Lindsay Cooper

Lindsay Cooper was a rare and extraordinary woman; at home in rock bands (Henry Cow, National Health), Jazz ensembles (Mike Westbrook Orchestra, Maarten Altena Octet) Concert Halls (Concerto for Sopranino Saxophone and Orchestra, Songs for bassoon and Orchestra); she also founded the Feminist Improvising Group, scored feature films and wrote for television, dance, radio, theatre, contemporary ensembles and orchestras - as well as being highly respected as a virtuoso performer on several instruments. A number of recordings are still available, but much is undocumented. The rarities series hopes to redress this lack. Our first collection brings together materials that originally appeared in tiny private editions or as single tracks on compilations. This double CD set collects together, amongst other things, all of Outtakes for Other Occasions and The Small Screen, both of which were never commercially released, all four pieces from The Classic Guide to NoMansLand, the subscription 7” Pictures from the Great Exhibition collage, an extract from the Concerto for Sopranino Saxophone and Orchestra, an amazing, unreleased, live recording of Trio Trabant with Alfred Harth and Phil Minton, Education sung by Sally Potter, In the Dark Year, sung by Robert Wyatt, material from the with David Thomas and - the really great discovery - a really extraordinary solo piano performance recorded at Roulette in 1985. Comes with a substantial memorial booklet with newly discovered photographs, and texts by Sally Potter, Tim Hodgkinson, David Thomas and Kate Westbrook.