A Lark Ascending

Due in late June: Also imminent: And two just released pearls:

Another Great British Bank Holiday Weekend:

Tales from the Tour Bus Entertaining account of life on the road in Britain from the early rock'n roll days to the 80s or so. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05rjc9c

Afraid not - I'll be back in the Midlands by then. Unfortunately his St. Ives concert this year is a week before I get down that way. Sure it will be good. Have fun.

I have a few from them. Reliable and reasonably priced. Good place to take chances.

The 'Hitting the Fan' episode - wow! Some of the best TV I've seen in ages. The Alisha/Will confrontation was electric. "Question Time" with the three main UK party leaders. Rottweiler audience in Leeds! Might dislike everything two of them stand for but have to admire the way all three took it without crumbling (or denouncing the audience and BBC!!!).

I look forward to reading this a bit later in the year. Had it down as a possible; been convinced by the enthusiasm here.

I have a small house yet it seems to take forever to clean - can't imagine coping with a big house. As a result, I have to buy lots of recordings to take my mind off the drudgery. I wouldn't bother otherwise.

All is not lost. Just bought a Bath Festival ticket for Mike Westbrook doing The Westbrook Blake in a church on 23rd May: http://bathfestivals.org.uk/music/event/mike-westbrook-the-westbrook-blake/ The line-up that did the CD/DVD a while back, My second favourite Westbrook piece (after The Cortege). That'll be my only concert but I'll use the weekend to re-explore Avebury and environs.

I'd say our record collections are a bit like how we vote in elections - it tells others more about what we want to be rather than what we are.

It's very poppy. Made a great instrumental track on Friday night - tremendously rhythmic with the drummer really going for it swirling round the reggae-like beat.

The board has been invaded by Maoists. Sweep away the clutter of the past. Forward to the New Order, free of stuff.

Depends what you are like with vocals. I particularly like the 'Human Spirit' and 'Blue-Eyed' Hawk records but they are vocal-centred with the instruments supporting - plenty of soloing. Quite rocky in an off-centred way (she's described herself as a trumpet player who really wants to be a guitar player). Landing Ground is lovely but a bit more pastel/ECM. You get more of a sense of her broader compositional interests there. The Chaos Orchestra is mainly instrumental (has Lauren Kinsella, a very good singer from Ireland, I think on three tracks - same singer as on the others). Very reminiscent of Loose Tubes. After hearing her quartet on Friday night I'd suggest we've yet to hear her full powers on record and the very young musicians are at that lovely stage of finding their characters and distinguishing features. A work in progress. You can hear one of the 'Human Spirit' tracks here: Should help you decide if the music might be of interest. I find 'Pirates' utterly infectious. I've had it buzzing round my head since I first heart it on JRR a couple of months back.

Back in the olden days we used to march around with albums under our arms, almost as tribal signifiers. I can still remember the 'what is that?' curiosity. Today kids will have an phone or iPod in their pocket. Though I'm sure they have other ways of communicating their musical interests (tee-shirts?). Yes, there are a zillion more ways of swapping enthusiasm with the web. This site is an example. But I recognise that sense of curiosity and excitement when going into a friend's house and seeing a shelf of LP spines. It's pure Romanticism, of course. But most of our record collecting is based on Romanticism rather than logic. Anderson, by the way, is one of the good guys. Opinionated, crotchety, quick to take offence....but he's up there with the Gilletts, Peels and Kershaws when it comes to constantly championing the marginal, up-and-coming, off-the-map. A major player in championing 'world music' in a resistant English folk music world in the 70s and 80s. He doesn't have a lot of time for jazz though! Oddly, despite his feeling that it is harder to get diversity across, he's done more than most to make it accessible - through concert programming, his mag, the regular free discs (now downloads) and the froots radio broadcasts he puts out monthly. http://www.frootsmag.com/radio/playlists/15/05/ He's a doer, not just an internet grumbler.

An interesting observation here on the format wars debate. I'm a hardcore downloader who has only ever missed the large 12 inch covers of the LP era I grew up in; and who has only felt mildly inconvenienced by the lack of liner notes with downloads. But I get what Ian Anderson is saying here: http://www.frootsmag.com/content/issue/edsbox/ Anderson is a bit of a physical product Romantic. But I think he has a point here.

