RogerF

Fantastic clip of the RSQ. Ron Mathewson was playing that like a bass guitar. Critch looks exactly the same as he does now! That must have been recorded at least twenty years ago?

Tony Marsh has died. He was an important figure on the UK jazz scene and a great drummer. He played in Mike Westbrook's large ensembles and was a well-known contibutor to the British improv scene too. There's a tribute to him on the Jazzwise website here

I forgot about Poetry and Jazz 250 which is great and needs a reissue desperately, perhaps as a fitting MG tribute. Another one which always fetches high prices on eBay, when it rarely appears, is Guy Warren's Afro Jazz with the RCQ in attendance.

In your dreams! Really? Well, it would be nice - after all this time. I would also like to see Joe Harriott's 'Movement' and 'High Spirits' out on CD but I guess both of these would be minor miracles too. This is great news (I hope) but in additon to the Hum Dono I would be fervently wishing for the reissue of both Le Dejeuner Sur L'Herbe and A Symphony of Amaranths, as those two along with HD are perhaps the ones most urgently in need of a CD release. Oh and surely Dankworth's What the Dickens! needs reissuing to complete the set?

To qualify what I wrote earlier, Bailey never played straight jazz (in public) or on record from around 1968 or earlier (Joseph Holbrooke '65 - "Miles Mode") until he recorded "Ballads" (2002). This is why "Ballads" was greeted with such amazement, as no one ever thought they would hear this from him. Nevertheless, "Ballads" was his way of playing "straight" yet still remaining faithful to his non-idiomatic "style". Also I should add that he was, I believe, the only musician listed in the 1960s and 1970s Melody Maker jazz polls - British section who didn't "occasionally revert" to playing straight jazz professionally for nearly 40 years. For example, Tony Oxley was a key figure on the improv scene (and still is) but played occasionally in straight settings - the astonishing quality of which was almost unmatched in the UK hence his postion for many years as the number one British drummer in the same MM jazz polls. Odd though that Derek Bailey was associated so often with jazz and yet he eschewed this genre, although he certainly did listen to it. Although not strictly playing any type of jazz it was possible to discern in his playing, tonal colour and attack which certainly echoed some elements of jazz guitar sounds - he often played a Gibson ES175 (compare the tone of McLaughlin's semi acoustic guitar on "Things we like". Or any Sonny Sharrock. In no way was Bailey a copyist, but there is a definite although involuntary (subliminal?) "jazz-ness" to his music. I am thankful that I managed to catch him playing live several times. His performances were both electrifying (even when playing acoustically) and jaw-dropping. It's not an exaggeration to say that, truly, his like will not be heard again. RIP Derek. ps check this historic You Tube vid out for a glimse of the master at work Derek Bailey solo guitar

As Jeffcrom rightly states, Bailey was not a jazz guitarist (although he started out as one) but a non-idiomatic improviser. It's best to listen to any of his solo works first. It's also easier to appreciate if you are a guitarist, then you can marvel at just what he doesn't play. His ability not to include any cliched licks or pretty much anything similar to anything recognisable other than his own playing is amazing. And yet, listening to the tonal colour and use of shimmering harmonics makes it easier to understand why he is so highly regarded. He was most definitely a remarkable innovator. It's a bit strange that Bailey was allied to jazz music when out of all his recording colleagues, only a handful could never be described as jazzers, most at least played jazz either for a living or because their technical skills were so high they were persuaded to play jazz. So for example on Karyobin, Bailey was the only musician on the LP who never played "straight" jazz, ever in his career. Even "Ballads" which I also highly recommend, is not "straight" jazz. But it is fascinating.

All of the above. A great loss of a great service and a true gentleman.Good luck for the future Hiroshi.

Obituary by Peter Vacher in today's Guardian here

Terrible news. There's more on this at the London Jazz blogspot here: London Jazz on Michael Garrick

...all of the above plus his contributions to three memorable Ian Carr/Nucleus albums (Belladonna, Labyrinth and Under the Sun). He was a great, virtuoso pianist, and I was privileged to hear him play. A big loss to the UK jazz scene. RIP Gordon.

