A Lark Ascending

I know the first three tracks - the Tracey is a really beautiful, smokey ballad that opens the Under Milk Wood Suite (I assume it'll be the original Bobby Wellins version); the Westbrook an absolutely exquisite Harry Beckett feature piece...it's like a quiet coda to the full suite (it'll be nice to hear this remastered properly - the 1999 CD reissue was one of the worst botch jobs I've heard - horrible wow!); the Ardley marvellously quirky. After that I'm into intriguing unknown territory! Even better news is that the long promised reissue of some of the full albums is coming closer, if this months Jazzwise is to be believed. There's a full discussion of this over at the 'other place' under a Don Rendell/Ian Carr thread.

Thanks for those links, Mike. I'd like to track down a little more of his music on disc.

If Organissimo are a 'world' band does that mean there's going to be a guest vocal by Sting on the next album?

Much as I love De Johnette I think Green Dolphin's suggestion from the Atomic rhythm section would really force him down different lines of thinking.

You might not be wrong. I saw him a couple of years back with the Robert Wyatt tribute band that Annie Whitehead does - Soupsongs - and he seemed very unsteady. There was little of the agile featheriness you hear on the recordings he made in the 60s and 70s. But I hear this in Kenny Wheeler too these days. Age perhaps catching us up?

Sidewinder, A superb festival all round. I managed 17 concerts in three and a bit days and only flagged in a couple. Great exercise dashing between the Everyman (as you say, wonderful venue) and the Town Hall (where I liked the Pillar Room too apart from, well, the pillars!). The Arnie Somogyi Hungarian Project was my fave alongside the Pascoal. Three Brits, one Brit of Hungarian extraction and six Hungarians, all using Hungarian music as the launch pad for some superb improvisations. Beautiful colouring from cimbalon and violin...but the Hungarian jazzers were out of this world. The three Taylor gigs were superb. I was especially moved by the short talk at the end and a very brief solo spot. Made me realise just how distinctive and special Taylor is. Wonderful young musicians too - alto player Chris Bowden is going to be something. Acoustic Ladyland, David Okumu, Tom Arthurs all produced thrilling performances. Nice to hear the Gress/Raney/Robson/Noble collaboration - very interesting music. And amazing to think they'd first got together the day before. I enjoyed the Gress Quintet the night before too though this got mixed reactions from those around me. The Earthworks Underground performance at the end was a lot of fun. Gerard Presencer was even more impressive than in his own concert on Saturday. Iain Ballamy continues to impress - I'd say he's our most distinctive saxophonist, a real sound of his own. A joy in the Django Bates gig on Friday as well. I'd have liked to have seen Beckett too - as you say, much under-rated. A player with a totally distinctive sound. Ah well, four weeks break and then Bath.....

That's one of my two Lon! Every time I go to London and search the jazz and 'world' racks that's what I find! Great disc as you say. AMG has this to say about 'Slaves Mass': "This LP was reissued in the Mestres Da MPB series in its entirety, only with the track order changed. Not a jazz album in the strict sense, it has strong themes and very little improv. The album has the fusion "Mixing Pot," where Hermeto Pascoal really improvises and Alphonso Johnson shines. In "Missa Dos Escravos," Hermeto's emblematic pig gives his first growls in a song dominated by Brazilian Indian references and with no improv. "Aquela Valsa" is a beautiful 6/8 theme that turns into a samba, also with no improv, but presents a beautiful trombone solo by master Raul de Souza. "Cannon" is only incidental noise. "Chorinho Para Ele" is a beautiful and modern choro with a somewhat challenging glissando bridge that really proposed new directions for the traditional genre. Atonalism dominates the piano solo "Escuta Meu Piano," which also presents bits and pieces of different styles (like baião) and songs (that have an Egberto Gismonti flavor). Hot samba improvisation is again found in "Geléia de Cereja," though it is troubled by lack of motivic development"

Joy is very much the word for that concert. Reminds me of a Gianluigi Trovesi concert I saw last year where the sheer thrill of playing marvellous music with sympathetic musicians and an enthusiastic audience came across. I have two recordings by him but otherwise his recordings seem quite hard to track down. I notice 'Slaves Mass' from the 70s has just been reissued - one I recall getting very enthusiastic reviews.

