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Instant Composers Pool
From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist
The Instant Composers Pool, abbreviated ICP, is an independent Dutch label and orchestra for jazz and improvised music. It was founded in Amsterdam in 1967 by the saxophonist Willem Breuker, the pianist Misha Mengelberg and the drummer Han Bennink. The name comes from the idea that improvisation amounts to composing in the moment itself. As European free jazz players, the three musicians met with little interest from established labels and therefore built a cooperative to release their own recordings.
Music and breakthrough
The label's first release, a record by Breuker and Bennink, appeared in 1967. In 1968 followed Instant Composers Pool with Mengelberg, Bennink and John Tchicai. In the 1970s records also came out by Derek Bailey, Steve Lacy, Evan Parker, Dudu Pukwana and Peter Brötzmann, often as coproductions with other European independent labels. Breuker left in 1974 and started his own label BVHaast. Mengelberg and Bennink carried on.
Influence
In the 1980s younger musicians joined the orchestra, among them the violinist Mary Oliver. The ICP Orchestra played and recorded music by Duke Ellington, Herbie Nichols and Thelonious Monk. Later it worked with members of Sonic Youth and with the Dutch punk group The Ex. The label released more than fifty titles. In 2012, to mark the forty-fifth anniversary, the entire catalogue appeared in a box of fifty-four CDs. The ICP showed that a small, independent organisation could build a musical world of its own.
Listening
In School of Rock
The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.
- After Hours: Session 3NL Reader
Mentioned in other articles
- European free improvisation Genre
In Amsterdam, Misha Mengelberg, Han Bennink and Willem Breuker started the Instant Composers Pool in 1967.
- Jazz in the Netherlands Genre
In the 1960s an avant-garde of its own emerged around Misha Mengelberg, Han Bennink and Willem Breuker, with the Instant Composers Pool (1967) and the Amsterdam Bimhuis (1974).