Alexander Hawkins

Thanks Jim - yeah, I was thinking in that Groovin' High/Whispering sort of orbit, although it's not quite melodically or harmonically the same as either, I don't think... I hear what you're suggesting about '...Nearness', although I'm not sure I agree...I think TNOY starts on chord I, then goes ii-V into the subdominant, whereas Four starts on the I, and then goes ii-V in the key a tone lower (in Miles' key, Eb / Ebmi Ab7 Db)... Thanks for the reminder about that Vinson thing...had forgotten that!

Quick, fairly trivial, question...it's not occurred to me before, but is Miles' 'Four' based on another set of changes? It wouldn't bother me, but I'm teaching it in an analysis class, and playing through it earlier, the changes struck me as *really* familiar in a way they hadn't before...but I can't for the life of me put my finger on it! Am I missing something?!? Thanks in advance!

Saw this programme at Christmas - it was hilarious!!!

I love this clip!

Just in case any board members are in the vicinity, I'm on the road with Mulatu Astatke's new project at the moment...we're in Nijmegen tonight; Heidelberg tomorrow; Helsinki on Friday; and Minehead(!) on Sunday...

Just discovered this - some Brotherhood I'd never heard before...beautiful!

I'll post about it nearer the time, but we recorded a live London Jazz Festival gig with Louis Moholo's band on Friday night for broadcast on the BBC...Louis was on spectacular form, so I hope it'll be a good show. He also gave an often extremely moving interview before the show, which was also recorded - it'll be fascinating listening for anyone with even the most passing interest in any of this scene...

Plus Round Midnight moves to enough places tonally, that you're going to have some fairly 'distant' corners harmonically wherever you start!

Yeah, Mankunku! Also - anything by Louis Moholo, whilst we're in the Blue Notes/Brotherhood orbit...Spirits Rejoice is a stone classic. Something like Masekela's 'Home is Where the Music Is'??? Mulatu - check out the new record, 'Steps Ahead'. I didn't record the album, but I'm lucky enough to be part of the band touring the music, and it's wonderful!

Just a quick note with news of four gigs to end November...would be great to see you at any(/all) of these - please do say hello if you are able to make it out! Monday 15 Dominic Lash Trio - Folly Bridge Inn, Oxford - 8.30pm DL, bass, compositions; AH, piano, Javier Carmona, drums ...with Javier off to live in Barcelona, and Dom off to New York for the year, the last chance to catch this trio for a while! Then to London, for two London Jazz Festival gigs: Friday 19 Louis Moholo-Moholo: Seven For Seventy - Purcell Room - 7.45pm Louis Moholo-Moholo, d; Ntshuks Bonga, Jason Yarde, saxophones; Henry Lowther, t; Francine Luce, voc; John Edwards, b; AH, p ...celebrating the 70th birthday of one of the greats of our music...with the wonderful 'No Gossip' duo of Louis with Keith Tippett in the first half... Saturday 20 Decoy - Vortex Jazz Club - 8.30pm John Edwards, b; Steve Noble, b; AH, Hammond B3 organ A Hammond triple bill with MA and Big Cat...and a rare outing for Decoy... ...and for post-festival withdrawal, the return of one of my very favourite bands: Sunday 28 Ntshuks Bonga's Qwati - Vortex Jazz Club - 8.30pm Claude Deppa, t; Ntshuks Bonga, as; Gail Brand, tb; AH, p; Oren Marshall, tuba; Mark Sanders, d Mbaqanga standards, tunes from Mankunku, the Brotherhood of Breath, Ntshuks, and more...it'll be fun...

There's a nice Jimmy Heath tune on the changes, but I can't think what it's called for the life of me just now...wasn't familiar with it before, but someone turned up to a gig with it a couple of months ago, and it was great!

Hideguti!!!

Do check out Catatumbo if they're near you (or indeed, if they're not) - a really great trio.

I'm a huge fan of this version - John Gilmore on blistering form IMHO. Ra also had an amazing way of inflecting the 7th bar of the melody sometime...sort of interrupting the cadence by going to a Db rather than a C in the melody part (assuming we're in C)....absolutely love it...trying to think - whilst not at my CDs - of where it happens - I think, off the top of my head, perhaps in the solo version from Teatro La Fenice (Leo)?

Hey Corey - no time to test just now, but great idea - really useful! Will check it out later! Hope all cool with you - A

Just noticed that this is coming next month - very excited to hear it.

