‘May Spring Last a Lifetime’ is the first duo release from improvising tenor saxophonists Tom Challenger and Evan Parker. The album emerged after years of informal practice sessions; then, following two live performances, the duo recorded this session at Arco Barco in Ramsgate. The album is Evan Parker’s fifth appearance on the False Walls label.

Extracts from the CD booklet conversation between Tom and Evan:

Evan: “Duo is the simplest form of group playing. And so it’s the simplest, the purest in a certain sense, and the most challenging. There’s nowhere to hide, really. It’s about the exchange. With two tenor saxophones, they have a shared language as instruments and I think we both have a relationship with the saxophone which is about: what does this thing do, what can it do? And then I’ve learned things from Tom that he has discovered: you can do this and can I approximate that? Can I incorporate that into my language or my relationship with the output of the instrument?”

Tom: “I mean, as much as there is just two of us and you can tell there’s two of us, there are moments where there’s no one [laughs], and then there’s moments where there are four or five. This duo has challenged the way that I listen, or the way I don’t listen sometimes. But there are these weird moments where there might be three perceivable, four perceivable things going on, you know, in terms of what you might call a voice.”

Recorded Arco Barco, Ramsgate
Recording and mastering: Filipe Gomes
Photographs: Caroline Forbes
CD booklet includes a 4,000 word conversation between Tom and Evan
6-panel gatefold sleeve, 20 page CD booklet and CD sleeve

Tom Challenger is a London-based saxophonist, composer, and educator known for his work in the British jazz and improvised music scenes. He leads several ensembles and has collaborated with a wide range of notable musicians and artists. www.tomchallenger.co.uk

“The duet with Challenger is a tour de force, in which each adroitly anticipates and responds to the other’s gestures and even notes.” — Sequenza 21 review of Kit Downes: Obsidian (ECM)

Evan Parker improvises on the tenor and soprano saxophone, and has performed live and recorded extensively across the UK and internationally. He has pioneered or substantially expanded an array of extended techniques for the saxophone. www.evanparker.com

“ … he’s one of the most original and compelling musicians of my lifetime. He’s also one of the most prolific, always up to something, usually something new.” — Richard Williams, The Blue Moment

CDs ordered from False Walls and Bandcamp are mailed from the UK. Other places where you can find or order False Walls CDs are shown here.

Physical/digital release: August 7, 2026
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