sidewinder

Caught the gig at Brewhouse Theatre, Taunton last night which was re-scheduled from last year. One lineup change from the Barnfield CDs - Pete Wyman in place of Gary Bayley on tenor sax for this performance. As with the CDs, the second half of the show really shone out, in particular 'Juxtapositions' and 'Gas, Blood, Stone'. The way this show mixes theatre and jazz reminds me somewhat of Sun Ra in this eclectic mix, although where both bands are coming from and their styles/modus operandii is very differerent. In fact it is very English in its way, with the fairground banter interludes, libretto from Kate W. and almost meditative feel of some passages, leading into more uproarious sections. I think the 'Uncommon Orchestra' play Kings Place in London next month plus some more Devon gigs this Summer. Hope to catch at least one of them. Audience numbers last night were dissappointingly low but then again it is Taunton on a Friday night I guess..

Tomorrow night - Mike Westbrook Big Band 'A Bigger Show'.

Sad news - RIP. Very much an institution over here and a good one at that.

Having spun this a couple more times this afternoon - totally agree. In fact I would say that the performance here of old warhorses such as 'Lomelin' even surpasses the originals - and that is saying something. Renee Rosnes on piano is outstanding - doesn't put a foot wrong. Fabulous !

Rolly Beamont Dan Dare Digsby

Need a copy of that Lee/Blake. Good to see it back in circulation.

My old Frank Lowe 'The Flam' LP on Black Saint. Sold to Mole Jazz for £2 . Did the same thing too with my Phil Seamen LP on Decibel.

Blew a big crow or raven nest from the big tree next door down into my back garden . The noisy blighters will have to start again..

Heard on the radio today that he was an Elec Engineering Major - big kudos for that and RIP.

Nothing to do with 'Mayfair' magazine (I think) It was a budget UK A&M imprint from the early 1970s. I have a Nat Adderley LP put out on this label and also a Wes Montgomery 'California Nights' cassette on the label stored away in my house somewhere. This is what passed for a UK batchelor pad jazz/MOR label back in the day !

I remember seeing that when it was first broadcast (BBC2?) so nice to see it again. A real dearth of jazz on TV during that era - although recall Clark Terry's Big Bad Band had a broadcast and that naff 'Jazz Ship' series was also on the Beeb.

Roz Harding, altoist with the Westbrook Band, has a gig coming up at the Barnfield in April. Looks tempting (parking permitting). Gig Details

Good to get round to the garden clearance of Winter storm debris today - Spring must be here ! Rain scheduled for tomorrow though..

Usually coincides with UK/Europe early morning post time. Special service?

Hipsters at Pontins? 'Morning campers... Hi de hi and time to wax the beard'.

I like the sound of Mobley (but then again I am biased )

Probably what did for Bath was the cuts in BANES council funding and maybe they also lost the use of the Pavilion at affordable rates. I also think that another major reason was that the very nice lady, Eloise, a key force behind the scenes in managing the Jazz content of the fest, sadly passed away. It was never really the same again after her passing. At the end of the day and above all else it is people and their dedication that makes these things happen (which is why Swanage goes from strength to strength). It was at its best I guess when I lived in the city several decades ago (it was actually possible to afford/buy a house there then). On quite a small scale when it start out and concerts very reasonably priced for a fiver or so, even at the Guildhall etc. You could even buy wine from the glass at the gig - classy ! I feel somewhat the same way I'm afraid !

Alex's band would be nice to see but I'm not planning on heading up to Cheltenham this year. Or Bath for that matter - sadly. Solo Branford in Bath Abbey seems to be about it. Yet again, most of the action this Summer seems to to be South of Shepton Mallet i.e. Swanage, plus the lineup of Westbrook gigs (). It will be tempting to hit the road to Rotterdam for the North Sea Fest.

Three Sounds 'Coldwater Flat' (BN blue/white Liberty stereo) - Dan's old copy. Down to LPs only - power supply to the CD player now away for re-capping. In the process of powering the system back up sans CD there is one heck of a sonic upgrade in terms of soundstage. Astonishing - I can only assume that the CD supply was outputting crap into the rest of the system thanks to its kaput reservoir capacitors..

Seeing this thread had me digging out for a spin 'In My Time' - the first time for a long while. At his South Bank, London concert around 2007/8, Mr Wilson featured the 'Diminished Triangle' suite from this album with the BBC Radio Big Band. I recall him featuring the late Vic Ash quite prominently. 'So What' and 'Jeri' from this album were also played that night I think. Just noticed an early appearance by Kamasi Washington on this album as well. He also played part of that suite at the London concert. Superb ! Also played at the Playboy Festival in LA in 1999 - first time I heard it !

Rodney Marsh Rodney Slater Legs Larry Smith

Great story John !

The eternal optimists !