Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Lol Coxhill (1932 - 2012)

Posted by Joe

Just a short post to announce the death of Lol Coxhill (19 September 1932 – 9 July 2012) who passed away yesterday after several weeks of serious illness. We could try to write an obituary but Lol's long career would certainly take up a whole blog. For all those who don't know this iconic performer you should look around to find out more, as he was not only a bastion of the British improvising scene but an important name in the European free improvisation scene as well. He was also one of the few performers to concentrate solely on the soprano sax (rather than double), and many soprano players around the world cite him as a main influence.

Here are a few links to the recordings that we have on the blog from this very special and individual musician.

Lol Coxhill, Andrea Centazzo, Giancarlo Schiaffini- Moot & Lid

You'll find a few more mentions if you type in Lol Coxhill into the search box also.

Considering that Lol must of recorded on literally 1000's of records it's impossible to put something up here that really represents him. One amazing recording comes to mind which puts the soprano sax in it's place and has Lol with Lacy and Evan Parker playing together - Three Blokes,  however his solo performances were defining moments in the art of improvisation, and also how to make something very difficult .. look incredibly simple! Here's a short video - you can find many more on the web  - of Lol pacing himself very nicely, playing a wonderful solo piece at the Battersea Arts Centre in 2009.




Thanks Lol for the wonderful music! 

© stef
on

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for this, such very sad news, Lol was a wonderful musician and a lovely man. I have many fond memories.

July 10, 2012 at 3:50 PM
joesh said...

Yes, I do also. I met him a few times, but saw him often on the scene doing what he did best ... be very funny, and play wonderful music.

July 10, 2012 at 4:55 PM
Stef said...

I never met him, but I enjoyed his music and his playing a lot.

Stef

July 10, 2012 at 6:03 PM
Martin Schray said...

A great musician, it's a sad news. I liked him a lot and - yes - Three Blokes is a wonderful record.

July 11, 2012 at 8:22 AM
joesh said...

Hi Martin

Yes, it's difficult to pick a record that represents Lol, I thought the Three Blokes kind of sums up what Lol was. When you see/hear him with the two other premier players (Parker/Lacy) you get the idea that this is a meeting of giants.

July 11, 2012 at 10:44 AM

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