Preconceived notions can be problematic when approaching new works of a familiar artist. Howard Riley is one of my touchstones to determine how hard core people really are about this type of music; anything less than slightly glazed unfocused eyes and a hushed "that guy's incredible" after mentioning him and it's time to change the subject. He's amassed an incredible body of work in a variety of settings: trios with Barry Guy and Tony Oxley; duets with Keith Tippett, Jaki Byard, Lol Coxhill and Elton Dean; quartet work with Tony Wren, Larry Stabbins and Mark Sanders; and the London Jazz Composers Orchestra. And that's just an executive summary. But where he really takes flight for me is in his solo recordings.

One of these days, surely after he shuffles off the mortal coil, someone will do a retrospective summary of Riley's not small body of work. When that happens it will be difficult to avoid repeating, if not subtly rewriting, items from Brian Morton’s liner notes from this where he points out, among many other things, that "chronology doesn't seem to matter much in Riley's work". Nowhere was that illustrated more than by the subsequent release on No Business, Live in the USA, of concert performances from late in 1976 sounding just as advanced as anything released. He seems to have emerged on the music scene fully formed in terms of having an oddly precise logical mind of figuring out how to make motifs work together that others wouldn't think of juxtaposing, much less doing it. He employs a walking bass line frequently, a deceivingly simple way of drawing the listener into comfortably familiar territory while dissonant fireworks happen with the other hand, a tendency he shared with Byard. And his works never outstay their welcome. Listening to Riley might be mentally challenging and even draining but it's constantly stimulating and engaging while never tedious.

One useful way to discuss Riley's solo work is "short stories" versus "long form". Although they share the same internal logic, recently the pianist has adhered to the shorter format including the present recording, a followup to the 2018 Listen to Hear, recorded in the same studio on the same piano.

"Sunflower" is a song that goes back to his initial 1968 recording, Discussions, a trio date with Barry Guy and John Hiseman that initially was available in 99 pressings before Dusk Fire Records flooded the market with an additional one thousand CDs in 2015. On that recording it was a brisk barely over two minutes trio workout. Here, stretched out to a more leisurely almost five minutes, you hear repeated hints of Monk without any direct quotes. Riley has done Monk tribute albums, shared with Ellington, and recorded a "T.S.M. (With Thanks)" homage on Constant Change 1976-2016 but the joy of realizing an unstated influence after all this time is a sublime treat.

There are two versions of Jerome Kern’s "Long Ago and Far Away" here, similar to how there were two versions of two different original compositions on Listen to Hear. In all cases they're different enough to merit inclusion and of a high enough quality to think "why not?"

After the death of Keith Tippett I thought it was very important to review this. Although it's a daunting task to write about a musical hero, sometimes you just have to jump in the deep end and see what happens. That said after the first couple listens I almost begged off doing it. It sounded less vital than what I was hoping for and I didn't want to damn it with faint praise of a lion in Winter commentary on a not young musician with Parkinson's disease. So I consulted a trusty colleague who gave me some valuable advice: "give it a few more listens". It was on the next listen that the pleasures of "Sunflower" made themselves evident.

Likewise with the rest of the compositions; there's not a song here that doesn't sound perfectly thought out and executed from beginning to end. There are plenty of uses of a walking bass, maybe not as persistently percussive as in earlier times but still performing the same function. This is music to be savored as it's added to an already large book of work.

Stephen Griffith   https://www.freejazzblog.org/2020/07/howard-riley-more-listening-more.html

I’d venture to say that Riley is unique. The nearest parallel to his approach would be the early work of Paul Bley but there have also always been surprising hints of Bud Powell, one of his earliest influences, here noticeable on tracks such as Momentum and Decisions. Occasional echoes apart, though, there is never any doubt that a singular, original and readily identifiable musical mind is at work. It’s not so much that he has some favourite responses developed over the years (who doesn’t?) but more that his rangy phrasing, rhythmic manner and developmental processes are readily recognisable, highly personal and individual.
All the pieces are originals, except for Jerome Kern’s Long Ago And Far Away, which has long been in Riley’s repertoire. (I think it was a trio performance of this on Radio 2’s Jazz Club back in 1968 that first fired my appreciation of Riley’s work.) The two performances of it here – the first setting a flowing right hand against resolute chords which gradually loosen up and join the dance, the second taking a more boisterous approach – are followed by Riley’s As It Was, which itself has the feel of a revered standard. Sunflower almost is a standard as it was a staple of Riley’s repertoire from the early days of his trio and was featured on the 1968 debut album, Discussions. The original LP, if you can track down a copy, will cost you around £1,000, but the album, along with fascinating extras where a teenage Riley plays bebop, is available on CD on the Dusk Fire label.
As mentioned in the profile of Riley I did for JJ in April 2017, his association with Slam has been very fruitful, and he described it as "one of my longest and best connections on the record front". This session, recorded at his favoured Porcupine Studios by Nick Taylor, is a fine addition to the catalogue, further graced by characteristically perceptive and enlightening notes by JJ’s own Brian Morton.
 Barry Witherden  12/4/2020  https://jazzjournal.co.uk/2020/04/12/howard-riley-more-listening-more-hearing/

Da oltre mezzo secolo il pianist inglese Riley porta avante uno lezione fatta di rigore e ricerco, onesta intellettual a tutto tonde "con la calma di ub filosofa e precisione di un ingegnere", come scriva in nota Brian Morton, che ricarda di aver seguito le vicende dell 'avventoroso e placido musicist a sin dall’ inizio, Se avete amato le ricerche sugli intervalli del nostro Franco D’Andrea se amale perderve nella materia sonora corraggiosa de Paul Bley e di John Taylor, ecco il disco per voi, in totale improvvazione

For over half a century the pianist English Riley leads ahead one lesson made of rigor and research, honest all-round intellectual "with the calm of a philosopher and precision of an engineer", as Brian Morton, who remembers having followed the events of the adventurous and placid musician from the beginning, writes in note, If you have loved research on intervals of our Franco D'Andrea if you love to lose in the courageous sound matter of Paul Bley and John Taylor, here is the album for you, in total improvisation.
Guido Festinese     Alias / Il Manifesto,  6/27/ 2020