Raymond MacDonald and George Burt relaunch their collaborations with the great Lol Coxhill
Relaunched July 2025
Contact: George Burt & Raymond MacDonald
07870 410 176
Web:
https://www.raymondmacdonald.co.uk/
https://georgeburt.bandcamp.com/
Between 2000 and 2005 Raymond MacDonald and I made six albums with the great English saxophonist Lol Coxhill. For a long time these recordings were only available on the merch table at our gigs, so we’ve now decided to re-release them as digital downloads.
We want to celebrate the 25th anniversary of all the fun and challenge that went into the making these recordings, and, more importantly, to celebrate the amazing artistry of one of the greatest saxophone players that this country has produced.
Lol Coxhill began playing after national service, and performed with a huge range of musicians from Champion Jack Dupree to The Damned. He pursued his own vision over a long and productive career: an unpredictable blend of blues, jazz, Victoriana, drama, comedy, storytelling and a profound love of melody in all its forms.
We first met him when he played in a duo with Pat Thomas in the old Ramshorn in Glasgow’s Merchant City in 1997. We tentatively offered him one of our cds, and asked if he would like to play with our band. “I’ll give it a listen”, he said. “And if I like it, I’ll give you a call. If I don’t, you’ll never hear from me again.”
It’s been a great to joy and an inspiration to re-discover this music.
Background
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lol_Coxhill
https://thequietus.com/news/remember-them/bill-wells-remembers-lol-coxhill/
CD re-launch:
A DAY FOR A REASON
Raymond MacDonald and George Burt revisit and re-launch their classic album celebrating the traveller and writer Isabella Bird.
The album also features a rare Scottish performance by the great Keith Tippett.
Album launch Friday 21st February 2025
Contact: George Burt & Raymond MacDonald
07870 410 176
Web: https://www.raymondmacdonald.co.uk/
George Burt and Raymond MacDonald were commissioned by An Tobar, the Arts Centre on the Isle of Mull, to compose, record and perform new music as part of the community’s celebration of the elegant Edwardian clock that stands before the multicoloured houses on the Tobermory seafront. Keith Tippett was invited to be an integral part of the band for this project.
A suite celebrating the centenary of the Tobermory Town Clock, erected by the pioneering travel writer, Isabella Bird in memory of her sister Henrietta. All the texts are directly from Isabella’s own writings.
The album A Day For a Reason, was released in 2005 to considerable acclaim in the jazz press, and so to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the project, the album is being re-released on Bandcamp. This will be the first of a series of releases over the coming year. The work that Raymond MacDonald and George Burt have done over the past quarter-century in setting up and running the Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra has overshadowed their more straight-ahead work as musicians and songwriters. Time to set that straight!
Background:
Isabella Bird made a series of journeys to escape the stifling conformity of Victorian life, writing many candid and lively letters to her sister Henrietta who remained in Tobermory. The letters were compiled into the bestselling volumes that made her famous. On the strength of them she became the first female member of the Royal Geographic Society.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabella_Bird
—ENDS—-
CD re-launch:
Boohoo Fever
George Burt/Raymond MacDonald Sextet
Featuring Keith Tippett
2006
Album launch Friday 21st February 2025
Raymond MacDonald and George Burt revisit and re-launch their classic albums celebrating the traveller and writer Isabella Bird.
Contact: George Burt & Raymond MacDonald
07870 410 176
Web: https://www.raymondmacdonald.co.uk/
This recording continues the story of our visit to the beautiful Isle of Mull and the creation of our music in celebration of the centenary of the Tobermory Town Clock.
Our previous album (A DAY FOR A REASON, also on Bandcamp) told the story of the pioneering Victorian traveller and writer Isabella Bird, and her sister Henrietta.
This album is a more introspective and abstract work, with less emphasis on describing Isabella’s adventures and is more concerned with evoking the atmosphere of Tobermory and Mull, its seascapes, mountains and silences.
The line-up is the same as before, Raymond MacDonald (saxophones), George Burt (guitar), Nicola MacDonald (voice & melodica), George Lyle (bass) and Alyn Cosker (drums), with our special guest, the great Keith Tippett on his first visit to the Western Isles.
George Burt 