A Lark Ascending

Defenestration entered my vocabulary in 1972 whilst studying the Thirty Years' War. I use it daily now, normally as a threat to unruly students.

Listening to the English Electric 2CD album right now - I'm smitten! Yes, you hear Genesis (and very early Genesis at that - much of it reminds me of Trespass) in there big time (the vocalist sounds like Gabriel) but they just get so much right. Reminds me of what I really liked about early 70s rock music: a) Not just good melody but an awareness of how frequent harmonic shifts could sustain interest and enjoyment. b) Layered harmony vocals - something that probably came out of psychedelia and Motown. c) Realising there were other ways to make long tracks beside playing over a repeating chord structure (blues or otherwise) - those segmented tracks that, done well, were held together by overlapping musical themes. d) Instrumental colour - the vast range of instruments at work, especially in the plucked string department. Great to hear Dave Gregory in action again. At one or two points the choruses drift dangerously close to Boy Band territory but they get so much more right. Intrigued as to what has led to this revival so long after the event and after decades when the music labelled as 'Prog' has been so unfashionable. Maybe the internet has allowed music out of fashion to flourish whilst undermining the monopoly of taste-making that the rock magazine critics long held. I know I'm going to be playing this a lot over the next few months. Thanks for the recommendation, Shawn.

Indeed! How did I forget it. ********************** Watched a nice little 90 min documentary on Genesis (the band, not the book!). Nicely done - interviews with all the main members (actually at all the 'classic' quintet members in the same room). Cleverly used talking heads to show their enthusiasm who didn't look like they played computer games the rest of the time. Even though I was only a big follower in the 70s it's odd how the whole lifespan of the band seemed to nudge memories. They are clearly in the process of being rehabilitated.

Yes, I know it's that recent. Just curious if the composition is also new or whether it started with the lengthy piece I heard. That was never recorded at the time. My aural memory isn't that good - it usually take me a few listens to a piece to realise that music early in a piece is returning later on (unless it's in an obvious form like a sonata). So when I listened to the Zurich record in the summer I couldn't recall any of it. May be totally new. I think that describes most of her music since the mid-noughties.

Still here in the UK.

You can't write Napoleon out. But you can argue endlessly about what part he played - the driving 'Great Man' or someone swept along by broader social, economic and cultural forces. And that's before you consider if what he did was a good thing or not. I can see your point about valuing musicians with conviction, the long view, the willingness to look beyond etc. But where does what the music actually sounds like come into that? I don't know the music of Max Reger apart from hearing things every now and then on the radio, but would imagine he'd fit into the conviction/long view frame. Yet his music hardly gets played or recorded. I've no doubt there are listeners who love his music and feel he's overlooked. But you get the impression that for all that striving to be serious and contribute to the tradition he's missed the thing that connects him with even the bulk of the dedicated classical music audience. ********************** Back to the Zurich concert - I'm intrigued as to how recent the music is. I remember her performing an extended piece for large ensemble at Cheltenham about ten years back. The fact that she has recorded it with many of the people she was playing with in Europe before relocating makes me wonder if it has evolved from that. I remember it being rather hard to get your head round.

I liked both seasons of Line Of Duty. I got mixed up there. It was Line of Duty I meant. State of Play was a tremendous series from about 15 years back which I think got remade in the US more recently. The Shadow Line was another strong series. Happy Valley is on DVD in the UK. They might still be doing the translations for the subtitles for the American market!!!! Watched the first part of the second series of Peaky Blinders last night: As ever, extremely stylised with grim, dark exteriors, very violent but compelling. Gang warfare in post-WWI Britain. The first series was set in Birmingham; they're branching out to London this series.

I also think there is a tendency to confuse why a musician matters historically with why you enjoy them. I've read enough on Beethoven down the years to have an inkling as to why he matters historically - what he did structurally, in terms of shifting the emphasis from abstract 'beauty' to internal, personal expression etc. etc, But the reason I listen to him is because I find his music moving. Part of that has resulted from reading about why others feel he matters, part from a visceral reaction to his music. The same could be said of Charlie Parker - I've a hazy idea of his historic innovations but through repeat listenings I've come to find his records exciting. I just get the feeling that we sometimes need the music we like to be considered historically significant. Which might explain all this 'who's best?' anxiety.

The most recent things I've downloaded have been between 228 and 256.

