A Lark Ascending

'Scruffy' dress had been a youth code for some time by '68. Think of all those Woody Guthrie look-a-likes from the 50s onward. The whole 'beatnik' think that preceded the hippie era by a decade or more. By 1968 that had gone mainstream. I expect that some young musicians wanted to dress like their own generation. In other cases the less formal attire would have been one of the many strategies employed by jazz musicians ( or their managers) to try to appeal to an audience that was moving away from jazz. The association of suits with conventional white culture would also made them suspect in the Black Power era. The suits went back on when jazz headed for Lincoln Centre respectability.

Polished this off in a week. Not as nuanced as Clark on the origins (holds to the idea that Germany was largely to blame) but superb on the campaigns from Aug to December. I knew little of the Alsace-Lorraine clashes of Aug or the Serbian or Galician fronts. Balances narrative history with first hand reportage and overview evaluation. Best of all, he places the role of the BEF and Britain generally in its proper perspective, critical of decision making and the subsequent myth making that portrayed retreats (Mons, Le Cateau) as victories; and constantly emphasises the dominance of the French in the autumn campaigns. Not how those months are usually depicted here. Hope he goes on to cover the rest of the war in subsequent volumes - he has that ability to write engaging history for the general reader.

Gorgeous at present. Someone forgot to tell the weather pixies that it is the school holidays.

It is worth remembering that most people who listen to music are not worried about having the highest quality sound. I think of myself as a musical obsessive and even I'm content with 'good' quality sound (no criticism meant of those for whom sound quality is of professional interest/important or for whom it is a hobby in itself). Spotify causes me no discomfort. Impossible to quantify but I wonder if streaming encourages listening experimentation? In my experience, most listeners who buy just a few recordings every now and them want to be sure they'll like them before they buy. But with something like Spotify, once the monthly premium is paid there is nothing to limit you like that. Those of us who have long been mad risk takers when buying recordings will probably relish the opportunity to hear a range of things without commiting to a purchase. But I wonder if the more occasional listener goes further now. Given the many ways recordings are linked to others you might enjoy, I'd like to think so.'

After reading the excellent but very intricate 'The Sleepwalkers' about how the war came about, a more traditional account. The first 100 cover much the same ground as Clark but thereafter it's the military history of 1914. Don't know this nearly as well as 1916/17/18.

As BBC Radio 3's CD Review sends its 'Building a Library' into summer recess during the Proms, they seem to be doing a composer survey in the 9.30-10.15 slot instead. Nice survey of E.J. Moeran on record this morning. Worth a listen on the iPlayer if you want a taste of his major pieces. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04b1wj9 Next week, Sally Beamish. Good to see it not just sticking to golden oldies.

Yes that Westbrook sequence is excellent. Will listen out on Aug 4th. BBC has acres of stuff now on WWI and music. Not just the usual suspects: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02146t5 Also a selection to listen to here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/radio3/posts/Music-and-the-Great-War-on-BBC-Playlister

I'd say it's just as prevalent when it comes to 'canonic' jazz. How many times have some of those very famous Miles, Coltrane, Blue Note etc recordings been reissued promising 'additional material', deluxe packaging, super-duper remastering etc? It all boils down to owning an asset and then realising its potential to the maximum by changing the box it comes in. Standard practice in every area of commerce.

There's a number of clearly very skilled and adventurous UK players who I feel the same way about. Can't help but admire Smith and Tim Garland...But their records leave me with little memory of what's been played or need to rush a replay.

legendary bands celebrate the life and work of lindsay cooper Will try to get to this in November.

I love those LJCO albums where he emerges from orchestra to thrilling effect, then to be reabsorbed into the general texture.

Merci for the alert. Ordered that one straight away.

BBC2 TV doc: "The Men Who Made Us Spend" Part 1 Hardly news, but chilling - a history of 20thC consumerism and the techniques used by business to ensure goods have short lives so we buy and buy again. Didn't know about the early 20thC light bulb cartel who artificially reduced the life of bulbs by well over half. If you've ever wondered why you've bought 5 different versions of 'King of Blue' or why you've convinced yourself that you need ten Beethoven cycles then the answer is here. Episode 1: 'Red Bones' Standard British whodunnit but, as with so many of these series, made enjoyable by distinctive landscapes and endearing characters. "Midsomer Murders" with atrocious weather (and ferries).

hear, hear! those recordings are very important to me, too... Yes, 'Closeness' was an early purchase for me. Be nice to see 'The Golden Number' on CD/mp3 - I've never heard it. "The Golden Number" has been released on CD... I have a copy. It's an attractive gatefold package similar to the original vinyl release. Thanks Headman. Seems to have been out at one point on CD but no longer in print. Copies are lurking around but rather expensively. Seems to be downloadable in some places but not the UK. I'll wait. These things have a habit of surfacing when you least expect them. Plenty of other Haden to enjoy at home as it is.

