Simon Weil

sidewinder, that's interesting about Dury. He certainly seemed at home wandering about before the gig, in his element. He was kind of a charismatic presence, a star, there. brownie, we could do with more people being philosophical around here! Simon Weil

You're right! Hobsbawn did write a book about Jazz. Philip gave the name. To go with Sartre, there's a bit in _American Journey_ where Camus goes to a Jazz club and enjoys it. Ahh, Jazz and philosophy. The closest we've got is Albert Murray who seems to have rewritten Adorno's view of Jazz as though it were a good thing (in my opinion). I've got a copy of the correspondence between Adorno and Benjamin and I seem to remember Benjamin going along with Adorno's view of Jazz, so you're going to have to convince me he actually liked it. Still, I think we could do with some really good Jazz philosophers. Course, once you do that, the old Anglo-American distrust of intellectuals is going to wake up. On the other hand, I once saw Ian Dury at an Old and New Dreams concert. Simon Weil

Interesting. I picked up *Jewels* over the weekend and find it to be as strong as some of the others on Impulse. But yet, the *Penguin Guide* dismisses it completely, and I don't quite understand why. There is a magazine review Richard Cook did of the Olantunji (sp?) concert where he basically disses the hell out of Sanders' style. Cook is one of the Penguin Guide authors and I think there may be unacknowledged sensibility issues behind some of the reviews therein. I think a lot of people have problems with Sanders' scathing spiritual energy style. Simon Weil

In the UK there are TV programs which specialize in taking these sort of guys to task in the court of public opinion. Perhaps CDstreet might also be like that. At any rate, while you would not get your money back, you might get some satisfaction. The CEO with $1.9m does sound like "a story" from the journalistic point of view. Even if TV programs aren't interested, perhaps journalists might be. I mean it'd be good to get the word out about these guys. Maybe CDstreet is too small for that. Simon Weil

I think it's common to see inclusiveness in Society as a core good (I mean like a plural society) and I think people tend to carry that over into music. I do think that accounts for some of the popularity of world musics etc.. i.e. It isn't strictly musical what is going on. I catch that in myself sometimes. On the general issue, if he wants to say that popular music has declined in technique as a result of eclectism, I think that's BS. I mean you can play Johnny B Goode with three chords and get on stage and get people dance along with you - and that has nothing to do with eclectism, and was happening more than 30 years ago. My general feeing is that technique has improved in art/culture (say photography) over the last 20 years. The problem is people have less new to say. Maybe musicians get more eclectic in their attempt to find something new to say. I think there's truth in that. And maybe listeners do that to, in their desire to hear new stuff (and not be bored). But I'm not sure that a musician's technique is any the worse for it (I mean he's got all these new complexities to grasp). "Science has shown..." This is a bit of cod psychology he's pulled out of the air. Simon Weil

Apparently there is a little group of politicos at Westminster. I did hear Clarke on JazzFM (when they still played a fair amount of Jazz) once, and he was pretty entertaining. Played some Coltrane if I remember right. I wasn't actually at Jenny Agutter's table, and perhaps I shouldn't have said gig - more like concert. It was at the QEH and she was just standing there having a drink (?wine) and chatting away. I think I would have melted if I'd have opened my mouth (or put my foot in it). So I just kept it shut and smiled at her. Simon Weil

Jenny Agutter (star of The Railway Children, saw her at a gig once). Spike Milligan (played trumpet) Kenneth Clarke (ex UK chancellor of the Exchequer) [From the UK] Simon Weil

I think Harold Z nails it when he says: I mean, I think people like Ben Webster and T-Bone are obviously related. On the other hand I don't think you can really call James P. Johnson a blues player (although there's a vibe in there which does kind of fit him into the continuum thing.) - And he's a sort of primal Jazz pianist. Other than that I respond lot of pre-electric blues and T-Bone Walker but am not really keen on electric guitar urban blues. And never really got into mainstream rock of the Cream sort (which is evidently related to black electric blues). Do like Hendrix, but he's very much sui generis. A lot of Euro-Jazz isn't blues-based - it adds another dimension to the continuum. Simon Weil

As a general thing, there is a set of people who don't like losing but aren't terribly good at arguing either. So what they do is drag the discussion into abuse. That way they can bat away at the posters who post content-rich stuff until they knock them out of the way. Thus they "win". I've seen that happen, unendingly, on rec.music.bluenote, which is now merely a shell of what it was. Like I implied previously, the sort of posters you get here are going to do their abuse in such a way that no particularly unpleasant example will appear. They aren't going to take the chance on having their "fun" curtailed by getting themselves ejected. What they will rather do is raise the temperature gradually and continually. You still get dragged into abuse, just more slowly and insidiously. The whole idea of asking these people to be civil is a no-no. They just take it as an opportunity to be more devious and underhand. Call me cynical. Simon Weil

