Condition West Recordings, hosted on Bandcamp, is a project of Paul Plimley’s friend and frequent musical collaborator, Gregg Simpson. Gregg makes digital copies of some early recordings of ensembles he played in available on the Condition West Bandcamp page. These rare recordings include groups led by Paul Plimley and several New Orchestra ensembles of different sizes.
Paul described Gregg to me as one of the most innovative and interesting drummers that he played with in his early career. Paul, Clyde Reed (string bass) and Gregg Simpson were original Paul Plimley Trio members.
Here is the link to “Swinging Planets”, a collection recorded by the Paul Plimley Trio, originally released by the trio on cassette.
The New Orchestra Quintet (image above) shows Gregg on the drums, with Lisle Ellis on string bass. Paul Plimley is on the left playing piano.
The debut of this quintet was in 1978 at UBC and Gregg also offers a recording of this historic performance, “Live at UBC” featuring the same line up of players as in the photo.
Paul and Gregg, with their community of collaborators, were at the forefront of adventurous music in Vancouver, BC. The New Orchestra Workshop Society (NOW Society) continues to present concerts, and facilitates mentoring and educational opportunities.
NOW activities center around the performance space located at 8 East Pender St, called “8 East”. The 8East calendar of scheduled events is online here. The current Executive and Artistic Director, Dr. Lisa Cay Miller maintains this space and manages the society. Find out more on the NOW website.
Paul Plimley was involved with the NOW Orchestra performance ensemble for many years, creating compositions for the ensemble. Much of the group’s repertoire was written by performing members or commissioned for the group. Paul performed playing piano, vibraphone and percussion. The NOW Orchestra toured to Europe and the USA playing for delighted audiences.
There are more recordings on the Condition West Bandcamp page from the late 20th Century era of Vancouver music and many feature the playing of Paul Plimley.