Album title: "To Be Continued"
Catalogue: SLAMCD 293
Track details/titles:
1. To Be Continued..................................... 6'23"
2. East West.................................................. 4'51"
3. Just Maybe................................................ 6'35"
4. Two Part Intention................................... 8'48"
5. The Folks Who Live on The Hill............ 7'08"
6. Solving The Problem.............................. 4'21"
7. Descending Thoughts............................ 5'21"
8. Haunted.................................................... 7'36"
9. One More Thing....................................... 3'04"
All compositions by Howard Riley (PRS/MCPS), except for Track 5 by J. Kern/O. Hammerstein II.
Recording date/location: 19th June 2013 at Porcupine Studios, London.
Engineer: Nick Taylor
Cover/artwork and photos: Irmgard H�½ppe
Sleeve-note for CD:
For the performer, studio and live recordings require different mindsets. Theoretically the former gives unlimited possibilities for re-takes; with the latter, you play and that's it. They demand different disciplines.
This recording is my first in a studio for three years. The Lithuanian label NoBusiness has released live recordings during that period, so when SLAM suggested a studio date I was happy to accept. Conceptually I decided to simply let the recording reflect my current musical situation, which in turn led me to the album title. In recent years specific projects have become fashionable, but for me the most rewarding project has always been the long-term development of musical identity.
Finally many thanks to Nick Taylor for his engineering skills, to Irmgard H�½ppe for her artwork and to George Haslam for providing this recording opportunity.
Howard Riley
June 2013
HOWARD RILEY: TO BE CONTINUED [Slam293] is the latest from this giant of the British recording scene. This is a solo recording of 8 Riley originals and one standard (The Folks Who Live On The Hill). It is his first studio recording in a few years and reveals a pianist who has further pared away excess but continues to focus or dwell on the framework of a piece. The Monk presence remains in subtle nuances but Riley is most definitely his own man and deserves to be celebrated now, not in hindsight. Now that Stan Tracey has died one supposes Howard Riley is the dean of British jazz piano, an accolade well deserved. Riley has been heavily recorded, this recording is his latest adventure, do yourself a favor and join the adventure.
Zim Tarro Cadence October 2014
Howard Riley is one of the contemporary greats of piano improvisation. As producer George Haslam puts it, he's a thinker, and clearly thought long and hard before going into the studio on this occasion. The result is a set of improvisations that show his characteristic spontaneity, freedom and lyricism ïn a combination that's none too common, as "free" is often interpreted as implying "abrasive and unlyrical".
Born in Huddersfield, Yorkshire, in 1943, Riley led a trio in 1967-76 with Barry Guy and very interestingly either Alan Jackson, Jon Hiseman, or Tony Oxley; he was a member of the London Jazz Composers Orchestra in the 1970-90s. He's also worked in duos with Keith Tippett, Jaki Byard, and Elton Dean. But he has a deserved reputation as an unaccompanied player, and has recorded thirteen solo albums in which "always the objective is to arrive at freedom through spontaneity", as he says on his website.
His recordings invariably feature his own compositions, and in recent decades, especially in his solo work, there's been a return of a clear jazz element, here for instance in the blues inflections of Just Maybe. Typically on this album he includes a standard, Jerome Kern's The Folks Who Live on The Hill, interpreted in his characteristically oblique yet penetrating fashion. Every piece, or improvisation, has a deeply lyrical core which surfaces sooner or later. The recording does not seem to mark any significant change of direction for Riley, but continues to explore the approach to jazz-inflected improvisation that he's developed over the last twenty or thirty years. That means that the result is a thoroughly engrossing and compelling release, one that listeners will return to often.
