sidewinder

Sal - from Hemel you could look at places in the Chilterns such as Aylesbury and the Beaconsfield area. Some pretty nice villages and small towns around there and within booting distance from London for the occasional jazz. It's to the SW of Hemel. A bit further afield and to the East and NE of Hemel you have the countryside in Suffolk, which Bev mentioned earlier. Much quieter than London and picturesque - a lot of Londoners have second homes up there or have decamped permanently. The problem I think with areas to the West such as Bath would be getting through London on the train. I suspect that you would have to get to Paddington then tube to Euston or Kings Cross for the Hemel train. A logistic nightmare. North and East of London is probably best for this location.

'fraid so... no talk of flat caps, whippets and mushy peas round here for a long time now

and I'm a Northener who has been doing missionary work in the South since 1975 (really !)

Bath is just about commutable from London (about 2 hours away by train, to the West). B-) Don't listen to those Northerners..

BBC4 Listings For anyone in the UK Org fraternity who missed last week's broadcast (like those of us who were in the audience ) there's a repeat showing tonight at 1am on BBC4. The Sunday show is also being repeated on Saturday. Stand by with VCRs at the ready ! :rsmile:

The current jazz scene here is the best that I have known in over 30 years. Comparable with the 'blip' in the mid/late 80s but with more substance, if anything. Sad to recall that some of the greatest music recorded back in the early to mid 70s (by Mike Westbrook, John Surman, Neil Ardley, Ian Carr etc.) was recorded/promoted amidst a scene of pretty well total public indifference. Acker Bilk and Kenny Ball were the limits of most people's jazz awareness. Hopefully events such as the great 'Jazz Britannia' festivities will further promote the present very welcome renaissance ! B-)

Very pleased to hear this !

On the plus side the UK jazz scene is on a particular high at present with some very good young players on the scene and overdue recognition for the older masters - lots of good festivals all over the place too. The best US players are also visiting in droves so you shouldn't feel deprived !

Stand by to pay £ for $ for pretty well everything. Coming back to the UK after years in North America I found it an expensive experience, having said that there are lots of good things over here. The place is (and always was) mad as **** but that's part of the charm. The London area is totally ridiculous in terms of property prices, less so elsewhere in the South but still pricey by international standards. Herfordshire (where Hemel is) is a pretty afluent area - some ugly dull towns (hello Luton) but also some nice countryside to the North and East of there which should be accessible (places like Baldock and Hitchin). St Albans would be well worth a look - lots of history there (pre-Roman and Roman no less) and at least one jazz dealer that I know of ( ) but again, pricey in terms of property. Central London of course is full of life but expect to have your pockets emptied big time. Don't let me put you off ( ) - good luck with this and hope it works out well !

'Zeitgeist' (the large group album with lineup including Kenny Wheeler and co.) is the one to get. Unfortunately it is long OOP and rare (don't think it has been put out on CD). Coe's most ambitious work, musically. There's also a nice ECM LP with Norma Winstone and John Taylor called 'Somewhere Called Home'. I remember seeing this band around the time the LP came out.

I've also just received confirmation that the Farlow has now shipped.. The DVDs I ordered took about 4 days to cross the 'oggin and at about £5 a shot are one heck of a deal. Worth that just to see Sun Ra and co. circa 1979 blasting away and 'calling to planet Earth' on the top of that Philly hotel.. B-)

I'm very sorry to hear this. Always liked his arrangements for Quincy Jones and the 'Jazz Soul of Porgy and Bess' LP has long been a favourite. RIP.

Need to add Wales to the zone of coverage for crazed rugby morons..

Must be something in the water out there..

No Mosaic email for me yet.. (special European slow-boat service)

JJ Johnson's various trombones look pretty good too. I'm sure he was playing that Yamaha last time I saw him.

Message to self - I really must invest in a new PC which can copy disks instead of buying more Mosaics..

I would be on the case right now for tooter but I don't have CD copying capability I'm afraid. Very sorry...

It will almost certainly have the copy protection - the last few RVG series over here have had this, sad to say. For this reason I rarely buy them as my CD player throws a wobly and I'm too stingy to pay Naim to modify the software

And HMV too ! I think I might have seen one of these 'Basra's' on Saturday in London. At the time my mind was diverted by the sight of a Duke Pearson 'The Phantom' CD on Water and I have a vinyl of Basra anyway.

Woody's problems were with 'retinitis pigmentosa' I believe. Deteriorated significantly in the last few years of his life. Other additions to the list: Chris Anderson Eddie Thompson

Just got mine ! Some good stuff on those 2 disks, many thanks. It arrived at same time as the T-Bone Mosaic from porcy62 so there's competition to secure the 'window of opportunity' on the CD player ! :rsmile:

There's also 'The Chill of Death' from 'Let My Children Hear Music' but I guess that one was a spoken word collaboration with himself. Does 'Passions of Man' count?

'Basra' vinyl futures just went up today !

I had a good chat with Gabriele Mirabassi at last year's Bath Festival after his performance as he sipped a well-earned beer. Very nice guy and his English is fine. He'd just been working with Kenny Wheeler and it was interesting to hear about that (sounded like total chaos). Superb clarinetist by the way. The performance I saw was with his clarinet/accordion duo group, well worth seeing.