A Lark Ascending

I'm not sure seeking 'the best ever' is a fruitful approach to exploring UK reissues (or anything else for that matter). There's a vast swathe of recorded UK jazz that lies unissued and the diffuse nature of its ownership means it will come out in fits and starts. I'm not looking for the Holy Grail in these reissues. I am hoping for music that will please me, interest me, by musicians who I've come to enjoy through other recordings. Where it lies in someone's 'best ever' chart I leave to the music magazines!!!!

I'm eagerly awaiting these reissues...can't say I'm holding my breath for Haley's Comet.

Yes, there is meant to be a batch in the next few weeks. I've heard no specific news. Universal doesn't seem to bother advertising this on a website anywhere.

These are the releases promised: CDSML8400 Michael Garrick Sextet/The Heart is a Lotus CDSML8401 Terry Durham/Crystal Telephone CDSML8403 Henry Lowther Band/Child Song CDSML8404 Paul Gonsalves/Humming Bird CDSML8405 Chitinous Ensemble/Chitinous CDSML8406 Alan Skidmore Quintet/Once Upon a Time CDSML8407 Mike Westbrook/Mike Westbrook's Love Songs CDSML8409 The John Cameron Quartet/Off Centre CDSML8411 Michael Garrick Septet/Black Marigolds

The last 60 minutes of Gotterdammerung. Bugger! Someone misfiled 'Seven Brides for Seven Brothers' in the case.

I'd dearly like a book on the development of jazz in Italy. Not one of those heavy socio-cultural academic things; just a narrative of how it started, who the main musicians were over the years, where it seems to be today. It's quite hard piecing this together from the IJM site, CD sleeves, the occasional English language article. I'm sure this exists in Italy...well, Italian jazz is fascinating enough to deserve an English language book. In fact, thinking about it, there's room for a few books on jazz in individual European countries.

I can get in here: http://www.naxos.com/mainsite/default.asp

There's alot of clarinet in jazz in Europe at present. I saw Fredrik Lungkvist play some wonderful clarinet with Atomic last weekend (Ken Vandermark too). Louis Sclavis, Gianluigi Trovesi, Gabrielle Mirabassi and Sebastien Texier all play beautiful clarinet (and we musn't forget long timer, Tony Coe). Perhaps it has something to do with the way much jazz in Europe today avoids the neo-bop approach; could the folk base of some jazz in Europe be more conducive to the clarinet? Just speculating. I'm pleased to hear it more and more. It makes a very nice contrast to the usual saxes. Love the bass clarinet too.

I didn't even see it! However, I'm not a vinyl chaser so I'd probably have passed by. I'm always disappointed by the CD stalls at Cheltenham. Their stock seems so random (apart from the festival artists). Sorry, I meant to mention to you last week so we could at least nod to one another. Last week was mad and it escaped me. Perhaps at Bath.

I was at Cheltenham too - sidewinder says it all. A great concert. It was also great to see the audience reaction - a sold out hall who treated him like a returning hero from the moment he walked onto the stage. Quite tear-provoking.

Go here - JazzCDs : http://www.jazzcds.co.uk/store/commerce.cg...id=3843214.3085 Very reliable source.

It was shown on UK TV back in December (I think). Well worth watching. Jarrett comes across as far more engaging than printed interviews have often suggested. Maybe they just select the arrogant bits of interviews to print!

In which case it might be advisable to move this thread to the politics forum, given what happens to religion threads!

There's an image here: Apparantly Paul Buckmaster of Third Ear Band fame (and one of Miles' records...On the Corner?) was involved.

If you look over at AAJ you'll find Clark Tracey posting there - his label (TentoTen) is starting to put the Steam catalogue of the 70s and 80s onto CD with extra material. This is, to my mind, some of Stan's best recorded music. I think he's starting with 'Captain Adventure', my all time favourite Stan disc; then 'The Salisbury Suite'. He's also mentioned the earlier 'Alice in Jazzland' as a future possibility. He also has some vinyl of the Steams available. Details here: http://www.tentotenrecords.com/ So, yet more UK reissues to break the bank. It's going to be a bumper year.

I strongly recommend this - a record I have played again and again since the 1980s. Now available at budget price: The Stravinsky is very different to the Germanic post-Romantic world of Berg, but equally as thrilling. I'm not a great fan of Violin Concertos but these two really get to me.

I have no issue with Webern's importance; or other people's love of him. I've just never managed to unlock anything to move me. I can be impressed by the orchestration but my mind soon wanders. I keep trying every few years. One day maybe! I have this one too, Rooster: Again, I can't comment comparatively but I enjoy it. There's something very appealing about that dissolving sound world of the early 20thC. I'm very fond of Franz Schmidt's Fourth Symphony which is also in that still tonal but blurring area. A pity the Decca Entartete Musik series dried up - it was unearthing some very strange music in that field. Might not have been as historically important as S/B/W...but I'm always attracted to the side roads.

Yes, I do know that one. Much more in the late-Romantic style of Berg or early Schoenberg (Verkarte Nacht, Pelleas, Gurrelieder etc) which I like very much. I'm afraid I need a bit of a tune. With Webern I always feel like I need to go up into the loft and bring down the old slide-rule. Sorry to disturb your skull. It's my digestion that gets bothered!!!

What faux pas have I committed now...

I can't say I care for Webern much...like eating twigs with a hair shirt on. Berg I do like and would strongly recommend the Three Orchestral Pieces, Violin Concerto and Lulu Suite. Think Mahler but far more curdled. The two operas (Wozzeck and Lulu) are engaging too. Can't really help on versions as I only ever buy one version of classical pieces. The Abbado and Karajan versions of the above do me fine.

Take care, sidewinder. Start acting 'crazy' and Michael Howard will have you deported for behaving in an un-British manner.

We're British. We don't do crazy. Mild admiration is the closest we come to breaking a sweat! (I'd imagine Ardley is very little known to most UK jazz fans; only those with a memory of UK jazz in 60s or who have got curious subsequently. Most British jazz fans are more likely to be 'crazy' about Miles or Coltrane).

Only one short track on Amaranths has a recitation - 'The Dong with the Luminous Nose' (Edward Lear). I love it, but then I grew up hearing Ivor Cutler (who recites it) regularly on John Peel's show. The main Amaranths Suite is all instrumental. The three Lewis Carroll songs are sung, not recited, by Norma Winstone. The poetry/jazz thing was a very 60s movement. As I understand only some of the Garricks have poetry. 'Black Marigolds' seems to have a reader; 'The Heart is a Lotus' doesn't. Details here: http://www.jazzscript.co.uk/extra/garricklps.htm I'm not sure 'we UKers' are all 'crazy' about these albums. They've been OOP for so long some of us are just very curious. It's a bit of our jazz history we'd like to get to know.

Yes, I didn't think of that. We can only hope that with all the flurry of activity over the last couple of years, someone somewhere will decide there is good reason to reissue the Ross. I too am looking forward to seeing those Garrick's reappear. I find his more recent music rather big-band-lumpy; but what I've heard on the Rendell-Carrs and Troppo suggests a very different animal in the 60s.

Yes, up to now they've concentrated mainly on the 'dance band' end of things. I have a couple of 50s things by Ken Moule and Tony Kinsey, both very well done. So this step into the 60s can only be welcomed. They're also priced in the £8.99 range rather than the £13.99 of the Universal reissues. Hope they don't change that. Who knows...Cleopatra's Needle may not be far away! What is 'Chitinous Ensemble' .... never even heard of it?