Andy Hamilton Jazz Journal, Sept 2014
If you love solo piano, Howard's keyboards will thrill you to no end; he's a unique player, to be sure, the entire orchestra is within his range, & jazz combos are a breeze especially on tunes like the totally bluesy "The Folks Who Live On The Hill", by Jerone Kern you get the full spectrum/range on just one 7-minute tune. It was the 4:51 "East West" that grabbed my ears & immediately voted to make this track my favorite of the nine offered up. As a keyboard player, I can tell you (without qualification) that Howard is one of the best pianists I've heard. I give him a MOST HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, with an "EQ" (energy quotient) rating of 4.97. get more information at the SLAM PRODUCTIONS label page for this release. Rotcod Zzaj http://rotcodzzaj.com/wordpress/?page_id=4792
Pianist Howard Riley glides across the keys with aplomb on lovely solo album of nine originals and on e standard. Lovely and ruminating pieces such as "Descending Thoughts" and the title track have a charming grace about them, while there's an inquisitiveness to his touch on "East West" that takes you on clever journeys. Shadowy figures are illuminated on "Haunted" while he gets playful with both hands on "Two Part Invention." A reading of "The Folks Who Live On The Hill" is subtle and alluring, while his use of space is prismatic on "Just Maybe." Well conceived! George W Harris. Jazz News July 2014
Fra i veterani della musica inglese il pianista Howard Riley, arrivato ai settanta anni con la voglia di suonare e esprimere in musica tutto quello che ha dentro. Come dice stato fra i pionieri del jazz in patria ed ha lasciato una serie di dischi nel corso della sua carriera che ormai sono storia. La NoBusiness, casa discografica lituana, ha ripubblicato del suo materialeinsieme a delle registrazioni live recenti. L idea di ritornare in studio spuntata invece insieme a George Haslam, il sassofonista che dirige la SLAM Productions Di recente ha avuto problemi di salute e questa registrazione permette di ascoltarlo in forma ad eseguire sue composizioni ed uno standard, The Folks Who Live On the Hill di Jerome Kern, un ottimo piano solo con tutte quelle caratteristiche che distinguono un musicista con una forte personalitï, riconoscibile, con un suo stile. Sono dei brani vicini a quelli monkiani nella loro essenzialit�½, ricchi di armonie ed esecuzioni che ricercanoil gioco di colori, il chiaroscuro tra piano e forte, fra velocit elentezza, ballad ricche i feeling ma che non scadono mai verso le atmosfere da piano bar. Riley fa un monumento a sé stesso, cosï come alcuni anni fa ha fatto Franco D Andrea con le sue numerose esecuzioni in solo ed in trio,ed invita ad ascoltarlo, ricco comï di esperienza e di tante cose da raccontare. Vittorio Lo Conte http://www.musiczoom.it/?p=18694
TRANSLATION Among the veterans of British music is the pianist Howard Riley, Came to the seventy years with the desire to play music and express everything that's inside. as the saying the age was one of the pioneers of jazz at home and left a series of records during his career that is now history . the Lithuanian record label NoBusiness has republished his material along with some more recent live recordings . The idea of returning to the studio is checked instead with George Haslam , saxophonist who directs the SLAM Productions.
He recently had health problems and this allows recording hear it in shape to perform his own compositions and one standard, The Folks Who Live On the Hill by Jerome Kern, an excellent piano solo with all those characteristics that distinguish a musician with a strong personality, recognizable , with his own style . They are close to those tracks monkiani in their essence , rich harmonies and executions looking the play of colors , chiaroscuro between piano and forte, between fast and slow , ballad -rich but the feeling that never expires towards the atmosphere from floor bar. Riley is a monument to himself , as well as a few years ago Franco D' Andrea did with its numerous solo and trio performances, and invites us to listen to it, it is rich in experience and so many things to tell.
HOWARD RILEY / To Be Continued... (Slam Productions)
Tiens, a faisait un bail que je n'avais pas entendu du nouveau provenant de Howard Riley. Sur cet album studio, le pianiste britannique développe des thïmes plutt jazzés, avec autant de finesse que d'habitude mais moins de véhémence. Un disque décontracté, qui n'a rien ï prouver, mais qui n'apporte pas grand chose de neuf non plus. Tout de mïme fort agréable et j'admets aimer depuis longtemps le jeu solo de Riley.
Hey, it had been a while since I've heard new music from Howard Riley. On this studio album, the English pianist develops rather jazzy themes, displaying as much finesse as ever, but less vehemence. A relaxed album that has nothing to prove, but also adds very little to Riley's output. Still quite enjoyable, and I admit to being found of Riley's solo playing since... a long time.
Francois Couture http://blog.monsieurdelire.com/2014/04/2014-03-31-howard-riley-omit-five.html
Il settantenne pianista britannico torna ad incidere dopo tre anni di
silenzio discografico. Come era lecito aspettarsi, il nuovo disco è un’opera di
non facile leggibilità nel suo libero fluire fra soluzioni monkiane ed
eurocolte. Howard Riley produce una pulsazione densa di accenti, che lascia
spazio all’aspetto percussivo del
proprio strumento. Il suo fraseggio è sfuggente ed elusivo, capace di repentine
variazioni melodiche.
Lo si
capisce dalla rilettura dello standard "The Folks Who Live on the Hill," del duo
Kern/Hammerstein…
Luigi Santosuosso
http://italia.allaboutjazz.com/howard-riley-to-be-continued/
The
septuagenarian British pianist returns to engrave after three years of
recording silence. As was expected, the new album is a work not easy readable
in its free flow between solutions monkiane and eurocolte. Howard Riley
produces a pulse of thick accents, which leaves room for percussive aspect of
its instrument. His phrasing is fleeting and elusive, capable of sudden melodic
variations.
This much
is clear from the reading of the standard "The Folks Who Live on the
Hill," the duo Kern / Hammerstein ...
Luigi Santosuosso
http://italia.allaboutjazz.com/howard-riley-to-be-continued/