Most KT fans will know about this but his latest waxing is absolutely terrific and Julie is on top form (not that she never is anyway). I highly recommend this. Not out and out free by any means but there area quite a few improv moments. Some great composition here and excellent performances. Something for everyone, definitely. From Granite to Wind; Keith Tippett Octet. Ogun Records. 2011

Just posted this news in the Artists section before I realised this thread had started in the Miscellaneous section. I only just heard about this and am truly gutted. Graham was one of my all-time heroes of jazz. 'Songs For My Father' is one of the albums that helped fire my interest in jazz and for that I am truly indebted to Graham. Am playing it now. RIP Graham.

Thanks to this thread I have been listening to some of these Away albums. Although these might not be the best albums ever recorded they certainly are extremely good. The opening track from Mazin Ennit (Away) for example is quite different from most other 'jazz rock' the nearest comparison might be Tone Dialling by Ornette. But all three should most definitely be reissued - I am looking forward to listening to all these carefully. In fact I would go so far as to say they are essential John Stevens and a small corner of the British jazz scene. Very listenable and very memorable. Makes me wonder what might have happened if Stevens had pursued a more 'conventional' musical route although these albums are far from conventional they do add an interesting juxtaposition to the SME fare. I really hope BGO manage to reissue these.They could probably even squeeze all three onto two CDs a la the recent Graham Colliers.

Yes 'Oliv' is another one which should be reissued. Derek Bailey is on that one too!

The Away albums are pretty much diametrically opposite musically to any of the SME stuff. But naturally the main link is Stevens himself. His drumming was fascinating at any time. Not as ascetic as Tony Oxley but not as rocky as say, John Marshall. The Away albums certainly deserve to be reissued as they epitomise Stevens' dalliance with freebop - well more than a dalliance as he made several albums minus the electricity in that vein [eg, Freebop on the Affinity label]. Another in this ilk was the album he made with Jack Bruce and Dick Heckstall Smith in 1995; This That (Atonal ACD 3017) which may still be available on CD with some serious eBay hunting or direct from Germany. He also did a couple of albums with Allan Holdsworth (Touching On) but these are not approved by Allan Holdsworth (see his website - The Real Allan Holdsworth). Another one that needs to be reissued is the album he made with Ian Carr, Jeff Clyn and Trevor Watts; Springboard. Now that was a brilliant album.

Missed it but will try and catch on the iPlayer tonight. Bill Nighy is always worth watching. Thanks for the heads up re: 'Playing Against Time' Bev, I've been waiting for this to be released for ages. Jon H mentioned in the JL programme that Barbara had entered a new phase of her illness and it was therefore uncertain as to whether she could still perform with Colosseum for much longer.

Oops, should have said For a 'rock' drummer he's played on some staggeringly major jazz albums because as he said in the programme, he played with the United Jazz and Rock Ensemble for 35 years! As an aside, Brit audiences alone would have left Jon and Barbara out in the cold as jazz is generally under appreciated in the UK as opposed to those in mainland Europe and the USA. Jon also said he got Allan Holdsworth his first experience of the USA whilst the guitarist was playing with Hiseman's Tempest.

Just catching up on some JLs which I found archived via iTunes (sadly for 'domestic' UK consumption only) and am currently listening to the excellent programme on Jon Hiseman. For a 'rock' drummer he's played on some staggeringly major Brit jazz albums. I'm pleased that these excellent programmes have been archived for (relative) posterity. The Beeb had been too good at deleting gems like these all too rapidly after transmission.

Really delighted with these Vocalion reissues because,as Sidewinder correctly implied, it shows Vocalion are still in the British jazz reissues market and if that's not enough they've reissued what is surely Skid's finest album and probably one of the best Brit jazz albums ever recorded. I've got most (but not all) of the Dankworth, Skid, Tubbs and Dick Morrissey ones but will be re-purchasing them again. This is extremely good news for British jazz fans.

I think this is the first time "Faces" has been reissued on CD. I also got my copy from Amazon.de and it took just three days to arrive. Great, mind-blowing music. Now how do I persuade my wife I can afford all those other new MPS reissues?

