SHOWA 44 - CARL DEWHURST/SIMON BARKER
"Showa 44 display imaginations the size of continents" - Limelight
Critics pick: most memorable moment 2007: “Simon Barker and Carl Dewhurst's improvised duet at the Wangaratta Festival of Jazz was an absolute blast!" - Gerry Koster.
"flexibility that is exclusively the domain of the finest improvisers" - Sydney Morning Herald
Since forming in 2001, Showa 44 have released three Cds of improvised duets through Kimnara records (Showa 44, Ormus, Orneon) and have performed at major festivals in Australia and abroad. Featuring Carl Dewhurst and Simon Barker, Showa 44 utilise tuned metallic resonances, rhythmic densities and spontaneous invention via electric guitar and percussion to manifest compelling and evocative soundscapes. Showa 44 are increasingly becoming recognized as one of Australia’s foremost creative ensembles:
"Showa 44, comprising Carl Dewhurst on guitar and Simon Barker on drums, delivered a sonic tour de force in the Playhouse Theatre. This was jazz in extremis, melding the experiments of English stalwarts AMM with the force-field energy of a Sonic Youth." Des Cowley - Rhythms Magazine
"Drifting, humming guitar reminiscent of the swirls of Fripp & Eno open and recur on this beautiful second album of improvisations from guitarist Carl Dewhurst and drummer Simon Barker." john shand smh