A Lark Ascending

Or this... [That's June Tabor - Abyssinians, 1983]

Or this...

And how did they miss this...

Just don't make it only available from a US wine shop on purchasing two bottles of the stuff!

How can any list of the 1980s omit: A Spaghetti Western with Uilleann Pipes! Jigs and reels arranged to perfection. Andy Irvine at his heartbreaking best! And Christy Moore in excelsis on the astounding 'Little Musgrave' - the same long ballad better known as 'Matty Groves' but done with a gentleness and deftness of touch (and a different melody) that makes it a very different animal to the Fairport barnstormer. Oh, and then there's the last minute of the record that contains the greatest piece of flute playing ever put to record. Thank you Matt Molloy!

I've never been much of a film goer or TV watcher so I've missed most of the vital films of the last 49 years (I have seen Lawrence of Arabia!). Too much music to listen to! I'll look out for it on the TV! I know it by reputation but that's it! (I'm not sure I have a political outlook, Dan. Just a bundle of contradictory prejudices!)

Ah! I've never seen it! Thanks!

Take a look here for lots of enthusiastic approval: http://www.organissimo.org/forum/index.php...andy%20bey&st=0 Someone I'd travel a way to see (though not as far as Switzerland!).

"We'll Meet Again" as recorded by Vera Lynn is an iconic record in the UK alongside "The White Cliffs of Dover", summing up the WWII years. But by the 60s it was something your parents listened to with misty eyed memories. So why on earth did The Byrds and The Turtles record it in the mid-60s? I'm bewildered!

I'd not worry. I seem to recall reading that Munch painted a number of Screams! Probably did the T-shirts too!

Hmm! The word 'Celtic' in the world of folk music brings on the same apoplexy from folk enthusiasts that 'Smooth Jazz' does in jazz circles. A catch-all marketing term these days. I never explored Horslips - they were always much rockier, though I'm intrigued by the idea of 'The Tain'. Planxty had their roots in the Irish tradition but had a Woody Guthrie/Dylan obsession too that made them sound relevant to the youth of the 70s (like me!). They helped provide a gateway back into Irish music for a generation and were soon followed by a wave of great contemporary bands like The Bothy Band, De Danann and others, drawn from the vibrant live tradition in Ireland. I suppose they'd equate to a group like The Dillards.

POSTSCRIPT: Re: my suggestion for a Winwood/Santana get together. The September Jazzwise carries a review of a Carlos concert at Montreux where he played with McLaughlin, Wayne Shorter, Ravi Coltrane, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea and...wait for it...a vocal appearance by one Steve Winwood! Very enthusiastic review - one set of Marley, Lennon, Gaye, Mayfield etc covers (the reviewer calls the material 'inspirational' for the players!); a second set of tunes in the 'Love, Devotion and Surrender' vein. Shorter was on fine form according to the reviewer. Well, that's one step nearer. Maybe we'll get a CD!

You're not Carlos Santana in disguise are you?

Is there a vaccine? (my bank manager told me to ask that!)

Excuse the current blarney but I'm still overwhelmed by my trip across the water... Anyway, last Saturday I was in Athlone, bang in the centre of Ireland where my Mum comes from. Sent her off with an old school friend to chew the fat and wandered around. Eventually found a bookshop. Inside I found a nice book - 'Athlone in Old Photographs' - with lots of photos from the first half of the last century when my Mum was growing up. So I bought it for her. Whilst waiting in the car I was flicking through it and was taken by a picture of 'THE ATHLONE JAZZ MANIACS' from sometime in the 30s. And there in the picture was my grandfather, Stephen Croghan, holding a euphonium. I'd known he'd been a amateur musician but thought it was brass bands. My Mum later told me his first instrument was saxophone! So there you are! I'm now convinced I've inherited what I always thought was a piece of fine selection by my own ears!

There always has to be one...

A Nottingham lad, no less! I know someone who went to school with him! He's playing in Nottingham in the Autumn. I must attend that one.

Come on! Everyone in America claims to be Irish! Surely you're all watering at the mouth for this!

Ireland!

JCB is a company based in Derbyshire, UK that makes those diggers on wheels that go very slowly. I believe there is something in the manuals saying that they must be driven home during the evening rush hour and not left on site; and that they must be driven back during the morning rush hour. Tractors I understand. JCBs! Grrrrrr!!!!! Everything you need to know here. http://www.jcb.com/ There's a pub in Derbyshire which used to have one on the roof. I could never work out if this was: a) A marketing gimmick b) Very bad parking c) The outcome from from serious road rage from motorists caught behind it!

XTC fans being the lone exception, of course! Not at all! Being a fan of XTC, Sam Rivers, Willie Clancy, Palestrina, John Cage or anybody else is great. Condemning the taste of others for Diana Krall, Jamie Cullum, Madonna or Westlife because of that taste is somethinng else! I know, and I agree! I was just riffin' on ya! I know!!! One of those smiley things! Can I add: a) JCBs b) Shrink wrap (I will die from a heart attack brought on by shrink-wrap rage trying to get into a CD after cutting my nails!). c) Those sticky strips on the top of American CDs that mean once you've got past the shrink wrap you then have to pass another test to get to the prize! It always comes apart requiring it to be removed in twenty separate pieces. d) People who complain about things (one of those smileys denoting irony).

Ayres Rock?

Only of interest to those of a folky...and specifically an Irish folky persuasion...but... Planxty...arguably the band that made Irish folk music cool in the early 70s...have started playing gigs again in Ireland this year. A DVD and CD are now out. I rarely buy DVDs but couldn't resist this one - a wonderful gig from earlier in the year in Dublin. Nothing new - old favourites but played with same passion and fire. Having fallen for Irish music through this band in the mid-70s I watched this with lump in throat and watery eyes! To my mind Planxty were the Beatles of Irish folk - two great but very different vocalists in Christy Moore and Andy Irvine. An absolute giant on uilleann pipes in Liam O'Flynn. And the wonderful propulsion of Donal Lunny on bouzouki and other strings. A world away from jazz but equally as compelling. If you ever loved this band track one of these down. If you've never heard them but fancy something different give it a go... One of the giants of my peculiar musical universe. And they're playing the UK in January! This time I can't miss them!

Cordoba, late July 2004 (grotty photo, cheap digital camera!). Havn't a clue who these guys were but the played for free and the (mainly local) audience went wild! Sounded great to me!

Another BNBB refugee. Liked the expertise here on certain areas of jazz...and the wider taster in the Misc. area. I like Org and AAJ - they complement one another nicely.