Artist: Howard Riley & Lol Coxhill
Title: Duology
Cat Number: SLAMCD249
Year released: 2003
Format: CD & all digital platforms
Barcode: 5028386024927
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Duo meeting between master improvisors, saxophonist Lol Coxhill and pianist Howard Riley, recorded live at The Holywell Music Room, Oxford, 13 March 2002. Tracks 1-7 were recorded in the afternoon during a private session, whilst tracks 8-12 are a live recording of the gig they played that evening.
Lol Coxhill: soprano saxophone
Howard Riley: piano
“A meeting of musical minds in what appears to be the first full CD recording of the pair, although they have played together many times over the last quarter of a century; and therein lies the crux of this CD. A collaboration that shows just how far both men have travelled in that time span, and yet how attuned they are to each other’s playing…A fascinating glimpse into the creative processes of two master musicians.” – Nick Lea, Jazz Views
“The British saxophonist’s free-falling, casually pitched ruminations and idiosyncratic adaptations of the sax soundscape of Even Parker sound like no other’s – and the experienced and musically erudite Howard Riley on piano is a precise, meticulous and stimulating counterweight to him…When Riley’s dense clusters of notes are pitted against Coxhill’s squawks and sustained falsettos, the result is an intriguing, spontaneous encounter.” – John Fordham, The Guardian
“The frontloading of seven pieces, each running under five minutes and recorded the afternoon prior to the gig that fills out the CD, makes great sense. Both in duration and scope, they give the listener crisp summaries of many of the types of rugged terrain Riley and Coxhill explore in the longer concert improvisations. Still, Duology is a trek that requires effort and occasional patience, one that nevertheless leaves the listener with a gratifying sense of accomplishment.” – Bill Shoemaker, Jazz Review
Recorded and mastered by Tim Turan.