A Lark Ascending

I'm always amused by how the word 'liberal' takes on a negative connotation when crossing The Pond. In the UK it's a term of praise, suggesting open-mindedness, tolerance. Chris seems to have had such a fascinating life that he deserves a blog of his own. The things he put up here were inevitably buried in the board; hopefully a lot more people will stumble on the blog.

And an interesting one on the way: Pascoal has had a huge influence on the generation of UK jazz musicians connected with the Loose Tubes big band of the 80s. Many have played in his orchestra when he's toured here. You hear elements of his quirkiness in their music to this day. Huw Warren is an intriguing pianist. He's played in straight jazz contexts, produced his own albums which are always quirky, worked in a very different context as June Tabor's pianist for many years, done a lovely album with the vocals in Welsh (he comes fom Wales) and more recently worked with the great Italian singer, Maria Pia de Vito. So this looks very interesting indeed!

There's a Jobim Morelenbaum Quartet version on You Tube: http://www.last.fm/music/Quarteto+Jobim-Morelenbaum/_/O+Boto The vocal intonation isn't perfect but it's a nice performance...and you get the lyrics in English too! There's a nice version of the song on this album too: In fact the three Hamilton de Holanda albms I have are excellent. Similar sound world if different sources to Dave Grisman. Now what is this all about: Listening to the e-music samples (they have disc 3 and 4) it sounds much better than the cover or concept suggest!

Jobim's "O Boto" from the Jobim Morelenbaum album has been lodged in my head all month. There's also a lovely version on Hamilton de Holanda's self-titled album.

A couple of good thrillers, one exploring the murky world of intelligence in the current 'war on terror' climate (not recommended to those of an 'America is the greatest country the world has ever seen' persuasion), the other set in Germany and eastern Europe on the eve of World War II: And my favourite book of recent weeks: Marvellous story set around Penzance in Cornwall about a painter suffering from mental illness and the effect on her family. Gale is especially good at seeing the world from a child's perspective.

Good to see Ingrid playing over there. She has evolved amazingly over the last ten years or so. From a relatively straight player to one prepared to go right out into the free world. She's also heavenly playing in a Brazilian context. I've failed abysmally - did catch a low key gig at the St. Ives jazz club in August but missed June/July completely. The Autumn looks stronger - Norma Winstone/Nikki Iles, Marilyn Crispell, Partisans are all playing locally.

Nice photos, alocispepraluger102 and Noj. Hope those horses are tame...one bit my (luckily booted) foot the other week. A bobcat certainly beats the frogs I get excited about in my garden!

Due in the next few days from Intakt:

That one and the first got a reissue a couple of years back. My favourite was this one: It was recorded after Egg had disbanded and when Stewart already had the first Hatfield album behind him. A number of typical mid-length, tricksy organ trio tracks interspersed with some lovely, short wind band pieces by bassist, Mont Campbell and a sprinkling of ethereal vocals from the Northettes. This nice collection of radio/live recordings also came out a while back: I never knew the first two albums at the time though recall hearing the band on the radio and had a tape I did of one session. Hearing them several decades later they are interesting and enjoyable but hardly great lost albums. What is nice is the quirkiness and complete lack of pomp...remember they were around just as ELP got going (I believe Stewart acknowledges The Nice as an inspiration).

I'd strongly recommend the Singles compilation and, even more, 'The Big Idea'.

And my physical home! Nice photos, Bev. Glad you got some good weather - its p***ing down today. Lanhydrock is one of the more interesting estates. I am jealous...though if things go to plan, I'll be down there for good in 5 or 6 years! Did very well weather-wise 6/11 days of sun with just overcast/sea mist on the other days. Much better than last year. Yes, Lanhydrock was splendid. Didn't go inside (once you've seen one piece of porcelain...) but loved the grounds and did a nice walk to Restormel Castle (despite the poor signposting!). Here are a few from the last days of the trip...promise, no more after this!:

Yes, I often listen online to that one...brilliant if you're wanting to check out a particular musician or theme.

I always feel the best way is to find a radio programme you can listen to for an hour or two each week - you'll be constantly surprised. And you'll evolve your own taste more quickly. I'm sure posters here who live on the West Coast can point you to a reliable station/programme. Over here in the UK we have a long running weekly show called Jazz Record Requests that does a weekly hour of a complete mix of (mainly tonal...not much free) jazz - you'll hear 1920s jazz next to a recent recording followed by a bit of 30s swing followed, perhaps, by a blues song. Can be heard on the web for a week after broadcast, though I'm not sure if it is accessible outside the UK. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006tnn9 Worth a try. Though I'm sure there are similar (or better) programmes closer to you.

Thanks, alocispepraluger102. My spiritual home, so to speak!

Don't know how widespread this is in world terms, but the Basho label just appeared on UK e-music. http://www.emusic.com/browse/l/b/-dbm/a/0-...00312898/0.html A small label connected with a unit that organises concerts and tours in the UK. Focus tends to be on slightly lefy of centre jazz - not totally free, nor the currently hip punk-jazz. Mainly original compositions. People like Julian Arguelles, Mark Lockheart, Chris Laurence, Liam Noble etc. I think this Anglo-American collaboration would travel well: And this is one of my favourite discs of the Noughties. Recommended if you like carefully composed jazz with the soloing emerging organically from the composition:

"Birds and Blades"

I've seen Chris' posts on jazz sites for several years and can vouch for him being a genuine enthusiast who devotes a huge amount of time and effort in supporting the Westbrooks. His website is superb.

