| Conversations with Tony Oxley | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Live album by | |
| Released | 2018 |
| Recorded | February 20, 2008 |
| Venue | Kammermusiksaal der Philharmonie Berlin |
| Genre | Free Jazz |
| Label | Jazzwerkstatt jw198 |
Conversations with Tony Oxley is a live album by pianist Cecil Taylor and drummer Tony Oxley. It was recorded at the Chamber Music Hall of the Berliner Philharmonie in Berlin, Germany in February 2008, and was released in 2018 by Jazzwerkstatt. [1]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Tom Hull – on the Web | A− [2] |
| The Free Jazz Collective |   [3] |
In a review for Jazz Views, Jack Kenny wrote: "The improvisation on this album is total from both players. This is listening music... the intensity varies, stretching both men as cymbal splashes complement notes from the higher reaches of the keyboard. Sometimes the music stops and all we can hear is silence before the momentum gathers again. This is exciting music that demands complete attention, your absorption, and is rewarding in a way that is quite rare." [4]
Writing for The New York City Jazz Record , Duck Baker commented: "When the two musicians are in sync the music seems to flow through them both from a source beyond either. Clearly Taylor generally leads and the drummer follows, but so quick are Oxley's instincts that his responses often lead perfectly in the direction the pianist was aiming to take, so that they seem to move in unison... those who love Taylor will definitely want Conversations." [5]
Martin Schray of The Free Jazz Collective stated that the music is "about the exchange of cultural experiences and the sensitivity of sound – different musical languages, but mutually inspiring. Oxley often anticipates what Taylor plans (particularly as to dynamics) and is able to react immediately." [3]
Cecil Percival Taylor was an American pianist and poet.
Evan Shaw Parker is a British tenor and soprano saxophone player who plays free improvisation.
Tony Oxley is an English free improvising drummer and one of the founders of Incus Records.
Nailed is a live album by Cecil Taylor, Evan Parker, Barry Guy and Tony Oxley recorded on September 26, 1990 at the Bechstein Concert Hall in Berlin and released on the FMP label.
Leaf Palm Hand is a live album featuring a performance by pianist Cecil Taylor and drummer Tony Oxley recorded in Berlin on July 17, 1988 as part of month long series of concerts by Taylor and released on the FMP label.
Celebrated Blazons is a live album featuring performances by Cecil Taylor with William Parker and Tony Oxley recorded at the Akademie der Künste in Berlin on June 29, 1990, and released on the FMP label.
Taylor/Dixon/Oxley is a live album by pianist Cecil Taylor, trumpeter Bill Dixon, and drummer Tony Oxley. It was recorded on May 19, 2002 during the Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville in Victoriaville, Quebec, and was released in 2002 by Les Disques Victo.
Corona is a live album by Cecil Taylor recorded during the "Total Music Meeting" at the "Podewil", the headquarters of the Kulturprojekte Berlin non-profit organisation, on November 1, 1996, one day before the recording of the Taylor album Almeda, and two days before the recording of The Light of Corona. It was released in 2018 in digital format by the FMP label as part of their Archive Edition, and was reissued in 2021 in CD format by Corbett vs. Dempsey.
Being Astral and All Registers – Power of Two is a live album by pianist Cecil Taylor and drummer Tony Oxley. It was recorded at the Ulrichsberg Festival in Ulrichsberg, Austria in May 2002, and was released in 2020 by Discus Records.
Birdland, Neuburg 2011 is a live album by pianist Cecil Taylor and drummer Tony Oxley. It was recorded at the Birdland Jazz Club in Neuburg an der Donau, Germany in November 2011, and was released in 2020 by Fundacja Słuchaj! Records.
Ailanthus/Altissima: Bilateral Dimensions of 2 Root Songs is a live album by pianist Cecil Taylor and drummer Tony Oxley. It was recorded at the Village Vanguard in New York City on November 6 and 9, 2008, and was released in limited quantities as a double LP set by Triple Point Records in 2010.
