A Lark Ascending

I suspect I've been in the same room as sidewinder a few times, in Bath and Cheltenham.

This is a lovely record - described as Persian and Indian Improvisation: Kayhan Kalhor kamancheh Shujaat Husain Khan sitar, vocals Sandeep Das tabla

Yes, this one:

Many thanks, VILLADAWG. I shall hunt one or two of these down. No sign as yet on any of the online stores I normally check.

When 'Che' first arrived I did not recognise him for the first couple of weeks. I seem to recall sticking up for him indirectly in one of my tiresome tirades against group hugs. I assumed he was actually some hapless teenager who needed to be treated gently. Then the parallels began to appear - the Finland obsession, rugby etc. He seemed to go out of his way to avoid provoking on the issue that got him removed from AAJ; and I was happy to respond to some of his posts which dealt with European/UK jazz. I'd assumed he'd learned his lesson. However, I began to get a bit freaked by his over-familiarity - the above mentioned occasion when he started welcoming people to the board a few weeks in did strike me as a bit strange. You only saw part of him here - to be honest his musical posts were rather more thoughtful at AAJ. Here that never seemed to amount to more than namechecking the latest person he'd read about in Jazzwise. I don't think he's a bad guy. But he does seem very, very thick skinned. We all say daft things, get into rows we later regret; and then either apologise or lie low for a while. 'Che's' response was always to fight back harder. I tried once at AAJ to suggest going a bit easier in the US election dispute; I was categorically told that I was trying to censor him! Anyway, I wouldn't worry too much about an invasion from Nova Scotia. Seems unlikely. I'm the one who really has to worry. He claimed to have booked into some of the Cheltenham Jazz Festival shows I'm also at. A false beard and moustache will be needed, I think. Goatee, of course. So I can blend in well.

The frightening thing is that he claimed to be a child psychiatrist! Teachers tend to be pretty cynical about child psychiatrists (as child psychiatrists are of teachers!). I'd not like to think about the state one of my more difficult children would come back in after a few sessions. "Of course I'm not doing any bloody homework. Chomsky says..." Or maybe he'd just hand the homework in in Finnish! He set the wheels in motion for his expulsion from AAJ just after the US elections. Most comments were of disappointment/despair from the mainly liberal minded posters. 'Che' proceeded to tell them that they were part of the problem. Some very mild-mannered, easy-going posters got very upset. He did seem to learn from that; his anti-Americanism was largely kept in check here...but I was just waiting for it to break out. In the event he put his foot in it elsewhere.

He always made me feel so damned inadequate. Learning Finnish, coaching a rugby team, leading the revolution, doing a Phd, running marathons, travelling the world.... In the same period of time I've mowed the lawn and done the washing!

He was banned at AAJ a few weeks back as a result of a series of anti-American tirades in the political forum. Believe me, he was being polite here!

There are increasing numbers of Asian musicians breaking into various musical genres in the UK at present. I really enjoyed this one a few years back: Whereas Nitin Sawhney, who appeared at the Cheltenham Jazz Festival a few years back, struck me as much more ordinary. I've also enjoyed the vocal recordings of Sheila Chandra. ******** Trilok Gurtu is an interesting case. I love this one from 1997: But everything I've heard since has been so concerned wth crossing-cultures and breaking boundaries that it has come out rather high-production bland. ********* Going off at a further tangent there are some intriguing crossovers with Asian music in the guitar playing of Davy Graham and John Renbourne. I was listening to this the other day and some of the arrangements of English folk songs mixed with Asian inspired guitar are quite extraordinary:

I'm not a great fan of the Harriott/Mayer records. There's something very foursquare in the rhythm - like a beat that runs through the music. I like these crossovers when there is room for the music to breath. This is Jazz/Indian mix that works for me: I look forward to hearing the Speake. I have a couple of his earlier records.

On one occasion I saw Remembering Shakti in Birmingham, their first tour since the long break - half the audience were aging jazz-rocker like me; the other half from the Asian community (out for Zakir Hussain and Hariprasad Chaurasia, I suspect). The Asian listeners kept bursting into applause at various points whilst we jazz-rockers looked round mystified. Clearly the former knew what they were listening to structurally and could react to a particularly fine improvisation within the codes of the music. I got the feeling the rest of us were actually musical tourists - loving the music, impressed by its colour and virtuosity but not really comprehending what was happening. I always feel a bit like that when listening to Asian or Middle Eastern music.

