The Topography of the Lungs

The Topography of the Lungs
Studio album by Evan Parker, Derek Bailey & Han Bennink
Recorded	July 13, 1970
Genre	Free jazz
Label	Incus

The Topography of the Lungs was the first release on Incus Records, the record label founded by journalist Michael Walters, who approached drummer Tony Oxley who brought in guitarist Derek Bailey and saxophonist Evan Parker to oversee the music policy. It is generally considered a milestone of the free improvisation genre. It was recorded in London on July 13, 1970, by Derek Bailey (guitar), Evan Parker (tenor and soprano saxophone), and Han Bennink (percussion).

The album consists of four tracks: "Titan Moon" (covering all of side one of the original LP), "For Peter B & Peter K", "Fixed Elsewhere", and "Dogmeat".

Original copies of the album came with a typed letter that stated:

"The bulk of the revenue from any Incus recording will go directly to the musicians....
Once the basic cost of each record is recovered,
thus providing the finance for the next,
the vast bulk of all income will be paid in royalties to the artists.
Incus has no intention of making profits in the conventional sense."

The album's back cover consists of a collage of encyclopedia pages and brief phrases such as "Frederick Rzewski writes about free improvisation and makes sense" and "If you like to draw or paint, this booklet could help change your life."

The album was reissued in 2006 by Evan Parker's label Psi, with two bonus tracks ("Found Elsewhere 1" and "2"). In addition to the old cover art, the new front cover establishes that this date was under Evan Parker's leadership.