John Butcher

John Butcher was born in Brighton and lives in London. His music ranges through improvisation, his own compositions, multitracked pieces and explorations with feedback and unusual acoustics.

Originally a theoretical physicist, he left academia for music after publishing a Ph.D. in 1982. He has since collaborated with hundreds of musicians, mostly involved with improvisation – including Derek Bailey, Rhodri Davies, Andy Moor (EX), Phil Minton, Christian Marclay, John Stevens’ SME, Gino Robair, Polwechsel, Mark Sanders, AMM, John Russell, John Tilbury, Okkyung Lee, Eddie Prevost and Gerry Hemingway.

Compositions include “Penny Wands” for Futurist Intonarumori, two HCMF commissions, two saxophone 4-tets and “Good Liquor Caused my Heart for to Sing” for the London Sinfonietta. “Tarab Cuts”, a response to recordings of early Arabic classical music, was shortlisted for a 2014 British Composer’s Award. In 2011 he received a Paul Hamlyn Foundation Artists Award.

Alongside long term collaborations he values playing in occasional encounters; from large groups such as the EX Orkestra & Butch Morris’ “London Skyscraper”, to duo concerts with Fred Frith, Akio Suzuki, Paal Nilssen-Love, Peter Evans, David Toop, Otomo Yoshihide, Tim Hodgkinson and Matthew Shipp.

Butcher is also well known as a solo saxophonist who attempts to engage with a sense of place. The well received “Resonant Spaces” CD is a collection of site- specific performances recorded during a tour of unusual locations in Scotland and the Orkney Islands.