One of many highlights of this years Cheltenham Festival in the UK, Hermeto Pascoal pulled off one of the most joyous jazz concerts I've attended. Leading a crack 20 piece UK band (Henry Lowther, Claude Deppa, Julian Arguelles, Chris Biscoe, Jason Yarde, the Mondesir brothers to name just a few) with a few Brazillian accomplices, this was some of the most exciting, inventive, funny, downright odd big band music I've heard. We had great Brazillian rhythmic pieces, some absolutely wonderful orchestration, teapot playing (a speciality, I believe!), accordion playing, a little folksy quintet. Pascoal is something of a legend in the UK. He toured here about ten years ago and made a huge impression on the Brits he played with; but I suspect the influence goes much earlier as I can hear his style in so much of the UK jazz that came up in the mid-80s. People like Django Bates, Iain Ballamy and Julian Arguelles clearly worship him! But what came across so much was the warmth of the man - his love of playing, his love of the musicians and his determination to connect with the audience (who he had eating out of his hand, via a translator). He let us know he very much wants to record with this particular band. I really hope that one comes off.

Chailly! Just remembered. Very popular with Decca in the late 80s!

My championing of Phil Robson continues... Just come out of superb gig - Robson with UK pianist Liam Noble, Tom Rainey and Drew Gress. Apparently they met yesterday, tried out Noble's tunes, did the concert today. Robson is a marvellous player with a real breadth of style. Well worth going out of your way to hear if you're a guitar fan.

I'm at the Cheltenham Jazz Festival between gigs at the present (just done a superb John Taylor big band, about to go into Drew Gress with Tim Berne, Craig Taborne etc) . My wallet has taken a pounding today: Polar Bear - new CD from this up and coming quartet. Acoustic Ladyland - their new CD (almost the same line-up as Polar Bear) - absolutely storming versions of Hendrix tunes in a jazz vein. Wonderful live band. Phil Robson - Screenwash - his new CD. A musician I've enthused about elsewhere. Seeing him tomorrow. Brian Auger - a new compilation of his stuff including lots of the 60s stuff with Julie Driscoll Ellington Uptown Absolutely jampacked festival, by the way. I've been coming here 7 years and never seen it so full.

I have that from a very early issue of the BBC Music Magazine. I'm not one for buying lots of versions of classical music but the Tenth has had me go through a very early pre-Cooke Ormandy version, one I can't recall, the Bournemouth Rattle on LP, a CD version I can't recall (I'm away from home and can't check), and a return to he Rattle when it came out on CD. I've heard very good things on the Rattle/BPO version too. I'm a big fan of Bartok too. In fact a love the whole late-Romantic/early modern era in classical music - Wagner to Berg/Britten/Copland etc. Elsewhere there's lots I enjoy but I feel like I'm on the outside looking in through a window rather than really flowing with the music.

And don't overlook the Deryck Cooke reconstruction of the Tenth. At one time this was controversial with some orchestras - the Berlin Phil among them - refusing to touch it. Simon Rattle, amongst others, has championed it, and made performing it part of his contract with the Berliners. Real curdled late-Romanticism. There's a moment 3/4s way through the first movement (almost all Mahler and often played/recorded on its own) where he seems to be forseeing all the horrors of the 20thC. A Romantic interpretation? Perhaps but it sends chills down my spine. And the last movement is built round a melody that is as rapturous as anything in Mahler. The first statement on flute has me floored every time and the way the orchestra picks it up in wave after wave of development over the next twenty minutes is simply aching. I think my overall favourite is the Sixth. Quite despairing in the huge last movement. But with an adagio to die for.

There was a TV documentary about Mahler done by Leonard Bernstein in the 80s which really flagged up the Jewish roots of much of his music. Once you start listening for it it's very clear. Uri Caine's Mahler arrangements frequently play this up, even to the point of having a cantor singing over the top in places. Many of the themes of the First can also be found in the 'Songs of a Wayfarer' cycle.

Sorry, Chuck. I can't think of much more to say without repeating myself (again!). On copywrite I hold to my belief that 50 years is enough - most workers would be delighted to have their labours produce a product that could be copywrited for five years, let alone fifty. Working in a field where creativity is also vital yet where the norm is to immediately share it without payment (unless you choose to write it up and publish it) I find it difficult to weep tears for those whose payments cease after 50 years. On the Proper issue - clearly a muddier area than I first thought. But I'd still like to see a more rounded investigation. I'm still perplexed by the fact that the furious condemnation of them here is not reflected in a widespread boycott of them by the labels they distribute. I'm suspicious, but not yet convinced. Yes, I'm probably guilty of ethical compromise in buying sets like this. Stand me in front of someone who doesn't tape radio shows, has never bought a bootleg (I havn't!), taped or CDR'd a recording they've not bought and so on and I stand condemned. But I'd be more than a little amused to be lectured to by anyone who has done those things. I'll leave it at that. I really have no wish to provide further ammunition for Clementine to go off on another one of his rants. Though I suspect I have... Count that as a surrender if you like. [Perhaps a poll on who has buried their Propers might be interesting at this point?]