If this doesn't get you dancing round the kitchen...

Some interesting new discs heading our way: The Printmakers are: Nikki Iles (Piano), Norma Winstone (Vocals), Mike Walker (Electric Guitar), Mark Lockheart (saxophones), Steve Watts (Double Bass), James Maddren (Drums). Most of those names mean little outside of Europe but they are top of the heap within this part of the world. And I'll put in another plug for these recent ones - some of the most enjoyable discs I've heard in the last few months, all with Laura Jurd at the helm... She's already playing widely around Europe. Expect her to be a major name in the years to come. Not only does she play brilliant trumpet but she composes tunes you want to hear again.

Most of what has been mentioned here is hardly avant garde - maybe the odd out moment. But there's some great music referred to - of the recent examples I really like Arturo O'Farrill's Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra. Really enjoyed this too:

Just started. What am I going to do when I get to the end of this in a couple of weeks!

The Laura Jurd Quartet in Sheffield. Absolutely thrilling concert from a band who look like they could be in my A Level class! Laura Jurd: trumpet; Elliot Galvin: piano; Conor Chaplin: bass; Corrie Dick: drums Jurd has been getting a lot of press in the last couple of years as someone to watch. I've been enjoying her records but was not prepared for the real power of her playing live. All the band really impressed, but I was also especially taken by Elliott Galvin who used that red keyboard to alternate between an early 70s Fender Rhodes sound (including lovely distortion) and almost Larry Young-like swirling organ textures. Most of the first half were instrumental versions of tunes from her latest album which is song based. Part two was newer compositions - spacey and intense by turns. She seems to like fjords! What is really going to stand her in good stead is her compositional ability. All the pieces were very carefully constructed with themes and sub themes, yet still leaving plenty of room for improvisation. A player it is going to be delightful to see grow. Look out for her, Brits, in your local jazz emporium.

Explains the popularity of all those Nordic ECM bands in Britain. Nothing the Vikings liked more after a day of plunder and murder than chilling out to some ambient ox horn and harp sounds. I live and work in what was the Danelaw. Surrounded by Kirkby, Skegby, Huthwaithe (not to mention Worksop); but also Sutton, Mansfield, Alfreton. If you look at the place names on a relief map you notice the Viking ones tend to be on the higher, what was marginal land. Suggesting that rather than just coming in and taking over the Vikings might have just slipped into the gaps. Wouldn't make a very exciting Kirk Douglas/Tony Curtis film! Fascinating little place just down the road from me, near the Sherwood Forest visitors centre: Thynghowe

I've had many years of happy use of Total Recorder.

Second and third in Hill's detective series. Enjoyed the first but was horrified to find a lovely main character killed off! Read 'The Pure in Heart' very quickly last week...to find the mystery spilled over into the third book so had to jump there. Very enjoyable books in a well worn genre - murder and abduction in a lovely imaginary place in England, drawing on the leafy suburbs and the more disadvantaged estates. Serrailler is a nicely buttoned up, emotionally inhibited main character.

Just had a look at the line-up of that record. Some excellent Brit jazz musicians aboard: Gavin Harrison – Drums & Percussion, Marimba (2,4,5,6) Laurence Cottle – Bass, Rhodes (3), Trombone (8) Nigel Hitchcock – Sax Dave Stewart – Orchestral Percussion ~ with Larry Williams – Flute (1) Andy Findon – Flute (1,6) Tom Walsh – Trumpet (1,2,6) Mark Nightingale – Trombone (1-7) Adrian Hallowell – Bass Trombone (1,3), Tuba (4), Euphonium (4) Freddie Gavita – Trumpet Solo (2) Pete Long – Tubax (2) Ryan Quigley – Trumpet (3,5,7,8) Gareth Lockrane – Flute (3,4) Ben Castle – Clarinet (4,6) Andy Wood – Trombone (4), Baritone Horn (4), Tenor Horn (4) John Barclay – Trumpet (4) Gary Sanctuary – Piano (7) (Maybe not all are...but most are regulars in these Isles)

Superb record. I think you recommended it to me back in Medieval Times. Superb...and completely bonkers Bonkers always works for me.