_forumlogo.png.a607ef20a6e0c299ab2aa6443aa1f32e.png)
Jazzjet
-
Posts
487 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Donations
0.00 USD
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Blogs
Posts posted by Jazzjet
-
-
18 hours ago, Larry Kart said:
The two men who assembled that list of models are major Powellians, but I still don't like Galsworthy for St. John Clarke. Dismissible though Galsworthy's fiction might be, it's not in a class of moldy banality with St. John Clarke's. Also, I'm not aware of Galsworthy becoming a voguish Left-winger, as St. John Clarke does. Further, the merry-go-round where St. John Clarke dumps his assistant Mark Members and replaces him with Quiggin, who is eventually supplanted by Guggenbuhl, is IIRC taken fairly directly from stuff that happened with Logan Pearsall Smith and his assistants. Finally, in the time period where St. John Clarke figures prominently in "Dance," he is a distinctly outmoded figure, not only in literary circles but also with the general novel-buying public; Galsworthy in the '30s had not yet been relegated to the dustbin I don't believe, not in the second category.
Orwell disguising himself as a tramp in order to explore "conditions" does rhyme with one bit of Warminster/Erridge's behavior, but that's the only point of resemblance I can see. Orwell of course did many adventurous things in his life, wrote a great amount that was worthy and influential; Warminster does little but be cranky according to his own basically crabbed reclusive lights and essentially has an effect only on his relatives. Also, Powell and Orwell became fairly close friends; there's a wonderful portrait of him in Powell's memoirs.
Forget to mention that, as the list makers say, X. Trapnel is modeled on Julian McLaren Ross.I thought that Crowley and Trelawney were a pretty close fit. When Powell was a young man in publishing, he met a by then decrepit and semi-mad Crowley and found him immensely creepy. He writes of the encounter in the memoirs.
The only other thing in the Erridge/Orwell comparison is the trip to the Spanish Civil War which both Erridge and Orwell made. I'm not too sure about the Crowley/ Trelawney comparison. Crowley was a much more evil and dangerous personality than Trelawney seems to be. On the general point of these character models I'm sure the inspiration that Powell took was a lot more nuanced than it appears with parts of the characters and personalities known to Powell combined to form the characters in the novels. Didn't Powell say something about fiction invoking a higher truth than biography?
Thanks again for the Hilary Spurling recommendation by the way. I managed to get hold of a cheap used copy via Amazon.
-
10 hours ago, Larry Kart said:
I'm a dyed-in-the-wool Powellian, have read the entire sequence at least twice, favorite individual volumes more than that, actually interviewed Powell back in the '80s (a delightful experience), and am even, Heaven help me, a member of the Anthony Powell Society, which is worth joining if you're interested (it's easy and there's an Organissmo-like board) because, as one might expect, a lot of people who know a lot about Powell's work spend time there. That said, neither George Orwell, nor Lord Beaverbrook, nor John Galsworthy are models for any of Powell's characters. I assume you feel that Lord Beaverbrook = Sir Magnus Donners and John Galsworthy = St. John Clarke (I have no idea who you think is modeled on Orwell, certainly not Warminster/Erridge or Quiggin either). In any case, Donners and Beaverbrook are far apart (the former an industrialist-magnate who is fairly secretive about his affairs, the latter the most prominent British press baron of his time and a man who fed upon publicity), while the mostly forgotten novelist Hugh Walpole and another mostly forgotten litterateur Logan Pearsall Smith (he was of American parentage, lived in England, and wrote a good many aphorisms) would be much closer to St. John Clarke than Galsworthy was. Also, Sillery is not at all modeled on C.M. Bowra, a mistake that many have made. The closest jobs of character modeling I can think of in "Dance," would be composer-conductor-author Constant Lambert as the model for Hugh Moreland and Barbara Skelton (ex-wife of Cyril Connolly, former mistress of King Farouk, with a whole lot more to her credit or discredit) as the model for Pamela Flitton. Field Marshall Montgomery and Lord Alanbrooke of course appear as themselves, and Isobel Jenkins seems to be very close to Powell's own wife, Violet. Alick Dru, pioneering translator-advocate of Kierkegaard among other things, is to a fair degree the model for Pennistone. Leftist publisher Victor Gollancz is close to the model for Howard Craggs. Somewhat rackety American publisher Donald Friede is close to the model for Louis Glober. Ralph Barnby shares several traits with Powell's longtime friend Adrian Daintry -- both were painters and womanizers in the top class. One real-life exchange between Powell and Daintry was transferred directly into an exchange between Jenkins and Barnby. Powell once asked Daintry -- whose experiences with women both in number and variety far exceeded those of Powell, and indeed those of most men -- whether he agreed that a good many women were surprisingly unsensual. "Do you know," Daintry replied, "I've never noticed."
