HOWARD RILEY - More Listening-More Hearing
SLAMCD 2109
Howard Riley, Solo piano
Recorded at 5th July 2019 bat Porcupine Studios, London
Howard Riley is a Free Jazz pianist, who learned piano from the age of six and jazz piano from 16. He studied widely, then joined Evan Parker’s quartet. He played with Jaki Byard, Elton Dean, John McLaughlin, Tony Oxley, Barbara Thompson and Keith Tippett.
He recognises that jazz evolves through playing rather than listening and that it has always been open to absorbing other musical mores, a practice which has become increasingly complex as the occurrence of other musical forms has grown. The pieces he plays lean towards an amalgamation of composition and improvisation and the route he treads between various musical forms remains impalpable. No matter how free, these pieces never lose their robust structures and each exhibits a vibrant and distinct sensation of conclusion – of a trip, maybe, but a terminus has been reached.
Riley’s ‘trip’, his journey, is I feel far from over and he is at the peak of his creative force. His attack at the piano is confident, yet elegant; his touch calm and graceful; his journey discrete. This is a truly remarkable album.
Reviewed by Ken Cheetham
SLAMCD 2109
Howard Riley, Solo piano
Recorded at 5th July 2019 bat Porcupine Studios, London
Howard Riley is a Free Jazz pianist, who learned piano from the age of six and jazz piano from 16. He studied widely, then joined Evan Parker’s quartet. He played with Jaki Byard, Elton Dean, John McLaughlin, Tony Oxley, Barbara Thompson and Keith Tippett.
He recognises that jazz evolves through playing rather than listening and that it has always been open to absorbing other musical mores, a practice which has become increasingly complex as the occurrence of other musical forms has grown. The pieces he plays lean towards an amalgamation of composition and improvisation and the route he treads between various musical forms remains impalpable. No matter how free, these pieces never lose their robust structures and each exhibits a vibrant and distinct sensation of conclusion – of a trip, maybe, but a terminus has been reached.
Riley’s ‘trip’, his journey, is I feel far from over and he is at the peak of his creative force. His attack at the piano is confident, yet elegant; his touch calm and graceful; his journey discrete. This is a truly remarkable album.
Reviewed by Ken Cheetham
