A Lark Ascending

I saw Schweizer and Favre a year or so back at a festival. I went along out of curiosity, expecting something highbrow and severe. Instead I got a delightful concert with the sort of variety mentioned in the first post. I've enjoyed this live solo disc subsequently: She can be heard on two of the London Jazz Composers Orchestra discs: (Sorry David. Overlapped post!)

I really like these: The latter is actually a really enjoyable record despite the 'all-star' setting. There's obviously lots of other Lacy Monk to choose from.

There was a documentary about Prog-Rock on the BBC a few months back. It featured Yes quite prominently. There was a hilarious clip from a tour they did circa 'Owner of a Lonely Heart' where their wardrobe and 'big hair' had all been modelled on the young UK bands of the era - Duran Duran etc. Oh dear!

It's mentioned in the 'Impressed' sleeve notes and I may once have seen a copy in the racks about 25 years ago. Very rare apparently and has Ardley, Norma Winstone, Ian Carr and a whole load of other Brit jazzers doing a 'Bardish' suite, hence the 'Will'. I've recently seen a copy sell for £250 I clearly didn't read the notes carefully enough...it was the small print, your honour. Now you mention it I do recall the Shakespeare reference. I'm really curious to hear some of Michael Garrick's jazz and poetry Argos which don't seem to be among the plans. Poetry And Jazz In Concert 2 LPs 1963 ARGO ZDA 26/27 (UK) Michael GARRICK [piano]; Joe HARRIOTT [alto]; Shake KEANE [trumpet]; John TAYLOR [bass], Colin BARNES [drums], Laurie LEE & Jeremy ROBSON [reader] Before Night/Day LP 1966 ARGO EAF 115 (UK) Michael GARRICK [piano]; Jeremy ROBSON [poet]; Coleridge GOODE [bass] ; Joe HARRIOTT [alto]; Ian CARR [trumpet]; Colin BARNES [drums] Jazz Praises At St Paul's LP 25 Oct 1968 AIRBORNE NBP 0021 (UK) Michael GARRICK [piano]; Joe HARRIOTT [reeds]; Art THEMEN & Jim PHILIP [tenor, clarinet, flute]; Joe HARRIOTT [reeds]; Ian CARR [trumpet, flugelhorn]; Coleridge GOODE [bass]; John MARSHALL [drums]; Chorus of St Michael's - Peter MOUND [conductor]; John SMITH [poet] Poetry And Jazz 2 LPs 1969 ARGO ZPR 264/265 (UK) Michael GARRICK [piano]; Art THEMEN [reeds]; Dave GREEN [bass]; Trevor TOMKINS [drums]; Ian CARR [horn]; Don RENDELL [saxophones]; and seven POETS Mr Smith's Apocalypse LP 1971 ARGO ZAGF 1 (UK) Michael GARRICK [organ]; Don RENDELL [flute, saxophones]; Art THEMEN [flute, clarinet, saxophones]; Henry LOWTHER [trumpet, flugelhorn]; Coleridge GOODE [bass]; Trevor TOMKINS [drums], Norma WINSTONE [vocals]; John SMITH & George MURCELL & Betty MULCAHY [speech]; CHORUS [Taken from a full list of Garrrick's LP recordings here: http://www.jazzscript.co.uk/extra/garricklps.htm] Not a complaint. Six of these long lost recording brought back to life is a treat in itself.

My advice would be that if this music isn't connecting, leave it alone. The fact that a recording or set of recordings is highly regarded doesn't mean everyone has to like it. The chances are that at some point you'll hear the music in a different context, when you're not expecting it and something will click. Come back to it then. If it doesn't, so what? There's so much wonderful music out there you'll never be without something that makes sense.

Let's hope interest is wide enough to get all of Late's list out. Are they going to do the Rendall/Carrs? Seems unlikely given the recent BGO reissue of all five. I'd never even heard of 'Willpower'!

Can't offer any advice, Jim, but I hope this all works out well for your wife and yourself.

'Sketches' is not a favourite of mine either... ...except... ..."Solea" at the end as Guy has already mentioned. I'd throw in the previous track, "Saeta", as well. These two strike me as equal to anything he put on disc. I don't think its a coincidence that they are also the only two tracks on the album that arn't tiptoeing around arrangements of a classical pieces. Try playing them alone.

I bought Bitches Brew in Dec 1976. It took me until the mid-90s before the penny dropped! The difficulty I had was the way each track seemed to cling to one or two scales throughout. Listening to 'In a Silent Way' (which I'd not heard until the mid 90s) unlocked it for me. I don't think it's a record anyone can say 'listen for this' and all will make sense. Just play it every few months. One day it might just click. 'Spanish Key' was the track that I found most approachable. The key shift there gives the music a feeling of structure that seem to have been deliberately avoided on the rest of the record.

