A Lark Ascending

Away for a few days at the weekend so I've put this up today and will put the next up Thursday to tide over until mid-next week. Ellington-a-thon: 6 Four amazing pieces recorded around the same time: Creole Rhapsody Pts 1 + 2 [Duke Ellington] 1931 Limehouse Blues [Philip Braham/Douglas Furber] 1931 Echoes Of The Jungle [Cootie Williams-Irving Mills] 1931 The Mystery Song [Duke Ellington-Irving Mills] 1931 Some random pieces I Wish You Love [Charles Trenet/Albert Beach] 1962 Stomp, Look And Listen [Duke Ellington] 1944 Sumpn Bout Rhythm [Duke Ellington/Manny Kurtz-Irving Mills] 1934 Cool Rock [Duke Ellington] 1965 And the first suite - a short one. The Controversial Suite [Duke Ellington] 1951 31 down, 1,819 to go.

I have a feeling the customs will be observing my house!

"What Should I Do With...Trident?" Sorry, that should be on the Liam Fox website.

Two ususual versions of A-Train: The NDR Big Band From an Ellington themed disc by this German orchestra. Played very slowly and harmonised as if it is 'Mood Indigo'! The World Saxophone Quartet From their 'Play Ellington' album. 'A Train' opens the album briefly and closes it in a longer version. Most of the tracks on the album are ballads (presumably easier on a record with no rhythm section apart from what can be offered from the horns). 'A Train' is relatively upbeat, playing largely off some unusual, scrunchy harmonies. I like both of these versions - they don't just imitate.

I'm not in favour of the death penalty but I'm prepared to make exceptions. Putting up Xmas decorations before December 1st (and leaving them up after Jan 6th), caught in the possession of a drum machine etc.

Trick or treat? (A Yankee abomination that has affected these peaceful isles in recent years. I read somewhere that Halloween now grosses more than Valentine's Day in the the UK!!!! Looking at the shop displays since late September I can believe it. Wish we'd appropriated Thanksgiving instead. Seeing off all those Puritan nut-jobs seems like a good excuse for a party.)

I hear things on compilations that make me think 'Oh, he's not as bombastic as I thought'. But I remain haunted by a harrowing afternoon a few years back when Geoffrey Smith played 'Prologue (This is an Orchestra)' on Jazz Record Requests. I needed months of special psychiatric treatment after that. When I was first listening to jazz in the 70s, Kenton had a hardcore fanatical following, almost a genre all to himself. The one jazz specialist shop in Nottingham, Eric Rose's Music Inn, was like a temple to Kenton. (I think my reaction to Kenton was heavily influenced by a devastating attack on Prog-Rock by Ricard Williams in the Melody Maker (I think!) c.1972 where he compared it to Kenton and pointed out how Kenton had been rendered largely marginal to jazz history; prog-rock had the same fate in store).

What's your favourite matrix number?

Are there too many special edition reissue boxed sets?

I'm not burnt out from A Train's over-familiarity ('Perdido' is the one I can't be bothered with). Maybe I heard it alot in the 60s/70s when large orchestras still filled the TV and radio with brash, brassy music. But in the last 30 years the only jazz I've heard I've had to seek out myself. A couple of unusual versions: A 1960 recording where Oscar Pettiford is centre stage with Ellington punctuating, some distant drums and a celeste! All the brashness vanishes. And an early 80s Pablo with Joe Pass, Milt Jackson, Ray Brown and Mickey Roker playing it as a slow, sultry blues. Vocally, I'm again fixated on Ella's version on the Songbook set. Played that yesterday in response to your post. I think you are right - a minor gem, tucked away out of sight.

Are you sure? Imagine the Beaucoups de Band on the Run Must Pass Vol 1-3! Anyway, Didn't ELO save them the job?

Ellington-a-thon: 5 Take The "A" Train [billy Strayhorn] 1941 A third 'signature' tune. Must have been aware of this in the background as it is such a common big band tune, but I first consciously listened to it on the late 70s 'The Age of Ellington' compilation. One of the many reasons why that was such a good primer was that it had two versions. The 1941 RCA version - Ray Nance is credited with the trumpet...did he play both the muted and open parts? And then the 1966 version from 'The Popular Duke Ellington' which I really like - the piano intro that starts in waltz time really builds up to the entry of the main melody. Based on 'Exactly Like You', I read today on Wiki. Never knew that.

Nick Drake. Little more than 90 mins on his three initially released albums. Nic Jones A career just reaching its stride with a classic in 'Penguin Eggs', cut short by a terrible road accident that left him unable to continue as a working musician. As it is the small output of both men has had a huge influence on how guitar is used to accompany British folk music (and beyond, I suspect).

