CCMC (band)


CCMC is a Canadian free improvisation group founded in 1974.

History

The CCMC was founded by Peter Anson, Graham Coughtry, Larry Dubin, Greg Gallagher, Nobuo Kubota, Allan Mattes, Casey Sokol, Bill Smith and Michael Snow. Three of the founding members were members of Artists' Jazz Band, a seminal Toronto free-jazz ensemble. In 1976, the group founded The Music Gallery as an artist-run centre where they performed twice-weekly. The group was formally associated with The Music Gallery until 2000. Members of the group were also founders of the Music Gallery Editions record label, which issued CCMC's first six albums.
The group remains active to the present day, though through its various incarnations Michael Snow has been the group's only constant member. The group performed as a quartet of Snow, John Oswald, Paul Dutton and John Kamevaar.

Musical style

CCMC's music is based on "improvisation-as-composition" inspired by free jazz.
With no pre-existing compositions, live performance is central to the band's identity, and their early recordings were all recorded live in concert. ("Interviewer: Since the very beginning CCMC has recorded every concert, is that true? Michael Snow: Yes, that's, whatever it is, thirteen years of at least twice a week, plus all the tours. A lot of tape, yes."

Name

The abbreviation CCMC originally stood for Canadian Creative Music Collective. By 1978, and the release of the Volume Three LP, the group had collectively gathered several hundred alternate associations, many of which were reproduced as the cover art of that record. Following are a selection of the names found there:Craven Cowards Muttering CursesCries Crashes Murmurs ClanksCareless Choir Muffling ChordsCompletely Canadian Monster CircusCertified Careless Mush ConceptClip Clop Manure Crop
  • ''Catchy Canuck Melody Convinces''

Discography

  • Volume 1 Volume 2 Volume Three Volume 4 - Free Soap
  • Larry Dubin & CCMC The Great Toronto Drummer's Greatest Recordings Volume 5 - Without A Song CCMC '90 Decisive Moments: Hot Real-Time Electro-Acoustic Collective Composition aCCoMpliCes
  • CCMC & Christian Marclay CCMC + Christian Marclay
  • ''CCMC Play At Double Double''

Further resources