Empty Vessels

An instrument maker and inventor, and improviser of great skill and resourcefulness, Colin Offord is one of Australia’s most curious artists. His discovery of free jazz in the seventies dovetailed with both an interest in Balinese and Thai music, and focused study of the flute; it’s no surprise, then, to discover that his self-released Empty Vessels, from 1981, offers a suite of inspired solo wind instrument recitals, with occasional divergences to mouth harp. Offord spends time teasing out the essence of each instrument he plays, with careful attention to minute permutations of sound; the closing, side-long “The Journey Of A Thousand Miles Starts Beneath One’s Feet” has him vocalising and improvising in consort with the lapping waves of the sea.