Lol Coxhill and Andrea Centazzo - great again

Ictus has not only been re-issuing some of its fantastic catalogue, but it's now also available digitally from several sources (Klicktrack, eMusic, Allaboutjazz). Here are two re-issues with Lol Coxhill (soprano) and Andrea Centazzo (percussion), the first with Franz Koglmann on trumpet, the second with Giancarlo Schiaffini on trombone. Neither album can be considered to form a unique concept, they're rather a collection of recordings, which are all in the same style of improvisation : free and fresh, inventive and interactive.

Lol Coxhill, Andrea Centazzo, Franz Koglmann - Darkly Again (Ictus, 2008) ****

"Darkly Again" is the sequel to "Darkly" (even in creative environments, not everything should be a surprise), and the music is similar yet not entirely the same. Here there are two Centazzo-Coxhill duos, on Coxhill-Koglmann duo and two solo pieces by Coxhill and Koglmann. On the previous album five tracks had them as a trio and three pieces offered a duo Koglmann-Centazzo. The music is again very open-ended, played for the sake of the sound itself, the pleasure of coming up with new combinations, fast interactions, creating unexpected twists and approaches.

Listen and download from eMusic.

Lol Coxhill, Andrea Centazzo, Giancarlo Schiaffini- Moot & Lid (Ictus, 2008) ****

"Moot & Lid" is a little bit different. The six "Mooting" interactions are all trios, and the fast-response dialogue of short bursts of notes are alternated by pieces with more meditative or expansive phrases. The five "Lid" tracks are Coxhill solo, with or without dubbing, and despite the obvious break in concept with the first part, the music remains consistently in the same style and quality, although the overal mood is a little bit more joyful.

Listen and download from eMusic.

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