A Lark Ascending

I agree. I suspect that over at stitchingandcrotchet.com they regard the production of ornamental needlework as an essential expression of the human soul. Strange, this need we have to legitimise our pleaures by claiming some grand significance for them. I'd be distraught if music was lost to me (going deaf is something I'd really hate); but I suspect I'd adjust. Initially it would be dreadful, but I imagine I'd eventually find another way to fill my leisure time. Making 'Home Sweet Home' tapestries for the wall, perhaps?

Raced through this in two weeks. A superb collection of accounts from a wide range of witnesses to the Vietnam War. The account by the air stewardess who served on the planes running from California to Japan and then on to Vietnam brought tears to my eyes: 'Definitive' might be over-egging the pudding somewhat. At present hopping between:

I think you are probably right there. Though I wonder if its part of something wider - the human need to make patterns. Partly a reflection of things heard in nature - bird song, the rumbling of a river, the pulsing of our own blood, partly a need to feel that there is some order to things (thus paralleling the creation of religious belief). That fairly basic level of music serves MG's communal idea too - work songs in all their forms from field songs to Scottish waulking songs to sea shanties (often evolving into something far from basic). Why, even the BBC saw the value of using music to boost wartime production with 'Music While You Work.' Music is there - usually in quite straightforward forms - in all sorts of communal human activity. Weddings, dances, football games etc. When did you last see a film or a TV programme with no music? But once you start to move into greater complexity - the deliberate breaking up or hiding of the patterns - it seems to lose its communal aspect. In fact, once it becomes 'art' it seems to celebrate its exclusivity, its difficultly, its almost masonic need for insider knowledge. Maybe music is essential to everybody (as everybody does it or responds to it at an elemental level); but seeing the way music can be varied and the lengths to which it can be taken is only an imperative to some.

What, you don't sometimes tap a pencil in rhythm or sometimes find a little "glide" when you walk or sometimes speak with a melodic contour & cadence? Of cource not! I'm British. Unless you count the pulsations associated with forming the stiff upper lip.

Short of singing in the shower I don't do anything with regard to making music so it's hardly essential in that respect for me. Listening to what other do with music and seeking out new (to me) music is a central part of how I gain pleasure, however. Not essential, but life would be greatly diinished without it.

Jazz strikes me as one of the LEAST communal musics in audience terms...and sometimes in musician terms (I can think of a couple of concerts at Cheltenham two weeks back where the musicians were either so shy or so concentrated on what they were doing musically that they hardly spoke to the audience). Maybe it was once, back in the swing era or whatever. But my experience of jazz performances is of audiences made up of knots of people very much locked into their own groups, couples, singles. They might roar approval together, exchange the odd word, but how often does it become anything more? And as jazz boards seem to attest, most of us follow our jazz interests in isolation or with a few fellow travellers. The great appeal of the bulletin board is it gets you in touch with fellow jazz lovers that you don't meet in everyday life. So if community links make music essential, maybe jazz is one of the least essential musics! I've never come across anything like the 'mosh pit' at a jazz gig! Edit: something else that is common to most societies from the most primitive to the most technologically advanced is social dancing. Jazz all but gave up on social dancing decades ago. Another reason to question if it is 'essential'?

So true! A side issue to MG's main theme but Ian Anderson's editorial for the 300th issue of Froots picks up the same point: http://www.frootsmag.com/content/issue/edsbox/ I can never identify with those who feel the musical sky is falling in.

Caught no sight of this until the new Froots fell through the door: Fortunately a few tickets left so I grabbed one. I'm at Bath for the weekend so I'll return via London. Inevitably it'll be something of a revue but it'll be great to see some of this legends, even if they are well on in years and only performing a few songs each. Joyce is 'curating' it.

