A Lark Ascending

Interesting idea for a thread. And quite difficult to answer - partly because I can think of far more than five turning points (or forking points); partly because its difficult not to choose what you think you ought to have as a key disc rather than what might have been a real clincher that you have since lost interest in. Here's a stab: 1970 - My third album (the single of 'Question' had been my first record ever). At the time I was listening to pop radio pretty randomly - this one sent me away from the top 20 and into the thickets of the prog-rock/album rock of the early 70s. [Just to show what a left turn it proved to be, my first two albums were by Kenny Rogers and the First Edition!!!! The Moody Blues might be considered naff today, but they saved me from Wembley!). 1971 - Took me nearly a year to really get this but I think it opened me up to more discordant music; and the wonderful Tippett/Charig/Evans sequence on side two had me very curious about jazz. The Soft Machine, Centipede, Henry Cow, the Canterbury bands and ultimately Ogun all came from this. 1971 - prior to buying this I had a single by East of Eden called 'Jig-a-Jig' that was a minor hit; it resonated somewhere with my awareness that I had an Irish heritage through my mother. Heard (and recorded in a primitive manner) a session Fairport did of some of these songs for John Peel's show a few months before release. Bought the LP when it came out and followed it up through other Fairports, Sandy Denny, Swarbrick and Carthy and on into English (and eventually via Planxty Irish) folk music. 1973 - Somehow I knew rock music would never be enough, and the rock music of the early 70s pointed outwards in so many directions. I was rather taken by the classical twiddlings of bands like The Nice, ELP, Yes etc but attempts to listen to classical music had no impact. One of the pieces that really grabbed me was a version of the main tune from the Karelia Suite by The Nice. One evening I was listening to Jon Anderson being interviewed on the radio and playing some favourite records and he played the last movement of Sibelius 5. I was utterly captivated by it. A friend leant me the disc above and for the first time an extended piece of classical music made sense. Followed it up by buying a few budget Sibelius discs and then on to Stravinsky, Mahler and Bruckner. Vaughan Williams was a couple of years down the line! 1975 - Began the process that, over about a year, got me accustomed to a jazzier way of harmonising music. Also the idea that music didn't have to stick to a strict beat. Not my first Jarrett (that was the decidedly odd 'In the Light') but gave me a taste for ECM and eventually jazz.

'Sounds of Jazz' - that's the name!

Looks interesting. I recall all manner of broadcasts on the BBC (especially Jazz on 2 on a Sunday night with Peter Clayton) where larger bands like this from John Taylor, Kenny Wheeler etc appeared, the music never making it to disc. This sounds like it's coming out of that sort of area.

Feel free to ramble, Jaz Nut. That's what the thread is all about!

Belgian abbey badly damaged by fire but beer saved: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-12091594

Counted by individual disc I'm at 9 500. If I play ten a day I'll get through them in three years! [sorry - that includes MP3. Most of my purchasing of the last few years has been MP3. My database counts recordings, not formats)

The exaggerated reverance for Elvis seems to be part of a general human need for ancestor worship. People often kick against that in their youth but most eventually end up revering some (or many) people from the past. And the past is so complex that it is much easier to enter it via grand personalities. You see the same thing here - people falling over themselves to declare their undying attachment to 'Bird', Ellington, Bach, Ayler, Miles, Hendrix or whoever. And the lavish boxed set industry plays off that human need for ancestor worship. As for your Doomsday scenario for the USA (or is it Western civilisation or even all civilisation) I think you are wandering around the board with an 'End is Nigh' placard. What you are possibly seeing is the end of America's period as the undisputed dominant force in the world, but that's just part of a natural cycle. There will undoubtedly be unpleasant consequences but we in the Old World went through that a century back and are still here beating the Aussies at cricket. Who knows - maybe China is preparing a 21st Century version of Marshall Aid to help you out. In the end those of us who have been stung by the thrill of music latch on to musicians past and present for reasons I suspect we only dimly comprehend. There's some mileage in academic debate, carefully researched, properly referenced, as to who is more significant than who. But most of these online debates - and this one is no exception - amount to little more than personal likes/dislikes asserted as universal truths (or lies!). Relax. Elvis can do you no harm.

Elvis is still huge on the UK pie and supper club circuit. No end of impersonators who sometimes make it to those wannabee TV shows where people mimic the stars. Plenty of the kids I teach know his music, largely I'd imagine from their parents or grandparents enthusiasms. I suspect it might be a working class thing - I don't recall Elvis idolatry being around in the nouveaux middle class circles of my youth. http://www.elvis2k.co.uk/

More old age, I think! Thanks for that. I remember a discussion of 'The Controversial Suite' but thought that was on another thread! I usually cut and paste the 10 random tracks from the main list - must have copied and pasted. If I'm losing track now God knows what I'll be like by 2038 when we should finish! Re: the unknown tracks, I'm just copying from a database mentioned at the start of the thread. Some of the things there are oddities in films and the like. Interesting thoughts on "Diminuendo" and "Crescendo". I'm saving my listening until my Mosaic arrives. Your comments on the Newport version open up a whole can of worms. Are we really hearing a thrilling performance or are we just responding as we thing we're expected to because of all we've read about the performance? 'Me and You' is a tune that has stuck in my head over the years; I like both the Ivy Anderson version and the Rosemary Clooney.

