Appearing as part of Coventry’s 2009 Jazz Festival, such is the passion, eloquence, lyricism, and sense of grandeur displayed during this performance in Coventry Cathedral that it's astonishing to think that this was only the duo’s fourth time playing in public, and only the sixth time playing together in total.
Around 300 or so people gathered in the impressive location where Tangerine Dream made a memorable appearance in the ‘70s to witness something magical happening as Travis’ looped flutes or icy-edged soprano sax meets Fripp’s midi-generated orchestral washes in mid-stream.
Emphatically not some by-the-numbers trading of licks between two professionals, Travis and Fripp get out of the way to create far-reaching music that transcends the sum of its parts. A mixture of entirely improvised musings and visits to previously agreed themes, including what was then an ultra-rare meditation on King Crimson’s Moonchild, resonates with a haunting presence.
Lamentation, the last piece of the tour and the longest in this concert grows from shrill, single notes into an enormous, complex cloud of shifting density and mood. The flute slowly swirls in dark layers while the soprano adds piercing shafts of light in what feels like new territory for the duo. Filling the cathedral to the roof, the weight of Travis & Fripp’s music in this venue is both profound and moving.
This digital edition of the concert, specially created by Alex Mundy restores the in-between track applause that had been removed for timing considerations from the 2010 CD release.
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