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Leeway

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Everything posted by Leeway

  1. I saw him perform once in DC- a memorable occasion. There is a bare knuckle interview with him in an old issue of Cadence. RIP.
  2. Steve, that second set does sound like an incredible experience. Don't know Perowsky at all but will be alert for him.
  3. Just prior to the section you quote: She was preparing to go up to her chamber, with her hand on the banisters and with her foot on the stairs, when she saw the servant who had answered the bishop's bell. "John," she said, "when Mr. Thumble comes to the palace, let me see him before he goes to my lord." "Yes, ma'am," said John, who well understood the nature of these quarrels between his master and his mistress. But the commands of the mistress were still paramount among the servants, and John proceeded on his mission with the view of accomplishing Mrs. Proudie's behests. Then Mrs. Proudie went upstairs to her chamber, and locked her door. My point is that Trollope chooses not to violate that locked space, instead focusing on the immediate reaction of minor figures to the death. Maybe such discretion was necessary, but Mrs. Proudie is such a palpable figure, it was a little disappointing, to me at least, that her last moments are not her own.
  4. Matthew, I'm glad I've induced you to read the Barset novels. I hope you find them enjoyable. They have their longeurs and sentimental patches, but looking back on them, they seem worthy to me. Larry, I hear what you are saying, and you make good points, though I can't quite agree. For such a forceful character as Mrs. Proudie to go so quietly and in an out of the way manner strikes me as Trollope rather pulling his punches. I suspect an aversion to shocking his readers were she to go in the full fury of her righteousness. Trollope chooses a private death instead, which if anything is less interesting. The whole subject of death and dying in Trollope could be an interesting one I think.
  5. The last of the six books that form Trollope's Chronicles of Barsetshire. Trollope gathers up all the loose ends , and some new ones as well, and pulls them all together in this uneven but amusing narrative. Maybe the best of the series after The Warden. Mrs. Proudie's death seemed a little anticlimactic, happening as it does offstage, which seems to be Trolllope's preference in such things. It was good to read the entire series.
  6. THE BACHELORS - 1960 - Muriel Spark Came across this relatively very early Spark novel. Not among her best, but plenty to amuse and ponder. Her ostensible targets are bachelors and spiritualism, but her real concerns may be marriage, sin and the devil.
  7. THE BAY OF NOON - 1970- Shirley Hazzard My first exposure to Hazzard's work (I've been meaning to read "Transit of Venus" forever, but it's this early novel I ended up reading first), it left me with an interest in reading more of her. Set in post-WWII Italy, the portrait of the city of Naples is quite wonderfully evocative.
  8. THE SMALL HOUSE AT ALLINGTON -1864- Anthony Trollope I finally wrestled this baggy monster into submission. Trollope can be frustrating. In a few pages he can shift from brilliant social scenes to trite and mawkish page-filler. That might be the problem when one write a certain number of words each day; some are bound to be bad. Apparently others esteem the book more highly; John Major cited it as his favorite novel. Anyway, it's the 5th volume in the Barsetshire Chronicles. I have one more to go to complete the series.
  9. Ken Vandermark Made to Break, April 5, 2016, Songbyrd, Washington DC KV has been putting a lot of time and effort into this group. The current tour will conclude with a new album by the group. As usual, Vandermark and associates delivered some potent playing.
  10. Enjoyed Hardy's The Return of the Native, but oddly could only read it in rather small segments, like a too rich dessert. Also read: Vol. 4 in the Chronicles of Barsetshire. Pretty enjoyable. Many of the Barset characters make an appearance in this one.
  11. Saw Content Provider at Atlas Theatre, DC, on Sunday, March 27th. Andrew Drury's group with Ingrid Laubrock and Briggan Krauss on tenor and alto saxes, respectively, and Brandon Seabrook on electric guitar, and Drury on drums, percussion. The brass section definitely packed a punch. Sea brook supplied an adequate amount of skronk. Drury's compositions were good, leaving a lot of flexibility for the band.
  12. PERSUASION - Jane Austen. Finishing my Jane Austen project, just have Northanger Abbey left. Not as richly developed as Pride and Prejudice, but still enjoyable and with its own interesting tone.
  13. The Ches Smith Trio: Smith (d, vibes), Mat Maneri (viola), Craig Taborn (piano). Bohemian Taverns, Washington, DC, Feb 28, 2016 Been waiting for an opportunity to see this group in the right venue and last night was it. Incredible performance from the trio. The first of two sets opened with a continuous one hour performance (don't know if it was severe pieces strung together in a continuos flow, or one long piece), but the performance built to a powerful, dense, level by the time it was done. The second set was three or four pieces, none of them named except for "See You on the Dark Side of the Earth," from the new CD, which got a gorgeous performance. Each member of the trio was playing to the hilt, but I have to say that Ches Smith's drumming was electric and really propelled the group. His vibe playing has become quite proficient as well, and he integrates it beautifully into his drumming. A strong and memorable performance.
  14. A STRANGE BUSINESS: A Revolution in Art, Culture, and Commerce in 19th Century London. By James Hamilton. A very interesting book with keen insights into the making of art and money in 19th century England (it often roves beyond London). I learned a lot about the nitty-gritty of the art business. One criticism I would make is that occasionally the welter of names, places and art works can become a little overwhelming, but overall quite informative and thought-provoking.
  15. I've read several other books by DeLillo (Mao II, Libra, Great Jones Street--all of which I dug) but not Underworld--yet. Do have a copy at hand, so expect I will take it on this year.
  16. DeLillo's still-amazing riff on modern society and culture.
  17. I found this Trollope novel, the third in the Barsetshire Chronicles, to be rather a let down. Trollope tries to cover three topics in the novel: family blood; money and marriage; and alcoholism. In the end, he really doesn't come to grips satisfactorily with any of them. I found the novel padded and repetitious; the seams show in many places. Trollope's mechanical way of writing is in evidence here. It was a bit of a chore to get to the end.
  18. Most translations have their strong and weak points, including P&V. I've read War & Peace twice now, the last time in the Rosemary Edmonds translation, and found it perfectly satisfactory. Probably not best to obsess over any particular translation. Recently I had a chance to compare Bulgakov's Master & Margarita in 3 translations: P&V, Ginsburg, and Burgin. P&V occasionally came off stiff; Ginsburg reads very well but her text was imperfect; Burgin reads well also but leaves nuggets of text untranslated. P&V does have some useful notes. Hard to say which was the best. I would not automatically default to P&V if other translations are more available.
  19. PM on The Whammies - Play the Music of Steve Lacy vol 2 (Driff) $8 (that should be the bluish cover). 