Shakti and Remembering Shakti. I like McLaughlin best in this context. Start with the three original discs from the 70s. Then explore the reunited (though with changing membership) discs of Remembering Shakti. This Zakir Hussain disc with McLaughlin, Garbarek and the stunning Indian classical flute player, Hariprasad Chaurasia, is absolutely magical: The perfect Sunday morning record! Andy Sheppard did a wonderful duet with a tabla player at the Jazz Britannia afternoon show - ended up dueting with a bird (feathered kind) up in the conservatory there. Lovely. Sadly, the CD I bought of his recently that I'd hoped would cover this ground was a very chocolate box affair.

One of my favourite records - I bought it on LP in the Autumn of 1977 and now have that wonderful box. I had very little jazz at the time and this was one of those discs that helped me cross over - I knew most of the names from King Crimson (!). I'd also seen this band in Exeter a few months before (without Tippett - I cannot, for the life of me, recall who played piano; just recall initial disappointment at not seeing Tippett). For me this record stands for what I really like in jazz - a wild, flexible, rhythmically loose ensemble, threatening to tip into chaos but always holding it together. Tippett is just magical in his playing - he often loses me in his totally free stuff bit here there is enough structure to relate to my more conventional ears. The long tracks keep you hooked every step of the way. Moholo, Tippett, Osborne and Miller get plenty of praise - listen here for two other marvellous voices who we rarely hear now - Malcolm Griffiths and Marc Charig. The disc ends perfectly with the short but upbeat 'Eli's Song'. [Pedantic note: no u in Osborne]

Many thanks, all. I'll fiddle about with those settings. When I've got the time I'll try EAC as an alternative.

Actually, while we are here, can I ask another question. I recently made some quick copies on my PC for car use. Now it might just be me being oversensitive, but when playing them they sound a bit 'off' - almost like there is a faint jitter that makes the music sound faintly out of tune. I've suspected that copying at high speed might lead to poorer sound. I notice there are options to record at different speeds. I'm using Real Player. For transfering to the PC there are options from 32 kbps to 320 kbps. Which is the best to use? I assume 320. For burning the default is set at fastest available. There are then options from 4X to 48X. Which is likely to be the most accurate? This has me puzzled. Does 48X mean very fast (and possibly inaccurate) or very accurate (and possibly very slow)? I usually record on my Pioneer but sometimes if I mess up a transfer (e.g. recording an LP the needle skips and I have to record it again) I download it onto the PC and make up a proper copy from there. Any suggestions would be welcomed. As you have probably guessed my audio/pc knowledge goes little beyond the basic.

Thanks, Claude. That makes sense. No cigarette smoke here. I have only one addiction! It also explains something else; my Arcam picks up errors much more regularly than my ghetto-blaster (what a quaint term?) or walkperson. I'm playing the Ardley (Symphony of Amaranths) currently and there's none of the bother I get on the Arcam. I'll just have to play CD-Rs on the Pioneer - a simple switch of a button. Thanks again for your help.

A have half-a-dozen recordings I've bought from musicians who have put out their own CD-Rs - the late Neil Ardley, Steve Berry, a Stan Tracey recording and a couple of English folky things. I first noticed an oddity on an Ardley recording - there seemed to be a weird interference - like a circulating, rotating swishing noise that appeared part way through the disc and increased in volume at musical peaks becoming a series of regular electronic pops. I assumed it was the disc. Then the same happened on two Berry discs and a Stan Tracey (a private pressing of his Genesis suite). This morning I received a folk recording and 3/4 way through - exactly the same. YET When I play these discs on my CD recorder (Pioneer PDR 609) I get no interference. Discs I've burned myself play happily on my main deck (Arcam CD-72). Any idea what is going on? Is the technology of the Arcam unsuitable for commercial CD-R's; or is it dying? Thanks for any suggestions. I know there are some knowledgeable audio buffs here.

Wow, David. That looks a fascinating combination!

I received the following private message back on 20th Jan from one VILLADAWG: I've not yet located a place where these can be obtained. Any clues?

Must have played these at least once a day in the school holidays during 1966-7! The Ur-texts of my musical taste!

Thanks, Frank. That sounds like the London Jazz Festival! Hope it's a Saturday!!!!

Oh, I don't know. 'Tilting at Windmills' might well define Marsalis' career, as regards his view of what jazz 'is'!

A European tour is required, please!

I'm not a Blue Note junkie (I have other addictions!) but I bought this after a recommendation on this board and absolutely love it. Very, very entertaining music. Makes you feel good.

Middle aged men deconstruct 'We are the Champions'. How daring!