A Lark Ascending

I'd go for Nursery Cryme and Foxtrot - pre-synthesisers with lots of twelve string in evidence. Both have a Lewis Carroll/Edward Lear type feel in the story-songs (I think their public school English and Classics lessons were being mined). Very strong melodies and the wide palette of sounds that I always enjoy. 'Selling England' disappointed me at the time - the noodling synth and one long track that doesn't really go very far ('The Battle of Epping Forest'). But I've come round to it over the years. 'The Lamb' is wonderful but not typical - still has the great, melodious songwriting but it's much edgier; the recorded sound itself is harsher. More New York than Charterhouse gardens!

A very nice Night Lights programme from early 2007 based around Bobby Hutcherson's mid-70s recordings.

Had the same thing happen last night. I was listening to Late Junction and a very cool world music track came on -- something off of Issa Bagayogo's new CD Mali Koura. Well, I am a real sucker for music out of Mali (and kora music more generally), and I thought to see if eMusic had it. They did, and I even had some credits left so I didn't have wait at all. I'm listening to the rest of the album now, and if I really like it, I will probably get the other CDs by this artist (eMusic has 5 total), though that would mean a booster pack or waiting nearly a month! Yes, I fall for the booster track option. 'Ah well, £15 for 4-5 albums...I used to pay that for one' is my justification to my id!!!! I'm not due to reload until the end of the month - but I've just seen the arrival of Apti by Rudresh Mahanthappa's Indo-Pak Coalition. I was trying to locate an online source for that at the weekend...not sure my self-discipline will hold!

What you are missing is a generation that is growing up for whom downloading is second nature. Those of us who grew up with earlier formats might take some persuading to change; but I'd imagine a young student in college just getting a taste for, say, Blue Note will default to downloads. What I like about downloading is the instant gratification! I can hear a track on Jazz Record Requests and be listening to it in context 20 minutes later. Probably an indication of the bread and circuses decadence of contemporary life but it works for me. It's taken me a couple of years to make the change but I'm happy with it now.

I'd...controversially!...throw in 'Tales from Topographic Oceans'. I really like the first two albums too - hard to recall that at the time Yes were an 'underground' band with an unsual sensibility for pop tunefulness. What attracted me to them was their way with a nice melody and gorgeous key changes; listening to some Motown at the weekend I suspect it may have stemmed from there (and their unfashionable love of American musicals!). 'Magnification' from a few years back is good on memorable melodies too. Don't much care for what happened in between.

I've dreamt twice in recent months that the sun is shining and all the plants in the garden have flowered. Makes waking up to dreary January a real disappointment. Could be Freudian, of course.

The most recent of the Aurelio Zen series. Like his earlier 'Cosi Fan Tutti' this is more like a comic opera than a chilling thriller. Completely implausible and enormous fun - I'd not be at all surprised to find the plot is taken from an opera somewhere. Then a detective from Norway - got through 300 pages of this at the weekend, it gripped me so: Anyone know any detective series from Finland or Denmark?

Only know the Spartacus ballet music - some great tunes. One is very well known in the UK - it was used as the theme music for a TV costume drama series in the 70s about the clipper ships. Always sounds like the wind filling the sails of a ship setting out on the ocean - though I believe it is love music in the ballet!

That will be good to know. Many thanks, Jaffa.

I just experimented by downloading a couple from amazon.co.uk. A Don Byas and this: Which looked like this: Seems too close a match to be a straight rip-off. So why are these things appearing without any publicity? The Jazz Chronological Classics label has a great reputation, is referenced frequently in Penguin. Seems really odd to have it filtering out in disguise. As far as my tolerant ears are concerned it sounds fine, transfer-wise.

But seriously, whose fault is that? Chrono could've done this themselves years ago. I believe they are a very small operation who, perhaps, are not in a position to do this. I always found it strange they never had an online catalogue - they put out a very detailed paper catalogue some years back that I still refer to. Always very hard to know what the state of play is with them. I'm wondering if they have just got The Orchard to do the job for them. Or if they've been gazumped.

Just noticed this 'Complete Jazz Series' is also available for download at amazon.co.uk at £6.99 a time. Can't find any information about the label apart from the fact that they are handled by The Orchard.

