Orlando Consort and Perfect Houseplants - Extempore (1998)

Highly respected vocal group in a thrilling collaboration with jazzers Perfect Houseplants.

Extempore is a fusion of improvisation in jazz and medieval music. Taking as its starting point the common ground of improvisation shared by jazz and medieval music, this radical crossover project can justifiably be described as a collaboration. Award winning early music group Orlando Consort join forces with the innovative and distinctive Perfect Houseplants to create music which cannot easily be described, only experienced. Neither early music with knobs on, nor contemporary jazz with kudos, this is collusion rather than a collision of styles and results in a new and exciting discovery of another kind of authenticity. You'll have heard nothing like it so leave your preconceptions behind and open your ears to new music performed with energy and commitment.

Extempore is an intriguing blend of medieval church music, jazz and contemporary classical music. Although each art-form is centuries apart, the Orlando Consort and Perfect Houseplants have rooted out the ingredients common to both and have created a sound-scape of stunningly original music Extempore is a rich musical journey through many lands which fuses beautifully plainchant with Eastern rhythms and modern jazz harmony.

The result is a stunning potpourri of sounds that you thought were never possible, exquisitely performed by two of the most respected groups in Europe.