A Lark Ascending

And a few more: A couple of cropped ones:

A few views from Cornwall, Aug 2010:

The third of Downing's excellent series about a British/American journalist living in Nazi Germany. This one is set in the weeks leading up to the first setbacks in the Russian campaign in 1941 and the US declaration of war after Pearl Harbor. Beautiful book about a family in St. Ives Cornwall during World War I with D.H. Lawrence and his wife who had retreated to Zennor nearby playing a key part. Now really enjoying this Daphne Du Maurier/Wilkie Collinsesque ghost story: Bev

There's an article here from January about the digitalisation of MM: http://paidcontent.co.uk/article/419-ipc-may-re-publish-premium-melody-maker-archive-online/ Gramophone have done it so it should be possible for MM - though Gramophone has been a monthly for most of its life so there are only 12 (13?) issues for each year to digitalise as opposed to 52 for a weekly.

I was mainly an NME reader but used MM too. Can't recall what NME's jazz coverage was like. Not as strong, I suspect, though during the mid-70s it had a very catholic approach to music so there must have been jazz stuff in there.

I can do that without the aid of technology. It comes naturally.

That would be fascinating! I can still remember reviews that made me experiment with things (Jarrett, Westbrook) - I'd love to read what caught my interest again.

I was googled a couple of times by kids at school (when they were meant to be working!!!!) and they landed here (my name is not common!). They got distracted! For a few seconds, before they found it all quite boring. Thought it best to avoid such situations.

In 1974 an LP cost around £2.50; say around the £15 mark for a premium priced CD today. So entry to Ronnie's would have been around £30 in current money. Double what I'd expect to pay for a jazz concert ticket (though you'd pay far more for a big name rock act or jazz 'legend'). Would the £5 get you in for the night or just for a set? Doesn't seem extortionate for a club setting with high overheads. I've never been to Ronnie Scott's. Been to the Village Vanguard, but not Ronnie Scott's!

First Ellington I heard was actually Steely Dan c. 1974...their reconstruction of 'East St. Louis Toodle Oo' for rock instruments but quite un-rock like. Then a version of 'Creole Love Call' by Mike Westbrook's Orchestra. I think I'd read about Ellington or about other musician's (Stan Tracey) love of Ellington before I bought a record by him, though I must have heard things on Jazz Record Requests. I then took a chance with this: A 3 LP set put out by The Sunday Times in the UK in conjunction with RCA. It was a real leap in the dark for me in 1978 but proved a wonderful primer. One LP of 'popular' Duke, one of 'historic' and one of 'longer' (including BB&B), drawn from across the full timespan of his RCA recordings. I was smitten. The strange thing is that, apart from Billie Holiday, it would be another 15 years or so before I began to develop any interest in any other pre-1940s jazz. Over those years I built up my Ellington knowledge through those French RCA black and white twofers and some of the later RCA and Columbia things. And, of course, I was constantly bumping into other musician's takes on the Ellington/Strayhorn music book. When the big centenary box came out in 2000 (?) I made my most expensive single recording purchase ever!

I know. But they should have released.....

A favourite of mine since being bewitched by My Funny Valentine and then Amsterdam After Dark in the early days of my jazz listening. Seemed to be a regular in the UK - I got to see him at Cheltenham about ten years ago; I think the late Martin Drew was on drums, though I might be wrong.

Feeding frenzy in the back garden.

I love this bit: Stewart Lee curated an avant-garde sequence at Cheltenham this year including Evan '2ft 4in' Parker. I like the idea of calculating your collection in terms of feet and inches (instead of how many CDs). Though as I dispense with the jewel boxes, my Miles Davis is a mere 1ft 3 1/2 inches (those boxes pad it out somewhat).

Not much has got across the Pennines. A brief heavy spell yesterday refilled 1 and a bit water butts. But apart from that it's been overcast, threatened rain but kept dry in eastern parts. And we're the ones with the hosepipe ban! Yes, ironic isn't it? A shortage of rain in Manchester!

Not much has got across the Pennines. A brief heavy spell yesterday refilled 1 and a bit water butts. But apart from that it's been overcast, threatened rain but kept dry in eastern parts.

Just caught the end of that - must use the iPlayer to hear the full thing.

Yes, when getting really excited by a new purchase I'll usually ration my listening to it. That way I can keep going back to it afresh. There's an optimum period when a new purchase can completely overwhelm you. That passes and the pleasure you later get is still considerable but not quite so intense or overwhelming. So rationing can extend the 'head-over-heels' phase of the relationship!

Good point. Quality analysis of a recording or performance often adds to appreciation and understanding. It doesn't even have to be highbrow. Look at something as available as the Penguin guide to jazz. It's imperfect, and is flawed by only covering things in print (and not all of those), but as an introduction to the music it is very good. I have a whole pile of books that I have picked up over the years that I re-read, sometimes when I'm listening or going to see a particular artist. A well-informed writer also can lead you to things you haven't heard before. The book "Delta Blues" by Ted Goia is a personal example. I like (1) writers about jazz who have done the research and can put forward a strongly evidenced-based interpretation of the music or musicians. I like writers who (2) are good at explaining what is going on in the music and why it matters. I also like (3) reading people's personal reactions to music when it's expressed with some humility and an understanding that others might hear different. Where 'criticism' has got itself a bad name is that too often the critic is passing off the third (without the humility) as the first or the second. I thought Ted Goia's book on West Coast Jazz was a model of (1).

