A Lark Ascending

Let's hope interest is wide enough to get all of Late's list out. Are they going to do the Rendall/Carrs? Seems unlikely given the recent BGO reissue of all five. I'd never even heard of 'Willpower'!

Can't offer any advice, Jim, but I hope this all works out well for your wife and yourself.

'Sketches' is not a favourite of mine either... ...except... ..."Solea" at the end as Guy has already mentioned. I'd throw in the previous track, "Saeta", as well. These two strike me as equal to anything he put on disc. I don't think its a coincidence that they are also the only two tracks on the album that arn't tiptoeing around arrangements of a classical pieces. Try playing them alone.

I bought Bitches Brew in Dec 1976. It took me until the mid-90s before the penny dropped! The difficulty I had was the way each track seemed to cling to one or two scales throughout. Listening to 'In a Silent Way' (which I'd not heard until the mid 90s) unlocked it for me. I don't think it's a record anyone can say 'listen for this' and all will make sense. Just play it every few months. One day it might just click. 'Spanish Key' was the track that I found most approachable. The key shift there gives the music a feeling of structure that seem to have been deliberately avoided on the rest of the record.

There are five issued so far (outside of the two compilations). MIKE WESTBROOK CONCERT BAND - Celebration (Universal 9866890; UK) NEIL ARDLEY/IAN CARR/DON RENDLE - Greek Variations & Other Agean Exercises (Universal 9866899; UK) AMANCIO D'SILVA - Integration: Introducing Amancio D'Silva (Universal 9866893; UK) MICHAEL GARRICK With NORMA WINSTONE et al - Troppo (Universal 9866892; UK) MIKE TAYLOR - Trio (Universal 9866894; UK) They are listed here at the Downtown Music Gallery site in New York at $19 each. http://www.downtownmusicgallery.com/Main/N...2004-08-06.html That's about £10. They sell for around £7.99 in the UK. By the time you'd added postage from a European vendor you'd be paying the same. [Amazon France seems to have them for €9.99...about $12. That might come in a little cheaper. http://www.amazon.fr/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000...2237067-3620208]

This one hasn't been around since first issued in the early 70s. I've never heard it. I heard about this Japanese issue. However, rumour has it that it is slated for the Repressed series in the future. Might be worth waiting for. There's plenty of other Westbrook available at much cheaper prices than this import.

I might need to listen to these albums again, but that really wasn't my impression. #3 and #4 sound like cutting-edge stuff, #5 sounds much more conservative. Guy Funny how we all hear things differently. I suppose the first side of Fourth has similar abstractions to Fifth. One of the reasons Robert Wyatt jumped ship after Fourth was because he disliked the increasingly jazzy direction of the group (despite being a jazz fan!). Elton Dean seemed to take over on that one. It still wasn't adventurous enough for him so he left. Listen to Dean's 'Just Us' to hear where he was off to next! I find Third and Fourth still very 'rock' in the drumming and with very clear melodies; whereas the melodic material on Fifth seems to more jagged. As I say, different ears. ************* Yes, Hatfield were a joy. I love both their albums which I bought at the time (saw them once c.1974). There's apparantly a disc of live material from the time about to be released. Information due here on 15th November: http://www.hatfieldandthenorth.co.uk/ You can go back a stage further to Egg whose first two albums are due for reissue any day now: http://www.eclecticdiscs.com/new_releases.htm Moving away from straight jazz but jazz related with strong links to the UK jazz-rock mentioned in the title of this thread. *************** Anyone with a love of this music should try to hear this new CD: To quote some blurb about this UK reed player: (from http://www.jazzcds.co.uk/store/commerce.cg...d=931636.29579)

Thanks for that, Late. I'll read it later on. There was a marvellous tribute to Keane on one of the BBC jazz programmes a few years back.