My first three singles (and records): Question - The Moody Blues Brontasaurus - The Move All Right Now - Free Summer 1970.

Listen out for the funeral march in movement three. It's based on 'Frere Jacques' (or 'Brother Martin' in German version) and Mahler does extraordinary things with it; breaking it up are some heartbreakingly beautiful pastoral sections. The first and last movements are quite over the top - bombastic might be a fair enough phrase though full of fine melodies. Very late-19thC. There's a nice scherzo (movement 2) with an edgy violin dance - always makes me think of skeletons. The first four Mahler Symphonies are very closely tied to German Romanticism and nature worship. After that 5, 6, 7, 9, the recontructed Tenth and 'The Song of the Earth' go to some very strange places (the 8th is a choral piece and has its own world). I first listened to Mahler in 1973. He remains the composer I return to most.

Gosh, I believe that Koch & Collectables have pretty much done this already, having reissued most (all?) of the VeeJay albums by the artists in question (as well as the Morgan/Shorter material) and have by all indications legitimately leased the material! There's also a "reactivated" Vee Jay label that has put out this material. For that matter, the more "questionable" Blue Moon label has too. The latter two add a few alternates, but the first two offer straight reproductions of the LPs. Of course, buying those individual CDs won't be as cheap as whatever the "other type" of label put out (so much LESS overhead...), but if you want most (all?) of the original material w/o the alternates (or at least, fewer), the options have already been made available. Point taken. Not exactly easily available over here, though. Amazon UK has them as 4-6 week imports. No problem for the dedicated fan, perhaps.

That strikes me as totally reasonable (I'm not sure I'd go to 70 but that's nitpicking). As long as the licencing fees were reasonable it would certainly address my main concern. Allowing reasonably priced collections for the generally interested - more than a single disc but not the full academic slab. It would continue to allow the musically curious to take a chance to investigate a range of older music. But also address the concerns of the performers and those who have invested in preserving the music. I'm not arguing for a minute that Proper are squeaky clean. Some of their boxes have had some pretty disasterous fluffs (wrong tracks, botched transfers etc), clearly a result of hurried production. That they should be more upfront about their sources and make payment where due to living artists or where fresh work has clearly been done on the tapes - fine. That they somehow have a duty to produce the academic product like Bear Family or Mosaic? Definitely not. There are other markets out there embracing a wider range of people than purchase the completist editions. One of the reasons I have very few Mosaics is because of the proliferation of alternate takes. I can understand why Mosaic have no wish to put out a parallel Chambers/Kelly set with just the master takes. In a few years JSP or Proper are going to do it because there will be a demand. The sort of settlement suggested might well keep all parties reasonably content. A compromise that can ensure the fair recompense to performer/preserver within a reasonable timespan whilst also encouraging the availability of the material to listeners beyond the hardcore collector seems good to me. I'll continue to buy the JSPs and Propers in the meantime (earning further villification from our professional Brooklyn streetkid) in much the same way as I'll continue to trade in unwanted CDs (without recompense to the performer/preserver), burn the odd CD (I'm too lazy to do much of that) and record things off the radio (without payment to performer). Much as I'd like to see tidied up the muddy area of how to fairly put out out-of-copyright material I'm clearly ethically much weaker than some of you (not said in sarcasm, by the way!). The thing is, however, that although I'm a bit of a lone voice in actually admitting to it I suspect I'm very far from alone in doing it!

Not the politics of resentment, JS. The politics of...to use a word you use...fairness. I'm lucky. I have a good job. I'm comfortable. Not rich. But comfortable. But I work in a pretty deprived area. And every year I see kids who have started way behind have to pit themselves in exams against kids elsewhere who have had it on a plate...and if they fail, well, Daddy will bail them out. And I've been doing the job long enough to be teaching the kids of some of those kids. So if I don't find the idea of the perpetual right to inherited property and wealth all that savoury its not out of resentment. It's just out of an idealistic desire for a world where the kids I teach could get a start in life on a level playing field with those at Eton, Charterhouse or even the middle class estates of South Nottinghamshire. I'm no revolutionary - too much of a coward for that. The best I can do is continue to push the kids in my charge so that, against the odds, some of them get a foot onto the ladder and a chance. It's why I'm still here 25 years on and not decamped to an area where the children are less challenging and where I could bask in my brilliance at getting such amazing exam results. THAT is where I'm coming from. [incidentally, a few kids I've taught have gone on to become history teachers. I've been responsible for a Faculty for many years and seen many new teachers through their early years; and many student teachers in training. Do you think I'd have a case charging them all royalties? I'd only want them for fifty years. One of those smiley faces. (I don't use them because I don't believe they're out of copywrite yet!)]

