Lol Coxhill pictured at the Red Rose Club in 2007

Lowen Coxhill, generally known as Lol Coxhill (born September 19, 1932, in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England), is a free improvising saxophonist. Events 335 - Dalmatius is raised to the rank of Caesar by his uncle Constantine I. Year 1932 ( MCMXXXII) was a Leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. History See also History of Portsmouth There have been settlements in the area since before Roman times mostly being offshoots of Portchester, which Wildlife Hampshire has wildlife typical of the island of Great Britain England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Free improvisation or free music is improvised music without any rules beyond the taste or inclination of the musician(s involved in many cases the musicians make The saxophone (commonly referred to simply as sax) is a conical- bored transposing Musical instrument considered a member of the Woodwind He usually plays the soprano or sopranino saxophones. The soprano saxophone was invented in 1840 and is a variety of the Saxophone, a Woodwind instrument. The sopranino saxophone is one of the smallest members of the Saxophone family

Coxhill has collaborated with many other musicians during his career, including Kevin Ayers, Steven Miller, Mike Oldfield, Morgan Fisher (ex Mott the Hoople), Chris McGregor's Brotherhood of Breath, The Dedication Orchestra, punk rock group The Damned, Hugh Metcalfe, Derek Bailey and street theatre performance art group Welfare State. Kevin Ayers (born 16 August 1944 in Herne Bay, Kent) is an English Songwriter and major influential force in the English Steven Miller (born November 8, 1956 in New Jersey) is an American Record producer and executive Michael Gordon Oldfield (born 15 May 1953 in Reading, Berkshire) is an English Multi-instrumentalist Musician Morgan Fisher (born Stephen Morgan Fisher 1 January 1950 in London) is an English keyboard player / Composer, and is most known for being a Mott the Hoople were a 1970s English rock band with strong R&B roots and known for being part of the popular Glam rock scene of the early Christopher McGregor ( 24 December 1936 &ndash 26 May 1990) was a South African Jazz Pianist, Bandleader The Brotherhood of Breath was a big-band created by Chris McGregor at the end of the 1960s essentially an extension of McGregor's previous band The Blue Notes. The Dedication Orchestra is a Jazz ensemble and features Alan Skidmore, Radu Malfatti, Django Bates, Kenny Wheeler, Elton Dean The Damned are an English band formed in London in 1976 notable for being the first Punk rock band from England to release a single (" New Rose " an Derek Bailey ( January 29, 1930 – December 25, 2005) was an English avant-garde Guitarist and leading figure in the Street theatre is a form of theatrical Performance and presentation in outdoor Public spaces without a specific paying Audience. This article is about Performance art For other uses see Performance (disambiguation

For many years Lol was compere and occasional performer at the Bracknell Jazz Festival, renowned as a raconteur as well as a musician, indeed it was following a performance at Bracknell that he recorded the legendary monologue Murder in the Air. The Bracknell Jazz Festival was a major showcase for British modern jazz in the 1980s

Partial discography

Solo or as principal performer

• Ear of the Beholder (Dandelion Records)
• Toverball Sweet (Dandelion Records)
• Fleas In Custard (with G F Fitzgerald (guitar)) (Caroline Records)
• Miller/Coxhill (with Steven Miller (piano)) (Caroline Records)
• The Story So Far. Dandelion Records was a British Record label started in 1969 by the British DJ John Peel as a way to get the music he liked onto record Caroline Records started out as a subsidiary of Richard Branson 's Virgin Records label during the early to mid 1970s Steven Miller (born November 8, 1956 in New Jersey) is an American Record producer and executive . . Oh Really! (with Steven Miller (piano)) (Caroline Records)
• Welfare State/Lol Coxhill (with Welfare State Theatre Group) (Caroline Records)
• "Murder In The Air" (12" Single)
• Diverse (Ogun Records)
• The Joy of Paranoia (Ogun Records)
• Frogdance (soundtrack to Channel 4 TV production)
• The Promenaders (with miscellaneous other free-improvisers, busking on Brighton seafront)(Y Records)
• Digswell Duets (Random Radar Records)
• French Gigs (with Fred Frith) (A. Steven Miller (born November 8, 1956 in New Jersey) is an American Record producer and executive Ogun Records is a Record label created by the husband and wife team of Hazel Miller and Harry Miller, to document the music being created by a group of open-minded Busking is the practice of performing in Public places for Tips and Gratuities. Brighton ( is a town on the south coast of England and with its neighbour Hove, forms the city of Brighton and Hove. Fred Frith (born February 17, 1949) is an English Multi-instrumentalist, Composer and improvisor. A. A. Records)
• Three Blokes (FMP[1] Records)
• The Dunois Solos (Nato)
• The Hollywell Concert (SLAM)
• "The Inimitable" (Chabada - 10" LP)
• "Before My Time" (Chabada - 10" LP)

Guest appearances

Coxhill also appears as a 'guest' musician on recordings including

• No Roses by Shirley Collins and the Albion Country Band (1971)
• 1984 by Hugh Hopper (1973)
• Music for Pleasure by The Damned (1977)
• The Death of Imagination by Penny Rimbaud (1995, Red Herring Records)
• Lol Coxhill & Totsuzen Danball Wax Records TKCA-30119

Television and film appearances

• A documentary about Lol Coxhill called Frogdance was shown by Channel 4 in 1987. No Roses is an album by Shirley Collins and the Albion Country Band. For the former MPP see Shirley Collins (politician Shirley Elizabeth Collins MBE (born 5 July 1935, Hastings The Albion Country Band, (also known as The Albion Band) were an English Electric folk band Hugh C Hopper (born 29 April 1945, Canterbury, Kent, England) is a Progressive rock / ( fusion) Jazz "Music for Pleasure" is also the name of a British Record label; see Music for Pleasure (record label. The Damned are an English band formed in London in 1976 notable for being the first Punk rock band from England to release a single (" New Rose " an Jeremy John Ratter (born 8 June 1943, Northwood, Middlesex, England) better known under his Pseudonym of Penny Channel 4 is a public-service Television and Radio broadcaster in the United Kingdom centred around a television channel of the same name which began Year 1987 ( MCMLXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar)
• He appeared as a butler in Sally Potter's 1992 film version of Virginia Woolf's "Orlando". (Adeline Virginia Woolf (née Stephen; 25 January 1882 – 28 March 1941 was an English Novelist and Essayist, regarded as one of the foremost
• He had a cameo in the TV detective series Bulman. Bulman was a Granada TV series which ran from 1985-1987 and followed the fortunes of the major character from the earlier XYY Man and
• He played the part of a priest in the 1986 Derek Jarman film of Caravaggio (film). Derek Jarman ( January 31 1942 – February 19 1994) was an English Film director, Stage designer Caravaggio ( 1986) is a British film directed by Derek Jarman.

Further Reading

• The Bald Soprano: A Portrait of Lol Coxhill by Jeff Nuttall. Nottingham, Tak Tak Tak, 1989.

External links

• Lol Coxhill's home page
• Biography and discography from European Free Improvisation Pages
• Sample of Coxhill's playing 1
• Sample of Coxhill's playing 2
• Video sample from Frogdance
• The Wire's100 Records That Set The World On Fire (When No One Was Listening)
• Fund raising concert in aid of diabetes uk 7 June 2003 at Besbrode Pianos Leeds Clip of live performance