Steve Lacy and Toshi at Theatre Mouffetard in Paris, October 1982

Paris: N.p., 1982. Vintage silkscreen poster for a single performance by American avant-garde jazz saxophonist Steve Lacy and Japanese avant-garde percussionist Toshi (the stage name of Toshiyuki Tsuchitori) at Theatre Mouffetard in Paris.

The poster’s challenging graphic reflects the bracing nature of the music both artists were creating at the time, borne out of jazz movements that began in both countries in the 1960s and 1970s, as well as literary influences and a disregard for traditional boundaries. Toshi and Lacy are known to have performed together only a handful of times—and only in Japan—between 1978 and 1982.

One of the most important soprano saxophonists of the twentieth century, Steve Lacy was also one of the most important jazz composers of his era, and left behind a substantial legacy that stretched from the 1950s into the 2010s. His music incorporated everything from Thelonious Monk to Dixieland to folk idioms, all in a tightly arranged and immediately recognizable minimalist style.

Lacy also brought in elements well beyond the boundaries of jazz, working with the likes of authors Samuel Beckett, Brion Gysin, and Robert Creeley, and incorporating literary works into his pieces, such as the writings of Herman Melville and haiku poetry.

Toshiyuki Tsuchitori began his career as an avant-garde jazz percussionist in the early 1970s, working with other experimental artists such as Derek Bailey and Milford Graves, and moving on to perform with dancers and compose theatrical scores for the works of Peter Brook. Tsuchitori's interest in folk music and early cultural traditions was the common thread with Lacy.

In 1981—the year prior to this performance— Tsuchitori began to delve seriously into the traditional music of Asia and Africa, and went on to create the Ry k Gakusha jazz label in 1987, and the Ry k Gakusha Festival, which ran from 1988-1998.

20 x 27.5 inches. Very Good plus, with a few short closed tears and pinholes at the edges.


[Book #155555]