Anyone know the answer to this? New ones appear virtually every day. Is this Chronological Classics putting out their discs in a new way or a blatant case of copy and paste? Doesn't matter, does it? The music's out of copyright (in Europe). This might persuade me. MG Without treading once more into this minefield... It just seems a pity if the people who put the series together didn't have first shot at its download version. The trouble is, they have little else to offer - the Jazz Chronological Classics packaging was always minimalist. Early jazz is not always cost effective on e-music. Because they charge per track and early jazz tracks are short you eat up a lot of credits that way. I have an extravagant £40 200 credit monthly package - that would get me 8 of these discs (whereas I think at my last refresh I ended up with about 20!). About £5 each. Obviously with the lower packages the prices rise so you'd end up paying around £7-8. If it's the only legal way to get the music then it doesn't break the bank. I know I used up 100 credits last year to get the JSP Eddie Condon set which had disappeared as a CD box. It would have been cheaper to buy as a CD set had it existed. I tend to check places like iTunes for discs with over 20 tracks - they can often be cheaper.

Great programme this evening - really enjoyed the Armstrong and Mobley tracks. Nice to hear Phil Robson on the radio too. Pleased to have the Armstrong and Mobley in my collection. Armstrong's stop-time chorus on "Potato Head Blues" must rank as one of jazz's supreme moments. "Potato Head Blues" - amazing, isn't it? I think it was the track that cut through the mists of the distant past for me and got me hearing those late 20s tracks as just wonderful music.

Anyone know the answer to this? New ones appear virtually every day. Is this Chronological Classics putting out their discs in a new way or a blatant case of copy and paste?

Great programme this evening - really enjoyed the Armstrong and Mobley tracks. Nice to hear Phil Robson on the radio too.

Listening to music is what I do to relax. I can't think of any other purpose I use it for. Of course, relaxing can take many forms.

I bought an 80gb ipod in July - it's still only 1/3rd full and has a vast amount of music on it. I'd probably say go as high as you can afford - I like the luxury of putting things you 'might' want to listen to rather than just the things you know you like. Just like at home, sometimes you want to be surprised.

I enjoyed the Coltrane book, particularly the emphasis on how his music has been received by different audiences. A pity there wasn't a note on the dust jacket instructing me to despise it.

Really strange - bitter over the last few days and when I went to bed the cold was creeping under the duvet requiring a really thorough tucking in. Woke at 1.00 a.m. and got up and it was noticably warmer. When I went to work at 6.45 temperature was +2; -3 24 hours earlier. The weather forcast did promise cloud cover for the north. There was an item on the evening news yesterday from Antarctica - temperatures there were +4!

Try to make for nearby Birmingham. I'm sure resources will be better there. Any Brummie jazzers on the board who can give details? Last time I was there (March) Birmingham was not much better. There used to be a good jazz shop outside the immediate centre, just over one of the interior spaghetti roads - by St Chads church? In arch it was HMV, Zavvi and a Borders all of which were pretty depleted. They had a Tower once but that is long gone. There is a very nice independent in Cheltenham called 'Sounds Good' though that is a good distance. There may be second hand places I don't know of.

Go to the cathedral instead! Where Britten's 'War Requiem' was premiered. I think I only visited once about 20 years ago - it had one of those soulless, post-war, concrete shopping centres with nothing to speak of record or CD-wise. I've never heard of a record shop with any reputation there. I'd imagine it will have, at best, a functional HMV with precious little jazz.

I agree--the best version I've heard features the Kind of Blue edition of the Miles Davis group, it's on the CD '58 Sessions. One of my favorite moments in recorded jazz happens right at the beginning of the second chorus when Trane comes in and Jimmy & PC start to walk at that medium tempo. Sublime. Sends shivers up my spine every time. A priceless moment, especially the 'cry' when Coltrane peaks.

Yeah, but you'll be able to download it at mind-boggling speed to your million gig hard drive that will be implanted under your skin at birth. I imagine by then some other form of music storage/distribution will have come along. People will be pining for the natural sound and greater warmth of the mp3.

I'm sure a significant minority of listeners in 2059 will be listening to the music of 2009. There will still be people around who remember it as the music of their youth; and others whose curiosity about music inevitably leads them to explore the past. What is certain is that some of them will be complaining that the music of 2059 is not nearly as good as the music of 2009. In fact, as I won't be around in 2059, can I be the first to say it?