Live at the South Bank marks the final of six collaborations between jazz drumming legend Steve Reid and electronic composer and musician Keiran Hebden (Four Tet). The pair began on Reid's excellent 2005 ensemble offering Spirit Walk, and continued through four more duet records -- two volumes of The Exchange Session in 2006, Tongues in 2007, and, finally, NYC in 2008. Interestingly, the ideas were endless and Reid and Hebden were able to complement one another and play as a unit throughout their association. For this final entry issued on the venerable Smalltown Superjazzz imprint, the duo expanded to a trio by adding Swedish saxophone powerhouse Mats Gustafsson. Reid was already terminally ill; he died less than a year later, though you'd never know it by his playing. Six long tracks are divided over two discs. The selections are mostly interpretations from Reid's and Hebden's catalog, though there is a brilliant untitled improvisation that kicks off disc two. Things begin in duet with "Morning Prayer." Reid's circular rhythmic approach is expanded upon and complemented by Hebden's electronics, which include rhythm loops, atmospheric synth progressions, and noise expressed as counterpoint. It is a beautifully unified work. Gustafsson enters the picture on "Lyman Place." After a drum and thumb piano intro (the latter via Hebden's samples) and wobbling electronic noise, the tenorist begins on Reid's downbeat, wafting in from the margins, playing outside squalls and arpeggios, droning honks, screams, fingering, and tongue tricks in the backdrop, never emerging enough to claim the mix.

1		Morning Prayer
2		Lyman Place
3		People Be Happy
4		Untitled
5		25th Street
6		The Sun Never Sets

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