I can see that one use of music is to bind communities together and carry tradition. But (perhaps in post-industrial societies with lengthy communications links) it can do the opposite. I don't think I ever used music as a means to bind me into my community (I've never really been part of one, having moved about as a kid and then settled in a place I've never thought of as home) - if anything, I've always used it to travel somewhere else, outside of the immediate and everyday. The attraction of American music as a kid was that it was so other. Classical music was a world right outside my experience. Even English folk music was followed not to reinforce a sense of tradition because there was no English folk music in my upbringing - it was taking me somewhere other. Exploring Scandinavian folk music, Brazilian music and (to a lesser extent) African music has been for the same reasons. Is music essential? I don't think so. If I never heard another note I could still live and find other ways of finding pleasure. But I'd rather not. Music isn't essential, but it's one of those things, after you've dealt with the essentials, that makes life a rich experience. To the point that, through all of my life, I've scaled back on many of the other things in life - fine foods, distant holidays, a big house - in order to hear more and more of it. If we're talking binding communities together then I suspect football or baseball are far more 'essential'! Though I live without those!

norma has a stunning new album She certainly has....and in the last couple of years has done great albums with Stan Tracey/Bobby Wellins and Colin Towns. I believe Maria played in New York recently. I got to see her finally at last year's Appleby and she was marvellous, especially in a quiet piano and voice concert. Definitely a million miles from the usual 'GAS' singers. Very interesting album of vocalese from this New Zealand singer a couple of years back: (had the same sort of impact on me that Karrin Allyson's Coltrane album had a while back. Edit: Turns out she was born in Guildford in England, moving to Australia. So much for NZ! On the Brazilian jazz front, this has been one of my favourites from recent months: Really marvellous songs with a couple of great Robert Wyatt duets. Monica is originally from Sao Paolo but has been living in Britain for some years, putting out a sequence of great albums under her own name and her band Nois. Worth spending a few e-music credits on.

I had the Concerto for Group and Orchestra, In Rock and Fireball albums as a kid but sold them off fairly early. I ended up rebuying them as cheap CDs a couple of years back and found them very enjoyable. Interestingly, I also bought Machine Head which I never owned at the time and have not played it more than a couple of times. I doubt if anyone coming new to the music will be all that interested; but if it excited you at the time, then there's pleasure to be had. I also love those first three Chicago albums (which I've played regularly over the last 35 years). Nothing afterwards took my fancy.

Equally true of jazz. European festivals (with honourable exceptions) will still have 'names' from the 50s/60s/70s at the top of their bills, even though their current music gives little indication of why they became so revered. There are very few rock bands from my youth I'd bother going out to see. But I love to listen to the original albums, as part of a balanced diet. Nostalgia should not be sniffed it as a powerful way of gaining pleasure. KC have certainly not rested on their laurels - though I do find the 'metal' element of recent bands something I can only take in small doses.

I thought Moonchild was influenced by the Derek Bailey/Evan Parker/Jon Stevens scene...Jamie Muir did join the band a few years alater. I'm sure you are right - and Sid Smith's book refers to Michael Giles attending the Little Theatre and being influenced by that scene. But amidst the free form sections of 'Moonchild' there are some very soft, melodic guitar sequences (plus a more animated abstract of 'Surrey With The Fringe On Top'!). When listening to Giuffre's 'Western Suite' a few weeks back I was trying to think what parts of it reminded me of. It was 'Moonchild'. Pure speculation on my part - I might be totally wrong!

When I bought the ITCOTKC in 1971 'Moonchild' really annoyed me - with very little pocket money to buy LPs I felt I'd been cheated of half a side. I must say, I really like it now. Whereas the 'big' tracks sound a bit grandiose (still enjoy them but a fair bit of suspension of disbelief is needed!), there's something quiet and appealing in all the noodling. In fact, listening to some Jimmy Giuffre/Jim Hall a while back I was struck by the similarity. I suspect Fripp had been listening to Hall.

