A Lark Ascending

I'll throw in a big recommendation for serenity. He has a new disc due in a few weeks. From Jazzmatazz: Bobo Stenson/Anders Jormin/Paul Motian - Goodbye (ECM) Sept 13

Oh, I have no problem with Branford not enjoying Henrikson. It's a world away from the part of the jazz world he works in. None of us can like everything. It was his attempt to built his personal lack of interest into some wider thesis about what jazz is that I can't agree with him on. But giving where he's coming from that view was not surprising. Despite his 'issues' I thought he made a very good presenter.

Quite! Although I have to say I did enjoy much of the rest of the programme. ← Yes, I enjoyed it too. There were many faces in that programme I never expected to see on UK TV! The sequence of Branford looking non-plussed at Arve Henriksen was priceless!

Yes, I saw the Marsalis programme. I very much thought Marsalis was twisting things to his own agenda - warning Kinch that it was OK to play around with rap but one day he'd have to make his choice if he wanted to be a real jazz musician. I found him terribly patronising. I'm no rap fan but I trust Kinch smiled politely and ignored him. Didn't see that awards programme.

There are discs on Ogun of both Lucine and the Viva la Black band. I have the latter - to be honest Yarde does not really make his presence felt there. On Kofi, the one disappointment I had with the Monk disc was that it was postly done on soprano. Nothing wrong with that but I'd hoped for lots of baritone. Side bit of information: Soweto Kinch's second album is due in the next few weeks. It will be interesting to see where he's gone from the much praised debut.

Moholo has just moved back to South Africa. He did an interview at the JB shindig. I got the impression he was testing the water a bit and planning to still come back and play here every now and then. His recent duo CD with Stan Tracey is really interesting.

I'm not a Pine fan myself - too much electronica, too much funk for my taste. I attended the Jazz Britannia concert earlier this year that he hosted and it was all very glitzy, lots of star turns. Not to my taste but very appealing to others. And there were people like Kofi up there completely comfortable in this more showbizzy context, able to go elsewhere and play something more intense. Part of the broad spectrum of jazz though not an area I need to spend much time in. I'd highly recommend the last Jazz Jamaica CD, 'Massive'. There's an extraordinary version of 'Footprints' with a wonderful Jason Yarde arrangement. It's a fun disc but with lots of full on playing. I suspect the up-and-coming Motown disc might have less of a jazz content. I agree entirely about Yarde. I saw him a few years back in Louis Moholo's band alongside the likes of Tippett, Evan Parker, Rutherford and Paul Rogers and he was stunning. I've been anticipating a recording ever since but his activities seem to have been directed elsewhere. Around the same time he also played in a great octet Phil Robson put together (some interesting mixes of scenes here - Yarde might be associated with the Pine/Crosby scene yet here is in the 70s improv scene and the Babel scene). He played in a fairly ramshackle Moholo band in the foyer at Jazz Britannia; but the real eye-opener was a large group he put together at Cheltenham this year to perform a really original extended composition. Definitely a man to watch. He's on tour with a band put together by Mark Lockheart this Autumn - Mark Lockheart, Steve Buckley, Jason Yarde, Julian Siegel reeds, John Parricelli guitar, Dudley Phillips bass, Martin France drms. That seems to place him in the Loose Tubes scene too!

Ray Warleigh was in the Kenny Wheeler 75th Birthday band that toured here in January - played a great solo at one point. I too wonder why we've heard so little of him. Interesting to see Gary Crosby playing with a man with a huge reputation as a teacher. Crosby has himself become one of the big influences on up-and-coming UK players. Many of the new generation -Soweto Kinch for example - have come up through his Tomorrow's Warriors band. As for Crosby's work with 'that crowd' I think it's very much a thoughtful choice. Reading interviews with him he quite deliberately wants to play music that connects with the community and has little time for the academic side of jazz. I've really enjoyed the 'Jazz Jamaica' records and performances I've heard over the years...though the recent Motown inspired concert I saw was rather low on soloing despite the excellence of the band. 'Entertainment' figure large in his concept of what jazz is about. I've seen Byron Wallen a couple of times this year - once performing a large scale piece, the other in a superb quartet with another great UK player (soprano/baritone), Tony Kofi. Not someone I've noticed over the years; but I'll be listening more carefully now.

If you get the chance, see the man live. Wonderful playing but also very good humoured, able to win over a English-speaking audience even though his English is not perfect. I don't enjoy his ECM recordings as much as the earlier pieces. From G to G is a tremendous record (I owe Steve for alerting me to it a few years back and opening up the whole wonderful world of Italian jazz to me). One you might have missed: Some pronounced electric guitar in there alongside the usual jazz/Italian folk influences. Pino Minafra, the trumpet player on 'From G to G', is a mighty performer in his own right though rather under-recorded. His 'Sudori' is a classic and his 2005 release: should be snapped up.

I've heard the UK label BGO is about to reissue it. They've recently put out the Carr/Rendell records and a long lost Mike Gibbs date.

...and, finally, here's the sextet in absolutely roaring form on 30th July... A festival well worth going out of your way for if you're in the UK in late july one year. Do you really need to see Buckingham Palace? The countryside around Appelby is spectacular! Apologies for photo quality - all taken on a bog standard digital which does not cope well with low light.

...and here's one of the permutations... Guess the other players!

...and the man himself blazing away on 31st July, 2005...

Some pictures from this year's Appleby Festival. This is a largely mainstream festival built round UK musicians from the 60s/70s generation - Tracey, Wellins, King, Beck etc - but also has a major free element centred on Parker. On Sunday he organises a 5 hour stint of free improv in a nearby former church; there's also a set in the main marquee, this year by his sextet. So... Here's the church...

I was at a concert in a conservatory full of trees and bushes when a bird started to respond to the music. Sax player Andy Sheppard mimiced the bird, the bird called back and we got a bit of human-ornathological call and response. A lovely few moments.

I play Messiaen to the birds on my bird table.

Do you have a separate cell phone for non-carnal calls?

Thanks, Chris.

How did you get that window up, Chris? Is it some software you have or can it be accessed from this site?

I saw Chitinous (and all the others) in Jumbo Records in Leeds a couple of weeks back! The Lowther is my favourite. I actually think he's got a compositional voice as distinctive as Kenny Wheeler - I can hear similarities between the tunes on Child Song and his mid 90s disc, I.D. A pity he hasn't had more time to record as a solo artist. I really like Lotus.

Nice duet album with Stan Tracey from a couple of years back.

The Appleby Festival next weekend! He's doing a set with Paul Dunmall, Paul Rogers, Tony Levin, John Edwards and Tony Marsh as part of the main festival (Saturday, 30th). And the regular 'Freezone' 5 hour slot in the local church (Sunday 31st) with the same plus Kenny Wheeler, Gerd Dudek and Phil Wachsmann. I'll hear the first; sadly the second overlaps with a couple of Norma Winstone sets. There's nothing quite like Parker live - he did a stunning performance during the Jazz Britannica weekend back in February. I'm not a big free fan but occasionally dip my toe in. I very much enjoy the two ECMs with Barre Phillips and Paul Bley.

We're very polite about snakes here. From the grounds of the home of the Sitwell family (early 20thC bright young things!):

Drum machine. I can cope with the rest.

Just trying to make all you dwellers in the Badlands jealous!