Supposedly 10.59 GB, more or less as these things go. Thanks ! You can be sure there would have been a couple of "f-bombs" in the answer... and a couple of mothers.. If anyone caught The Thick of It (BBC TV) when Jamie McDonald the foul-mouthed press/PR guy describing what he would do with an iPod Nano and where he would stick it, this probably approximates to what Miles would have said. However, I too have been loading my 70CD set onto my iPod (not my Nano). The temptation to walk around with the majority of Miles' works is too irresistible.

Yes Bob I've got Drum Spectacular on vinyl so I'm looking forward to the CD without the snap, crackle and bop, sorry, pop. Probably its nearest equivalent is Hayes' 100% Proof (recorded in the same year, 1966 and again with Ronnie Stephenson on drums on all but two tracks), and any big band album in stereo is usually worth a listen (this is). Fortunately, Mike Dutton takes the idea of stereo recordings very seriously and is one of Vocalion's USPs (when the recording was made in stereo that is). Even if Vocalion can only manage one decent jazz album every so often, the quality with which they produce them is worth the wait. I ordered my copy last night. All the Beckett's are worth getting as are so many of the Vocalion jazz back catalogue. Still not sure about the Acker Bilk with the Stan Tracey strings. Never heard this so I'm a bit nervous that it might be a bit too schmaltzy, but Bilk is a first class clarinetist, and this is not trad jazz, so maybe?

At long last another batch of Vocalions is reissued...that's the good news. The bad news is only one is of major significance jazz-wise, although to be fair there is also a twofer Acker Bilk with the Stan Tracey strings on one album that I'd never heard of (ie not Blue Acker). Anyway it's good to see that Vocalion have reissued Drum Spectacular by drummers Ronnie Stephenson and Kenny Clare who with the assistance of Tubby Hayes made a pretty fine big band album. Details below. Please everyone buy this in the hope that Vocalion might be encouraged to unearth some more treasures. It is very good indeed. Vocalion : Drum Spectacular Kenny Clare / Ronnie Stephenson Big Band - July 6th, 1966 (Drum spectacular - Columbia TWO146) Kenny Baker, Eddie Blair, Stan Roderick, Kenny Wheeler (tp), Keith Christie, Don Lusher, Johnny Marshall (tb), Jackie Armstrong (b-tb), Douggie Robinson, Roy Willox (as), Tony Coe, Tubby Hayes (ts), Don Honeywell (bs), Alan Branscombe (p), Freddy Logan (b), Kenny Clare, Ronnie Stephenson (d). The Hawk Talks/Topsy/Dual Carriageway/Afro Charlie. July 7th, 1966 (Drum spectacular - Columbia TWO146) Greg Bowen, Bert Ezzard, Ian Hamer, Kenny Wheeler (tp), Keith Christie, John Edwards, Nat Peck (tb), Douggie Robinson, Ray Warleigh (as), Tony Coe, Tubby Hayes (ts), Don Honeywell (bs), Alan Branscombe (p), Lennie Bush (b), Kenny Clare, Ronnie Stephenson (d). Drum Boogie, Just You, Just Me, Big Noise From Winnetka, South Rampart Street Parade. August 11th, 1966 (Drum spectacular - Columbia TWO146) Greg Bowen, Leon Calvert, Stan Roderick, Kenny Wheeler (tp), Laddie Busby, Nat Peck, Johnny Marshall (tb), Jackie Armstrong (b-tb), Douggie Robinson, Ray Warleigh (as), Art Ellefson, Ronnie Scott (ts), Harry Klein (bs), Stan Tracey (p), Lennie Bush (b), Kenny Clare, Ronnie Stephenson (d). Drum Spectacular/Caravan/Portrait Of Elvin/Talkin' About Drums. (Disco info from David Taylor's British modern jazz website) Link to David Taylor's British Modern Jazz website

Sad news. I will always remember her in "The Killing of Sister George" with Beryl Reid. Ironically coincidental given that the producers of 'The Archers' (*) have just killed off one of their star characters. RIP Susannah. (*)Longest running radio soap in the world, broadcast on BBC Radio 4

The vocals are very sparse on this one. There's only one real 'vocal' track with any lyrics. Anything else is vocalese improv but, predominantly, this is an instrumental album. So nothing like "Deep Down Heavy"!