For Soft Machine as jazz group go for Third and Fourth to start with. Fifth is more abstract, more free-jazzy. Sixth is interesting though more into minimalist methods. After that they get less interesting. 1 + 2 are really psychadelic rock records with jazzy elements - great records (and the real thing to many Soft Machine fans). There's a lot of very good concert material come out in recent years. The first BBC disc on the Hux label is brilliant. The Cuneiform discs are excellent too. I'd not dismiss the two Impressed compilations too lightly - they do a great job of introducing you to a wide range of UK jazz of the 60s/70s. You can sell them after you've snapped up the albums they come from. There's not much Garrick from the 60s/70s around apart from Troppo - if the Repressed series goes to plan we should get alot more. Garrick has a number of discs from more recent times on his own label - they're not favourites of mine. Given your liking for Nucleus I'd support sidewinder's recommendation of Neil Ardley's ''Kaleidoscope of Rainbows' which shares some musicians. I'd also back 'Greek Variations' and suggest looking out for 'Symphony of Amaranths' which is due for reissue soon. Graham Collier's recordings from the 60s/70s also have a strong rockish element - these have been reissued by Disconforme (with Collier's approval!). If you enjoy the freer side of jazz don't miss Keith Tippett's Septober Energy - a wonderfully imaginative megawork which veers from free jazz to beautiful melodicism and into early 70s jazz rock a la Nucleus (Ian Carr is among the ensemble). 'Rogue Element' is a fine live disc but look out for 'Cruel But Fair' by Keith Tippett, Elton Dean, Hugh Hopper and Joe Gallivan. That's a stormer. I'd also suggest taking a step rockward into Henry Cow and National Health, two 70s bands who included heavy amounts of improvisation; Henry Cow were more avant garde - they produced compelling discs especially 'Unrest'. National Health were more melodic - the last gasp of a very British form of 'fusion' trying to survive (hopelessly) against the backdrop of punk. You can get the Henry Cow and National Health discs very cheaply from this site: http://www.noside.com/ (Use the search engine or check the deals at the bottom of the home page...don't be scared by the Scandanavian folk music that dominates the site (this is brill too!)) Westbrook will give you a lifetime of interest too. 'Celebration' from the late 60s has just been reissued in Repressed series; and BGO have reissued 'Metropolis' (they botched the transfer originally but this has bee redressed). To my ears he starts getting really interesting in the mid-70s. I would recommend 'The Cortege' from 1980 as his finest two and a bit hours! Everything you need to know lies here: http://www.westbrookjazz.de/ or here: http://www.westbrookjazz.co.uk/

I had this when it came out in the mid 70s. Didn't care for it and sold it. It'd be interesting to hear again now. My ears might hear differently.

You mean 'On the Corner' was not an attempt to recreate 'Kind of Blue'?

Just found this on a UK site that sells Tippett CDs and puts out information about him: This is the latest in a long line of Tippett’s big band projects that have included Centipede and Ark, and, like them, Tapestry is utterly original and unique. Containing a phenomenal ‘A’ list of twenty-one British jazz musicians and improvisers this band has performed to great acclaim at Festivals in Ruvo (Italy), Le Mans (France), Bath (England), Victoriaville (Canada) and Lisbon (Portugal). As yet unrecorded on CD this piece First Weaving is a dynamic full throttle affair, burning with electricity, swing and passion. Two fantastic performances in 2002 took place at FIMAV, Victoriaville, Canada, and Jazz em Agosto, Lisbon, Portugal. The latter Festival also showcased Keith Tippett solo and the Paul Dunmall Octet. Keith Tippett’s First Weaving, directed by the composer with Tenor saxophones Paul Dunmall, Simon Picard, Larry Stabbins Alto saxophones Elton Dean, Kevin Figes, Ben Waghorn Trumpets Henry Lowther, Jim Dvorak, Mark Charig, Gethin Liddington Trombones Paul Rutherford, Malcolm Griffiths, Dave Amis Tuba Oren Marshall Voices Julie Tippetts, Maggie Nicols, Vivien Ellis Piano Keith Tippett Double bass Paul Rogers Drums Louis Moholo, Tony Levin http://www.mindyourownmusic.co.uk/keith-ti...nt-projects.htm

I heard Tippett's Ark perform live in Victoriaville, Canada (May, 2002). Keith told me it was only the fourth live performance they'd ever done! Would that not have been his band 'Tapestry'? I don't think Ark has been active since the late 70s/early 80s. I read an interview a few months back where Tippett made a similar point about Tapestry. It draws its members from several nations (including the great Pino Minafra from Italy) and so is very hard to get together. Tippett said that there was so little interest in booking the band that he was thinking of letting it go. Such a pity. He's had just two large scale recordings in 35 years - 'Septober Energy' and 'Frames'. I'm hoping the Bath Festival in the UK books the band before they cease. I suspect one of their handful of appearances might have been there.

Sorry ztrauq22, The two which are impossible to see are: Keith Tippett's Ark - Frames: actually from the very end of the 70s so really outside the brief of this thread. However, Tippett has been unable to get any more recent large group compositions recorded so this is the most recent example of his abilities. A crying shame...he was made to write for larger jazz groups. His 'Ark' group had all the instruments paired up - two pianos, two basses etc. Orchesta National de France - Charmediterraneen - a wonderful extended piece with a vague theme associated with the various coasts of the Mediterranean. Gianluigi Trovesi (reeds) and Anouar Brahem (oud) are two of the featured soloists.

