ICP Orchestra

The ICP, or Instant Composers Pool, Orchestra recorded relatively little, but achieved international acclaim for its sophisticated improvisations, ingenious interpretations of landmark composers such as Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk and for the band members' extraordinary level of musicianship. The Amsterdam-based group is a blend of European improvised music, jazz music and the Dutch irreverent attitude, in general, which all combine into a highly sophisticated yet enjoyable music that has astonished and impressed music lovers for several decades. ICP was founded as a label and group concept in the late '60s when reedist Willem Breuker and drummer Han Bennink self-released a duo recording on a label they named ICP. Fellow Dutch musician and collaborator, pianist Misha Mengelberg became the third equal member of ICP, having recently come up with the term "instant composing" to use in "improvising's" stead. The name ICP quickly became an umbrella for a wide variety of line-ups during its first decade of existence. It wasn't too long before these groups included either Breuker or Mengelberg but not both, as the two musicians had clashing opinions on approaches to live performance, what ICP should be and many other musical issues. Breuker wanted tunes and rehearsals, Mengelberg wanted instant composing. Breuker wanted more people admitted who would have equal voting rights, Mengelberg wanted the core three members to have final say. Both also had different takes on music theater, which ICP got involved in the late '60s. So, both led their own ICP gigs, with Bennink (who didn't choose sides) performing in both, although more often with Mengelberg. Breuker's group included such musicians as bassist Maarten Altena, trombonist Willem van Manen, saxophonist Peter Bennink...