A Lark Ascending

"I'd Rather Be The Devil" and "Outside In" were wonderful examples of this - there are some good mid-70s live/BBC recordings on CD. I saw him in '75, I think, doing this stuff with Danny T. I never cared for the more conventional electric guitar of later years; but at Cropredy in the late 80s he topped the bill on the Friday night with Danny and played using the echoplex as if it was part of his daily armoury.

Enjoyed the few I've read - good, tense thrillers. Of course, if it's 'American letters' you are seeking, then look elsewhere....

That is sad...though not surprising. He's not looked well in recent years and had a limb amputated. In the early to mid-70s he was a a unique talent, responsible for some of the great records of the era. And, in duo with Danny Thompson, could still pull it off live in the late 80s. To think he'd just got an OBE too!

Sorry to read this, trane-fanatic. Working in a relatively secure profession (though who knows!) I've never had to face these sort of fears. Hope you get something in the near future. What astounds me is the 5 mins to clear your desk' stuff. Where's the humanity in that? Seems like pure management cowardice, unwilling to face up to the human consequences of their decisions (economically necessary or not). And to think we in the public sector are being constantly told to emulate the methods of the private sector!

Nikki Iles and John Law from the UK. Both operate at the John Taylor/Bill Evans end of things - though Law recorded some quite 'out' music a while back. His last three albums are all very beautiful and should appeal to Jarrettophiles. Keith Tippett remains a hero for me, someone whose playing predates my interest in jazz. I'm hoping it's time he turned up at Cheltenham or Bath (where he has appeared quite often).

Missed this one: John Martyn OBE

Showing your youth there, sidewinder! Barely out of nappies ! That's one of the earliest TV memories I have (apart from Andy Pandy, Looby Loo (Lou?), The Woodentops etc ). The other one is seeing the Churchill funeral barge procession along the Thames with all those cranes. In retrospect, that was an entire era coming to an end and a new one beginning. I recall the Churchill funeral too - being taken into the junior school hall to watch it. I don't think we had a clue why. What about 'Rag, Tag and Bobtail'? I have no memory of TWTWTW; I do recall Frost in the late 60s - never understood at the time why he enraged my father so. I think I can see now - TWTWTW was against everything he stood for.

We're so used to it that we hardly hear it. But it's actually a very nice blues with the brass arranged to reflect a Northern brass band (especially at the end). All we hear is a bit at the start and the bit at the end on TV. But there's a full version here: http://www.televisiontunes.com/Coronation_Street_-_Full.html The middle section is positively Ellingtonian! Very much of it's time - Northern kitchen sink drama meets that brief moment when 'Trad' was the height of fashion! From Wiki: Doesn't help on Kenny Clare but...

I was trying to remember that name. I remember hearing on, I think Peter Clayton's Sunday night jazz programme on Radio 2 many moons ago, how Clare did the drums on 'Coronation Street' and got paid a flat rate for the session (standard practice, I assume). Imagine if he'd got royalties!

From the 60s through to the early mid-70s one of the most popular TV shows in the UK was a thing called 'The Black and White Minstrel Show'. So I imagine it's also satirising that. (Lennie Henry, a well known British Afro-Caribbean comedian, actually started there, telling jokes that mocked his colour.) There's a very good chapter on the context of 'That Was The Week That Was' in Dominic Sandbrook's excellent study of Britain in the late 50s/early 60s, 'Never Had it So Good.'

I never really got the Grateful Dead until I bought that set - it's very focused on their jamming side (in some cases improvisations cut out of performances). There is some miraculous music here - moments when they are all playing the same tune but taking their own paths without it getting ragged. And you don't have to wait through the 'cowboy songs' (which I've come to quite like) to get to the instrumental wonders. Of course, once you've heard this you want to hear what a whole concert sounds like. I'd agree with those who suggest the live discs - there are many to choose from. I found this useful a few years back when trying to decide what to try: http://www.blairjackson.com/jg_on_cd.htm I imagine it's pretty out of date now - but should give some suggestions.

You must get up to Nottingham or Sheffield at some point, Alex. I'll come out to hear you. Both cities have pretty active jazz organisations who would welcome the people you play with.

