Lindsay Cooper Memorial Concert
To celebrate the life and work of Lindsay Cooper (1951-2013), four legendary bands came together from points halfway across the earth to perform Lindsay’s music as part of the EFG London Jazz Festival in the first of three concerts at the Barbican, Huddersfield International Music Festival and a final concert in Forli, Italy.
The concert featured Henry Cow (1968 - 1978, who said they’d never re-form), Lindsay Cooper’s Music for Films (1982- 1986, which does what it says on the label), News From Babel (1984 - 1986, who never performed live), and Oh Moscow (1987 -1993, assembled to play the song-cycle of the same name).
Lindsay Cooper, in common with most film composers, was poly-stylistic and no respecter of musical convention; less commonly, she also understood performance dynamics and the chemistry of bands. The concert offered a unique opportunity to hear some extraordinary repertoire and was a roaring success with audiences flying in from all over the world to witness these historic concerts.
> Here is the Guardian review of the Barbican concert on Friday 21st November 2014