I think Elvis is not the problem; it's the way we music fans tend to exaggerate the importance of those we love. Which can set off equally exaggerated counter-reactions. I like a few of Elvis' 50s recordings but by-and-large he is off my radar; I don't begrudge anyone the enjoyment they get from him even if Robert Fripp is far more 'significant' in my musical universe!!! Now, the claims made about John Lennon's 'genius' - quite different. Don't get me started...

I have it on my shelf - loved his previous two. The only thing that is delaying me is the fact that I read a marvellous account of a slightly longer stretch of the 70s back in May - 'When the Lights Went Out' by Andy Beckett. Amazing how much I had completely forgotten. ********** Complete thaw - not a spot of snow to be seen.

British Gas' solution to my problem: So now I need to buy... Heath Robinson or what!

I feel the same, Manfred. I'm fine when she sings straight - not a great voice, but functional. But the 'funny voices' wore a bit thin 30 years ago!

At last a thaw! After 6 days of not functioning the central heating kicked in yesterday (fortunately I was not at home much).

Do you mean as a CD? It was originally on Transatlantic, a label I associate with folk music! Jazzscriveyn's site has a CD version mentioned as CD: TACD 9.00788 O - I'd assumed that was a Japanese issue. I'd like to see a good CD reissue - my vinyl is very crackly. Really shows through at the start of wonderfully slow Paul Rutherford build-up on 'Creole Love Call.' Edit: Seems 'Goose Sauce' and 'Mike Westbrook Live' are available on CD but only from Japan. I don't know 'Live' but 'Goose Sauce' is well worth paying import prices for. http://www.westbrookjazz.co.uk/mikewestbrook/mike_discog.shtml

Agree that the Blake is amazing, Manfred. My only reason for the warning is that I know many jazz listeners don't care for vocals and Westbrook's approach to vocals owes more to radical cabaret than standard jazz singing. You are right about 'Tyger' being the first of three Blake albums. Though it remains elusive, along with a number of those earlier discs. I've yet to hear 'For the Record'. Three others I love from that time that are MIA (as far as I know) are 'Goose Sauce' (the brass band, wild and Weill-ish, with plenty of great soloing [George Khan!)), 'Love/Dream Variations' (a beautifully written and stylishly orchestrated big band record - my first Westbrook!) and 'The Paris Album' (a marvellous live brass band double LP with Alan Wakeman in fabulous form). 'Mama Chicago' is another 'cabaret' type disc with fiery jazz playing and great songwriting. That one did get a CD release a while back. And I really like Mike's solo piano album from that time.

Well, here's fun for all the family on the Feast of Stephen, regardless of your religious affiliations (or non-affiliations): The History Stuff Surprise the family with a wren rather than a turkey.

Ellington-a-thon 13 El Viti - Diminuendo In Blue - 1937 Crescendo In Blue - 1937 Chant For F.D. Roosevelt - American Lullaby 1945 CONTROVERSIAL SUITE - 1951 Kentucky Avenue, A.C. - 1967 Brotherhood (The)- 1973 Jet Strip - 1959 Me And You - 1940 Poinciana - 1944 Apologies for falling behind on this - to Jeff especially who has put so much into the thread. Here's a Xmas special!

To everyone here. You've cost me a fortune but kept me endlessly surprised and delighted with music I'd never otherwise have stumbled on. All the best. Bev

Or grumbling about it!

Weather forecast here was predicting lots of snow in the Neths and Germany at the end of the week with a chance it might touch our south east. Local forecast has more snow here on Monday. Temperatures are -1 at present (predicted to be at or just around freezing for the foreseeable future, tough -7 on Saturday night!).

Snowed again yesterday, though the sort of stuff that didn't put the roads out. Still below zero so my central heating has not revived. Thank the lord for that electric fire.

I'm surprised one of the Scandinavian crime writers hasn't used this for a gloomy mystery - twas Christmas Eve and everyone in Ystad was watching Donald Duck; totally unobserved in the town square a man fell to the ground...

Think I'll wait for the 8 CD expanded edition (with gold Miles shades) that is bound to appear in two years time.

Oh Dear! http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/uk/uk_forecast_warnings.html?day=2 Just as well I did my dancing around naked in the garden whilst killing a goat Winter Solstice rituals a bit earlier. Apologies to the rest of the world for the current weather obsession - but this is what you get when you put up a 'How's the Weather?' thread on a site with Brits.