Do not miss the two records with Paul Bley and Barre Phillips on ECM. More crystalline, less fury. I also really like 'Boustrophedon' on that label, a much larger ensemble.

Thanks, A.A. Unfortunately the British version of Spotify has 'Closeness' but not 'The Golden Number'. Some bizarre licensing reason, I assume.

hear, hear! those recordings are very important to me, too... Yes, 'Closeness' was an early purchase for me. Be nice to see 'The Golden Number' on CD/mp3 - I've never heard it.

I first became aware of him when Robert Wyatt recorded a version of 'Song for Che'. Then his beautiful playing on parts of 'Escalator Over the Hill' followed by the Jarrett American band. It was Haden's presence that made me take the chance on 'The State of Jazz to Come' which I was a bit scared of.

Yes, I can see that. Most radio stations here are much the same with 'classic rock' as one format. But you know that's what you'll get so you listen elsewhere. The options these days - internet radio, buying recordings, streaming - are nigh on infinite. I can't say I hear PF except when I choose to put on a record myself (rather different to autumn, 1973 where you couldn't go anywhere in my university hall of residence without DSoftM drifting out of a room....that or Tubular Bells [now there's a record I couldn't bring myself to listen to for decades...really enjoyed it when I played it again last year]!).

I wasn't aware that anyone was suggesting you should be. Most posters here are just expressing the facts that some/many/all of the PF's records still bring them pleasure. And if you look at the people posting you'll find them elsewhere on the site enthusing about new music as well (and all sorts of genres). What amazes me is that, in the natural scheme of things, the PFs music should by now only be of interest to those of us collapsing into old age, wallowing in nostalgia. But I constantly come across kids in their teens who've come across them one way or another and absolutely love them (maybe in the same way I came across Duke Ellington at a relatively early age even though he had absolutely no connection to my everyday life. When the final and definitive musical history gets written I suspect PF probably won't even be noticed - but there is something there that makes listening to their records a pleasure every now and then for those of us who knew them all those years ago; but what is interesting is that there is also something that continues to attract new listeners, which isn't bad for a group who might have sold mega-units but who haven't been 'hip' for 40 years or so.

Very sad. A player who has given me enormous pleasure over the years. His playing with the Jarrett quartet of the 70s was one of my connecting points with jazz.

It's worth remembering that at the end of the 60s/start of the 70s the moon landings were transfixing us all. Science fiction was very popular. PF managed to translate that to music (even bits of Ligeti were getting mainstream listening via the 2001 soundtrack). By DSotM (despite the title) the novelty had worn off. It's very hard to explain the sense of possibility and outward exploration that period had to people who came of age in more cynical times.

Episode two of The Honourable Woman. I'm not sure I know what is going on but I'm hooked (reminds me of those puzzling series of yesteryear like GBH and The Singing Detective (without the singing or surrealism)).

Again this is all perception, but what appeals to me about AHM is the unevenness (not in quality but texture and shape). Whereas DSotM sound like a more conventional album to me with a built in 'hit' (you almost sense a record company guiding them towards a more commercial approach, something I'm sure they would have bristled at, and yet...). Not knocking that but at the time I loved it for a few weeks and then found it's attraction wear off quickly. Now that happens with everything at some point - I just find I need to leave it longer than the earlier records between plays to really enjoy it.. What I like about 'WYWH' is the way the strong songwriting is balanced with the extended structures. I agree that PF were not the greatest of rock improvisers - nowhere close to King Crimson or the Grateful Dead. But what they were brilliant at in their extended pieces was establishing a sense of mood. The long tracks on 'WYWH' work because of the effective textures that build up the moods rather than any particularly clever playing.

Agree about that live disc. I knew that before I knew the original album versions so they always sound the 'correct' ones to my ears! All of disc 2 strikes me as interesting experiments that don't invite regular listening but are nice to hear every now and then....except the Mason piece (zzzzzz)! 'Granchester Meadows' is one of their loveliest ballads, sound effects and all....and I always loved the Ron Geesin thing that followed! I really like 'Relics' too - it was the place I first heard the earlier Pink Floyd. Some of the tracks there were hard to get in the early 70s being lost on long deleted singles or those strange movie albums.