Just wanted to link to a few reviews of the record in case anyone's curious...there are a few print ones too which I can't find online! All About Jazz (by our own Clifford Allen) The Independent thejazzmann.com

Absolutely - great guy, killer player ...fantastic writer and bandleader too!

Wow - beautiful film - thank you!

Those Sonny recordings from Ronnie's are incredible...

Sounds great - interesting band! That sounds about right with Jah Wobble - they've been working together for a long while...yeah, I absolutely love Mark's playing...beautiful guy to play *with* as well - he's such a responsive, listening player!

Steve - that's really kind - that'd be a fun group! I've never had the pleasure of playing with Simon, but would love to. Alex and Mark are, I'm very lucky to say, regular partners in crime! I'm not sure, but I guess the last time Alex was in NY may well have been with Derek Bailey...

Amongst living clarinettists, I'd want to mention my friend/collaborator Alex Ward. I actually scribbled some thoughts in a BFT thread just earlier today, but for anyone inclined to check out a more 'out' clarinettist, IMHO Alex is special!

Just to chime in about Alex Ward and Joe Williamson (sorry - slow to notice that!): Joe I'm actually not terribly familiar with - I've only seen him a couple of times, and never had the pleasure of playing with him. I believe his most regular collaborators are the Dutch guys. He's part of the absolutely *fantastic* Toby Delius 4tet, (with Han Bennink, Tristan Honsiger). If anyone is in the slightest bit attracted by any of these musicians, or indeed the sound of guys like Clusone, or whatever, check them out! The only record I have is on ICP - 'The Heron'. Highly recommended! One thing I do know: Joe gets that lovely warm sound by using gut strings on his bass. Alex I'm good friends with. Let me say first up - he is an astonishing musician. As fans/players, we're prone to hyperbole - but trust me, Alex is one of the most extravagantly gifted musicians I've ever come across. What many reviews will first alight on is his astounding technical ability on clarinet, which, believe it or not, he's had since before he was a teenager. An early associate was Derek Bailey - often in duo, and also in the group 'Limescale' - and in fact, Alex played in Company 1988, at the age of 14 (IIRC). His first recorded appearance was at the age of 15, on Incus in duo with Steve Noble. Another early album - a fun record actually! - is this piece of nuttiness - featuring both Derek and Thurston Moore... He's also on some Eugene Chadbourne stuff from around this time - e.g. Hellington Country with, amongst others, Pat Thomas and Paul Lovens. Alex is not only completely happy playing freely inprovised music, but can read absolutely anything you might care to put in front of him...he eats up complex scored stuff. For - loosely speaking - some music in the 'post-Braxton' continuum, it's well worth checking him out in some of Simon Fell's projects. I like this one. Braxton was a very early influence on Alex, and a lot of us were waiting and waiting for a solo album. We got it fairly recently - 'Cremated Thoughts' on Treader. There are moments on this where you can really hear (for my money) a post-Braxton, post-Dolphy sensibility...really nailing some fascinating bebop line shapes alongside the extended techniques at which he's pretty much - as far as I can think - peerless. An interesting counterpoint to the Duck Baker album is this one, released at about the same time, with the same instrumentation. Joe Morris this time on guitar, however, and Simon H. Fell on bass. I haven't heard it, but with that line-up... This is all Alex on clarinet, but important is that he's a wonderful, wonderful electric guitarist as well. Crudely speaking, if his clarinet playing comes out of his love of 'jazz/creative music', this comes from his passion for - and encyclopaedic knowledge of - rock music. Check him out with the trio 'NEW', with John Edwards and Steve Noble. There are two or three - I forget offhand - fantastic records. Fans of electric guitar and power trios - a no-brainer! He also has a new group called 'Predicate' featuring his writing and electric guitar playing, but as yet, it's unrecorded. I believe they're in the studio within a couple of months, however, so watch out for it... Alex also has a couple of songwriting projects. I'm afraid I'm just not familiar enough with this material to comment on it. But lots of complex time signatures, loads of energy, real virtuoso stuff...here's a link...I'm afraid I just don't know enough about this to comment on it or give recommendations! And here's a link to Alex's MySpace page, which actually breaks things down quite nicely...for those in Sweden, I see that the trio with Duck and Joe have a couple of nights at the Glenn Miller Cafe coming up..!

I actually did a gig - a Handel/Hendrix thing - in the Handel museum a few months ago...fun place!