Rachel Musson
Composer recipient 2024
Rachel Musson (b. 1974) is a UK-based saxophonist, improviser, and composer. While she has spent much of the past decade focused on improvised music, she has recently expanded her practice to include composed elements, incorporating text, field recordings, and sound processing.
Known as a bold, adventurous, contemplative player and creative, imaginative composer, Rachel is involved with a variety of free improvisation projects. She works regularly with drummer Mark Sanders and pianist Pat Thomas (with whom she formed trio, Shifa), and bassist Olie Brice, Hannah Marshall, Julie Kjaer, Corey Mwamba, Alex Ward, Alex Hawkins amongst others and has featured on a several releases.
“I am deeply grateful to receive this award. It has renewed my belief in my work and reassured me that there are people who see value in what I do. Most importantly, it will provide me with the precious time to focus on my creative practice, to plan, prioritize, take risks, and explore new ideas, and to fund new projects. My heartfelt thanks to my nominator, the judges, and everyone at PHF.”
Rachel released her solo album, Dreamsing in 2021, a unique interplay between spoken word poetry and texturally lush, entirely improvised tenor saxophone. In early 2024 she released Ashes and Dust, Earth and Sky, LLudw a Llwch, Daear a Nef, a solo project exploring composition using different recording techniques. Field recordings collected from West Wales and London – including birdsong, and the London Underground – were integrated with saxophones, flutes and other bits and pieces. The improvisations and compositions were Rachel’s reflections on the different soundscapes she collected. Part composed and part improvised over a year, the music explores Musson’s sense of place of a specific little corner of Wales, juxtaposed against the familiar sounds of the city.
Recent performances include the Saarbrücken Free Jazz Festival (2024) and Blow Out Festival, Oslo (2023), the Two Ship Improvised Music Festival, Hastings (2024), and Jazz In The Round, Cockpit Theatre, London (2024).
Examples of work
ASHES AND DUST, EARTH AND SKY/LLUDW A LLWCH, DAEAR A NEF, 2023
From the album Ashes and Dust, Earth and Sky/Lludw A Llwch, Daear A Nef, released January 2024. All instruments and sounds recorded and mixed by Rachel Musson, mastering by Jobina Tinnemans. Field recordings taken from Pembrokeshire, West Wales, and London. Thanks to ACE. Complete work 9 minutes 54 seconds duration (extract 1 minute 53 seconds).
BETHINK AND LAY TO HEART, 2023
From the album Ashes and Dust, Earth and Sky/Lludw A Llwch, Daear A Nef, released January 2024. All instruments and sounds recorded and mixed by Rachel Musson, mastering by Jobina Tinnemans. Field recordings taken from Pembrokeshire, east Wales, and London. Thanks to ACE. Complete work 3 minutes 42 seconds duration (extract 1 minute 16 seconds).
WINDBLOWN, 2023
From the album Ashes and Dust, Earth and Sky/Lludw A Llwch, Daear A Nef, released January 2024. All instruments and sounds recorded and mixed by Rachel Musson, mastering by Jobina Tinnemans. Field recordings taken from Pembrokeshire, east Wales, and London. Thanks to ACE. Complete work 6 minutes 45 seconds duration (extract 1 minute 56 seconds).
REELING, 2020
From album Dreamsing, a solo record of improvised pieces released by Brooklyn-based 577 Records. 577 Records have been a supportive label, releasing several of Rachel’s albums, and suggested she record a solo album early in 2020. Recorded on January 10, 2020 & May 21, 2020 by Steve Pretty, Graham Silcock. Mixed and mastered by Jeremy Loucas, Sear Sound, New York City Cover photo by Nick Lyons Graphic design by Sergio Vezzali. Complete work 4 minutes 28 seconds duration (preview 1 minute 30 seconds).
