Lowen Coxhill, generally known as Lol Coxhill (born 19 September 1932, in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England), is a free improvising saxophonist. He usually plays the soprano or sopranino saxophones.And, he invented "Lol."Almost made 80 (d. 10 July 2012), & was still wailing at 76.
Coxhill has collaborated with many other musicians during his career, including Kevin Ayers, Steve Miller (ex Caravan), Mike Oldfield, Morgan Fisher (ex Mott the Hoople), Chris McGregor's Brotherhood of Breath, The Dedication Orchestra, Django Bates, punk rock group The Damned, Hugh Metcalfe, Derek Bailey and street theatre performance art group Welfare State.
For many years Lol was compere and occasional performer at the Bracknell Jazz Festival, renowned as a raconteur as well as a musician, indeed it was following a performance at Bracknell that he recorded the legendary monologue Murder in the Air.
The avant-garde is an odd beast. In the case of saxophonist/singer Lol Coxhill, that can range from the virtually unlistenable squawk of "Feedback" (which is exactly what the title says) to '30s music hall songs performed with keyboard player David Bedford. Cobbled together from live tapes and a few studio sessions, much of the backing comes from the Whole World, the Kevin Ayers backing band of which Coxhill was a member. But not all: "Rasa-Moods," a 20-minute spontaneous performance taped in Holland, brings in Dutch free musicians for something that travels through moods; "A Conversation With Children" is exactly that; and the cover of "I Am the Walrus" is sung by kids, to offer an odd, disquieting effect.
Today, here & now (As opposed to earlier, when this was scheduled.): Video above did not make it either. Nor can I remember which cut it was, but it seemed the only one available then. Ah ha. Here's one, though not the one planned.
1 comment:
I may be a square but at least I can take it.
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