That's the chap. He played mainly organ, piano and electric piano in three of the least succesful but most interesting late-60s/early 70s prog-ish bands - Egg, Hatfield and the North and National Health. Barbara Gaskin appeared on the two Hatfield albums as a member of a vocal trio dubbed 'The Northettes', providing ethereal and very English choral moments (more Herbert Howells than Ronettes!). They did a number of albums together in the 80s and a some great remakes of sixties singles including the one you mentioned - I especially liked their version of the old Bing Crosby/William Bendix song 'Busy Doing Nothing'. It was all very synth drenched, but Stewart is so skilled that he managed to do more than just use them for beats, background washes and twiddles. Their album 'The Big Idea' from the early 90s is a classic that virtually no-one seems to have heard - brilliant songs, wonderfully rich arrangements and Gaskin's lovely voice. I know Stewart wrote a column for a long time in one of the keyboard magazines giving playing advice. They have an infrequently updated website. They've been promising a new album for years with nothing coming. But I just looked and it has finally emerged! They even did a few gigs in Japan recently (they seem to be 'big in Japan') So maybe my millions are not needed! http://www.davebarb.demon.co.uk/ More than you need to know, I suspect.

I can get into an intense thing with a performer and buy lots over a short period. Then I'll tire and go somewhere else. But the point normally comes when I'll find my way back and then, as well as listening to what I've got I'll want to add something new. I've got lots of Monk, Coltrane etc and at this point in time have no need of anything new. But I know that I'll hear a Monk track on Jazz Record Requests at some point, be directed back and then be looking at some of the gaps. Happened with Miles a couple of months back - a few of the 70s gaps got filled.

There seem to have been a flurry of bands in the UK in recent years, happy to 'come out' as fans of what is horribly names 'prog' and anxious to revive some of the spirit - Theo Travis' bands, Curious Paradise, Asaf Sirkis' organ/guitar/drums band come to mind. But listening to a couple of old Hatfield and the North/Soft Machine albums last night I was struck by how wide of the mark they are. Enjoyable music, but they come at it back to front. Those prog bands were rock bands (something Dave Stewart has always insisted on), some of which had a jazzy approach to improvisation. Most of these newer bands are jazz musicians or musicians who have mainly played jazz, crossing over into an older style. The big difference I noticed was that the newer bands follow the jazz formula - the head, solos, head format while using prog-rock like instruments and colours. With the original bands the music was often densely composed with little windows for solos (I suspect this originally was more of a UK thing...the US fusion bands seemed closer to the jazz approach). Thinking back, one of the things I found hardest to adjust to with jazz was the skeletal nature of the compositions, being used to a music where music was composed to change direction frequently. Of course, I came to see the reason why eventually, but initially the music seemed lacking in 'event'. It would be nice to some of these newer bands with a more composed approach. If I was a multimillionaire at pay Dave Sewart to come out of retirement and give it a crack (just as long as he brought no synths!

The 'dead hand' of this lot in action, yet again. Come the revolution.... etc. etc. The UK media has never done jazz any favours. The sole exception being that phase in the 1980s when it was half-way cool with the likes of Sade in the charts' Lasted all of 5 minutes after a few jazzy TV commercials seling lager. Funny as it is, that 'Fast Show' comedy sketch pretty well sums up the attitude of 99% of the UK listening public to jazz and anything challenging in terms of improvisation. I think there's allways been a more open and healthier attitude to modern jazz in particular on the Continent - young people are prepared to give it a listen and are more receptive. It's not automatically labelled with the 'awkward squad' - especially in Germany and the Benelux countries. Hence the reason why the likes of Mike Westbrook, Nucleus etc. spent so much time touring there in the 1970s and 80s. Our eternal loss. I think things have picked up in the last ten years or so. There do seem to be an awful lot of young jazz players around. Every year when I go to Cheltenham/Bath there are a fresh set of faces; and Clark Tracey's bands seem to have an amost Blakey-ish turnround of the up and coming. I think this might be tied in with the greater acceptance of jazz as a 'legitimate' area of study in music colleges - Leeds, the one at Uxbridge where Nikki Iles teaches, the London colleges spring to mind. And I recall jazz being an accepted route through the music exam process now - wasn't Michael Garrick involved in setting up a syllabus? It might not be learning your chops on 52nd Street or in a territory band but it eems to be churning out some very able players.

This chap deserves much more attention. He's done some very free material in the past, but recently recorded these four - two solo, two trio: More in the Jarrett/Mehldau/John Taylor world, though Law writes his own tunes (and they are good ones) rather than focusing on standards. I play this earlier disc a lot: You can get an idea of his extensive discography here: http://www.nday.co.uk/discography.html He seems to have something of a monastic fixation...both in the ecclesiastical and jazz sense!

I know what you mean here, though the 'ethereal, unswinging' ones tend to be those where he's quite deliberately relating to Italy, like some of his Egea releases. They're only dull if you're listening from the direction of the American jazz tradition...I think he's doing something else here (I think there's a huge misunderstanding in America about much European jazz for that reason...but that's another tale). There is a third Pieranunzi - I have a couple of group discs with well known others that sound distinctly mainstream. They don't make it back to the CD player often. Infant Eyes and the Paris set are my favourites.

Glorious Cornwall over recent weeks: