, electronics   John Tilbury, piano\u003cbr\u003e6  \u003cstrong\u003eMorton Feldman  \u003c\/strong\u003eMadame Press Died Last Week at Ninety  (1971)   7:31\u003cbr\u003eArranged for piano by Frank Markel\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;\" align=\"center\" class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;\" align=\"center\" class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003eDisc Four\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e1  \u003cstrong\u003eJohn Tilbury   \u003c\/strong\u003eWhat is the Word   (2015)    6:53\u003cbr\u003eJohn Tilbury, voice and organ   Text by Samuel Beckett\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eArchive recording from Kings College Chapel, Cambridge\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e2  \u003cstrong\u003eKeith Rowe \u0026amp; John Tilbury  \u003c\/strong\u003eUntitled Improvisation   (2004)    28:09\u003cbr\u003eJohn Tilbury, organ    Keith Rowe, electronics\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eArchive recording from a concert in Leeds\u003c\/em\u003e \u003cbr\u003e3  \u003cstrong\u003eJohn Tilbury \u0026amp; Sebastian Lexer  \u003c\/strong\u003eFor Samuel Beckett   (2005)    28:59\u003cbr\u003eJohn Tilbury, piano   Sebastian Lexer, piano+\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eArchive recording from the London Musicians' Co-op Festival, 2005\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cem\u003eImprovisation on John Tilbury's music for Samuel Beckett's 'Cascando'\u003c\/em\u003e \u003cbr\u003e4  \u003cstrong\u003eMark R. Taylor   \u003c\/strong\u003ePour rien   (2023)    11:32\u003cbr\u003eJohn Tilbury, clavichord \u0026amp; voice    Text by Samuel Beckett\u003cbr\u003e5  \u003cstrong\u003eMichael Parsons  \u003c\/strong\u003eSalient   (2026)    4:38\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;\" align=\"center\" class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;\" align=\"center\" class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003eForeword from the 20-page\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e booklet\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003eIn 2018 John Tilbury became reluctant to take on more concerts. He lives in Deal on the Kent coast, 80 miles from London, and doesn't have a car, so, although he was still in demand as a performer, at the age of 82, he decided to end his performing career.  When I heard this, I asked whether - if I came to him - he would still be happy to be recorded at home. He said yes, and from then until spring 2026 I travelled to Deal every 6 or 9 months to record John playing piano and clavichord in the lean-to extension at the back of the terrace house where he and his wife Janice live.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWe recorded whatever John wanted to play at the time, and so assembled an unusual and varied collection of recordings ranging from pieces from Elizabethan songbooks to new compositions sent by old friends from Scratch Orchestra days.  Sometimes, if John was tired or in pain, we didn't record very much, and the visits became as much a social thing as a recording session - and it was always very enjoyable to talk with John and Janice about music and politics, and hear stories about John's past and his many musical friends.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eIn early 2026 - around the time of his 90th birthday - John decided that if we carried on much longer, he'd no longer be able to do justice to the music he was playing, and that we should stop. The original idea - insofar as we had one - was to release a selection of what we'd recorded as an album, but once we started listening back to everything, John suggested that we also include some archive recordings, dating from as far back as the 1970's. So began a process of discussion, whittling down the many things we could have included, until we agreed on the contents of the four CDs in this box set, which effectively marks the end of John's recording career.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eJohn Tilbury is a giant in the history of contemporary, improvised and experimental music, not just in the UK, but worldwide. It has been a privilege and a joy to work with him on this unique project.\u003cbr\u003e                                                                                                     Simon Reynell, May 2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe 20-page booklet also contains extensive sleeve notes by Clive Bell.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThanks to all the composers and musicians who contributed to this album.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e  o\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Another Timbre","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53635330474298,"sku":"at257x4","price":33.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/at257x4_cover.jpg?v=1782066462"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.anothertimbre.com\/collections\/john-tilbury-july.oembed","provider":"Another Timbre","version":"1.0","type":"link"}