There are five issued so far (outside of the two compilations). MIKE WESTBROOK CONCERT BAND - Celebration (Universal 9866890; UK) NEIL ARDLEY/IAN CARR/DON RENDLE - Greek Variations & Other Agean Exercises (Universal 9866899; UK) AMANCIO D'SILVA - Integration: Introducing Amancio D'Silva (Universal 9866893; UK) MICHAEL GARRICK With NORMA WINSTONE et al - Troppo (Universal 9866892; UK) MIKE TAYLOR - Trio (Universal 9866894; UK) They are listed here at the Downtown Music Gallery site in New York at $19 each. http://www.downtownmusicgallery.com/Main/N...2004-08-06.html That's about £10. They sell for around £7.99 in the UK. By the time you'd added postage from a European vendor you'd be paying the same. [Amazon France seems to have them for €9.99...about $12. That might come in a little cheaper. http://www.amazon.fr/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000...2237067-3620208]

This one hasn't been around since first issued in the early 70s. I've never heard it. I heard about this Japanese issue. However, rumour has it that it is slated for the Repressed series in the future. Might be worth waiting for. There's plenty of other Westbrook available at much cheaper prices than this import.

I might need to listen to these albums again, but that really wasn't my impression. #3 and #4 sound like cutting-edge stuff, #5 sounds much more conservative. Guy Funny how we all hear things differently. I suppose the first side of Fourth has similar abstractions to Fifth. One of the reasons Robert Wyatt jumped ship after Fourth was because he disliked the increasingly jazzy direction of the group (despite being a jazz fan!). Elton Dean seemed to take over on that one. It still wasn't adventurous enough for him so he left. Listen to Dean's 'Just Us' to hear where he was off to next! I find Third and Fourth still very 'rock' in the drumming and with very clear melodies; whereas the melodic material on Fifth seems to more jagged. As I say, different ears. ************* Yes, Hatfield were a joy. I love both their albums which I bought at the time (saw them once c.1974). There's apparantly a disc of live material from the time about to be released. Information due here on 15th November: http://www.hatfieldandthenorth.co.uk/ You can go back a stage further to Egg whose first two albums are due for reissue any day now: http://www.eclecticdiscs.com/new_releases.htm Moving away from straight jazz but jazz related with strong links to the UK jazz-rock mentioned in the title of this thread. *************** Anyone with a love of this music should try to hear this new CD: To quote some blurb about this UK reed player: (from http://www.jazzcds.co.uk/store/commerce.cg...d=931636.29579)

Thanks for that, Late. I'll read it later on. There was a marvellous tribute to Keane on one of the BBC jazz programmes a few years back.

For Soft Machine as jazz group go for Third and Fourth to start with. Fifth is more abstract, more free-jazzy. Sixth is interesting though more into minimalist methods. After that they get less interesting. 1 + 2 are really psychadelic rock records with jazzy elements - great records (and the real thing to many Soft Machine fans). There's a lot of very good concert material come out in recent years. The first BBC disc on the Hux label is brilliant. The Cuneiform discs are excellent too. I'd not dismiss the two Impressed compilations too lightly - they do a great job of introducing you to a wide range of UK jazz of the 60s/70s. You can sell them after you've snapped up the albums they come from. There's not much Garrick from the 60s/70s around apart from Troppo - if the Repressed series goes to plan we should get alot more. Garrick has a number of discs from more recent times on his own label - they're not favourites of mine. Given your liking for Nucleus I'd support sidewinder's recommendation of Neil Ardley's ''Kaleidoscope of Rainbows' which shares some musicians. I'd also back 'Greek Variations' and suggest looking out for 'Symphony of Amaranths' which is due for reissue soon. Graham Collier's recordings from the 60s/70s also have a strong rockish element - these have been reissued by Disconforme (with Collier's approval!). If you enjoy the freer side of jazz don't miss Keith Tippett's Septober Energy - a wonderfully imaginative megawork which veers from free jazz to beautiful melodicism and into early 70s jazz rock a la Nucleus (Ian Carr is among the ensemble). 'Rogue Element' is a fine live disc but look out for 'Cruel But Fair' by Keith Tippett, Elton Dean, Hugh Hopper and Joe Gallivan. That's a stormer. I'd also suggest taking a step rockward into Henry Cow and National Health, two 70s bands who included heavy amounts of improvisation; Henry Cow were more avant garde - they produced compelling discs especially 'Unrest'. National Health were more melodic - the last gasp of a very British form of 'fusion' trying to survive (hopelessly) against the backdrop of punk. You can get the Henry Cow and National Health discs very cheaply from this site: http://www.noside.com/ (Use the search engine or check the deals at the bottom of the home page...don't be scared by the Scandanavian folk music that dominates the site (this is brill too!)) Westbrook will give you a lifetime of interest too. 'Celebration' from the late 60s has just been reissued in Repressed series; and BGO have reissued 'Metropolis' (they botched the transfer originally but this has bee redressed). To my ears he starts getting really interesting in the mid-70s. I would recommend 'The Cortege' from 1980 as his finest two and a bit hours! Everything you need to know lies here: http://www.westbrookjazz.de/ or here: http://www.westbrookjazz.co.uk/

I had this when it came out in the mid 70s. Didn't care for it and sold it. It'd be interesting to hear again now. My ears might hear differently.

