Saxophonist Trish Clowes & cellist Louise McMonagle have been making music together for over 15 years, whether appearing as a duo, playing in Clowes’s band and her Emulsion festival, or recording for BBC Radio 3 studio sessions. Each musician has built a reputation for delivering powerful performances, premiering and commissioning new works, and forging alternative paths on the London contemporary music scene. Their new album ‘Colour Fields’, released on Stoney Lane Records, presents a collection of collaborative compositions and improvisations, exploring texture, mood, and melody – think Wayne Shorter meets Kronos Quartet.
“pure musical symbiosis”
– Tom Service, New Music Show, BBC Radio 3
“Tenor saxophone and cello take on a new existence in this fascinating collaboration”
★★★★ Claire Jackson, BBC Music Magazine
“delightful duo … even more rewarding than I could have hoped it would be”
– Marlbank
New album ‘Colour Fields’ OUT NOW ON Stoney Lane Records
“Why do we not hear more of the cello and sax as a duo? Their sound-worlds, as shown by these two musicians, belong together. This is a warm, playful, exquisite partnership which has the perfection of Bach and the physicality of dance. It’s inquisitive, reaching out into every possibility the instruments have at their disposal, while making the listener believe we’ve known this all along. An intimate space, a vast cathedral, the open air, a frozen lake, a beach – this is music and a musical partnership which works in every imaginable setting, in the company of two compelling musicians.”
– Fiona Talkington, BBC Radio 3 presenter
Photography by Gemma Bringloe
McMonagle
A Scottish cellist based in London, Louise McMonagle is a versatile performer who enjoys making music in many environments. Her playing has been described as “especially vivid, with its powerful combination of precision and intensity” (Jonathan Russell, Bachtrack). Career highlights include winning the Ernst Von Siemens Ensemble prize (2020, as a member of the innovative Riot Ensemble), performing at Wigmore Hall (London), playing as soloist in Boulez Messagesquisse at the VIVA Cello Festival (Switzerland), and recording Berio Sequenza XIV with Four Ten Media. In Spring 2025 she released her debut solo album ‘Ancient Modernity’ to wide critical acclaim, Gramophone Magazine declaring that “Louise McMonagle’s commitment to the music of our time is an inspiration” and BBC Music Magazine describing McMonagle as a “formidable and expressive interpreter, bringing both fervour and commitment, alongside a strong range of expression to the compositions”.
Clowes
Saxophonist and composer Trish Clowes has been described as “an improviser to be reckoned with” (Downbeat Magazine) and “one of the brightest stars to have emerged during the so-called British jazz boom” (The Irish Times). Notable career performances include the NDR Concert Hall in Hanover, Wigmore Hall (as Associate Artist), Drogheda Classical Music concert series, Cheltenham Jazz Festival, Bray Jazz Festival, Barbican, Toronto Jazz Festival, Rochester International Jazz Festival (US), Royal Festival Hall, Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club, Celtic Connections (with BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra), Galway Jazz Festival, Karlsruhe Jazz Festival. Recent collaborations include a quintet with US trumpeter-composer Dave Douglas (2024), and a songs project with Norma Winstone. A regularly commissioned composer, Clowes has written for BBC Concert Orchestra, London Sinfonietta, NDR Big Band (project entitled ‘Radiant Resistance’), and Riot Ensemble (supported by the Vaughan Williams Foundation).
Photography by Will Darkin
