''Regalia'' is a

live album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

Cecil Taylor Cecil Percival Taylor (March 25, 1929April 5, 2018) was an American pianist and poet. Taylor was classically trained and was one of the pioneers of free jazz. His music is characterized by an energetic, physical approach, resulting in complex ...

and

Paul Lovens Paul Lovens (born 6 June 1949) is a German musician. He plays drums, percussion, singing saw, and cymbals. He has performed with the Aardvark Jazz Orchestra and Berlin Contemporary Jazz Orchestra. He was born in Aachen, Germany. In the early ...

recorded in Berlin on June 26, 1988 as part of month-long series of concerts by Taylor and released on the FMP label. In his liner notes,

Alexander von Schlippenbach Alexander von Schlippenbach (born 7 April 1938) is a German jazz pianist and composer. He came to prominence in the 1960s playing free jazz in a trio with saxophonist Evan Parker and drummer Paul Lovens, and as a member of the Globe Unity Orchest ...

wrote: "Among Lovens' most striking qualities is a special sensitivity and flexibility for grasping what's going on as a pre-condition for his extraordinary quick-wittedness and expertise, which he is prepared to use in each and every way. Also in other respects, being so well-equipped, he can just slide into the playing, pushing, in the way he follows Taylor, allowing the pianist, in his turn to catch hold, and make use of what Lovens has diverted from his own (Taylor's) previous offerings."

Reception

The

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

review by Thom Jurek states "The most interesting thing about this pairing is the contrast in styles... Lovens is a drummer of nuance and often subtlety. His percussive methodology is based on mannerism and intricate execution to offer color, shape, and depth to whomever he's accompanying... What this meant for Taylor... is that Taylor has to adjust his own playing for this to work... By Lovens' articulation of speed and softness, Taylor realigns his own playing and, as a result, a spaciousness not normally present on his recordings appears in the middle of the mix. In that space is a percussive lyricism so beautiful and so pronounced that it's hard to believe everybody doesn't play this way. ''Regalia'' is a rare find for Taylor aficionados, and a true showcase of the genius two men can display when they are open to change musically and personally.

Track listing

:''All compositions by Cecil Taylor & Paul Lovens.'' # "Snake Charm" - 42:08 # "Regalia" (dedicated to Paul's Garden and Kitchen Tools) - 32:04 :*Recorded in Berlin on June 26, 1988

Personnel

* Cecil Taylor –

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

* Paul Lovens –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

References

{{Cecil Taylor 1988 live albums Cecil Taylor live albums FMP Records live albums