Musica Elettronica Viva

Musica Elettronica Viva could not be easily defined as one band. Instead, MEV were closer to a movement based around the idea of free improvisation in the form of experimental, electronic jazz. In the early ’70s, there were three different (but related) bands that went by the name: one in New York that included Richard Teitelbaum and Frederic Rzewski; one in Paris, led by Patricia and Ivan Coaquette (before his Spacecraft days); and one in Rome, founded by Alvin Curran. In 1970, the French label BYG issued two recordings that included members from each of the branches of MEV. The first of these, Sound Pool, is a live 1969 performance — both this and Leave the City were reissued in the late ’90s by Spalax2. There was also a 1977 release entitled Unified Patchwork Theory that includes Curran, Rzewski, Teitelbaum, Karl Berger, Garrett List, and Steve Lacy. ~ Joslyn Layne