Friday night's Jazz on 3. Well worth a listen - 5 tunes from Bill Frisell's Cheltenham performance last Sunday. And an interview and solo performance by Sardinian guitarist Paolo Angeli. The Frisell line-up: Bill Frisell - guitar Chris Cheek - tenor sax, clarinet Ron Miles - trumpet Larry Grenadier - bass Rudy Royston - drums Set-list: Monroe (Frisell) Probability Cloud (Frisell) A Change Is Gonna Come (Sam Cooke) Benny's Bugle (Benny Goodman) Mood (Ron Carter) Sadly no "Subconscious-Lee" which was a highlight! There to hear on the replayer until Friday next: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/jazzon3/pip/a1dy9/

Sorry to read this. Condolences to you and your family, Jim.

Sidewinder, Or anyone else. Are you attending any of the Cheltenham concerts? Thought it might be nice to say hello at one of the gaps if we're in the same vicinity. I've also relented and booked the Courvosier, Moran and Galliano/Atzmon concerts at Bath.

Sad to hear this - I've been away at the weekend. Heard about Humph but not JG. I've been listening to quite a bit of his music in the last couple of months. In some ways a bit of a pioneer for the approach to jazz that is covered by labels like ECM or ACT. I saw him once in an upstairs pub room with basist Ron Mathewson - a memorable gig.

Very sad news. Humphrey Lyttelton was everything jazz should be about - open minded, wide ranging, no airs and graces, yet founded on genuine enthusiasm and real knowledge. When all the jazz experts in Britain were getting shirty about new jazz singers, Humph actually listened to them and played the ones he enjoyed. His programmes exuded good humour and a wish to share what he enjoyed, without grandstanding or posturing. 'The Best of Jazz' (the Penguin edition) was one of the books that helped me understand why the jazz of the 20s and 30s actually mattered - until then I didn't have ears for it. I only saw him once in a concert that included Jimmy Hastings. I'd gone out of curiosity, expecting something tame and nostalgic; instead, it was spirited, engaging and an absolute delight. A great loss.

In addition, it's worth checking the Chandos main site and this place for Chandos downloads, Tony: http://www.classicsonline.com/ (I use the latter for Naxos now). The main Chandos site now has very high quality files as an option. I find e-music is great, except for albums with lots of short tracks. An album with 25 tracks can eat up your monthly quota quite quickly.

Is it back in stock yet? I've yet to receive a shipping notification. I got a shipping notification today. So it's back.

I'll look out for this over the next two weekends - I'm near bookshops in Wales and Cheltenham so will get a chance to browse. I've just started 'West Coast Jazz' (Ted Gioia) so it will be a while before I can start. Keep us posted on your thoughts, please, BBS.

well then "many of you" should realize that CDs have been around for 20+ years now and adapt yourselves to the current reality. all of us grew up having to sit through commercials on TV too, but it doesn't take long with a DVR (or a VCR) to realize you can fast forward through them. do you walk out of concerts after 20 minutes also? I've heard very strong arguments for the greater concentration the 3 minute 78 inspired. Listening to the Elgar Violin Concerto in 3 minute chunks must have been a bit strange but I bet people really knew those 3 minute chunks inside out. I don't think anyone is arguing for a return to 20 minute discs. Merely that with all the advantages of the CD, there are perhaps one or two losses (I'd add the 12 inch sleeve art). On balance I think CDs are great. Though I'm rapidly converting to the virtues of the download. *********** An afterthought - I'm sure that the dedicated listener has little difficulty with the 60+ minutes. But, in my experience, most listeners don't want to sustain that degree of concentration (not intended as a criticism - they have other priorities). Maybe the length of CDs is one of the things that has seen recorded music become of less interest to the general public - the album has become less of an overall experience because fatigue sets in before it's half over.

It's not as if you need to take a 15 minute tea break. Just the act of getting up and changing the record had the effect of putting in a natural pause. I still 'hear' the breaks when I play CDs of albums I had on vinyl. Especially double LPs.

Congratulations - here's hoping you get some sleep in the coming months!