Now how do I make my decision to buy and keep buying Proper discs (I've my eye on the T-Bone Walker and the forthcoming Benny Carter and Roy Eldridges at present)? For the prosecution * Reasoned arguments from Mr. Sngry and Nessa. * 'Passionate' arguments from Mr. Clementine (who likes to say fuck more frequently than most teenagers I know). For the defence * The fact that these are widely on sale across the length and breadth of the UK. I've yet to hear of a retailer - big or small - refusing to sell them on grounds of ethics. * The fact that a whole range of reputable labels are happy to be distributed by them - if they are the thieves and rip-off merchants claimed here then what does it say about Topic, Yazoo, Document, Sugar Hill etc who are all content to sup with the devil? Must I stop buying those too? * The fact that they don't clutter up the sets with unreleased life tracks, alternate takes etc. If I'm interested enough in a performer to want that I'll seek an appropriate label dedicated to the specialist listener. As it is Proper do with many artists just what I want where other labels, however impressive their scholarship and dedication, just provide more than I need. * And this one. From Ronnie Scotts House magazine from Jan-Feb of this year. THE PROPER THING… By Chrissie Murray - 2004 makes a good start with the news that acclaimed – but until now unsigned – multi-reeds player TONY KOFI has clinched a unique recording contract with the much-loved Proper Records label. The huge success of Proper’s amazing value, but ‘priceless’, classic box-sets, has clearly helped create a foundation for this important collaboration. MALCOLM MILLS, Managing Director of Proper Records, says: ‘Tony’s talent was first brought to my attention by our friend JOOP VISSER. He was knocked out by the musicianship of this unsigned saxophonist.’ Tony Kofi, whose eclectic approach to the music has taken him in many innovative directions, goes into the studio with star players pianist JONATHAN GEE, bassist BEN HAZLETON and drummer WINSTON CLIFFORD to record the ambitious Monk project, which caused a stir at the Ealing and London Jazz Festivals. Studio time is also set aside so Tony can record his ground-breaking organ trio featuring his own material with new Swedish Hammond star ANDERS OLINDER. ‘This is an exciting opportunity,’ says Tony. ‘I’ve been biding my time. I like Proper’s enthusiasm and that they are prepared to get behind my music and give me the freedom to express it.’ Proper is also considering projects with Nick Lowe, bluesman Jimmy Vaughan, r&b legend Bobby Charles and Memphis soul star Dan Penn. The partnership between the gifted Tony Kofi and Proper Records is a huge leap forward for jazz in the UK. We wish them both much success. Source: http://www.ronniescotts.co.uk/ronnie_scott...otts/146/10.htm So now the evil Proper are committing a further crime by supporting contemporary talent! Oh, and it might require a quick e-mail to Lowe, Vaughan, Charles and Penn to warn them that they are about to sell their soul. ++++++++++++ So, do I adopt the puritanical approach (I can do puritan well!!!), chuck out the Proper Boxes and refuse to buy more on the advise of a few reports from websites? Or do I give Proper the benefit of the doubt? In anticipation of a shower of Anglo-Saxon.... [p.s. I must own up to posting the above quote and photo without prior permission]

Hope you sought permission to quote that! One of those smiley things.

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Clementine, I know what our alto sax player did. I can live quite happily with the outcome. But if you are following a hardline on morality then the fact remains that he recorded tunes by others unacknowledged, however much he reconstructed them. If a Hollywood film company takes a current novel, keeps the plot, changes the characters and incidents and retitles it does that mean they owe the original novelist nothing? As for how do I justify your examples. I'll say it again. Fifty years is quite enough time, in my opinion, for anyone to live off their royalties. I know you disagree but at that point our differences are not ones of intelligence but of opinion. I'm not too convinced by the argument that we have to give record companies perpetual rights over the material in their vaults or they will destroy it. I want to keep my toys forever and if you won't let me I'll break them? I'm inclined to respond 'Go ahead!' Some good headlines there!