P.S. If you can find a copy, Hillary Spurling's "Invitation to the Dance: A Guide to Anthony Powell's Dance to the Music of Time," is a great and often entertaining resource.
Good to hear from a fellow fan, Larry. My comments on character models was actually based on a page of the Anthony Powell site, eg George Orwell as Erridge/Lord Warmisnster, St. John Clarke as John Galsworthy etc. However, I'm sure that any comparisons are far more nuanced than that. Dr Trelawney is supposed to be based on Alesteir Crowley which I find unlikely. Hugh Walpole is an interesting possibility for St John Clarke. As you say he's largely forgotten figure today although I've recently got hold of some of his books which I haven't read for ages and of course his 'Rogue Herries' is a great companion if you ever visit the Lake District. Thanks for the tip about Hilary Spurling's book. Here's the site :
Models for characters in Anthony Powell's Dance To The Music Of Time
-
9 hours ago, A Lark Ascending said:
Good news for fans of recent French series:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/19/french-tvs-reputation-spirals-upward
That is good news. I'm currently only on Series 2 on DVD so quite a lot to look forward to.
-
I've just finished Anthony Powell's 12 volume masterpiece, 'A Dance To The Music Of Time', my equivalent of tackling 'War And Peace'. It's a social chronicle of British middle and upper class life between the late 1920s and the late 1960s. Parallels include the novels of Evelyn Waugh and Henry Green and even Proust, although Powell is much less introspective. Part of the fun is identifying the real life models on whom the fictional characters are based. These include George Orwell, Lord Beaverbrook, John Galsworthy and many others. I can now look forward to the Channel 4 late 90s TV adaptation which attempted to squeeze it all into four 2-hour episodes.
My next challenge is to read C.P. Snow's 'Strangers and Brothers' sequence from the beginning (I've read a few novels, eg 'The Masters' but never the whole thing). Only 9 novels so it should be a piece of cake!
-
On 2/13/2016 at 8:14 PM, crisp said:
Dixon was alive again. Consciousness was upon him before he could get out of the way; not for him the slow, gracious wandering from the halls of sleep, but a summary, forcible ejection. He lay sprawled, too wicked to move, spewed up like a broken spider-crab on the tarry shingle of the morning. The light did him harm, but not as much as looking at things did; he resolved, having done it once, never to move his eyeballs again. A dusty thudding in his head made the scene before him beat like a pulse. His mouth has been used as a latrine by some small creature of the night, and then as its mausoleum. During the night, too, he’d somehow been on a cross-country run and then been expertly beaten up by a secret police. He felt bad.
Doesn't get better than that
Classic indeed although P.G. Wodehouse runs him close, albeit in a lighter vein.
-
On 2/10/2016 at 7:23 AM, A Lark Ascending said:
'Happy Valley' Series II got off to a good start last night - my, Catherine is hard! Surprised to see Prince Andrei in prison...he only died on Sunday.
This is nothing to compared with all the Scandinavian TV series so popular nowadays. Nearly every reputable Danish or Swedish actor seems to appear in all of them.
-
8 hours ago, sidewinder said:
Power outage at place last night - pretty rare event. Fortunately back to normal now and I don't have to haul out the hand cranked gramophone !
