Jazz Articles about Howard Riley

Howard Riley: Solo In Vilnius

by John Sharpe
May 20, 2010

No stranger to being alone in the spotlight, Solo In Vilnius is at least the 11th such entry in English pianist Howard Riley's extensive discography. Musically active for more than 40 years, Riley, now in his 60s, enjoys an impressive résumé which name checks the cream of British improvisers, including London Jazz Composers Orchestra, Keith Tippett and Tony Oxley.

Recorded live in St. Catherine's Church in Vilnius, Lithuania, the 13 cuts spread across the two discs' 96 minutes, comprising ten ...

Howard Riley: Solo in Vilnius

by AAJ Italy Staff
April 19, 2010

Poche parole servono per identificare i giganti. Howard Riley è uno di questi. Praticamente sconosciuto nonostante importanti frequentazioni della migliore musica d'improvvisazione, nonché collaborazioni importanti come quelle con Keith Tippett, Jaki Byard, Lol Coxhill, con la nobile London Jazz Composer's Orchestra o - ai suoi inizi - quella per certi versi rimasta storica con Barry Guy, il pianista britannico è uno dei nomi che le nuove generazioni troveranno sui libri che racconteranno le migliori avventure della musica dei nostri anni. ...

Howard Riley: Two Is One

by AAJ Italy Staff
January 9, 2007

Negli ultimi anni viene fuori sempre più l'importanza che Thelonious Monk ha avuto sui musicisti dell'avanguardia. Quello che era un legame prevalentemente di tipo intellettuale alla fine si è esplicitato in incisioni da appassionato completista: vedi il triplo cofanetto del quintetto di Alexander von Schlippenbach con l'esecuzione di tutte le sue composizioni. Un legame sottile e che pervade i suoni dell'avanguardia in modo latente fino a che non viene fuori in modo prepotente, rivisitato, certo, ma quasi a ribadire il ...

Howard Riley: Two is One

by John Eyles
November 6, 2006

Howard Riley is one of those musicians that we (those of us in the UK, that is) too easily take for granted. If he were flying in from some far-flung corner of the globe to perform, we'd be loudly singing his praises; as it is, we know he's great, but we don't shout about it often enough. This release provides a chance to remedy that a little.

Two is One is a near-flawless gem. It finds Riley duetting with himself ...

Howard Riley: Consequences

by Chris May
January 7, 2006

Revered by a few but unknown to most, Howard Riley has been an uncompromising free music agitator since the late '60s, first in small group settings, later with bigger outfits, like the London Jazz Composers Orchestra, and solo performance. His music ebbs and flows between material with no obvious antecedents and recalibrated shades of early bop. He's frequently bracketed alongside Cecil Taylor, but while he can indeed generate a lot of notes, he plays them pianistically rather than percussively. A ...

Howard Riley Trio: Overground

by AAJ Staff
September 1, 2001

Emanem has been busy mining historical recordings for gems, and as a consequence they have brought some valuable material to light. Overground, recorded in 1974-75, represents a step forward in the evolution of the same Howard Riley Trio that appeared in 1971 on Flight (Future Music) and more recently from 1973 on Synopsis (Emanem). Riley, unlike many free piano players, has a remarkable ability to eschew any sort of reflex or subconscious patterning: the listener gathers the sense that he ...