A Lark Ascending

Yes, I know what you mean. I was showing a clip from Andrew Marr's series about the Blitz on Liverpool to a class last week. Couldn't help but express my irritation that the Stuka dive bombers shown would have run out of fuel on such a mission and that the footage probably came from Holland or Poland. In another age we'd be writing cranky letters to the Radio Times complaining that the steam engine shown on Miss Marple could not possibly have been running in 1936 because....

Outside of the UK, I'd be surprised if many people care (except perhaps businessmen who'd like to get their hands on it and use the airtime for more 'profitable' use!) British musicians care very much (we have a regular poster here whose music is getting exposure in those limited time slots). Look at the point in the Guardian piece about UK jazz musicians being below the minimum wage. More jazz on UK radio, more stable careers for musicians, a more vibrant jazz scene for we Brits. Not of consequence to most people outside of the UK (apart from those who do recognise the marvellous jazz musicians operating here); but of great importance here.

Many thanks for those recs, MG, which I am following up. The Ancient Strings one doesn't seem to be available for download even though most of the Buda catalogue is on e-music. I've ordered a hard copy plus that cheap download of the Diabate on Amazon. 3 and 4 are currently being sucked off e-music. I actually have the fifth on LP, though with a different cover. It's a 1986 pressing on Oval - I seem to recall it was really lionised in Folk Roots at the time. Might even have won an award. At the time I played it a few times but didn't get it. Will transfer to CD-R later today. Enjoyed this last night: And am now on: Good to have been reminded of this corner of my collection.

I recall the Jazz Services report from ten years back which covered much the same ground - the statistic that stuck in my head was that jazz and opera had a similar audience size yet radio time and Arts Council funding favoured the latter many times over. Let's hope this push has some results. There is a relatively easy solution which would not just leave classical coverage on Radio 3 untouched but might even increase it!. Put one of the digital stations over to non-pop, non-classical music. Jazz could share it with blues, world music etc. There would still be room for more radio jazz than most of us have time to listen to. Of course, the problem would be diverting some of the funding currently lavished on classical music. I suspect that is the real reason the Beeb is unwilling to move in that direction.

The great thing about threads like this - and can I say how nice it has been to exchange differing viewpoints in such a mutually respectful manner - is it gets you listening out of your current zone of habit. I've had the 2nd volume of the Rail Band retrospective on this evening and its been wonderful. Not directly related to kora playing, but you can see where I'm coming from. There's a lot in your initial post, MG. If you were narrowing it down to 5 easily available recordings that give you most pleasure (I'm more interested in music as pleasure) what would you go for?

Big fish in small ponds syndrome in both cases, Seeline!

There are literally hundreds of currently active UK musicians playing in a wide range of styles. Groups like Polar Bear, Acoustic Ladyland, Led Bib, Outhouse play in styles that overlap into indie-rock or grunge/punk-like areas. As Shrdlu says, there's so much you won't take it all in at once (or ever). Best to use the radio or Spotify (as you mention) and see what suits you. See if your local library carries jazz CDs (that's where I did my early exploring). There's a UK jazz magazine - Jazzwise - that has a current/European focus but still celebrates the history and tracks US developments. Worth a read. http://www.jazzwisemagazine.com/

You mean, like jazz (OK, 100 years) or classical music! I'm interested in this because I saw the whole 'World Music' thing (as a European marketing strategy) emerge from the late 70s, via the pages of 'Folk Roots' magazine (now 'FRoots'). It started as a UK folk-centred local rag in the South East. Its long time editor, Ian Anderson (who I recall seeing playing blues in the mid 70s!), developed a real interest in African and other musics and started to steer it in a more international direction, creating an outcry amongst the hardline UK folkies that still has not stopped. He was there at the centre of the marketing decisions that kick-started the wider interest in this country (I know there were plenty of people with specialised interests prior). I've been fascinated by the twists and turns he's taken (he can be cantankerous and waspish). At one stage he decided that indigenous musics were at risk from globalised, Americanised mass-culture and actually launched an attempted boycott of American music amongst his readers. I think he eventually saw how foolish this was and over the last ten years has used the phrase 'rooted in a tradition' as his measure for the validity of a music. I've always found it a bit of a shaky concept. His latest re-write of history is that American music has come out of its commercialised dark ages and that there are now really interesting American groups, rooted in traditions he approves of. Oh, and that the 'World Music' area is going through a bit of an arid patch whereas music rooted in the English folk tradition is enjoying a resurgence. I admire the bloke for all he's done to open people's ears; but he suffers the arrogance of so many critics in presenting his preferences and notions as some sort of objective reality. (Hope this is not drifting too far from the intention of your thread.)

Indeed! 'You'd be so nice to come home to' - Dudley Moore.