Not watching much TV is a personal choice. There's no moral or intellectual superiority involved in choosing not to watch; any more than there is in choosing one musical genre over another. Free time is limited and there are a zillion options in the modern world of how to make use of that time. I don't watch TV much for the same reason I don't watch football. There are other things that absorb me far more.

Very little. I got out of the habit of TV watching when I was a student 1973-7 and had no real access to a TV. Much rather listen to music or read. Having said that I do enjoy a well made series, documentary (especially if historically or musically related) or comedy show. But they are few and far between - which suits me fine! The only thing I've watched in the last seven days is a tribute to the late John Peel on the BBC last night. Very moving.

I don't know... if CDs were around, maybe Anderson would've made the damn thing 2 CDs worth of material!!!! Reading the full review that snippet came from I thought that the critical style was way more pretentious than any music Yes have ever come up with.

A couple of orders: Two Australian discs recommended by Kenny Weir over at the Other Place: ALLAN BROWNE QUINTET - CYCLOSPORIN JAMIE OEHLERS - THE ASSEMBLERS And the new disc by one of the most distinctive jazz singers operating in the UK today (she's actually from Dublin, but works here): Christine Tobin - Romance and Revolution

Its a great pity more of those early covers never got recorded. I love their versions of Paul Simon's 'America' and Crosby's 'I See You'.

I'm not sure I'd describe Yes as 'funky' but I think I know what you mean. I've been listening to and enjoying early Genesis lately. One think that you do notice is how little improvisation there is in Genesis; Tony Banks keyboard parts are almost baroque. With Yes there's a much greater freedom in the instrumentals. I think Bill Bruford's comments about the Anglican church tradition apply very much to Genesis; with Yes I'm not so sure. Steve Howe could pull off some very jazzy guitar - the last two tracks on "The Yes Album" are worth listening to just for the guitar. On the Genesis front I've become much more aware of the contribution of Steve Hackett. He played a huge part in the colour of that music in the early to mid-70s. I think one of things that disappoints me about the later Genesis is not so much the loss of Gabriel as the loss of the textural breadth you had with the acoustic/electric contrast. The electronic keyboards just seem so much narrower. I'm very much with Aric on Topographic. Can never understand the pasting it got. The melodies are gorgeous.

Yes, Sheenans was the other place. Clearly an old website.

It was the Wellington indeed. Yes, I can appreciate his schedule. Just a pity my timing was out. Does he play there regularly? I noticed an advert somewhere that he did a regular Monday night gig just off Grafton Street. I arrived Tuesday!

I very nearly got to see Louis last weekend on a visit to Dublin. I noticed on a listings site he was playing in a pub on the outskirts of the centre so a toddled down there in pouring rain! Arrived to find a pub with no sign of music, no advertising - this is quite normal in Ireland! Asking at the bar I ws told that Louis was playing upstairs...later. So a couple of pints of Guinness later I toddled upstairs...to find a pleasant flute/organ/drums trio!!! About two numbers in they apologised Louis couldn't make it...but he be there next week! No good to me! Enjoyed the trio though. ********* There's an item in this month's Jazz Review announcing that Louis will be touring in a group with Gilad Atzmon next year. A very odd combination - Atzmon is a superb Israeli sax player based in the UK. He's well known for his outspoken anti-Zionist political views; his last two records have been strongly polemical with use of Arab musicians and music. I associate Louis Stewart with the standards repetoire! But then Atzmon has done some excellent sideways takes on standards so it could make for very interesting listening.

I didn't know the Brotherhood themselves when they were active in the early 70s; but I cut my jazz teeth on many of the musicians associated with them, first by hearing them on a Robert Wyatt recording and then by investigating many of the releases on the Ogun label. I've caught up with the BofB in the last few years. You can get the 1971 'Chris McGregor's Brotherhood of Breath' on CD - its a rather more restrained affair than the live stuff. As well as the Bremen and Travelling discs mentioned above there's another marvellous live session from 1973 on Ogun called 'Live at Willisau'...one of the few Oguns still in their much reduced catalogue. I'd also recommend these two: Both are by a large orchestra Louis Moholo occasionally puts together to celebrate the music of the Blue Notes and Brotherhood musicians. Joyous stuff. Info on Chris McGregor here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/cgi-perl/music/muze/i...artist_id=19730 Bremen to Bridgewater here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/jazz/reviews/mc...or_bremen.shtml The Cuneiform releases here: http://cuneiformrecords.com/bandshtml/brotherhood.html And a rather good survey of the Ogun catalogue here: http://nostudium.blogspot.com/2004_04_01_n...um_archive.html