Lol Coxhill & Veryan Weston: Worms Organising Archdukes

Lol Coxhill (sax) and Veryan Weston (piano) have been performing since the '70s amid their respective involvement in the British free-improvisational scene. These five pieces represent digitally recorded concert performances culled from the duo’s stints in England, Holland and Belgium between 2000 and 2001.

Needless to say, there’s a certain magic that permeates this outing, as the duo’s intuitive exchanges come as no surprise. Essentially, they methodically reconfigure motifs, amid counterbalancing statements and a great deal of expansive thematic occurrences. Whether Coxhill is soaring to the heavens via upper register tonalities, or when the musicians tone matters down in spots, they generate gobs of interest. The real oddity of this production lies within Weston’s use of a chamber organ on “Organ Interlude.” Here, the keyboardist casts an ethereal absurdity to the solemn implications of religious music. He uses the instrument as a vehicle for implementing strange choral voicings and a skittish single note attack. Weston and Coxhill dart and dance among interweaving call and response maneuvers and generally playful discourses. In addition, the musicians venture off into various microtonal skirmishes and humorously enacted opuses. Recommended.

EMANEM