A Lark Ascending

I heard a track from The Anachronic Jazz Band on JRR a while back. I'll definately be getting this new release when it appears in some form - really caught my interest. 'Twas this: Giant Steps/Blues for Bechet (Coltrane, arr. Richard ) Performed by Anachronic Jazz Band: Patrick Artero (tpt), Claude Gousset (tbn), Marc Richard (cnt), Daniel Huck (clt, a/sx), André Villeger (clt, a/sx, b/sx), Philippe Baudoin (pno), Lionel Banhamou (bjo), Gérard Gervois (bs), Dominique Obadia (dms) Recorded 1978 Taken from the album Anachronic Jazz Band Volume II 1978 LP (Open OP 09)

Ha! Didn't mean it like that! I just get haunted by things I recall hearing on the radio but have never found. Thanks for the Talking Heads link...tried them in the 80s but didn't care for them. Must give them another listen - having got a taste for Belew era KC I might enjoy them more now. This evening disc 1 of: A Willie Nelson too many, methinks!

http://open.spotify.com/album/2sLx3mkCwYywR1mMsZEW9g How about this new one? Sells for about £15. Yes, that's a new one with current star soprano. Having listened to the Barbirolli I think I'll go with that as the safe bet.

Nice late flowering. I still listen to the first four Kevin Ayers albums regularly.

That's a nice CD I've had for many years. What I'd really like to hear is one recorded at Ronnies around the same time (might even be from the same concert) that originally came out on the brief PYE based Ronnie Scott label. George Coleman: Live Ronnie Scott’s Club, London, April 19-20, 1979 George Coleman-tsx; Hilton Ruiz-p; Ray Drummond-b; Billy Higgins-d [a] Blues Inside Out George Coleman 11:30 Walking [sic] Carpenter 15:12 [c] Stella By Starlight Washington-Young 21:35 PYE LP N 121 I recall hearing part of it on Peter Clayton's Sunday night show not long after. Think it was Stella. Sat in a vault with Ronnies magnificent 'Serious Gold' I imagine.

I am certified the world's least funky person; but I've come to really like this era. Started with three nice Blue Note compilations but am gradually putting the full LPs together via downloads.

Didn't listen to the BBC Met broadcast on principle; but I'm seeking a CD version so tried this one. Works for me. One awkwardness - pauses between tracks like my first MP3 player - not an issue with separate tracks but a minor irritant with continuous pieces. On the good side, didn't hear a single advert. Announcements about the Kings of Leon might just have broken the flow!

Pleasant background music but nothing to get excited about. Plus a late period Sarah Vaughan compilation.

Not me! From the list I've only read 1984, Madame Bovary and parts of the Bible and Ulysses. I've read 1984 and all of War and Peace except the last 100 pages or so when it turns from a piece of fiction into a long, philosophising rant - skipped that. Bits of the Bible and I started (though did not get far with) the Joyce. Never even thought about the rest.

Juggling three at present: The first demonstrates just how dishonestly those who own most of Britain's land came by it. The second is a very nice portrayal of post-World War I French music - a bit heavy on the opera houses, singers etc; I'm more interested in the composers who only get coverage in detail in the last chapter. The third is a nice, page-turning murder mystery set in France.

...the river flow... Actually, the ony thing that has caught my eye of late is a marvellous series on the BBC by Jeremy Paxman, an acerbic news broadcaster, renowned for not letting politicians off the hook. He's done one called 'The Victorians', a view of the 19thC seen through the paintings of the era. Apart from the interesting perspective, I love the way he sees the social history value of paintings that the art establishment just want to looks down its nose at.

Listening to this myself...a favourite Ellington piece, especially the clarinet! Did you notice, Bev, that JRR is getting the "treatment" again next week? Postponed till 9pm! I suspect the New York Met! I think it's the radio equivalent of what went on in French art galleries in the late 19th century, when the work of Manet, etc was "skied", i.e. hung so high that no one could see it, while now-long-forgotten academicians occupied the eye-level space. The contempt of the Oxbridge BBC-ites for anything that is not classical knows no limits, Bill. Until they set aside a channel for non-classical non-pop music I'm afraid this will continue.

Listening to this myself...a favourite Ellington piece, especially the clarinet!

That's a really nice record, Bill!

Never seen any. Loads of frogs. Do frogs eat slugs? I don't seem to get slugs.

Don't let your ducks eat my frogs!

I can see your playlist, David, though haven't quite worked out how to scroll it. I downloaded the Mulligan Vanguard and Brookmeyer Electricity from amazon/I-tunes after hearing them on Spotify.

Can't have listened to that last one since 1975 - a friend of mine had it at university. Both interesting to hear - neither I feel a desire to have on my shelves. Which is where Spotify comes into its own!

Yes, I'm doing that one. I've seen Paul Dunmall a few times. And on my one visit to New York a few years back bumped into Cyrille with Reggie Workman, Roswell Rudd, Grachan Moncur III, Archie Shepp and Le Roi Jones one night (more than my fair share of legends in one go!). Never come across Grimes, though.

Rats! So near, so far. I'm booked into the Arguelles/Martino concert when you're on. I'd have definitely come along otherwise. Saturday would have been good...a bit sparse there, other than more populist things.

Not at all scary! Early days, I know!

Here you go, Ted: http://www.norwichjazzparty.com/Programme.asp Nice city, Norwich.

Cheltenham tickets on sale today. I've plumped for: JULIAN ARGUELLES w/ John Abercrombie & PAT MARTINO (two separate sets) WILL VINSON QUARTET w/ Kurt Rosenwinkel NIKKI YEOH TRIO w/ John Surman THE PROFOUND SOUND TRIO - Paul Dunmall, Andrew Cyrille, Henry Grimes MADELEINE PEYROUX - there goes my chance of joining the Kool Kat Klub for another year. TOM ARTHURS SUBTOPIA JACK DEJOHNETTE with local musicians DAVE DOUGLAS DON BYRON Enough there to chew on. Bath has its programme online too - haven't been able to study it yet. Some nice events though nothing that jumps out. Saturday night has Maceo Parker headlining - I'll need convincing that's worth my time. Leaves a big hole - might end up going to hear a string quartet instead! And given how many times I've seen Dave Holland, I might plump for Scottish Gaelic singer Julie Fowlis (who is a lot better looking!).

Thanks, Bill. Though I can claim no great skill. I've had a new camera for a year now and still don't understand the bewildering range of controls. It's a a case of deciding if the zoom is needed or not, guessing at the setting, focus and click. Every time I try to figure out the manual settings for aperture and shutter speed I get confused. I used to be able to do this happily 20 years back on a Pentax SLR but it still has me lost on this new camera. I gave up physics in 1969!

As I mentioned earlier, Nucleus were never great favourites of mine (I recall seeing them around '74 at Reading University - intrigued me but I wasn't really ready for jazz then). But I ordered this last weekend by chance, after hearing it on JRR, and it's a cracker: I suspect the studio albums don't do themselves justice as they were limited to quite short tracks. Here the band can stretch and change pace mid song just like the Miles records of the era. I'll want to explore some of the other live albums that have come out in recent years.