I would censor it. I mean, with all moderators there's a threshold level at which a thread just becomes unacceptable - and, for me, this tit-for-tat nasty picture posting passes that. In general, I think it's hard to effectively stop determined people who, let's say, appear to stay more or less within bounds, while posting in a needling or manipulative or otherwise aggressive spirit that impacts negatively on those surrounding them. Let's say those people who play by the rules, but not by the spirit of the game. It's hard to get rid of such perpetrators, but one can send them to Coventry. Simon Weil

I've got "The Restful Mind" and "Lady Coryell" and like both of them for, I don't know, the way Coryell plays within the distinctive, introspective vibe. "Spaces" seemed to me a kind of supercharged/hypercharged "supersession" and I was never really very keen on it. Actually, my favourite Coryell record is the one he did with Emily Remler (just the two of them). Lovely, in my opinion. Simon Weil

Don't have "Ptah el Dahoud", but "Journey to Satchidananda" is a really fine album. Simon Weil

For sheer consistency of drivel, Crouch's sleevenotes for Wynton must be hard to beat. And, on The Majesty of the Blues, you even get the apotheosis (is that the right word?) of the sleevenote - where Crouch's truly, truly, excruciating "Premature Autopsies" appears both in the sleevenotes and on the record itself. You couldn't write funnier spoof Crouch any better than Crouch straight. Simon Weil

I wonder if the credit card companies might not be more interested. After all, they're getting stung as well, if only in terms of insurance premiums. Just a thought. Simon Weil

Oh, that's a great movie. If you really are desperate maybe you want to go the Video route (Amazon also do the DVD). I've got all the Tarkovsky's on video. Simon Weil

Good point. How else can one explain polyester leisure suits? Or polyester pop aka bubblegum music. Oh the joy of tack! Simon Weil

Talking about "lost decade" for Jazz. I think the 70s was when people in general got lost, Society got lost. All those upheavals in the 60s and then Watergate, the Oil embargo, stagflation - the 70s turned into this kind of morass of uncertainty. So, then, I think art reflects Society - and, in fusion, you got just the ideal form to reflect the 70s. Equivocal - not really knowing if it's coming or going, one thing or another, Jazz or Rock. A kind of irresolute form for an unresolved era. And then you got the 80s and the "return to order" of the Conservatives and all their fatuous certainties. And we're still subject to that... Simon Weil

I suppose as a kind of representative 70s records, I might pick: I Sing The Body Electric/Weather Report (for fusion). Conference of the Birds/Dave Holland w. Braxton, Rivers, Altschul (for "accessible" avant-garde) Gnu High/Kenny Wheeler w. Holland, Jarrett, Dejohnette (for ECM record). I was 16 to 26 in that decade. Started off listening to Simon and Garfunkel, ended up with Derek Bailey's Company, which, apart from Leo Smith's blues-inflected trumpet, I couldn't make head or tail of. I was also ambivalent about Bitches Brew (not now). Simon Weil

I see Marsalis as a reaction to the 70s. You can read my long exposition about that in a series of articles on allaboutjazz (God I don't know why I'm doing this): Bitches Brew A New Hope Wynton Marsalis and George Lucas The last one (obviously) is the Wynton one, but it's led up to. Simon Weil

Yeah, "press the button Max". In the 60s, I was so obsessed with that line that my family kept repeating it back to me. Lemmon is great as a diabolical failure, and so is Falk as his sidekick. And the Curtis/Wood team is pretty good too. The film is basically a travelogue. The last hour or so is mostly a Prisoner of Zenda spoof. Simon Weil

I found it listed as: "And the Danish Radio Big Band" USA-BLUN81704 CD So I guess it's Bluenote US... Anyway... Thanks for the heads-up, Mike, I ordered a copy (Plus "Life on Earth"). Simon Weil

A conceptual series of albums: John Carter/Roots and Folklore: Episodes In The Development of American Folk Music. "Dauwhe", "Castles of Ghana", "Dance of the Love Ghosts", "Fields" and "Shadows On A Wall" Haven't heard all of these. Simon Weil

OK, wulfman. I'll give that a go...Thanks... Actually I prefer Sanjuro, though Yojimbo's probably the better movie. It's kind of easy-going - and has some treasurable scenes in it. Yojimbo's just ruthless. Kurosawa said it was supposed to represent the Japan of his time. But the ending of Sanjuro is pretty damn ruthless too. A Fistful of Dollars was based on Yojimbo. Don't think Sanjuro was remade. Simon Weil

Ikiru is a great film, life-enhancing etc. I haven't seen Kagemusha, but it's from Kurosawa's late period, post 60s, when he got bleaker and is supposed to be like that. Ikiru is set in 50s Japan, Kagemusha is period - But Ikuru has the guy in the Yul Brynner role in 7 Samurai as lead again. Though a very different type of role... Actually bleak but life-enhancing would describe Ikiru. Simon Weil

Man, my brain waves are more creative than your brain waves.... Simon Weil