A Lark Ascending

'Citadel/Room 315' is one of my favourites of Westbrook. That 70s RCA period is very much in need of getting to CD. There's the beautiful 'Love/Dream Variations', almost a return to jazz after the rock experiments. 'Goose Sauce' which is outstanding - it always sounds to me like Solid Gold Cadillac transplanted to brass/reed band. Some superb George Khan on that one. 'Mama Chicago', one I'd dearly love a clean CD of as my vinyl is very crackly. The live Paris double with Alan Wakeman in superb form. One I don't know at all is 'For the Record' which I believe is the first of the brass band records. I read somewhere that Dave Holland was working on getting Windmill Tilter reissued from a vinyl source.

I have this but must admit it hasn't had much play. I'm not sure it really adds to what went before in this vein. A pity as it has Jason Yarde, one of Britain's best kept (and hardly recorded) secrets, in the ranks. The strength of the Ogun catalogue is hard to gauge with so much being OOP. Essentially you've got to have an ear for music that balances between post-bop and free, tilting either way at a moments notice, often with a decided South African feel to the themes (even when written or played by Englishmen!). The two Moholo Dedication Orchestra Oguns are a very good way of getting to know some of this label; less anarchic than the Brotherhood of Breath but still with that freewheeling spirit.

The second swig came 35 minutes later. It must have been stone cold! Yuch!

It says 'every Tuesday' here: http://www.mingusmingusmingus.com/main/tourdates.htm They don't seem to head to Europe until July.

I don't know if you've been before, sidewinder, but if not I'd recommend the Mingus Big Band. They used to do a Thursday night residency at the Fez at the Time Cafe, but they seem to have moved to the Iridium just above Times Square. http://www.mingusmingusmingus.com/main/mbb.htm They were absolutely thrilling the night I saw them - I'd previously seen them at Brecon but that paled by comparison. I saw at Kenny Garrett at Iridium - found it all a bit chrome and characterless by comparison; but then it was virtually empty! The place I found most welcoming was Birdland. You probably know this, but get a copy of the Village Voice when you arrive. I opened one on my first night there...the following evening I was in a university hall by Brooklyn Bridge listening to Archie Shepp, Grachan Moncur III, Reggie Workman, Andrew Cyrille, Roswell Rudd and Leroi Jones!

I must admit within ten minutes I was counting the light bulbs - something I normally only do when invigilating exams (I normally then compare my answers with the students who were sitting the exams!!!). Actually, in the Guildhall it was the glass bits on the chandeliers. 317, by the way.

and note the whole street being tilted to the East. It's because the music shoppe is on the left hand side and Bev lives on the right hand side. And because of gravity of course. ← It's actually the pull of the European Union. You don't notice it there in Old Europe but out on the fringes... You should see Narvik!

Ba - dum....tish. I thought you had Sandy Denny tattooed on your arse Bev..... ← I'm a soft Southerner...much too nesh to have a tatoo!

I just got Marigolds and the John Cameron today (Wednesday), having ordered directly from Dutton on Friday. Excellent service - most of the big net providers seem to be taking some time getting them.

Why live in Austin when you can luxurate in downtown, Worksop. (note blood on pavements from last night's fights).

Any Shakti lover should make a beeline for this CD. Outstanding.

I saw Mengelberg do a solo piano concert a couple of weeks back...one of the most uninvolving concerts I've ever attended. People were leaving in droves...and you're talking an audience at a festival normally up for anything thrown at them. Michiel Braam played later that night with his 13-tet (!) - Bik Bent Braam - and brought the house down. Fantastic concert.

Another long lost Friedrich?

Edinburgh has a military one.

I picked it up in Bath Compact Discs - a classical music shop that does a few 'world' releases - in the new release section. As far as I could see it was the only non-classical disc there. Judging what was next to it I think it must be properly considered to be baroque!

Oh, for the group hugs. We Brits are much too distant to try that at home. One of those smiley things.

I loved Ibrahim's performance with one of the German radio orchestras at Cheltenham a few years back. But I found this one hard to concentrate on. I don't think it was the music - certainly the audience at the Pavillion went wild. I suspect I was suffering listening fatigue after two+ days of concerts; and though I understand why they rearranged the seating to get in everyone who wanted to hear the trio, it made it very uncomfortable. Crushed and very, very hot. I'm not sure I care for the daisy chain of tunes played without a break for an hour either. No chance to draw breath between tunes or have the chance to let off steam by clapping etc. Clearly a masterful performance - low key, quite serene. But for some reason it didn't really touch me. My fault I'm sure. [The rest of the weekend was a scream...some fantastic unknowns from across the Channel!]

I managed to track down the Lowther, Garrick's Lotus and the Skidmore in the Bath jazz shop on Saturday. Black Marigolds had sold out. Not had a chance to listen yet but will report back.

I think my point was merely that in the 80s when the term was first coined there was a limited following for music beyond western pop/rock; jazz; blues; classical etc. So an umbrella term made sense. Now perhaps your average record store still shifts limited amounts beyond those categories. But interest in 'World Music' has increased greatly - lots of festivals, documentaries, radio programmes etc over here. It just seems a very, very broad category. I'm just surprised it's still being marketed as such, even by its champions, as if the audience for kora playing, Finnish tangos and Carnatic music are necessarily going to be one and the same.

Perhaps a reflection of the patronising nature of the European/North American market! I do understand what you're saying. Having a 'flamenco' section with one CD in it would be equally annoying! And not all record stores blanket categorise it. You can find big record stores in places like London where there are much more specific categories.

Though I can see the reasoning behind 'World Music' as a label in the 80s it's a bit patronising now. We are talking about the music of most of the world, after all. I was trying to find a flamenco record a few weeks back and it was a nightmare in the shops. Most had 'World Music' arranged alphabetically under artist. Browsing for flamenco was impossible unless you looked under compilations where some sort of geographic organisation existed. It gets worse in some shops when you have 'Folk and World' sections.

I love the first three albums. I think I aclimatised to the sound of brass/reeds on those records. Good tunes, interesting arrangements, a distinctive sound. Dodgy political thinking! I wonder if they still dedicate their albums to 'the revolution'?

I'm not sure. But most of these people tend to be pleonasmed out of their skills.

This strikes me as one of those 'summers arn't as sunny as in the good old days' sort of stories. Fills up a few minutes on a news bulletin for light relief or if nothing much else is going on. The statistical method used...questioning a sample audience about what it remembers 50 years ago to have been like compared to today...seems highly suspect. Go into any British town on a Friday night and the streets will be thronged with people in high spirits...when they're not beating the hell out of each other. Certainly the people I know and work with are always on the edge of comic hysteria (but if you work in a school it's a bit like working in Fawlty Towers!). I don't recognise the gloom scenario at all. Never felt happier.

In the UK Monday is the official release date.