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New Music Ensemble

Innovative free improvisation group founded in 1963 by [a=Larry Austin]. The group made two recordings, both private pressings. In the summer of 1963, Austin rented a house near Sacramento for a series of intensive experiments with improvisation. [a=Arthur Woodbury], [a=Wayne Johnson (7)], [a=Richard Swift], [a=Stanley Lunetta], [a=Billie Alexander] and [a=Jon Gibson (2)] rehearsed at the house with Austin about twice per week. The group developed their craft, in part through recording their improvisations and listening back to them. They made their performing debut at a Sacramento art gallery, and recorded their first album in Spring 1964. From 1964-65, Austin travelled to Rome, where he played recordings of the NME for, among others, [a=Franco Evangelisti], who was inspired to form [a=Gruppo di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza]. Meanwhile, the NME recorded their second LP, without Austin, and with the addition of [a=Robert Bloch (2)]. By 1966, the group's members had taken up other interests, including the publication of SOURCE magazine.