Same here. Power was out from 2am until 4pm. Good job I was going out as we have sleet and snow at the moment, not too common an experience in Cornwall at least not in recent years. Storm Imogen was pretty awesome here although I didn't manage to get to the coast where waves were up to 60 feet in some places.
-
On 1/30/2016 at 6:03 PM, Shawn said:
I don't really care about the special effects in those movies, the actors and the overall atmosphere is what makes it for me. I can forgive the low budget trappings if the story is engaging. Dr. Terror's House Of Horrors was one of my favorites when I was a kid, I would watch anything with either Peter Cushing and/or Christopher Lee in it.
That was the first of the Amicus anthology films, Asylum, Tales From The Crypt and From Beyond The Grave are also worth checking out. That third title takes the same basic premise as Dr Terror but has Cushing as the owner of an antique store that sells cursed artifacts.
I remember seeing Tales From The Crypt when it first came out. Those were the days when you got two feature films for your ticket and could go into the cinema at any point so you often saw the end of one film and sat through the whole programme so you could eventually see the beginning! Recently bought Tales From The Crypt (Joan Collins!) on DVD.
-
2 hours ago, A Lark Ascending said:
Very good Cold War thriller set in the mid-50s at the time of Britain's nuclear research, set against the background of US/UK tension in the run up to Suez. A lot of the book is set around Aldeburgh in Suffolk near the Orford nuclear research station (Britten's contemporary rehearsal's of 'Noye's Fludde' are there in the background). Wilson is American but lives there - his main character is an American who has gone native. You get the impression Wilson is at least partly writing about himself.
Recommended to lovers of historically set thrillers. I've read three of his books and like him as much as Alan Furst. More tight in the narrative and with more twists but equally as engaging (not a criticism of Furst...the latter is more impressionistic). Though you are constantly thinking 'Did this really happen or has he made this bit up?'
Two new names to me and the themes sound right up my street so thanks for the tip. I've recently finished Charles Cumming's 'The Trinity Six' and enjoyed it very much. This one has a more modern setting but the background is the world of Burgess, McLean, Blunt etc. He's written several other novels in the espionage genre so I will definitely try those. Another fairly recent read is 'Dominion' by C.J. Sampson. This is one of those novels set in a world where Britain has surrendered to the Nazis but is very atmospheric with lots of period detail. Again, highly recommended.
-
- 'Sat 9.00 +: Record Review - the programme that usually reviews classical releases has a section on recent folk releases. Sadly no Oxford don plumily reviewing all the recordings of 'Barbara Allen' in order to tell us which recording we need to be seen admiring. '
Reminds me of that joke about how many folk singers it takes to change a lightbulb. Five - one to change the bulb and the other four to sing in four part harmony about why the old one was better.
Seriously, thanks for the information about the programmes. I'll have to try and catch them via iPlayer.
-
30 minutes ago, catesta said:
A Christmas gift from my wife. It was always funny to me but seems even funnier now. Richard Mulligan was a real comedic actor.
That was one of the funniest series ever with some great comic characters. I've just ordered Season 1 but other series are not easily available over here.
-
Musically, at least, it's arguable that the 80s was the last decade that was recognisably distinct in its sound and style. I find it very hard to distinguish any popular music from the 1990s and the 2000s up to date and to pin it down to a specific period. Maybe this view could be extended to social history and culture as a whole. Of course, the unknown is whether we are too close to the recent past to distinguish periods in this way. However, I recall that it was very clearcut in the 80s when you listened to music of the 60s or 50s.
-
1 hour ago, A Lark Ascending said:
Interesting documentary, reminding us how the standard rock narrative completely misrepresents what most people were actually listening to in the 60s/70s. Left me with no desire whatsoever to explore Kaempfert, Conniff, Last or Clayderman. But there's a place for Jimmy Webb, The Fifth Dimension, The Carpenters, Herb Albert etc in my world (not that I'd have admitted that at the time).
