Jonathan Lomax / Nicholas Wrigley Land Of Ham

Jonathan Lomax / Nicholas Wrigley Land Of Ham [Oro Neese, 1998]

1. Great Golden
2. Panchanka Sleep
3. In Valley of Firefly
4. For Le Sony r Ra

Forgive the visual pun, but I don't have any art work for this one.

I thought you'd like to give this a try. I love it. Jonathan Lomax and Nicholas Wrigley are an improvising and enterprising duo from the UK. Lomax plays acoustic or electric piano, or harmonium depending upon the recording, and Wrigley percussion.

It's hard to find much on these interesting players, but they seem to have produced four self-released records.

Suns [Oro Neese, 1998]
Land Of Ham [Oro Neese, 1998]
Lord Of An Unerring Bow [Oro Neese, 2000]
Piiiiii Piiiiii [Oro Neese, 2000]

I've managed to track down the first three, but Piiiiii Piiiiii remains illusive. You can find shares of Suns and Lord Of An Unerring Bow at ile oxumare, where I first discovered them. Some kind soul shared this recording with me, and was happy that I shared it with you. Many thanks to this anonymous sharer.

I've been in a melancholic state for quite some time, and these record just fit with that. It's music that just lives in the moment, almost in suspension. The few online references suggest a likeness to Sun Ra, or Alice Coltrane. It's not a bad reference point, and the title of the forth track on this short LP suggests an influence at work, but Lomax and Wrigley have carved out something pretty unique here. There's no showing off, or technique for technique's sake, and I think the sound is far more European that African American in its texture and temperature. Highly recommended.

I'd welcome more details of the duo, and information on where their recordings can be found for sale.