Blood Count: Stan Getz Listening to that lovely version got me thinking. He clearly loved the tune. And I suspect the audience at the event loved the performance, many maybe unaware of the original; similarly, listeners to the CD. In those circumstances the tune takes on a different meaning from those who know its original provenance. Whilst I find the context of the original of great interest, it doesn't make me want to rewrite my own personal listening history to give it a 'sacred' status. But, as I said before, I can see how those who came to it first via the original recording might have such a reverential feeling towards it. I would argue that the 'sacredness' is someting applied to it, not inherent...but this thread is not the place for that debate! Never No Lament Surprised this wasn't jumped on. I love that 1940, mid-tempo recording with wonderful Hodges but also some beautiful Cootie Williams and Lawrence Brown. Also played two vocal versions ('Don't Get Around Much Anymore'). A very nice Kenny Burrell version on his first 'Ellington is Forever' disc with one Ernie Andrews doing a very (to these ears) 'Southern' vocal. And the magnificent Ella version on the Ellington Songbook set with Burrell again + Ben Webster and Stuff Smith. Sort of resigned loneliness - not deep blues but hardly happy!

Oh, I understand your take on it. But I think you know by now that my approach to listening is somewhat more prosaic. So I'm hearing it possibly in a more detached way. Interesting. Though you might argue that you are less likely to get something that simply tries to revisit the emotion by playing it on something other. Lots of examples in jazz of music designed for one instrument, line-up etc that takes on a very different but equally interesting shape when played on different instruments or groups of instruments. For me, I heard the Henderson before I knew the Ellington (I think...I may just not have noticed it on an earlier compilation). I can see why hearing the Ellington first might make other versions sound pale by comparison. Am currently playing the Stan Getz 'Anniversary' album above, waiting for 'Blood Count' at the end.

The 1967 Blood Count is of course astounding. But it's such a good tune (or maybe just a delicious chord sequence) that I'm glad others have tried it. Just played alongside the Joe Henderson version off his 1992 Billy Strayhorn album, 'Lush Life'. Lovely version. Interesting to hear him play it in the higher register, hardly using the deeper characteristics of tenor. Might confirm how firmly Hodges had put his stamp on it.

Another mixed bag: Ellington-a-thon: 4 Ain’t Misbehavin - [Fats Waller-Harry Brooks/Andy Razaf] - 1929 Charlie The Chulo [Ellington] - 1940 Never No Lament (Don’t Get Around Much Anymore) - [Ellington] - 1942 Fugue-a-ditti (Fugue)- [Ellington] - 1945 Give Me The Right [Robert Mellin-Al Frisch] - 1953 Blue Jean Beguine - [Cat Anderson] - 1953 Goin’ To Chicago [Count Basie/Jimmy Rushing] - 1960 Babsie - [Alice Babs] - 1963 Blood Count - [billy Strayhorn] - 1967 Elos -[Ellington] - 1968 Might change the approach here - grouping several from the same session together, perhaps 4 or 5 from a 30s and similar from a 60s. Might make it easier to find the tracks and comment on what was going on. Any suggestions?

Wish this would happen in E-music UK. We have had ECM for a while but new quality labels are sadly slow to appear. In fact it's getting increasingly difficult to navigate the newly added as so much are cheapo 'All My Succes' type things. Edit: Just found this e-mail - something is afoot:

Good suggestion - will play that later tonight. Reminded me to also find my LP of the WSQ Ellington album and transfer it. Has a couple of versions of 'Take the A Train', scheduled to pull in here on Saturday!

Yes, I thought it must be a non-English language country by the unidiomatic series title - the French example above makes sense. I assumed it was Eastern Europe or Russia! But the rest of the artwork...my 11-18 year olds can do better than that on Photoshop!

E-music is overcluttered with cheapo labels recycling the same stuff...but this label takes some beating for presentation.

Sometimes happens when they squash two LPs on one CD but the total time goes over 79m. The recent Elton Dean Ninesense CD version lost a track from the first album that way.

Don't fancy the chances of the one behind his foot.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXfeSLpGXzI You can hear Richard Thompson's arrangement for guitar, mandolin plus light bass and drums here. Yeah, it's not the real thing, but I wish I could play it on guitar like that! Ignore the pictures - it's just a random slideshow of people playing guitars.

I've sold very few LPs/Cds in the past - a bit of a purge about 30 years ago when I decided I would not be listening to many of my rock records again (wrong!), and in the 80s/90s when buying CD or CD-upgrades or where box sets contained a CD I had singly. But in the last 5 years I've sold nothing - prices make it hardly worth carting the ones I know I don't want (largely failed experiments with newer rock music) to Nottingham or Sheffield. Most of my recent buying has been via download so the only place for them if I turn against them is the recycle bin. The main reason I sell little is because I have a habit of getting a revived interest in things I thought I no longer cared for. Are people still collectors? Hard to say but I find it hard to imagine that there will not always be people wanting instant access to favoured music. Whether this develops via acquired downloads or instant access to streaming I don't know. But it is noticeable that most record companies have digitalised and made available their catalogues in recent years. I know that's not popular with the established collector but suspect it will be the way forward as new obsessives move in. My hunch is that the big victim will be packaging. Something digital will replace it (companies are much slower here in providing digital booklets). The recent Sony excesses strike me as a last gasp of a dying approach.