But what if the people don't want it anymore (or want it like that); but some people from elsewhere do want it or want to turn it into something else? Does that invalidate it. Or does it become something else with the potential to have its own validity. If you insist the measure is the original usage (or the approval of the original community) then there is no validity. But if you allow for mutation well beyond the original (say Sophocles to Becket) then it can have validity. Many who argue for the centrality of tradition imply that there is an imperative to make the original usage the measure. Your second generation kora players are probably (at least in part) adapting what they do to a community outside of the one that gave the music birth. I'm not sure that necessarily makes it weaker - unless you have decided that one essential criteria for validity is that the music retains its roots close to the source community. Which seems to be what Marsalis is doing (or saying).

Indeed! Though not exactly modest! I really like his more recent big band recordings - some beautifully sonorous brass writing in almost eleagic settings. That 'Celebration Jig' that was played is a wonderfully agile, life-enhancing piece off a great record.

I'm listening to a documentary about him on iPlayer right now! (BBC Radio4) I'll definitely take a listen to the artists you gave me after the documentary I wouldn't envy me, I've only liked jazz for about a day now! It's funny because as well as Jazz I love trip-pop, dumbstep, prog rock, pretty much everything! I notice you are in London, Daxwax. Tune into 'Jazz Record Requests' on Radio 3 every Saturday - an hour of completely varied jazz from across the spectrum every week. Also on the iPlayer for a week. Just before it is an hour programme called Jazz Library that explores a different musician each week. And if you want to hear what's happening now try Jazz on 3 late on Monday night (or on the iPlayer). You'll get different advice on this; but I got my taste for jazz in the mid-70s from listening to the UK/European jazz happening then and then worked outwards and backwards. There's some marvellous jazz being made in the UK at the present (most of it based in London [i've never been myself...too far away...but The Vortex in Stoke Newington seems to have some of the most interesting if you are able to get out to the occasional concert]). Listening to jazz doesn't have to be about archaeology. You'll find things of interest in the present too; and, hopefully, in the future.

Me too! He always looks so unwell - on stage and in photos. Yet his mind and speaking voice seem to be of a man 50 years younger.

I'm always a bit wary about the term 'the people'. An awful lot has been justified in their name - Lenin and his middle class accomplices invoked a dictatorship in the name of 'the people'; Hitler justified his dictatorship and rode roughshod over the law on the grounds that he was acting for the German people; our own politicians constantly claim that when the follow their own self-interest they are acting for the people. To say 'the tradition is owned by the people' is to imply that there is a single, defined tradition. I'd argue that the tradition is owned by the person/persons who define the tradition as such...it's a retrospective construction, a particular arrangement of selected pieces of the jig-saw puzzle that fits the perpective or interests or prejudices or special interests of the constructor. Which is why I'm always suspicious of those who claim to have a particular insight into what the tradition is. *************** The appeal of the supposedly 'authentic' forms of West African (and other) music is interesting but not surprising. I suspect it is part of a continuity that goes back at least to the industrial revolution. As we become more urbanised and entangled in technology there is this appeal of the supposedly natural (which is often far from that, the English countryside being a classic example). It happens in so many forms from longing for authentic music from the past or in the spirit of the past through to the desire to believe in some eternal truth that lies outside the modern world, possibly locked in the secrets of the ancients (Dan Brown clearly took that one to the bank!). The present and the future are uncertain; we can't be sure that what we value today will be considered to be valuable tomorrow. Much easier to arrange the past in a reassuring way and convince ourselves that real, eternal values lie there. I suspect the music that is being freshly minted in West Africa for a domestic audience at present doesn't quite provide those reassurances for a (mainly middle to upper-class) wester audience. Whereas the Toumani Diabate's and Dembo Konte's can be filed alongside Beethoven Quartets or boxed sets of the genius of Lester Young.

Starts this Friday: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00qbzxs

I hope you're not going to start posting in cod-Texan! You can take neo-traditionalism too far!

Don't know nearly enough about this music to comment in depth - I'm very much an occasional 'cultural tourist' where it is concerned, having only listened through what you term the 'neo-colonialist' packaging of the music. I think you are absolutely right that a distorted and romanticised view of this music (and World Music in general) has been presented for Western consumption. The term 'neo-colonialist' seems a bit loaded. These are just record companies doing what record companies do anywhere in the world - find a form of music that can find a market and then select from it what might sell. In some cases pure greed is at work; but I'd imagine there are lots of people involved who just like the music, can see others would like the music but have to be a bit cautious in selecting in case they put out things that don't sell and they go under (were Holst, Bartok, Kodaly, Vaughan Williams, Grainger 'neo-colonialists'?). There is a lot of mythology involved in the marketing - the idea that you are somehow buying into authenticity, heritage etc. But that is equally true of jazz, be it a contemporary musician portrayed as an inheritor of the tradition (and that can be Marsalis or some young Chicago avant-garder) or the endless repackaging of 'the legends', 'the masters'. To my mind too much time is spent in all musics getting obsessed over 'the tradition' and who really owns it or fits with it. I don't know how it works with West African music but I'd imagine there are many streams coming out. Trying to push any of them into the spotlight as the true path (be it a reconstruction of the music as played 50 years or more ago or what is being played in a downtown bar in 2010) strikes me as questionable. I'm very guilty of be drawn to the more acoustic, rural sounding ends of many musics. I don't think it is because I'm seeking some short-cut to authenticity. I just happen to like those sounds over more urban, funky, dance based sounds. Trying to squash it all into a neo-Marxist (couldn't resist that!) analysis strikes me as simplifying something that is likely to be far more complex. Great post MG - I'm not presuming to challenge your knowledge here as it's music I know little about. But some of your conclusions seem to overlap with discussions elsewhere in music.