  20. ONE FAT ENGLISHMAN - Kingsley Amis A little digression from the Victorians lately, but I have to say not a very edifying one. I found the humor sour and, well, not very funny. For a short novel, it rather dragged. Guess I'm not an Amis fan (father or son). BTW, the cover reminds me of that infamous Herbie Mann LP cover.
  21. Finished off this second novel in the Barchester series. Enjoyable especially for its portrait of the slimy Reverend Obadiah Slope and the formidable Mrs. Proudie. One annoying thing about Trollope is how he insists on pulling back the curtain and showing how the novel is constructed. He loves puncturing the fictive illusion. He gets away with it mostly, because his storytelling abilities are so strong.
  22. Just finished Trollope's The Warden, the first book in the Barsetshire series. I think I might read the complete series. I've already enjoyed the Pallisers quite a bit.
  23. The heroine, Fanny, is a paragon of virtue, shy, retiring, blushing, and hence, for me, rather boring; the supporting characters, having varying degrees of wickedness, held my interest much more. Perhaps the most complex of Jane's novels, there are moments of tedium as the plot spins itself out at length.
  24. Nice write-up Steve. Sounds like a good way to wrap up the year. Someday I'd love to hear t he musicians provide their own post-mortem of how they played, how the set went down, etc. I wonder if it would be different, and if so, how much, from that of the audience.
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