Lol Coxhill has been performing unaccompanied improvisations for over 40 years. He was one of the very first saxophonists to perform extensively in this manner, and was probably the first one to do so on soprano saxophone. He has continued to work solo over the years (as well as performing in a multitude of other settings), so it should be no surprise that his solo performance at the 1999 LMC festival was superlative - another highlight in his already very distinguished career. The main part of this is presented here as THE FESTIVAL SOLO - an extended tour de force of invention. As this wasn't quite long enough to fulfil his contractual obligations, Coxhill went on to perform A LITTLE BIT MORE.
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Coxhill started off his mature life as a tenor saxophonist (after a brief immature flirtation with an alto), and still from time to time uses saxophones other than the soprano. A fine example of this from 1991 is A RARE SOPRANINO SOLO, which is very different from the aforementioned 1999 soprano solos.
As well as performing solo, Coxhill has the ability to play well with just about anyone in just about any situation. The rest of this CD presents a couple of examples of free improvisational duets that were recorded in the 1990s.
When Garry Todd ran his Music Box series in 1991, one of his aims was to put together musicians who normally didn't work together. This resulted in, among other things, the only occasion that Lol Coxhill and Stevie Wishart have performed together. The whole of their exceptional set is heard here - three RARE DUETS indeed!
Wishart - another musician with a wide range of activities - is probably best known as the director of the mediaeval music group, Synfonie, and as a member of the contemporary multi-media ensemble Machine for Making Sense. She married a musician from the other side of the world a dozen years ago, and since then they have spent about half of each year living in their respective countries - aiming to live in a perpetual summer. Her work here on violin (modern rather than mediaeval) and hurdy-gurdy shows her to be a free improviser of the first order.
Unlike the other musicians on this CD, Marcio Mattos did originate in the Southern Hemisphere. However, he has been a leading light on the London music and pottery scenes for the last 30 years. Coxhill and Mattos have performed together on other occasions, both as a duo and as part of larger groups, so it is not surprising that they fit together so well. The very fine duo performance LES FOLIES D'OSSETTE heard here comes from a gig in which four musicians played in various combinations, with Mattos using some electronics to enhance his cello.
So here we have three very different days in the life of Lol Coxhill - all examples of him at the top of his (or any one else's) game.
MARTIN DAVIDSON (1999)
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