29 October 2012

Clear Frame on BBC Jazz on Three 2005


Here's one of Lol Coxhill's later collaborations, Clear Frame, a quartet given to free improvisation and broadcast on BBC Radio 3's Jazz on Three. Thanks to JD for taping this concert and providing the info below.

CLEAR FRAME in session

Recorded by the BBC and broadcast on March 4, 2005

LOL COXHILL - soprano sax
HUGH HOPPER - bass
CHARLES HEYWARD - drums
ORPHY ROBINSON - percussion, vibes, steel pans, thumb piano, talking drum, shakers & bells, electronics

1. Alligator Clip
2. The Way We Weren't
3. Improv
4. Improv

Jazz on 3 presents an exclusively recorded session by British quartet Clear Frame. The group, made up of ex-Soft-Machine bassist, Hugh Hopper, Charles Hayward on drums, Orphy Robinson on percussion and steel drums, and saxophonist, Lol Coxhill, held their first major performance at the London Jazz Festival in November 2004).

 As the name suggests, Clear Frame begin each session with a blank canvas, using their considerable collective experience to work off each other and build a truly organic piece. As Orphy Robinson puts it, "expect the unexpected."

Hopper and Hayward add a fusionist element, Robinson adds colour and Coxhill adds himself. Somewhat of  a latter-day Soft Machine feel to this. Robert Wyatt was supposed to partake, playing cornet, but I can't hear any evidence of that on these pieces.

19 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. ...Robert Wyatt was scheduled to be present but was snowed in at his home at the time of the recording (25 Feb 2005, broadcast 4 Mar 2005)...

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  3. Thank you kinabalu, i am looking forward to listen! And thank you anonymous for additional info.

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  4. Recording was made at Gateway Studio, Kingston, UK.

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  5. WOW ! Very interesting concert... Thanx for sharing.

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  6. Hi Could you repost it, the studio album is really great so the live ...

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  7. Hi Kinabalu
    As someone say the studio album with Wyatt on guest is very interesting, no hope for another studio because two members are gone now, so this live performance is more important due to this fact.
    a re-up would be a great tribute.

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  8. thank you, missed this first time, but it looks good....

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  9. Hi Kinabalu.
    You can't imagine how I was excited to see your re-up of this session that I missed first.
    Some additional informations on this recording: track 1 originally titled « noise gate », track 2 originally titled «  tin plate », and the title of track 3 is « clean slate ». Track 4 is unknown and is probably a composition not recorded on the studio album and planned to be released on a future official session that unfortunately will never be. Listening carefully to this live and the studio album you can feel that the music is not totally improvised, there are some structured pieces and improvisation comes over. This music is totally great, completely original and unique. Robert Wyatt is featured on the studio album, not on this live session.

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  10. Thanks for the added info, Nod Y. I haven't heard the album yet, but it seems to be easily available, so I shall try to get a copy. By the way, have you noticed that all eight titles on the cd rhyme and consist of either two (1-5) or three syllables (6-8)? Surely no coincidence.

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  11. Hi Kinabalu.

    yes I have noticed that, does it have a particular meaning or is it just for fun? I don't know but Coxhill and Hopper were particularly interested in jokes. You really can try the album, in my opinion this band was one of the most exciting of those last years. The sort of sound that Soft Machine could produce if they were still in activity at that time???

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  12. Hey everybody, searching on the blog I discovered one recording of the mad axe quartet with Hopper and Coxhill, unfortunately link have expired.
    As Kinabalu have re-up the fantastic Clear Frame, a re-up of the mad axe quartet would be a very suitable complement to this one, old page at
    http://inconstantsol.blogspot.fr/2011/11/hugh-hopper-lol-coxhill-mad-axe-quartet.html

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  13. Thanks for sharing the ClearFrame, amazing combination of musicians...
    And oh yes if you could post the Mad Axe Quartet this would be most appreciated !

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