I saw this band (or a version of it) earlier in the year - to be honest my mind drifted. Lots of electronic backwash with the music ebbing and flowing but no clear sense of structure. A pity, as Iain Ballamy is one of the UK's most distinctive sax players but he seemed quite anonymous in this. Might appeal to those with more of a taste for electronica.

A stalwart of the UK scene - behind a series of recent marvellous releases in the vein of the Jazz Couriers. Look at this for a list of some of the people he played with: Al Cohn - Al Haig - Alan Skidmore - Alec Dankworth - Andrew Cleyndert - Anita O’Day - Anita Wardell - Art Farmer - Arturo Sandoval - Barbara Dennerlein - Barney Kessel - Benn Clatworthy - Benny Carter - Benny Goodman - Bill Holman - Bill Perkins - Bill Watrous - Bobby Hutcherson - Bobby Shew - Bobby Wellins - Bob Wilber - Bosko Petrovic - Buddy Childers - Buddy DeFranco - Bud Shank - Carmen McRae - Charles McPherson - Charlie Mariano - Chet Baker - Chico Freeman - Chucho Valdes - Clark Terry - Conte Condoli - Count Basie - Dame Kiri Te Kanawa - Dave Green - David Gazarov - Davide Petrocca - Dexter Gordon - Dick Morrissey - Dizzy Gillespie - Eddie Daniels - Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis - Ella Fitzgerald - Frank Rossalino - Frank Wess - Freddy Hubbard - Gareth Williams - Gene Harris - George Coleman - Georgie Fame - Gil Evans - Hank Jones - Harold Land - Harry "Sweets" Edison - Herb Ellis - James Moody - James Morrison - Jim Hart - Jim Mullen - Jimmy Smith - Jimmy Witherspoon - J.J. Johnson - Joe Henderson - Joe Pass - Joe Temperley - John Altman - John Critchinson - Sir John Dankworth - John Lewis - John Pearce - John Taylor - Johnny Griffin - Julian Joseph - Junior Mance - Ken Peplowski - Kenny Davern - Kenny Werner - Kilian Forster - Laurence Cottle - Laurie Holloway - Lanny Morgan - Lee Konitz - Lew Soloff - Liane Carroll - Manny Albam - Marion Montgomery - Mark Murphy - Michael Brecker - Michel Legrand - Milt Jackson - Monty Alexander - Mornington Lockett - Mundell Lowe - Niels Pedersen - Nigel Hitchcock - Niki Haris - Oscar Peterson - Paul McCartney - Paul Morgan - "Peanuts" Hucko - Peter King - Phillipe Catherine - Phil Woods - Plas Johnson - Ralph Sutton - Randy Brecker - Ray Brown - Red Holloway - Robert Farnon - Robin Aspland - Roland Hanna - Ron Carter - Ron Mathewson - Roy Eldridge - Ruby Braff - Scott Hamilton - Simon Spillett - Stan Getz - Stanley Turrentine - Stephane Grappelli - Steve Melling - Terence Blanchard - Terry Gibbs - Tete Montoliu - Tommy Smith - "Toots" Thieleman - Ulf Wakenius - Vic Lewis - Warren Vache - Woody Herman - "Zoot" Sims. http://www.martindrew.co.uk/ Though I'd add Ronnie Scott and Louis Stewart who along with Drew, Taylor and Mathewson make up one of my favourite discs with his playing - Scott's 'Serious Gold'. Very sad.

This book due out next week should make an interesting read on this area: The Amazon blurb: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Electric-Eden-Unearthing-Britains-Visionary/dp/0571237525/ref=pd_ybh_9?pf_rd_p=138755991&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_t=1501&pf_rd_i=ybh&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_r=0V0SGXREWHD6CMS0E481 The extract in the recent Froots magazine (on Mr. Fox) was excellent.

I think you are right there. Because Thompson has never enjoyed mainstream success he seems to get the press rooting for him every time. Of his albums from the last ten years or so the only two that really bear up for me as albums are 'Mock Tudor' and 'The Old Kit Bag'. Another thing that increasingly disturbs me about Thompson's writing is the sheer nastiness of some of the lyrics. He's always had a thing about oddballs and characters on the wrong side of the tracks but a sort of sneer has crept in. If you want three records that pick up on the spirit of early Thompson (without the guitar heroics), much more firmly rooted in the British tradition, try these: This 7 minute video about the making of the recent album is well worth watching. Interesting to note Wood's take on humanity compared with the bitterness that so disturbs me in recent Thompson: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBSWYnzGFh0&feature=player_embedded The first two albums are available in a cheaper double package called 'Albion'. Here is Wood doing his greaterst hit. Ten minutes long but I defy anyone with a heart not to get to the end of it without a tear in their eye:

Just read a 4 star review in Mojo. But I'm not holding my breath - Thompson has put out a lot of dull rockers over the years. Filler describes them perfectly! I think they are the sort of thing that gets a great response live but don't bear up afterwards. He needs to get back over here and reconnect with his roots. I've always felt his songwriting suffered from the early 80s once he seemed to be on endless tour in the States (which is not to say that he hasn't written some great songs in that time - but they tend to make up about 1/3 of each record).

Very good!