Keith and Julie Tippett – Couple In Spirit: Sound On Stone

Discus

The idea of a second Couple In Spirit studio album, wedding Keith Tippett‘s mellifluous, free flowing piano playing with Julie‘s wonderful genre-spanning voice, occurred to the relevant parties back in 2019.

Sadly, due to Keith’s failing health and later passing, this undertaking never materialised; but with Julie’s idea of taking some of Keith’s live improvisations and adding vocals and percussion, the idea was reborn with a view to addressing a void outstanding since the original EG album from 1988.

Pieces were chosen from various live environments and time periods, but all are recognisable; while the use of such disparate material gives Julie an opportunity to visit various styles and tempos, forming the lyrical structures around the rolling, tumbling constant momentumof the piano. At times, dramatic and discordant, at others sparkling like stars, the eight pieces chosen showcase the best of what Keith could offer in a solo live situation.

The melancholy resonance of “Look…See” draws a sense of yearning from Julie, a deep purring loss as the piano leaps from note to note, like somebody leaping across boulders on the beach, ever vigilant of a missed step but somehow always staying safe. The piano roils in a low, thunderous way on “Riding”, while the high register reflects a summer shower on “It’s Rain And Rain”; and all the way through the album, the piano and the lyrics that have been chosen all share an elemental nature.

It feels as though these pieces have been selected and recorded as an epitaph, one that will withstand the vagaries of fashion and the inclement nature of life and still be shining like the sparkling starbursts of notes on “A Song” in fifty years time.

Meanwhile, Julie’s voice soars through the ages; “Riding” puts her in a bluesy shadow, pushing at the piano, searching in the atmosphere; while “It’s Rain And Rain” has a more soulful feel, its sultry tones ebbing and flowing with the tidal piano, the summer storm feel refreshing and invigorating in equal measure. There is even a revisit of the folksy mood of the early ’70s in “A Song”, but it doesn’t last for long and is swept up into soft and echoing self-accompaniment that highlights the sparse ambience of the original piece.

The delicacy and judgement of the playing is a delight throughout, but one of the of the highlights is Julie’s exquisite ache of a vocal on “Windmills Of Your Mind”. Keith always wanted this recorded and it was then up to Julie to select a piece that would suit the words and her delivery. The chosen section, slow as treacle, is a perfect choice for the searching words, delivered in a way that will stop your heart.

This album is a lovely thing; a perfect finale to a wild and hugely varied career together. Take it to your heart.

-Mr Olivetti-