I was attending a free event last year and got talking with a visitor from the US. I said that the problem I had was differentiating between what was good and what was not. He said, just 'go with the flow'. I did and thoroughly enjoyed the event. But I couldn't articulate why. People enthusing about X, Y and Z cause me no problems in this situation because it is so hard for most of us to know why we are responding to one musical situation and not another. People who assert that X is crap and we really should be listening to Y wind me up no end! (you may have noticed!!!!!)

Not questioning your reaction; but what criteria do you use to differentiate between what is lasting and what is ephemeral? I know you are writing from a deep involvement with the music.

Your enthusiasm always comes across, Steve. I've tried out many a recording based on that. 'This thrilled me' is one thing. I can do that. And I respond to it from others. 'This matters.' Well.... What I constantly miss is the common criteria on which the judgement is based. And you can't make judgements in any area without commonly agreed criteria (feel my pain: years of dealing with school inspectors coming in with their own woolly criteria, changing goalposts or personal agendas). Too often it is 'this thrilled me so it matters'. [Where I think David is onto something is that he's gone beyond an assertion of 'this is amazing' to articulating exactly what he found amazing. That doesn't happen very often].

Big, big question there. I know my understanding of music doesn't allow me to go much beyond 'I really liked that' or 'was thrilled by this' (I'd have never have noticed what you mention in the second paragraph). And articulating it in writing becomes nigh on impossible for me - I end up collapsing into metaphors. I tried a bit of online reviewing in the noughties and stopped because I knew I couldn't go beyond vague impressionism. I rarely read reviews or online comments that do much more. I recall a free/avant music periodical that operated over here in the 90s called 'Avanti' that was packed with words but never left me any closer to what was happening in the music. Probably explains why so much discussion of jazz revolves around formats (or in the classical world, the relative importance of maestros). When people who understand the technicalities of music articulate what is going on (and have an awareness that much of the reading audience don't) it can be revelatory. Probably an issue for another thread. Do most people who write about jazz really know what they are on about?* * Which is different from 'Do they really like what they listen to?' which I'd take as given. But explaining why?

I agree with Kinuta. Broadchurch was OK but very predictable. 'Happy Valley' was utterly original and set in a place you don't normally find these sort of programmes. The other one I'd rate big time from recent years is 'State of Play'.

Would have liked to have seen one of those concerts but they are not playing around here. She was a mainstay of Cheltenham in the noughties. I remember seeing her music change from relatively straight to increasingly abstract over those years. She also played lovely, melodic Brazilian in Monica Vasconcelos' bands and in a sort of world-jazz band called Oriole. A different side to her music than what she seems to have chosen to focus on. 'Forensic' which Sidewinder mentions seemed to mark a turning point in her central drive. If you want to hear the distance she's come, listen to 'Who Is It?' from 1998 - almost a smooth jazz album. It's on Spotify (I don't think it's one you'd play much so not worth owning).

Maybe if the husband played her the Japanese XYZW version (it's in 75 bit and comes with lots of extra cardboard) she would see the light.

The said they were adding the majors a couple of years back to the UK version but it never happened. I never have any difficulty using up my monthly allowance - I have a 'legacy' plan worth double the cost price. Still a bargain for me. I'm always convinced I'll see a 'closed for business' sign any day. They must have lost a lot of ground to streaming.

R.I.P.

Loved reading that. I too find it a lot more honest than the sort of projecting that all too often goes on when aficionados babble on about avant garde music.

That long ago! I remember mentioning it during a lunch break on the following day at work and getting a 'Who's Miles Davis?' response. Mind you, I got exactly the same response when, in a general discussion about recent deaths, I mentioned Kenny Wheeler (less surprising, I know).

Not for jazz fans of a nervous disposition

Quite.

Well I thought this one was definitely your cup of tea Bev. It seems to tick all the boxes. Don't be misled by the grungy thudding drums intro to the first track, it's really quite exceptional. Hope you enjoy it. Look forward to it.

Read this short book in one gulp today as a prelude to the more detailed: Very much as a result of a 'Turner' TV programme last week. Edit: Read the first 60 pages of the Holmes this afternoon - gripping! The Story of Joseph Banks' journey to Tahiti with Cook. After the porridge of the Schubert book over recent weeks this is just what is needed.

A fragment of the True Cross I own that I'm thinking of putting on Ebay. What sort of starting price should I ask?