I imagine the standard reaction to this was 'Not as good as Alec Guinness' but I've never seen the latter's versions so really enjoyed this. Two things struck me outside the storyline:
1. Interesting to compare with 'Bridge of Spies' where you have a clear 'good guy' righting wrongs on behalf of the true heart of America; in the Le Carre you're in a world of complete moral neutrality.
2. Why do they always make the 70s look so dowdy? Yes, there was political and economic unrest and uncertainty. But at the time Britain actually looked rather shiny with all this exciting new technology coming in (fridge freezers, calculators, hi-fi etc, not to mention the moon missions). It's as if film makers create the appearance of 70s from what they've seen in a junk shop or the remains or a house that has been left unaltered for 45 years. The 60s are generally portrayed very differently.
I agree about the way the 70s are presented. Apart from anything else colourful hippie fashions only started to spread across the country (from a relatively small clique in London) in the very late 60s and well into the 70s, ie the 60s actually happened in the 70s. It's true that there was also a lot of orange, brown and beige about and maybe that tends to create a limited spectrum. My guess is that most of these recreations are put together by people who weren't even around in the 70s and that they lazily tend to copy each other in perpetuating essentially a myth.
-
On 12/11/2015 at 5:44 PM, A Lark Ascending said:13 hours ago, A Lark Ascending said:
There's a nice little interview with Wizz Jones here about the infamous Beatnik problem in Newquay, Cornwall of 1960:
You can see the original 1960 TV report here:
If the councillors of 1960 only knew what was coming with Club 18-30!
Nice clip. I seem to recall that Donovan was one of the beatniks around this period. I'm not sure whether he was one of the originals but he was definitely there during this period. There's a good book by Rupert White called 'Folk In Cornwall' that covers this period and much else in great detail.
-
11 hours ago, A Lark Ascending said:
Watched episode 1 of Spin (or "Les hommes de l'ombre"...a much more spooky title [Shadowmen?]) last night and enjoyed it. Another of those dastardly ambition in high places with unreliable friends series. But looks good.
Also episode 2 of War and Peace the night before - proving enjoyable if not one of BBC's great recreations of lit-er-a-tuh.
I'm sort of enjoying 'War and Peace' but I think it suffers by being squeezed into 6 one hour episodes. I've never read the book and it took me quite a while to get a grip on who the various characters were, without any of the usual exposition.
-
On 1/10/2016 at 11:22 AM, A Lark Ascending said:
Did you watch it? I saw it advertised and meant to set the recorder but forget. I'll have to see if it's on one of the replayers.
I've caught up with 'Deutschland 83' - quite promising and it resonates with me as I was heavily involved with CND back in 1983 so some of the themes are very nostalgic. Of course, now you're a dangerous madman if you believe in that kind of thing.
The first episode of 'Spin' was very good. A slick political conspiracy thriller. Looks very promising.
-
10 hours ago, A Lark Ascending said:
Did you watch it? I saw it advertised and meant to set the recorder but forget. I'll have to see if it's on one of the replayers.
Not yet. I've got so much stacked up that I store up these series for future viewing.
-
9 hours ago, A Lark Ascending said:
Arne Dahl second series
Was initially a bit unsure about this series - seemed a bit like a group of superheroes with special (investigative) powers. But it grew on me. Went out in the UK last October/November but I've eeked them out and finished last night. Not as all-involving as The Killing or The Bridge but very good TV nonetheless.
My Swedish is no better, however.
I quite like Arne Dahl. Halfway through the second series but still to catch up with the first. I agree, not as gripping as The Bridge or The Killing. There was another series either just before or after Arne Dahl was broadcast here - Beck. Downbeat (as usual) but good stories and characterisations. I enjoyed it more than Arne Dahl.
The thing with these Swedish series is that you can't really temporarily switch off or catch up with you emails etc as you'll end up lost in just a few minutes.
There's a new series on More 4 tonight (2200 UK time) called 'Spin' which seems to be from the same team as the excellent French series, 'Spiral'.
-
Recently finished 'Life After Life' by Kate Atkinson. Probably the best novel I read in 2015. about a woman who lives through the most turbulent events of the 20th century, including the London Blitz, and which asks: What if you had the chance to live your life again and again, until you finally got it right? She has also written some detective stories featuring Jackson Brodie which I have yet to try but, on the evidence of 'Life After Life' should be good.