Göttingen is a double-CD live album by pianist Cecil Taylor. It was recorded at the Junges Theater in Göttingen, Germany in September 1990, and was released in 2021 by Fundacja Słuchaj!. On the album, Taylor is joined by an ensemble of a dozen musicians. The recording took place roughly two years after the concert documented on Legba Crossing, and features many of the same players.
A Measure of Vision is a live album by the Alvin Fielder Trio, led by the drummer Fielder with the trumpeter Dennis González and pianist Chris Parker. It was recorded in 2005 and 2006 in Texas, and was released in 2007 by Clean Feed Records. González's sons Aaron and Stefan appear on several tracks. Though active as a musician since the mid-1960s, the album is Fielder's only release as a leader.
Live is a live album by the cooperative jazz ensemble known as The Group, featuring saxophonist Marion Brown, trumpeter Ahmed Abdullah, violinist Billy Bang, bassists Sirone and Fred Hopkins, and drummer Andrew Cyrille. The band's sole release, it was recorded on September 13, 1986, at the Jazz Center of New York in New York City, and was issued on LP and CD by NoBusiness Records in 2012, over 25 years after the concert.
Very Urgent is an album by the Chris McGregor Group, led by pianist McGregor, and featuring saxophonists Ronnie Beer and Dudu Pukwana, trumpeter Mongezi Feza, bassist Johnny Dyani, and drummer Louis Moholo. It was recorded at Sound Techniques in London, and was released on LP by Polydor Records in 1968. In 2008, the album was reissued on CD by Fledg'ling Records. With the exception of Beer, all of the musicians were members of The Blue Notes, and the album can be viewed as the group's debut studio recording.
Respiration: Live in Warsaw '68 is a live solo piano album by Cecil Taylor. It was recorded on October 18, 1968, at the Jazz Jamboree festival in Warsaw, Poland, and was released in 2022 by the Polish label Fundacja Słuchaj!. The album helps to document a period during which Taylor recorded infrequently, and captures a performance that took place roughly three months after the one heard on Praxis, Taylor's first recorded solo piano concert.
First Time Out: Live at Slugs 1967 is a live album by the Rashied Ali Quintet, led by drummer Ali, and featuring saxophonist Ramon Morris, trumpeter Dewey Johnson, pianist Stanley Cowell, and bassist Reggie Johnson. It was recorded during May 1967 at Slugs' Saloon in New York City, and was released in digital format and as a double-LP set in 2020 by Ali's label, Survival Records. The album was issued as part of an ongoing effort, led by Ali's widow Patricia, to catalogue the contents of the drummer's recording library.
Tribal Ghost is a live album by saxophonists John Tchicai and Charlie Kohlhase, guitarist Garrison Fewell, bassist Cecil McBee, and drummer Billy Hart. It was recorded on February 9 and 10, 2007, at Birdland in New York City, and was released on vinyl in limited quantities in 2013 by NoBusiness Records.
Live at Maya Recordings Festival is a live album by saxophonist Evan Parker, double bassist Barry Guy, and drummer Paul Lytton. It was recorded during September 23–25, 2011, at the Theater am Gleis in Winterthur, Switzerland, and was released on both vinyl and CD in 2013 by NoBusiness Records.
Unreleased 1974–2016 is an album by drummer and electronic musician Tony Oxley. The first three tracks were recorded in 1974, and feature Oxley with trumpeter Dave Holdsworth, trombonist Paul Rutherford, pianist Howard Riley, and bassist Barry Guy. These tracks were remastered and edited into their final form in 2005, 2019, and 2020. Track four, recorded in 1981, is performed by Oxley, saxophonist Larry Stabbins, violinist Phil Wachsmann, pianist Howard Riley, and guitarist Hugh Metcalfe, while the fifth and final track, recorded in 2016, pairs Oxley with percussionist Stefan Hölker. Drawn from Oxley's personal archive of recordings, the album was released in 2022 by Discus Music.