Dunois Solos

by Eugene Chadbourne With a fabulous cover personally designed by the performer himself, this album is perhaps the best way to get to the heart of Lol Coxhill's soprano saxophone playing. Other players may have chiseled more of a facade in the avant garde by organizing solo saxophone concerts more tightly, but the lack of conceptual continuity or a compositional command post adds more than just eccentric charm to these proceedings. By titling the two side-long events "Distorted Reminiscences" and "Further Developments," Coxhill proves he both knows what he is doing and can be witty about it. His saxophone is indeed a kind of center of personal rumination, the improvisations developing casually, as if a conversation was in progress rather than just the thoughts of one musician. Coxhill proves adept at seeing the long range outcome of what he is doing as well as hearing instances where quite quick, sometimes even radical changes can be made with the push of a button and a slight change in embouchure. While Coxhill will no doubt go down playing, and playing well at that, the early '80s was one of his best periods as a solo saxophonist. This recording, done at an intimate Parisian avant garde music venue, is pure cream.