-
14 hours ago, A Lark Ascending said:
Grim, taught thriller set in Belfast as 'The Troubles' hit their first nasty peak. Viewed largely from the perspective of a rookie squaddy thrown into the mayhem, a victim of the internecine politics of the province and the mysterious undercover connections between the army and the various sectarian groups. Apart from an early scene where the RUC take apart a Catholic home the film didn't give much of an idea why the anti-British hostility was so high.
Dominic Sandbrook - Let Us Entertain You (BBC)
Sandbrook has written 4 excellent books on Britain from 1965 to the late 70s (well, 3 of them are excellent, I've still to read the fourth)...even though he shows his Tory inclinations! Manages to balance the political and economic complexities with cultural changes.
A highly dubious thesis to this series - Britain lost its place as the workshop of the world and instead became the pre-eminent entertainer of the world!!! Erm, what about the USA (let alone the cultural preferences outside the Anglocentric world?)?
Nevertheless, an entertaining series so far (I'm two episodes in) - Sandbrook is always good on the continuities of history where most popular TV series stress the changes. Good second programme on the British entertainment industry's obsession with the aristocracy, public schools and the monarchy - I think he's dead right in his argument that all the 'rebellious' culture over the years has been co-opted by the establishment and used to further shore up its defences rather than being undermined by it.
Vastly preferable to Dominic Sandbrook's books is David Kynaston's excellent 'Tales Of A New Jerusalem' (1945-1979) series which is up to about 1962 so far. Much more depth and insight, and although it has yet to reach the mid 60s it has all the signs of being the definitive work on modern British history.
-
On 12/28/2015 at 8:27 AM, A Lark Ascending said:
"And Then There Were None" - three part BBC adaptation of an Agatha Christie novel.
Afraid I'm finding it very corny (last part tonight) with all the characters at a perpetual pitch of hysteria (understandable, I suppose, if everyone is being mysteriously murdered around you). But there's some brilliant photography - glowering skies over seascapes. Typically well done BBC production - suspect my reservations lie more in the tale than the telling.
Interesting to see that the BBC swept the board with the ratings figures for most watched TV over Xmas. No wonder Murdoch has instructed Eton Boy to kill it.
Also been watching:
I must be the only person in Britain who has never watched a Peter Kay programme but I think this is brilliant. Who'd have thought a sit-com (and they sit a lot) about driving to Manchester and back every day could be so compelling. Really funny dialogue and a constant 'will they, won't they' tension.
The Peter Kay Car Share series is great, one of the best sitcoms for ages. The 'misunderstanding' about dogging was brilliant and there are some great sight gags with funny shop names etc. The radio station, Forever FM, was specially created for the show and is enjoyably naff.
-
18 hours ago, A Lark Ascending said:
Only know the Watersons and Briggs there.
Pentangle are a band I had to learn to like and still find Jacqui McShee's voice a bit of a strain (not to mention Bert!)...too high! But there's some very good music there.
Glad you enjoyed The Unthanks. Utterly unique and still unspoiled despite the grand nature of some of their arrangements.
I listened to that Lynched record this afternoon - Cold Old Fire. It's excellent...not a trace of Celtic mist anywhere. Reminds me in places of the Dubliners or the very early Christy Moore records. Really strong accents, rough and ready (but expert) instrumentation, a mixture of serious and jokey almost music hall songs. And then on some of the tracks they drift off into these lengthy, almost minimalist instrumental arrangements, quite unlike anything I've heard on an Irish folk record. Shot to the top of my list of bands to catch live...they were everywhere in the summer.