You might find this record of interpretations of Brubeck interesting, Bruce: Brubeck himself commented ""This CD will be an inspiration and a challenge for me to carry on in the avenues that you have opened. I've never gone so far into the unknown as you three but I have opened the door and peeked in. Your CD is an invitation to enter."Dave Brubeck. http://www.liamnoble.co.uk/brubeck.htm It's a striking record! Available on e-music in the UK; not sure about the States.

Sad to hear this too. The McGarrigles made quite a stir in the UK c.1975 when they first arrived - sounded like something from another planet.

And watch out for the Inquisition. Remember, no-one expects...

When returning to Dublin the temptation will be to take the main roads in. A much nicer experience is to cut across the Wicklow Gap through the Wicklow Mountains (I cycled it many years ago which was an experience). Down the bottom you'll come to: Glendalough. You can spend a happy couple of hours wandering around the ruins and the lakes. It's only about 90 minutes from the centre of Dublin (traffic permitting!). ************** I'd agree that you'd be best limiting your distance - a distance that looks quite speedy in US road terms will prove much longer on the twisty, turny coast roads. Focus on Mayo/Galway/Clare/Kerry (you'll still feel you've rushed things!) with some time in Dublin if there are things you'd particularly like to see (Kilmainham Jail is a good tour if you have an interest in Irish history).

You've got a great route there - but you'd get 2 weeks in just one of those days! In Derry walk the walls - there's an amazing bit where you look across and see a Loyalist street with all the Union Jacks, slogans etc; turn the corner along the wall and you're looking down into the Catholic Bogside with a completely different set of identity markers. There's a locally run Bloody Sunday museum in the Bogside - they do a tour from there which I missed. Linger through Connemara - I especially love the coast road from Westport round to Galway. The Burren is amazing - try to take some time up there. The Poulnabrone Dolmen is worth a visit and there's a good historical/geological centre at Kilfenora. The Cliffs of Moher are worth a look too. You might try your luck down in Doolin which has a reputation for traditional music. I've generally been unlucky there - clearly commercial tourist bands playing 'Whiskey in the Jar' but you might strike lucky. To be honest I find Killarney just a bit 'tea-cosy' Ireland (you'll get lots of that!). If you want a real adventure try and take your day 8 out on Skellig Michael. It's a rock in the Atlantic with Dark Age monastic beehive huts at the top and loads of puffins. When I went in the early 80s you couldn't go there officially but the girl at tourist info slipped me a piece of paper and told me to ring Paddy. Paddy took us out - it'll eat up your day but you'll never forget it. I suspect it might be better organised now. It's a long time since I was there but the drive around the Dingle peninsula is breathtaking - there used to be a great book shop there. Beehive huts again. I don't really know the Cork area at all. Ireland is not exactly the place to look for jazz and the last time I was there (2007) the record shops not that exciting (though there were great trad folk music shops). Worth checking the internet for Louis Stewart. He plays there regularly (or used to). Hope you are luckier than me. I either miss him by a day or...on one occasion...he failed to turn up as he was still stuck at the Cork Jazz Festival (I was never sure if it was due to the floods or dhrink taken!) Wherever you go you'll have a great time - don't worry too much about the guidebook highlights. You can venture off the beaten track and hit fascinating little jewels of scenery or history. The place is blessed with them. Enjoy the trip.

Oh the music sounds nothing like the rock organists. It's just the sound of the organ. It's so rare these days outside of jazz organ trios. Yes, the mellotron company started up again a while back with a new model. Hopefully less likely to catch fire than they used to!

You must visit the Alhambra, especially the gardens (not sure what will be there in February). Best to pre-book - you can do that online. The area around the main square is full of reasonable restaurants; you should be spoilt for choice. I got hooked on Gazpacho - cold tomato soup (with much more!). Might not be in season.

That throws up some interesting points. When we are exploring a new music we are reliant on advice from people versed in the music, often for many years, even decades. But when they make their recommendations of greatness, how much of that is inherent in the music, how much includes a layering of their own memories. In which case, should our 'innocent ear' be necessarily hearing the richness that they do? I often think this about 60s/70s music that I recommend - it still has enormous power for me but is enough of that in the music itself? I know I often find myself unable to hear the power that others locate in some past musics (a fair bit of UK jazz from the 50s/60s, for example).