You mean 'On the Corner' was not an attempt to recreate 'Kind of Blue'?

Just found this on a UK site that sells Tippett CDs and puts out information about him: This is the latest in a long line of Tippett’s big band projects that have included Centipede and Ark, and, like them, Tapestry is utterly original and unique. Containing a phenomenal ‘A’ list of twenty-one British jazz musicians and improvisers this band has performed to great acclaim at Festivals in Ruvo (Italy), Le Mans (France), Bath (England), Victoriaville (Canada) and Lisbon (Portugal). As yet unrecorded on CD this piece First Weaving is a dynamic full throttle affair, burning with electricity, swing and passion. Two fantastic performances in 2002 took place at FIMAV, Victoriaville, Canada, and Jazz em Agosto, Lisbon, Portugal. The latter Festival also showcased Keith Tippett solo and the Paul Dunmall Octet. Keith Tippett’s First Weaving, directed by the composer with Tenor saxophones Paul Dunmall, Simon Picard, Larry Stabbins Alto saxophones Elton Dean, Kevin Figes, Ben Waghorn Trumpets Henry Lowther, Jim Dvorak, Mark Charig, Gethin Liddington Trombones Paul Rutherford, Malcolm Griffiths, Dave Amis Tuba Oren Marshall Voices Julie Tippetts, Maggie Nicols, Vivien Ellis Piano Keith Tippett Double bass Paul Rogers Drums Louis Moholo, Tony Levin http://www.mindyourownmusic.co.uk/keith-ti...nt-projects.htm

I heard Tippett's Ark perform live in Victoriaville, Canada (May, 2002). Keith told me it was only the fourth live performance they'd ever done! Would that not have been his band 'Tapestry'? I don't think Ark has been active since the late 70s/early 80s. I read an interview a few months back where Tippett made a similar point about Tapestry. It draws its members from several nations (including the great Pino Minafra from Italy) and so is very hard to get together. Tippett said that there was so little interest in booking the band that he was thinking of letting it go. Such a pity. He's had just two large scale recordings in 35 years - 'Septober Energy' and 'Frames'. I'm hoping the Bath Festival in the UK books the band before they cease. I suspect one of their handful of appearances might have been there.

Sorry ztrauq22, The two which are impossible to see are: Keith Tippett's Ark - Frames: actually from the very end of the 70s so really outside the brief of this thread. However, Tippett has been unable to get any more recent large group compositions recorded so this is the most recent example of his abilities. A crying shame...he was made to write for larger jazz groups. His 'Ark' group had all the instruments paired up - two pianos, two basses etc. Orchesta National de France - Charmediterraneen - a wonderful extended piece with a vague theme associated with the various coasts of the Mediterranean. Gianluigi Trovesi (reeds) and Anouar Brahem (oud) are two of the featured soloists.

Not watching much TV is a personal choice. There's no moral or intellectual superiority involved in choosing not to watch; any more than there is in choosing one musical genre over another. Free time is limited and there are a zillion options in the modern world of how to make use of that time. I don't watch TV much for the same reason I don't watch football. There are other things that absorb me far more.

Very little. I got out of the habit of TV watching when I was a student 1973-7 and had no real access to a TV. Much rather listen to music or read. Having said that I do enjoy a well made series, documentary (especially if historically or musically related) or comedy show. But they are few and far between - which suits me fine! The only thing I've watched in the last seven days is a tribute to the late John Peel on the BBC last night. Very moving.

I don't know... if CDs were around, maybe Anderson would've made the damn thing 2 CDs worth of material!!!! Reading the full review that snippet came from I thought that the critical style was way more pretentious than any music Yes have ever come up with.

A couple of orders: Two Australian discs recommended by Kenny Weir over at the Other Place: ALLAN BROWNE QUINTET - CYCLOSPORIN JAMIE OEHLERS - THE ASSEMBLERS And the new disc by one of the most distinctive jazz singers operating in the UK today (she's actually from Dublin, but works here): Christine Tobin - Romance and Revolution

Its a great pity more of those early covers never got recorded. I love their versions of Paul Simon's 'America' and Crosby's 'I See You'.