18 hours ago, mjazzg said:Of those I'd not heard before:
Watersons - Seven Virgins
Anne Briggs - The Time Has come
Mark Hollis - A New Jerusalem
Bill Fay - Til The Christ Come Back
Sheelagh McDonald - Stargazer
Tim Hollier - Streets Of Goldfor starters........it also confirmed that Pentangle are my favourite folk band
except for the Unthanks who I saw last night on their 10th Anniversary Tour. Career spanning set starting with unaccompanied duet from Becky and Rachel. They do seem to manage to scale up to quite big arrangements without losing the integral soul of a song - I think because the voices hold sway no matter what else is going on
Very nice. Supports my theory that 'the Sixties' actually happened in the 70s. It's also unusual, I would have thought, to hear a drum solo - and a lengthy one at that - on a folk track. I can't think of any other examples.
Sorry. My comment above referred to the Oberon track.
-
15 hours ago, A Lark Ascending said:
I've added what seems to be a compilation album by McDonald to my Spotify playlist (the folk one). I remember the cover vaguely from the time. At the very least I can play spot the Tippett/Thompson!
Another one who I've never listened to who has enjoyed a comeback is Vashti Bunyan...the name always sounded a bit brown rice and sandals (though god knows why that should put me off as my record collection is awash with indigestible grains and dodgy footwear).
Pretty much the staple diet and clothing choice in some parts of Cornwall, particularly Penzance (twinned with Narnia).
Bridget St John was another singer from that era who disappeared after her initial success, in her case emigrating to Greenwich Village. She made 2 or 3 LPs for John Peel's Dandelion label, the first one with the help of John Martyn if I remember correctly.
-
19 minutes ago, mjazzg said:
Of those I'd not heard before:
Watersons - Seven Virgins
Anne Briggs - The Time Has come
Mark Hollis - A New Jerusalem
Bill Fay - Til The Christ Come Back
Sheelagh McDonald - Stargazer
Tim Hollier - Streets Of Goldfor starters........it also confirmed that Pentangle are my favourite folk band
except for the Unthanks who I saw last night on their 10th Anniversary Tour. Career spanning set starting with unaccompanied duet from Becky and Rachel. They do seem to manage to scale up to quite big arrangements without losing the integral soul of a song - I think because the voices hold sway no matter what else is going on
3 minutes ago, A Lark Ascending said:Only know the Watersons and Briggs there.
Pentangle are a band I had to learn to like and still find Jacqui McShee's voice a bit of a strain (not to mention Bert!)...too high! But there's some very good music there.
Glad you enjoyed The Unthanks. Utterly unique and still unspoiled despite the grand nature of some of their arrangements.
I listened to that Lynched record this afternoon - Cold Old Fire. It's excellent...not a trace of Celtic mist anywhere. Reminds me in places of the Dubliners or the very early Christy Moore records. Really strong accents, rough and ready (but expert) instrumentation, a mixture of serious and jokey almost music hall songs. And then on some of the tracks they drift off into these lengthy, almost minimalist instrumental arrangements, quite unlike anything I've heard on an Irish folk record. Shot to the top of my list of bands to catch live...they were everywhere in the summer.
Shelagh McDonald's 'Stargazer' is one of my all time favourite songs. Her albums included support from the likes of Richard Thompson and Keith Tippett. She disappeared from the scene in the early 70s, apparently after a bad LSD trip left her with a ruined voice. She did make a comeback though a couple of years back.
Mark Hollis's solo, self-titled album is well worth hearing. He was a member of Talk Talk, the 80s band who had a few pop hits like 'It's My Life' and 'Life Is What You Make It'. They took a sort of left turn in the late 80s and their albums 'Spirit of Eden' and 'Laughing Stock' are worth seeking out, a mixture of experimental, ambient, folk and jazz.. Sometime band member and producer, Tim Friese-Greene is the great grandson of pioneer photographer and inventor William Friese-Greene.
John Chilton, 1932-2016
in Artists
Posted
John Chilton's bookshop was in the street behind where I used to work and opposite Great Ormond Street hospital. It was a great place to visit. Apart from loads of secondhand jazz and blues books it had tons of back copies of magazines like Jazz Monthly and Jazz Journal. There was a wonderful musty bookstore smell about the place as well. I seem to recall that John's wife (Theresa?) ran the place most of the time.