Jazz 825 presents: the London Improvisers Orchestra

Since 1998 The London Improvisers Orchestra has been dedicated to free and conducted large-group improvisation, known as ‘Conduction’.

The orchestra was formed from the ashes of the 1997 touring group of American improviser Butch Morris, the pioneering inventor of Conduction. Since its birth, the group has had hundreds of members pass through its ranks, including Evan Parker, Pat Thomas, Byron Wallen, John Edwards, Lol Coxhil, Caroline Kraabel, and Mark Sanders. To this day, the group is led by founding member Steve Beresford, an icon of the UK’s improvisation movement.

The orchestra currently performs monthly, featuring a rotating cast of the finest improvisers from the UK and beyond, never failing to deliver a unique experience.

“The London Improvisers Orchestra (LIO) is one of the essential institutions of improvised music, a monthly gathering of some 30 musicians that has been convening since 1998, inevitably with some permutations in personnel each time, to explore large-scale, usually conducted, improvisation. Along the way, it has demonstrated the variety and quality of music that can be achieved by such an ensemble. With its cooperative spirit, mixed methodology and high level of performance, it has emerged as a model for others . . .” -The New York City Jazz Record Review.