January ticked off - Julian Arguelles, Michael Formanek and Tom Rainey. Not my picture...found here http://www.russpix.co.uk/photo_102108.html Great start - freewheeling, Ornettish post-bop (though Arguelles has nothing of the earthiness of Ornette; more Lester Young than Coleman Hawkins). I've heard Rainey quite a bit (he's a regular in the UK) and he was as wonderful as ever. Reminded me of the first time I saw Paul Motion in the mid-80s - a small, no nonsense kit yet what sounds! Formanek I've heard on record but never live - very impressive. I know arco playing is often frowned on but I loved his use of the bow. Highlights - a tremendous pairing of two Spanish themed tracks, one slow and keening, the other uptempo flamenco influenced; and a magnificent closer called 'Redman' dedicated to Dewey. The spirit of Ed Blackwell was there too. All new compositions - they had their CD of a couple of years back for sale but deliberately went for a fresh book. Which is how I like it - making the record and then touring it always strikes me as artistically back to front - work up the material live first and then record it! Of course, I can see why it makes commercial sense to tour the record. Which is, I suppose, one of the beauties of jazz - in most other musics listeners expect to hear things they know. UK members can hear them at: the Vortex, London (26 Jan) Oliver’s, Greenwich (27 Jan) Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Cardiff (28 Jan) St George’s, Bristol (29 Jan) Polish Catholic Centre, Sheffield (30 Jan) Black Box, Belfast (31 Jan) JJ Smyths, Dublin (1 Feb).

Indeed! 'Seagulls' is especially wonderful.

My favourite Texier - a very special disc in my house!

That's the one!

I must admit all the FLAC and WAV stuff is right over my head (gave up physics to do history a thousand years ago!). I'm also enough of a dinosaur to burn downloads to CD-R and make pretty covers for them. So I'm not trying to play the great moderniser here. My reasoning is not technical: a) From 1970 to c. 2005 one of my great pleasures was going out buying records/CDs. Part of the pleasure was getting home and playing them straight away - Saturday was new recording day. b) From around 2000 I discovered online CD buying - an unbelievable amount of music became possible. I didn't buy any more music...but I explored more widely (especially beyond the standard US/UK jazz in UK shops). The disadvantage was the unpredictable wait - hardly life threatening, but lost the 'buy and play on Saturday' joys. c) The arrival of downloadable music (for me in the last 2 years) has coincided with the drying up of UK shops for specialist music, which has forced me almost fully onto online CD purchases. Downloads give me instant access - I'm not buying any more music...I am buying and playing when I want. Saturday is once again music buying and playing day. Now I can see if you live close to a large US city the problem of accessing a good range of recordings might not be a problem. But I'm afraid in the UK that is not the case. Of course none of that is of any importance to the fate of the recording industry. I just can't help feeling that a system that can produce very good quality recordings and distribute them without the issues of storing and physically moving them is likely to win in the end (so I very much agree that the Amazon CD-R service is a bit odd!).

A new John Taylor (solo) and Enrico Pieranunzi (with Marc Johnson and Joey Baron) just appeared on Camjazz. Along with (what seems to be) a new Henri Texier disc on Label Bleu. Added to 'saved for later' for next weeks refresh.

No, that's not unreasonable. I'm all for whatever technology can provide good access to music - if that can be achieved in higher and higher quality sound, so much the better. I run a modest system - CD player, amp, speakers come to around £1000. At that level I get the music in sound that is good enough for my pleasure. I suspect all the extra wonderment I completely miss through the limitations of my set up. But I'm not prepared to go any further - I'd rather listen to more music (which is not, actually, a preference that should be reduced to a simplistic 'quantity over quality' comparison, any more than a preference for paperback books over hardbacks). I totally appreciate the disappointment of those with high end systems who feel that they can hear a difference in quality. I'm just not convinced the market will subsidise them. I suspect...and it is a gut reaction...that even in the areas of non-mass-popular music, most people are after a very good sound, not necessarily the best.

Thanks all...moreto chew on there. The Mwandishi Hancock's I know - need to revisit them now I think.

You don't have to insist on the 'best possible sound' to be a music lover. I suspect most are happy with 'very good quality sound'. I'm no judge of whether that point has been reached yet; but if not, it soon will be. I don't feel at all depressed by a technology that has the potential to keep a lot more music available indefinitely. I will be depressed if the record companies don't take advantage of that potential.

Wonder if their tiles used to flutter down from the ceiling at inappropriate moments like ours did?

David Crosby's dad looks miffed that his boy didn't deliver on the "Almost..." 70's decor! What were we thinking!

The Crusaders were my reference point - I've had the 3CD GRP best of for about 15 years or so. A couple of years back I started picking up the individual albums (both with and without 'Jazz') and the Mosaic (you won't regret that one, king ubu). There's a Steely Dan/Joni Mitchell connection that meant I had a reference point with them. Thanks for all the suggestions - I really appreciate the help. Will be following them up over the next few months (and, in a few cases, next week when my e-music credits refresh).

I'm never sure if the BBC Replayer is accessible outside the UK but if it is then this Saturday night programme might do the business: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/hearandnow/ BBC programmes are available for 7 days after broadcast.