Percussionist, improviser and AMM founding member Eddie Prévost’s new book presents a fascinating series of reflections and challenging insights on music in its various forms, and the development of improvised music at the intersection of contemporary compositional and conceptual forms; alongside a personal history and his relationship with music. It can be regarded as his fourth “polemical memoir”, the latest in the series that started with “No Sound is Innocent“, followed by Minute Particulars and “The First Concert”. But apart from polemical arguments there are wonderful anecdotes from a rich and passionate life dedicated to the musical avant-garde, and thorough cultural analysis to be enjoyed.

The subtitle “Episodes of a Personal History Embracing Ideas of Autonomy and Supportive Social Conditions” already points it out: “The Common Man” refers to Prévost’s working class background, and it is from this perspective that he has always tried to bring politics and musical practice together, despite the absence of commercial success or state support. As guitarist Nathan Moore writes in the foreword: “Prévost’s trajectory traces the possibility of music as a contribution to social life beyond the current media-entrepreneurial complex, whilst still refusing – with openness, ease and joy – to abandon that possibility.”

Paperback, 253 pages, published in 2020.

Read here how the book was reviewed by The Wire.