Live at Coventry Cathedral is one of those genuine musical rarities, an album drawn from a largely improvised performance that has the potential to resonate with, and impact upon, an audience far wider than one would normally associate with such music. Of course the very term “improvised” is laden with expectations – not all of them positive ones – so it’s also worth mentioning that words like “melodic”, “atmospheric”, “rhythmic” can equally be applied to the music. Fripp provides solo runs that most guitarists could only dream of conjuring, while Travis demonstrates the kind of incisive lyricism on flute or soprano sax that makes him such a substantial presence in both jazz and rock settings. It’s no surprise that both of these musicians can improvise successfully; such an approach is at the heart of their solo, group and collaborative efforts. What is remarkable is that this is not the result of an established duo who have played together for years, but of a far more occasional basis of operation - a mere handful of performances to date. As King Crimson biographer Sid Smith who attended the concert notes:

“Over the course of 80 minutes the music veers into contrasting territories. Travis’ flute uses looping technology to create slowly undulating eddies of notes whilst his soprano adds piercing shafts of light that spread and spray across the orchestral washes of Fripp’s guitar-generated soundscapes. Fripp delivers the terse, angular lines for which is he is well-known and surprisingly offers a poignant meditation on the main theme from King Crimson’s Moonchild - played by the guitarist for the first time in forty years.  The real magic on this album is in the nuances and intricate details that sustain and support each other’s work. This isn’t a case where one solos whilst the other accompanies. Like two colourists sharing the canvas, their respective approaches result in a blend that is beautiful, delicate, sometimes wistful, occasionally forbidding.

The atmospheres they create are the right side of chilling rather than the wrong side of chill-out, a music that is as poetic as it is powerful.”

Live at Coventry Cathedral is the second collaborative album by Travis & Fripp. Following the warmly received release of the 2008 album Thread, the duo performed four UK concerts in May 2009. This album is a recording taken from the final concert of the series.

Theo Travis is a London based saxophonist, flautist and composer who has made a number of recordings under his own name. He tours regularly with his own jazz quartet and composes and records with his experimental ambient band Cipher. He is also a member of Soft Machine Legacy and Gong. Additionally, Theo has performed and/or recorded with a diverse group of musicians including: Harold Budd, John Foxx, Anja Garbarek, Hatfield & the North, Bill Nelson, Porcupine Tree, David Sylvian and Jah Wobble.

Robert Fripp is a guitarist, composer and founding member of seminal rock band King Crimson, currently celebrating 40 years of operation, with whom he continues to perform. He has issued a number of solo albums and collaborated and recorded with (among others) Blondie, David Bowie, Brian Eno, Peter Gabriel, Daryl Hall, Jakko Jakszyk, The Orb, Porcupine Tree, Andy Summers, David Sylvian, and Tool. He holds Guitar Craft classes in a number of countries, is regularly cited as a key influence by a number of guitarists and his writings on the record industry – particularly on the subject of creator rights - have won widespread admiration from fellow musicians.